"See? Didn't I tell you getting married isn't all it's cracked up to be? Being on your own is so much freer," Lin Zheyu said with a shrug.
"That's just because you don't understand."
"Married life has its joys and its sorrows. That's simply how life is—nothing is ever all sunshine and no rain," Han Mo replied.
"Yes, yes, yes, whatever you say."
"You'd better hurry home to your wife. You're about to ride out to suppress bandits, yet you still ran over to my place."
"Drink less, or you'll catch an earful from your wife when you get back."
Lin Zheyu snatched away Han Mo's wine cup, pulled him to his feet, and began ushering him out.
"You little brat! Give me back my cup. Let me finish it before I go!" Han Mo scolded with a laugh.
He didn't have many vices—no whoring, gambling, or drugs. He just loved his drink.
Unlike Lin Zheyu, whose irreconcilable sworn enemies were strictly gambling and drugs.
"Another one leaving. Staying in this Songyi City is getting duller by the day," Lin Zheyu murmured under his breath as he watched Han Mo's receding figure.
Master Liang had only just departed, and now Han Mo was being deployed to clear out bandits.
These days, among the few people in Songyi City he was truly familiar with, only Jia Yanyong and a couple of others remained.
...
The next day.
Outside Songyi City.
Lin Zheyu stood quietly outside the gates, seeing Senior Brother Han Mo off as he watched him ride into the distance.
After this parting, it would be over a month before they met again.
He hoped Senior Brother Han would have a safe journey.
Han Mo had always treated Lin Zheyu well. Even though they had not known each other long, Han Mo frequently dropped by to spar with him, truly playing the part of a caring senior brother.
"Kind sir, have mercy! I haven't eaten in over ten days!"
Refugees lining the road begged passersby for scraps of food.
A passerby kicked a refugee aside with a cold, disgusted glare, spat at him, and hurried off.
The temperature had dropped again last night.
He had just heard from Senior Brother Han that when the guards made their rounds this morning, they cleared away more than a hundred corpses.
In the days to come, that number would only climb. As time dragged on, more and more people would succumb to the cold and hunger.
*Human lives are treated like worthless weeds!*
Lin Zheyu felt a pang of pity, yet he was powerless to help.
He was merely an ordinary person struggling to survive in this chaotic world. Not lingering outside the city, he turned to leave as soon as Senior Brother Han Mo's silhouette faded from view.
*Clip-clop.*
*Clip-clop, clip-clop, clip-clop!*
The rapid beat of hooves sounded behind him.
Lin Zheyu glanced back and saw an armored soldier spurring a fine steed straight toward him.
Frowning slightly, he channeled his Golden Goose Skill and nimbly dodged aside.
"Whoa—!"
The soldier pulled hard on the reins to wheel the mount around, cracked his whip against the horse's flank, and charged at Lin Zheyu again.
*What is this guy's problem?!*
Anger flared in Lin Zheyu's chest. Circulating the Golden Goose Skill once more, he shifted his feet and dodged far to the side.
The horse thundered past.
Moving too fast to halt in time, it plowed straight into the refugees, trampling several of them to death.
Seeing this, Lin Zheyu's gaze turned chillingly cold.
This man held human life in utter contempt.
In his eyes, those refugees were probably worth less than pigs or dogs.
*Whoosh!*
Clamping his legs against the beast's flanks, the rider charged at Lin Zheyu yet again.
He swung his halberd with savage momentum, cleaving the freezing wind with a howling whistle as it crashed down toward Lin Zheyu's head.
*A Viscera Tempering Realm expert!*
*What intense baleful aura!*
Lin Zheyu's eyes narrowed. He could sense a thick, murderous aura from the man that rivaled Senior Brother Han Mo's.
Only someone who had fought through hundreds of life-and-death clashes and carved a path out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood could condense such a terrifying aura.
Lightly tapping the ground with the tips of his toes, Lin Zheyu darted backward.
Relying on the speed and agility of the Golden Goose Skill, he maneuvered around the rider.
Fighting from horseback was poorly suited for one-on-one combat against an agile target. A warhorse possessed terrifying charge power, but it sorely lacked maneuverability.
Lin Zheyu easily evaded several of the man's ferocious attacks.
*Thump!*
Kicking off the ground with force, Lin Zheyu leapt backward, putting a dozen meters of distance between them. In a heavy voice, he demanded, "Who are you, and why are you attacking me?!"
"Haha! You really do have some skill!"
The rider reined in his horse and laughed heartily, making no further move to strike.
*Clip-clop, clip-clop.*
Behind him, another burly young master dressed in brocade robes caught up on a fine steed.
"Xing Jinglong!"
Lin Zheyu's eyes narrowed slightly.
He took a few quiet steps backward until he was close to the city gates. The sight of these two together stirred a prickle of unease within him.
"Brother, didn't I tell you this kid had decent skill?"
"Word is he's only practiced martial arts for about a month, yet he's already reached this level—truly a natural talent," Xing Jinglong said with a laugh.
After witnessing Lin Zheyu's martial ability last time, he had specifically ordered the men of the Wuding Gang to keep tabs on Lin Zheyu's movements and report immediately if he left the city.
He hadn't expected the kid to run outside the gates on his own so soon.
"He does have some skill indeed."
"Kid, what realm are you at?" the mounted soldier asked. He removed his helmet, revealing a face Lin Zheyu recognized.
*Xing Penghai, Xing Jinglong...*
*Are these two brothers?*
*Enemies really do cross paths at every turn...*
Lin Zheyu looked at the pair in silence, inwardly cursing his luck.
He knew he had been targeted. Otherwise, running into both of them like this could never be a coincidence.
"Lin Zheyu greets Your Honor."
Lin Zheyu cupped his hands in a respectful salute toward Xing Penghai. "I'm merely at the Bone Tempering Realm. Please excuse my clumsy display."
"Huh, you look a bit familiar!"
"Wait, you were that kid standing next to Han Mo last time, weren't you?" Xing Penghai pondered for a moment before recalling where he had seen Lin Zheyu.
Lin Zheyu gave no answer, keeping a wary gaze fixed on the two men.
Using his peripheral vision to track the city gates behind him, he prepared to channel the Golden Goose Skill and bolt inside at the first sign of trouble.
Once he was within the city, he doubted this man would dare run wild.
Chapter 40