A Long River Myth

"Hey buddy, who are you looking for?"

The servants who had been searching for him for a long time came out from the gatehouse.

Li Hong frowned slightly; the two recognized each other.

It was the same young man who had been asked by his aunt, Li Hongyu, to deliver a gift to his grandfather half a month ago.

"Hiss...you're Madam's nephew, aren't you?"

"That's right... Please inform my aunt that Li Hong has come to pay a visit."

Li Hong watched as the servant entered the courtyard.

Soon after, a middle-aged woman wearing a dark red jacket appeared at the door, and her appearance was somewhat similar to Li Fulin's.

However, she inherited only the best qualities, and coupled with her pampered upbringing, she appeared much younger than Yao Shi, still retaining her charm.

"Li... Xiao Hong?"

Li Hongyu was clearly taken aback by her nephew's visit.

When the servant first told her, she thought there was a mistake: "Come in quickly!"

"Yes, Auntie."

Li Hong nodded and followed Li Hongyu into her house.

This two-courtyard house has a front yard that is more than ten meters wide and long.

Including the backyard, Li Hong roughly estimated that it was about 400 square meters.

After a while.

"Look at you, you've changed so much. Last time I saw you, you were as clever as a monkey."

In the main room, Li Hongyu brewed a pot of tea and sat on the right side of the main seat.

Looking at Li Hong, who bore a striking resemblance to his younger brother, he felt a genuine sense of joy.

Moreover, Li Hong has already entered the ranks of the elite, and his physique is pleasing to the eye.

Over the years, Li Hongyu has maintained a distant relationship with her family, not because she is truly determined to disown them.

Firstly, I did harbor resentment from previous years.

Secondly, she realized that the two companies were already at different levels after she figured it out.

As time went by and their interactions became less frequent, coupled with the fact that the old man hadn't taken the initiative to visit her for a long time, things ended up like this.

After all, she is married and her mind is naturally focused on her family.

"Aunt, you are the one whose beauty never fades, and who remains forever young."

Li Hong forced a smile, racked his brains for a long time before finally managing to come up with a flattering remark, eager to finish the task assigned by his grandfather as quickly as possible.

Li Hongyu pursed her lips slightly, but the corners of her eyes turned up a little as she said to the maid beside her:

"Cuihong, where's Zhou Wei? Tell him to take a break from practicing and come over to meet his cousin."

"yes...."

A short while later, a burly young man with broad shoulders and a sweaty face walked into the main room. He looked to be no more than twenty years old.

He was dressed in training clothes, and judging from his breathing and gait, he had already reached the outer strength level.

Their eyes met, and being the younger brother, Li Hong, being very polite, stood up.

Li Hongyu introduced at the opportune moment: "Wei'er, this is your cousin Li Hong."

"Yes, cousin!"

Zhou Wei spoke in a cheerful voice, glancing at Li Hong with a somewhat perfunctory look, before sitting down on his own: "Mother, what does my cousin do?"

He looked down on Li Hong because of his rustic clothes. In fact, he had met his cousin and maternal grandfather once when he was a child with Li Hongyu.

But after a long period of no contact, even relatives are no longer close, and clear memories have long since faded.

Li Hongyu frowned slightly, feeling a little embarrassed, but she couldn't say anything about Zhou Wei in front of others, so she glanced at Li Hong.

"Replying to cousin, it's in the martial arts training hall."

Li Hong replied.

"Oh...it seems like they have some talent."

Zhou Wei popped two dates into his mouth before finally giving Li Hong a proper look.

Just then, a maid came in and said, "Madam, young master, the master has returned from his business trip."

Zhou Wei, who was almost crossing his legs, quickly straightened his posture.

Soon, a robust middle-aged man in a short-sleeved shirt and red cloth armor stepped into the main room, having removed his waist knife.

It was Zhou Tingshan, Li Hong's uncle, who was currently serving as a water police officer in the River Department, a fairly lucrative official position.

As soon as he entered the room, Zhou Tingshan, with his square face and imposing demeanor, frowned at Zhou Wei and coldly rebuked him: "Why are you still free today? Instead of practicing your martial arts, you're just loafing around here?"

Zhou Wei stood very properly, completely unlike his previous nonchalant demeanor: "Uh, isn't this... my cousin? Mom asked me to come and meet him."

Zhou Tingshan frowned and turned his head, only then noticing that there was an unfamiliar face in the house.

Uncle-in-law.

Li Hong bowed respectfully.

Li Hongyu also stood up and helped her husband remove his back armor, saying, "Brother Shan, this is my nephew, Li Hong."

"Hmm...not bad, young man."

Zhou Tingshan glanced at her, nodded absentmindedly, and then looked away, saying, "Have Cuihong prepare my bathwater."

The family immediately surrounded him and went to the back room, ignoring Li Hong.

A moment later, Li Hongyu came out and said perfunctorily:

"Your uncle deals with desperados every day at the river bureau..."

"Hong'er, you should go back now."

Before he could finish speaking, he shook Li Hong's hand, leaving a string of five "Dangbai" copper coins in his palm.

"Okay, Auntie, I'll be going now."

Li Hong nodded, knowing he couldn't be the center of attention, and then took his leave.

Before leaving, he left the string of coins at the gatehouse.

............

A few days later, inside the martial arts hall.

There are fewer people today.

The inner disciples and two-thirds of the outer disciples were taken by the head instructor to Huasong Mountain for training.

Practicing martial arts isn't just about practicing with punching poles every day; after all, a martial arts training hall isn't like those martial arts schools.

Most of those who will not be able to be promoted to the rank of martial arts student in the future will be junior officers trained for the military of the Great Qi Dynasty.

Naturally, one should engage in appropriate outdoor exercise.

Some of the newly enrolled disciples from the West Courtyard, due to their short training time, were excluded from the field training.

Li Hong was among them, and he was currently honing his boxing skills.

A punch landed on the boxing ring, producing a crackling sound.

[Minor Success in Hundred-Refined Stance Training (225/500)]

[Basic Mastery of the Hundred-Refined Fist Technique (83/500)]

Looking at the panel, Li Hong felt an even stronger hunger pang in his stomach after putting down his fist.

Over the past two weeks, as my stance training has improved, my strength has increased, but my progress has slowed down.

The reason is that the improvement in physical fitness leads to an increase in the energy consumed in each workout.

Before he grew up, he had a body similar to that of an ordinary person, and could get enough nutrition from some common meat.

But now, it is gradually becoming unsatisfying.

"Although the meals in the West Courtyard Dining Hall include meat at every meal, that's about it."

Li Hong thought to himself, ordinary dietary supplements are just the basics, without additional medicinal supplements, it's not enough.

Four parts practice, six parts supplementation, requires a large amount of money as a foundation.

To cultivate his inner strength and enhance his physical power, given his current financial situation, he realized that he could only endure it slowly.

In the martial arts academy, only those who have achieved internal strength and have the hope of being selected as martial arts students will be given special training.

Like Shi Liang, not only was he recommended by the head instructor to some wealthy families for financial assistance, but the temple also allocated some qi and blood medicines to him every month.

This has long been the envy of many ordinary disciples.

Suddenly, just as I was lost in thought, a series of solid footsteps sounded at the west gate.

Many disciples were drawn to the commotion.

A group of six constables in black robes and carrying swords hurried along the corridor and entered the council hall.

Not long after.

He Song arrived at the training ground with the middle-aged man who was the leader of the group of constables from earlier:

"Stop! This is Inspector Liu Ming from the Patrol Inspection Division. We're short-staffed right now, so everyone come and line up!"

Upon hearing this, more than a dozen disciples quickly assembled in the training ground.