"Be good, Yunming."
Shi Bai was surprised.
For once, today, his mother was not angry, or disappointed with him. Instead, she showed a more unsual emotion - a hint of sadness and pity.
Shi Bai's mother looked at her son with a mother's tender gaze, as if to etch his memory into her brain. She knew that she would not see this rebel for so long now. However terribly behaved Yunming was, he was still her child, and she could not bear to let him go.
Shi Bai did not understand, but felt equally guilty. He tried to open his mouth, and nothing came out besides an inhuman roar, and his face was sullen as he struggled to put his two fingers up on both of his hands, waving them in front of his mother.
Look, it's the two apples and two apples! I know it. Don't be sad, now!
This did not console the mother who choked and visibly sobbed, leaving the room in a hurry, reluctant to say any more.
Shi Bai couldn't make any sense of it at all. Where did he go wrong this time?
Kongmimg observed all this and sighed. He grabbed Shi Bai by his hands, and put him on his shoulders.
"Bai'er, you're growing up now. Your mother and I love you so much, but we can't teach you what you need to know."
"You have your own special needs, Bai'er. I know you don't understand me right now, but I hope for your sake that sending you to the town's academy helps you grow up to be a fine young man, better than being pampered here as an ignorant fellow."
The father mumbled on and on, some parts clear, like his commanding voice used to be when he taught the villagers. But some parts, he couldn't even muster loud enough to convince himself. It was as if he was justifying sending his only child thousands of miles away to an unknown land to get trained in an academy filled with talents and prospects.
He would almost certainly be ostracized and bullied. But even with a scholar's brain, he was running out of options at this point.
His rant to his unattentive son was cut short a few minutes later by the sounds of a carriage pulling into the front courtyard.
Kongmimg steeled his heart and walked out to the front door, with his dear son Yunming in hand.
"Ah! Kongming! Pleased to meet you after such a long time.", a tall, gentlemanly figure took off his hat and smiled at Yunming's father as he looked at him.
"The pleasure is all mine, Liu. It has been a long time indeed. Please, come in and have a seat."
"I'm afraid not, Kongming. I am in a terrible rush at the moment to pick up somebody rather important, and I have to be on my way."
"Is this your child that you talked about in the letters?", the tall, lanky man asked.
"Yes. His name is Yunming, a man of the smiling warrior's house. He has a terrible temper, so please, don't hesitate to correct him when necessary.", Kongming spoke as he put Yunming down on the ground.
"Yunming, this is Uncle Liu. You will go with him to an academy where you will learn about the world, and be educated in many things. Don't lose face for me.", Kongming admonished, as he stared at Yunming.
Yunming's face showed that he didn't understand much, but still, he growled and roared in response.
The tall man was taken aback by the response of this wild child, but laughed it off.
"Quite a special individual.", he remarked as he picked Yunming up.
"Has he always been this.....unique?", the man named Liu asked as he held Shi Bai up, who objected and thrashed around, albeit unsuccessfully.
"From the day he was born. He nearly starved rejecting his mother's milk, you know. We had to force it into him."
"Haha! This boy will make a perfect warrior, I think. Such strength he has, even at this age.", Liu remarked as he held the thrashing Yunming.
"I hope not. Being a warrior is a faster way to die than being a man of the books.", the father replied.
Liu said nothing, holding Yunming now by his shoulders.
"I assume you've said your goodbyes? If so, I must be on my way now. I really cannot waste time, and I apologize for the hurry.", Liu spoke.
"No, no. There's nothing to be said. I am grateful that you've made your journey here despite your hectic schedule. Please, be on your way at the earliest.", Kongming sighed as he looked at Yunming.
"Well then, I bid my farewell.", Uncle Liu spoke and put on his head, then went off to his carriage.
As Shi Bai was being taken away by the tall uncle, he looked at his father's complex expression and he could even see his mother through the window on the second floor, grabbing a handkerchief as she dried her tears. His mood worsened, and he turned back, not understanding why he was feeling this way.
The man opened the doors of his carriage, sat down on the cushioned woolen seats and put Yunming down, and commanded in a deep tone.
"Please, make haste now. We are getting quite late."
The horse turned back to look at Liu, and then hurriedly galloped away in an instant. There were no drivers on this carriage, and yet, the horse could somehow understand what the man was saying. Even more incredibly, it seemed to know the way to wherever it was that the man wanted it to go.
"Yunming, was it? You're 6 years of age now, and I assume you at least understand what I am saying?"
Shi Bai looked at himself. His name was Yunming. Why was the name "Shi Bai" coming to him subconciously, then? He was Yunming, wasn't he?
He grabbed his head, as if perplexed and roared in frustration. And where was he being taken to now?
The man chuckled, seeing this.
"Just like a wild beast. I think I know what to do with you."