"Spicy!"
At the dinner table, Yan Lingyun had also washed up and changed into clothes Shen Qinghong had brought her. Her long hair was tied back, and her large, watery eyes blinked as she ate from a plate of stir-fried cured pork with chili peppers. Clearly, it was overwhelmingly spicy, and a sheen of sweat dotted her small face, yet her chopsticks never stopped moving.
Beside her, Shen Qinghong kept smiling and ladling food into the young girl's bowl—sliced beef and offal in chili sauce, Mapo tofu, boiled pork slices in spicy broth—all strictly Sichuan dishes.
"As the old saying goes, having a hearty appetite is a blessing. Look how skinny you are—eat more."
Looking across the table, the glistening red sheen of hot oil combined with the nose-tingling aroma was enough to whet anyone's appetite.
Lian Youming sat opposite them, cradling a small serving basin filled with rice, topped with two large steamed buns. Hearing that, he chuckled. "Then doesn't that mean my blessings reach the heavens?"
Qin Yuhu sipped his Maotai and replied drily, "You don't count. You're just a bottomless pit."
Yet turning back around, Qin Yuhu immediately adopted a warm, gentle tone. "Lingyun, eat plenty. This rascal might have a reckless temper, but heaven knows if he was born to be a cook—his skill easily rivals a master chef at a state-run restaurant."
Lian Youming simply buried his face in his basin.
He had been pushed to his limits that day—exhausted, starving, and wounded. While he could chew a couple of pieces of Solomon's seal to replenish his vital essence, the gnawing hunger clung to him like a shadow, tormenting him like an ulcer biting to the bone.
But Qin Yuhu suddenly changed the subject. "I've already reported the matter regarding the map to the higher-ups. They attach great importance to it. Someone will probably come by tomorrow, and their background is bound to be extraordinary. Keep your wits about you."
Lian Youming took a huge bite of his steamed bun and mumbled, "Just tell me what kind of reward I should ask for instead."
Qin Yuhu rolled his eyes. "I'm not that rigid. Besides, who does something for nothing? Especially when you risked your life to bring it back. I won't interfere—you can make your own call. But once it's done, I get a sip of the broth too."
Lian Youming chuckled. "Then don't you dare tell my parents."
Once that was settled, the conversation at the table no longer had much to do with him; Qin Yuhu and his wife turned all their attention to Yan Lingyun.
Shen Qinghong asked with a warm smile, "Lingyun, do you have any other brothers or sisters?"
Whether from the spicy food or the few sips of alcohol she had taken, Yan Lingyun's cheeks flushed crimson. She whispered, "I have seven older brothers."
"Pfft—" Hearing this, Lian Youming's shoulders jerked as if choking on his rice. "Seven... *cough, cough*... your dad sure can father kids."
Qin Yuhu glared at Lian Youming. "Did anyone ask you to chime in? Eat your food."
Shen Qinghong was also somewhat surprised and exchanged a look with Qin Yuhu.
To have seven sons in a row meant the family was either immensely prominent or possessed deep roots.
Yan Lingyun explained softly, "According to my dad, he used to have many uncles and cousins, but when war and famine struck, most of them perished, leaving only some women and children. Later, to preserve the family line, my dad took over as clan leader. But with so few people left in the clan, outsiders constantly bullied us, so he had no choice but to do this."
Hearing this, Lian Youming buried his head even lower, seemingly regretting his careless remark.
Fortunately, good food won out. Yan Lingyun's dejection was brief before she resumed scouring the dishes across the table.
Three of them chatted and laughed, while one stuffed his face voraciously.
When the cries of a baby drifted from the inner room, dinner finally drew to a close.
Yan Lingyun went to sleep in Qin Hongxiu's room, while Lian Youming squeezed in with Qin Yuhu as usual.
Yet things were different now—both were burly, heavily built men. No sooner had they lain down than Lian Youming rolled over. The wooden bed beneath them groaned under the unbearable weight before snapping in two with a crisp crack, collapsing completely.
Amid the cloud of billowing dust, Qin Yuhu's face twitched. It took him a long while to climb out, covered in dirt, and head into Shen Qinghong's room. "Make yourself a bed on the floor and make do for the night."
Yet once he made his bed on the floor, Lian Youming found sleep impossible.
For some reason, while he had not felt it earlier, now that he had quieted down, his thoughts drifted to Bai Yuan, Lei Hu, and Xie Laosan, who had all fallen beneath his fists.
This reflection was neither sympathy nor pity.
Looking at his bruised and swollen fists, Lian Youming replayed the entire brutal battle in his mind, sorting out his shortcomings, analyzing both sides' fighting methods, and finally settling the lingering turmoil in his spirit that had remained restless ever since taking a life.
Even though he had braved numerous mortal dangers and narrow escapes, strictly speaking, the previous night was the first time he had killed someone with his own hands.
Harboring intent to kill was completely different from actually ending a life, especially after such a gruesome battle.
Yet Lian Youming did not recoil from it, nor was he afraid. Instead, he felt a strange, inexplicable emotion.
It felt like unease, yet also like anticipation.
For after remembering Xie Laosan, Lian Youming thought of much more...
Namely: who else would fall beneath his fists in the future, and at whose hands would he himself be defeated and meet his end?
Would he too, years from now, silently turn into a pile of ashes like Xie Laosan, meeting a lonely end?
Naturally, the answer was unknown.
And Lian Youming was already growing curious.
Curiosity signified the drive to advance.
Just as whenever he thought that was all there was, that realm would always reveal something new to him—much like the profound mysteries within the human body, the arduous passes and bottlenecks, and the layered barriers. Every exploration and breakthrough brought him an exhilarating joy, as if he were opening up an entire new world.
Lian Youming murmured, "This jianghu is getting more and more interesting."
Even if what lay revealed before his eyes was merely the tip of the iceberg of that world, it was thrilling enough to inspire boundless longing.
Gazing at the solitary moon outside the window, Lian Youming did not sleep. Instead, he rose and recalled the previous night's slaughter, recreating in his mind the offensive techniques of Bai Yuan, Lei Hu, and even Xue Hen and Gong Wu'er. In the dim room, he shifted and maneuvered, fists interweaving and palms sweeping swiftly, as though reliving one brutal, desperate clash after another.
"Kill!"
He went without sleep the entire night.
The next morning, at dawn.
As breath was drawn into his abdomen, the muscles across Lian Youming's body rose and shifted with visible ripples. Under that faint and wondrous rhythm of tremors, the dark bruises and swelling on the backs of his hands actually faded noticeably and swiftly.
Only when several dog barks echoed outside the window did he open his eyes from meditation.
At the very moment the dogs barked, an ordinarily dressed young man walked slowly into the courtyard below.
Lian Youming walked to the window and looked down.
A soldier? That was fast.
With just a single glance, he sensed an oppressive presence that, while deeply reserved, was sharp, vibrant, and soared toward the skies.
A military expert?
He had guessed right after all.
Even as Lian Youming looked down, the young man below raised his head in an instant, looking straight up at the fourth-floor window. He then gave a warm nod of greeting with a smile and waved his hand.
Is he telling me to go down?
Lian Youming raised an eyebrow, turned, and pushed the door open. Finding the living room quiet, with the others apparently not yet awake, and recalling that Qin Yuhu had told him to make his own decision in this matter, Lian Youming stepped out of the apartment and headed downstairs.
The young man wore plain civilian clothes with both hands shoved in his pockets, appearing thoroughly relaxed. He had no guards accompanying him, nor was there any vehicle in sight; he looked travel-worn, as if he had hitched a ride to get here on his own.
Yet no matter what he wore, nothing could disguise the bone-deep, uncompromising toughness about him. Broad-shouldered and thick-backed, his spine was rod-straight; even as he walked, his upper body remained as steady and upright as a pillar supporting the heavens, truly remarkable.
An ordinary person might not have caught the subtleties, but Lian Youming was no longer who he used to be. At a glance, he could tell that the man's upper body was not completely motionless; rather, anchored by the great dragon of his spine, he constantly adjusted his center of gravity with every step. Though he seemed ordinary on the outside, the muscles within were likely spinning ceaselessly like a top, ready at any moment to erupt in a sudden strike with full power.
The young man smiled warmly. "My surname is Li."
Lian Youming was a little puzzled. "And your given name?"
The young man uttered a single word: "Da!"
Lian Youming made an odd face. "Da? You're not actually named Li Da, are you?"
The young man grinned, revealing two rows of neat, brilliant white teeth. "Indeed. Heaven is great, earth is great, and man is also great; the character for 'great' resembles the human form. The word is derived from a person extending both arms outward, and what lies at the very ends of outstretched arms?"
Lian Youming's eyes lit up. "Fists?"
The young man nodded. "Correct. I am Li Da... And by the way, Gong Wu'er is my younger sister. Pleasure to meet you!"
Chapter 34