Chapter 48 – William (1/2)

The whole Martial Hall fell silent as everyone got startled and looked at the angry young man, who had just shouted. Gravis was just as startled as everyone else. What was wrong with what he had said?

”Who do you think you are? Are you trying to blaspheme our ancestor's teachings?” the man shouted, his head already reddening by all the anger he felt.

”Silence!” an old, yet imposing man walked in. He wore rough brown robes, and his muscles showed through the opened front. He had a long mustache, which extended beyond his face and fell down to his chest.

”This is not a place where you can lose your control!” The man roared loudly with anger in his voice and pointed at the young man. ”You still require more training! Go to the Tranquility Pools and stay there until I call you!”

”But master-”

”Silence!” another imposing shout shook the Martial Hall. ”Go!” the old man ordered again.

The young man wanted to protest, but clenched his fist and walked away. He, obviously, was very unwilling.

”I apologize for this interruption, everyone,” the old man continued, now with a friendlier voice. ”You can all go back to business,” the man said friendly, while he bent down to remove the young man's pillow, which he replaced with his own. Then he comfortably kneeled on his cushion and looked at Gravis with a neutral look. ”Now, what did you say that made him so mad?” he asked.

Gravis quickly shook his head to get his bearings. ”I told him that I am not knowledgeable about how you do business around here. Then I asked for different kinds of Martial Arts to supplement my fighting style. Did I say something wrong?” Gravis asked, concerned.

The old man listened, and when Gravis finished narrating, he understood why the previous man got angry. He looked into Gravis' eyes and then sighed. ”What you have said could be interpreted as cursing our ancestors,” he explained.

Gravis was shocked. Was the young man actually justified in getting angry? ”I'm sorry. That was not my intent,” Gravis quickly apologized.

The old man sighed again. ”I know. I can read it in your face. By saying that you have never visited us, you have basically said that you don't need Martial Arts. This, by itself, is not bad. Yet, with your second sentence, you have said that you want to use Martial Arts as a supplement for your fighting style. By saying this, you have proclaimed that all our Martial Arts, which were created by our ancestors, were below your self-taught fighting style,” the old man explained with patience.

Gravis now understood why the young man had gotten angry. Though Gravis also truly believed that many Martial Arts were worse than his fighting style. He might have accidentally let his prejudice show itself. ”I'm sorry. I did not intend to disrespect your ancestors,” Gravis slightly bowed.

The man waved him off. ”Actually, I would also feel a little insulted if someone else said those things. Yet, it is different coming from you.”

Gravis narrowed his eyes. ”Why is it different coming from me?”

The old man laughed lightly. ”I was drinking tea with an old friend of mine in the backroom when all this happened. He told me about the fight you had with him and also told me that you would probably come to visit.”

Now, Gravis understood. ”Are you speaking about Jeros?” he asked.