22 Glaring Dragon, Soaring Phoenix Pt. 1 (1/2)
*Riiiiing*
...
*Riiiiing*
Li Ming promptly rolled off his bed to the sound of his phone's alarm. It was currently 5:30 in the morning. It had been just 4 hours since his conversation last night. Today would be Li Ming's first time visiting the old man for spear training. The old man had given him the ”OK” for going over today.
Li Ming excitedly threw on his work out clothes, which was composed of sweatpants and a light fleece sweatshirt. He made a quick piece of toast to eat with his left over oden for breakfast. Although it was quite a bizarre combo, it would be enough to sustain him until lunch.
Thankfully, the old man lived only 2 train stops away. He jogged over to the closest train station to catch a ride to the old man's house.
***
Li Ming made his way over to the old man's house while dragging his feet. Not to mention, the old man's house was quite large. It appeared to be a dojo of sorts attached to a traditional Japanese mansion. Because of the size of the house, Li Ming was physically tired already before he even started his spear training as he had to walk a further distance to the front door.
He didn't realize that he was this far out of shape. He had been so use to mobility and fighting for long durations in the game that he didn't reconcile the variance between his in game state and physical state out of game.
Out of breath, he reached for the doorbell. However, before reaching the doorbell, Li Ming remembered that it was still only around 6 in the morning. Ringing the doorbell could be quite disruptive to the neighbors, so he chose to call the old man instead.
Li Ming dialed the old man's phone number into his phone. After some while, someone picked up.
”Hello?” a young feminine voice answered.
”Uh... Hello!” Li Ming said confusedly, ”I'm looking for... uhhh...”
It was at this point that Li Ming realized one crucial error. He had forgotten that old man's name!
”Li Ming, here for spear training, right?” the voice said sleepily, ”Give me five minutes. I'll be right there.”
After a five minute wait, the front door creaked open. A young lady in her pajamas stood there while rubbing her eyes. She was surely the one who had just picked up the phone earlier. She gave Li Ming a quick glance before beckoning him in. As Li Ming walked in, she shut the door behind him and quickly walked back into the house, rubbing her elbows with both hands to warm them up from the frigid morning air.
”This way.” she said tersely before walking off, threatening to leave Li Ming behind if he didn't follow immediately.
Li Ming quickly shed his shoes before following her. They crossed the center courtyard before she led him to a large room in the center. This large room appeared to be a dojo of sorts. She knocked on the doors.
”He's here!” she announced at the door.
After she heard a couple of footsteps coming from inside, she quickly turned to leave.
”Grandpa is inside there.” she said casually before walking away towards the main house.