"Gong Wu'er, Li Da..."
The corner of Lian Youming's mouth twitched. Not a single one of these names sounded ordinary.
"You're Gong Wu'er's elder brother? But you don't even share the same surname."
He had originally thought about playing dumb to brush it off, but since the other man had come straight to the point, Lian Youming abandoned any such pretense.
The young man who called himself "Li Da" tilted his chin toward the courtyard gate, indicating they should step outside for a walk. As he moved, he replied, "We chose different paths. From childhood, she entered Baguamen, while I joined the ranks of the military. She took our father's surname, and I took our mother's."
*So that was it.*
Lian Youming followed him out of the courtyard, through the alley, and onto the street.
Dawn was just breaking, and vehicles were already passing to and fro.
Li Da possessed a gentle demeanor. Despite being an expert from a martial sect, his conduct and bearing exuded an almost childlike innocence. The more one looked at him, the more ordinary he seemed. He carried plenty of snacks on him, eating and drinking, talking as he walked.
Lian Youming nearly suspected the man was just a regular person. With a slight stir of thought, he picked up the thread of conversation. "Then your mother must be an extraordinary figure."
For the head of Baguamen—and a martial lineage at that—to let a son take his mother's surname meant the woman's background was certainly formidable. Moreover, from the man's description, the parents had clearly clashed over how their children should be raised.
Li Da merely smiled and offered no reply.
Lian Youming asked again, "Do you know Xue Hen?"
"We met once." Li Da's eyes shone exceptionally bright as he spoke slowly. "My sister entered Baguamen at a young age, walking the path of a martial artist. As for me, I practice both Bagua and Baji. Before I turned ten, I followed an elder who had crossed the snowy mountains on travels through the north. While in Shanxi, I crossed paths with Xue Hen. He was following someone back then too, but he was still very young, still wearing split-crotch pants, so I gave him a thrashing."
"Before you turned ten?"
At first, Lian Youming thought nothing of it. But taking in Li Da's appearance—short hair as stiff as needles, sharp sword-like brows, clear bright eyes, and a light stubble on his face—he looked to be roughly thirty.
By that calculation, it had happened just over twenty years ago.
Seeing Lian Youming dazed in thought, Li Da grabbed a handful of dried sweet potato strips and shoved them toward him. Walking and eating, Li Da spoke as he chewed. "Mmm, I know you have a lot of doubts and questions, but sometimes knowing too much isn't a good thing. Just tell me: what do you want in exchange for that map?"
Lian Youming's eyes darted, countering with another question instead of answering, "Could I ask what your role is?"
He had to determine this man's standing before he could assess the true value of that map.
Li Da pondered for a moment, then suddenly blinked, leaning in close to whisper, "You've probably read The Water Margin, right? Do you know of the drillmaster of the eight hundred thousand Imperial Guards?"
At those words, Lian Youming's pupils contracted.
Li Da blinked, utterly devoid of any airs, a night-and-day contrast to the poker-faced Gong Wu'er. Seeming to guess what Lian Youming was thinking, he added, "Though, I ought to be a bit more formidable than him. Years ago, in the military-wide martial tournament, aside from the firearms contests, they also held an unpublicized martial arts competition. I was down on my luck, ran into two freaks of nature, and only managed to take third place."
Lian Youming fell silent for a short while, then asked, "What's inside that underground fortress?"
Li Da seemed very talkative and made no effort to conceal anything, saying casually, "Aside from the military provisions left behind by the Kwantung Army, there are the treasures they plundered back then and some things excavated from deep within the mountains—heavenly materials and earthly treasures of some kind, from the sound of it. Rumor has it there are also many Northern martial arts manuals lost to time, along with some untold secrets of the past."
Before Lian Youming could respond, Li Da smiled warmly and continued, "After all, you saved my sister, so we can't be stingy. Solely on the merit of that map, I can offer you three choices. The first is a job post that many people would envy; I can let you pick until you're satisfied. The second is a substantial sum of money. Or third, you can accompany me to the underground fortress, and whatever you can get your hands on will depend on your luck... As for the commendation for your uncle and the others, rest assured, that has nothing to do with your choice."
Once again, it was a choice between ordinary life and the martial path.
Lian Youming's heart stirred violently. "Just the two of us?"
Li Da nodded. "Looks like you've already made your choice. However, I have a matter to attend to first, which might take some time—half a month at the earliest, a month or two at the latest. And you'll have to hand the map over to me first."
Lian Youming looked at him with eyes full of suspicion. "You wouldn't be deliberately tricking me, would you? If you leave and never return, who am I supposed to hold accountable?"
Li Da gave him a sidelong glance of mock disgust. "Given your temperament, I refuse to believe you haven't secretly traced out the markings and route on that map. Keeping that thing does you no good; every extra day you hold it is another day of danger. If you truly care about the people around you, don't be greedy."
Lian Youming grinned, narrowing his eyes. "Fair enough. But in the end, you still have to show me a trick. What if you aren't who you say you are?"
Li Da smiled as well. "Good lad, sharp enough."
As he spoke, he glanced around. Seeing that the surroundings were secluded and quiet, he unhurriedly walked over beneath a lush, leafy tree.
Watching the birds chattering up in the branches, Li Da bent his index and middle fingers as though forming a fist and tapped lightly against the tree trunk. The gesture looked entirely effortless, devoid of any forceful exertion. Then came a faint, muffled thud, and a yellow finch immediately tumbled down, reeling head over heels.
Li Da raised his hand gently to catch it. Stroking the bird's feathers, he spread his palm flat before Lian Youming and opened all five fingers.
"Watch closely!"
The finch was uninjured. Shaking its head, it quickly revived, flapping its wings incessantly.
At first, Lian Youming did not understand what he was seeing. But when he noticed Li Da shifting his footing in circular steps, while the cloth across his back rippled with surging furrows like twisting dragons and snakes, Lian Youming narrowed his eyes and stared fixedly at the man's right hand.
Li Da supported the finch on his right palm, yet his hand was not still. Bending his elbow and turning his wrist, he continually altered his postures, yielding and releasing strength. His entire sleeve pulled taut and slack in turn, an exceedingly strange sight.
Stranger still, the man had clearly not closed his fingers, nor had he cupped his palm, yet the finch simply could not take flight no matter what it did, spinning continuously in place like the Monkey King trapped in the Buddha's palm.
"Since you practice neutralizing force, today I'll give you something to aspire to. Consider it a return for the favor of saving my sister, and a boost of spirit for your martial journey."
Witnessing such an inconceivable display, Lian Youming's eyes went wide, his expressions shifting constantly. Especially hearing the chattering chirps of the bird, he felt an almost surreal disbelief.
"Years ago, the Taiji Grandmaster Yang Luchan possessed the consummate art known as the bird unable to fly. His mastery of neutralizing force reached the absolute pinnacle, and his control over strength was refined to the utmost subtlety, imperceptible to the naked eye. Without requiring visible movement, with merely a shift of intent, his palm became a cage; flies could not alight upon him, and external force could not reach his body."
Lian Youming instinctively reached his hand forward.
Yet the moment Li Da pushed the finch toward him and it landed in his grasp, the bird instantly beat its wings and took flight, slipping free of his control.
"Thank you!"
Lian Youming gazed up at the sky, taking a long moment to snap out of his trance.
From this single display alone, even if the man offered him nothing else, it felt well worth it.
Crisply and decisively, he drew out the map and handed it over.
"You're too polite."
Li Da maintained that same innocent expression and tone. Paired with the features of a man in his thirties, it did not feel strange in the slightest; instead, there was an indescribable harmony to it, as though it were only natural.
Ordinarily, masters of the martial world were either aloof and arrogant, possessing peculiar temperaments, or like Xue Hen and Gong Wu'er, each marked by traits distinct from ordinary men. Yet this Li Da happened to resemble an everyday person to the utmost degree.
Having handed over the map, Lian Youming instinctively glanced back up at the birds in the tree, listening to their chattering calls. But by the time he brought his focus back, Li Da had already walked far into the distance, reduced to nothing more than a retreating figure, waving a hand without once looking back.
Truly, he had arrived like a sudden gust and departed like drifting smoke.
Chapter 35