As the elderly man stepped into the secret chamber, the six people seated around the long table stood up simultaneously, bowing in unison as they exclaimed, "Master."
"Hmm," the elderly man nodded expressionlessly.
The person bound to the chair widened his eyes in disbelief at the old man and said, "Teacher, you..."
The older man ignored the bound person and walked toward the long wooden table. The first speaker, who was sitting at one end of the table, promptly made way, assisting the elderly man to his seat and stood straight by his side, waiting for instructions. The remaining five also stood upright, visibly tense.
Upon settling in the high-backed leather chair, the old man looked up at the corner where a person was tied to a chair and called out, "Keli!"
"Teacher, you must save me, it's a set-up by them..." the person tied to the chair said with nervous desperation.
