1979, Guanzhong.
The small green-skinned train carriage was packed with people, so crowded there seemed to be no space left to place a foot.
Everyone was desperately squeezing inward, and everyone seemed to have endless things to say.
People lay under the seats, on the luggage racks, and stood in the aisles. Even outside the windows, someone was being boosted by the buttocks as he flailed and struggled to climb in. Pots and pans of all sizes clattered and swayed, mixing with children’s crying, all kinds of shouts, and the hideous blaring of the broken loudspeaker outside. It was as chaotic as could be.
Just as the train was about to depart, a head wearing a Lei Feng cap suddenly squeezed out of the noisy crowd.
The youth had sharp brows and eyes, and was tall and sturdy. Holding a heavy bundle high overhead as if using all his strength, he gritted his teeth and stuck his head out, then squeezed out half his body, and finally, face red, pulled his limbs free.
“This commotion is like Zhao Zilong single-handedly breaking through a formation.”
Grumbling, Lian Youming quickly straightened his askew cap and smoothed his clothes. Then he hurried to a window and called out to his mother, younger brother, and younger sister outside. “You’d better head back now… I reckon I won’t be gone long.”
“Little brat, if you dare cause trouble again, I’ll skin you alive.”
His son was about to be sent down to the countryside, and Mother Lian’s eyes had been brimming with tears on the platform. But when she saw the boy’s cheeky grin, irritation flared at once.
His younger sister, Lian Shuang, stood beside their mother and said worriedly, “Brother, take care of yourself over there. Whatever happens, don’t be impulsive.”
The third child, Lian Lei, was only eight. Holding Mother Lian’s hand, he blurted out, “Brother, Dad actually came too. He said real men never regret what they do. He’s probably watching you from somewhere right now.”
Lian Youming glanced over the platform, and when he caught sight of a familiar figure, he chuckled. “All right, I know…”
As he spoke, the train began to move slowly. His mother’s instructions still came through the window. “I boiled your favorite tea eggs last night. They’re all in your bag. Eat them on the way, but don’t let them sit too long, or they’ll spoil… And when you get north, put on the thick padded coat in your bag. Don’t freeze…”
Lian Youming kept replying, “I know. Don’t worry.”
But his words were drowned out by the train’s deafening roar.
When he tried to answer again, the station was already receding into the distance amid the rushing scenery.
Seeing this, Lian Youming leaned out and waved. He did not pull himself back until his mother’s figure disappeared from sight.
Touching the tea eggs in his satchel, he smiled bitterly. “Good Lord, this is way too much.”
At least a dozen or twenty.
As the train pulled away, more crying filled the carriage.
In this era, people were still pure-hearted, willing to leave the city for their ideals, traveling day and night to unfamiliar and harsh places.
Learn from Daqing in industry, learn from Dazhai in agriculture.
The sent-down youth movement.
Lian Youming looked around and saw that there were only a dozen or so sent-down youths scattered through the carriage.
It could not compare with the grand scale of a million educated youths in the sent-down youth movement back then. Now the movement was winding down, and most youths sent down from the provinces had returned to the cities. As for himself, after graduating from high school he should have continued studying and taken the college entrance examination, but something had happened.
“So I beat up a few thugs for harassing a girl, and now they send me to the countryside to lie low.”
Lian Youming muttered indignantly, though he knew in his heart that he had struck a bit too hard.
Several of the thugs had broken arms or broken legs. The worst one had nearly lost his life; Lian Youming had swept a kick into his groin, and apparently he was still lying at home.
Fortunately, his father had military merits to back him up. Otherwise, this matter would have required a lot of wrangling.
But what no one had expected was that the girl he had saved flatly denied being harassed and refused to appear as a witness, which was how this mess had come about.
Having lived two lives, how could Lian Youming not understand the twists involved? Either she had been threatened, or she had been paid to change her story. The thugs’ families probably had connections.
But what was done was done. When the road is unfair, someone steps in to level it; when something is unjust, someone steps in to deal with it. He had no regrets. Besides, those thugs had drawn knives. If he had not struck hard, he might have been the one lying in bed now.
As for studying, anywhere was fine for study.
Now that the college entrance examination had been restored, studying was the most direct way out. With his memories from his previous life, he could surely rise above others.
Feeling choked by the cigarette smoke and sweat drifting through the carriage, Lian Youming squeezed out of the crowd and found a breathing space near the toilet.
But before he could steady himself and catch his breath, a foul stench rushed at him with the cold wind from outside. Mixed with the strange odors in the carriage and the smell of food, it turned faces green.
“Damn it.”
By the time he wanted to move again, it was too late.
People were squeezing inward from both ends. The way forward was blocked, and the way back was cut off. Lian Youming felt as if he had fallen into an enemy encirclement, with a black mass of swaying heads before him, jostling everyone about.
But the stench had its advantages: he had the little patch around the toilet all to himself, and it was especially roomy.
Lian Youming could not be bothered to squeeze out again. He pulled two wads of cotton from his satchel, kneaded them, and stuffed them into his nose. Then he hugged his bundle, propped himself against the swaying carriage, and squatted down with his rear hovering just above the floor.
Unlike the other educated youths in the carriage, although they were traveling together, most of them were being sent down to nearby places and might get off after two or three stops. His destination was remote, in the Northeast near Mohe, and he had to change trains in the north. Even without delays, it would take two or three days.
The carriage was noisy with curses and crying, so Lian Youming simply plugged his ears with cotton as well and rested with his bundle in his arms.
Before he knew it, evening had come. Outside, the setting sun slanted down, and vast sheets of red clouds hung over the rolling distant mountains, dark red like blood and bright as gold, illuminating the southbound birds.
He did not know how long he had dozed. In his drowsiness, he heard singing and instinctively looked up.
“The frontier’s springs are clear and pure; the frontier’s songs warm the heart…”
It turned out that several college students had boarded the carriage. The singers were a few female students, and someone beside them played a harmonica. Their bright, loud song drew the passengers to watch and applaud, cheering nonstop.
By now Lian Youming had grown used to the smell near the toilet. Ignoring the looks from those around him, he sat down, listened to the song, and began eating tea eggs.
But as he ate, he suddenly said, “Hm?” and from the corner of his eye saw that his little patch had someone else in it besides himself.
The man had a sallow complexion. In one hand he held several rolled pancakes, and in the other a green onion. Ignoring people coming in and out of the toilet, he ate in big bites and with great relish.
Curious, Lian Youming looked at him twice.
The man was unkempt and unshaven, wearing a blue Zhongshan suit washed pale. His gaunt cheeks were stuffed with food, and he chewed forcefully and earnestly.
After chewing, he had to swallow. With every swallow, veins bulged at his temples. His eyes bulged round, as if he were using all his strength, or as if he were eating his last meal.
Lian Youming stared, his throat moving as he silently swallowed saliva.
Only when the man shoved the last of the pancakes and green onion into his mouth and swallowed did Lian Youming quickly look away.
What a starving-ghost way of eating.
Judging from his clothes, he looked like a farmer, and his hands were covered in calluses…
“Hm?”
Lian Youming’s eyelid twitched. Feigning nonchalance, he peeked again at the man’s hands.
Before transferring to civilian work, his father had been a company commander of a reconnaissance unit. He was well versed in firearms, grappling techniques, and lethal combat techniques, and was especially skilled in reconnaissance methods.
Though Lian Youming had not inherited his father’s true teachings, from long exposure and private study, his eye for judging people was more than sufficient.
Besides, he had lived two lives.
Yet as soon as he looked, his casual expression changed.
This man… was no ordinary person.
The hands were half hidden in his sleeves. They looked rough and thick, like those of a laboring farmer, but oddly, both palms and backs were covered with hard calluses. Not a single body hair could be seen. Moreover, the calluses were distributed extremely evenly, not even sparing the gaps between his fingers, and his palm lines had been worn away.
Lian Youming raised his brows. He remembered that many of his father’s comrades had visited their home before, and one of them had been similar.
That man had practiced a Northern Eagle Claw martial art. His ten fingers were strong of sinew and bone; with a slight movement, force would flow to his fingertips, as if they were cast iron. Though the man claimed he had only learned a little, that little had been enough for him to press three finger holes into their wooden table.
Later, Lian Youming overheard his parents talking and learned that before leaving the army, the man had been a personal bodyguard for someone.
As for the man before him, he was most likely the same kind of person.
Thinking of this, Lian Youming marveled inwardly. Reborn, he had thought from the womb that he was destined for success. He had resolved to seize every opportunity, make big money, and rise above others. Who would have thought that before doing anything, he would run into such extraordinary people one after another?
In fact, he was curious about such things; otherwise, he would not have pestered his father to teach him a few moves of lethal combat techniques.
Is there any man in the world who does not have a wuxia dream?
But Lian Youming knew well that once certain things were hidden from the secular world and known to few, they were destined to be beyond the reach of ordinary people. If not for his parents in this life, even if he encountered such extraordinary people, he might have taken them for ordinary.
In his previous life, he had not even heard of such people, let alone seen them.
Unlike in wuxia novels where one immediately kowtowed upon meeting a master, Lian Youming collected his thoughts and stopped watching.
His previous life had been too exhausting. In this life, he only wanted his family to be safe and sound. If he could make some money and enjoy life, even better.
Seeming to sense Lian Youming’s gaze, the man’s hands quivered and were silently drawn back into his sleeves. Seeing that the boy in the corner did not react much, the hidden sharpness in his eyes quietly faded.
Outside, the sky darkened. The train stopped and started, passing station after station, while passengers came and went, their faces constantly changing. Fortunately, the carriage was no longer as packed as before. Lian Youming seized the chance and grabbed a seat by the aisle, letting out a long breath.
He still had over ten hours until his stop. He did not want to spend the night by the toilet.
The night wind howled outside, bringing a chill.
Lian Youming looked up and saw that the educated youths who had boarded with him were gone. The college students who had sung earlier were asleep on their seats. The carriage, so noisy during the day, gradually quieted.
Then he glanced toward the toilet again.
He did not know why, but after one look during the day, that man’s hands lingered in his mind.
The man was still standing there, arms crossed, eyes half closed, as if dozing.
As for Lian Youming, he had already begun to speculate unconsciously about the other’s identity.
A martial arts master?
A jianghu assassin?
A reclusive expert?
Or a spy?
Once the thought began, it spiraled out of control, and his mind flew with possibilities.
Suddenly, Lian Youming’s gaze sharpened as he noticed something especially strange.
The man’s feet were slightly apart, neither one stance nor the other. Without any support, his body rose and fell with the swaying of the carriage, as if riding a horse or floating in water, yet he stood very firmly, as if rooted to the ground and fused with the carriage.
“What is he doing? Practicing martial arts?”
Perhaps curiosity got the better of him. Lian Youming turned sideways and watched openly.
If the man could display such skill in a place like this, how could he care about others’ gazes?
Besides, for ordinary people, merely seeing it was useless; they had to understand the method. Otherwise, in the eyes of ordinary people, the stance was no different from sitting or lying, only a little stranger.
At first Lian Youming was dumbfounded. Even knowing the man was different from ordinary people, he could not find anything particularly special. But as time passed and the moisture outside condensed into frost, his drowsy eyes suddenly widened, then opened wide, and his expression became more extraordinary than ever.
As the man’s chest and abdomen rose and fell, two wisps of white vapor suddenly swam out from his mouth and nose, darting out like dragons and snakes, several inches long, before being swallowed back into his throat.
In an instant, the man in Lian Youming’s eyes changed in an extraordinary way.
The man’s face was radiant, the brilliance in his eyes restrained. Between his breaths, the two dragon-snake-like white mists moved ceaselessly in and out of his mouth and nose.
With each swallow and exhalation, the man’s clothes swelled and contracted, as if wind and clouds were surging inside. Even his loose Zhongshan suit was pushed out in lines resembling dragons and snakes moving about, with bulging air pockets roaming all over his body.
Lian Youming was dumbstruck.
“What kind of skill is this?”
But when he forced down his shock and looked again, everything had returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.
Just then, two figures suddenly passed by Lian Youming.
For no reason, he felt a chill and shrank his neck involuntarily.
“Killing intent!”
Looking at the two figures, Lian Youming’s pupils trembled. He suppressed his shock and pretended to sleep.
This feeling was far too familiar to him. It was exactly the same as his father when he had nightmares years ago. Especially the time when his father had unknowingly shouted “Kill!”—his voice like a beast’s roar, so ferocious it had scared the military dog in the yard so badly it wet itself.
How could there be killing intent on a train?
Wait—were they after that man?
In an instant, the hairs on the back of Lian Youming’s neck stood on end, and his heart nearly jumped into his throat.
He cautiously squinted. Sure enough, the two men were heading toward the sallow-faced man.
Most of the passengers in the carriage were already asleep, and it had become completely quiet.
“What are they going to do?” Lian Youming’s palms sweated, and he instinctively reached for his satchel.
Under the dim overhead light, his right hand darted out and back, and a slingshot appeared in his hand.
He did not intend to fight or help. He had felt an enormous threat and subconsciously wanted a weapon to protect himself.
Just as Lian Youming focused nervously on the two men’s backs,
one of the middle-aged men wearing a Zhongshan suit suddenly stopped and looked back.
As luck would have it, he met Lian Youming’s gaze.
One was old and one strong; one short and one tall. The former wore a Zhongshan suit, the latter a People’s tunic. Both had faces cold and iron-hard, showing neither joy nor anger.
Meeting those cold, severe eyes, while his heart pounded, the wind outside suddenly vanished. Then came the strange sound of wheels grinding over the rails, and all starlight disappeared.
They had entered a tunnel.
The already dim carriage became darker.
In the shift from light to dark, as lights flickered outside the window, figures crossed at the carriage coupling.
In that tiny space, killing intent surged.
Lian Youming widened his eyes and vaguely heard words like “Xingyi Sect,” “traitor,” and “prepare to die.” Then the burly middle-aged man who had just looked back suddenly whirled and pounced fiercely like a tiger, charging at the sallow-faced man.
But Lian Youming saw him go out fast and come back even faster. His back suddenly bulged, and his clothes split down the middle with a rip. His brows knotted tightly, and his face visibly paled.
Moreover, perhaps it was his imagination, but Lian Youming found that the man’s eyes now held a trace of resentment toward him.
The old man had a head full of silver hair, gray brows, and a bearded face. His gaunt features were ferocious. In a flash, he seized the opportunity to leap, agile as a monkey, into the air. Using both hands and feet, he sent a punch toward the throat and a kick at the heart, also attacking the man by the toilet.
The sallow-faced man was expressionless, but his gaze went around the old man and casually toward Lian Youming.
Lian Youming was terrified and confused.
But the old man’s expression changed. With his back to Lian Youming, seeing his opponent’s movement, he thought the man had help and instinctively withdrew some force from his all-out killing move.
At the moment his mind changed, the old man’s face darkened.
The sallow-faced man had already sunk his shoulders and dropped his elbows. As he drew breath, his Zhongshan suit seemed to swell.
Under the old man’s shocked and furious gaze, the man bent his arm as if a tiger were hugging its head. Stepping into a bow stance, he slanted his body and fiercely met the attack, raising his elbow to protect his throat while forcing forward.
“Hmph!”
Lian Youming’s view was blocked, and he could not see the exchange clearly. But he heard a muffled grunt, and the old man’s limbs flailed as he flew backward five or six meters from the rear of the carriage.
The old man did not fall. His feet sank, steadying him, then he retreated several steps. An abnormal flush appeared on his aged face.
Before Lian Youming could recover from the shock, the old man and the strong man in the carriage, without a word, flashed aside, opened a window, and nimbly climbed out.
At that moment, starlight appeared outside again. The train had exited the tunnel.
As for that unbelievable scene, no one had seen it except Lian Youming.
“Holy shit!”
Lian Youming was dumbfounded. He had thought his reborn life would be a period drama, but now it felt like he had fallen into a wuxia drama.
Everything had happened too fast—moves rising and falling, dazzling to the eye. Before he could understand, it was already over.
It seemed the man who had been eating pancakes had won.
Lian Youming quickly looked toward the toilet, only to find that there was not a single figure left there. It was completely empty.
…