The burly man finished speaking, waved his hand, and then vanished right before Li Guanyi's eyes.
He looked around but could not detect any trace, so he could only nod and say loudly, "Then I will come over at midnight."
Only an empty echo remained, confirming that even if the burly man was still here, he would not show himself.
After circling outside for a while, Li Guanyi returned home.
Their home in Guan Yi City was actually a small courtyard that had seen better days. Li Guanyi slowed his pace, used the firewood he had chopped earlier to start a fire, washed the rice, and began cooking.
As the smoke rose, the aroma of rice gradually filled the air. After the rice was cooked, he stir-fried two vegetable dishes. Since it was the time of the month when they had meat, he stewed an old hen for himself and steamed an egg custard.
Without needing Li Guanyi to call out, the wooden door creaked open, and a pale-faced yet lively woman leaned against the door as she walked out.
Li Guanyi's aunt.
For the first eight years of the past decade, she had taken care of Li Guanyi, who was her closest kin.
Two years ago, her injuries and ailments flared up, causing her to fall ill. At that time, ten-year-old Li Guanyi relied on the little bit of mathematical knowledge he had from his previous life to do some accounting for others to earn some pocket money. After finishing work each day, he would return to cook, all thanks to his aunt's care over the previous eight years.
Human hearts are tender; those eight years of hardship had earned him two years of attentive care.
Li Guanyi still remembered the first time the poison in his body erupted, causing him excruciating pain.
The pain was so intense that it felt like a patient suffering from epilepsy, needing to be careful not to bite off their tongue during a seizure. A child's senses are more acute; at that time, he was only three or four years old, and the skin on his palms could feel the fine fuzz on flower petals, and he could smell the fragrance of spring flowers in the wind, which made him faint from the pain.
It was like falling into an endless abyss, as if he had stepped into a void in a dream, yet he kept falling.
In a hazy state, he felt someone holding his palm, warm liquid flowing into his mouth, like a river of scalding flames slowly suppressing the cold, sharp pain, and then Li Guanyi fell into a deep slumber.
When he woke up, the wind rustled through the treetops, and the North Star hung high in the azure sky, cold and desolate. He rested on his aunt's lap, looked up to see the warm gaze of the woman, noticed the blood from the bite marks on her wrist, and sensed the metallic taste of blood in his mouth.
At that time, his aunt had been riding a galloping horse with him. After discovering he was ill, she had fallen off the horse onto the grass, heartbroken for him. Not wanting to use cloth, she had stuffed her wrist into Li Guanyi's mouth. In his agony, he had bitten down hard, creating a large wound, but fortunately, he hadn't damaged an artery. The warmth amidst the pain was his aunt's blood.
He had looked up then, seeing the starry sky behind the beautiful woman. She smiled gently and asked if he felt better. Starlight and moonlight shone on her face from the treetops, the light and shadows swaying. Her wrist was still injured, yet she smiled, gently touching the child's brow and singing the lullaby that mothers from the Eastern Lands would sing to their children at bedtime.
That night, Li Guanyi slept very well.
Those were memories of the past. Now, twelve-year-old Li Guanyi served a bowl of soup to the pale-faced woman, carefully placed it down, and handed her a pair of chopsticks.
The beautiful woman took a sip of the soup and smiled:
"Little Nunuer's cooking is still the best, much better than my skills."
Li Guanyi raised an eyebrow.
Nunuer was Li Guanyi's nickname. Many children from official families often had a nickname with "nu" added at the end. This was not an insult; Wang Xianzhi's nickname was Guannu, and the Southern Dynasties' Wu Emperor Liu Yu's nickname was Jinu. It was just that Nunuer was more endearing.
Nunuer means cat, specifically a tabby cat. Calling him that was like an elder calling him little kitty when he was young. Li Guanyi had once seriously stated that he was no longer a child and did not want to be called that, but instead, his aunt teased him by calling him Nunuer for three whole days.
He had long known that his aunt's character was far from the soft appearance she showed.
After years of interaction, Li Guanyi had already understood how to deal with his aunt. He lowered his head, his chopsticks flying, focusing on eating, which made the woman feel quite bored. Fortunately, Li Guanyi's cooking was indeed good.
Although it couldn't compare to the elaborate dishes of famous chefs.
However, the firewood stove was blazing, and the pot was full of flavor. The hen had been pecking at vegetables that morning, and the vegetables from the village outside the city were still covered in morning dew. The stir-fried dishes were quite good, with a solid feeling. After eating his fill, Li Guanyi cleaned up the dishes.
His aunt's health had been deteriorating, and recently, Li Guanyi had not allowed her to do these chores.
After finishing these trivial tasks, Li Guanyi, as usual, took down a guqin from the somewhat narrow wooden wall and began to play under the woman's guidance. The music was melodious, sometimes clear and resonant, already showing considerable skill.
When his aunt discovered that Li Guanyi was mature beyond his years, she began teaching him to play the guqin.
Guqin, chess, calligraphy, and painting.
Even during these years of wandering, he had not interrupted his studies.
She said she was not skilled in martial arts, but she played the guqin quite well. Li Guanyi had learned enough to make a living with his music in the future. If worse came to worst, my little Nunuer is good-looking, skilled in guqin, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and could live off soft rice while still being somewhat dignified.
Li Guanyi emphasized that he would support both of them, and his aunt just smiled, reaching out to ruffle his hair into a mess.
This guqin had always been kept close to his aunt. The body was straight, and the sound was clear, but the tail was charred, as if it had been rescued from a fire.
While playing the guqin, his aunt held a scroll of books, quietly curled up in a chair, her eyes slightly closed. The wide sleeves hung down, revealing a pale yet slender wrist. She seemed to be enveloped in her robe, appearing particularly thin. Suddenly, upon hearing a wrong note, she lazily opened her eyes, lightly tapped the scroll on the young man's head, and said:
"You played the wrong note, Nunuer."
"What's wrong? Do you have something on your mind?"
Of course, Li Guanyi's heart was slightly stirred because of the reappearance of the cloud pattern, as that cauldron was about to be filled, and there was a possibility of curing the poison in his body. However, a moment of distraction had been noticed by his aunt. The matter of the poison and his own adventures could not be disclosed. Just as he hesitated, his aunt smiled.
She smiled, her amber eyes looking at the young man, the scroll in her hand lightly tapping on the hem of Li Guanyi's clothes, then sliding down to tap his knee, saying, "You dislike washing clothes the most, and you always take a detour when you see muddy ground, afraid of getting splashed."
"Is there trouble at the Apothecary?"
His aunt leaned back in her chair, resting her chin on one hand:
"The Rejuvenation Hall has some connections in the government office and has hired three martial artists who have reached the peak of their training."
"There are very few who would cause trouble at the Rejuvenation Hall. If it has you distracted, I guess it must be our enemies."
Li Guanyi opened his mouth and sighed helplessly. This woman had sheltered him for ten years, her thoughts were very meticulous. His cautious nature at this moment was learned from his aunt over these ten years, and he said:
"I knew I couldn't hide it from you."
He then recounted the events, omitting the matter of the bronze cauldron. After thinking for a moment, the woman said softly:
"The Crimson Dragon Dharma Form... training at night, if it is him, then it is possible."
"As for those cloud pattern riders..."
"We have been here for two years, and in a few months, we will leave again. It is better to avoid trouble."
"If you really have bad luck and run into them, don’t hold any resentment. It’s fine to endure a little."
"There is an old saying: if you can spare someone, then spare them. Taking a step back can also lead to peace and ease, especially since you are young. Do not compete with others outside..."
Her voice was soft, and her words of persuasion always reminded Li Guanyi of his mother from his previous life. Every time he went on a journey, his mother would advise him not to quarrel with others, to avoid trouble if possible. The young man's expression inevitably softened and dimmed.
Suddenly, something was slipped into his left hand, a piece of silver.
Then a chill ran through him. He looked up to see his aunt holding a short sword with a scabbard. The scabbard was ancient, and Li Guanyi was slightly taken aback. His aunt had already drawn the sword, which was about the length of a forearm, radiating a faint, misty light.
His aunt smiled slightly, and with a gentle motion, the short sword sliced down, silently cutting off a corner of the wooden table. Then, with a sideways slash, the old iron pot was also cut and fell to the ground, equally without a sound.
The short sword was covered in the cloud patterns left by forging, with two inscriptions on each side.
This kind of inscription his aunt had taught him.
The front read "Murong," and the back had the two characters "Qiushui."
It was the name of the short sword.
It was also his aunt's name.
This name always reminded Li Guanyi of the renowned Murong family, which was located in the eighteenth state of Jiangnan. That was the land lost by the Chen Kingdom twelve years ago, and it was also the direction they had been slowly approaching while on the run.
Murong Qiushui placed the short sword in the young man's right hand and said softly:
"A man must have depth; if a problem can be solved with silver, then use silver. Seeking mercy is not shameful."
"A man must have ferocity; if they still refuse to relent, then use the sword."
Li Guanyi instinctively said, "Aunt, didn't you say that old saying, 'Endure a little and you can be at ease, avoid trouble and the sea is vast'? Why do you..."
He saw his beautiful aunt smile slightly, her finger tapping on his brow, saying:
"My silly Nunuer, but the old saying also says..."
Her voice paused, her brows raised, and her face suddenly lit up:
"It means to hell with them!"
………………
Midnight.
Yue Qianfeng sat inside the Mountain God Temple, chewing on a chicken leg bone, waiting cross-legged.
He kept his promise, waiting for that child here, having prepared a superior martial art from the military lineage. As long as the child arrived, he would impart this skill to him.
But would the child come?
Suddenly, his ears twitched.
Yue Qianfeng's eyes snapped open.
Someone was coming.
It was the enemy!
Outside, someone lowered their voice and shouted:
"Fire the arrows!!!"
(End of this chapter)