"Mom! Sizhu wants more!"
"Oh dear, my child eats a lot! Here, there's still plenty of fish soup. Sizhu can have as much as he wants."
"Don't give him more, Mom. Sizhu will get fat like a ball."
"Heh, Sizhu won't get fat like a ball. That's big brother Xin who'll get fat like a panda. Bwee!"
"Alright, stop fighting. Xin, finish your bowl. Then go to sleep. Tomorrow we have to leave early for the hunt."
"Okay, Dad. Come on, Sizhu, eat a lot. So Sizhu can grow up fast and take over my duties."
Is this a dream? Or am I already dead? Who are they? Is this my family?
It feels so real. It's nighttime here. There's a simple wooden house. I look happy there. My father looks like me. So does my older brother. My green eyes resemble my mother's eyes. They look very happy. So harmonious.
Then… what happened? Why did everything suddenly go black and dark?
I want to see my family's faces longer! I want to remember their faces! Their smiles! Which now I can't recall clearly.
My memories are fading, I don't recognize them.
Family?
What is that?
***
February 3, 2023
"It seems you've finally awake."
The first time Sizhu opened his eyes, he saw an unfamiliar view above. The ceiling of a building he had never seen anywhere in his life.
A wooden ceiling with a recessed lamp glowing softly to light the room. He's lying on a soft white surgery bed with a matching blanket. Also wearing a white robe.
Then Sizhu remembered hearing a woman's voice that sounded so soft. He turned his head to the right to see where the voice came from.
His eyes fixed on the beautiful face of a woman with long white hair. She was sitting on a chair beside the bed he was lying on. In her slender hands with purple painted nails matching her beautiful gem-like pupils, she held a book.
The book was neither small nor large, like a magazine but with a cover Sizhu couldn't understand—the writing and pictures. A moon, but bleeding?
Then Sizhu's gaze returned to the elegant smile of the woman. Today, the snow-white-haired woman wore a sleeveless black Chinese dress.
"Who? Am I dead?"
Sizhu asked with an innocent face. He thought the beautiful woman beside him was a goddess sent from heaven to take his soul.
The violet-eyed woman chuckled hearing Sizhu's unexpected question.
"You're still alive. If you were dead, you wouldn't be able to feel a warm hand like this."
She close her book and lift Sizhu's weak right hand from the bed. At his wrist was a tube injecting fluids into his vein.
Sizhu's cheeks flushed slightly feeling how soft and gentle the woman's palm was. He was confused why he felt heat in his cheeks and why her hand's grip was so comforting.
Then a sudden awareness to be cautious pulled Sizhu's hand back quickly.
"Who are you?" He became wary of the beautiful woman beside him. Feeling the gentleness of her grip had made him lose his alertness just now.
"Ara~ how funny. No need to be afraid. I'm the one who saved your life."
"You? The one who saved me?" Sizhu asked skeptically while trying to recall what had last happened to him.
"Yes, do you remember the battle that night? Your cheek, waist, back, and upper left arm were injured. Luckily Manager Jianying arrived just in time before the Witch cut off your head."
Sizhu then jolted remembering the last incident that happened to him. All the memories from that night and the days before came back.
"The promised staff! Where is my staff?"
Remembering the only inheritance from his master, Sizhu sat up and stared seriously at the woman beside him.
I must not lose the only clue and heirloom my master gave me.
"Don't worry~ the staff is safely stored in the armory."
The beautiful woman held both of Sizhu's shoulders, who was forcing himself to sit up. She tried to calm Sizhu down who panicked and wanted to get out of bed to look for his staff.
Just as he sat upright perfectly, he felt a severe dizziness in his head. The whole room spun like an scrambled egg.
"Ughh... why... does everything... spin... like this?"
The woman helped Sizhu lie back on the bed. Also fixed the blanket that had opened to cover Sizhu's whole body.
"You just woke up after sleeping deeply for three days. Your body is lacking nutrients and vitamins. That's why you feel severe dizziness when you force yourself to sit up suddenly."
Her hand checked Sizhu's temperature from his forehead. Then she took a bottle of water from the table to give to him.
"You need fluids and nutrients to replace the blood loss from your injuries three days ago." She opened the bottle cap and gently helped Sizhu drink from it.
After a few sips, Sizhu felt better. The dizziness in his head gradually faded and he could see clearly again.
"Thank you," said Sizhu, appreciating the help and care from the beautiful woman.
A soft smile appeared on the thin pink lips of the white-haired woman.
"For the next few days, you must not do heavy activities. You need to rest to fully recover your body. A nurse will bring you food and drinks here every day. I will also frequently check your condition later. For now, go back to sleep."
Sizhu was stunned by the gentle, affectionate smile of the woman. He couldn't look away, as if mesmerized.
That smile... I feel like I know that gentle smile.
"Ara~ stop staring at me like that. It makes me embarrassed." Luxia hid her smile behind the book, pretending to be shy like a maiden.
Seeing that, Sizhu quickly looked away. His cheeks reddened more because of the new feeling he felt. A feeling of shyness he couldn't explain.
"Ara~ what a unique young man." She chuckled seeing Sizhu's funny reaction compared to other young men his age.
"My name is Luxia, what's your name hm?"
Sizhu still looked away, staring at the curtain-covered window to his left. He didn't dare look at the beautiful Luxia, afraid to feel that strange feeling again on his face.
"Sizhu."
"Alright, Sizhu, go back to sleep. Outside, the sky is already dark. I will leave some fruits here. If you feel hungry, just eat them. I will check on you tomorrow morning."
Luxia stood up, placed a basket of fresh fruits from the table onto the bed beside Sizhu's right side.
"I must go now. Good night Sizhu. See you tomorrow." Luxia said while waving her hand, then walked backwards out of the room.
Her scent, like the smell of roses. And something familiar...
***
February 4, 2023
"You're awake. Good, I want to ask you some questions."
The morning sunlight shone through the gap in the curtains. Birds chirped outside. Not just one, but many greeting each other.
Sizhu sat staring at the window whose curtains were now wide open by someone. A man with square glasses wearing an agent's outfit, with a sheathed katana at his waist.
In his hand, he held a holographic tablet that Sizhu didn't understand what kind of device it was.
The man with glasses stood facing Sizhu who sat on his bed.
"Is your name Sizhu?"
Sizhu nodded.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Jianying Ren. I'm the one who saved you three nights ago."
They stared at each other. Whatever the atmosphere in the room was, the man named Jianying looked at Sizhu seriously and sharply, making Sizhu return a sharp and serious gaze.
"Oh. What questions do you want to ask?"
Both men furrowed their brows tensely. Jianying, usually serious but calm, somehow felt annoyed by Sizhu. It felt like that without reason.
He sighed lightly. "According to those kids, you came from the forbidden forest, Sizhu. You also rode a large black crocodile controlled by a Witch. Are you one of them?"
Sizhu frowned more.
Am I one of them? Impossible, I hunt those cursed creatures!
Then the green-eyed young man shook his head firmly.
"I only used the crocodile controlled by the Witch as a boat to cross the river. You said those kids, are they safe?"
Jianying nodded slightly. "They are in the academy dormitory."
"..."
Sizhu said nothing about Qing and Yaoyao, remembering he failed to save their father right before his eyes. But he felt a little relief hearing the two children were safe.
"Do you live in that forbidden forest, Sizhu?"
Sizhu nodded. "Yes." Answering shortly.
"What do you do there?"
"I grew up there with my master. I don't remember anything before meeting my master. He raised me as his only student."
Jianying nodded slightly, not sensing any lies from Sizhu's words. That's because on the holographic tablet he held, Sizhu's information was clearly displayed. Jianying knew Sizhu's physical condition from it.
He saw the severe wound on the back of Sizhu head that had healed but left a scar. From that he theorized Sizhu lost his childhood memories after getting the wound on the back of his head.
Besides data like estimated age, height, and weight, the tablet also showed Sizhu's psychological state based on every question Jianying asked. So far, Sizhu's psychological color was still white, meaning honest and calm, though with a little red indicating irritation.
"Last question. Do you know him?"
Sizhu's psychological color changed to deep red and black. Jianying saw Sizhu's expression suddenly sweating while clenching his jaw and fists.
"He..."
***