“And finally before we bring this ceremony to a close, a special announcement from the Institution. In celebration of her second century, the institution has decided to open her doors in a one time, no age limit, healing arts training, special scholarship program. The training will last a year and two hundred students will get the chance to receive a comprehensive, low technically intensive, training in first aid, pre hospital and emergency procedures with and without aether. Registration will begin next month and willl last for three months and the training will beign in the next month, running from August to August of next year. s will run within the three months of the training’s registration. But as distinguished guest of her jubilee, Huirigi institute has deemed it fit to inform you now, a month before the registration begin, as a way to appreciate you for coming. For those interested please prepare adequately, as I said before, everyone is eligible for the training. Thank you and enjoy the refreshments.”

  The ceremony had officially come to an end but there was time allocated for partying and socializing but Zhao Bing decided it was time he started heading back to airport, there was still an hour before his plane was set to depart but he felt he had explored enough of the Henan. So navigating his way to the frony gate of the institute. He hailed a taxi to the airport.

  The first sign that something was wrong was the silence but Zhao Bing had entirely missed it -in hindsight, it had been a strange end to their conversation but in the moment he had thought the taxi driver had stopped to concentrate, except it hadn’t being the driver that had needed to concentrate- the second sign at least he had noticed even if it had been too late by that point. The taxi driver had taken the wrong turn -he had done it cleverly too, Zhao Bing had to admit- he had taken so many turns and entered a few round about before he took the turn that led in the opposite direction to the airport, he blamed his lack of knowledge for fallling into that particular trap. But that was when Zhao Bing had sensed the danger but -as he had said before- by that point it had already been too late.

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  A man had appeared sitting in the space beside him, sometime between the point when he had looked out the window, blinked and sat up in realization. The man had said nothing but he had hid nothing as well. Beside Zhao Bing, sat a sage covered head-to-toe in black Hanfu robe so even his face was covered.

  Zhao Bing sat quietly, choosing dignity rather than embarrassment, at this distance he might have as well been placed in the middle -dead center- of the sage’s palm, for intents and purposes, escape was impossible except by a miracle.

  The car drove in that silence of a man walking into his own private execution till it stopped in front of a bus terminal. The man, Zhao Bing noticed immediately among the group waiting for a bus, sat comfortably on the bench with his eyes closed, a serene presence around him till he opened his eyes and his surroundings turned cold, enough that, Zhao Bing saw some among the group waiting for a bus shiver. It was not a cold of the elements Zhao Bing knew.

  The man stood up from the bench and walked into the car, as he entered the car the driver gasped, as though waking from a nightmare.

  “keep driving, I will tell you where to let us off” the man told the driver calmly, uncaring of his condition.