Departure (2)

When Lin Zheyu returned home, it was already the middle of the night.

After several days of recuperation, his energy and spirits had once again recovered to their peak.

Once back, he took off his outerwear and continued training.

In the courtyard, Lin Zheyu's figure darted around. Every so often, he whipped out a leg and struck a wooden post with a sharp crack.

He trained furiously for over half an hour.

Hiss—

He felt the muscles in his body spasm, and his face turned deathly pale.

He had reached his limit.

At that moment, his energy and spirit converged into a single force, and his Source Power increased by one unit.

"Whew..."

Lin Zheyu stopped and let out a long breath.

"Now that my strength has improved, my stamina has too. It's much harder to break through my body's limits even once."

Lin Zheyu sighed.

As his strength increased, breaking through his body's limits became increasingly difficult.

Moreover, after breaking through his physical limits so many times, his stamina and mental resilience had both improved substantially. That, too, made it harder and harder to push past his limits.

[Heaven Rewards Diligence]

Name: Lin Zheyu

Source Power: 4

Skills:

Bull Fist (Mastery 5%)

Golden Goose Technique (Second Layer 24%)

Turtle Breathing Technique (Third Layer 0%)

Lin Zheyu looked at the data in his mind. His Source Power had accumulated to four units again.

The Turtle Breathing Technique had barely improved at all.

After reaching the third layer, the difficulty of training had skyrocketed, far beyond what someone at the Bone Forging Realm could manage.

The later layers involved Blood Energy.

Relying on Source Power, Lin Zheyu had cultivated the Turtle Breathing Technique to the peak of the second layer. That was already his limit. To improve further, he would have to advance to the Blood Energy Realm.

The next day.

The sun was setting.

Outside Songyi City.

Lin Zheyu and Han Mo stood in silence, watching Master Liang leave.

"I wonder if we'll ever get the chance to see Master Liang again."

Lin Zheyu watched the now-empty horizon, his expression forlorn, his heart heavy with parting.

"We will."

"Master is so powerful. Nothing will happen to him."

"If you run into trouble in the future, Junior Brother Lin, come find me. If there's anything I can do, I'll do my utmost to help you." Han Mo patted Lin Zheyu on the shoulder.

After spending this time together, Lin Zheyu had gotten a good sense of Senior Brother Han's character.

They said that a person's appearance reflected their nature. Han Mo was just as upright as he looked, and someone worth befriending.

"Senior Brother, do you still have to patrol later?"

"No, I took the afternoon off," Han Mo said.

"Since you're free, why don't we spar a few rounds in the courtyard later?"

Lin Zheyu was in a gloomy mood and wanted something to take it out on.

"Sure. It's not like I have anything else to do," Han Mo said with a smile.

The two stood in silence, watching the direction Liang Song had gone for a while before turning toward the city.

Because of the war, there were even more refugees outside the city. Corpses littered the ground, a truly horrific sight.

A few wealthy merchants and prominent families had set up a porridge station outside the city, but with the number of refugees growing by the day, there was nowhere near enough food.

As they passed by, Lin Zheyu spotted a familiar figure.

It was Ren Qingying of the Ren Family, a very beautiful young woman.

"Why are you staring at that young lady? Have you fallen for her?"

Han Mo teased, "Want me to speak to her family on your behalf?"

"Stop messing around."

"Isn't that Miss Ren Qingying of Ren Mansion?"

Lin Zheyu pointed toward a beautiful woman at the porridge station. "I used to be a refugee, too. When I fled to Songyi City, it was thanks to Miss Ren's porridge that I made it. Otherwise, Senior Brother would never have met me."

"Then you really ought to thank Miss Ren," Han Mo said.

Looking at the refugees sprawled across the ground, he felt for them, but there was nothing he could do.

Every day, the City Guard patrolled the area and burned the bodies of those who had died. It was a thoroughly miserable task.

"I heard the rebels might attack Songyi City. Senior Brother, do you have any inside information from the City Guard?" Lin Zheyu asked.

"I'm not sure. The officers reassure the soldiers every day, saying there's nothing to worry about and Great Wei will send troops to suppress the rebels soon."

"Nobody knows what's happening on the front lines."

Han Mo shrugged helplessly. He wanted to know what was happening on the front lines, too. If things looked bad, he wanted his wife and children to flee first.

"Don't worry. Look, even the eldest daughter of the Ren Family is still here. Things probably haven't gotten that bad."

"The Ren Family made their fortune in trade, so they get news quickly. A lot of people are watching them. If the Ren Family makes any move, then there's an eighty percent chance something has happened."

Han Mo pointed toward Ren Qingying.

By then, Ren Qingying had finished handing out porridge. She brushed back a strand of hair and looked at the refugees with a worried expression.

Surrounded by Ren Family guards, Ren Qingying managed to get away from the refugees and return to the city.

"What a lovely young woman. I wonder whose wife she'll be one day," Han Mo sighed.

"What, Senior Brother? Are you interested?"

"Go on. If your sister-in-law heard you, she wouldn't speak to me for days," Han Mo said with a laugh.

Clip-clop, clip-clop.

A group of soldiers approached, their steps orderly and strong.

At their head was a burly man in armor, riding a horse.

The horse's hooves clattered as it charged toward Lin Zheyu and Han Mo at speed.

"Move!"

Han Mo yanked Lin Zheyu aside, dodging the oncoming horse.

Whoa—

The man pulled on the reins, and the horse stopped in front of the two of them.

"Xing Penghai, what are you doing?"

Han Mo furrowed his brows and glared at the man on horseback.

"Oh, isn't this Centurion Han? I didn't get a good look just now. My apologies."

"But I heard Centurion Han took the day off. What are you doing here?"

"What, does Centurion Han want to set up a porridge station outside the city like those rich folk?" Xing Penghai said with a smile as he removed his helmet.

He was an ordinary-looking man, with a noticeable scar at the corner of his eye.

"Centurion Xing, you're joking. I don't have that much silver," Han Mo said flatly.

Lin Zheyu stood to one side, sensing something off between the two. It seemed they had some sort of grudge.

"The young brother beside Centurion Han is quite handsome. Aren't you going to introduce us?" Xing Penghai looked at Lin Zheyu, his eyes narrowing with a smile.

"What's it to you?" Han Mo shot back.

"I think it is."

"I suspect he's a spy sent by the rebels, and that he poses a threat to Songyi City's safety." Xing Penghai looked at Han Mo with a false smile, his words dripping with sarcasm.

"Hmph. Xing Penghai, don't push me into turning against you," Han Mo snapped.

"Haha, I was only joking."

"Centurion Han still can't take a joke, just as ever," Xing Penghai said with a laugh.

"Xing Penghai, I'm warning you. If you dare pull anything, I, Han Mo, won't be an easy target."

Han Mo's expression turned icy. He turned to Lin Zheyu and said, "Let's go. Ignore him."

"Mm."

Lin Zheyu silently followed Han Mo into Songyi City.

Behind them, Xing Penghai's laughter rang out, brazen and unrestrained.

"Senior Brother, do you have a grudge against that man?" Lin Zheyu asked.

"Yeah, a little."

"Don't worry. That fellow wouldn't dare do anything. He just looks for chances to get under my skin," Han Mo said, reassuring Lin Zheyu.

Lin Zheyu nodded and didn't ask further.