Fan Fiction |
by geeky girl
When Fung finally woke up, he saw a young lady sitting next to him, but rather then look in his direction, she appeared to be upset and was pouting at the floor. He did not recognize her and took very little notice of her except for the fact that she was the only other person in the room. Straining his eyes, he observed his surrounding and could not recognize anything.
“You’re finally awake,” said the young lady. Her voice was pleasant in a childlike way, yet the manner she addressed him conveyed much irritation. “Good, now I can leave.”
As much as he found her abrupt behavior strange, Fung had no choice but to ask her, “Where am I? Where is Yi?”
The lady looked shock, “You’re at the Tong Manor.” She said it as though it was the most obvious place in the world while pointing to the character “Tong” written on the lamp shade in the room. “The home of the great hero Tong Man Lung,” She added while looking down on him arrogantly.
A piercing pain suddenly exploded from his chest causing Fung to fall back and clutched onto his chest.
The young lady panicked slightly as she ran towards his bed and tapped him, “Hey, are you alright? Don’t…don’t get ill on me because I really don’t want to sit right here and wait for you to recover.”
The door to the room burst open while two guards ran in, “Young mistress, are you alright?”
“It’s him, why is he behaving like this? Do something about it.”
The two guards looked at each other, confused as neither knew what to do but both were exceedingly afraid of their young mistress; hence, they slowly walked over to the Fung, who was moaning in agony. Lost and uncertain, the two men felt for his pulse and sat and observed him while pondering how to leave the room without getting yelled at by their young mistress.
“You two can leave,” a masculine voice ordered.
The young lady turned to the sound of the voice, “Father.”
Tong Man Lung looked at his daughter and passed her, “I want you to leave the room.”
“Father, I did as you requested and sat by him for the past three days and took care of his basic needs,” she protested, much concerned that her father would disapprove of her. A child wants nothing more than the approval of her parents and all her life, Tong Ling felt as though her father’s expectations for her were more than what she could deliver. She only longed for an occasional approval which brought her much indescribable joy.
Man Lung nodded, “I know. Ling, I have been harsh on you and I am sorry.” Man Lung quickly checked Fung’s pulse. Turning around, he pat Tong Ling on the shoulder and smiled, “You did well this time. I saw that you did most of the work yourself in taking care of this young man. You can go now.”
Feeling elated that her dad saw how much she committed herself to her work, Ling nodded happily and left.
Man Lung sighed to himself. What was he thinking? How was Ling to ever know that Man Lung’s biggest disappointment was that she wasn’t a boy? He knew that he had been unfair to her all her life because all of his expectations were made for a son, long before she was born. When she had entered the world, it was already too late for him to want anything less from his own blood. He had wanted a son to take over his position as the leader of the martial arts world. He loved Ling, for she was his own, but he could not bring himself to love her the way she deserved to be love even though she spent all her life trying to please him.
Man Lung turned around and helped the young man who lost consciousness from his pain.
When Fung woke up again, he saw an elderly gentleman staring at him. Fung tried to sit up and clutch onto his chest again.
“Careful.”
Fung looked at the man. Strange, he thought, why did he feel lighter and better?
The man read his thoughts, “I transferred my chi to you to help suppress your pain.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. I didn’t do much because this is only a temporary solution. You have been heavily injured and the only person who can save you is yourself.”
“How?”
“There is a form of martial arts which helps you cultivate your chi to heal more quickly, but whether or not you learn it depends on whether or not you’re worthy.”
Fung did not wait much longer for him to continue, “Where is Yi?”
“Pardon?”
“She’s a young lady about 21 years old.”
Seeing the confused expression on the gentleman’s face, Fung panicked. He had to go look for her; Fung got off the bed and walked across the room, but he fell before making it through the door. “Why am I so weak?”
“You were attacked by Mortal Saber Stroke Wong Yat Wah. You could have easily died but…”
“How did you know?”
The man pressed his palm as he greeted, “I am Tong Man Lung.”
“The leader of the martial arts world, Tong Man Lung?”
He nodded, “I am very impressed that you survived Wong Yat Wah’s fatal strokes. It proves that you are not an ordinary person, and you may just be worthy of learning the martial arts to cultivate your chi.”
Fung hesitated. He was too weak to look for Yi, yet he was overly concerned about her well-being.
“Once you are fully healed, it would be much more convenient and practical for you to find your friend. Right now, you are in no condition to walk, let alone travel.”
Suspicious of his intentions, Fung asked, “Why are you helping me?”
Man Lung smiled, “Because I will gain a disciple with much potential.”
Fung protested, “No, I already have a Teacher. I will not have another one without his permission.”
Man Lung was not surprised that Fung already had a Teacher but he was more interested in gaining Fung as a disciple for he had the qualities that Man Lung wanted in a disciple: loyalty, honesty, and much potential. For that reason, he would take the necessary steps it took to convince Fung, “Young man, everyday, I have dozens of young men knock at my door, begging and bribing me to take them in as disciples and everyday, I reject most of them if not all. Even if I accept them, I rarely if ever offer to teach them personally, but in your case I will offer you my time. You can think of it as an offer to help you find the strength to search for your friend.”
Fung tried to stand up again to take more steps but he collapsed again, he never thought he would ever get so weak.
Man Lung sat down and watched him, “It’s up to you.”
After collapsing the third time, Fung turned around, “I…I accept your offer.” It was his only hope to find Yi.
In less than three months, Man Lung saw Fung’s special gift; Fung was a martial arts prodigy. What took a normal martial artist two years to pick up, Fung was easily able to master in three months.
Man Lung was not the only person to notice, Tong Ling did too. Seeing how her father preferred Fung to his other students, Tong Ling also paid more attention to him. She trusted her father’s taste.
Being the only young mistress of such a prestigious man in the world and an attractive girl, Tong Ling received an overwhelming amount of attention from many men, but Fung was not one of them. He cared little for her favor, and that sparked her interest.
Seeing Fung’s gift and witnessing his daughters developing feelings for Fung, Man Lung decided that he wanted Fung as a son in law to pass down his title as leader of the martial arts world. A son in law is not that same as a biological son but it was the most he could ever hope for. Hence, Man Lung deceived Fung. Rather than teaching him the skills to help him heal, Man Lung taught him all his martial arts specialties, forcing him to stay longer than what Fung had expected. That way, Man Lung hoped Fung would return Ling’s feelings.