"Hot!"
At the dinner table, Yan Lingyun had washed and changed as well. Dressed in clothes Shen Qinghong had brought her, her long hair tied back, she blinked her big, watery eyes as she ate from a plate of cured pork stir-fried with chilies. It was clearly far too spicy for her, and sweat beaded on her little face, yet her chopsticks never stopped.
Beside her, Shen Qinghong smiled as she kept serving the girl more food-Husband and Wife Lung Slices, Mapo Tofu, Boiled Sliced Pork, all Sichuan dishes.
"As the old saying goes, a good appetite is a blessing. Look how thin you are. Eat more."
Everywhere one looked, the gleaming red, piping-hot oil and the fragrance wafting into their noses whetted the appetite.
Lian Youming sat opposite them, cradling a small rice basin with two large steamed buns resting on top of the rice. At that, he chuckled. "Does that mean my blessings reach the heavens?"
Qin Yuhu sipped his Moutai and said coolly, "You don't count. You're just a bottomless rice bucket."
Yet when he turned his head, his expression softened again. "Lingyun, eat more. This brat might be rash, but perhaps he was born to be a cook. His cooking really does rival the chefs at the State-Run Restaurant."
Lian Youming simply buried his face in his food.
The day had worn him out thoroughly. He was exhausted, hungry, and injured. He could replenish his vital Qi by chewing a couple of pieces of yellow essence, but hunger followed him like his shadow, tormenting him like an abscess clinging to the bone.
Then Qin Yuhu abruptly changed the subject. "I've reported the matter of the map to the higher-ups. They're taking it very seriously. Someone will probably come tomorrow, and they likely won't be anyone ordinary. Take this seriously."
Lian Youming took a large bite of steamed bun and mumbled, "Just tell me what reward I should ask for."
Qin Yuhu rolled his eyes. "I'm not that hidebound. Besides, who does anything without something to gain? And you risked your life to snatch this back. I won't interfere. Decide for yourself, but once it's settled, I'll need a sip of the broth too."
Lian Youming chuckled. "Then don't tell my parents."
Once they had settled that, the conversation at the table no longer had much to do with him. Qin Yuhu and his wife focused entirely on Yan Lingyun.
Shen Qinghong asked with a gentle smile, "Lingyun, do you have any other brothers or sisters?"
Whether from the chilies or the few sips of liquor she had taken, a tipsy flush colored Yan Lingyun's cheeks. She said softly, "I have seven older brothers and two younger sisters."
"Pfft!" Lian Youming's shoulders shook at that, as though he had choked on his rice. "Cough, cough... Your dad really can father children."
Qin Yuhu glared at Lian Youming. "Who asked you? Eat your dinner."
Shen Qinghong was a little surprised too, then exchanged a glance with Qin Yuhu.
That made ten altogether. For a family to have so many children in succession, they must either command tremendous respect or have deep foundations.
Yan Lingyun explained softly, "Dad said he used to have lots of uncles and cousins, but then war and famine came, and most of them died. Only some women and children were left. So Dad became the clan head to carry on the lineage. But there were so few people in the clan that outsiders kept bullying them. This was all he could do."
Lian Youming buried his head even lower at that, seemingly regretting having spoken out of turn.
Fortunately, the delicious food won out. After only a brief spell of dejection, Yan Lingyun began sweeping through the dishes covering the table again.
Three people chatted and laughed, while one stuffed himself with food.
By the time a baby's cries came from inside the room, dinner was nearly over.
Yan Lingyun slept in Qin Hongxiu's room, while Lian Youming squeezed in with Qin Yuhu as usual.
But things were different now, and both of them were burly men. No sooner had they lain down than Lian Youming rolled over. The wooden bed beneath them groaned under the unbearable weight, then snapped in the middle with a sharp crack and collapsed.
Amid the swirling dust, Qin Yuhu's cheek twitched. Only after a long moment did he climb up, covered in dust, and retreat into Shen Qinghong's room. "Make yourself a bed on the floor and make do for the night."
Yet once Lian Youming had laid out his bedding, he could not fall asleep.
He did not know why. He had felt nothing of the sort earlier, but once his mind quieted, he found himself thinking of White Ape and Lei Hu, who had died beneath his fists, as well as Third Brother Xie.
These recollections were neither sympathy nor pity.
Looking at his still slightly bruised and swollen fists, Lian Youming repeatedly recalled the entire vicious battle, sorting through his shortcomings and reviewing how both sides had fought, before finally soothing the turmoil that had remained unsettled ever since he killed someone.
Though he had already weathered several dangerous twists and turns, with peril springing up on every side, strictly speaking, last night had been the first time he had killed someone with his own hands.
Wanting to kill and actually taking a life were different things, especially after such a savage fight.
But Lian Youming felt neither aversion nor fear, only a strange, inexplicable feeling.
It was something like apprehension, yet also something like anticipation.
Because after thinking of Third Brother Xie, Lian Youming had thought of many other things...
Who would fall beneath his fists next, and at whose hands would he meet defeat and death?
Would he, years from now, also turn silently into a pile of ashes like Third Brother Xie, meeting a desolate end?
Of course, the answer to that question was unknown.
And curiosity had already stirred in Lian Youming's heart.
Curiosity meant a drive to advance.
It was as though every time he thought that was all there was, that world would reveal something new to him. It was the same with the many great mysteries within the human body, those perilous passes and formidable barriers. Every exploration and breakthrough brought him the exhilaration and joy of opening up a new world.
Lian Youming murmured, "This martial world really is getting more and more interesting."
Even if what lay before him now was merely the tip of that world's iceberg, it was already thrilling enough to set the heart yearning.
Gazing at the lone moon outside the window, Lian Youming did not go to sleep. Instead, he rose, recalling last night's fighting and recreating in his imagination the attacks of White Ape, Lei Hu, and even Xue Hen and Gong Wuer. He moved and shifted through the dim room, shadows of fists interweaving and shadows of palms sweeping past, as though reliving one savage battle after another.
"Kill!!!"
A sleepless night.
Early the next morning.
As he drew breath into his abdomen and exhaled, the muscles and sinews throughout Lian Youming's body visibly rose, fell, and shifted. Under that faint, peculiar rhythm of trembling, the bruises on the backs of his hands, still swollen and bluish before, actually faded considerably at remarkable speed.
Only when several barks sounded outside the window did he open his eyes from his seated meditation.
At the same moment those barks rang out, a young man in ordinary clothes slowly walked into the courtyard downstairs.
Lian Youming went to the window and looked down.
"A soldier? That was fast."
A single glance was enough for him to sense an oppressive presence that, though deeply restrained, was sharp and vigorous enough to pierce the heavens.
A military expert?
Sure enough, he had guessed right.
Even as Lian Youming lowered his gaze to study him, the young man downstairs instantly looked up toward the fourth-floor window, then smiled in greeting and gave him a wave.
"Does he want me to come down?"
Lian Youming raised his eyebrows, turned, and pushed the door open. The living room was rather quiet; the others seemed not to have gotten up yet.
But remembering that Qin Yuhu had told him to make his own decisions about this matter, Lian Youming left the apartment and went downstairs.
The young man wore casual clothes, his hands tucked into his pockets, looking thoroughly at ease. Not only did he have no guards, there was not even a vehicle in sight. Travel-worn, he looked as though he had caught a ride here himself.
Whatever he wore, however, it could not change the steely bearing ingrained in his bones. His shoulders and back were broad, his spine straight. Even as he walked, his upper body remained as steady and upright as a jade pillar holding up the sky. He was far from ordinary.
An ordinary person might not have discerned the subtleties, but Lian Youming was no longer what he once was. He saw at a glance that the man's upper body was not motionless. Rather, with the great dragon of his spine as its support, he constantly adjusted his center of gravity with every step. Outwardly unremarkable, his muscles and sinews were probably shifting ceaselessly like a spinning top, as though he could explode into action at any moment and bring his full strength to bear.
The young man said with a gentle smile, "My surname is Li."
Lian Youming was a little puzzled. "And your given name?"
The young man uttered a single word. "Da!"
Lian Youming's expression turned odd. "Da? Don't tell me your name is Li Da?"
The young man grinned, revealing two neat rows of large white teeth. "Indeed. Heaven is great, earth is great, and man is great too. The character for 'great' depicts a human form. Its meaning comes from a person stretching out both arms. And what lies at the far ends of those outstretched arms?"
Lian Youming's eyes lit up. "Fists?"
The young man nodded. "Exactly. I am Li Da... And while I'm at it, Gong Wuer is my younger sister. Well met!"
(End of chapter)
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