Short, Light, Free
chapter-38

Everyone was seated on the ground and I could only follow whatever they were doing.

My only consolation was that the liberal arts teacher was a lady. She handed us a stack of small booklets down.

I was taken aback by the thin parchment booklet of about ten pages.

I whispered to Ergou, “This is our textbook for a semester?”

“No, this is something we’ll have to practice daily until we reach the age of twenty.”

“Just these few pages? Practice them daily?” I repeated while flipping through the booklet.

Ergou stopped me. “What are you doing? There are only ten booklets available in the school. Don’t damage it! Teacher wrote them one by one.”

“Chill. Simple stuff. I’m done with it,” I replied, pushing his hand away.

“Stop bragging,” Ergou sneered.

I flipped over to the last page and read it twice. “There are only ten pages. How long do you think I’ll need?”

Unconvinced, Ergou stood up and informed the teacher, “Tiedan claims he’s already memorized the whole book.”

All eyes were on me. After a short pause, a deafening round of mocking laughter erupted.

The teacher shouted for the students to keep quiet but to no avail.

I raised my right hand and executed the steps written in the book.

A green wisp of air emerged.

Dead silence.

“Even bigger than Teacher’s.”

“Oh my god.”

Not knowing how to release that energy, I ran out of the classroom, found an empty space and flung it away.

An earth-shattering explosion sounded.

I was utterly shocked.

…

A year later, Mobei City Center.

First ever martial arts convention.

“Are you ready, Tiedan?” the muscular teacher asked, slapping my shoulder.

“Easy peasy.” I stood up and walked toward the elevated stage.

My competitor stood before me with a huge sword behind his back.

“Competition start,” the judge announced.

I extended both hands forward and ten green energy balls shot out, instantly intimidating my competitor.

He threw his sword down and ran off stage.

Rubbing my hands together, I exited the stage as well.

I had become a great master of the martial arts institution and I was the one who wrote all the textbooks.

“Competition’s about to start, Tiedan. I heard he’s a well-known great master too,” the muscular teacher informed.

I got up the stage.

My next competitor was an old man of significant aura and presence, generating two white balls of energy as he looked at me. “It’s not my business to tell, child, but I’ve been practicing for over five decades to reach this level of control. I’ve seen you fight. You do have some talent, so how about you surrender and bow to me, and I’ll accept you as my disciple and impart some tricks?”

I shook my head. “Do you know what’s the shape of the most solid energy, Sir?”

“What a joke. It’s circular of course. What else could it be? Don’t make me laugh,” the old man ridiculed.

I waved my hand and a triangular energy ball appeared.

It smashed onto the two milky white energy balls in his hand, causing them to explode.

The old man flew out of the stage.

“World’s first martial arts champion, Li Tiedan,” the host declared.”

The crowd cheered.

Satisfied, I left the stage and hugged Xiaomei. “I did it. Can I marry you now?”

Xiaomei smiled, nodding.

Three days later, the bridal room filled with ornamented candles.

“Xiaomei, I might not be from this world.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I lived in a different world from this. There are no martial arts there. People merely studied because their future depended on it. It’s completely different over here. Listen to me slowly,” I prepped her before relaying all that’s happened to me.

About entering university in order to make her my girlfriend and so on…

When I was done, Xiaomei was in a daze. After a short pause, she started, “Do you remember what happened when you were little, Tiedan?”

I shook my head.

She went on, “Before your parents passed away, you used to enjoy listening to the village storyteller’s stories.

“Really?” I asked, confused.

“You shared your favorite story with me every day. Something about a college entrance exam and excelling through studying,” she explained.

“What?” I was even more confused at this point.

“The story is about a child who fell from a tree and lost consciousness for three days and nights. He found himself in a different place when he woke up. There were tall buildings and cows made of galvanized iron. These cows could run without food and there are people inside bashing and colliding recklessly. The people were dressed in strange clothing. They can’t fight and had no kung fu,” she continued.

I stood rooted to the ground.

“When your father passed away, you cried for three days and three nights. You started speaking similar gibberish like how you had to study for a brighter future. Not wanting to anger you, I played along.”

“If what you said is true, why was I able to learn so quickly and understand the booklet’s content so easily? They are things I had to learn every day in the other world,” I rationalized.

“Then do you remember anything about your parents in that world? What about this world? The sudden loss caused you to suffer a temporal amnesia. You’re good with books because of your strong belief that that was the way to success. What do you think is real then? This world or the one where university is key to a good life?” Xiaomei asked simply.

“But in that world, entering university meant having you as my girlfriend…” I mumbled.

“I’m already your wife so why would you still think about that non-existent world?”

“You’re saying that it’s all my imagination? All false?” I questioned.

“Try recalling how your parents died if you don’t believe me.”

I started thinking about what was and what wasn’t. I had no recollection of my parents.

Xiaomei was still Xiaomei. I was studying kung fu instead of science and math.

In that world, I only had a small room and textbooks that I’ve long forgotten about.

This was the world that I’m consciously living in.

A world with my teachers. My students. My Xiaomei.

What’s real and what’s not, then?

Does it really matter?