Aftermath

"Ah!" Liu Yuanzhou cried out, jolting upright.

Panting heavily, he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. The memory of Lu Busha's blow to the head in his dream still left his heart pounding with fear.

Sleep was gone from him. He threw on a padded jacket, climbed down from the kang bed, and quietly opened the door. The night was cool as water. He walked to the stone table in the courtyard and sat down, letting out a long breath beneath the sky full of stars.

"Alas, another nightmare." He could not help sighing inwardly.

Ten days had passed since the night Fatty Wang was killed. Over those ten-odd days, nightmares often jolted him awake in the middle of the night. Sometimes he dreamed of Fatty Wang's bloody head, sometimes Lu Busha suddenly appeared, and sometimes the Wang family came with constables to arrest them.

"Heh, compared to a Martial Artist, my cultivation of the mind is still far too lacking." He laughed bitterly to himself.

What had happened that night had shaken Liu Yuanzhou deeply. Over the past dozen days, he had begun pondering matters he had never noticed before. Was a Martial Artist merely someone with great physical strength? No, they also needed a powerful heart.

Even while poisoned and pursued by powerful enemies, Miss Qin had still traveled thousands of miles. In the end, she turned the tables and killed her opponent. What she relied on was not only formidable martial arts, but also unyielding willpower and extraordinary endurance.

As for Lu Busha... well, he seemed like a homicidal madman, yet there was also something simple about him. A strange man.

Looking at himself, perhaps in a little over a year, he would comprehend Whole Strength and become a Martial Artist. But when it came to cultivating his state of mind, he was still far behind. It did not show in ordinary times, but at critical moments—like when he faced Lu Busha that night—he had not been able to summon even a shred of courage to resist.

And these past few days of constant unease, along with the unending nightmares, all proved just how weak his heart was.

"I can't go on like this." Liu Yuanzhou stood and looked up at the deep night sky, his expression incomparably resolute.

In the morning, after finishing his practice, Liu Yuanzhou ran into the courtyard and saw his elder brother Liu Yuanbo carrying a shoulder pole, about to fetch water.

"Brother, give me the pole. I'll go." As he spoke, Liu Yuanzhou snatched the pole and set it across his shoulders, then grinned. "You should go keep Sister-in-law company."

Liu Yuanbo's face reddened. Smiling, he scolded, "Go fetch your water and stop meddling in my business."

Liu Yuanzhou laughed heartily and left.

Liu Yuanbo smiled as well. His younger brother had come back to life.

Liu Yuanzhou's condition over the past dozen days had truly worried him. He spent every day burdened with worry and absent-minded, barely eating. Whenever asked why, he would always brush the question aside impatiently.

Today, he had finally seen Liu Yuanzhou smile again. Not only did he look full of spirit, he had even joked with him. At last, the great stone in Liu Yuanbo's heart was set down.

There was another piece of good news as well: his wife was finally pregnant, and the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had returned to how it had been before.

Liu Yuanbo felt that the morning sunlight had never been so bright.

After making three trips for water and filling both large water jars, breakfast was ready.

Rice porridge, steamed buns, pickled vegetables, and stir-fried shredded potatoes made for an ordinary breakfast. Only Liu Yuanbo's wife, Li Shi, received an extra dish of scrambled eggs, because she was pregnant with the Liu family's third generation.

After the family happily finished breakfast, Li Shi rose to help her mother-in-law clear the dishes, only to be pushed away. "Just sit properly. Don't disturb the fetus," Zhang Shi said, deliberately putting on a stern face.

Li Shi was somewhat embarrassed. She looked toward her husband, and Liu Yuanbo grinned broadly, took his wife's hand, and led her outside. He liked this cheerful atmosphere.

After Liu Da finished a bowl of dry tobacco, he knocked the pipe against his foot, rose, and said to his wife, "I'm heading to the fields. Cui Er, remember to make something for Eldest's wife at noon."

Zhang Shi said, "I know. Pick some Bitter Herbs on your way back." Bitter Herbs were a kind of wild vegetable. After being blanched, they could be served cold or stir-fried.

With a water flask on his back, Liu Yuanzhou followed his father out. Liu Da carried an iron hoe while Liu Yuanzhou carried a shovel, and the two headed into the mountains. They planned to reclaim a patch of wasteland behind the mountain and plant fruit trees there as well.

They had not called Liu Yuanbo. During the day, Liu Yuanbo was practically always in the orchard, carefully tending the fruit trees he had just planted.

It was already late April. Millet, corn, potatoes, and other crops had all been planted. The millet sprouts had just broken through the soil, and crystal-clear dewdrops glittered in the morning light.

As father and son walked through the mountains, Liu Da could not help singing a mountain song again.

Turning the earth, breaking up the clods, leveling the ground—the father and son poured out their sweat.

They did not return home for lunch either, merely chewing down two pieces of corn bread with water. It was not until nearly the hour of Wei, when the sun had slanted westward, that they stopped. They had reclaimed about half a mu of sloping land.

Leaning on his shovel, Liu Da called to Liu Yuanzhou, who was still swinging his hoe in the distance. "Second Child, that's enough for today. Let's head back."

Liu Yuanzhou stopped what he was doing, tossed down the hoe, took off his short shirt soaked through with sweat, and wrung it hard.

Liu Da quickly took his long robe and draped it over him, chiding, "Put your clothes on quickly. Be careful not to catch a chill."

"It's hot enough to kill someone. How could I catch a chill?" Liu Yuanzhou said, though he still put on the robe.

Liu Da said, "Don't be careless. Going from hot to cold is when it's easiest to catch a chill."

After resting for a while and drinking some water, father and son packed up their things and headed home.

"Dad, what are you doing this afternoon?"

"Nothing much. I'll go take a look at your brother's orchard."

"Oh, then I'll go find Hu Wa and the others."

Soon, father and son entered the village.

"Liu Da, wait up." Someone called from behind them.

Both father and son stopped and turned around. Two men were striding toward them, quickly reaching their side. Liu Yuanzhou frowned slightly.

One of them, a man with a face as black as charcoal, spoke in a distinctly unfriendly tone. "Liu Da, stop sticking your nose into the matter of repairing the Dragon King Temple. You don't understand anything, so what are you stirring up a fuss for?"

The other man, who had two little rat whiskers above his lip, sounded somewhat aggrieved. "Exactly. Since Master Li put a few of us in charge of this, stop worrying blindly. You're making it so we're caught between a rock and a hard place."

Liu Da hesitated before saying, "Dong Zi, Brother Niu, I haven't meddled in anything. It's just that there hasn't been any movement on repairing the temple for so long, so I asked Fourth Master and Sixth Master about it once with Man Cang and a few others."

Brother Niu, the rat-whiskered man, said angrily, "What do you know? There are all kinds of tricks to repairing a temple—choosing an auspicious date, hiring craftsmen, selecting materials, every single thing matters. You don't know shit, yet you join in the clamor anyway. You got us scolded by the Clan Elders."

"But you took all our money. We have the right to concern ourselves with this matter," Liu Da argued.

"Stop spouting fucking nonsense. Don't refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. You'll do whatever the hell I tell you to do." Dong Zi, the dark-faced man, impatiently poked a finger into Liu Da's chest.

"Watch your mouth." Liu Yuanzhou stepped forward, shoved Dong Zi away, and stood before his father. In a low voice, he said, "Want to hit someone? Come on, hit me right here. If you don't, you're a grandson." As he spoke, he craned his neck and pointed at his forehead.

Dong Zi staggered back several steps from the shove and nearly landed on his backside. Ashamed and enraged, he rushed forward and swung a hand at Liu Yuanzhou's face, cursing, "You ill-bred little bastard!"

Liu Yuanzhou did not move. His eyes merely stared calmly into Dong Zi's, his gaze deep and dark.

Dong Zi's heart suddenly trembled, and he could not help feeling guilty. That slap simply would not come down.

Just as things grew awkward, Brother Niu grabbed Dong Zi's outstretched arm and pretended to be angry. "Dong Zi, what are you doing? How can you lower yourself to a junior's level?"

Dong Zi took the chance to step back, snorted coldly, and turned his head away.

Brother Niu finally said, "Anyway, Liu Da, stop meddling. We'll get the temple repaired!" Without waiting for Liu Da to answer, he dragged Dong Zi away in a hurry.

"Second Child, you... ah." Liu Da sighed, not knowing what to say. He had always been honest, disliked arguing with others, and was clumsy with words.

He had been angry inside over what had just happened. Yet if he had to turn red in the face and argue with someone, or start a fight, he simply could not do it.

His son stepping in to help had warmed his heart, but he was also worried that his son might be hurt because of it. Thus, he could neither approve of what his son had done nor bear to scold him. He could only sigh.

"Dad, do whatever you want to do. Let's see what they dare do to us." Liu Yuanzhou watched the two men's retreating backs, his tone firm.

"Ah, let's go. We'll head home and eat." Liu Da was distracted, weighing whether he should continue pursuing this matter.

After dinner, it was still early. The sun shone at an angle, stretching people's shadows long.

By the riverbank, beneath the unnamed Big Willow Tree.

Liu Yuanzhou sat on a large rock, boredly watching four or five children of seven or eight splash about in the stream.

Willow branches hung down like ten thousand ribbons of silk, drifting in the wind. In the distance, apricot blossoms and locust blossoms bloomed in a riot of color.

Before long, Liu Chuang and Zhang He came together. The three had agreed to meet here.

Liu Chuang found a rock and sat down, while Zhang He leaned against the trunk of the Big Willow Tree.

"Xi Zi, what's the news outside?" Liu Yuanzhou asked Zhang He.

The news outside naturally meant the progress of the Fatty Wang case.

Fatty Wang was dead. Although the three of them were not the murderers, they could not escape involvement. Even if Lu Busha was identified as the killer, neither the Wang family nor the authorities held much hope of capturing a passing Martial Artist. Thus, the most likely outcome was that the three of them would be made scapegoats to appease the Wang family's fury.

Therefore, the three knew clearly that no matter what, the authorities could not find evidence proving they had been present. They agreed that every other day, one person would go to Crouching Tiger Slope to gather news, then they would meet and discuss how to respond. Though they had little way to respond at all, doing nothing was even more tormenting.

Today, it was Zhang He's turn to gather information.

"It's still the same. The streets are in an uproar, and everyone has their own story. Some say a bandit killed him for money, some say it was because of a grudge. Fatty Wang offended plenty of people in ordinary times, after all. Some even say a vengeful ghost came to claim his life." Zhang He spilled out everything he had heard in one breath.

"What are the authorities doing?" Liu Yuanzhou asked.

Zhang He shook his head. He was only an ordinary fifteen-year-old boy from a mountain village. How could he possibly learn anything about the authorities?

Liu Yuanzhou had not held much hope either. Everything had been calm these past dozen days. No officials had come to the village to investigate, nor had the authorities launched a large-scale effort to capture the murderer. As time passed, the chances of them being implicated should only grow smaller.

"Hu Wa, what do you think?" Liu Yuanzhou asked Liu Chuang beside him.

Liu Chuang sat completely still, staring blankly at the river.

"Hu Wa, Second Child is asking you. What are you spacing out for?" Zhang He snapped off a willow branch and tossed it onto Liu Chuang's head.

Liu Chuang jolted and looked up at Liu Yuanzhou. "I-I don't have anything. I'll listen to you two." After saying that, his face looked unnatural.

Liu Yuanzhou did not pay it much mind. He merely assumed Liu Chuang had been too badly frightened that night. These past few days, whenever they met, he would occasionally space out like this. Liu Yuanzhou figured he would probably get better after some time.

"Anything else? If not, let's disperse," Liu Yuanzhou asked at last.

Liu Chuang and Zhang He shook their heads. Liu Chuang stood to leave, but Zhang He suddenly added, "There is one strange thing. I heard that Wang Wu, that charlatan, was arrested by the authorities. Seems someone accused him of selling fake talismans and harming people. Hah, he really had it coming."

"Good. That charlatan should have been arrested long ago," Liu Chuang echoed.

Liu Yuanzhou's gaze sharpened, and a thoughtful look appeared on his face.