2 Month of Dragons (1/2)
Year 526 Mu Dynasty
-
”Master! Your child has been born!”
”W...What! Granny Xu said that the child won't come for another month!”
”Come and see if you don't believe me!”
Xin Mu was a village chief of a remote village in the mountains. He was built strong as an ox from his laborious days as a hunter when he was young. Now he spends his days overlooking all aspects of the village. Although he was strict, he was beloved by many for his strong sense of justice.
Xin Mu hurried back home to welcome a new member into his family. Inside a small wooden hut, cries of a child could now be heard.
”Honey, look isn't he cute?”
Xin Mu stared into the eyes of his beautiful wife and slowly looked down to see his child. The child was significantly smaller than all the other newly born infants he had seen in his life. The complexion of the child was light with a rose tinge. The child giggled a bit before starting to cry again.
”Is it a boy or a girl?”
”Boy.”
Xin Mu's eyes lit up. He had long awaited the day when he could have a successor to inherit his responsibilities. As a man in his forties, he is considered a bit old to be a father and had long grown out of his prime. Being a man of the mountains, death could come at any moment and his time was almost up.
”Xin Fan....His name will be Xin Fan”
”That's a wonderful name. Do you want to hold him?”
”Of course my dear wife.”
Xin Mu let out a warm smile before cradling the infant in his arms. Little did he know, that infant would grow up greater than he ever imagined.
-
-
-
A few years later
-
A young 5 year old boy sat on a bench outside a hut eating a piping hot meat bun. Next to him sat an aged man with bulging muscles, a remnant of his younger days.
”Father... When can I be as strong as you?”
”Well... When father was young, he would eat a leg of meat every day while exercising for hours.”
”B.But I do that too and I am still weaker than the other kids.”
The man patted the boy on his head and let out a big grin.
”Well, I guess you just have to train harder. No amount of talent can defeat pure effort.”
”You say that every time.”
”I say it because it is true”
Xin Mu stood up from the bench and had a stretch.
”Son, the month of the dragons is coming soon right?”
”It starts the day after tomorrow.”
I see...so the time has arrived...oh how time has passed.
”Son go and play with the other children. Remember to be back by dinner!”
”I'll be fine father.”
-
The energetic child ran towards a house in the distance next to some rice fields. There stood a chubby boy around the same age practicing swordplay with a wooden bat.
”Hey Luo Bao, lets have a race.”
”No way! You always cry when I win and then aunt Qiu will scold me.”
”I won't cry this time.”
The boy looked up with eyes of anticipation. Finally Luo Bao gave up and complied with the boy's request.
”As usual around the paddy, I will give you a head start of 10 seconds.”
3
2
1
Go
The little boy dashed forwards. For a child, he was surprisingly fast and quickly reached a third around the rice paddy by 10 seconds. Then the chubby boy started to move. The start was slow and it seemed as if he was not moving at all. However soon, the chubby boy was moving at high speeds quickly overtaking his rival at the last second.