Chapter 93 Training 2 (1/2)

Zero was cranky. Hua Tuo didn't seem to know what sleep meant. The old doctor woke him up before the sun was up and made him brush his teeth again. The brunet held his complaints because he saw how serious the physician was. It made him think that their true training had begun and in a way, it might have.

After washing up, Zero found himself being led to the fields. Glancing at the sleeping crops, he wondered if they were going to learn how to farm. Instead, Hua Tuo did something completely unexpected. The old man struck a pose.

”Follow me,” he urged and the young boy wondered if there was a point in dancing at the crack of dawn. Nevertheless, he didn't question it and obeyed.

The physician didn't explain what he was doing and it was slightly hard to follow Hua Tuo's strange exercise but Zero did it to the best of his ability. Hua Tuo didn't criticize the movements but instructed and corrected Zero's method of breathing throughout. This routine lasted for about an hour with the two of them moving throughout five different forms. The boy couldn't understand why they had to do it but didn't ask anything until it was over.

Breakfast tasted even better than yesterday after a tough morning and Zero savoured it humbly. Hua Tuo made rice porridge with some pickled vegetable on the side.

”What was that?” Zero finally asked after they cleared the table. He brought the dishes to the river and watched as the old doctor cleaned.

”It's called qi gong, an ancient Chinese martial art founded by me in the old world. It's meant to increase the quality of life in humans and if cultivated right, would allow humans to accomplish incredible feats.”

Zero didn't quite understand it but nodded anyway. ”Will we do that every morning before the sun comes up?”

Hua Tuo smiled. ”Do you mind waking up early to learn?”

Again the child nodded. ”It's not good to wake up so early. I'm still sleepy. Why do we have to do it before the sun comes up?”

Hua Tuo chuckled at the boy's response. ”It's actually better to wake up early. It makes you rest early at night and gives you more daylight to work on other things. Another reason why we practice it before sun up is because that period of dawn is a perfect balance of the yin and yang. Balance is very important for cultivators.”

Yin? Yang? What were those? Zero was lost but couldn't ask any more when Hua Tuo finished rinsing off the last plate. His small mind was boggled with big questions but he couldn't find the right time to ask Hua Tuo who was once again busy. He didn't understand how someone who lived in a mountain with nothing much in his possession had so much to do. Secretly, he suspected that his teacher was a workaholic.

The morning after breakfast was spent tending to the fields. As Hua Tuo made his rounds, Zero tottered behind carrying the basket while Hua Tuo harvested matured plants with a sickle or pulled them out with his bare hands. He explained each and every herb to Zero in detail with their name and their uses. Occasionally, he would test his apprentice and check if Zero understood.

”Grandpa...?”

”It's master to you, brat!”

”Why is this called milkweed? It doesn't produce milk does it?”

Hua Tuo blinked. Then, he reached out to the plant and plucked it. ”Hold out your hand,” he told Zero who complied.

The brunet watched as some white and sticky substance oozed from the broken stem. Zero grimaced and Hua Tuo chuckled.

”You should try it,” the doctor encouraged.

Without suspecting anything, Zero tried it and immediately, Mii went into red alert. Zero was poisoned!

Shocked, Zero looked at Hua Tuo who continued to smile. Then, the brunet began to frown. What was his teacher trying to do? Although Zero couldn't die from poison, the shock of having his teacher intentionally have him eat poison left him doubtful.

”How was it?”

”You tried to poison me.”