Settling In

Liu Yuanzhou jogged all the way and soon entered the village. It was not yet noon, and he was in no hurry to go home. He strolled leisurely along the village road, looking at the familiar village and familiar faces, listening to the familiar clamor in his ears. A feeling of having lived through another lifetime rose within him, and the nerves that had been taut all this time finally relaxed.

Was the decision I made earlier really the right one? Now that he had settled down, Liu Yuanzhou felt a flicker of doubt over what he had done today. As he walked, he sorted through his thoughts.

It's not too late to regret it. I could report this to the village elders or go to Crouching Tiger Slope and report it to the authorities. Then I'd be completely safe.

But if I do that, I'll completely lose my chance to learn real martial arts, and my life will return to what it was before.

No. I want to learn martial arts. I want to change my life. I don't want to live out my whole life in dull mediocrity. This may be the only chance I'll ever get in this lifetime. I have to seize it. Liu Yuanzhou's gaze grew firm.

Miss Qin probably isn't some utterly heartless villain. Otherwise, she could have killed me first and put on her disguise afterward.

Besides, she killed Bage in self-defense. What she told me may not all have been true, but compared with what Bage said, it was probably eight or nine parts out of ten the same.

The key now is whether she truly means to teach me martial arts, or whether she's only pretending.

Alas, do I even have a choice? I can only assume she means it. The most urgent matter now is to settle her in, then serve her well. I can only hope she's someone who keeps her promises. Liu Yuanzhou shook his head with a bitter smile, but deep down, he had a feeling that Miss Qin was not deceiving him.

Having thought through all the links in the chain, Liu Yuanzhou swept away his earlier unease and constant worrying over gains and losses. His heart felt incomparably full.

When he looked again at the scattered pedestrians on the road, Liu Yuanzhou found them incredibly dear as well. Even the scenery around him seemed vividly alive.

"Fourth Master Li, picking up dung again? Mm, this dung is good and rich. It'd be perfect for stewing tofu." Liu Yuanzhou saw an old man carrying a basket and picking dung balls off the road. He went up, took a look, and praised it.

"Get lost! Stop making fun of your grandpa!" the old man snapped, raising the stick he used to pick up dung as if to strike him.

Liu Yuanzhou laughed heartily and ran off.

"Uncle Manlin, whose piglets are you going to ruin this time?" Liu Yuanzhou called out to a man walking toward him. The man knew how to castrate pigs, and when Liu Yuanzhou saw the filthy cloth bag slung across his body, he guessed that the man was off to display his skill again.

"Hehe, how about I give you a cut someday too?" Uncle Manlin said with a grin, his eyes narrowing.

A chill ran down Liu Yuanzhou's spine. He gave a dry laugh, skirted around him, and hurried away.

When he passed Li Laocai's house, Liu Yuanzhou saw Li Er emerge from the front gate with a bundle on his back. He could not be bothered to acknowledge him and walked straight past.

"Hey, Second Child, wait up! I heard you fought with Fatty Wang and the others yesterday. How was it? You got beaten pretty badly, didn't you? Hahaha!" Li Er stood on the front steps, looking down at Liu Yuanzhou as he burst into laughter.

After the cleansing he had gone through earlier, Liu Yuanzhou seemed to have broadened both his outlook and his heart. Even when Li Er mocked him over yesterday's matter, he did not feel particularly angry.

"Hehe, yes. Too bad you didn't get to see it." Liu Yuanzhou turned around, looking at him with a cold smile.

"Uh..." Li Er choked on his words and did not know what to say for a moment. Then he suddenly thought of something and laughed. "My dad and I are going to Yan Province City. What about that? Jealous? You've never even been to the city, have you?"

"I'm so jealous. Is Young Master Li going to the city to take the exam? Make sure you come back as a Xiucai." Liu Yuanzhou put on a look of utter admiration.

"You!" The words stabbed Li Er where it hurt. His face flushed crimson, his fists clenched tightly, and his eyes looked ready to devour someone. As the saying went, don't slap a man in the face, and don't curse a man by exposing his shortcomings. Who in the village did not know what sort of person Li Er was?

"What, you still want to fight?" Liu Yuanzhou's fingers cracked loudly.

Li Er took a deep breath and forced down his anger. He knew he could not beat Liu Yuanzhou in a fight.

"Hehe, Second Child, I heard Er Ni is in Yan Province City. If I happen to run into her, do you think I ought to treat her to a meal?" Li Er suddenly smiled again.

At the mention of Er Ni, a sharp pain stabbed through Liu Yuanzhou's heart. Li Er's words had struck right at his sore spot.

Seeing Liu Yuanzhou fall silent, Li Er felt incomparably delighted, as though he had drunk a bowl of steaming hot meat soup in the dead of winter and every pore on his body had opened.

Even if he lost, he could not lose face. Liu Yuanzhou was thoroughly displeased by Li Er's smug look. He suppressed the pain in his heart and said coldly, "Fine. If you see Er Ni, remember to pass along a message for me. Tell her that I, Second Child, miss her very much." With that, he turned and left. If they kept talking, he would not be able to stop himself from throwing fists at Li Er again.

Li Er froze, staring at Liu Yuanzhou's retreating back without knowing what to say. Irritation suddenly rose in his heart, mixed with a trace of jealousy. Young men naturally admired beauty; what young man did not harbor fantasies about pretty girls?

"What are you standing around for? Let's go." At that moment, Li Er's father, Li Fuyuan, came out through the front gate. Two hired hands followed behind him, carrying shoulder poles laden with full baskets.

"It's nothing, Dad. I'll carry the bundle for you." Li Er took the bundle from his father's arms, slung it over his own shoulder, and walked ahead.

Li Fuyuan looked at his son and followed after him. "Second, when we get to your eldest uncle's house this time, you need to behave well. Try to stay there and have your eldest uncle find you a good position."

Li Er nodded, but he was still tangled up over what Liu Yuanzhou had said. Are the two of them really together?

Liu Yuanzhou entered his family's courtyard and saw a pile of dirt heaped there. His father, Liu Da, was using a shovel to break it into fine pieces.

"Where's the firewood you chopped?" Liu Da stopped working and asked curiously.

"Ah, don't mention it. Before I even chopped any, the axe fell off the cliff. I searched for ages and couldn't find it." Liu Yuanzhou put on a dejected look. On his way down the mountain, he had tossed the axe over the cliff. He had no desire to bring that unlucky thing home. As he spoke, he went into the cave dwelling. His mother, Zhang Shi, was not there. He lifted the pot lid and found porridge and corn bread warming inside. Liu Yuanzhou was starving. He took a piece of corn bread, ladled himself a bowl of porridge, and carried it out into the courtyard to eat.

"Where's Mom?" Liu Yuanzhou asked.

"She went to your great-aunt's house," Liu Da answered. Then he added, "You really are careless. You're already this old, yet you still do things so rashly. Buying another axe will cost more than twenty copper coins."

Liu Yuanzhou said nothing, letting his father lecture him while he silently lowered his head and ate. He did not find it bothersome at all.

"Da Wa, the dirt's broken up," Liu Da called into the cave dwelling.

Liu Yuanbo came out. He had heard everything just now and found it rather strange. His younger brother had actually endured their father's nagging without arguing back even once. He had never been like that before.

"I'll build the heated bed. Da Wa, you and Second Child move the stones and mud," Liu Da instructed his two sons.

The father and two sons worked together. After about two hours, a rectangular heated bed had been built. Liu Da's workmanship was quite good; the bed was square and straight, with sharply defined edges and corners.

"Dad, your skills are getting better and better. You could go out and take jobs building heated beds now," Liu Yuanzhou said with a smile.

"So-so. It's enough to make do for our own home." Liu Da replied modestly. He packed a pipe of dry tobacco, took a satisfied puff, and said, "Once the bed dries completely, we can paint the edges with white lime too. Then it'll look good."

Liu Yuanzhou and Liu Yuanbo both nodded in agreement.

In winter, most village families ate only two meals a day, and Liu Yuanzhou's family was no exception. Since Liu Da and his two sons had built the heated bed today, which counted as heavy labor, Zhang Shi had deliberately left porridge and corn bread in the pot that morning as an extra midday meal.

After washing up, Liu Da and Liu Yuanbo went to eat. Liu Yuanzhou had nothing to do for the moment, so he considered finding Li Mingzhong to ask him clearly about yesterday's matter. But on second thought, he felt there was no need. What would asking change? So he let it go. He then found Liu Chuang and Zhang He, telling them not to seek out Li Mingzhong for the next few days. Both found it strange, and Liu Yuanzhou could only explain vaguely, "The Xiucai is about to take the County Exam. We shouldn't disturb him while he studies." Liu Chuang and Zhang He said they understood.

Liu Yuanzhou then hurried to Third Master's home, tidied up the cave dwelling, and added firewood to the stove to light a fire. Third Master had quite a few quilts stored away, so Liu Yuanzhou took out a brand-new one for Miss Qin.

Third Master's home had four cave dwellings. The two in the middle had doorways cut into the walls connecting them. One served as the kitchen and the place for eating and receiving guests. It was called the outer room and also had a heated bed; Third Master usually slept there. The other was used to store miscellaneous items. It was called the inner room and also had a heated bed, but no door leading outside. The inner room was generally not lived in, and Liu Yuanzhou planned to have Miss Qin stay there.

Finally, he carried several loads of water and filled the water vat.

After dinner, Liu Yuanzhou used an excuse to leave the house. While there was still some light left in the sky, he headed straight for the cave where Miss Qin was staying. Before leaving, he did not forget to secretly take two pieces of corn bread.

By the time he reached the cave entrance, the sky had darkened.

"Miss Qin, I'm here," Liu Yuanzhou called toward the cave entrance.

A rustling sound came from inside the cave, followed by Miss Qin emerging while supporting herself against the wall.

"So you finally remembered to come? Don't you plan to learn martial arts anymore?" Miss Qin said angrily. She had spent the entire day in the cave, hungry and afraid, and every day had felt like a year.

"Hehe, it's not dark yet. I was afraid someone might see me," Liu Yuanzhou said, scratching his head. He quickly pulled the corn bread from his clothes and handed it to her. "Eat something first."

Miss Qin snatched it from him and began eating in large bites. The corn bread had gone cold and was somewhat hard, but she did not care.

Liu Yuanzhou entered the cave and took out the water flask. Once Miss Qin had finished eating, he said, "We're going down the mountain now. If it gets any later, we won't be able to see the road. Can you walk?"

"Still no." Miss Qin frowned.

"Alas." Liu Yuanzhou let out a mournful sigh and crouched down.

"What? You don't seem very willing?" A trace of anger rose in Miss Qin's heart again. What's wrong with me today? Why am I getting angry at every little thing? Miss Qin noticed that her emotions were somewhat out of control, but there was nothing she could do about it for the moment. She could only restrain herself as best she could. She had already been poisoned, and in order to deal with Bage, she had taken a secret medicine from her sect to force out her potential. Her body was now in an exceptionally terrible state.

"Willing, willing." Liu Yuanzhou hurriedly put on a smiling face. For the sake of martial arts, I'll endure it. Do all martial arts masters have such bad tempers?

Neither of them spoke along the way. By the time night had fully fallen, they finally reached Third Master's courtyard. Luckily, they had not encountered a single person on the road. Liu Yuanzhou let out a long breath.

"You can stay here for the next few days. The owner has gone to the city and won't be back until after the New Year." Liu Yuanzhou opened the door and entered the cave dwelling, feeling around until he found the oil lamp and lit it.

Miss Qin supported herself against the door and slowly made her way inside.

Holding the oil lamp, Liu Yuanzhou led Miss Qin into the inner room. Pointing at the heated bed, he said, "You can sleep here. I cleaned the bed this afternoon, and the quilt has been freshly changed too." As he spoke, he set the oil lamp atop a wooden chest on the heated bed.

Miss Qin looked around, examining the cave dwelling. There were baskets, old furniture, and other things piled haphazardly by the door. The light was dim, so she could not see clearly. Two wooden chests and a set of bedding sat on the heated bed. Other than that, there was nothing at all. In short, there were only two words for it: utterly crude. She could not help frowning.

"Is there anything else Miss Qin is dissatisfied with?" Liu Yuanzhou asked carefully.

"Alas, having a place to stay is already good enough. What right do I have to be picky? Compared with sleeping rough and eating wherever I could these past few days, this place is far better." Thinking this, Miss Qin relaxed her brow and shook her head. "Nothing. This is quite good."

"Then get some rest. I'll head back first. It's late today; I'll bring food over tomorrow morning." Seeing Miss Qin sit on the heated bed, Liu Yuanzhou took his leave.

"Um, I want to wash up. Where are the basin and cloth?" Miss Qin asked somewhat awkwardly.

Liu Yuanzhou slapped his forehead. How did I forget that? He hurriedly brought over a wooden basin and a cloth. The basin was what Third Master normally used to wash his face, while the cloth was brand-new. Third Master's home had plenty of them.

"Let me prepare the water for you." Seeing that Miss Qin had difficulty moving, he filled the basin and set it before her. The hot water was already prepared. When he had heated the bed that afternoon, he had also warmed water in the pot; it was still scalding now. Liu Yuanzhou tested it with his hand, added some cold water, and waited until the temperature was suitable before saying, "Wash up. I'll go back first. Leave the water there, and I'll come dump it out tomorrow morning."

"Thank you," Miss Qin said softly. No man had ever treated her with such consideration before, and she felt a small stir of emotion in her heart.

"What did you say?" Liu Yuanzhou had not heard her clearly.

"Nothing. You can go." Miss Qin said indifferently. Then she remembered Liu Yuanzhou's purpose in doing all this, and that little bit of emotion vanished without a trace. Her tone grew colder.

Liu Yuanzhou gave her a few more instructions about what to watch out for during the night, then left.