2 The Unification of Memories (1)
Sough!
“What!?”
“Where is this place? Wait!? My body!?”
At that moment, there was a light breeze coming through the windows and it got Jin-Yang to notice his surroundings. Now he could see things clearer. He remembered to look down at his body to see if he got injured anywhere. He found out that his body got so much smaller, and that included his private part…
“What!?”
“What are these feelings and memories!? Zheng-Fu! Who is Zheng-Fu?” That was not the end of the whole thing because, all of a sudden, every memory from Zheng-Fu started to flow into Jin-Yang’s mind ceaselessly…
“Ouch!”
Then everything stopped. The process made him feel dizzy and it looked like everything around him faded away once again. This was because he felt very confused since his old and new memories raced to project themselves in his head violently. Some he could remember, some he could not. It made him feel like his head was going to explode…
“Ouch!”
“Zheng-Fu! What is going on?”
Not long after what happened to Zheng-Fu, his mother rushed to his room to check with utmost worry because she heard his scream…
“Mother!”
‘Why did I call her mother?’
“Ouch!”
“My head hurts so badly, mother.”
“It’s all right, dear. Take this medicine. It’ll make you feel better.” When Zheng-Fu’s mother saw him in agony, she felt this kind of unexplainable acute pain in her chest. But she thought that this was not the time to lament, so she decided to take out a painkiller and give it to her son to help him right away…
Grab!
Gulp!
Whew!
Zheng-Fu felt much better after taking the medicine. Then he passed out and went to sleep again after the pain was gone…
Next morning…
Cock-A-Doodle-Doo!
“Ouch!”
“What’s with this light-headed feeling? Wait! I’ll be damned. What time is it now? I need to get to the martial arts class, otherwise, the Master is going to yell at me!”
Clomp! Clomp! Clomp!
Zheng-Fu got up the next morning with a slight headache. He panicked because it was very late, and he needed to hurry in order to go practice martial arts with his Master. So, he sprang out of his bed to clean up and get dressed before hurrying out of his bedroom…
“Where are you going, Zheng-Fu!?”
But right before Zheng-Fu could manage to leave the house, his mother called to stop him…
“I’m going to the martial arts class, mother. I didn’t know when I fell asleep last night. This is very late. The Master probably prepares to yell at me so badly now.” Zheng-Fu replied to his mother with a smile, even though he seemed to want to hurry out. As he turned back towards the door, his mother said…
“Stop right there, dear!”
“Why are you stopping me, mother? If I cannot get to the class on time, the Master is going to beat me definitely!” Zheng-Fu made a puzzled face and looked at his mother curiously because she was not usually this way…
“You don’t need to practice martial arts anymore, dear!”
What!?
No need to practice?
When Zheng-Fu heard his mother, he even felt more confused and bewildered. He did not understand why his mother said such a thing…
“Don’t you remember what happened to you yesterday?” Zheng-Fu’s mother was quite surprised when she saw that her son could not remember what happened to him yesterday. That was why she got very serious and asked him the question…
“Yesterday…? I went back to my room after dinner yesterday. I didn’t remember anything strange happened. Well, I felt a little headache this morning and that was just it.” Zheng-Fu tried to recall his memory about yesterday, but the only thing he could remember was him finishing his dinner and going back to his bedroom. As for him passing out because of the terrible headache was something he could not remember at all…
“Are you telling me that you couldn’t remember anything that happened to you? You passed out for 2 whole days.” Zheng-Fu’s mother tried to explain what happened to him immediately. She could not believe that her son already forgot the whole thing…
“Passed out for 2 whole days!?”
“Yes, you did. Your temperature got so heated up and you kept saying that your head hurt before you lost consciousness. So, this incident forced me to ask your father to forbid you to practice martial arts from now on. Your body is too weak for it. Zheng-Fu! I think you should switch to studying for the imperial examination to become a Zhuàngyuán instead. Or you can choose to do some other things. You’re not right for martial arts…”
No!
“Mother! I know that my body is weak, but I would never quit practicing to become a martial artist. Besides, my grandfather once told me that even though our bodies are too weak, if we keep practicing regularly, our bodies will become stronger. So, if I continue to practice it, I will definitely become stronger just as grandfather said!”
Zheng-Fu was fully aware of his weak body, but he never thought about quitting martial arts at all. So, he told his mother about his determination with a refreshing and innocent smile, like the one we saw from a three-year-old boy…
“But…”
After Zheng-Fu’s mother saw such a strong determination from her son, she did not know what else to say to stop him. She would love to help him, but it took more than a pure will to be successful in becoming a martial artist. It took talent and the right kind of body strength too…
“You don’t have to worry, mother. I can take care of myself. I’ll definitely be able to make it.”
After Zheng-Fu finished the sentence, he ran outside right away. Even though he was very young, he kind of knew what he was talking about. But what actually bothered him right now were those strange visions and memories that he experienced earlier. They seemed to belong to him, but he could not bring himself to remember them…
At the martial arts courtyard of Tian-Tang Clan…
“Zheng-Fu!”
“How did you manage to get here? Aren’t you being sick?” A middle-aged man in a martial arts outfit who stood in the clan’s martial arts courtyard asked Zheng-Fu alarmedly. He was surprised and curious when he saw Zheng-Fu approaching the courtyard…
“I’m well, Master. Look at me. I’m as strong as usual.”
Pow! Kpow!
Zheng-Fu quickly replied to his Master, while trying to show the martial arts moves that his Master had taught him to prove that he was fine…
“Well, well, all right. You showed me enough. You don’t have to come practice with me from now on because your father told me that you couldn’t do martial arts anymore. He would like you to study to become a Zhuàngyuán instead. Oh. Here he is. Your new Master just happened to come this way.”
Zheng-Fu’s martial arts Master nodded his head slightly to him before letting him know that he could not give him any more lessons because Zheng-Fu’s father had decided for him to study for the imperial examination instead…
“What!?”
“Hello, Young Master Zheng-Fu!”
An elderly man who was about 60 years old, with a serious facial expression but looked kind with a smart posture like one of those knowledgeable scholars, walked towards Zheng-Fu and greeted him. This old man would be Zheng-Fu’s new Master. The one that his father had hired…
“No! I don’t want to become a Zhuàngyuán. I want to be a martial artist like my father. I want to be as strong as him!” Zheng-Fu felt discontented, so he cried out those words. He did not want to be a Zhuàngyuán. He would like to practice martial arts and be tough like his father…
“Zheng-Fu!”
“Uh, father! What’s going on, father? Why do you want me to study to become a Zhuàngyuán? I don’t want to. I don’t want to become a Zhuàngyuán. I want to be a strong martial arts warrior like you, father!” Zheng-Fu tried to ask for an explanation, even though he knew the reason well. He only tried to ask, so his father might change his mind…
“I understand you, son, but you know better that your body is too weak for practicing martial arts. It’s better for you to choose to become a Zhuàngyuán. I invited Master Huang to teach you because he’s a very knowledgeable scholar. He’ll definitely turn you into a famous Zhuàngyuán.”
Zheng-Fu’s father was heartbroken to do this to his son, but he must persuade Zheng-Fu to change his mind for his own future…
“But father…”
“There is no more but, Zheng-Fu! From now on, you must study hard. Do you understand?” Zheng-Fu’s father had made the final decision, so he would not allow his son to negotiate any further. Then he turned to the new study Master that he invited and said…
“Master Huang. Please take care of my son. If there is any problem, let me know right away. I have to excuse myself because I still have a lot of work to finish. My servants have prepared a study place for you. Please make yourself at home.”
“I appreciate it, Master Tian-Tang Kong-Shi! Please don’t worry. I’ll teach him everything that I know so he can become a virtuous and the most famous Zhuàngyuán in the future.” Master Huang ensured Zheng-Fu’s father with confidence. He was proud of the knowledge that he had…
“Thank you very much, Master Huang!”
After saying goodbye to Master Huang, Kong-Shi turned to Zheng-Fu who was standing behind him, to say something to him. However, when he saw his son making an unhappy face, he decided to withhold everything and prepared to walk away without saying anything…
“I don’t love you anymore, father. You’re so mean!” Zheng-Fu finally blurted those sentences out to express his anger before running away while crying his heart out…
“Zheng-Fu!”
“Would you like me to follow him and check him out, Elder?”
“No. It’s all right. He probably ran back home to his mother. You don’t need to follow him. Just go back to your duties.” Kong-Shi believed that his son would not run away anywhere but home to tell his mother about what just happened. So, he did not need anyone to follow his son…
“Yes, sir!”
Zheng-Fu continued to run with tears in his eyes. However, he did not run towards his home. Instead, he ran to the Forbidden Forest that was located behind the clan’s estate. It was the place that he discovered coincidently many months ago. He usually hung out there because the place made him feel calm. Besides, it was the place where those strange visions occurred in his head…
“Why? Why did I have to be born with this weak body!? Why did grandfather say that if I practiced hard enough, I would get stronger!?” He sobbed. “I hate father! I hate grandfather!” Zheng-Fu felt unhappy and hated himself for being born with such a sickly body. He blamed everyone for giving him fault hope. And then…
“Ouch!”
While Zheng-Fu was running, those strange visions and memories, all of a sudden, reappeared in his head. The pain that came with it was so hurtful that he had to cover his head with his hands…
“Again! The visions appeared again! Argh!”
With all this tremendous pain, Zheng-Fu had to drop to his knees without being able to help himself. He almost lost it, but with the utmost level of endurance, he could still stay conscious. He would not know though for how long he could stay awake…
