The Quest For Virtue
HKUGA College , Chung , Chun lam Ryan - 13
Walking along the forest , Bennie felt a gusty wind blowing his face . Suddenly , the lusty trees around him started shaking . The gusty wind picked up . While he was struggling to walk , a rock hit him straight in the face and knocked him out .
When he opened his eyelids , it was already daytime . A warm ray of sunlight shone on him as he tried to stand up . A wave of nausea hit him , and he fell back down .” Slowly , my dear . You ’ re still not stable . I found you bleeding with a head wound .”
“ What ? How did he get here , where was he ?” There were so many questions that he wanted to ask the unknown figure .
“ Do not worry . You are in a safe place . For as a gift of thanking me , you must help accompany me to accomplishing the ultimate goal of enlightening myself .”
“ Why would you think that I would help you ? I ’ ve got other things to do .”
“ Because you simply cannot go back into your normal life again . You ’ re not even in Hong Kong . Also , go look into a mirror .”
I staggered up , wobbling a bit , and walked to a nearby mirror . I was shocked . My whole face was bandaged , and I wondered why I even didn ’ t feel the cloth before .
“ Do you want to know where you are now ?” “ Yes ! Please tell me .” “ You ’ re in the northern part of Yunnan , China .”
The piece of information struck me so hard that I had to sit down again . What ? How did I get to Yunnan ? Yunnan was very far from Hong Kong , and I had no money to get back .
“ Fine . If I help you with your goal , you ought to help me get back home .”
“ Yes , if you can accomplish this task . First , you must go complete a quest . Go meet Goblo there , and he will guide you to it .”
I turned my eyes towards the bright light shining down to the cave , and there he was . Or rather , it was , green in whole . Its eyes were huge , covering almost half of its face . It had no hair , and it was very short . Like half the height of my body .
“ Hey there , Bennie . I ’ m glad that you came . Help me do my job , and you will be free .”
“ Yeah , yeah . He ’ s called Matulo . So here ’ s the thing . There is a local legend that says a kind-hearted person with a passion to explore will help find a treasure hiding in the Himalayas . The treasure is there to give the people who find it ultimate intelligence . Matulo and I were roaming through the forest when you fell down from the sky . We thought it was a gift from God to help us find the treasure , so that ’ s why we brought you here . You wouldn ' t even have survived without us .”
“ Well , thank you ,” I muttered . “ So where do we start ?”
“ Matulo and I have done some research on the local map of China . We ’ re supposed to walk from here to Nepal , find the local villagers there , and finally to the Himalayas , where we ’ ll consult the oracle and find the treasure .”
“ Well before we start ,” I replied , “ At least give me a good night ’ s sleep . This is going to be a long week .”
The sun started to rise , and as with the sun , the trio woke up . Goblo strode towards Bennie and shook him up . “ Dude , it ’ s time for you to wake up . Come on .” Bennie slowly stood up and rubbed his eyes . “ Okay , I ’ m ready to face this challenge .” They woke up Matulo and set off from the cave .