An old man and his grandson came near to me and said,
"Thank you very much. May I know your name, so that we can know who saved me and especially my grandson?"
I said to the old man, "You don't need to thank me. I'm just happy I was able to help you. My name is..."
"Mmm…"
I got stuck for a moment and then said, "My name is Xie Zhong."
The old man replied,
"You have a good name. I have nothing to repay you with."
So he took out some cloth from his pocket and under it, there was a piece of bread. He offered it to me and said,
"I have nothing, so please take this."
As the old man was saying this, his grandson also said, "Big brother, take it," but his eyes were full of tears.
I felt something cold inside me. Tears came to my eyes too, but I tried my best not to cry.
"No, I can't take that. If you are happy, that's enough for me," I said.
The old man insisted that I take the bread, and I couldn't keep refusing again and again because it would seem disrespectful.
But still, I thought if I take it,
(How much effort did he put in to get that bread? How many days of meals was that for them?)
It seemed disrespectful if I didn't take it, so I took it, and I gave half to his grandson. But he didn't take it at first, saying, "No, big brother, it's yours."
I said, "You called me big brother. If you really think I'm your big brother, then please take it."
After I said this, he looked at his grandpa, and his grandpa nodded. Only then did he take it.
Then I went to the man who had been knocked out, picked up my bracelet, and gave it to the old man.
At first, he also didn't take it, saying, "You helped us, that's enough. We don't want that."
But I insisted and put the bracelet into his pocket.
Finally, the old man started crying. "Thank you," he said.
At that moment, I didn't know what to say. We stayed in silence for a few minutes.
Finally, I asked, "Where are you traveling to?"
The old man replied, "We're going to Black Pine Valley. We live near it."
Then he asked, "Where are you going?"
I told him, "I'm also going to Black Pine Valley." I said it because I thought someone might try to bully them again, and maybe I could help them.
The old man asked, "Do you mind if we go together with you?"
I said, "No, it's not a problem. Actually, it will be good. I won't feel lonely either."
So the old man led the way, and I carried the young kid on my shoulders, and we just went to Black Pine Valley.
As we walked, I asked,
"Grandpa, do you have anyone else besides you two?"
The old man's face looked sad as he said,
"No, we don't have anyone else. All I have is him and for him, there's only me."
I asked gently, "What about his father? I hope you don't mind me asking."
The old man replied, "His father was a cultivator, but he never came back after he went there."
I asked, "Which sect was it?"
He said, "It was the Green Mountain Sect. I went there once, but they told me he ran away after stealing gold. But I know my son would never do that. He must be in trouble. What else can I do, kid? We had no choice but to leave that village. Everyone called me the father of a thief, and they called my grandson the son of a thief. I thought if we stayed there, my grandson might never find peace. So now, we live here in Black Pine Valley."
We kept talking as we walked, and I didn't even notice how we finally reached Black Pine Valley.
Above the road, I saw a small hut. The old man said, "That's our house. Come inside, kid."
I put his grandson down, and when I looked around, I saw the roof wasn't properly fixed. On the ground, there were clay pots maybe to catch the rain. I thought,
(Because if it rained, surely water would come inside. But I didn't say anything.)
I looked at the old man and his grandson. I wanted to fix the roof of their house, but I had no idea how to help. I didn't have any tools like I used to have in my world. So I stepped outside, unsure of what to do, scratching my head.
That's when I noticed some bamboo growing nearby. I smiled.
I went back inside and asked the old man,
"Do you have a sword?"
He looked around, turned in a full circle, then handed one to me and asked,
"What do you need it for?"
I replied,
"Don't ask, just watch."
I hoped he'd be happy with what I was about to do.
The sword was a bit rusty, so I found a small stone outside and sharpened the blade.
"Tshak… tshak…"
I tested it on bamboo. I chopped it down, gathered the stalks into a pile, and found some strong roots nearby to use as rope. I tied the bamboo together and carried it back to the house.
I split the bamboo in two not all the way through, I stacked them up again and tied them tightly.
Then, I climbed to the roof. Step by step, I fitted the bamboo together to create a new roof.
I sighed with relief. While I worked, the kid watched me with a big smile. When I finally finished, I felt proud. I grabbed an old jar, filled it with water, and poured it over the roof.
"Shu…Tar…"
Not a single drop leaked inside.
"I can't believe it," I muttered to myself.
The old man was nearby, gathering leftover bamboo. He looked at me and said,
"Dinner's ready."
Inside, the kid ran up and hugged me. I picked him up and walked in.
We sat down to eat. The old man brought out a steaming pot and served it into bowls. At first, it just looked like water with pieces of bamboo in it but I didn't say anything. I realized it was made from the same bamboo he had picked up earlier. It was like bamboo soup.
After dinner, I felt they were safe now. I stepped outside, but the old man stopped me.
"Where are you going?"
"Don't worry," I said with a smiley face "I'm not going far. I just need to train a little."
He smiled and waved. "Okay, okay," and went inside.
Outside, I was stunned by how beautiful the place looked at night.
"Wow," I muttered. The moonlight made everything glow. It reflected off a small river nearby and the water shimmered like silver.
I sat down, took a deep breath, and thought to myself,
(Now that Qi flows naturally through me… what's the next step?)
"Master... Master..." I called out, unsure and lost.
"I don't know what to do next. Please... guide me master."
"You've built a strong foundation of Qi now," the master said."It's time you learn how to bring that Qi outside your body and use it as a weapon."
I blinked,"what?" In confused and said,
"How do I do that, Master?"
"You already know Qi is the life energy flowing inside you. Now, you need to learn how to guide it outward. With enough focus, you could even sharpen a rusted sword just by using your Qi." master said in smiled and almost like teasing
I stared at master,
"Wait... I can really do that with just Qi?"
"There so much you can do with qi," master
replied with laugh
I clenched my fist, closed my eyes, and muttered under my breath,
"Ugh... idiot..."
Talking to myself, frustrated but also ready to try.