A few days later.
Lin Zhao’s sword wounds healed rapidly, forming scabs. This was partly due to Chen Yu’s excellent medicinal herbs, and partly because Lin Zhao himself was a martial artist, and a peak second-realm martial artist at that. His physique had been honed to extreme resilience, making his recovery speed far superior to that of cultivators in the same realm. Thus, despite the severe injuries inflicted by Huang Yueran, he recovered remarkably quickly.
…
On this day, Lin Zhao was already practicing his stances in the courtyard. After completing a few sets of the Farmer’s Three Fists, he began to sweat. Just then, Chen Yu arrived with a few soldiers from the Tianchi Army, carrying an old duck. “Lin Zhao, here’s some food for you.”
“Oh, thank you, that’s too kind!”
Lin Zhao said, “I’ve received so much kindness from Sister Chen Yu these days.”
“It’s nothing, Commander Chu ordered it.”
Chen Yu looked at the boy, now fully recovered, with her clear, bright eyes and smiled, “You’re looking quite strong… Excellent, excellent. If that’s the case, then let’s begin Commander Chu’s assignment.”
“Ah?!”
Lin Zhao was taken aback. “Commander Chu has an order for me…?”
“Starting tomorrow, you will go to the Marshal’s Mansion. Commander Chu will personally oversee your fist practice for ten days. After ten days, you can leave.” Chen Yu’s lips curved into a beautiful smile. “Little fellow, not every child in Tianchi Ridge receives such special treatment. A tenth-realm, Sea-Crossing realm martial artist personally guiding your fist techniques and movement, such fortune is beyond the reach of others.”
Lin Zhao was overjoyed. “Really?”
“Yes, tomorrow morning, head directly to the Marshal’s Mansion. I will arrange your lodging, and you won’t be returning here for the next ten days.”
“Oh!”
Lin Zhao blinked, then looked at Xiao Shitong behind him. “What about Xiao Shitong…?”
Chen Yu smiled, bent down, and patted Xiao Shitong’s head. “Leave plenty of food for Xiao Shitong, and he can cook for himself each day. When you were this old, weren’t you already learning to live on your own?”
“Okay, alright!”
…
After Chen Yu left, Lin Zhao began busy preparing ten days’ worth of food for Xiao Shitong. The old duck Chen Yu brought was immediately butchered, its meat chopped into five portions, skewered, and dried in the sun. One portion per day. In addition, he prepared ten portions of venison and mountain pheasant meat, and he spent the afternoon making thirty large flatbreads for Xiao Shitong, one per meal. Xiao Shitong would just have to learn to stew vegetables.
However, Xiao Shitong was indeed still too young. With one hand on the stove and another on the lower part of the stove, his appearance while trying to stir-fry vegetables on a stool was truly heart-wrenching. But Lin Zhao could do nothing. He was already anxious enough about staying at the Marshal’s Mansion for ten days, let alone suggesting bringing Xiao Shitong along. That would be far too presumptuous. Commander Chu, who could kill Huang Yueran with a single punch, was certainly not someone with a good temper.
The reason for Lin Zhao’s urgency was simple: he desperately desired these ten days of cultivation. Ten days of practicing fists might allow him to break through to the third realm of martial arts. Ever since being severely injured by Huang Yueran, Lin Zhao had been plagued by nightmares every night. The scenes were always the same: Huang Yueran descending from the sky on his sword, the rampant sword energy filling the air. These visions filled Lin Zhao with both fear and a yearning. If only he could become a powerful sword cultivator like Huang Yueran one day!
Moreover, after this injury, Lin Zhao harbored a growing ambition. Before the age of fourteen, he had only thought of survival. But after turning fourteen, he could no longer be content with merely existing. He had to think about how to live a better life. Only by living better could his father and mother, who watched over him from above, find peace.
Therefore, from this day forward, he, Lin Zhao, would become stronger! Strong enough that no one could look down on him, strong enough that no one dared to bully him. Only then could he truly hold his head high and face the world.
…
In the evening, after dinner and a few rounds of practice.
Lin Zhao went to the door and glanced around. The figure did not appear.
It seemed Chen Yu would not be coming again today.
For no reason, the young man felt a pang of disappointment.
He then instructed Xiao Shitong to practice his stances in the courtyard while he himself practiced his fists. After that, Lin Zhao retrieved a string of preserved fish from the wall and dashed to the front street, heading straight for the bookstore. He strode in.
“Boss Qin!”
“Eh?”
The middle-aged scholar was reading by the window, not bothering to light a lamp, and was reading by moonlight. Lin Zhao was greatly impressed, and a sense of admiration bloomed within him. In terms of stinginess and frugality, he was not the undisputed champion in Tianchi Town; Boss Qin was truly a formidable opponent.
“Little Brother Lin?”
Qin Suihan peered out and saw Lin Zhao, and the string of well-preserved, salty fish in his hand. He smiled, “What brings you here?”
The young man gave an awkward smile, placed the dried fish on the table outside, and said, “This fish… Boss Qin, if you soak it and grill it, it’ll be good with wine. Today… I have something I’d like to ask of Boss Qin.”
“Oh?”
Qin Suihan chuckled, “What is it?”
“That…”
The young man was a little hesitant. “Starting tomorrow, I’ll be going to the Marshal’s Mansion to practice fist techniques with Commander Chu for ten days. Xiao Shitong will be home alone. Although Xiao Shitong is very sensible, he’s still too young. I’m afraid something might happen to him if he’s alone at home. So, if Boss Qin has some free time, perhaps you could check on Xiao Shitong at my place each day? Just once would be enough.”
“Oh, this, this is no problem.”
Qin Suihan smiled. “Anything else?”
“No.”
“Oh.”
The middle-aged scholar, speaking from beside the window, with only a wall separating them, squinted and smiled. “Little Brother Lin, looking at you… have you recently taken a liking to someone?”
Lin Zhao became extremely flustered, standing there and fidgeting. His mind was filled with the image of Chen Yu. The Eldest Princess of the Great Chen Dynasty was exceptionally beautiful, almost catching up to Sister Bai. Furthermore, as a martial artist, Chen Yu exuded a vibrant spirit. She was also extremely gentle. As they spent more time together, the young man naturally developed feelings for her.
However, everyone in Tianchi Ridge knew that Chen Yu’s heart belonged to only one person: Commander Chu, Chu Huaixi. Chu Huaixi was the unparalleled hero in Chen Yu’s heart, irreplaceable.
Thinking of this, the young man felt a little sad. But after a few seconds of sadness, he began to feel a flicker of joy. The person he liked, also liked someone else; wasn’t this something to be happy about?
“What’s wrong with liking someone?”
Qin Suihan smiled. “You don’t need to be embarrassed. Everyone in this life will have someone they like.”
Lin Zhao nodded in agreement. “Boss Qin, as a scholar, your standards must be quite high. Do you, in your heart, also have someone you like?”
“Mm.”
Qin Suihan stood up, holding his book scroll, and stood by the window in the moonlight. Looking at the bright moonlight, he appeared quite ethereal and refined. He smiled, “A scholar should naturally have someone they like. After all…”
He gently lifted his scroll, his gaze tender as he looked at the moonlight, and slowly uttered a sentence.
“Moon by the window, book in hand, a loved one in the heart. What is the most elegant thing in this world, if not this?”
…
Lin Zhao didn’t fully understand, but he felt that Qin Suihan’s words were profound and worth pondering. So, he turned and ran home. On the way, his mind replayed their first meeting.
Back then, Lin Zhao was only six years old, a very frail child. His mother was gravely ill and bedridden. Every day, Lin Zhao would fetch medicine and brew it for her.
There was a saying in town: the dregs left after brewing medicine should be sprinkled on the road. The reason was that illness was caused by plague spirits plaguing people, and when people stepped on these dregs, the plague spirits would transfer from the sick person to those who stepped on them. So, the six-year-old Lin Zhao walked around the town three times with the dregs, but he couldn’t bring himself to throw them away.
Finally, he crossed Baiyu Creek and went to the back mountain, scattering the dregs in the wilderness.
At that time, a scholar collecting herbs happened to pass by.
Qin Suihan asked, “Lin Zhao, why are you scattering the medicine dregs here?”
Little Lin Zhao’s eyes were red. He said, “My mother is so sick, I want her to get well soon. But I don’t want her illness to transfer to others, so I could only scatter it here, hoping that passing birds and beasts could take away some of Mother’s sickness, so she could recover sooner.”
That day, Boss Qin Suihan of the bookstore walked with Lin Zhao all the way to the back street. Afterward, Qin Suihan, from a distance, performed a solemn Confucian bow to Lin Zhao. Although Lin Zhao didn’t understand the meaning of this gesture, he could feel the respect this strange bookstore owner had for him. Thus, for the first time in his life, little Lin Zhao mimicked him and returned a Confucian bow to Qin Suihan on the stone bridge.
Lin Zhao had always felt that Qin Suihan was a very, very good person, the best person in town.
…
The next morning, he woke up early.
While Xiao Shitong was still sound asleep, Lin Zhao was already up. He reheated the meat soup from the previous night and a few flatbreads. He woke Xiao Shitong. Xiao Shitong woke up looking confused. It wasn’t even dawn outside. He couldn’t understand why Lin Zhao was up so early. Was he truly that eager to follow Chu Huaixi and learn fist techniques?
After eating and drinking, Lin Zhao left the key and lock for Xiao Shitong, then, carrying his sword, headed for the Marshal’s Mansion.
The Marshal’s Mansion was not within the town but built outside it. It was called the Marshal’s Mansion, but in reality, it was more like a temporary camp for the Tianchi Army outside the town, sometimes used for garrisoning troops, and sometimes as a field hospital. At this moment, there were a large number of field hospital tents outside the Marshal’s Mansion. From afar, Lin Zhao could hear the pained groans of the wounded soldiers.
Lin Zhao remembered that when he was injured before, Chu Huaixi had just returned from battle.
It seemed the Tianchi Army had not won this battle.
…
“You’re here so early?”
On the wall of the Marshal’s Mansion, an old man with a sword sat there, holding a few steamed buns in his arms, and asked with a smile, “Want a bun?”
Lin Zhao smiled. “Are there any with meat filling?”
“Picky eater?”
The old man shook his head but still smiled and threw a meat bun down. He said, “Eat it, and I’ll open the door for you. Commander Chu is still asleep.”
“Oh, alright!”