Spring Breeze

For a period of time afterwards, everything was calm. Liu Yuanzhou, besides his usual martial arts practice, made sure to stroll around Third Master's house every day, fetching water, sweeping the floor, or just chatting with Third Master about things in the city.

"I say, Second Child, you don't have to wander around in front of me every day. If I have any news, I'll naturally tell you," Third Master said one day, looking at Liu Yuanzhou who had come running over, somewhat amused and exasperated.

"I'm not here to ask you for news. Can't I just come and see you?" Liu Yuanzhou said with a sheepish smile, "Oh dear, Third Master, you're being too frugal with water. Why is the water tank still full?" Liu Yuanzhou went closer to the water tank to take a look, "Let me help you sweep the yard." As he spoke, he picked up the broom from the corner of the wall and went to sweep the yard.

"This kid, he can't hold his breath at all," Third Master shook his head helplessly.

February 25th, on this day, the sky outside the window was gloomy, and the cold wind howled.

Liu Yuanzhou was huddled in his own Cave Dwelling, boredly reading a book.

With a creak, the door was pushed open, and Liu Chuang walked in. He shrank his neck, sniffed, and exclaimed, "It's freezing me to death."

As he spoke, he went straight to the stove, opened the pot on the stove, and held his hands close to the stove to warm himself.

Liu Yuanzhou raised his head to glance at him and said, "Why are you running out on such a cold day instead of staying at home to warm yourself by the fire?" After saying that, he continued to lower his head to read.

"Sigh." Liu Chuang sighed and continued to warm himself by the fire.

Liu Yuanzhou saw that Liu Chuang didn't speak and even sighed, which was unlike his usual self. He closed the book, looked up at Liu Chuang, and asked strangely, "What's wrong?"

Liu Chuang looked at the flames in the stove, his face flushed red. After a long while, he said quietly, "The little Xiucai is back. Everyone says he passed some Student exam and is now part of the official family. There are so many people surrounding his house, all vying to congratulate him."

"I went to his house with Xi Zi to congratulate him just now, but we were given the cold shoulder. Xiucai's mother said some very unpleasant things, and Xiucai only glanced at us before going back inside, not even inviting us into the Cave Dwelling."

Liu Yuanzhou's heart sank.

"Is that so," Liu Yuanzhou murmured, a trace of jealousy, a faint sense of loss, mixed with joy. His heart was filled with mixed feelings, indescribable. "He finally passed the County Exam. The next step is to take the Xiucai exam. His status is different from before."

"Alright, don't think so much. You know what kind of person Xiucai's mother is," Liu Yuanzhou saw that Liu Chuang was still looking dejected, shook his head, and comforted Liu Chuang in a low voice.

"Sigh, how can people change so easily? After passing the Student exam, he forgot his good friends from the past," Liu Chuang sighed. He looked up at Liu Yuanzhou, "Second Child, will you change if you become successful in the future?"

"Yes, I'll ask you to drive my carriage and carry my sedan chair then," Liu Yuanzhou was amused by his words and joked.

"Tch, I won't do it," Liu Chuang rolled his eyes at Liu Yuanzhou, sat on the edge of the bed, grabbed the book Liu Yuanzhou was reading, and said, "What book are you reading? You're not taking the Xiucai exam."

"Can't I read if I like to?" Liu Yuanzhou shrugged, took back the book, and asked, "Why haven't I seen Xi Zi? Where is he?"

"Hehe, I don't want to mention that spineless traitor," Liu Chuang said angrily, "After being spoken to like that by Xiucai's mother, he still shamelessly went over there. Now, the Xiucai's family is going to hold a big banquet, and that kid is brazenly helping out."

"Don't say that about him. What traitor? He's friends with you and me, and he's also friends with Xiucai. It's his freedom to choose who he ultimately sides with," Liu Yuanzhou frowned, staring at Liu Chuang, "Don't talk nonsense in the future." He thought that he would be leaving the village soon. If Liu Chuang's words and actions offended Li Mingzhong and the others, it wouldn't be good if they targeted and suppressed him.

"Humph!" Liu Chuang turned his head away, ignoring Liu Yuanzhou.

"Let's go, come with me to Xiucai's house. Now that he has passed the Student exam, we should go and congratulate him as friends," Liu Yuanzhou thought.

"You go if you want to, I'm not going," Liu Chuang said angrily.

"What can I say about you? If you can't be friends, don't become enemies. Let's go," Liu Yuanzhou put on his shoes, put on his sheepskin hat, and pulled Liu Chuang out the door.

After going out, Liu Yuanzhou thought that he couldn't go empty-handed, so he went back to the Cave Dwelling and took two frozen fish. The fish were brought back from the city by Third Master. He stuffed one fish to Liu Chuang to hold, and he carried the other one himself, and then headed towards Li Mingzhong's house. Liu Chuang followed behind with his head down, not saying a word, not knowing what he was thinking.

Li Mingzhong's house was bustling with activity at the moment. A table was set up in the yard, with melon seeds, peanuts, candies, and other things on it. A large group of men and women, old and young, from the village stood in the yard. Children were chasing and playing in the crowd. Several white-bearded old men were squatting on the side talking, and the women were whispering in twos and threes. A group of people were also gathered at the entrance of his Cave Dwelling, looking inside. Liu Yuanzhou and Liu Chuang walked into the yard, but did not attract everyone's attention.

"Oh, isn't this Second Child? You also know that my Xiaozhong passed the exam?" Suddenly someone shouted loudly, attracting everyone's attention, "Oh dear, you even brought fish. No need, we brought back a lot from the city, we can't even finish eating them."

The one who spoke was Li Mingzhong's sister-in-law. She was standing by the table, holding a handful of melon seeds in her hand, smiling triumphantly.

"I don't think I've offended her, have I? Why is she speaking with such veiled barbs?" Liu Yuanzhou wondered. He wasn't there to cause trouble, so he didn't want to argue with her. Suppressing his displeasure, he said, "This is just a small token of our appreciation. We don't have anything else of value to offer, so please don't look down on it." As he spoke, he plastered a smile on his face. "Xiucai passing the Student exam is an honor for us too. We came specifically to congratulate him. Is Xiucai in the Cave Dwelling?"

Liu Chuang, however, felt his face burning with shame. He wished he could turn around and leave immediately.

"Little Zhong is in the Cave Dwelling talking to his great-grandfather. It's best if you don't go in. I'll tell him later." With that, she ignored Liu Yuanzhou and the others, turning and entering the Cave Dwelling.

Liu Yuanzhou and Liu Chuang stood there with the fish in their hands, unsure whether to leave or stay, both feeling extremely awkward.

"So that's it, Li Laocai is here. No wonder she's targeting me, hmph." Although Liu Yuanzhou was also furious, he had experienced some things and could remain calm. Facing the strange gazes of the crowd, he stood there waiting with a calm expression.

Liu Chuang couldn't take it. His face was flushed red, and he lowered his head, not daring to look at anyone. Besides hating Li Mingzhong's sister-in-law, he also blamed Liu Yuanzhou somewhat: "I told you not to come, but you insisted. Now we've really embarrassed ourselves."

After waiting for a while without Li Mingzhong coming out, Liu Yuanzhou decided not to wait passively any longer. He shouted loudly inside, "Xiucai, it's Second Child, come out for a moment."

The crowd immediately fell silent, and everyone looked towards Liu Yuanzhou and the other.

"Second Child, I'm telling you, if people don't want to see you, why are you so eager to push yourself on them?" At this moment, four or five Li family youths who often hung out with Li Er walked out of the Cave Dwelling. The one speaking was called Li Xiaoming, and he was temporarily the leader of this group since Li Er had gone to the city.

Li Xiaoming and the others walked up to Liu Yuanzhou and Liu Chuang, shouting, "Get out of the way, a good dog doesn't block the road."

"Damn, are you looking for trouble? The road is so wide, why do you have to walk past Grandpa here?" Liu Chuang stepped forward, his copper bell-like eyes glaring at Li Xiaoming and the others, and said angrily, "You want to fight, right? Come on, who's afraid of who."

Li Xiaoming was overjoyed to see Liu Chuang taking the lead. They started pushing and shoving Liu Chuang, shouting even louder.

"What if we just want to hit you?"

"We've been displeased with you for a long time."

Liu Chuang's fists were no match for many hands. He cried out as he was pushed back several steps by the others, and Liu Yuanzhou also retreated a few steps behind him.

Liu Yuanzhou was also enraged. He reached out and pushed Liu Chuang's waist, sending him seven or eight steps away. Then, with lightning speed, he reached out his left hand and grabbed Li Xiaoming's wrist, pulling him back and leading him forward. Li Xiaoming was staggered and pulled in front of Liu Yuanzhou. Then, Liu Yuanzhou placed his right hand on Li Xiaoming's shoulder, and as the force flowed, Li Xiaoming spun around in place like a top. Liu Yuanzhou released his hands and grabbed Li Xiaoming's waist again, sending him forward with force. Li Xiaoming flew towards the four people behind him like a cannonball.

All of this took a long time to describe, but it happened in an instant. The four people behind Li Xiaoming hadn't even reacted when they saw Li Xiaoming crashing towards them. They quickly reached out to stop him, but they felt a great force coming from Li Xiaoming's body. The four of them were knocked to the ground, with two of them being pinned under Li Xiaoming.

Liu Yuanzhou stood there with a calm expression, as if he hadn't been the one who had just made the move. However, he smiled wryly in his heart, "I came here to make peace, but I didn't expect to have to fight."

Liu Chuang was stunned. He saw Liu Yuanzhou easily defeat Li Xiaoming and the others, rubbed his eyes, and thought, "Is this Brother Second Child? When did he become so powerful?" But now was not the time to ask questions.

The crowd in the courtyard was also quite surprised. Several people who were preparing to step forward to mediate stopped in their tracks, feeling contempt in their hearts: "These Li family kids are too cowardly."

Li Xiaoming was now dizzy from the fall, and his head was spinning. The other four helped him up. They looked at Liu Yuanzhou, not daring to continue fighting for the moment, and were also surprised and uncertain, "What medicine did this Second Child take? He's so strong."

For a moment, the courtyard was in chaos.

"What are you all doing?" Suddenly, someone shouted loudly.