Editor: SleepyCat<3
Because Huang Yuliang was injured and had difficulty moving, Li Yan decided to be the one driving back to his hometown. Setting off early in the morning, the journey was marked by stops along with traffic jams, and they arrived at the hometown nearly by evening. On the way, Li Yan received a call from his grandpa, who said that something had delayed his arrival until tomorrow and asked Li Yan to grab some medicinal materials to suppress the poison. At home, Li Yan settled Huang Yuliang and went out to get medicine.
The place where Grandpa Li resided was not within the former boundaries of the Li Family Village but rather in a nearby, more modernized village town. The houses in the village town were of uniform specifications. Each was a small independent courtyard house with a two-story structure. They were neatly arranged along the streets, like small boxes placed in an orderly manner. When Li Yan was young, he’d visited the ruins of the old village with his grandfather. It was situated in a mountain col surrounded by hills. While the scenery was good, the mountainous road conditions were not suitable for development. The dilapidated village still remained in the mountains. Due to the epidemic that had spread widely in the past, the village was now a vast graveyard that no one approached.
After Li Yan left, Huang Yuliang strolled around the small courtyard. Grandpa Li’s taste and aesthetic sense were excellent. The small courtyard was carefully landscaped, with a natural beauty that was not ostentatious. It was a very pleasant place to relax.
After a short while, the iron gate of the courtyard was smashed with a “bang.” Initially, it sounded like someone coming to collect debts, but following it was the voice of a girl.
“Brother Yan! Brother Yan, it’s me, Ziling! Open the door!”
Huang Yuliang opened the door to find a quite charming girl. The girl named Ziling blushed when she saw the tall and refined handsome man opening the door. “Oh… who are you? Is Brother Yan not at home?”
“I’m his friend. He’ll be back shortly. And you?”
“I knew he was back when I saw his car parked at the entrance. I’m Chen Ziling, his sister.”
“Oh~ Please wait a moment.” Huang Yuliang turned slightly and dialed Li Yan’s phone. After confirming that she was indeed his sister, he invited her in.
“Brother Yan has never brought a friend home before. Do you have a good relationship with him?” Chen Ziling entered the house, poured herself a glass of water, and asked. “You seem different from him.”
“Well… our relationship is alright.”
“Do you know if he has a girlfriend outside?”
Huang Yuliang pondered for a moment, thinking that Li Yan probably only had sex friends. “I’m not sure. I haven’t asked him about such things.”
“How can a good friend not ask?” Chen Ziling fell into a sad train of thought. “He hasn’t come home for a long time… He must have a girlfriend for sure…”
Huang Yuliang felt that this girl was behaving oddly. “Are you… his cousin?”
“Well… I don’t know, sort of.”
It definitely felt very wrong.
After they chatted for a while, Li Yan entered the house, bringing not only medicine but also a good amount of groceries. When Chen Ziling saw Li Yan returning, she rushed over and pounced on him, her whole body hanging on Li Yan.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Let go quickly. You’re all grown up and still acting like this.”
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With nothing to do, Huang Yuliang examined the medicinal herbs Li Yan had brought. It had to be said that they were quite similar to the ones he’d used before. From the perspective of medicinal properties, there was not much difference. The only difference was in the strength of a few medicinal properties. It seemed that there was more to this trip than meets the eye, otherwise they wouldn’t have come all this way.
After dinner, it was evident that Chen Ziling wanted to linger, but Li Yan shooed her away, claiming he had an important matter to discuss with Huang Yuliang. Once the girl left, Huang Yuliang felt that the atmosphere in the room instantly became more comfortable.
Seeing Huang Yuliang’s expression of finally feeling at ease, Li Yan chuckled. “Why were you acting like that? She’s just a little girl. You looked so tense during dinner.”
“She likes you.”
“I quite like her too.”
“The way I like you.”
The hairs all over Li Yan’s body suddenly stood up. Since Huang Yuliang mentioned he’d crossed boundaries mentally, even a fool could understand the implication. He’d been playing dumb and ignoring the issue for the past two days, but he didn’t expect this guy to bring it up again.
“What are you talking about…”
“What can be done? Even incest is a form of love.”
“Don’t talk nonsense! She and I are not related by blood!”
“Oh, really? Then, where is this sister from?”
“I can’t remember.” Li Yan tried to recall. “Probably the child of my third granduncle’s daughter’s husband’s sister? Anyway, it’s a kind of in-law relationship, not a blood-related one.”
“Doesn’t that equate to even less societal pressure?” Huang Yuliang patted his full stomach and lit a cigarette. “Half a sister, half a wife. You know what I mean?”
“Shut up.” Li Yan returned to the room to get the medicine kit and was about to go to brew the medicine when Huang Yuliang suddenly blocked him by putting his hand in front of him. He felt very uncomfortable with the man touching him right now, so he quickly put three large steps between them. “Uh, what is it?”
“I’ve checked it. The medicine you’ve got is similar to what I used before. I have ready-made ones in my bag. Don’t bother.”
“If I don’t do it, what should I do then? Have a staring contest with you?”
Huang Yuliang knew what the other person was nervous about. “If you don’t want to see me, I won’t bother you. You must be exhausted after a long day of driving, errands, and cooking, so I wanted you to rest early.”
“I… I just…”
“I’m injured now. Even if I were in perfect condition, I couldn’t beat you. What are you afraid of?” Huang Yuliang smiled. “Besides, I never force anyone into anything.”
The more logically Huang Yuliang spoke and the more composed he seemed, the more uneasy Li Yan felt. However, he couldn’t articulate anything himself.
“I just feel…” Huang Yuliang took a step closer and lowered his voice. “I mean, if, by any chance, someday… if I’m fortunate, I think something wonderful might happen. But before that, you don’t need to worry about anything…”
“Stop!” Even though Li Yan was a man, he couldn’t resist Huang Yuliang’s voice—deep, with a unique rhythm, as if carrying an indescribable and dangerously tempting charm. “Shut up, damn it!”
Huang Yuliang obediently closed his mouth, laughing sensually and provocatively.
The next morning, Huang Yuliang was sound asleep when he was abruptly awakened by a loud “ouch” sound coming from the living room.
In the past, it’d always been Li Yan and Grandpa Li who came to live in this place, so there were no spare guest rooms, so yesterday, Huang Yuliang had been assigned to sleep in Li Yan’s room. Li Yan had taken his grandfather’s quilt and slept on the sofa in the living room, apparently because Grandpa Li didn’t let others sleep in his bed. Li Yan’s loud yell so early in the morning made Huang Yuliang think something was wrong, so he quickly went out to see what was going on.
Opening the door, he saw Li Yan wearing only a black brief, stark naked, revealing his lean muscles, fiercely exchanging punches and palm strikes with an old man. They were engaged in an intense fight, and the small living room had become a battleground. Judging by their skillful moves that didn’t damage the furnishings, Huang Yuliang could tell that the old man was undoubtedly Li Yan’s grandfather.
After a few moves, Li Yan’s grandfather kicked him with a flying kick, and Li Yan screamed in pain. Huang Yuliang couldn’t help but feel sorry. Was this how a grandfather should treat his own grandson?
“Why are you doing this?!”
Li Yan’s grandfather shook his arms and legs. “Black eyes, dry hair, and soft flesh all over.” He sneered disdainfully. “It’s clear at first glance that your kidney qi is insufficient and your essence and blood are insufficient. You smoke and fool around with women all the time. Are you trying to become the sick man of Asia, huh?”
Huang Yuliang burst into laughter.
Li Yan’s grandfather glanced at Huang Yuliang, pulled out a belt from his waist, and gave Li Yan’s thigh a lash. Li Yan curled up in the corner looking like a punching bag. It was so humiliating to be beaten up like this, disheveled and all.
“There’s someone here! Stop beating!”
“How long has it been since you practiced martial arts? Speak!”
“I, I… I’m sorry…”
Although he was an outsider, Huang Yuliang couldn’t stand it. It didn’t look good for a young man in his twenties to be beaten like this in front of others, so he quickly stepped forward to stop Grandpa Li.
“Sir, you’ve come a long way. Take a break first. Don’t be angry with him.” Huang Yuliang secretly gestured for Li Yan to quickly return to his room.
With someone intervening, Li Yan’s grandfather found a way to step back, as he also didn’t want to be angry with his grandson for long. Huang Yuliang quickly guided the elderly man to the sofa and poured him some water.
“Are you the kid from the phone call?”
“Yes.” Huang Yuliang lifted his shirt to reveal the bandaged area below his ribs. “I was hit here.”
“Self-inflicted bloodletting?” Li Yan’s grandfather reached out to unravel Huang Yuliang’s bandage. He took a deep breath when he saw the long knife wound. “You’re quite ruthless to yourself, kid. But you handled it well. This wound is so close to the heart, but the poison has almost been contained without spreading. You’ve got some skills.”
“It’s not just me; I have a companion. We researched the properties of the poison together.”
Li Yan’s grandfather nodded. “You’ll have to stay with me for two or three days. Honestly, though I know the solution, I’ve never tried it. Be prepared.”
“Of course, I’ve prepared for the worst. You can go ahead and try.”
Li Yan, dressed again, poked his head out of his room. “Grandpa, you have to save him!”
“Come out.” The old man pointed to his cloth bag. “Heat up that bun for me. I need to hear exactly what happened. You two should tell me everything in detail.”
While having breakfast, Li Yan truthfully shared with his grandfather how he found Huang Yuliang, tasked him with searching for his father, and recounted his experiences during this time along with the relevant clues he’d gathered. Of course, he withheld the parts related to Chang Mingjin. Even though Grandpa Li had seen a lot in his life, he still frowned and shook his head in disbelief when he heard about the existence of demons.
Although Huang Yuliang had known for a long time that there were only seven stone statues, he didn’t know that they were from a seven-tailed black fox. Although he wondered where Li Yan found out such secret information from, he sensed Li Yan’s intention to conceal it and chose to temporarily set aside any inquiries.
“So… my son is still alive?” Grandpa Li saw Huang Yuliang nodding and took a long breath. “As long as he is alive.”
The three fell into a contemplative silence. Suddenly, Grandpa Li slammed the table and pointed towards his room. “Under the mattress in my room, there’s a secret compartment in the bed frame. There’s an iron box inside. Fetch it for me.” Li Yan did as instructed, and after a while, he brought out a heavy iron box. Judging by the touch and weight, the iron cover of the box seemed to be more than an inch thick. After handing the box to his grandfather, Li Yan was surprised when the older man pushed it back, saying, “This is for you.”
Li Yan examined the iron lump and noticed a rectangular lock on the top and instantly understood that his grandfather intended for him to open it, or at least attempt to.
“In the coming two days when I’ll be treating Huang Yuliang, for two hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon, you’ll go up the mountain to practice.” Grandpa Li pointed towards the TV cabinet. “I’m getting old and can’t keep checking your progress. There’s a video recorder inside. Record your practice and show it to me when you come back.”
The old man seemed adept at using modern technology. Huang Yuliang found it amusing to see Li Yan’s face resemble a bitter gourd.
“Make lunch a bit earlier today.” Grandpa Li glanced at Li Yan. “After breakfast, go practice early. Seeing your miserable look makes me angry.” With that, he went back into his room.
“I…” Li Yan gestured towards his face to Huang Yuliang. “Do I really look like someone who has indulged excessively?”
“Not that serious, but experienced martial artists might notice subtle differences. Your grandfather is definitely doing it for your own good.” Huang Yuliang squinted at the young man. “Also, I know you’re hiding something from me.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
“If you don’t want to say it or must keep it secret, I won’t force you. However…” Huang Yuliang reached out and tightly squeezed Li Yan’s hand. “Be careful.”
Thanks for the chapter.