The screaming northern wind mixed together with the flying snow that filled the air devastated and ruined the plains of this northern country as they fused the sky and the ground together. The border line could not be found and the bare trees were mournfully shrieking in the cold wind like a young girl.
The formerly noisy alleys seemed especially bleak and desolate. Very rarely would a person walk by. Occasionally, there would be a person fully equipped. From top to bottom they would be tightly covered and only revealing a pair of pitch-black eyes. They seemed like mysterious killers with masks, but their swelled cotton clothes and their thin bodies created obvious contrasts.
The winter of the north made people feel especially desolate, as if all the living were hibernating. The days of the water droplets forming into ice made people’s thoughts slow as well. If there weren’t many things to do, people would usually stay at home. Very seldom would they go out the door, so people also became lazier.
Within a short cottage, Suo Jia was silently sitting on top of a wooden bed. Both his hands were skillfully turning and a stream of water which was as thick as a finger was continuously passing between his hands. This was his only toy and it was also his closest companion.
Some quiet coughing sounds came from the room next door. Although it was obviously restrained, it still did not pass Suo Jia’s sharp ears. He slightly spread both of his hands, and the long stream of water went along Suo Jia’s hands and withdrew itself. It magically disappeared and could not be seen.
Nimbly jumping off the wooden bed, Suo Jia quickly walked out of the room. He went to the iron pot on the stove, and poured a cup of boiling water. Carefully holding it with both hands, he walked towards the room next door…
Within the room, a weak woman was leaning on a pillow without strength. Her right hand was pressing on her soft chest, her eyebrows tightly wrinkling. Her face was full of pain, but the instant Suo Jia pushed open the door, she quickly made all that vanish. The pain on her face disappeared in a flash, and her expression and attitude were like those made when awakening from a sleep from spring.
Lightly walking over in front of the bed, Suo Jia asked, “Mother…Is your illness better? Should we go ask for a doctor and take a look? It seems that your coughing is getting worse and worse these days.”
The woman warmingly extended her right hand and lightly stroked her son’s jet-black hair and lovingly, replying, “No need, no need…I’m fine; it’ll get better after a few days.”
Frowning, Suo Jia looked at his mother as he half believed and half doubted her words. He touched the cup with his left hand, and after checking the temperature, he moved the cup of water in front of the woman.
“Mother, drink some water. After drinking water, I want to hear you tell stories about father.”
Gratefully accepting the cup of water, the woman lightly sipped it, moistening her throat, then smiled and said, “You want to hear stories about father huh, no problem… But, you need to show me how your ability is. If you’ve trained well, I’ll tell the story to you!”
Suo Jia excitedly lit up his eyes. He spread his hands apart, and coiling around his body was an almost 10 meter long water stream that was as thick as his arm. It quickly appeared around Suo Jia’s body, and magically spiraled around Suo Jia.
While nodding, the woman expectantly looked as her precious son, “Okay, you can perform now. Let me see what state you have reached in your control of the water streams!”
Nodding, Suo Jia cleverly moved both his hands and confidently controlled the near 10 meter long water stream that was around his body. It playfully danced around, as Suo Jia had absolute confidence in his control in the water streams. From the day of his 5th birthday, after his mother had taught him this small game, he practiced every day. Up until today, it had been a whole 3 years. The water stream had already merged with him and became one. He could use it like his arms and however his heart wished to.
After a while, Suo Jia put away both his hands, and the long, faint-blue water stream slowly returned back into his hands and went missing. As he proudly looked at his mother, Suo Jia firmly said, “Don’t worry mother, I will be like father and become the greatest warrior!”
Hearing her son’s words, the woman bitterly nodded. Warrior? Was it possible for a water-type mage to be a strong warrior? She looked at her son with regret. She knew that because her son was a water-type, he was more suitable for being a mage. It would be very hard for him to have any achievements if his goal was to become a warrior. The delicate water streams had no way of harming the enemy. Even if the water was solidified into ice, it was impossible to go against warriors that controlled fire.
Walking next to the bed, Suo Jia took off his shoes, climbed into his mother’s bed and snuggled against his mother’s warm embrace. He acted like a spoiled child and said, “Okay mother, now…you can tell stories about father right?”