'Bao'er!'
It was quite loud for me to not wake up immediately like usual when the shrill voice of my sister reached my ears. I groaned loudly and turned around in my bed without even opening my eyes. " Sister I'm awake", I shouted back at her , trying hard to keep the grumpiness out of my voice. 'How dare you bother me when I'm asleep after having my beauty sleep, it's not healthy'. My words are always like this. A bit grumpy, but a lot of sarcastic. You can imagine how annoyed I am right now because of her. She was a good friend and an elder sister of mine. We grew up together. After being adopted by the same adoptive parents at around seven years old I've known her since she has been a little kid as well, although we've grown up apart. The older we get the more I've seen her become. I don't know if it was from her own experiences that made her become mature or just the fact that I've never really seen her with other kids before. She is a quiet girl who rarely interacts with anyone else except with me. And she likes it that way too.
"Bao'er! Haven't you heard what the messenger had announced earlier!?", she said as she barged through my room. " I believe not, sister Hua. I was asleep until you rudely woke me up." She sat next to me on the bed and smiles widely with an excitement filled in her face. " We heard your name! Ma and Ba are so happy right now that they went to tell aunt and the others about the great news! You're one of the chosen students to be on the dragon temple and train with the greatest kung fu mentor, Master Shang Xian! Isn't that wonderful!", Hua squealed. Me? Chosen?...
"Finally!", I yelled as I jumped off the bed and grabbed my robe. I can't believe it! After three years of spending my time doing calligraphy and stuffs, I can finally do some action! I can train harder! Maybe even become one of the best warriors in the whole country! I can finally have a real chance to prove myself! Now, that the opportunity presented itself I couldn't possibly wait any longer. I was sure I'd be going straight to the temple as soon as I could!
" Oh! Your lady friend, Fu Tao has also been chosen", Hua said winking at me, "This will give you an opportunity to be more closer to each other". Hua came closer to me with a huge grin, " Good luck on capturing her heart~". I just sighed and flicked her forehead, "For the last time, sister Hua. Fu Tao is like a little sister to me, nothing romantic between is, okay?".
" And that's why you're still single as heck, Bao'er", Hua said pouting and walking towards the door. "I'll go prepare the things you'll be needing for your journey", she said and slams the door. I was left alone again, all dressed up, ready to set out. I felt kinda nervous but excited. This is the day that I've been waiting for ever since childhood! My dreams, goals and wishes are coming true. It feels unreal! I feel happy. Well, I am happy - I mean, why wouldn't I? Being selected as the chosen student to the Great Sage Shang Xian would mean I'd be able to spend the rest of my life learning from his best students. And I've got no doubts that I'd win first place in every tournament I participate in, no matter if I'm using qinggong, taijutsu or kung fu! That would just show how amazing of a student I am. I'd be famous throughout the world! I'd have lots of opportunities to travel and learn new things! Just imagine my future...! I was so busy dreaming about my future that I didn't even notice how time passed by. Before I knew it, the sound of someone knocking on the frontdoor brought me back to reality. The knock was so faint that I almost forgot about it. I rushed through the front door and opened it,"Hello.How may I help you-", I looked at the person and smiled. "Fu Tao, I heard that you were also chosen", I said as I patted her head. She nodded shyly and looked at me, " The village chief told me that we should get going as soon as possible. And he also said that we must look presentable when we arrive at the temple", Fu said while she looked at my clothes. I was wearing my usual traditional robes. The only difference is that these robes looked extra soft and comfortable compared to my regular ones. Fu seemed really pleased with it as well and looked up at me with admiration. "Are you prepared?"
She nodded again. "I have to say though, I thought you would look much better in those robes than me", she said looking down at her plain white robes. I laughed and ruffled her hair, "Don't worry, Fu Tao. I'll make sure to dress you up properly when we get there. I promise!" She smiled brightly at me and nodded again. I then took her hand and led her outside.
『𝙏𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙏𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚』
W-woah... the dragon temple is not what I imagined to be. Why does it have such long stairs!? Great. We still have a long way to go. I took a step towards the stairs with a scowl in my face. It'll take us ages to reach to the top! Fu walked beside me, seemingly enjoying herself at seeing the beautiful architecture surrounding her as we walked. It made me happy to see her happy. As I kept walking, I tried not to trip over anything as I was focusing too much on my surroundings. After three hours of walking through the stairs, we managed to reach the top before our feet began to give up. We were breathing heavily, sweat running down our faces due to the exercise. After that, we both decided to take a break to cool ourselves off. Once I started taking deep breaths and cooling myself off with cold water from the lake nearby, I heard footsteps approaching us. I assumed it was another one of the monks here.
"Welcome, new learners!", a red-head woman exclaimed while she smiles at us with a welcoming aura. The woman seems to be a student here despite the clothes she is wearing. She uses a dark upper garment with red linings and a dragon symbol embroidered on the sleeves. The outfit looked very stylish and nice. What caught my attention though, was the small sword tied around her waist. I looked at her from head to toe and saw that this woman has the exact same height and build as Fu. "You must be the two kids that were chosen by the master?". I stood up and bowed at her as respect, " My name is Bao Zheng and this one beside me is Fu Tao. We are the chosen students to train with you and Master Shang Xian!", I exclaimed in excitement. The woman then chuckles and puts her hand on her chin, "Hmm I thought that there will be three students today but it seems there are only two of you". Wait... there's suppose to be three...
" Hurry up! We're almost there!"
A scream suddenly interrupted our conversation. The three of us looked below the stairs to see some men carrying a carriage. They seem to be in a hurry. After they reached the top, they put down the carriage and opened the carriage revealing a young man that seems to have the same age as me or Fu. He wears a light green robe, his skin looks smooth and pale, and has a very strong aura, which makes him stand out quite a lot. His hair is long and silky smooth, his skin is fair, and he is very handsome, especially with his clear grey eyes. The man looked at us before bowing slightly, "Greetings. I am Shen Qhi, the grandson of the Great Noble Hwang Qhi. I am one of the chosen students to come here and train at this temple".