Lin Yuan ignored the two of them and instead looked at Liu Shan, who was kneeling on the ground. He slowly said, "Apologize to my brother, and we'll let this go."
How could Liu Shan possibly be convinced? He opened his mouth, ready to unleash another torrent of abuse.
Lin Yuan wasn't about to indulge him. The hand gripping Liu Shan's wrist exerted even more force, making Liu Shan howl again like a slaughtered pig.
"Apologize, apologize... I... I'm sorry, big brother! It's going to break—please... ease up!"
Han Fei seemed to have just recovered from his shock. The scene before him had truly been beyond his expectations. What surprised him wasn't Liu Shan begging for mercy, but his childhood friend, whom he had grown up playing with.
"A Yuan, maybe we should let it go."
Lin Yuan glanced at him, then looked back at Liu Shan. After hesitating for a moment, he slowly released his grip.
Xun Haotian thanked him, then helped Liu Shan back to their original seats.
"Haotian, why did you stop me just now?" Zhao Youjia asked.
Xun Haotian explained softly, "Didn't you see that guy was trained? He was sitting on the ground, yet he took Liu Shan down in just a couple of moves."
"That doesn't mean we have to be afraid of him. We outnumber him two to one. It's not like we can't beat him."
"Two against one?" Xun Haotian shook his head with a laugh. "Didn't you see those two beside him were already itching to join in? Two against one, my ass. If we'd made a move just now, do you think they would have helped us?"
Zhao Youjia fell into thought, while Liu Shan, who had just sat down and was rubbing his wrist, couldn't help cursing, "Damn it. A tiger fallen to the plains gets bullied by a few country bumpkins."
"Stop mouthing off. If you hadn't gone looking for trouble, would they have touched you?"
"Brother Tian, don't take their side!"
"Good thing he didn't use too much force. Otherwise, your wrist would be ruined."
Meanwhile, Han Fei stared at Lin Yuan with excitement.
"A Yuan, I didn't know you had it in you! Those two moves just now were something else."
Lin Yuan shot him an exasperated look. "You really need to watch that mouth of yours... Honestly, if you don't learn to hold your tongue, you'll get yourself into trouble sooner or later."
Han Fei scratched his head and gave a sheepish grin.
"I was only joking. Who knew that guy was so petty?"
Seeing Han Fei's expression, Lin Yuan knew he hadn't taken his words seriously. He couldn't very well say anything else.
If he kept nagging, Han Fei might think he was lecturing him.
As the elders often said, "You can see what an adult will be at three, and what they'll be like in old age at seven." Han Fei's carefree, reckless nature was exactly the same as it had been when he was a child.
At that moment, Han Housheng and Han Shusheng also came over.
"A Yuan, Feigu, you didn't suffer just now, did you?" Han Housheng asked with concern.
"Uncle Han, of course not. If anyone suffered, it was—"
Before he could finish, Lin Yuan glared at him.
Han Fei lowered his voice and said smugly, "If anyone suffered, it was them."
"Haha, as long as you're fine. There was no need to pick a fight with them," Han Shusheng said. "But A Yuan, you really keep a low profile. You're nothing like an ordinary college student."
Ever since Lin Yuan had made his move, the Han brothers' eyes had remained fixed on him.
As the saying went, "An outsider watches the spectacle, while an expert sees the technique." From the few moves Lin Yuan had used to deal with the situation, the Han brothers had clearly noticed something unusual.
Yet there was something strange about the feeling he gave off. There wasn't the slightest trace of the sharpness or edge of a martial artist about him. If he hadn't stepped in just now, he would have seemed exactly like an ordinary person.
Naturally, they had no idea that this was actually a sign of someone who had cultivated internal martial arts to an extremely high level.
Over the past few days, Lin Yuan had practiced martial arts and boxing at home. He had invested nearly all the Attribute Points he earned into [Yang Style Tai Chi], pushing it to the Grandmastery stage.
Although it was still one step short of perfection, reaching this level had already brought about a qualitative leap for Lin Yuan.
At that moment, he felt increasingly similar to the realm described in the books.
Neither biased nor partial, sometimes hidden and sometimes revealed. If the left was heavy, the left became empty; if the right was heavy, the right vanished. Look up to it, and it seemed ever higher; look down, and it seemed ever deeper. Advance toward it, and it stretched farther; retreat, and it pressed closer. Not even a feather could be added, nor a fly land upon it. Others did not know me, while I alone knew them.
With every lift of his hand, yin and yang, emptiness and substance merged as one. Hard and soft forces rose together; substance became emptiness, and emptiness became substance.
His entire essence, energy, and spirit had also become more restrained, impossible to perceive or discern—like a dragon lurking in a deep abyss, or a roc hidden among the clouds.
After resting for about an hour, everyone set off again.
Having suffered at Lin Yuan's hands just now, Liu Shan was no longer as lively as before.
It was nearly evening when Han Housheng led everyone to stop in a mountain hollow.
The afternoon's journey had been exceptionally difficult.
There had been no path at all, and the terrain rose and fell constantly. They had to climb slopes and push through woods, while occasionally stepping into puddles hidden among the weeds when they weren't paying attention.
Even Han Fei, who had grown up in the countryside, was now covered in dirt.
Weeds clung to his head, and his trouser legs were covered with one burr after another.
As for the wealthy young men following behind, they were having a hard time too, despite Han Housheng and the others clearing the way ahead.
Xun Ruobing's hair, which she had originally left loose, had been tied up, and she had also put on a baseball cap.
Half of Liu Xiang's body was covered in mud because he had accidentally fallen into a muddy puddle.
Zhao Youjia had begun to itch all over, seemingly suffering from some kind of allergy.
Among all of them, if anyone looked the most normal, it was undoubtedly Lin Yuan.
Not only was there not a single weed clinging to him, even his shoes had only a little mud along the edges.
His expression was calm, and he showed no sign of fatigue, as if he were merely taking a stroll through the mountains.
"Alright, we're almost within the wild boars' territory. It's getting late, so let's rest here," Han Housheng said to everyone.
As soon as they arrived, sharp-eyed Han Fei noticed the light-brown fruits scattered across the ground.
"A Yuan, those are sour jujubes."
Lin Yuan noticed them too. He casually picked one up and looked around.
The entire mountain hollow was actually filled with sour jujube trees.
The trees were tall with small leaves. When Lin Yuan and the others had been children and craved a snack, they often searched the mountains for sour jujube trees.
It was now late autumn, the season when sour jujubes ripened.
Lin Yuan peeled one open. Inside, the flesh was crystal clear, with a color like a lychee. He popped the whole fruit into his mouth. It was sticky and smooth, with a sour taste touched by a hint of sweetness.
Xun Ruobing was resting beneath a tree when she saw Lin Yuan and Han Fei picking up the fruits from the ground.
Curious, she asked, "What are you eating?"
It was rare for a beautiful girl to take the initiative to speak to him, so Han Fei eagerly seized the chance to show off.
"These are sour jujubes, a kind of wild fruit. The sour jujube cakes sold in supermarkets are made from them."
"Oh."
Xun Ruobing was clearly surprised. She had eaten sour jujube cakes before, but she had never seen what sour jujubes themselves looked like.
She stood up and searched the ground for one that looked good.
"You can eat it after peeling it open, right?"
"That's right. Just peel it open and eat it."
Xun Ruobing peeled open the sour jujube and saw the translucent flesh inside.
"How strange. The flesh of this kind of jujube is actually like this."
Then she put it in her mouth and took a small bite.
Sour! It was incredibly sour!
Xun Ruobing screwed up her face, but after the initial sourness, a faint sweetness returned.
"The texture is really strange."
Though she said that, she couldn't help taking another bite. After the first encounter with the flavor, the second bite didn't seem nearly as sour.
Seeing this, several of her companions grew curious as well. They had never seen this thing before either.
Liu Shan, who was always fond of snacks, immediately found several on the ground, peeled them, and popped them into his mouth. But the moment they touched his tongue, he spat them out.
"Blegh, blegh, blegh! What the hell is this? Why is it so sour? And why does it feel like I'm eating phlegm?"
"You can't expect anything refined from a dog's mouth. Lin Yuan should have beaten you harder just now, so you wouldn't be spouting nonsense here." Xun Ruobing put another peeled sour jujube into her mouth, apparently becoming addicted to them.
Xun Ruobing had always loved sour foods, but this unique sourness was something she was experiencing for the first time.
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