Wuxia: Starting Off With 60 Years of Inner Strength

The person who had arrived was none other than Jiang Ran.

He gave Ye Jingshuang a small wave, signaling for her to remain seated.

Then, his eyes fell on Mingyue and Liu Wenshan.

”What’s this girl doing here?”

”She had a hard time accepting the act we put on today. She’s convinced that Uncle Tong and I are the ones who drove you away.”

Ye Jingshuang smiled.

”In her eyes, I’m a bad person now too, for bullying her benefactor.”

Jiang Ran was momentarily speechless.

”Well, that’s unexpected.”

”She’s like a true member of the Ye family. She values filial piety and holds gratitude and righteousness in the highest regard.”

Ye Jingshuang spoke softly.

”It’s just that my uncle still hasn’t woken up.

”By the way, Sir, where did you go today?”

”The act had to be convincing, of course.”

Jiang Ran said with a smile.

”I left Benma County during the day and only just got back tonight.

”Tong Wanli followed me the entire time. He didn’t relax until he saw me leave Benma County.”

”I see.”

Ye Jingshuang frowned slightly.

”But I just don’t understand. Even if it’s for Tong Yan... why would he go to such lengths?

”It’s like he’s a completely different person from the honest and righteous Uncle Tong I remember.”

”Oh?”

Jiang Ran glanced at her.

”What was the Tong Wanli you remember like?”

”Hmm... he was a very simple man.”

Ye Jingshuang thought for a moment and said,

”My father told me that Uncle Tong’s aptitude for martial arts was never considered good, and his personality was a bit blunt and stubborn.

”But once he decided on something, absolutely nothing could change his mind.

”In his generation of the Tong family, there were actually three brothers.

”Although Uncle Tong was the eldest, in terms of both talent and comprehension, he was no match for his two younger brothers.

”When they were still young, his two brothers had already grasped the rudiments of the Myriad Transformations Heaven Net Palm, while he couldn’t even remember the full sequence of moves.

”But he had a tenacious, unyielding spirit. If he couldn’t memorize it, he would just keep at it. If his mind couldn’t remember, he would use his body to remember.

”He practiced again and again. While others trained for six hours a day, he would train for twelve.

”He trained until he was completely exhausted. My father said that he even fainted several times from pushing himself too hard. He stood before the Ghost Gate on more than one occasion, but always managed to come back.”

Jiang Ran nodded.

”That certainly wasn’t easy. By the way, what about those two uncles you mentioned?”

”They’re dead.”

Ye Jingshuang said,

”One of them was killed while trying to punish the wicked and help the good during his travels.

”The other got into a fight and was beaten to death in Jinyang Prefecture.

”Later, it was Uncle Tong who traveled a great distance to bring their bodies home.

”He even hunted down and killed their enemies, cementing his reputation as the Palm of Heaven Net.

”My father often said that although he’s a bit rough around the edges, he’s a man of great principle... When he smiled at you, you could always feel a profound warmth and care in it.

”That’s why I just can’t imagine him doing something like this.”

Jiang Ran was silent for a moment, then shook his head gently.

”What he’s capable of doing might go far beyond this.

”Miss Ye, I’ll leave the situation at the inn to you for the time being.

”For the next few days, I might not be able to keep an eye on things here at all times. If there’s any sign of trouble and you need me, you can fire this off.”

As he spoke, he took a firework out of his sleeve.

”The firework is a signal.”

Ye Jingshuang nodded, then glanced at Jiang Ran. She hesitated for a moment before speaking.

”Sir, you’ve saved me so many times. I’d think we can be considered friends by now.

”From now on, could you... not call me Miss Ye anymore?”

Jiang Ran smiled.

”Fair enough. What should I call you, then?”

”My family calls me Shuang’Er.”

Ye Jingshuang glanced at Jiang Ran cautiously.

”You can call me that as well.”

”Shuang’Er.”

Jiang Ran repeated it subconsciously.

Ye Jingshuang nodded immediately. ”Mm.”

Jiang Ran smiled.

”In that case, you can stop calling me ’Sir’ all the time. To be honest, it’s felt awkward for a while now.”

”Huh?”

Ye Jingshuang was taken aback. ”Why?”

”’A man on the path, like flawless jade; a gentleman, peerless in his age.’”

Jiang Ran grimaced. ”Every time you call me ’Sir,’ I think of that saying. Then I look at myself... and I don’t see the resemblance at all.”

”There you go again, Sir, selling yourself short.”

Ye Jingshuang glanced at Jiang Ran, thought for a moment, and said,

”In that case, I’ll call you... Brother Jiang.”

”Oh?”

Hearing this, Jiang Ran broke into a smile.

”Great. That sounds much better than ’Sir’.”

”Really? Brother Jiang?”

Ye Jingshuang tilted her head and looked at Jiang Ran.

Jiang Ran smiled.

”Shuang’Er?”

Their eyes met, and they both smiled. With the new names, the distance between them seemed to shrink considerably.

Jiang Ran then walked over to Liu Wenshan. Carefully stepping around Mingyue, he took Liu Wenshan’s wrist.

He placed his fingers on the man’s pulse and slowly closed his eyes.

He opened his eyes a moment later. He glanced at Liu Wenshan, deliberated for a second, and then spoke.

”His injuries have improved a lot. He should wake up in the next day or two.

”It’s not wise for me to stay here long. I’ll go find a place to stay.”

”Okay, Brother Jiang. Be careful.”

Ye Jingshuang said softly.

”Don’t worry.”

Jiang Ran smiled. After a moment’s thought, he added,

”Don’t stand guard here tomorrow night. Let Zhou Wang watch for the night.

”Come back the night after tomorrow. I’ll come over then as well.”

”Mm.”

Ye Jingshuang nodded gently.

Jiang Ran was already at the window. He pushed it open and, with a single movement, vanished into the night.

Ye Jingshuang went to the window and watched his figure disappear into the distance.

After a long while, she finally let out a soft sigh and returned to her chair, sat down to meditate, and began to circulate her internal energy.