Chapter 93

"J, I held onto Lian and... made her suffer. I'm sorry..."

The uncle stood at the door of the classroom, sobbing, and his young nephew was surely shocked.

"The child was just happy to see you playing and cried, didn't she? How could that be making her suffer? Don't say such things."

"Master Dantang..."

Dantang Xianwu's voice trailed off. Seeing this, Weizhicheng brought up a topic he had discussed many times before.

"Lian's illness was not your fault at all."

"No, if I had just taken better care of her that day..."

Dantang Xianwu tried to continue, but Weizhicheng shook his head.

"Perhaps it was my fault. I was sick all the time until Lian was born."

"No! No! How can you blame yourself, Sister-in-law? That's ridiculous..."

"Then let's say neither of us is to blame?"

Only then did Dantang Xianwu realize that he had been given the space to blame himself all this time.

The person in front of him didn't even have the time to blame himself.

If a sick person suddenly became healthy after giving birth, and the child fell ill instead, anyone would have wondered if the child had taken on the parent's illness.

Was it just once?

One day, two days, four days, ten days... and for seven years, it could have been the same.

But Weizhicheng couldn't have said it. They didn't even have the time to comfort each other.

"Lian cried. She said she was sorry for causing you so much worry all this time."

"Huh? How... how could she..."

Dantang Xianwu was about to rush out, but Weizhicheng's persuasion made him sit down again.

Weizhicheng smiled.

"I hope you, Master Dantang, can now do whatever you want without any worries or concerns. Stop worrying about Lian."

It was as if he was saying that Dantang Xianwu didn't need to feel guilty for pursuing his own achievements while leaving his sick nephew behind, and that he should stop thinking that he had to lose the same amount of time as the child.

Dantang Xianwu's face turned red, and he waved his hand.

"I've always done what I wanted. I practiced in seclusion because I wanted to."

"Yes, yes. When you get better, play a game of Go with me."

"Yes... if you let me have a three-point handicap."

"Alright. But you must get better soon. You need to prepare to go to the Nangong family."

Dantang Xianwu nodded firmly. Thus, the Dantang family welcomed the new year.

* * *

Zuosun sat cross-legged, basking in the winter sunlight with his eyes closed.

The air in Yuellingzhai was clear and gentle, and the dust particles floating in the sunlight sparkled.

"Your uncle has finally overcome his inner demons."

Dantang Tianji, who was meditating with his hands on his knees, spoke quietly. Lian, who was sitting beside him, opened her eyes.

"Yes! His cold is completely gone. Finally..."

The word "finally" made Dantang Tianji open his eyes.

"Did you know about your uncle's condition? No, you couldn't have known. That's why you were the one to take the lead, right?"

Lian smiled. Dantang Tianji shook his head and finished his meditation.

"By the way, Grandfather, are you going to the Jinghang Yunlian too?"

"Why? Are you worried that an old man will get in the way?"

"Come on! You have to come. Okay?"

Dantang Tianji's face lit up with a smile at Lian's pleading.

"Hmm. You want me to go?"

"Yes, yes! I'm begging you."

Lian said this and thought about the journey to the Nangong family, where the Jinghang Yunlian was to be held.

'The Jinghang Yunlian... it didn't happen in my past life.'

In his past life, he hadn't fully recovered, and Dantang Tianji hadn't either, so there was no chance for the Jinghang Yunlian to convene.

There might have been other gatherings, but the Dantang family wasn't invited.

Even if it was just a regular meeting of the martial families near the canal, how reassuring it would be to have Dantang Tianji there if something happened.

Moreover, Dantang Tianji and the head of the Nangong family, Nangong Huan, were old friends and comrades who had fought against the Xuelagou together. They hadn't met because Dantang Tianji had been in seclusion.

In his past life, Nangong Huan saw Dantang Tianji only at his funeral.

Lian remembered the old man's hot tears. He seemed to have shrunk in size as he accepted Dantang Tianji's death.

"There will be many children your age there. Kids who grab a wooden sword before they can walk."

"Are you worried I might lose if I fight them?"

"At that age, winning and losing is a daily occurrence. No, can a martial artist go through life without ever losing?"

"Has Grandfather ever lost?"

Dantang Tianji laughed. Lian's question sounded innocent.

"Of course. I've lost many times."

"Then what are you worried about?"

Even if winning and losing are inevitable, victory is sweet, and defeat is bitter.

A grandfather hopes that the only bitter thing his granddaughter will taste is the medicine she has to take, and even that, he hopes she will finish soon.

After receiving the Baimose Shu, Lian had recovered enough to practice without difficulty, but sometimes she would stagger for no reason.

When this happened, Lian would say that her energy was just a bit mixed up and that she was fine now, and she would smile brightly.

But on such days, Dantang Tianji would brew and make her drink the medicine, even though he knew it was meaningless. It was the only thing he could do.

"...That's true. Listening to you, it seems like there's nothing difficult in the world."

"If Grandfather goes with me, I won't lose."

"Even if you lose, it's okay."

Dantang Tianji was a bit surprised by his own words. In the martial world, winning and losing are daily occurrences, but he had never let his children have an easy mindset.

He was strict in victory and harsh in defeat, believing that the leader of Zhejiang Province should be like that.

"Is it okay if I make other kids cry?"

"That would be even better. But don't go too far."

"Yes!"

Lian laughed at Dantang Tianji's words.

Her goal was to live a peaceful and healthy life, and one of the smaller goals included "completely eradicating the Xuelagou."

Eradicating the Xuelagou was not something she could do alone. Considering that the time left before the Xuelagou spread like wildfire again was about ten years.

'If I can meet and improve my skills at each Jinghang Yunlian...'

If she was ten now, she would be twenty in ten years. The children of today would be the mainstay of their families in the future.

If the families along this long canal could properly block the Xuelagou from their positions, it would be a great help.

Seeing Lian's expression, Dantang Tianji's smile turned into a worried look.

"...Take it easy."

"I'll take it easy. But I think the deeper the learning, the better."

* * *

"I told you to watch over him, not to bring him up, didn't I?"

At the boy's words, Bai Yiming froze.

He was about to try to talk to Huailun on the back wall.

How could he know everything that happened just by looking?

"Moreover, you moved him from Huanbi Lou to somewhere else?"

"Yes? Yes, to a Jiaolong Kezhan a bit further away..."

'How, how did he know?'

Thinking it wasn't right to keep a teenager in a brothel, he had moved him after a difficult conversation.

Compared to the brothel, a regular inn had no side income, but he thought Dantang Jun could work as a waiter.

The boy, with his arms crossed, looked up at him and frowned.

"What are you trying to do? Adopt him as your son? When you can't even take care of yourself."

"Not as a son... No, sir. Listen. When I went there, they were trying to beat the child with a stick."

"Why?"

"They said he didn't pass the test."

"Do you know why he didn't pass?"

"No, no, I know. I heard it..."

He had heard directly that the boy had fed rotten meat to his competitor.

"So you know that you could end up eating something like a dispersing poison and losing all your money to him."

"..."

A dispersing poison (散功毒) is a poison that disperses one's inner energy. For a martial artist, it's a nightmare.

Especially for Bai Yiming, who had just begun to gather his inner energy, the thought of it made his mouth dry.

Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine, and cold sweat trickled down.

'No, it can't be... Surely not.'

"He was desperate... That's why..."

"Does being desperate mean stabbing others and only saving yourself?"