An Early morning.
Sunrise was getting late. It was still dark outside.
Whoosh!
One fist broke through the air. It went fast and straight, and stopped smooth and clean. This fist itself reflected peace.
Suddenly, whoosh! Boom! Pa!
The squatting position was calm and steady. The movement as quick as light, the kicking as swift as wind.
Zhang Zian wore a normal sports outfit, practiced conscientiously, started today's Chinese box session.
This was already becoming routine in the pet shop every morning and everyone was used to it. By everyone, it meant the elfins in the shop.
Old Time Tea was lying by the window, seeming not to care about Zhang Zian's boxing session. It looked out of the window, enjoying the morning. People who got up early were walking fast to their destinations, their breaths visible in the cold air. The city started to wake up.
It was sitting on a soft cushion, next to a cup of freshly made tea. The steam flew in the air, spreading the smell of tea throughout the room.
For Famous, the smell of the tea wasn't faint, it was strong. He had lived in the shop for quite a long time now and he could tell from the smell, how much tea leaves were in the cup.
Galaxy was playing with the American Shorthair, running up and down the stairs. They were having a good time. Sometimes the Abyssinian cat, Wendy, would join them.
Famous admired how Galaxy could play so freely. It admired, but not envied because Galaxy deserved this. He had died multiple times and it deserved to have fun, the world owed it a happy childhood.
Famous also felt sorry for Galaxy as they stayed in the black box for so long, so Galaxy never said yes to playing hide and seek. Galaxy's fear of death didn't make the game fun. Of course, the time in the black box was different and it was just a thing of the past. After Famous hacked and copied the memory, the real world became confusing.
So should it join game of hide and seek now? Famous still wasn't up for that. It can play games any time, but right now, it had more important things to consider.
Fina and Snowy Lionet went downstairs to take a nap before Zhang Zian started to practice boxing. They didn't like the flying dust and noise that came with boxing and they found it boring.
Someone was banging on the bathroom door and you can hear Richard yelling, "I'm done, let me out!"
Earlier, Zhang Zian got up and put the sleeping Richard into the bathroom and locked the door, so it wouldn't be able come out until after it was done. But, just like the last two days, Zhang Zian forgot about the grey parrot when he started boxing.
Famous walked to the door and unlocked it with its front paws, then pushed the door open.
Richard flapped its wings and out came an ugly smell.
"Thanks, bro! Thank you for letting me out!" It showed appreciation by landing on Famous's back. "That heartless Zhang Zian, I think he's sadistic!"
Famous shook its body, it didn't want Richard landing on it. The smell reminded it that the grey parrot just finished pooping, but didn't clean itself.
Richard didn't care at all. It flew to a pillow and made itself comfortable in the blanket, lying on one side with its wings covering its ears, and continued sleeping.
Whether it was playing, teaching or sleeping, it seemed like everyone was doing their own thing. Famous was the only one doing nothing. It was sleepy, but it couldn't sleep. The Tibetan Mastiff business kept it awake.
"Stop!"
Old Time Tea suddenly yelled.
Zhang Zian stopped. He kept the position he was in before Old Time Tea told him to stop. His feet were firmly on the ground, his left hand posed like he was playing the Chinese Lute while the right hand was in front of him.
Old Time Tea turned around. Its eyes reflecting the morning sun, shining like a diamond.
It said slowly, "The 'Palm Above the Neck Kill' emphasized on 'above.' What you did was 'chop,' you used too much strength. This move seems sharp, but you don't need too much strength. The magical thing about this move is that you use the strength of your enemy and make it yours. Then, when they lose balance, you use your right hand to hang onto their necks without giving them a chance to breathe or fight back."
Zhang Zian remained his position, thought about its words then nodded and replied, "I understand."
After that, he repeated the finishing pose and went back to the "Palm Above the Neck Kill."
Famous gazed at his movement. This time, his right hand moved slightly different. It was softer than before, the right palm slightly bent instead of sharply bent. Even to eyes of an outsider like Famous, it could see the peace in his fist.
After this, he stopped, thinking about the angle and strength of the position and kept it in his mind, then he tried it again. This time he did better, making it smooth and natural.
Old Time Tea touched its beard and smiled.
Famous found it strange that Old Time Tea didn't look at Zhang Zian, instead focusing on the hot tea the whole time. It seemed as if the tea held was whole other world. How did it know when Zhang Zian made mistakes?
It looked up and checked the wall clock. It was still early so they wouldn't be late for today's shooting.
There was a pot on the kitchen oven, the light blue fire licking the bottom. The pot was boiling, and the smell of stewed beef with potato filled the room.
The windows were pretty wide. They were bay windows, big enough for men to sit. It was obvious the former owner kept some flowers on the window sill as there were circle marks from the vases that were kept in the same position for years, and cleaning it did nothing.
Famous jumped to the windows and sat next to the cup of tea.
Old Time Tea didn't mind at all. The windows were big enough anyway.
Famous looked out, its nose accidently touched the glass. So cold!
"Old Time Tea, how did you know he made mistakes?" it asked curiously.
Old Time Tea didn't answer, but smiled and pointed at the cup between them.
"I'm not a tea person." Famous shook its head.
Old Time Tea slightly closed its eyes like it was sleeping.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Dong!
Zhang Zian kept practicing. The whoosh sound was him swinging his fists and the dong sound was him stomping on the floor.
Famous was a little drowsy. It laid down and put its chin on its front leg.
Dong!
Zhang Zian stepped on the floor again, then turned around and moved his fists in the opposite direction.
There seemed to be something shaking in Famous' vision.
It raised its head and pulled itself up, but didn't see anything moving. Besides Zhang Zian, everything inside the room was completely still.
Maybe it was a mistake.
It laid down again, left everything behind and planned to take a nap to save some energy for today's shooting.
Dong!
With Zhang Zian's stomp, something trembled again in its vision.
This time it saw it clearly!
Suddenly, Famous was not sleepy anymore, its eyes widening at the tea cup in surprise.
It was the tea leaves that shook.
Every step Zhang Zian took, would make the tea cup shake. If Famous put its head down at picked a different angle, it couldn't see cup.
Was this the thing that Old Time Tea wanted it to see?
After it noticed this, it started noticing more details.
The steam from the cup should have been moving straight, but it was disturbed by Zhang Zian's moves. With the air moving, the steam's directions kept changing, like a candle in the wind. The harder and faster he moved his fists, the more the steam moved as well.
Famous focused on Zhang Zian's movement and how it was mirrored by the steam and rippling water, as if there was a small guy dancing above the tea cup.
He understood now that Old Time Tea was looking at the cup to check to see if Zhang Zian was doing the moves correctly, to see if his steps were steady and stable.
Famous smiled with pleasure. Just when it was about to share its realization with Old Time Tea, Zhang Zian finished his morning session. The tea stopped rippling and reflected the brown eyes of Old Time Tea.
All of a sudden, Famous made eye contact with Old Time Tea through the tea's reflection.
The space around them started to twist. There was a huge whirlpool in the tea. Before Famous could react, it was curled in the whirlpool!
The whole world was spinning. The darkness came.
Famous's heart was beating fast, was it going back to that black box, to the endless darkness again?
Come on. This time it was prepared and wouldn't be as bad as the last time.
Famous temporarily lost consciousness. When it opened its eyes again, it found itself in a strange place. It was neither in the window of the second floor of the pet shop, nor the black box he stayed in with Galaxy.
Around it was a thick forest, bugs were beeping and the moon was in the sky.
A young guy was wandering the forest. He wore long clothes and a hat, but it was difficult to see his face.
When he walked to a empty spot, he stopped, and turned back slowly.
At this moment, Famous noticed there was a Dragon Li behind him, squatting in the distance, gazing at him.
"A Cha, are you sure you're not coming with me to Xiangjiang?" the young man asked.