Under the fist

Chapter 34 Ambition, Li Da

"hot!"

At the dinner table, Yan Lingyun had also changed her clothes and was wearing the clothes that Shen Qinghong had brought. She tied her long hair up, blinked her big, watery eyes, and ate a plate of stir-fried cured pork with chili peppers. Although it was so spicy that her face was covered in sweat, she kept eating.

Shen Qinghong, standing to the side, smiled and kept serving the little girl food, including Sichuan dishes like sliced ​​beef and tripe in chili sauce, Mapo tofu, and boiled sliced ​​pork.

"As the old saying goes, being able to eat is a blessing. You're so thin, eat more."

Looking at it, the bright red, sizzling oil and the enticing aroma are sure to whet your appetite.

Lian Youming sat opposite him, holding a small rice bowl with two large steamed buns on top of the rice. Hearing this, he chuckled and said, "Then am I incredibly lucky?"

Qin Yuhu sipped his Moutai liquor and said coldly, "You don't count, you're just a good-for-nothing."

But then, turning his head again, the man said in a friendly tone, "Lingyun, eat more. Although this kid is impulsive, I don't know if he was born to be a chef. His skills are comparable to those of the head chefs in state-run restaurants."

Lian Youming simply buried his face as well.

He was exhausted that day, tired, hungry, and injured. He could still chew on a couple of pieces of Solomon's Seal to replenish his energy, but the feeling of hunger was a constant companion, tormenting him like a bone-deep sore.

But Qin Yuhu suddenly changed the subject, "I've already reported the map issue. The higher-ups are taking it very seriously. They'll probably send someone tomorrow, and their identity should be quite extraordinary. You need to keep an eye on it."

Lian Youming took a big bite of the steamed bun and mumbled, "Just tell me what reward I should get in return."

Qin Yuhu rolled his eyes. "I'm not that old-fashioned. Besides, who would do something without a benefit? Especially since you risked your life to get it back. I don't care about this matter; you can decide for yourself. But I'll get a share of the profits after it's all over."

Lian Youming chuckled, "Then don't tell my parents."

Once everything was agreed upon, the conversation at the dinner table had nothing to do with him anymore; Qin Yuhu and his wife focused entirely on Yan Lingyun.

Then Shen Qinghong asked with a gentle smile, "Lingyun, do you have any other brothers or sisters?"

Yan Lingyun's cheeks flushed slightly, whether from the spiciness or from the few sips of wine, and she whispered, "I have seven older brothers and two younger sisters."

"Pfft," upon hearing this, Lian Youming's shoulders trembled, as if he had choked on his rice, "Cough cough... Your dad is too prolific."

Qin Yuhu glared at Lian Youming. "Who gives you the right to speak? Just eat your food."

Shen Qinghong was also somewhat surprised, and then she exchanged a glance with Qin Yuhu.

That makes ten in total. To be able to have so many children at once, one's family must either be extremely prestigious or have a deep-rooted influence.

Yan Lingyun explained softly, "My father told me that he used to have many uncles and brothers, but due to war and famine, most of them died, leaving only some women and children. Then, in order to continue the family line, my father became the clan leader, but the clan was small and often bullied by outsiders, so he had no choice but to do this."

Upon hearing this, Lian Youming lowered his head even further, seemingly regretting interrupting.

Fortunately, the food still won out. After a brief moment of disappointment, Yan Lingyun began devouring the food on the table again.

The three of them chatted and laughed, while one person ate heartily.

When the sound of a baby crying came from inside the house, dinner was almost over.

Yan Lingyun slept in Qin Hongxiu's room, while Lian Youming continued to squeeze in with Qin Yuhu.

But things were different now, and both of them were strong men. As soon as they lay down, Lian Youming turned over, and then they heard a groan of unbearable weight coming from the wooden bed beneath him. Then, with a crisp "crack," it broke in half and collapsed.

Amidst the swirling dust, Qin Yuhu's face twitched. It took him a while to get up, covered in soot, and crawl into Shen Qinghong's house. "You'll have to make do with sleeping on the floor by yourself for the night."

Even after setting up his makeshift bed on the floor, Lian Youming couldn't fall asleep.

For some reason, he hadn't thought about it before, but when he calmed down, he thought of the white ape and Lei Hu who died by his fists, as well as Xie Laosan.

This kind of recollection is neither sympathy nor pity.

Looking at his still slightly bruised fist, Lian Youming kept recalling the whole fierce battle, sorting out the shortcomings, summarizing the fighting styles of both sides, and finally calming his heart, which was still hard to calm down after killing someone.

Even though he had gone through several dangerous and turbulent times, strictly speaking, last night was the first time he had personally killed someone.

Having the intention to kill and actually killing someone are different, especially after such a brutal battle.

But Lian Youming was not resistant, nor was he afraid; rather, he felt a strange, inexplicable emotion.

It was a mixture of trepidation and anticipation. Because after thinking of Xie Laosan, Lian Youming thought of many other things…

That is, who will fall to his fist next, and who will he be defeated by?

Will he, like Xie Laosan, silently turn into ashes and die a lonely death in a few years?

Of course, the answer to this question is unknown.

Lian Youming, however, had already become curious.

Curiosity means ambition.

Just as he thought that was all there was to it, that world would always reveal something new to him, much like the great secrets within the human body, those barriers and obstacles, those great hurdles. Every exploration and breakthrough brought him a sense of exhilaration and joy, like opening up new horizons.

Lian Youming murmured, "This martial world is getting more and more interesting."

Even if what is presented to him now is only the tip of the iceberg of that world, it is enough to be breathtaking and make people yearn for it.

Gazing at the lonely moon outside the window, Lian Youming did not fall asleep. Instead, he got up and recalled the battle of the previous night. In his imagination, he recreated the attack methods of the white ape, Lei Hu, and even Xue Hen and Gong Wu'er. He moved and changed in the dim space, his fist shadows intertwined and his palm shadows swept rapidly, as if he were reliving the fierce battles again.

"kill!!!"

No sleep for one night.

The next day, early in the morning.

As he inhaled and exhaled, Lian Youming's muscles visibly rippled and moved, and under that slight and strange trembling rhythm, the bruises on the back of his hand that were originally blue and swollen faded away quickly.

He only opened his eyes while meditating when he heard a few barks from outside the window.

At the same time the dog barked, a young man dressed in ordinary clothes slowly walked into the courtyard downstairs.

Lian Youming walked to the window and looked down.

"Soldiers? They arrived pretty quickly."

With just one glance, he felt a sense of oppressive power that, though restrained and deep, was also sharp and soaring.

A military expert?

Sure enough, I guessed it right.

Just as Lian Youming lowered his eyes and gazed down, the young man downstairs raised his head in an instant, looked up at the fourth-floor window, smiled and waved.

"Is this telling me to get down?"

Lian Youming raised an eyebrow, turned around and pushed open the door to go out. He found the living room was quiet, and the others seemed to be still asleep.

But when he thought that Qin Yuhu had let him make the decision himself, Lian Youming left the house and went downstairs.

The young man was dressed casually, with his hands in his pockets, looking very relaxed. He wasn't accompanied by any guards, nor was there any vehicle in sight. He looked travel-worn, as if he had hitchhiked there himself.

Regardless of his attire, what remained unchanged was his deeply ingrained, resolute demeanor. With broad shoulders, a straight back, and an upright spine, even his upper body appeared as stable and upright as a pillar supporting the sky, making him truly extraordinary.

An ordinary person might not be able to see the trick, but Lian Youming is no longer the same as before. He could tell at a glance that this person's upper body was not still. Instead, he was relying on the spine to adjust his center of gravity with every step. He looked ordinary, but the muscles inside were probably spinning like a top, as if he could suddenly launch an attack at any moment and exert all his strength.

The young man smiled gently and said, "My surname is Li."

Lian Youming asked, somewhat puzzled, "What's your name?"

The young man uttered a single word, “Big!”

Lian Youming's expression was strange. "Big? You wouldn't happen to be called Li Big, would you?"

The young man grinned, revealing two rows of neat, white teeth. "Indeed. Heaven and earth are vast, and so is man, like an elephant in human form. 'Vast' is derived from the outstretched arms of a person, but what lies at the end of those outstretched arms?"

Lian Youming's eyes lit up, "Fist?"

The young man nodded. "Indeed, I am Li Da... By the way, Gong Wu'er is my sister. We've met before!"

(End of this chapter)