Trembling 2

"What are you doing standing here all by yourself, Yiyang?"

The wooden door of the side room stood wide open, and a sturdy old man, well over six feet tall, walked out.

The old man's hair was thinning, but his goatee was impeccably groomed. He wore a loose, grayish-white robe resembling a Taoist's, with two black dragons embroidered on the sleeves over his forearms.

This was his grandfather, Wang Xinlong.

Wang Xinlong was eighty-nine that year. His build was a textbook inverted triangle, with thick, powerful muscles and a vigorous spirit. His eyes were bright and piercing; if he stared at someone for long, he gave off an intimidating, overbearing air.

Years of practicing martial arts had left his upper-body muscles extremely developed, distorting his figure somewhat.

He had also injured his left upper arm in the past, so he always wore a black metal arm guard.

When Wang Yiyang was little, he had always thought the metal arm guard looked cool, because it was carved with all sorts of pretty patterns.

Only later did he learn how uncomfortable it was to wear, especially in hot weather.

When Wang Xinlong was young, he had been notorious far and wide for his fiery temper. If someone crossed him, he would start swinging.

But as he grew older, he became much more even-tempered, focusing all his attention on teaching his disciples, children, and grandchildren.

Eventually, he gave up on his son, realizing there was nothing he could do with him. He had hoped Wang Yiyang would inherit his legacy, but unfortunately, Wang Yiyang refused just as stubbornly.

You couldn't force a melon to ripen. With no other choice, Wang Xinlong had to place his hopes in his disciples.

"Not bad. You came around pretty quickly." Wang Xinlong laughed and patted Wang Yiyang on the shoulder.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. There's a gym at work, and I exercise with my colleagues pretty often." Wang Yiyang had recovered by now and smiled as he replied.

He didn't know what that strange sensation just now had been, but somehow, he felt it had something to do with his senior, Zhong Can.

Could Zhong Can already have bad intentions at this point?

Wang Yiyang felt a faint chill in his heart.

At that moment, he suddenly regretted not having taken his grandfather's martial arts seriously when he was young. Now he was helpless, unable to do anything.

Forget fighting with martial arts—even just comparing their builds, if Zhong Can really meant him harm, killing him would be as easy as crushing a chicken.

He had seen Zhong Can lift heavy things before.

The stone mill in the corner of the courtyard weighed hundreds of pounds, yet Zhong Can lifted it as easily as a block of dried tofu.

But this is the modern world. Martial arts and all that went out of fashion ages ago. I made the right choice. My plans for my life just haven't really gotten off the ground yet. Wang Yiyang argued with himself.

"So, how's it feel being back after so long? Are you settling in all right?" Wang Xinlong walked over to one side with his hands behind his back and leaned against a tree trunk, gazing up at the night sky.

"It's all right. There are just a lot of bugs. The repellent doesn't seem to do much." Wang Yiyang answered honestly.

"That's because your blood's fresh." The old man laughed. "Those mosquitoes are used to our blood and want a change of flavor. It's the same when your dad comes. Whenever you people show up, the mosquitoes go after you."

Wang Yiyang smiled along with him. "Grandpa, have you ever thought about moving to the city?"

"No. What's so great about the city? You even have to fight people for a place to exercise. The parks only have a tiny patch of space, and if you bump into something and break it, you have to pay for it. What a hassle!

"It's not like that in the countryside. Things aren't so delicate, and people aren't so pampered."

"But you're all alone out here. What if you get sick or something?" Wang Yiyang urged.

"Don't I have all those disciples? Your Zhong Can's here, too. You think no one will look after me?" Wang Xinlong laughed. "You'd better worry about yourself. Find me a granddaughter-in-law soon and give me a great-grandson to play with."

Wang Yiyang chatted casually with his grandfather. It had been many years since he'd sat down and had a proper talk with the old man like this.

Usually, he was either busy studying or busy working.

The sky grew darker and darker. Thin, gauzy moonlight shone down. After standing there for a while, the old man burped, seemingly getting into the spirit of things, and began rambling to his grandson with great enthusiasm.

As they chatted, Wang Yiyang tried several times to hint at what was on his mind, but couldn't figure out how to bring it up.

When he finally managed to say something, the old man took it as a joke or a dream, waving it away without a second thought.

Wang Yiyang could only sigh.

"Let me tell you, that field you studied has no future. What kind of damn internet job is that? You're still working for someone else, and what good are a few thousand a month? It's not even enough to cover my liquor."

The old man burped and continued.

"If you ask me, you should come back to the martial arts school and learn properly. Even if you don't do well, I still have some businesses I can leave you. That's better than working for someone else and getting exploited."

Wang Yiyang was irritated by his words, but the old man was his grandfather, after all, so he had to put up with it.

But his youthful temper flared. After getting lectured for ages and told his studies and hard work were useless, he couldn't help replying.

"I'm not doing as badly out there as you think."

He had been born into a family of modest means. His parents were travel journalists, members of a relatively new profession. They went from one tourist attraction to another, conducting inspections and writing articles for columns.

His parents didn't earn much, and they were away from home all the time.

So he had practically been raised by his grandparents.

When he got a little older, he hit his rebellious phase. He argued with his grandfather every day and got beaten every day in return.

Wang Yiyang had a fierce temper, too. No matter how badly he was beaten, he never gave in.

Then one time, Wang Xinlong got drunk and beat him so badly that Wang Yiyang's spleen hemorrhaged. He nearly died. His grandmother gave the old man a sound thrashing right then and there.

After that, Wang Xinlong never hit Wang Yiyang again. He also stopped forcing his grandson to learn martial arts.

Later, as Wang Yiyang grew older and more sensible, he started working hard at school of his own accord. He went to a better school in the city.

And so, little by little, he and his grandfather grew distant.

It wasn't until Wang Yiyang went to college and had more free time that they gradually started keeping in touch more often.

In fact, starting in high school, Wang Yiyang had handled everything in his own life. His parents sent him a set amount of money every month, but rarely asked about anything else.

He was well-behaved and sensible, and never once got his parents called to school.

Later, he went away to college even farther from home, and they were in touch even less. It was common for them to call only once a month.

After graduating, Wang Yiyang didn't continue on to graduate school. Instead, he went straight into a job in his field: an internet product evaluator.

"Not doing badly? Aren't you one of those product evaluators? Heh, I asked around. You make five thousand a month at most." The old man held up five fingers, his face full of scorn.

"..." Wang Yiyang had no answer.

Coming back to himself, he quickly described that strange sensation from earlier to his grandfather in detail.

"You were frightened by something, and your spirit stirred your qi," Wang Xinlong said with a frown. "It's nothing serious. Just watch fewer ghost and horror movies, and steady your mind."

"What do you mean, steady my mind?"

"When your spirit is strong, watching ghost or horror movies is like using stimulation to train it.

"But if your spirit is weak, watching them will shake its foundations.

"When your spirit isn't steady, your qi won't flow smoothly, and your body will naturally be affected. You'll get timid and anxious at the slightest disturbance."

"I understand..." Wang Yiyang nodded to show he got it.

"All right, all right. Go back to bed. It's late." After chatting for so long, the old man was finally getting tired. He put his hands behind his back and swayed as he turned and headed back to his room.

Wang Yiyang watched him leave, his heart filled with complicated feelings.

Inside the house.

Zhong Can stood by the window, his expression calm and indifferent.

His sturdy figure was like a human sculpture in the dark, hard and carrying a hint of inexplicable menace.

It seems Wang Yiyang has noticed something. —Black Silkworm.

He lowered his head and looked at the glow of his phone. His fingers flew over the keypad as he sent an encrypted message.

Buzz. A reply came in.

Should we kill him ahead of time, in case something goes wrong? —Dada.

He's leaving the day after tomorrow. We'll make our move on the way back. —Black Silkworm.

You or me? —Dada.

You. If I make a move, Wang Xinlong will notice. —Black Silkworm.

All right. We'll just make him have a car accident. —Dada.

Fine, but if he really has noticed something, I'll act directly. Be ready to back me up at any time. —Black Silkworm.

Of course. —Dada.

Snap.

The phone screen instantly cleared all the messages, then switched off by itself, as if an invisible hand had wiped away every trace of the conversation.

Zhong Can lifted his head and stared at the crossbeam in the darkness for a long time without moving.

Night deepened.

Wang Yiyang changed into his pajamas and lay on his back on the bed.

From outside in the courtyard came the faint sound of the housekeeper drawing water to tend the flowers.

Well water struck the metal bucket, making a steady, crisp splashing sound. Blending with the deep silence around it, it somehow made the night seem even quieter.

Wang Yiyang lay on the somewhat hard wooden bed, breathing in the chilly air through his nostrils. He could also smell the faint mustiness of the room.

The quilt and mattress seemed not to have been used in ages. They felt slightly damp to the touch, and a chill seemed to seep straight into his bones.

Wang Yiyang tugged at the quilt, but no matter what he did, he couldn't get warm under it.

His mouth was a little dry. He licked his lips, only to find that there was an unknown soft object stuck to them.

It might have been fruit peel, or perhaps a piece of bean curd skin.

It was salty and a little disgusting. He quickly reached out, pinched off the soft object, and flicked it away.

Smack.

The thing seemed to hit the wooden table in the room, making a barely audible sound.

What on earth should I do to deal with this...

Wang Yiyang looked up at the dark wooden beams and sighed to himself.

He felt as if he had already used up a whole year's worth of sighs in just the past few days.

Judging by how Zhong Can acted today, he's almost stopped hiding his hostility. He may hold back in front of Grandpa, but in front of me...

He recalled the way they had looked at each other earlier.

He didn't think he had imagined it.

Zhong Can's room was right next door.

The two of them might be less than ten feet apart right now, separated by only one wall.

The thought made Wang Yiyang's scalp prickle, and he couldn't get to sleep no matter how hard he tried.

He tossed and turned in bed for over half an hour before finally slipping into a half-dreaming, half-awake state.

He drifted in and out for about an hour. He thought he heard something outside the window, but when he forced his eyes open to look, he couldn't see anything.

After that happened several times, Wang Yiyang couldn't get back to sleep. He simply woke himself up, sat on the bed, and stayed there until dawn.