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Loud roaring thunder, accompanied by never-ending rainfall. A ship that was close to succumbing to the ocean's waves. Yuanwu's hands tightly held onto the ropes, gritting his teeth while he tried to keep pulling the sail so the ship could turn back to the way he came from.
But no matter what he did, his strength never could match with the ocean's grasp. It never did.
It wasn't even close to begin with.
But Yuanwu wasn't going to give up. He knew what was going to happen like the back of his hand. This time he was going to try something different.
His heart pounded in his chest; he couldn't deny the anticipation surging all throughout his body while raindrops continued to trickle down his face.
This time, it'll work, he thought.
Amidst all the chaos of the thunderstorm that surrounded him, filled with nimbus clouds that resembled an ocean's whirlpool, anyone would've just kept fighting against its whims. That was what he did, too.
But this time, Yuanwu had to embrace the chaos unfolding right in front of him, slowly closing his eyes, letting go of the rope holding the ship's sail from his fingers.
He took a deep breath, his mind trying to focus only on his lungs' breathing and nothing else. What was once panicked, distressed and frustrated breathing slowly became composed, smooth and calm the more he let himself breath carefully.
Slowly, but surely, the raging thunderstorm that was once ready to strike and let him sink to the bottom of the ocean, were now clear, blue skies of daytime accompanied by drifting white clouds from where he was sitting.
What was once a ship he was standing on, was now a comfortable wooden chair and table, adorned with a simple yet elegant tea set right before him. He was now within a relatively spacious, yet open outdoor seating area, greeted by the familiar yet distant landscapes of Jinzhou right beside him – surrounded by countless rocky terrain and cliffs. Their only interconnection with the unfamiliar world outside being strong, sturdy bridges that were lit with lanterns in the evening.
Yuanwu let out a relieved breath, taking a cup of fresh Angelica tea from the table and slowly taking a sip, its aromatic scent easing his mind of all-too familiar doubts and worries that once plagued his head.
The sounds of Mimi's meowing and constant pawing at Yuanwu's face first thing in the morning was enough to wake him up from his slumber. Immediately getting up from his sleeping mat, he rubbed his eyes to try and wake himself up just a bit better, faintly chuckling at the sight of Mimi and giving her a gentle pat on the head, before walking to his small yet cozy kitchen and dining room to gather the dried fish he had stored for her. Without much effort, he put three of them onto her tiny cat dish and placed it on the ground, gently smiling at the sight of her excitedly gnawing on it with her teeth.
The rest of his morning routine went as usual – cleaning up after himself and doing his usual warm-up stretches and exercises for the day. As tempting as it was to sleep a little longer, Yuanwu knew he had a responsibility to uphold, and the least he could do was help his usual customers, both old and new.
Yuanwu set out to the gym right after quickly cleaning up the rest of his home, carrying all the necessities he needed, letting Mimi follow him while he set up the gym. This was at this point, just another thing he had to do, cleaning up the training equipment one by one, before finally settling down and relaxing with a boiling pot of Trine Tea, waiting with anticipation for countless visitors and customers of his gym.
The day was almost over, the hazy afternoon sunlight gently passing through the doors of the gym but there were still a few hours left to go. Some of the customers and visitors already left, most of the commotion being relegated to the Liuxian Teahouse just right across the street. Yeye and Jianxin were, as always, enthusiastic to coach their fellow gym members while also listening to some of Yuanwu's advice along the way.
One of the customers, however, seemed to be having problems of his own – Zhi, Yuanwu knew all of his customers by name, no questions asked.
Zhi was a recent customer, a teenager who wanted to take Yuanwu's kick-boxing classes in secret, at the cost of going against his family's wishes. Despite this setback, he was a relatively nice kid, often cooperative and energetic – eager to learn more, while also needing to work on proper stances and kicks, as the poor kid sometimes lost his balance in the middle of combat.
But today, Zhi was clearly not exactly in a good mood. He tried to hide it, but it was getting hard for Yuanwu to ignore how unbelievably uncooperative and frustrated he was.
“How about we take a bit of a break, Zhi?” Yuanwu gently asked, watching as Zhi struggled to properly time his punches with the wooden training equipment. “I think some tea would help you calm down just a bit–”
“No,” Zhi interrupted, frustration pouring out of his voice. He stood still with his fists curled up, quivering with uncertainty.
Yuanwu’s eyebrows furrowed. “What's wrong, Zhi?”
Zhi was staring at the ground. “I don't get it... why am I not getting any stronger? I've been putting everything into it today.”
Yuanwu walked right in front of him, gently putting his hands onto his shoulders. “Leihuangquan isn't just about getting stronger, Zhi. It's channeling your inner strength into each move, and it takes a lot of practice to be able to do such a thing.”
But deep down, he knew this had to be something else, and he knew it from the way mindlessly nodding along to what he was saying.
“Zhi, I wouldn't necessarily like to intrude, but you know that I'm here for you if you need someone to talk to. I promise.”
Zhi was quiet, his shoulders slightly tensed, but eventually, he caved in.
“Can we talk about this in the locker room, Master Yuanwu? I feel like I'm just going to bother everyone else in the room if I say it here.”
“Of course.” Yuanwu nodded, letting go of the teenager’s shoulders and accompanying him in the empty yet peaceful locker room of his gym.
Zhi wasted no time opening his own locker and stuffing whatever was in there in his sports bag. As soon as he closed the locker door, he stood there in silence, his shoulders beginning to quiver as he struggled to compose himself.
“Master Yuanwu, my parents found out I train here. I don't know how they found out, but... they said that they don't want me to continue training in this gym anymore.” His voice cracked a little, clearly he was going through a lot for someone his age. “But I don't want to stop coming here. I like it here.”
Yuanwu gestured to him to sit down right at the wooden bench near the lockers. “Why do they not want you to come here?”
“I don't know...” Zhi sniffled, trying to wipe any tears that escaped from his eyes off of his face as he sat down. He refused to look directly at Yuanwu. “They said that they can't trust you training me because of all the rumors circulating about you.”
Yuanwu tried to smile. This wasn't new to him, after all, he’d heard so many things about himself, amidst all the other rumors floating around Jinzhou. Sometimes knowing more than the average citizen provided enough benefits for him on whom he needed to keep an eye on.
“Well, regardless of what they think of me, I think whatever decision you want to go with matters more than what they think. They may be your parents, but you're still the one who's going to choose for yourself.”
“Whatever decision you choose, I'll respect it.” He added.
“...I don't really care what my parents tell me, honestly.” Zhi said with a sigh. “They keep telling me all kinds of things like you're someone they can't trust, that you’re a dangerous man because you resemble someone familiar? I don't know. It's just a bunch of nonsense.”
“How do you even go about your day with all these kinds of rumors circulating around you, Master Yuanwu?” He added, letting out a clearly exhausted sigh.
“At some point, you just get used to it.” Yuanwu shook his head. “People are even asking me about what’s in my flask, it’s par for the course that everything else about me would be talked about.”
Zhi snorted. “That’s true.”
“Do you really want to continuing staying here at the gym as my student? Because I’d be happy to arrange things and talk to your parents in a one on one conversation if you truly want to stay here and train. I’m sure we’ll work something out.”
“You’re really going to do that?”
“If you’re willing to. I’m not going to impose it if you don’t want me to.”
“I’ll think about it, Master Yuanwu.” Zhi replied, shaking his head and standing up from the bench, slinging his sports bag over his shoulder. “But thank you for letting me talk to you about it.”
Yuanwu gently smiled, standing next to him and walking him out the locker room. “Of course, Zhi. There’s no problem at all. I’d do it for any customer of mine.”
Inevitably, what was once a hazy, calm afternoon turned into a peaceful night filled with little stars up in the sky. The rest of the customers the gym had for the day were packing up and leaving, with Yuanwu cleaning up after the tea sets he had served for them, filled with nothing but teacups and a few rice cakes he was happy to share with them. It was a nice reward for getting through the day.
Jianxin, who was still there, was putting on her shoes so she could finally head back to her home that resided in the mountains.
“Be safe on the way back.” Yuanwu gently reminded her, glancing over to her seat while wiping the tables with a wet cloth in hand.
Jianxin chuckled, standing up from her seat, her smile confidently carved onto her face as always. She crossed her arms and lightly pushed his arm. “Mr. Yuanwu, I’ll be fine.”
“Force of habit, I suppose.” Yuanwu shrugged, simply cleaning up the rest of the tables and putting them onto the sink, rolling up his sleeves to start washing them by hand one by one.
Jianxin, setting back the chair she came from, stretched her shoulders one last time.
“Well, then, I should get going. Good night, Mr. Yuanwu.”
Yuanwu nodded. “Good night, Jianxin. Safe travels.”
“I know.”
With Jianxin heading back home, Yuanwu was left with nothing but the peace of the empty gym. As much as he liked how fiery, active and outgoing the gym was during the day, he admittedly also liked it when the noise finally died down, left with nothing but peace, space and quiet for ruminating.
Thankfully, Yuanwu was done with cleaning up the gym – it was a daily part of his routine, after all, but soon, he was greeted with a familiar voice he was sure he had heard a million times already.
His voice echoed throughout the empty gym, accompanied by enthusiastic meowing from what sounded like cats. Yuanwu already knew who it was. Who couldn’t it be?
“Uncle Yuanwu! Good evening!”
“Good evening, Lingyang. Did you have fun at the lion dance?”
“Yep! I’m kind of tired, but I wanted to come by to ask you for some dried fish. I had some on me, but well...” Lingyang trailed off, a chuckle escaping out of his lips while he scratched his ear, revealing Mimi, Lihwa, and two other cats he hadn’t properly named yet. “...do I even have to say anything?”
Yuanwu let out a chuckle, drying his hands from washing everything he needed to clean up and rolling down his sleeves. “It's alright. I still have some leftover dried fish around for you, if you still want some.”
“Awesome! I knew I could count on ya.”
Yuanwu gently smiled, gesturing to the young man to walk by his side. “Come with me, then. I’m just about to close up the gym. Right after that, we could stop by my home so you could get some dried fish.”
Lingyang nodded, his smile chipper as ever. “Right on!”
After entertaining some small talk with Lingyang right in front of his house, eventually he had to go back home, too. He was gently petting all of the street cats their farewells, before eventually politely greeting Yuanwu, running off into the streets of Jinzhou before dark. Yuanwu couldn’t help but smile at the sight, but at the same time, he was relieved that he didn’t need to work up much of his remaining energy anymore.
Most of the cats wandered off to their own business, Lihwa wandering off back to the Liuxian Teahouse, and the other two cats playing with each other. Yuanwu didn’t mind not bothering them; in fact, cats really preferred to be left alone most of the time, anyway. They had this sense of mutual respect for each other's space, which was endearing to him.
The last cat, Mimi, simply sat by Yuanwu, staring at him with eager, curious eyes, almost as if begging him to go back home for the night.
“Let’s go?” Yuanwu softly spoke to her.
She meowed back.
“Alright. It’s been a long day, after all.”
Going back home was just nothing more than another chore to tick off Yuanwu’s mental to-do-list. Everything seemed to be in place, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, as far as he could tell, anyway. Taking off his shoes, hat and coat was not much of a problem. After letting Mimi in, he closed the door shut, letting out a deep breath he desperately needed to escape out of his lungs.
Maybe he just needed some tea to relax himself a little. It never failed him, it was always his go-to whenever he felt this twang of uncertainty within him in these moments. Thankfully, his flask already had his tea prepared for him, so he didn’t need to expend more energy boiling another pot of water right at the stove.
While he took a sip of his tea, his mind began to wander; as it always did. Mostly he thought about the day’s events, and left it at that. The future wasn’t something he’d rather worry about, not when it was something out of his control, while the past can never be something he could change, as much as he wished he could.
But somehow, there was this gnawing sense of dread that started to form within his chest. It was what Zhi said – not because of the rumors about him, Yuanwu barely had the energy nor sense to really care about what people thought about him anymore – but rather, he was troubled with the idea of figuring out how to properly untangle this situation he’d been roped into.
Conflicts like these weren't new to him. In fact, plenty of his clients and customers had their own personal struggles and things they worried about, with him willing to help them out in any way he could, no matter how impossible it seemed to be from their perspective. Yuanwu promised himself that he’d never show the trouble he went to for them; mostly out of respect and courtesy. He doubted anyone would really feel good about the good deed they’ve done, knowing the hoops and pain they’ve withstood to make it happen.
But alas, that still meant that he was the one who had to pick up the pieces, the one who was going to figure this out on his own. The one who had to be burdened with the task of needing to think things through, over and over, up until he’s finally content with the decision he decided to go with.
What would Zhi’s parents even tell me? Yuanwu thought. How were they going to handle this situation?
Because as much as he generally knew everyone in Jinzhou, it was a city that constantly changed with the times, with new people coming back and forth. It was going to be impossible to keep a tally on everyone. All he could gauge from them is that Zhi doesn’t entirely have a good relationship with his family members, but surely that couldn’t be the whole story.
Would the parents be the type of people who were just merely concerned with their child’s well-being? Were they extremely strict and hands-on with Zhi? Or were they going to pester Yuanwu with many questions about his past? How much did they truly know about him? Were they people who simply listened in to the rumours and gossip that circulated, or did they know more than what they’d let on? How was he going to handle all of this, without jeopardizing Zhi’s training progress and his relationship with his parents, while making sure Yuanwu himself never came off as if he’s denying or confirming the rumors around him–
“Meow?” Mimi meowed, pawing at his leg on the ground, snapping him out of his thoughts immediately. She quickly jumped right on top of his lap, carefully pressing her paws against the fabric of his pants before she finally was comfortable enough to curl up into a ball and rest.
Yuanwu didn't know how to react to this for a second, but he appreciated the gesture, gently stroking Mimi’s fur with his hand, softly chuckling to himself. Mimi always did this whenever he was stressed out about a lot of things. He didn’t know why she was like this, specifically. Lihwa and the other street cats certainly weren’t like this, but perhaps it helped that Yuanwu took Mimi in when she was still a kitten, and had her stick around with him since then. Maybe she just knew his wavelength enough to know what he was thinking about.
As Mimi quickly stretched her legs and readjusted her position in his lap with a yawn, Yuanwu also realized that he was getting tired, too. It was getting late now, after all, he had a gym to open the next day and customers to help. Whatever he had to worry about for the next day was up for him to figure out, and he knew that deep down, he could trust himself and be content with whatever decision he went for.