766 Ruins and Broken Walls

"When are you going back?" Wang Yao asked.

"What do you mean?" Su Zhixing was stunned. "Am I so annoying?"

"I think there should be a lot of things to be done in the army," Wang Yao said. "As you've said just now, the task of training is very heavy. You are also a leader. You should go back early."

"Tsk tsk, you're viewing me as the third wheel, aren't you?" Su Zhixing laughed. "Don't worry, I'll be back in the army tomorrow."

"Where are your troops stationed?" Wang Yao asked.

"Hmm, I'm not telling you because it's confidential, but if you're going to be an instructor for us, that's another matter," Su Zhixing said. He had always wanted to get Wang Yao into their army to teach the soldiers kung fu skills.

"I've said it before, I will not go, so give up," Wang Yao said with a laugh.

After the meal, they chatted for a while. Su Zhixing left first. Wang Yao waited for Su Xiaoxue's class to end. She had two major classes in the morning, one public class and one professional class, and two professional classes in the afternoon.

"You don't have to accompany me here," Su Xiaoxue said. "Why don't you walk around Jing?"

She was studying hard to finish college life as soon as possible so that she could better accompany Wang Yao.

"Alright, I'll walk around," he replied.

In the afternoon, Su Xiaoxue attended class while Wang Yao went to visit Chen Ying. The siblings were surprised at his arrival. Chen Zhou's illness had been cured. He was now studying and living a normal life.

"Alright, I won't bother you guys anymore," Wang Yao said after they chatted awhile. "I'll go out and explore."

"I'll accompany you," Chen Ying said.

"It's fine, you can continue with what you're doing," Wang Yao said. "I'll be fine by myself."

Walking in the prosperous Jing alone, Wang Yao did not have much interest in modern buildings. They were made of pure reinforced concrete. He preferred to see ancient buildings that had historical accumulation and the wonderful ideas of ancient craftsmen. There were many such ancient buildings in Jing.

A place popped up in his mind, so he went there. Yuan Ming Gardens, once the Royal Garden, was the most exquisite garden among them all. Upon entering, Wang Yao could see many ruins and broken walls, telling its tragic past. It used to be prosperous for several periods, but it was burned to ashes by a big fire like the dynasty itself.

In the distant grass, there came the voice of a young man and woman.

"Be gentle," the woman said.

"Don't worry, there's nobody here," the man said.

"Keep your voice down," the woman said.

After hearing them, Wang Yao laughed and shook his head. He turned around and left for another place. Most of the antiquities there were incomplete. Most people didn't really like to go there. They would just feel sentimental and sad.

After arriving at a place, Wang Yao stopped. Hmm, the aura here…

Where he was at would have once been a pond. Not far away were some broken walls and ruins. Wang Yao felt that the aura was different from the other places. It was stronger.

He thought, The problem is with the water. He looked down at the small pool of water. It did not look very deep. There were a lot of weeds under the water, so he could not see anything special.

He still found it interesting. Wang Yao walked around the pool thinking that there had to be something in the water. He dismissed the thought of going down and exploring and went elsewhere.

Only a part of Yuan Ming Garden was open to the public. The part that could be explored was vast if it was a person like Wang Yao who enjoyed looking around. As he wandered around, time slipped by. It was already past 5 p.m.

A text message came from Su Xiaoxue. She would soon finish class. Wang Yao turned back to returned to Yanjing University. He happened to bump into a couple when he went out. He thought, Wow, they lasted so long!

After meeting Su Xiaoxue, they went to Wang Yao's second aunt's house. Every time they came to Jing, he would visit his elder. She had always loved him very much since he was a child.

"Are you staying for dinner tonight?" she asked.

"No thanks, Auntie, we already have plans," Wang Yao smiled replied. They were going to have a candlelit dinner.

"Tomorrow then?" his aunt asked.

"There's no need," Wang Yao said. "I'm just here to see you. Is Uncle not back?"

"Sigh, his company has been busy lately," his aunt replied.

"Where's my cousin? How are her studies going?" Wang Yao asked.

"Not bad." his aunt said.

After staying at his aunt's house for a while, the two left, found a restaurant, ordered several dishes, and chatted while eating. Soon, it was pitch dark outside. After dinner, they took a walk arm in arm. It was past 9 p.m. before Wang Yao took Su Xiaoxue back.

"Rest well," Wang Yao said.

"Yes, you too," Su Xiaoxue.

When she returned home, she discovered that her brother had left.

"Where's brother?" Su Xiaoxue asked.

"The army has a mission, so he went back," Song Ruiping said.

"Oh," Su Xiaoxue replied.

"Happy today?" Song Ruiping asked.

"Very happy," Su Xiaoxue said.

Nothing happened overnight. In the morning, the weather was chilly.

…

In the mountain village, a man arrived early outside of the clinic. Zhong Liuchuan had gotten up in the morning to exercise. He saw the man and ran over.

"The doctor is not here," he said. "How about coming another day?"

He had already seen this man waiting outside the clinic early in the morning the day before and told him the same thing, but the man did not listen.

"Well, when will he be back?" the man asked.

"I don't know," Zhong Liuchuan said. "If it's short, maybe three or five days. If he's away for long, maybe a week or so."

The man sighed and turned away helplessly. He was worried that his daughter's health would worsen.

Zhong Liuchuan ran to the top of the Dongshan Mountains and came to a place near Nanshan Hill. He sat cross-legged and began to practice the method of self-renewing. He had just passed through this area some time ago, mainly to take a look at Nanshan Hill. He was afraid that others would go to Nanshan Hill during the absence of his master. He realized that the air there was very good. He was amazed at the fact that he could practice the method of self-renewing there with half the effort. Therefore, he had been going there every morning and evening to practice the past few days. It turned out to be very effective.

After he practiced, he went down the mountain again and made breakfast. After eating, he brought it to Jia Zizai.

"Oh, you're finally here," Jia Zizai said. "You're starving me. What's there to have this morning?"

Zhong Liuchuan did not speak. He put down the lunch box and opened it.

"No way, noodles again?" Jia Zizai asked. "Don't you know how to make anything else, such as wontons, tofu, and so on? You can buy them if you don't know how to make them."

He slurped up a big mouthful of noodles. "Has Master come back yet?"

"The doctor will not accept you as an apprentice," Zhong Liuchuan said.

"Well, faith moves mountains and sincerity cracks metal and stones. I will impress him with my sincerity," Jia Zizai replied while eating the noodles.

"I did not expect you to be so brazen."

"Hey, you've gone too far with that," Jia Zizai said after a mouthful of noodles. "What do you mean by brazen? I call it persistence. Tell me, why is the company is so anxious to get rid of you? Maybe I can help you."

"I saw something I shouldn't have seen," Zhong Liuchuan said.

"What thing? The boss and the second in charge out of the closet?" Jia Zizai asked.

"No," Zhong Liuchuan said.

"What is it?" Jia Zizai asked.

"The boss was with a Dongying man," Zhong Liuchuan said.

"What?" Jia Zi's eyebrows slightly furrowed. "Dongying man? Are you sure?"

"Of course, that person was not an ordinary person," Zhong Liuchuan said.

"Jiro Musashi?" Jia Zizai asked.

"Tsk, how did you guess that?" Zhong Liuchuan was somewhat surprised.

"Really?" Jia Zizai asked.

"Of course. I still have pictures of them secretly meeting," Zhong Liuchuan said.

Jia Zizai was silent for a moment before saying, "Now that you know about it, he should've attacked you right away. It's impossible for you to last so long."

"In the beginning, he most likely did not know that the man was me," Zhong Liuchuan. "It was only recently that he knew, so you guys came."

"That's bad. He's probably going to send someone over," Jia Zizai said.

"With so many of his powerful men dead in succession, do you think he'll just send somebody to die without thinking it through?" Zhong Liuchuan asked.