Ch12 - Shi Ni (2/2)
Yu Hao always felt that after they went back that day, Shi Ni was beaten by her father. Also, ever since their first lesson together, he realised that this kid couldn’t focus very well and didn’t like to talk — just like how he was during his junior high days.
“Maybe her parents are the type to quarrel all the time?” Yu Hao recalled Shi Ni’s family situation. Most of the time, there would only be a nanny around. Mr. Shi seldom appeared, and Shi Ni’s mother had actually never even showed up once.
The Mala Xiangguo was served. Zhou Sheng said, “Kids who grow up in a family where their parents are fighting all the time should be like me.”
Yu Hao, “……”
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Zhou Sheng indifferently said, “Very aggressive. My dad and mum have been fighting since I was a kid, and they would fight like hell. Aside from exchanging blows with each other, they would hit me too. And they would use a belt to whip me like they were whipping a spinning top……you’re laughing? The hell you laughing at!”
When Yu Hao heard Zhou Sheng’s vivid analogy, a scene surfaced in his mind of his dad whipping him like a spinning top as he spun round and round, so he really couldn’t help but laugh.
“I was a spectator and had to endure their beatings, so now that I’m all grown-up I like to hit other people too.”
Yu Hao didn’t expect Zhou Sheng to actually talk about his past right now.
“So I went to learn boxing. I wanted to beat my Dad to death. In the end, the two of them finally got divorced.” Zhou Sheng said, “Thank god, they don’t need to torture each other anymore.”
“So you need to restrain yourself a bit.” Yu Hao said, “You can be a bit impulsive sometimes.”
“Who doesn’t understand the theory behind that?” Zhou Sheng said, “But I can’t help it, I’m too used to it. People don’t like me either.”
Yu Hao said, “I like you. I like you a lot.”
Zhou Sheng blushed, then motioned to Yu Hao to ask him to eat.
That night, Zhou Sheng gave Yu Hao another huge pile of clothes. It was the weekend today; his roommates either went to look for their girlfriends to get a room, or played games to join Christmas events. Yu Hao could only stay in his dorm to wash clothes, and thought that it was a plausible idea to open a dormitory laundry shop where he would wash his schoolmates’ clothes and earn some living expenses on the side. His tuition fees cost 12 000, and he didn’t know when he would be able to earn that amount of money. He didn’t even know how he was going to survive the period between New Year’s Day and Spring Festival right now.
He was already poor in the first place, and now he even had to exchange his time for money. Poverty really stifles ambition……Yu Hao was extremely envious of those students who didn’t need to work. They didn’t need to worry about their food and clothing, and could spend all their time in the library to gain new knowledge and broaden their horizons. Meanwhile, he had to run around everywhere just to survive, and he would be so exhausted after work that he wouldn’t have any surplus energy to expend on studying or extra-curricular activities where he could broaden his own horizons.
In the long run, this would become a vicious cycle. The rich could buy more time with money, so they would be able to progress further and further, while their standard of living would get better and better; on the other hand, the poor exchange their time for money. As they struggle in their quagmires, they sink deeper and deeper into it, and they would face more and more troubles. Yu Hao has always been thinking of a way to break free from his circumstance, or else he would gradually get sucked into this quagmire with each step he took. First of all, he had to free himself from working day in and day out every year to earn his living expenses and tuition fees.
Why is it so cold? Yu Hao’s blanket was yanked away by someone, and immediately afterwards a golden light fell upon him. Within his dream, he could feel himself rushing towards the sun involuntarily. The sun grew bigger and bigger, then a tremendous strength pulled him into the sun by force; the scene in front of him fell into complete darkness within an instant.
And in the next moment, innumerable slippery tentacles entangled themselves around him.
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“Let go of me——!” Yu Hao shouted, “What is this?!”
A strong wind suddenly blew, and he found himself in a dark world. Some unknown creature was strangling him ruthlessly until he was unable to breathe, then it dragged him into an icy cold snowfield.
“Hit its……joint……” A voice said weakly.
Yu Hao couldn’t tell where he was because it was so dark he couldn’t even see his fingers, but the moment he heard that familiar voice, Yu Hao suddenly remembered it!
General?
“General!!”
General’s voice was fleeting; Yu Hao’s hands had been pulled straight as he was suspended in the air. In the next moment, a large, round mouth filled with spiralling teeth dripping with mucus opened up right in front of him, then it emitted a hurricane-like sound wave!
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Yu Hao, “……”
Yu Hao had countless fleeting thoughts, including ‘why am I here, what is this place……my weapon……weapon!’
Weapon!!!
The moment he had that thought, he immediately felt his staff appear in his hand! He tried his best to retract his hand, but the tentacles around him suddenly gave him a good yank as if they wanted to tear his limbs apart! He held his staff in his hands and exhausted all his strength — a bright, white light instantly burst forth from his staff.
The light was dazzling; the huge monster roared and withdrew all its tentacles, then flung Yu Hao onto the ground. Every inch of the ground was covered in snow; Yu Hao struggled to flip over in the snow and crawled up, then ran towards that monster and shouted, “General!”
He took his staff apart and turned them into two bronze daggers, then wielded one in each hand. The white light from his daggers illuminated the heavens and the earth, so he managed to clearly see what the monster looked like.
Where is this? The South pole? He was surrounded by a vast expanse of snow that covered ten thousand miles, and a layer of ice cracked loudly as it broke apart. That monster was a sea monster that looked like a lamprey2: its round and swarthy body was ten metres long; it was surrounded by dozens of giant python-like bodies that were protruding out and half their bodies floated above the snow. Its mouthpart was filled with rows of sharp teeth packed densely together that spiralled round and round, and deep down in its throat, its scarlet flesh walls squirmed constantly.
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Hundreds of eyes lined the perimeter of its mouthpart in a circle and they could be seen looking at Yu Hao. Those tentacles were like the heads of snakes: they wrapped around a struggling body in its midst — one tentacle pulled on his head while the other tugged on his feet, and within an instant they were about to twist its captive into two halves!
“General——!” Yu Hao flew forward as he flung his daggers out.
Both daggers were released from his hand; they circled around in the air and nailed the two tentacles that were grabbing General with a whoosh! The sea monster immediately faced the skies and roared like crazy; all of its tentacles waved about, the snowfield exploded and the layer of ice below it broke apart as sea water spewed out — the monster quickly sank into the pitch-dark seabed!
“General” fell down onto the snow. Yu Hao stepped through the snow as he made his way over as quickly as he could. He rushed to the place where General had fallen onto and began groping around in the snow.
Yu Hao, “???”
He felt like he had a grabbed a furry hand that was dripping wet.
Yu Hao, “……”
“General?” Yu Hao forcefully pulled him out and dragged out half a hairy body covered in ice shards, then continued to drag the rest of his body out of the snow. General spewed out a mouthful of seawater and sprayed it all on Yu Hao.
Yu Hao, “!!!”
A huge monkey that was nearly two metres tall went limp as it laid on Yu Hao’s body.
Yu Hao was dumbfounded. He dragged the huge monkey to a safe place.
That monkey adorned a golden circlet on his head. Its whole body was drenched, and it had furry hands and feet. It was clad from head to toe in a strange armour: its shoulder plate and waist plate had covered half its body but its skinny, downy underbelly was exposed. The monkey was wearing a pair of dark red martial trousers, the cloth around its knees was torn and one of its martial boots had fallen off. On an area that wasn’t covered in armour below its ribs, a gash about ten centimetre long could be found where blood was gushing out from nonstop. It had dyed the surrounding snow in a crimson red.
Yu Hao became anxious again. He pressed down on the wound below the monkey’s ribs and said, “General? Is it you?!” As he spoke, he looked back at the cracked ice and thought, the one who fell from above just now should be him!
The monkey opened his eyes a little and said weakly, “Give me……your strength……”
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When Yu Hao heard that, he knew that it was General within an instant!
Yu Hao closed his eyes, muttered to himself, then pressed his hands against the wound below the monkey’s ribs. The white light that was emitted from his palms infiltrated the monkey’s entire body, and the wound began to miraculously close up!
With a face full of doubt, Yu Hao raised both his hands up and looked at his palms, then murmured, “What happened?”
The monkey began to cough violently. Yu Hao quickly helped him to sit up. He couldn’t stop panting as he looked at Yu Hao, then he wearily broke out into a wide grin. His canine teeth were exposed as he began to laugh.
Yu Hao suddenly broke out into laughter too. His eyes were filled with joy as he suddenly hugged him.
“This is so great! I get to see you again!” Yu Hao shouted.
“It hurts——!” The monkey shouted frantically, “My leg’s broken! Be gentler!”
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Afterwards, the monkey instructed Yu Hao on how to connect his fractured leg together, then made use of his healing powers to recover. The clanking sounds of ice could be heard in the distance. The winds had stopped, and the black sea water was rushing into the cracks wave after wave. Yu Hao asked, “What exactly is this place?”
“A dream of course.” The monkey scrutinised him with a weird look as he answered.
Yu Hao said, “But……how did you become like this?”
The monkey rubbed his head and answered, “I still look ok ba?”
Yu Hao laughed and said, “What should I call you?”
The monkey answered, “Just call me General. Let’s go look around in the snow for my boot, and my sword.”
Yu Hao found General’s martial boot and asked him to wear it, then found a sword in the water which General carried on his body. Then General said, “Lend me your arm.” Yu Hao quickly let him hold his shoulder as he used it to struggle up.
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“What if I carry you on my back?”
“I’m much better now.” General said, “That monster was too powerful, let’s get out of here first.”
Yu Hao scanned their surroundings and realised that they were in the middle of a vast snowfield — it was like an Arctic version of the word ‘barren’. There were mountain ranges in the distance underneath the pitch-black curtain of the night; the black reefs on the mountain bared their fangs and brandished their claws as if they were evil spirits.