Re-birth: The Beginning after the End - Chapter 35

Chapter 35: BÀBA’S TRAINING PART 1

After their mother helped them change into their practice robes and shoes, the siblings stepped into their courtyard where their father was already stretching.

“Come, my little warriors! Let’s begin!” He shouted, a mischievous smile forming on his face.

The siblings ran over to where he stood, watching attentively as their father began to demonstrate the morning exercises. “Follow me,” he instructed, his voice carrying both authority and warmth.

“When stretching, don’t just do them willy nilly. Stretch your muscles properly and with purpose,” he demonstrated, moving his arms in slow, deliberate arcs. “Each movement prepares your body for what’s to come.”

Li Hua watched intently and followed his movements, stretching deeply. She could feel the lingering soreness from her training last night but kept her face carefully neutral as she matched her father’s routine.

After a few moments, her father led them into a slow jog toward the foot of the mountain. The terrain here posed a different challenge than her spiritual space—instead of the flat, predictable ground she’d trained on the night before, the mountain path rose steadily upward, demanding more from her already tired muscles.

“My little warriors, repeat after me!” their father called out cheerfully. “Little feet strong and light!”

“Little feet strong and light!” the siblings echoed, their young voices carrying in the morning air.

“Running mountain paths so bright!”

“Running mountain paths so bright!”

“One-two-three we go!”

“One-two-three we go!”

“Like rabbits through fresh snow!”

“Like rabbits through fresh snow!”

Her brothers fell into an easy rhythm beside her, their breathing steady as they followed their father’s pace. Li Hua noticed how Li Hao, always the more athletic of the two, seemed to move with natural grace, while Li Wei’s movements were more measured and deliberate. She adjusted her own pace carefully, making sure to show just enough effort to match what would be expected of a child her age.

The morning air was crisp and clean, carrying the scent of pine and early mountain flowers. Above them, the sky was just beginning to lighten, the stars fading as dawn approached. The sound of their cloth shoes against the earth and their synchronized breathing created a peaceful rhythm that reminded Li Hua of simpler times—before the modern world of her previous life, before high-rises and endless streams of data.

This, she realized, was a different kind of training entirely. Not the solitary conditioning of her past life or the focused practice in her spiritual space, but something warmer, something shared. Even as her muscles protested from the previous night’s exertion, she found herself smiling, genuinely enjoying this moment with her family.

“Keep it up!” their father encouraged, before turning around, running backwards as he watched his children keep up with his pace. A warm smile spread across his face. “Should Bàba go faster?”

“Faster, Bàba!” Li Hao shouted excitedly. Meanwhile, Li Wei shook his head, the words coming out between labored breaths, “This…is fine…Bàba.”

Laughter erupted from her father as he flipped around, running forwards again. “I’ll give you all three days to prepare. Breathe in deeper, Wei’er!” he shouted, leading them into another round of the cadence.

Li Hua turned to her eldest brother and sensed his breath becoming deeper, his chest rising and falling in a more controlled rhythm and smiled.

As they approached the foot of the mountain, their voices echoed causing small animals to scurry away through the underbrush. The morning mist still clung to the slopes above them, wreathing the distant peaks in silvery wisps.

Li Hua felt the familiar burn in her legs and her body becoming slightly sluggish. But she pushed through the familiar signs of fatigue, drawing upon memories of countless training sessions from her past life.

Her smaller legs worked harder with each step, but there was a peculiar joy in the effort—so different from the grim determination that had once driven her. She glanced at her brothers’ reddened faces, their determined expressions matching her own, and found herself grateful that she was given a second chance at life and with a family like theirs.

“Let’s turn around here!” Her father shouted, making a smooth u-turn around a large rock. His smile was wide, as if he too enjoyed this shared moment of exertion. “Come on, lift those legs up!”

The morning sun had risen higher now, burning away the last traces of mist and warming their backs as they began their descent.

Li Hua watched her father’s confident stride slow as he fell beside them, his voice warm with encouragement. “Halfway, my little warriors, you can do this!”

She saw her brothers gain motivation and their pace increased, running ahead of Li Hua.

Her father stayed with her, his eyes watching her with gentle attentiveness, noticing how she paced herself with careful precision. Such scrutiny would have made her tense in her past life, but now it filled her with warmth to know he cared so deeply about her progress.

Even as her lungs worked harder in the thinning mountain air, she found herself smiling, drawing strength from his presence beside her.

“Bàba is so proud of you, my little poppy. Don’t stop now,” he said softly, matching his stride to hers.

She nodded, breathing deeply and keeping her pace consistent.

Soon they reached their home, where she found her brothers sprawled dramatically in the courtyard, their limbs spread like starfish as they gasped for air. Li Wei let out an occasional theatrical cough while Li Hao moaned about his legs feeling like jelly. Their mother sat at the wooden dining table drinking tea and organizing her herbs, shaking her head with a gentle smile playing on her lips.

“Welcome back,” she said, her tone both relieved and amused at her sons’ antics.

“Wa-water,” her brothers gasped. Before they could continue their theatrics, big blobs of water materialized from thin air, thoroughly drenching them both.

Laughter erupted in the courtyard and Li Hua couldn’t help but join in, recognizing that her father had used his water abilities to teach her brothers a playful lesson. Their previously dramatic exhaustion forgotten as they sat there looking like drowned rats, mouths still open in surprise.