Chapter 38: Departure (Part II)

...

It was already late at night when Lin Zheyu returned home.

After several days of recuperation, his spirit and energy had once again returned to their peak.

Upon returning, he took off his coat and continued his training.

In the courtyard, Lin Zheyu's figure moved rapidly, occasionally throwing out whip kicks that struck the wooden posts with a crisp *pa* sound.

He trained frantically for over half an hour.

*Hiss—*

He felt a spasm run through his muscles, and his face turned deathly pale.

He had reached his limit.

At that moment, his spirit and energy condensed into a single force, and his Source Power increased by one unit.

"Whew..."

Lin Zheyu stopped and let out a long sigh of relief.

"As my strength grows, my endurance improves along with it. Breaking through physical limits has become much harder," Lin Zheyu lamented.

As his strength increased, breaking through physical limits became progressively more difficult.

Not only that, but after breaking through physical limits multiple times, his physical endurance and mental resilience had grown significantly, which in turn made subsequent breakthroughs even more challenging.

【Heaven Rewards the Diligent】

Name: Lin Zheyu

Source Power: 4

Skills

Bull Force Fist (Proficient 5%)

Golden Goose Skill (Second Layer 24%)

Turtle Breath Technique (Third Layer 0%)

Lin Zheyu looked at the data in his consciousness; his Source Power had accumulated to four units.

The Turtle Breath Technique had shown almost no progress.

After reaching the third layer, the difficulty of cultivation rose sharply, far exceeding what the Bone Forging Realm could handle.

The subsequent levels involved the essence of blood and qi.

Relying on his Source Power, Lin Zheyu had managed to cultivate the Turtle Breath Technique to the perfection of the second layer, which was his limit. To continue improving, he would have to increase his strength to the Blood Qi Realm.

...

The next day.

The sun was setting.

Outside Songyi City.

Lin Zheyu and Han Mo stood silently, watching Master Liang walk away into the distance.

"I wonder if there will be another chance to see Master Liang in the future."

Lin Zheyu looked toward the horizon where the figure had vanished, his expression somewhat lonely and filled with the melancholy of parting.

"There will be."

"Master is so strong; nothing will happen to him."

"If you encounter any difficulties in the future, Junior Brother Lin, you can come find me. If I can help, I will certainly do my best," Han Mo said, patting Lin Zheyu on the shoulder.

Through their time together, Lin Zheyu had also come to understand Han Mo's character.

It is said that one's appearance reflects their heart; Han Mo was as upright in character as he was in appearance, a person worth befriending.

"Are you going on patrol later, Senior Brother?"

"No, I took the afternoon off," Han Mo replied.

"Since you're free, let's spar a few rounds in the courtyard later."

Lin Zheyu was feeling depressed and wanted to find something to vent his frustrations.

"Sure, I have nothing to do anyway," Han Mo said with a smile.

The two stood silently for a moment, watching the direction in which Liang Song had departed, before turning to walk toward the city.

Due to the war, there were more refugees outside the city; corpses and starving people were everywhere, a sight too miserable to behold.

A few wealthy merchant families had set up porridge distribution points outside the city, but faced with the growing number of refugees, it was simply not enough to feed them all.

As they passed by, Lin Zheyu saw a familiar figure.

It was Ren Qingying of the Ren family, a very beautiful girl.

"Why are you staring at that girl like that? Do you have a crush on her?"

Han Mo joked, "Do you want your Senior Brother to go to her house and propose a marriage for you?"

"Stop messing around."

"Is that Miss Ren Qingying of the Ren Estate?"

Lin Zheyu pointed to a beautiful woman at the porridge station and said, "I was once a refugee myself. When I fled to Songyi City, it was thanks to Miss Ren's porridge; otherwise, Senior Brother wouldn't be seeing me now."

"Then you really should give Miss Ren a proper thank you," Han Mo said.

He looked at the refugees scattered everywhere with a sense of helplessness.

Every day, the City Guards would patrol to burn the corpses, a process that was quite distressing.

"I heard that the rebel army is very likely to attack Songyi City. Senior Brother, since you are in the City Guards, do you have any inside information?" Lin Zheyu asked.

"I'm not sure. Those officials reassure the soldiers every day, saying there's no need to worry and that the Great Wei will soon send troops to suppress them."

"No one knows the specific news from the front lines."

Han Mo shrugged helplessly. He also wanted to know how things were actually going on the front; if the situation turned bad, he wanted to let his wife and children escape first.

"Don't worry. Look, even the eldest daughter of the Ren Estate is still here; the situation shouldn't be that bad."

"The Ren Estate built its wealth through trade and has well-connected information; many people are watching them. If the Ren Estate shows any unusual movement, then something has likely gone wrong."

Han Mo pointed toward Ren Qingying.

By now, Ren Qingying had finished distributing the porridge. She brushed back a strand of hair, a look of sorrow on her face as she watched the refugees.

Under the protection of the Ren Estate guards, Ren Qingying left the refugees and returned to the city.

"What a wonderful girl. I wonder who she will marry in the future," Han Mo sighed.

"What, does Senior Brother have designs on her?"

"Go on, if your sister-in-law heard you, she wouldn't talk to me for days," Han Mo said with a laugh.

*Clatter, clatter, clatter.*

A pair of soldiers approached, their footsteps rhythmic and powerful.

Leading them was a burly man in armor, mounted on a horse.

The sound of galloping hooves approached rapidly, the horse charging toward Lin Zheyu and Han Mo.

"Move!"

Han Mo pulled Lin Zheyu aside to avoid being struck by the horse.

*Whinny—*

The man pulled the reins, and the horse came to a halt right in front of the two.

"Xing Penghai, what do you think you're doing!"

Han Mo's brow furrowed as he glared angrily at the man on the horse.

"Oh, if it isn't Centurion Han. I didn't look closely just now, my apologies."

"But I heard Centurion Han took the day off today. Why are you appearing here?"

"What, does Centurion Han also want to learn from those wealthy men and set up a porridge station outside the city?" Xing Penghai took off his helmet and said with a smirk.

He was an ordinary-looking man with a prominent scar near the corner of his eye.

"Centurion Xing is joking. I, Han, do not have that much silver," Han Mo said flatly.

Standing to the side, Lin Zheyu felt that the atmosphere between the two was wrong; it seemed there was some conflict between them.

"This little brother beside Centurion Han is quite handsome. Won't you introduce him?" Xing Penghai looked at Lin Zheyu, his eyes narrowing into a smile.

"None of your damn business!" Han Mo snapped back directly.

"I think it is my business."

"I suspect he is a spy sent by the rebel army, posing a threat to the safety of Songyi City." Xing Penghai looked at Han Mo with a mocking, sarcastic smile.

"Hmph, Xing Penghai, don't force me to turn against you," Han Mo said angrily.

"Haha, it was just a joke."

"Centurion Han still can't take a joke, as always," Xing Penghai said with a laugh.

"Xing Penghai, I'm warning you. If you dare to act recklessly, I, Han Mo, am not someone to be trifled with."

With a cold expression, Han Mo turned to Lin Zheyu and said, "Let's go, ignore him."

"Mm."

Lin Zheyu silently followed beside Han Mo as they walked into Songyi City.

Behind them came the sound of Xing Penghai's somewhat unrestrained laughter.

"Senior Brother, do you have a grudge against that man?" Lin Zheyu asked.

"Yeah, a bit."

"Don't worry, that guy wouldn't dare to do anything reckless; he's just looking for a chance to annoy me," Han Mo said, telling Lin Zheyu not to worry.

Lin Zheyu nodded and did not ask further.

...

(End of Chapter)