There’s a big snowy mountain behind the Shengling sect. The top is covered in snow all year round. Shengling sect has a manor on top of the mountain called Fengxueshan (wind snowy mountain) manor. No one lives in the manor. It’s only used for martial arts purposes.
Shifu said that since he’s teaching me martial arts, we’ll do it at the manor. He said that the air there is better for practicing. But climbing a mountain is already a challenge for me. I tried for half a month, but there isn’t a time in which I reached the top. Often when I reached halfway, I would just sit onto the snow and won’t get up. Shifu will then squeeze my face; I’ll just look at him blankly. Finally, it’s always shifu, who’ll piggyback me back down the mountain.
One time shifu was really angry. He pinched me really hard and said: “You are doing this on purpose, aren’t you?! Is this training you or training me, ah?! Today, I’ll not piggyback you. If you can go down the mountain, then go down. If you can’t go down, then you can continue to sit here!”
After saying that, he left. I obediently sat there, from noon till evening. I then watched the moon climbed onto the mountain.
I was hungry and my legs were numb. The moon turned from one to two then to three and finally, it shook brightly. I closed my eyes, wanting to sleep. Just as I was about to lie down someone picked me up.
“Fool!”
While cursing, that person cleaned the snow on my back.
I sniffed. It’s the smell of shifu, warm and clean like the first ray of sunshine.
I subconsciously clung to his shoulder in a warm hug. My head rubbed on his neck.
“Shifu, really cold.”
“If it’s cold, don’t you know how to stand up and walk?!”
“Before I was too tired to walk, then I was too hungry to walk and then shifu said I have to sit…”
Shifu was silent for a long time. Finally, he laughed: “You’ve become so obedient now.”
“I know that shifu will come back to me.”
I faintly closed my eyes.
“Can we not train like this anymore?”
I didn’t hear if shifu answered or not.
A bit later, I heard many voices. I heard a hoarse voice said: “Shaozhu, you…you were too reckless this time. You abandoned a five- six year old baby girl at a mountain. Getting a cold is nothing, but if she gets eaten by a beast…”
“Isn’t she lying here safe and sound? What are grumbling about? Just do your treatment!”
“I mean, if she gets sick or injured, aren’t you the one who’ll be the most uncomfortable…”
“Who is uncomfortable?! Go, go, I don’t want your treatment anymore, too talkaktive!”
When I woke up again, I was lying on shifu’s bed. Shifu was sitting with a lifeless face next o me. Seeing that I’ve woken, he pressed his hand on my forehead. He was silent for a long time and then took his hand back. He turned his head and said: “Really…really useless! Lying in bed for three days just because of a little cold. Hmpf…”
I still didn’t understand what he meant, but since shifu is unhappy, it must be because of something I did wrong. I grabbed shifu’s hand, afraid that he’ll turn away and leave like that day.
“Shifu, I’m sorry.”
“What do you know……”
He didn’t finish speaking, gritted his teeth and turned his head again to not look at me.
“Your body is too weak. After you get better, learn some basic martial arts first with the others. Later, if you can climb the mountain on your own, then we’ll go practice there.”