This Affection Within My Heart

Soon enough, before two rounds of drinks were finished, the dishes came up one by one.

These dishes were all made from monster meat—full of color, aroma, and flavor, with high nutritional value. For instance, Iron-Haired Wild Boar meat could unblock blood and qi, while Water Caltrop Sheep meat accelerated the self-repair of leg muscles. Even among warriors, these were considered quite expensive.

As expected of adults, Ji Shan and Luo Hong chatted for a long time but eventually circled back to their own children.

"Is Xiao Yue still in high school this year?" Ji Shan asked.

Hearing Ji Shan's question, Luo Yue immediately replied, "Yes, Uncle Ji, I'm about to start my senior year."

Ji Shan cleared his throat, his face flushing slightly, and asked again, "How are your studies? Do you have a boyfriend?" Clearly, this was his first time doing something like this—he was very unpracticed.

"Huh?"

Luo Yue was stunned by Ji Shan's question. Asking about grades was one thing, but asking about a boyfriend? It sounded just like those nosy relatives during the New Year, poking around with random questions.

"What does Uncle Ji Shan mean by asking if I have a boyfriend right now? Could he be thinking of introducing his son to me? No way, no way—I don't even know him, how can he make a decision like that for me? But still, I should at least see what this boy is like first."

Still, Luo Yue answered, "My grades are okay. Getting into college shouldn't be a problem."

"As for a boyfriend, I don't have one."

Seeing the situation going sideways, Luo Hong immediately put his hand on Ji Shan's shoulder and said, "Old buddy, why are you grilling my Xiao Yue? I haven't even asked about A Yun yet, right, A Yun?"

"Yes, yes." Ji Yun gave a wry smile.

"I heard you've already passed the Quasi-Warrior assessment. How is it? What level are you at now?"

"Level?" Ji Yun muttered to himself.

"Should I tell the truth? If I do, I'm afraid it'll scare them—it's too shocking. But then again, geniuses are everywhere in the world; this isn't that eye-catching."

After thinking it over, Ji Yun said, "My physical condition is probably close to a Low-Level War General now."

"Holy crap, freak."

Luo Hong was deeply shocked, rare for him to curse in front of his family.

He knew Ji Yun had only passed the Quasi-Warrior assessment three months ago. To go from that to nearly Low-Level War General in three months—that speed was astonishing.

Luo Hong couldn't help asking, "A Yun, can you reach Low-Level War General physical condition before August 1st?"

"This... I'm afraid it'll be hard. I've already used up most of my current accumulation to improve this much. For another big leap, I'll need to wait a while."

"That's still terrifying," Luo Hong sighed. "I've spent most of my life barely making it to High-Level War General. You're only 18 and already touching the threshold of War General. When I was your age, I was just a High-Level Trainee. Old, I'm getting old."

"Brother Shan, you've raised a fine son."

Hearing this, Ji Shan's eyes widened. "Of course—who do you think I am? How could my Ji Shan's son be any less? Isn't there a saying: dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes?"

"Give you a compliment and you're already puffing up. Come on, let's drink."

Ji Yun quietly asked Luo Yue beside him, "You're starting senior year this year? The college entrance exam is next year. How do you feel? Is it easy?"

"???" Three question marks seemed to pop up over Luo Yue's head.

"You actually ask a senior-year student if it's easy? You're ruthless. You're toxic. Bro, did you never go through senior year? Aren't you a year older than me? How do you not know this?"

Ji Yun said, "I really didn't go through senior year. I stopped going to school after my first year of high school. Every day I trained at home and at the martial arts gym. I didn't even take the college entrance exam."

During the college entrance exam period, Ji Yun was in the month when he absorbed cosmic energy the fastest, so naturally, he didn't want to waste time on the exam.

Luo Yue gave a light cough. "I didn't expect you to look so upright but actually be such a free spirit. I thought you were more disciplined." She continued, "So, your dad was okay with you skipping school to train in martial arts?"

"Of course he was. I have way more talent in martial arts than in math, so why shouldn't I train? Besides, I do have some talent."

"How much talent do you have, exactly?"

Although Luo Yue was born into a warrior family, she didn't know much about the specifics of the warrior world. Of course, before becoming a warrior herself, she knew very little about the warrior circle. She only understood her own father—she knew Luo Hong was barely a High-Level War General, but she had no idea how powerful that really was.

"You just heard it, right? My physical condition is close to Low-Level War General now. Before long, I'll truly break through and become a real Low-Level War General. After Low-Level War General comes Mid-Level War General, and then High-Level War General."

"So that means you're almost catching up to my dad?" Luo Yue covered her mouth in surprise. "No wonder they say you have talent."

Ji Yun looked at the slightly startled Luo Yue and couldn't help smiling. After chatting a few times, he had started to like this bright and pretty girl.

But his goal was to become a High-Level War God, and even break through to exist beyond War God. Should he be thinking about dating? Ji Yun felt quite conflicted inside.

Seeing Ji Yun lost in thought, Luo Yue asked, "What's wrong? Not feeling well? Want to go out for a walk?"

"Right, right," Ji Shan chimed in. "A Yun, all you do every day is train, train, train, or think, think, think. Where's the 18-year-old in you? Go out for a walk with Xiao Yue, see what young people's lives are like."

"This... Dad, that's not really appropriate," Ji Yun hesitated.

"What's not appropriate about it? Your Uncle Luo and I are old friends. You're both young people—you'll have plenty to talk about. It's not like you'll run out of things to say. And I can tell Xiao Yue wants to go out too. You can keep an eye on her."

"Alright, we'll be back in a bit." With that, Ji Yun and Luo Yue left the room.

Outside the hotel, Ji Yun took a deep breath of cool air, pushing aside the thoughts in his mind. He said:

"Where do you want to go?"

"My dad never let me go out alone before. He always insisted on coming with me, so there were a lot of places I couldn't go. How about... how about you take me to see the red-light district?"

"The red-light district?" Ji Yun's expression turned strange.

"You're still a schoolgirl. Why would you want to go to the red-light district? I've never even been there myself. I don't know how you heard about it."

"Let's go, are you coming or not? Don't ask how I know—the internet's pretty advanced these days, you know."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming. It's not like I'm stopping you. I haven't been there either, so I'll check it out."

"And you say you don't want to go? If you didn't, you wouldn't have said that." Luo Yue giggled, grabbing Ji Yun's arm. She added, "I heard there are people kidnapping girls near the red-light district. You'd better keep a close eye on me so I don't get lost."

"Of course, I definitely will."

"Let's go. We'll take the back alleys to get there early and come back early."

With that, Ji Yun led Luo Yue into a small alley. It was winding and deep, lit only by moonlight. A dim streetlamp appeared every ten meters or so, giving the place a somewhat eerie feel.

The faint light stretched their shadows long, making the scene seem oddly quiet and sinister. Some walls bore marks that looked like bloodstains. Since they were taking shortcuts and heading toward the red-light district, these alleys had become the city's dark corners. Before the Great Nirvana, physical differences between people weren't so stark, but after the Great Nirvana, strength became tiered. Ordinary folks were easier to oppress, and the bloody, grim events that unfolded made these alleys terrifying.

Luo Yue couldn't help but grip Ji Yun's arm tighter, leaning against him, trembling slightly from fear.

As they walked, several beams of light suddenly appeared ahead. Ji Yun led Luo Yue toward them quickly and found a few men holding flashlights.

Before Ji Yun could say anything, a voice came from the other side.

"Oh, Brother Fa, we're in luck today. There's a pretty woman in this alley."

The thug leader, called Brother Fa, shone his flashlight on Ji Yun and Luo Yue's faces. "Not bad. Same rules—I go first."

His underlings chuckled. "Heh heh, Brother Fa gets the meat, and we'll settle for the soup."

Luo Yue immediately understood what they meant. She was terrified, shrinking behind Ji Yun, her body shaking even harder.

"Ji Yun, they... they want to hurt me..."

"It's fine. I said I'd protect you." With that, Ji Yun patted her head, rolled his neck, and stepped forward. "Which blind fool wants to go first?"

"Oh? There's still a snot-nosed brat here. Have you even finished school?" the thug leader said arrogantly.

It wasn't surprising he'd say that. Most seventeen- or eighteen-year-olds were junior or senior trainees. This Brother Fa was already at the senior trainee level, so he naturally looked down on students.

"Kid, tell the woman behind you to come out. If she serves me well, I might go easy on you."

"Haha, Brother Fa's getting more merciful by the day," his underlings laughed lewdly.

Before they could finish laughing, Ji Yun moved. He shot forward like a bullet from a chamber, closing in on the leader. A sharp air burst cracked out, and before the leader could react, Ji Yun threw a punch, slamming it into the thug's face.

Thud

With one punch, the thug was sent flying over ten meters. The dim streetlight illuminated his blood-soaked face.

"A-a martial artist! You're a martial artist!"

The thug leader's voice was filled with terror, not just because a martial artist could kill him, but because of the privileges martial artists held.

You see, if an ordinary person tried to harm a martial artist or their family, the martial artist could report them to the Security Bureau. The punishment was severe—at least a decade in prison, or even execution by firing squad.

"Sir, sir, my boss is Blood Jackal Pan Feng. He's a martial artist too. Please let me go for his sake."

"Let you go?" Ji Yun sneered. "Who do you think you are? Do I need to listen to you? If this were about morality, I wouldn't do anything. But scum like you—do you have any reason for me to spare you?"

"I-I, my boss is Blood Jackal Pan Feng. D-do you know he's a War General-level martial artist? Aren't you afraid of him? Even if you're a martial artist, crossing my boss won't end well for you."

"I-I've already sent him a message. D-don't, don't do anything rash," the thug leader stammered.

"Blood Jackal Pan Feng? I'm the Peerless General."

Ji Yun didn't waste more words on the thug. He walked right up to him and stomped, crushing him.

"Ahh!" The thug howled in pain before passing out.

Ji Yun then pulled out his phone, called the Security Bureau, and waited for them to arrive and take the men away.

He returned to Luo Yue's side and gently comforted her. "Don't be scared, don't be scared. See? With me here, there's no danger."

"Let's head back now. Don't go to the red-light district—who knows what other trouble we'd run into."

"Mm," Luo Yue said, still trembling a little. "I'll listen to you."

Ji Yun took Luo Yue's hand and led her back the way they came, out of the alley, and soon they were back at the hotel.

Upstairs, Luo Yue finally calmed down and let out a sigh of relief.

"Ji Yun, I didn't expect you to be so strong. You knocked him out with one punch."

"My punch was about ten times stronger than his. I held back to spare his life; otherwise, I could have killed him outright."

Luo Yue gasped. "Killing someone—that's against the law."

"Scum like that, killing them is nothing. The law's on my side, so it's no big deal," Ji Yun replied, then walked into the room.

"Ah Yun, what happened?" Father Ji Shan noticed Luo Yue's expression and sensed something was off.

"Dad, nothing major. I ran into some scum while walking, and I already dealt with them."

"But," Ji Yun hesitated before deciding to be honest, "those men were underlings of a martial artist called Blood Jackal Pan Feng. Who is this Pan Feng?"

"Blood Jackal Pan Feng?" Ji Shan looked a bit surprised.

"Just a Mid-Level War General with barely passable strength. What, did you run into him?"

"No, but he seems to know about this. He might cause some trouble."

Beside them, Luo Hong had already heard the full story from his daughter Luo Yue. "It's a bit troublesome. For your father and me, as High-Level War Generals, it's no big deal, but it could be a threat to you." He added, "How about this—later, I'll have someone warn him not to act rashly."

"No need, Uncle Luo. A Mid-Level War General won't be able to stir up much trouble for long."

"Alright, let's leave it at that for now."

As Ji Yun and the others returned, the meal was nearly finished. Soon after, Ji Shan and Ji Yun went back to Panshan Residential District.

Once inside the house, Ji Shan put on a mysterious air and asked, "A-Yun, are you interested in pursuing Uncle Luo's daughter?"

"Uh, I guess so. I do like the girl," Ji Yun said, rubbing his forehead.

"But I'm afraid romance might hinder my martial arts progress. Honestly, it's a tough choice for me." Ji Yun's expression turned serious.

Hearing this, Ji Shan replied, "I think Luo Yue is quite well-behaved and sensible. She won't affect you too much. When a good girl comes along, you have to seize the opportunity."

"Mm-hmm, I'll give it a try."