Why Not Dream of the Martial World?

"Dabiao?"

"I'm all right. Are you okay... Urgh!!"

Liu Dabiao had climbed out of the cesspit by then. His face was miserable, his whole body covered in urine and excrement, and he kept dry-heaving. He had also knocked a bloody gash into his forehead.

Only after seeing that he was all right did Lian Youming pick up the coat and rifle from the ground. He listened to the sounds outside, then raised his voice and called toward the dormitories twice.

"Platoon Leader, we're over here!"

Before long, Platoon Leader Yang followed their voices over.

"How are you two?"

The other militiamen held guns or knives, while some carried oil lamps, sweeping their light back and forth over Lian Youming and Liu Dabiao with extremely grave expressions.

Liu Dabiao looked a little better. Though he had floundered around in the cesspit, at least his face looked normal. Lian Youming was another matter. The golden cat's claws and teeth had shredded his clothes, his whole body was smeared with blood, and his face was deathly pale. The sight left everyone's hearts pounding.

"Don't worry," Lian Youming said with a smile. "It's all that beast's blood. I only have a few superficial wounds."

With that, he pointed at the two animal carcasses nearby.

Only after hearing this did Platoon Leader Yang's tense expression ease a little.

"How is everyone else?" Lian Youming wiped the blood from his face.

"They're all fine," Yang Dapao said. "Just two of the female educated youths got a bit of a fright."

"Brother Lian, you have no idea. There were several wild boars and a black bear over there just now. Good grief, that bear was covered in fat and nearly two meters tall when it stood up. It didn't make a sound, either. Scared the hell out of us. Shame it got away in the end."

Wu Kui and the others had followed them over too, carrying axes and shovels and peering out from the crowd.

Yang Dapao's thick brows knitted tightly. "That black bear had already fattened up. It should've been getting ready to hibernate, so why did it come to the Logging Camp? Shuang'er, what happened on your end?"

Under the pale moonlight, the girl who had gone into the mountains with the female educated youths stepped out of the crowd. "Brother Yang, I found a few old wolves. I killed them all."

"This is damn strange. First time I've ever seen so many beasts stirring up trouble together. Like someone was directing them, coming and going without a sound..." Yang Dapao took a lamp and carefully looked everyone over again. Suddenly, alarm crossed his face. "Where's Uncle Xie?"

"I'm here."

No sooner had the words fallen than a thin, wizened old man limped out of the shadows.

"Uncle Xie, you're hurt?"

Third Brother Xie's old face was pale. He shook his head. "Nothing serious. A lynx scratched me."

Lian Youming had been about to move closer, but the instant Third Brother Xie emerged from the shadows, his gaze underwent a subtle change.

He had, after all, lived two lives. In his previous life, he had watched plenty of films and television shows featuring people roaming around at night in stealth outfits.

Whatever anyone might say, Lian Youming simply felt that the old man's build bore some resemblance to the mysterious figure who had retreated earlier.

Could this old bastard be from that damned White Lotus Sect? Did he deliberately get himself hurt to throw everyone off?

The thought struck Lian Youming. He silently went back over everything Third Brother Xie had done during the day. Remembering how freely the man moved through this primeval forest, with greater agility and nimbleness than even the young men, his gaze grew guarded.

Could this man be hiding his abilities? Did he know martial arts?

Then what had all this tonight been for?

The Beast-Driving Technique?

The White Lotus Sect?

For a time, countless thoughts raced through Lian Youming's mind, filling him with questions.

Unexpectedly, Third Brother Xie turned to him and said with a gentle smile, "You all right, lad? You even dared to fight a golden cat that big to the death. A newborn calf really has no fear of the tiger."

Lian Youming had already harbored doubts, but at those words, a chill immediately crept over the back of his neck.

There really was something wrong with this man.

Unless he had seen it with his own eyes, how would he know I had fought the golden cat to the death? There was a Northeast Leopard too, after all.

Just then, Platoon Leader Yang began giving everyone instructions. "All right, head back to your dormitories. You two, go to the dining hall, heat some water, and wash yourselves. Put some medicine on afterward. Don't let those wounds get infected. The rest of us will stay up tonight and take turns keeping watch. Anything else can wait until morning."

After wandering around the Logging Camp in the middle of the night, everyone had not only been on edge but had long since grown numb in their hands and feet from the cold. Hearing that they could return to their dormitories, they all felt relieved and turned to scatter.

Once most of the educated youths had left, Lian Youming and Liu Dabiao followed Platoon Leader Yang to the dining hall.

With a large pot and stove, the water heated quickly.

Braving the cold wind, the two stripped naked and each sat in a wooden tub.

Lian Youming had it easier. He washed off the blood in just two rounds, applied ointment, changed his clothes, and returned to the dormitory. Liu Dabiao was less fortunate. He begged Platoon Leader Yang to change the hot water four or five times, but he simply could not wash that strange stench off his body.

Back in the dormitory, Wu Kui and the others were already snoring.

Lian Youming lay on the heated brick bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

Now, whenever he closed his eyes, all he saw was the Mountain-Guarding Old Man's ghostlike speed and lightning-fast movements. The sight of him killing those vicious beasts with his palms, in particular, had shaken Lian Youming as nothing ever had before.

That world beyond the reach of ordinary people...

No, perhaps it was beyond other people's reach, but it wasn't far from mine.

Lian Youming's eyes flickered, as though giving off some strange light.

He already had the key. Weren't those two pieces of Silk Brocade his way in? Now he only needed to learn to master them, and he could open the door to that world.

I want to practice martial arts.

There was not the slightest hesitation. His once-uncertain heart had now grown firm. Then Lian Youming made a decision that could change his entire life.

That surging excitement, that heart-stopping thrill-he realized that even his soul seemed to be trembling, and the blood throughout his body seemed to be heating uncontrollably.

He had been given another life, but if this life was only about pursuing fame, fortune, wealth, and stability, what meaning would it have?

He had already experienced that same life once before.

Besides, had he never seen that world, he could have been like everyone else, content to bustle between work and family, establish himself, marry and have children, honor his parents, then live out his old age in peace.

But now he had seen it. He had seen a world ordinary people could not see, and it was even within reach, right before him.

Lian Youming gazed at the pitch-black ceiling, unconsciously extended his right hand, and slowly closed it.

In that instant, he seemed to understand much and feel much as well.

Most people merely existed in this world, passing from birth into oblivion, leaving no more trace than the wind.

But he wanted to truly live a life. To live as he pleased, rather than exist for someone or something.

People had curiosity, and they had a thirst for knowledge too.

Lian Youming had once had many ideas, but now he realized that he seemed to think of nothing else and want nothing else. He only wanted to set foot in that world and see what extraordinary sights it held.

Life was short. Why not dream of the martial world?

That night, Lian Youming had a dream. He dreamed that he stood alone atop a mountain, commanding the winds and clouds, contending with the heroes of the world.

(End of chapter)