To Live Is To Fight (#2)

Chapter 9

An hour later, I finished setting my things on a corner of the cabin. It wasn't dusty so that's a plus. Mr. Huang gave me a foldable bed, a pillow and a blanket to sleep with. It may not sound like much but it made a comfortable bed. Besides, I chose to go here so I can't exactly complain.

After I finished setting up, I stepped out of the cabin to meet Mr. Huang in the middle of the empty area. Trees surrounded the place and there was no trace of another living human nearby; perfect for some intense training for a couple of weeks. The sun was shining brightly over us being it was still 9:00 am.

I had my hair tied up and I changed into some black leggings and an oversized sleeveless shirt that I tied up just below the waistband of my leggings. I was barefoot and was praying to God that there were no sharp twigs and thorns that were going to go through my foot.

"There are 6 things that you have to master. The first thing is the faith you need to keep with you. Believe in yourself because you're the only who can change your faith. You need to want this more than anyone else. Second is focusing. Let's get started." Mr. Huang took out a foreign paper money from his pocket.

"You're going to drop this money and I am going to catch it just with my forefinger and thumb midair." He gave me the go and I did as he asked. Two seconds after the money left my grip, Mr. Huang's fingers caught it mid-fall. Well that was easy.

"Now, it's your turn." I shrugged and readied my finger, moving them like a crab's pinchers. Two seconds after it left Mr. Huang's grip, I snapped my fingers closed. I smiled in triumph before he clicked his tongue and pointed towards the ground. My smile faltered and I could feel a frown taking its place.

I could've sworn I caught that piece of shit. "Again," Mr. Huang declared and this time, I took it more seriously than the first time. Still, the paper money slipped through my fingers on the last second every time.

"Focus, Xiao Fu!" I groaned. He made it look so easy, this is so unfair.

"You just need practice now take a deep breath and set your eye on the paper." I followed his instructions and did as he told. When the paper didn't touch his fingers anymore, I snapped my fingers closed. I felt it graze my hand and almost squealed in excitement before it slipped right through from the small gap between my fingers and fluttered to the ground.
Mr. Huang had a small smile on his face, looking entertained by what was happening before him. I almost stuck my tongue out but bit it instead. "Again," he declared sternly.

After a few hours of doing that, I was finally able to snatch the paper before it touched the ground by just using my pointer finger and thumb. No words can describe the joy and how satisfying it was to feel the paper rustle under my fingers.

We took a small break, took small sips of water before getting back to it. Next, Mr. Huang took out a candle and a matchbox. Frowning, I pictured myself blowing the candle. But after those hours simply catch paper money from falling to the ground, I was a bit traumatized and I knew better than to expect anything easy.

This time, he ushered me into the cabin and placed the candle on top of a small plate on a table that was as tall as my abdomen. He closed all the windows and lit the candle.
'Okay now we're going to do some spiritual summoning, how nice.' My conscience remarked silently.

I rolled my eyes internally, snarky as always. Mr. Huang walked 5 steps away from the table and turned to face it. His eyes were slightly narrowed and before I knew what was happening, he parted his legs shoulder-width apart and folded his thumbs in while his other fingers were spread open. His back was straight and his hands were pushed against either side of his waist. With one deep breath, he threw his hand forward, fingers pointing the candle and all of a sudden the whole cabin turned pitch-black.