Retirement begins with summoning Yuan Tiangang

three days later.

The sun is shining brightly.

The official road stretches out from the north gate of Yanjing, like a gray ribbon, rising and falling among the hills.

On both sides of the road are harvested rice paddies, with neatly arranged stubble. A flock of sparrows hops and jumps on them, not hiding when they see people coming. They just tilt their heads to look, and only when people get close do they take flight and land further away to continue hopping.

There was a group of about twenty people on the road, escorting five carriages, walking at a leisurely pace.

A flag with the character "威" (wei, meaning power or prestige) embroidered on it was stuck on the carriage, and it fluttered in the wind.

This is the Weiyuan Escort Agency's team.

The head镖师's surname was Lin, and his given name was simply "Shan".

He was in his late fifties, almost sixty, with half his hair white and his face deeply lined with wrinkles, like an old tree bark.

He was dressed in a slightly worn blue cloth short coat, with a broadsword at his waist, the scabbard of which was polished to a shine.

Riding a green snail horse, he walked at the head of the group, glancing back every now and then. His sharp eyes were honed from a lifetime of escorting goods. With a single glance, he could tell who in the group was acting strangely or if there were any tails on the road.

Three levels of innateness.

The aura emanating from Lin Shan fluctuated.

I've remained at this level for almost twenty years without making any further moves.

But he doesn't care.

Being able to complete this delivery safely, deliver the goods to the destination, and bring the money back to save for my daughter's dowry is better than anything else.

He glanced back at the carriage in the middle of the procession.

There is a horse next to the carriage.

A young man was riding on the horse—no, to be precise, it was a girl.

The girl was fifteen or sixteen years old and extremely beautiful.

Her eyebrows and eyes looked like they were drawn on, her nose was straight, and her lips were thin, with a small dimple when she pursed them.

Her skin was white, as white as a wild lily in the mountains.

But at this moment, her face was covered in ash and mud, and her hair was a mess. She tied it up with a rag and looked like a fire-starting girl who had just crawled out of the stove.

She was wearing a light blue men's short brown outfit, which was clearly a size too big, with the sleeves rolled up three times to reveal her wrists.

It's men's clothing, but it doesn't quite look like it.

He had a short sword tucked into his waistband, and the scabbard was old, with several dents and scratches.

Her name is Lin Weiwei.

This was her first time accompanying her father on a delivery mission.

Her father never took her with him before, saying that escorting goods was dangerous, and that swords and spears had no eyes, so a girl should stay at home.

But she also wanted to see her father's hardships, the path he had walked, and the outside world.

She pleaded and begged for three years, from age thirteen to sixteen, until she finally succeeded.

I only realized after I got out that escorting goods was no fun at all.

The sun beat down, the horse's back was rough, and the dry rations were so hard they could kill someone. At night, we would find a dilapidated temple to rest in, where rats would scurry around our feet.

But Lin Weiwei didn't feel bitter, because her father was riding a horse in front of her, his back straight, like a pillar of strength.

Her father is her pride.

Everyone in Hanhai County knows that Lin Dashan of Weiyuan Escort Agency has been a镖局 (escort agency) for thirty-five years, and has never lost a single shipment or lost a single employee.

Even those escort agencies ten times larger than Weiyuan Escort Agency would address him as "Brother Lin".

Lin Weiwei watched her father's retreating figure, a slight smile curving her lips.

A horse approached from the side.

"Vivi."

Lin Weiwei ignored her.

The horse got a little closer.

A man was riding on the horse, probably a middle-aged man in his thirties, wearing a faded gray cloth shirt and a tattered straw hat with the brim pulled low over his head.

He had a gourd tucked into his waistband, polished to a gleaming shine that dazzled in the sunlight.

This person has an ordinary appearance; the kind you wouldn't notice in a crowd.

But his eyes were bright, almost too bright, like two small lanterns hidden inside.

I met him on the street the day before yesterday.

The man was sitting by the roadside, dozing off while holding a gourd of wine.

As the caravan passed by, he opened his eyes and met Lin Dashan's gaze. Lin Dashan glanced at him and reined in his horse.

"Brother, how do I get to Hanhai County?"

The man yawned: "I'm going to Hanhai County too."

Then I followed.

Lin Dashan didn't know why he agreed.

Perhaps it was because his eyes were clean, or perhaps it was because although he was down on his luck, he didn't seem like a bad person, or perhaps it was the intuition he had developed over years of escorting goods that told him this person meant him no harm, so he might as well follow him.

But this person has a problem.

Talkative.

Too many.

This man was none other than Yan Shouzhuo, who sought pleasure.

"Weiwei," he said again.

"Trust me, I'm really amazing."

Lin Weiwei still ignored her.

"When I was young, I killed a great demon with a single sword strike."

He gestured with his hand, "A snake this thick, the kind with horns on its head. I swung my sword down, snap, in two."

Lin Weiwei glanced at him.

"Another time, in Tiannan Mountain, I encountered a hothead who claimed to be an unparalleled genius and insisted on having a sword duel with me. I was too lazy to move, so he kept chasing me for three days and three nights. Finally, I got so annoyed that I kicked him off the cliff."

He sighed, his tone tinged with regret: "Young people are too impetuous; it's not good."

Lin Weiwei finally spoke: "And then?"

Yan Shouzhou's spirits lifted. Look, his efforts had paid off—they finally paid attention to him!

"And then? Then he fell down. But the kid was lucky, he got stuck in a tree. He even wrote to me later, saying that he broke three ribs that time, but he figured out a new sword technique and wanted to challenge me to a duel another day."

He scratched his head: "I don't know if he's come or not. I've been waiting for years, but he hasn't come."

Lin Weiwei's lips twitched.

This person speaks with three parts truth and seven parts falsehood; it sounds like a storyteller.

"You can slay demons with a single sword strike," she said.

"Could that sword cut through a river in one stroke?"

Yan Shouzhou's eyes lit up: "Yes, we can! We absolutely can!"

"What about moving mountains?"

"Yes! I've moved more mountains than you've eaten meals!"

"What about the 'overturning the sea'?"

"No problem! When I was young, I often went to the beach to play around when I had nothing to do."

Lin Weiwei was too lazy to ask any more questions.

She spurred the horse, and it sped up, leaving Yan Shouzhuo behind.

Yan Shouzhou was stunned for a moment, then quickly chased after him.

"Weiwei, don't disbelieve me, I'm not bragging! My sword really can cleave a river! It can overturn the sea! It can even move mountains! You'll see—"

He raised his hand and pointed his index finger to the sky.

"--look!"

next moment.

The world has changed.

It doesn't change gradually, it changes instantly.

The sky was clear and the sun was so strong it made your back feel hot. In the blink of an eye, it got dark.

A huge cloud appeared out of nowhere and blocked out the sun. No, it wasn't a cloud; clouds don't have that texture.

That is……

That was a hand.

A golden hand emerged from the clouds.

Five fingers, each distinct, with fingernails clearly visible.

With your palm facing down, slowly press down.

How big is the hand? A hundred feet? More than that.

Sunlight filtered through their fingers, turning into beams of light that fell on the ground and onto the stunned group of people.

The horse began to neigh and paw at the ground with its front hooves, refusing to move forward.

Everyone tumbled off their horses, their legs too weak to stand.

Lin Dashan reined in his horse, looked up at the sky, and his face turned deathly pale.

He had been a镖师 (bodyguard/escort) for thirty-five years, witnessing bandits robbing the road, monsters blocking the way, feuds in the martial arts world, and government arrests.

I've never seen this before.

The palm pressed down slowly, but with each inch it fell, the air seemed to freeze a little more.

Later, even breathing became difficult, and it felt like a stone was pressing on my chest.

"Father..." Lin Weiwei swayed unsteadily, her face as white as paper.

Lin Dashan gritted his teeth, wanting to shout "Run!", but the sound got stuck in his throat and wouldn't come out.

At this moment,

"Oh my god!"

A strange scream broke the silence.

Yan Shouzhou dismounted, flicked his straw hat, and the hat flew up and landed on the horse's back.

He looked up at the approaching golden giant hand, surprisingly showing no fear on his face.

He was cursing and swearing:

"Old man! You can't beat others, so you bully your own people? Aren't you ashamed?!"

Before he finished speaking, he moved.

It's not running.

They just made a show of it.

Step forward with your left foot, bending your knee slightly.

Push off with your right foot, gripping the ground with the ball of your foot.

Make a fist with your right hand and place it at your waist, while your left hand is placed lightly in front of you.

A very ordinary starting stance.

Then something exploded on his body.

boom--

Centered on him, a shockwave suddenly spread out, stirring up a cloud of dust.

The panicked horses and the limp people were gently lifted up by the shockwave, pushed dozens of feet away, and landed steadily without a scratch.

Lin Weiwei lay on the ground, struggling to lift her head.

She saw,

The man who boasted all day long and talked as much as a fly was now standing there, surrounded by a blue light.

The light burst forth from his body, soaring into the sky and condensing into a towering, ethereal figure.

The figure's face was indistinct, but its imposing aura...

Lin Weiwei trembled all over.

It's not fear.

It's the kind of instinctive tremor that comes from an ant looking up at a mountain.

Her father, Lin Dashan, the man she thought was the most powerful in the world, was kneeling on the ground, his hands supporting him, unable to lift his head.

But he was still shouting:

"Lie down! Don't lift your heads! Don't lift your heads!"

Nobody listens to him.

Because it can't be lifted.

Yan Shouzhou threw a punch.

It was a very simple punch.

He thrust his right hand out from his waist and shot it straight into the sky.

The moment he threw the punch, the azure phantom formed from countless Yuan energies around him also moved, throwing the same punch towards the sky.

A giant cyan fist detached from the phantom fist and soared into the sky with a roar.

The fist wasn't as big as the golden hand, but it was still several tens of feet long.

A bluish light swirled, and wherever it passed, the air emitted a piercing shriek, and the clouds were torn open with a long rift.

Two beams of light, one gold and one blue, met in mid-air.

"Bang!"

It wasn't thunder, it wasn't an explosion.

It was a deeper, more muffled sound, like someone was smashing a giant hammer into everyone's chest.

The blue fist shattered.

The shattered blue light scattered and flew in all directions, like fireworks or shooting stars, streaking across the sky and disappearing into the distance.

The golden giant hand paused only briefly, but its momentum remained undiminished as it continued to press down.

"Oh shit……"

Yan Shouzhou tilted his head back, muttering curses under his breath, but finally a serious expression appeared on his face.

He raised his hands, and a burst of blue light erupted from his body.

The giant golden hand descended.

It wasn't a shot, it was a capture.

Five golden fingers came together, as if squeezing an ant, holding his entire body in their palm.

"bump!"

Dust filled the air.

When the dust settled, only a huge palm print remained, sunk more than three feet into the ground.

The center of the palm print was empty.

Yan Shouzhou has disappeared.

The tattered straw hat fluttered down and landed on the edge of the palm print.

The giant golden hand loosened, retracted into the clouds, and disappeared.

Daylight broke again.

The sun is still the same sun, making people's backs feel hot.

The clouds had dispersed, revealing a clear, deep blue sky without a single other color.

It was as if nothing had happened.

Lin Weiwei got up from the ground, her legs still shaking.

She staggered a few steps and walked to the edge of the palm print.

Very deep.

The marks of five fingers were clearly visible, as if someone had pressed down on the muddy ground.

She bent down and picked up the straw hat.

The straw hat was very light, the brim was worn and frayed, and there was a faint smell of alcohol inside.

She held up her straw hat and looked up at the sky.

There was nothing in the sky.

Only the sun, bright and dazzling, stung my eyes.

Lin Dashan also came over.

He stood beside his daughter, looking at the handprint, and remained silent for a long time.

"Father," Lin Weiwei began, her voice hoarse.

"Who...who is he?"

Lin Dashan shook his head.

He didn't know either.

All he knew was that the man was drinking by the roadside and asked him, "How do I get to Hanhai County?" He nodded, and the man followed him.

For three days, that man talked like a sparrow, constantly bragging to Weiwei.

He can cut through rivers with a single sword, move mountains with a single punch, and overturn seas with a single kick.

It's so annoying, it's made people sick of hearing it.

He thought he was just a down-on-his-luck wandering swordsman trying to earn some travel expenses and make a living.

who knows……

Lin Dashan looked down at the palm print.

The palm print was deep, with edges as smooth as if it had been cut with a knife.

If that palm strike landed squarely, their entire group, including their horses, and perhaps even a small mountain, could vanish without a trace.

But that person blocked it.

One punch for one palm strike.

Then he was arrested.

Before he was arrested, he was still cursing:

"Old man! You can't beat others, so you bully your own people? Aren't you ashamed?!"

Old man?

My own family?

Lin Dashan couldn't understand it.

The wind blew from the north, across the rice paddies, across the official road, and across that enormous palm print.

The straw hat swayed gently in Lin Weiwei's hand.

She looked up at the sky, at that blue expanse where there was nothing.

Suddenly, I remembered what that person had said three days ago.

"Weiwei, trust me, I'm amazing."

"I can cleave a river with a single sword strike!"

"I can overturn seas! I can move mountains!"

"Don't you believe me? I'm not bragging..."

She lowered her head and looked at the straw hat in her hand.

My eyes feel a little hot.

"Liar," she said softly.

"You promised to show me the ocean..."

The wind was blowing fiercely.

No one answered.

In the distance, the镖局 (security escort agency) employees gradually got up, some rubbing their legs, some brushing off the dirt, and some still shivering.

The horse stood up, snorted, and spun around in place.

Lin Dashan glanced at his daughter, wanting to say something, but in the end he just sighed.

He walked over and patted his daughter on the shoulder.

"Let's go," he said.

"We still have to get going."

Lin Weiwei nodded, carefully folded the straw hat, and tucked it into her bosom.

She mounted her horse and glanced back at the palm print one last time.

Sunlight shone on the palm print, casting shadows of varying depths.

The cavalry set off again.

No one spoke this time.

The only sounds were the rustling of the wind through the rice paddies and the clatter of horses' hooves on the dirt road.

The sun was still so bright and warm.

But Lin Weiwei felt that something had been grabbed away by that hand.