The deeper the water, the quieter it flows; the heavier the rain, the shorter it lasts.
The downpour had already turned into a gentle drizzle by the time Chen Ping'an and A'Liang returned beneath the great tree. Raindrops continued to fall from the leaves above. When the girl in the red cotton coat saw Chen Ping'an return, her face was full of worry.
Chen Ping'an greeted her with a radiant smile, ruffled her hair, and said softly, "It's all right now."
Her expression instantly lit up, blooming like a rainbow breaking through after the storm, so pure it made one's heart ache.
At that moment, Chen Ping'an felt a sudden pang of guilt. Yet, he didn't know how to begin. Words welled up in his chest, stuck fast, so he simply resumed silently practicing his sword-stance.
A'Liang smiled knowingly at the scene. But Li Huai's next words quickly dispelled his good mood.
"A'Liang, A'Liang, Chen Ping'an told me you went to the mountain to poop because that way you wouldn't have to wipe."
A'Liang chuckled. "Did he now?"
Li Huai cast a glance at Chen Ping'an, who stood not far off, clearly afraid A'Liang might confront him directly. Mimicking A'Liang's tone, he chuckled, "Well, Chen Ping'an didn't say it out loud, but I could tell that's what he was thinking. Of course, I don't think you're that kind of person—I even explained that to Sister Zhu Lu and swore by my chest that A'Liang would never do such a thing."
A'Liang casually tugged Li Huai's ear and smiled, "Oh?"
Li Huai wailed dramatically, "A'Liang! It's all Chen Ping'an's fault! He's the real scoundrel. Want me to scold him for you?"
A'Liang twisted his ear harder. "You think I'm that easy to fool?"
Li Huai cried out, but no one paid him any mind. Quickly changing tactics, he said, "A'Liang, A'Liang, I have a sister—her name's Li Liu. Her name might not be nice, but she's really pretty. I swear I'm not lying. Lin Shouyi and Dong Shuijing, those two perverts, both secretly like her. Dong Shuijing always comes over to our house to mooch meals, and every time he sees my sister, his face turns red—he's disgusting. But you, A'Liang, you're way better than him! Handsome, good-tempered, ride donkeys, drink wine—how about I introduce you to my sister sometime?"
A'Liang finally let go of his ear and gently placed both hands on Li Huai's shoulders, pressing him down to a squat. "Let's talk this over slowly, shall we?"
Chen Ping'an stepped up to Zhu He and his daughter, Zhu Lu. "Uncle Zhu He, may I have a word with you?"
The man grinned. "Been waiting for you to ask. Let's walk a bit—rain's barely anything now."
The two walked side by side, leaving the shelter of the towering tree. Before Chen Ping'an could ask anything, Zhu He began on his own.
"Chen Ping'an, with all the strange things happening in town recently, and given you survived under that mountain-moving ape on Zhengyang Mountain and even made an alliance with that girl from afar, I imagine you already know a great deal. So I won't hide anything—my daughter and I both serve the Li family. We've been their household retainers for generations. Sounds pitiful, maybe, but it's not as bad as you'd think. From the elusive ancestors to the family head, and especially to Miss Baoping, no one treats us as mere servants. In truth, my daughter and the young miss are as close as real sisters."
At this point, the middle-aged man glanced back at his daughter under the tree. She stood slender and upright, the early signs of blossoming womanhood just beginning to show. In another year, she'd truly be a young lady grown. He believed, with pride in his chest, that his daughter Zhu Lu would one day shine as brightly as any noble girl in the Dali Capital.
Dali had always respected women—never forbade them from fighting on the battlefield. The late emperor had even decreed a complete system of military honors for female warriors and cultivators, the first of its kind in the entire continent. Scholars from Guanhul Academy, led by the literati, once fiercely opposed it, launching a massive campaign of criticism. If not for Qi Jingchun, head of Cliff Academy, standing firm against all opposition, the young emperor back then might have caved to court pressure and rescinded the decree.
Zhu He smiled. "Back when they discovered I had the talent for martial cultivation, they spared no expense to train me, which is how I got to where I am today. My daughter Zhu Lu was the same—had she not faltered just shy of the second martial realm, her future achievements would've far outstripped mine. When the ancestors saw her potential, they even said she might one day reach the legendary seventh realm. Me? I've barely scraped into the fifth."
His mood darkened slightly. Martial ascension required more than talent—it demanded true-life combat, death-defying trials. Without them, one could never climb far. Once the moment was missed, momentum stalled, spirit dimmed, and the path to the peak would break.
Suppressing his disappointment, Zhu He continued, "We were chosen to escort the young miss out of Dali for three reasons. First, we lived nearby, had decent skills, and, more importantly, were loyal family retainers. Second, it was her first time traveling far, and she needed someone meticulous to care for her—Zhu Lu fit the role perfectly. Third, our old ancestor, who dotes on her the most, had actually planned to escort her himself. But when A'Liang appeared—yes, the very one from Ruan's sect at Wind and Snow Temple—he handed the task to him and returned to town. Now that the restrictions are gone, the town is brimming with spiritual energy. It's practically a blessed land for cultivation. He's on the verge of a breakthrough—how could he miss the chance? With A'Liang by her side, there shouldn't be any issues."
Zhu He paused, then added, "Our ancestor is wise and broad-minded. Though he cherishes the young miss, he didn't keep her under his wing. Instead, he insisted she must attend Cliff Academy, and that she must walk the latter half of the journey alone. Such is the bearing of a Li family descendant."
He chuckled. "But when it came time to part, he was full of sorrow, muttering about how our little Baoping was still under ten years old—surely courage could come a bit later? Yet in the end, he made his decision not to follow in secret. Still, he looked back every three steps, like a fretful old man. First time in his life, too. Zhu Lu told me later—he truly loves the young miss."
With heartfelt gratitude, Zhu He said, "The young miss has always been good to Zhu Lu. From a young age, she loved chatting with her, watching her train. In truth, Zhu Lu could never have come this far without her."
Chen Ping'an breathed a sigh of relief. "With you two around, I'm at ease."
Back in the town, aside from Mr. Qi, there was no one Chen Ping'an fully trusted. Not even Master Ruan. As he'd told Li Baoping, what he believed in was not the man, but the unspoken codes once upheld by the sage—Mr. Qi. That kind of trust was instinctual, perhaps innate, but more often earned through hardship—like the medicine boiled by the straw-shod boy for Miss Ning.
It was the same with A'Liang. The same with Zhu He. Chen Ping'an didn't trust easily—not because he was pampered and naive. He had known hardship, the ugliness of the world, the cruelty of poverty. Loneliness had etched itself into his bones.
Zhu He gave the boy's narrow shoulder a pat. Beneath his hand, the youth's bones were firmer than expected—stronger than what a fifth-realm martial artist like him anticipated. But he quickly understood: if not for such resilience, how could he have withstood a head-on clash with a mountain-moving ape? Zhu He himself would never dare such a feat.
And yet... he sighed inwardly. He wasn't even forty, yet his ambition had already been worn away to nothing. How had it come to this?