Re-birth: The Beginning after the End - Chapter 115

Chapter 115: INTRO TO YOGA

When the food was finally ready, both brothers fell silent, drawn by the familiar scent of home cooking despite its unusual preparation.

The siblings settled onto the high stools at the marble kitchen island, steam rising gently from heaping bowls of rice and various dishes laid out across the polished surface. Li Wei took a moment to study the strange smooth counter-top one last time before their meal, while Li Hao had to adjust his position twice, unused to the height of the modern seating. Finally, they eagerly reached for their chopsticks.

“Sister,” Li Hao said between enthusiastic bites, momentarily forgetting his attempts at mature behavior, “this is even better than breakfast!” He was already halfway through his first bowl of rice, chopsticks moving rapidly between the dishes of meat and vegetables.

Li Wei paused in his careful documentation of the meal’s “unprecedented cooking techniques” to give their younger brother a look of disapproval at his pace, though he himself was eating with quiet but steady determination. “Your manners are questionable, but,” he admitted, reaching for another helping of rice, “the food is exceptional.”

Li Hua watched them eat with quiet satisfaction. After the afternoon’s cultivation session, their bodies needed the substantial meal to replenish their energy. She had deliberately prepared plenty of rice and heartier dishes, knowing both her eldest brother’s hidden appetite and her second brother’s more obvious one.

“There’s more rice in the pot,” she said, pouring more spirit water into their cups as Li Hao eyed the remaining food. “And yes, you can have thirds. Growing warriors need to eat.”

“See?” Li Hao grinned triumphantly at Li Wei, already holding out his bowl. “Sister understands!”

“Understanding your appetite doesn’t excuse your table manners,” Li Wei couldn’t resist adding, though his dignity was somewhat undermined by the way he was still fidgeting with his compression shirt’s collar while reaching for another helping himself.

“What’s next after this?” Li Hao asked around a mouthful of rice, earning another disapproving look from Li Wei.

“First, we’ll take a walk to help digest the food,” Li Hua said, watching her brothers finish their meals. A slight smile played at her lips as she added, “Then I want to teach you both some exercises that will help with tomorrow’s training. It’s called yoga.”

Both brothers paused mid-bite to stare at her.

“Yo…ga?” Li Wei tested the foreign word carefully, his instincts already trying to analyze its etymology. “Is this another one of your mysterious techniques? Like the possessed clothing?”

“Sister,” Li Hao’s eyes narrowed with playful suspicion, “if this is anything like those strange shoes with their ‘gripy tape’, maybe we should—”

“It’s just stretching and breathing exercises,” Li Hua cut in, though she couldn’t quite hide her amusement at their reactions. She had a feeling teaching her brothers downward dog was going to be just as entertaining as their earlier adventures with modern athletic wear.

After their digestive walk around the courtyard, Li Hua led her brothers back to the training room with its mirrored walls. She couldn’t help but notice how Li Wei was already reaching for his writing materials, no doubt preparing to document another “mysterious cultivation technique.”

“First, we’ll start with something simple,” she said, demonstrating a basic mountain pose. “Just stand straight, feet together, arms at your sides.”

Her brothers mimicked her stance, though Li Hao couldn’t resist bouncing slightly on his toes. “This doesn’t seem so strange—”

“Now watch,” Li Hua interrupted, moving smoothly into a forward fold. Both brothers stared as she bent forward, touching her palms to the floor while keeping her legs straight.

“Sister,” Li Wei’s voice carried a note of concern, “I don’t believe the human body is meant to—”

“The spine isn’t supposed to—” Li Hao started at the same time.

“Just try it,” Li Hua encouraged, straightening up. “Bend forward slowly, and it’s fine if you can’t touch the floor yet.”

What followed was perhaps the most entertaining display she’d seen since the compression shirt incident. Li Wei approached the pose with precision, analyzing every angle as if it were a complex formation array, while Li Hao—despite his flexibility—seemed convinced the pose was some sort of combat technique and kept trying to turn it into a fighting stance.

“Brother, it’s not an attack position,” she said, trying not to laugh as Li Hao somehow managed to transform a simple forward bend into what looked like a charging bull stance. “Just let your upper body hang forward.”

“But what’s the tactical advantage of exposing your back to—”

“And Li Wei,” she turned to her eldest brother, who had produced a jade ruler from somewhere and appeared to be measuring the precise angle of his bend, “you don’t need to calculate the exact degree of the fold.”

As she guided them through more basic poses, their reactions only grew more entertaining. When she demonstrated downward dog, Li Hao’s eyes went wide.

“Sister! Your strange clothes are strong enough to keep you decent even upside down!”

Li Wei, meanwhile, had completely given up any pretense of dignity and was frantically sketching what he termed “unprecedented bodywork formations” in his notes, though his own attempt at the pose looked more like a bow gone wrong.

“This is just the beginning,” Li Hua said, hiding her smile as she helped adjust their poses. “Wait until we try warrior pose.”

“There’s a warrior pose?” Li Hao perked up immediately, while Li Wei looked increasingly concerned about what other “impossible body configurations” his sister had in store for them.

“Now, for warrior pose,” Li Hua demonstrated, smoothly stepping one foot back and bending her front knee. She raised her arms parallel to the ground, maintaining perfect balance.

Li Hao’s initial excitement quickly turned to confusion. “That’s it? Where’s the fighting stance? The power position?” He attempted to copy her pose but somehow added a series of combat movements that nearly sent him tumbling. “Maybe if I add a kick—”

“Brother, please stop trying to turn every pose into an attack,” Li Hua said, steadying him. “The warrior poses are about strength and balance, not actual combat.”

Meanwhile, Li Wei was studying her stance with intense concentration, his mind clearly trying to understand the principles behind these strange positions. “Sister, perhaps if we analyzed the energy flow patterns—”

“Brother,” Li Hua interrupted gently, “just try to feel the stretch instead of analyzing it.”

“But there must be a systematic approach to these positions—”

“Is this truly a warrior pose without a sword?” Li Hao cut in, still trying to incorporate combat moves.

Li Hua watched as her second brother wobbled precariously in his modified stance while her eldest brother seemed more focused on memorizing each detail than actually performing the pose. She couldn’t decide which was more entertaining—Li Hao’s determination to make every pose battle-ready or Li Wei’s attempt to turn yoga into another subject for scholarly study.

“Perhaps,” she said diplomatically, hiding her amusement, “we should try child’s pose next. It’s a resting position—”

“Resting?” Li Hao looked offended at the very concept. “Warriors don’t rest! We should do more warrior poses. Maybe with some jumping—”

The resulting crash and Li Wei’s detailed observation about “proper movement progression” made Li Hua wonder if perhaps she should have started with something less foreign.