Bonus: Family Part II

As we learned earlier (in Chapter 5), 5 months had passed before Ms. Zhang saw King Zhang with his new queen. Let us explore what happened within those 5 months.

Month 1 (第一月)

“Let’s go fishing”, Mr Li said to Heixin.

“如果我教你怎么钓鱼的话，你从不饿。Well... 如果就我们今天不吃所有的鱼。呵呵呵”, stated General Li.

(If I teach you how to fish, you will never go hungry. Well, only if we do not eat all of the fish today! Hehehe)

The two went to a large lake and stood on the pier.

“你知道不道游泳？”, asked Mr. Li.

(Do you know how to swim?)

“知道”, answered Heixin.

(I know how)

Mr. Li nodded his head. The pair sat down and attached worms to their hooks and strings. The fishing rod was made out of bamboo.

Mr. Li showed Heixin how to lower the bait into the water and wait for a fish to bite.

Suddenly, Heixin’s fishing rod began to shake and move. She was surprised that it was happening! She quickly tried to reel in the fish, just like how Mr. Li showed her.

There were two fish stuck to each other on the hook!? 🎣

“太好了! 晚上我们可以吃”, complimented Mr. Li.

(That was very very good! Now we will have something to eat tonight)

They put the fish inside a sack and carried them home to cook and eat. Miss Zhang decided that she would prepare and cook the fish. She picked up a knife and was going to skin the fish and remove the bones. Miss Zhang almost had Vietnam flashbacks. She remembered what happened the last time that she picked up a knife.

“Uhhh... I will be leaving now...”, said Mr. Li, before he quickly escaped the kitchen.

When Miss Zhang turned around... the fish... they were gone!

“Huh... the fish are gone?”

Miss Zhang turned around again and—the fish were standing there on the floor; they were talking with her. Miss Zhang could not believe her ears and eyes.

“We mean you no harm and come in peace. We are an advanced species of fish that were created after the ‘Great Big Boom’. Some strange liquid spilled into our waters, and next thing you know, we began to be able to talk and walk”, explained the strange fish.

Miss Zhang could only stare in silence. She was filled with a powerful fear and amazement at the same time.

“We only wished to study you human beings and observe your behaviors, and it appears that you are not far from barbaric. . . Goodbye”, further explained the abnormal fish.

The fish walked away and they were never seen again.

There was no need to worry. Mr. Li already gave Heixin some money to go to the store and buy some pizza. It was not delivery; it’s Sigiorno’s

Month 2 (第二月)

Mr. Li remembered that Heixin was attacked and overpowered by the man who forced her to steal. He decided that he would train Heixin to be able to defend herself with a weapon. He taught her how to load arrows, pull back the bow, aim and fire.

Two weeks passed. “Today, I will teach you how to hunt. We will use these bow and arrows”, said Mr Li to Heixin.

The two headed out into the woods. Heixin and Mr. Li were quiet. They were listening and looking out for eatable animals. Suddenly, Heixin and General Li saw a strange fluffy panda. It began to dance!

“Wow... 那个是一个事儿你每天不看 😯”

(That is something you do not see everyday)

After its dance, the panda walked away. Next, Mr. Li and Heixin saw a deer, which appeared to have a shiny pink nose. Mr. Li told Heixin to do what he showed her during practice.

She loaded the arrow, pulled back the string and aimed at the deer just as Mr. Li showed her. She did not want the deer to suffer, so she aimed for the deer’s head. Unfortunately, Heixin missed by a hair.

The deer ran away. Heixin was disappointed with herself and her head sunk low. She wanted to prove herself to Mr. Li and make him proud.

“没关系。我们可以再做”, reassured Mr. Li, as he gave Heixin a head pat.

(Don’t worry about it. We may try again some other time)

Heixin blushed out of embarrassment. They returned home.

Month 3 (第三月)

Mr. Li thought it would be wise to teach Heixin some basic combat, so that she can defend herself without weapons.

They went out the backyard area of the hotel.

“Okay, first and foremost, you should always warm up.” Mr. Li began to get fired up. He began to pull in his arms into his sides and he yelled out, “Haaaaaaaaa!” It almost looked like his power level was increasing.

“I’m ready”, revealed Mr. Li.

“Next, you look your opponent in the eyes, point at yourself and say, ‘Come at me bro!’”

“Finally, you fight”, finished Mr. Li.

“Now, let me show you a few techniques.”

“Wow!”, exclaimed Heixin, as she watched Mr. Li’s amazing moves. Heixin practiced the techniques with Mr. Li for weeks. She did not fully master them, but she was pretty good.

Month 4 (第四月)

Lastly, Mr Li decided to show Heixin how to fight with swords ⚔️. He taught her how to guard, the proper stance and how to swing at her enemies.

Furthermore, he showed Heixin a special technique that he liked to call “Feint Attack”. In this technique, Mr. Li pretended to attack at an opponent’s right side, but then quickly attacked the person’s left side. The opponent would be vulnerable, since he would be guarding completely on his right.

After practicing all day, Mr. Li and Heixin sat down on the porch.

“Sometimes... war and violence will change men. They become filled with hatred. Maybe their friends or family were killed by the enemy. But at the same time, the enemy experiences the same.

Their families and friends were likely also killed. Pain and death are what makes us all equal. Therefore, always remember to show mercy. Your enemy is still a human. Heixin... you may not understand now... and I hope you do not ever have to... But always remember”, advised Mr. Li.

“Ye—yes”, agreed Heixin.

Once again, Heixin practiced for weeks with Mr. Li.

Month 5 (第五月)

“Are you trying to make her into a killing machine or something?”, asked Miss Zhang, with a skeptical look on her countenance.

“Maybe, I am. It would be great. She can beat up the next person who gets onions in my eyes”, replied Mr. Li with a side-eye towards Miss Zhang.

“Hmph! Anyways, I think I will teach her to be more ladylike. Give Heixin to me for a while”, requested Miss Zhang.

“Yeah, Yeah, sure”, agreed Mr. Li.

Miss Zhang, Heixin and Mr. Li went shopping. Heixin picked out a black and white hanfu (汉服). She tried it on and looked at herself in a mirror.

“你喜欢不喜欢这件黑色的?”, asked Miss Zhang.

(Do you like this black one?)

“我很喜欢”, replied Heixin.

(Yes, I like it a lot)

“很有意思。这件汉服提醒我关于你的名字。很可爱”, noticed Mr. Li.

(Interesting. This Hanfu reminds me of your name. Very cute)

Heixin (黑心) smiled. She was sitting on her throne, while she remembered the past. Mr. Li’s words reminded Heixin that even though her name meant she was destined to have a “black heart”, she did not have to walk a path filled with darkness and destruction. For, the darker Heixin’s heart was, the brighter she was able to shine, and the brighter was her smile.