Ball of Nothing

Zero was cranky. Hua Tuo didn't seem to know what sleep meant. The old doctor woke him up before the sun was up and made him brush his teeth again. The brunet held his complaints because he saw how serious the physician was. It made him think that their true training had begun and in a way, it might have.

After washing up, Zero found himself being led to the fields. Glancing at the sleeping crops, he wondered if they were going to learn how to farm. Instead, Hua Tuo did something completely unexpected. The old man struck a pose.

"Follow me," he urged and the young boy wondered if there was a point in dancing at the crack of dawn. Nevertheless, he didn't question it and obeyed.

The physician didn't explain what he was doing and it was slightly hard to follow Hua Tuo's strange exercise but Zero did it to the best of his ability. Hua Tuo didn't criticize the movements but instructed and corrected Zero's method of breathing throughout. This routine lasted for about an hour with the two of them moving throughout five different forms. The boy couldn't understand why they had to do it but didn't ask anything until it was over.

Breakfast tasted even better than yesterday after a tough morning and Zero savoured it humbly. Hua Tuo made rice porridge with some pickled vegetable on the side.

"What was that?" Zero finally asked after they cleared the table. He brought the dishes to the river and watched as the old doctor cleaned.

"It's called qi gong, an ancient Chinese martial art founded by me in the old world. It's meant to increase the quality of life in humans and if cultivated right, would allow humans to accomplish incredible feats."

Zero didn't quite understand it but nodded anyway. "Will we do that every morning before the sun comes up?"

Hua Tuo smiled. "Do you mind waking up early to learn?"

Again the child nodded. "It's not good to wake up so early. I'm still sleepy. Why do we have to do it before the sun comes up?"

Hua Tuo chuckled at the boy's response. "It's actually better to wake up early. It makes you rest early at night and gives you more daylight to work on other things. Another reason why we practice it before sun up is because that period of dawn is a perfect balance of the yin and yang. Balance is very important for cultivators."

Yin? Yang? What were those? Zero was lost but couldn't ask any more when Hua Tuo finished rinsing off the last plate. His small mind was boggled with big questions but he couldn't find the right time to ask Hua Tuo who was once again busy. He didn't understand how someone who lived in a mountain with nothing much in his possession had so much to do. Secretly, he suspected that his teacher was a workaholic.

The morning after breakfast was spent tending to the fields. As Hua Tuo made his rounds, Zero tottered behind carrying the basket while Hua Tuo harvested matured plants with a sickle or pulled them out with his bare hands. He explained each and every herb to Zero in detail with their name and their uses. Occasionally, he would test his apprentice and check if Zero understood.

"Grandpa...?"

"It's master to you, brat!"

"Why is this called milkweed? It doesn't produce milk does it?"

Hua Tuo blinked. Then, he reached out to the plant and plucked it. "Hold out your hand," he told Zero who complied.

The brunet watched as some white and sticky substance oozed from the broken stem. Zero grimaced and Hua Tuo chuckled.

"You should try it," the doctor encouraged.

Without suspecting anything, Zero tried it and immediately, Mii went into red alert. Zero was poisoned!

Shocked, Zero looked at Hua Tuo who continued to smile. Then, the brunet began to frown. What was his teacher trying to do? Although Zero couldn't die from poison, the shock of having his teacher intentionally have him eat poison left him doubtful.

"How was it?"

"You tried to poison me."

Hua Tuo was impressed. He didn't think that Zero would be able to know the effects of milkweed poisoning so soon. Besides, Zero consumed too little of it to be of any real harm. At most, the boy would experience the runs although Hua Tuo has never seen Zero use the lavatory. It's as if he didn't need it.

"Every plant here is poisonous. Did you forget?"

Zero paused. He seemed to remember Truen cautioning him against Hua Tuo and now he deeply regretted not taking his friend's advice.

The look on Zero's face made Hua Tuo chuckle. "Well, it's only poison for the people who do not know how to use it. In fact, milkweed is used to cure many problems such as asthma and constipation. Its uses are many and is a very important herb that can save lives if used right."

Zero was doubtful but as Hua Tuo explained how every plant in his field was both good and bad, he mentioned something that got Zero thinking.

"Just like my plants, every human can be both good and bad. That's why yin will always exist with yang. I believe the same goes for you. Nothing in this world is good or bad. It is the person deciding how something should be used or done that makes it good or bad."

"How does that apply to the exercise in the morning? Do we really have to wake up that early? It's not even lunch but I'm sleepy already..."

Hua Tuo shook his head. Young ones these days don't have the tenacity to tough it out. It's such a pity too.

"You'll get used to it. Also, there is more to yin and yang than medicine. I believe Merlin would call it two sides of a coin. In any case, this world is made up of balance. When there is good, there is evil. When there is madness, there is sanity. Everything is a cycle to maintain that perfect balance of harmony."

Zero hummed. He didn't understand much but Hua Tuo didn't look like he wanted to cause harm for real so Zero forgave him.

"Please tell me beforehand should you decide to poison me... Mii is running circles in my head. It's a little hard to stop her from materialising and kicking you in the face as she puts it..."

The medicine god chuckled and decided that they should head back to prepare for lunch.

After lunch, Hua Tuo took out some books and taught Zero how to read them. The brunet was amazed when Hua Tuo revealed that he was the author of such difficult books. There were several volumes and every page was filled with details about all the plants that Hua Tuo knew existed, including their pictures and description of what illness they could cure. Many of them were poisonous but Hua Tuo had written the method of preparation to extract the poison to make them life-saving medicine. It took about two hours for Zero to learn how to read and Hua Tuo never left him until Zero could read fluently and independently. The doctor then went outside to check on the herb preparations while Zero lost himself in the world of medicine.

Dinner rolled by quickly and Zero helped Hua Tuo gather ingredients in the forest. Hua Tuo was impressed with how fast Zero learnt and was amazed when the boy spotted some rare delicacy. They were going to have bird's nest soup in the near future thanks to Zero. As thanks, the doctor made a special dessert that had Zero craving for more.

"Hawthorn fruits are good for digestion. However, if you have too much of it they can upset your stomach and give you gastric."

Zero pouted but agreed that it was a long day. He yawned and pulled out the bed but Hua Tuo stopped him. The reprimanding looks made Zero smile sheepishly before he grabbed the toothbrush and hurried to the river.

Hua Tuo shook his head at the young boy's childish antics. It was too soon for him to be venturing the world and the doctor wasn't sure if Zero could manage in two years. He did intend to bring Zero out for more exposure sometime in the future. He traded once every few months in a small human village and they would be travelling in a few weeks. He only hoped that bringing Zero there would be a good opportunity to let the boy know more about what was normal and what wasn't.

***

Truen groaned. Isis was quick to provide whatever he needed for studies. However, his physical limits had become the bottleneck for his progress. He didn't know how Zero was doing because Hua Tuo sent a text saying the kid was knocked out like a light. Apparently, Zero wasn't a morning person but that was soon going to change.

The wood elf munched on the tasteless dried rations and wondered if there was a more effective way to do this. He was analysing his limits. To finish all the books in a year was impossible at his current rate of progress but Merlin wanted it to be done in half a year. Clearly, the wizard wasn't joking when he said that and it got Truen thinking. Surely eight books a day wasn't how it was meant to be. There must be some kind of secret to reading and understanding faster. Mana regeneration was not a problem; the glasses didn't consume much. However, what was a real problem was Truen's lack of ability to multitask. If only there was a way to get one part of his mind thinking and analysing what his eyes were reading and another part simply consuming information...

"That's it!" The wood elf got to his feet immediately. He whipped out the communicator and was so glad that it had a lot of functions.

Tapping on the note function, he started scanning the titles of books and recording it. There were many books and this could prove to be a very good investment of time or a very bad one. Truen was taking a gamble here but in such a vast library, it was his best bet.