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Night had fallen, and a thick wooden post had been added to Li Guanqi's backyard.
Li Guanqi's lips curled into a slight smile as he looked at the brand-new post.
He then assumed his stance and began to practice his punches.
The thudding sounds echoed nonstop from the courtyard halfway up the mountain, drawing the attention of a little girl who roamed about aimlessly.
She lay on the roof, watching the young man with a sword box on his back furiously striking the wooden post.
With each punch, countless wood chips scattered into the air.
His tense body moved swiftly and agilely.
Yu Sui'an lay on the roof, her large eyes filled with disbelief.
"This guy is actually treating the wooden post as an imaginary enemy!"
"What a formidable… Blind."
"What's that on his back…"
After finishing his punches, a sweaty Li Guanqi prepared to get up, take a bath, and rest.
He was very much looking forward to the first lesson of joining the sect the next day.
Moreover, he felt that becoming a disciple of Li Nanting today was a good thing.
At least in his perception, the Old Man looked at him with pure eyes, without any malice.
He put down the sword box and submerged himself in the bath, soaking comfortably.
However, the little girl on the roof had somehow slipped into the yard unnoticed.
She sneaked towards Li Guanqi's room.
Li Guanqi's ears twitched, and a smile appeared on his lips, but he didn't bother with her.
Suddenly!
"Ah! (?｀?Д?′)!!"
Crash!
"Help~"
Li Guanqi immediately grabbed his clothes to cover himself and rushed out the door.
As soon as he stepped outside, he saw a small figure trapped under the sword box, with hands flailing outside.
She was muttering 'Help~'
Li Guanqi quickly lifted the sword box with one hand and pulled the little girl out with the other.
The little girl's face was smeared with dirt, a bun still in her mouth, and another in her hand.
Her porcelain doll-like face scrunched up, she said to Li Guanqi very seriously.
"I'm hurt, you have to take responsibility!"
Li Guanqi couldn't help but laugh at the little girl's audacity; she had sneaked in herself, knocked over the sword box, and got herself smashed.
Now she was demanding him to take responsibility.
However, just as Li Guanqi was about to say something, he noticed the little girl's face was a bit flushed.
He quickly crouched down to check on her, asking in a deep voice, "Does your chest hurt?"
Yu Sui'an's eyes reddened, and large tears started to fall as she nodded.
Li Guanqi quickly comforted her, "It's okay, don't move, I'll get dressed right away and take you to someone."
Li Guanqi went back to his room, got dressed, picked up the little girl, and rushed out the door.
He had to go up the mountain to find his master!
He felt that when the sword box had fallen on her, it had just so happened to break the little girl's ribs.
On the way, Li Guanqi, not wanting the little girl to be scared, gently asked, "What's your name? I've seen you twice and still don't know your name."
The little girl, feeling a bit less pain, quickly bit into her bun to calm her nerves.
Her voice was clear as she said, "My name is Yu Sui'an, I'm six years old."
Li Guanqi was slightly taken aback, finding the little girl's name quite pleasant.
Eventually, Li Guanqi found Li Nanting, who hadn't yet gone to bed, and after much ado, the little girl fell asleep at his place.
Looking at the little girl sleeping soundly on Li Nanting, Li Guanqi asked curiously.
"Whose child is this little girl? I've seen her twice in the peak."
Li Nanting tucked her in and gently patted her.
"Little Bun isn't anyone's child; I found her three years ago when I went down the mountain."
"Found her?"
"Yes, found her."
"Three years ago, there was a famine in the northern territories of the Great Xia Sword Sect."
"Two years of drought, farmers had no harvest, I went there to cast a Spirit Spell to bring rain."
"That's when I saw the little girl squatting by the roadside, next to a woman who had starved to death."
"I brought her back with me, and on the way, she had a hot meat bun."
"I still remember the way she looked up at me, her eyes so bright."
"She told me it was the most delicious thing she had ever eaten!"
Li Guanqi listened silently as the Old Man recounted the little girl's story.
It made him think of himself at the same age.
It seemed neither had had an easy life…
No wonder he had seen Yu Sui'an twice, both times with a bun in her hand.
Her past had been equally fraught with misfortune.
The Old Man, looking at Li Guanqi, said softly, "You seem to empathize a lot."
Li Guanqi's lips revealed a bitter smile as he looked up at the night sky and said softly.
"Yeah… Once, I took my sister's condolence money, ten strings of Copper Coins, and cremated her."
"After I got home, I killed my distant uncle, who was addicted to gambling and caused my mother to fall ill and die."
"In the heavy snow, I picked up two steamed buns on the way home with my sister's ashes."
"The buns were hard and stale, but to me at that time, they were a delicacy."
"That was also the day I went to the crematorium twice."
Li Guanqi recounted these events in a calm voice, without much emotion.
The Old Man, however, looked at the young man with eyes full of pity, and put his other hand on his shoulder, saying softly.
"It's okay, it's all in the past. From now on, treat your master and fellow disciples as your family, and Heavenly Thunder Peak as your home."
The three of them sitting in the courtyard seemed particularly harmonious.
***
The next morning, Li Guanqi woke up from a strange bed, only to find that he had fallen asleep on the Old Man's shoulder the night before.
Now he was directly sleeping in Li Nanting's room.
There were still two hours until dawn, and the Old Man was sitting on a meditation cushion, cultivating.
Li Guanqi also got up, tidied up a bit, and then started practicing his punches in the backyard.
Every punch and kick was executed with utmost seriousness, accompanied by the sound of the wind.
At some point, the Old Man stood quietly at the door, watching and nodding slightly in approval.
Li Guanqi had been practicing this set of punches for eight years, and he had complete control over every subtle change in each punch.
It was precisely because of these years of uninterrupted practice that he had perfect control over every muscle in his body.
When Li Guanqi finished his punches and turned around, he saw the Old Man behind him and gave him a thumbs-up.
Then the Old Man personally demonstrated the punches that Li Guanqi had just practiced.
The entire set of basic punches flowed smoothly, with perfect control of movement and stillness.
This gave Li Guanqi much inspiration.
Seeing him deep in thought, the Old Man smiled and said, "Alright, you'll understand the key points after you think about it."
"If you don't hurry to Heavenly Water Peak now, you might be late."
"Lan He really dislikes tardiness."
Li Guanqi then realized that the sky was getting light and hurriedly got ready.
Before leaving, he didn't forget to greet Li Nanting, "Master, I'm heading out now."
"Hahaha, very well, off you go."