It seemed as though a long time had passed. From above came the boy's hoarse, choked reply: "No one has ever talked to me about these things, and I never realized how people who share the same ideals can drift so far apart as time goes on. Perhaps everything you said is true—that this whole affair was a scam from start to finish, and I was merely the biggest pawn in it. I don't blame anyone else; I only blame myself for failing to see people for who they really are. Since that's the case, I might as well wash my hands of these swindlers. As you said, this is their loss. From now on, I just want to earn more money and visit the families of those righteous men, offering them whatever help they may need, without a moment's hesitation. A-Mian... Miss Qiao and I were probably truly unsuited for each other. She wants someone to keep her company, yet she dislikes the wandering life of the martial arts world. Actually, I realized a long time ago that Zijin was very fond of her, and she never rejected his approaches or his goodwill. At first, I thought they just had a lot to talk about, until later on I saw the Xiao family's heirloom bracelet on Miss Qiao's wrist. This time, had it not been for my senior brother's affairs and the East Sea Battle, I had intended to have an honest talk with Miss Qiao. I simply never expected that she would write to me first. Since she has made her decision, then so be it. I only hope she finds happiness in the future!"
Li Lianhua paused here to collect his thoughts. Yun Qingyueran straightened up indignantly and said, "Why should you let those bad guys off the hook? They harmed so many people. You should mete out justice on behalf of heaven and avenge those who died unjustly! Don't you know that?"
As she spoke, she gave Li Lianhua's shoulder a poke. "Did you hear me? You still have a blood debt to settle! You cannot forgive the masterminds on behalf of those heroes either! Did you hear me?!!"
Silently tightening his arms to draw her into his embrace once more, Li Lianhua took a deep breath. "Of course I won't. Li Xiangyi will not forgive those who betrayed him, nor will Li Lianhua forgive the chief culprits on behalf of others. Having Yueyue by my side to comfort me, to reason with me, to help me see through the scams, to cure my poison, to let me witness so many wonderful things, and to give me so many delicious treats every day—I keep all of this in my heart and I am truly grateful! I would certainly never do anything wrong. I only hope that from now on, I can protect you, keep you from suffering any grievances, and always have your back! I used to be the greatest in the world, and now I am even stronger. You can walk sideways across the martial arts world and never have to fear a thing."
Leaning against Li Lianhua's chest, her eyes brimming with touched tears, Yun Qingyue was amused by his final remark. She raised her head, her eyes still sparkling with moisture, and said with a smile, "I'm not a crab, why on earth would I walk sideways? Besides, even though I don't know martial arts, I have a terribly powerful self-defense weapon, you know! Don't you dare look down on people!"
"Alright, alright, I wouldn't dare look down on our future heroine Yun. Besides, I'll be counting on heroine Yun to support me in the future." He leaned back slightly, cupped his hands in a salute, and said with a smile, "I shall depend greatly on the heroine's care in the days to come, especially since I've only just recovered from severe injuries! I beg the heroine not to disdain me!"
Looking at Li Lianhua, whose smile was now free of gloom and brimming with cheerfulness and mischief, Yun Qingyue broke into a radiant smile as well.
She stood up from his arms, mimicked Li Lianhua's gesture, cupped her hands, and bowed deeply as she replied, "Then I leave it in the capable hands of Hero Li!" With that, she burst into a fit of giggles at her own antics.
At that moment, the bright, sunny smile of the person before him was deeply etched into Li Lianhua's mind, never to be forgotten for all the years to come!
Laughing happily, Yun Qingyue inadvertently looked up to find Li Lianhua watching her with a matching smile. Suddenly realizing their previous posture, she abruptly grew shy.
Feigning that she had finally finished laughing and was catching her breath, Yun Qingyue patted her chest to calm herself. "Oh, goodness me, I nearly choked to death. I'm going to wash up and go to sleep. You should go to sleep soon too, goodnight!" With that, she hurried off toward her room without looking back.
Without looking back, Yun Qingyue failed to notice that Li Lianhua's ears were flushed red, the crimson spreading down to his neck, nor did she see the boundless gentleness in his gaze as he watched her leave.
For her own ears were not the only things burning; her face was red, and her heart was hammering against her ribs with all its might. If she didn't walk faster, her cover would be blown! She could only silently pray that she wouldn't suffer a sudden heart attack.
Behind her, Li Lianhua maintained his smile, quietly watching the young woman's retreating figure as she returned to her room. Yet the man whose martial arts were the best in the world did not miss the tips of her ears glowing red. He picked up his teacup and let his thoughts drift wherever they pleased, to the point that when he finally went to bed, he couldn't remember what he had been thinking about at all!
The night passed quietly. After the two of them finished breakfast, Li Lianhua set off for the village chief's home, while Yun Qingyue stayed behind in the small courtyard to organize supplies and prepare the equipment for their future Lotus Tower. As for the blueprints, Yun Qingyue personally felt that Li Lianhua's designs were thoroughly well-thought-out.
The kitchen was made slightly larger, with one bedroom, and the remaining space was furnished with tables and chairs to serve as a living and dining room. The entire wall was fitted with cabinets to display items and store provisions! The stairs were also kept indoors; otherwise, it wouldn't be safe.
At Yun Qingyue's suggestion, every single step was built as a drawer! Beneath the staircase, they made a simple washroom, along with a small door leading directly to the driving platform. They temporarily decided on four horses, and if that proved insufficient, they would figure it out later!
The second floor was mostly for Yun Qingyue, divided into a large and a small room. The larger one served as a bedroom, fully equipped with a dressing table, a wardrobe, and a carved canopy bed, along with its own washroom.
The smaller room served as an outer chamber and a little study where Yun Qingyue could keep her various trinkets and books, arranged however she pleased! On the wall of the hall as one came up the stairs, three entire walls were fitted with medicine cabinets, a workstation, and a cabinet for finished medicines.
The reef beach, which was usually quiet and deserted, was bustling with voices early this morning. Li Lianhua had asked the village chief to hire every available laborer in the entire village to salvage the sunken ship for him, paying thirty wen per person per day without meals, and another thirty wen for each boat used.
When the villagers first heard that the pay was high, and that they were asked to salvage a shipwreck from the great battle, they were afraid of becoming entangled in martial arts conflicts and dared not go.
It was only after the village chief gave his repeated guarantees that this brother and sister were not martial arts folk, but ordinary residents living in the village, and brought forward the people who had gone to work at the small courtyard yesterday to testify, that the villagers were finally reassured.
Everyone happily set off to work. As they walked, they chattered and praised the brother and sister for knowing how to repay kindness and being so generous; they must be truly wonderful people. Giving out money so generously surely meant they were trying to help them.
Yet Li Lianhua, at that moment, deeply understood the principle that giving a bushel of rice breeds gratitude while giving a measure of grain breeds enmity. True, he wanted to compensate and help these villagers, but he would not give them too much all at once—a steady, long-lasting stream was the proper way!
When the first day ended, the village chief sought out Li Lianhua and said, "Judging by today's progress, we probably won't finish the salvage in a short time... After all, things like this—the smaller pieces are hard to get onto the boat, and dragging the larger ones is inconvenient either. So the progress is a bit slower than we originally estimated, but I can guarantee that our villagers are definitely not slacking off."
Li Lianhua had anticipated this all along. He hadn't brought it up earlier precisely to lead into this very point at this moment. So, pretending to ponder for a moment, he said, "In that case, would you trouble the village chief to ask around the two neighboring villages to see if anyone is willing to come? The wages will be the same. Also, could you please find a few skilled carpenters over the next few days and keep an eye out for people who work diligently? Once the shipwreck salvage is complete, I'll have other matters for these people to handle. Do you think that's possible?"
Suddenly blushing furiously, the village chief excitedly grabbed Li Lianhua's hand and said, "Yes, yes, yes! It's no trouble at all, no trouble! How can making a profit for ourselves be considered trouble? Later when I go back, I'll have all the villagers send their womenfolk back to their maiden homes for a visit. But don't you worry, the people in the surrounding villages are all good folks. They won't cause you any trouble or make things difficult for you! Is there any requirement for the number of people?"
When his hand was grabbed, Li Lianhua's reflex almost caused him to fling the village chief away. Maintaining a calm, composed smile of gentle magnanimity, he replied, "No need to worry about that. Aside from salvaging the shipwreck, the wooden boards, and other items, I also want to haul up more seafood. Could you ask the aunts and matrons with good hands to dry them all into preserved goods for me? If there are any readily available at home, they can bring those too. They can be sold or exchanged for grain—it doesn't matter what kind. Seafood is rare where we come from, and bringing back a goodly amount to give as gifts will also make us look good!" This was the method Li Lianhua and Yun Qingyue had discussed over breakfast this morning. Besides, anything put into the spatial dimension wouldn't spoil anyway!
At these words, Village Chief Wang grasped Li Lianhua's hand even tighter. "I knew you were a fine young man; doing all this is just to subsidize us, and we all keep it in our hearts! But don't you worry, I'll have them pass the word to those other village chiefs to come over tomorrow. I'll tell them to make sure nothing is delayed and get everything done handsomely for you. Rest easy!"
Only after the villagers had all departed did Li Lianhua turn his steps back homeward. Seeing the courtyard glowing with light, an infinite sense of anticipation welled up in his heart, and his footsteps grew lighter. So this was what it felt like to return home after a busy day with someone waiting for you—how wonderful.
Upon returning home, Li Lianhua's mood was visibly different. During dinner, he even began to snatch food from Yun Qingyue, provoking her into rising to her feet in anger and swatting him several times before he behaved himself and ate properly.
After the meal, when Yun Qingyue asked him why he was so excited, Li Lianhua smiled and replied, "The village chief has agreed to register my household residency in the village, and I told him to register yours here as well. We'll set up two separate households. Although it means paying an extra set of taxes, it will be much more convenient in the long run!"
A sudden flash of insight struck Yun Qingyue. Ever since arriving here, she had been a non-registered person; thank goodness no one had come to check, or she would have been in deep trouble. "That's true, your thinking is still the most thorough. I've been here so long without ever considering household registration; it really was most remiss of me. Blame it on my lack of experience—I nearly caused a disaster. Two separate households are proper since we have different surnames, after all!"
Li Lianhua didn't mention that establishing two separate households wasn't actually necessary. Yet at the time, for reasons unknown to himself, he had subconsciously withheld agreement from having Yun Qingyue registered as his sister. By the time the village chief finished the registration, he still hadn't figured out why he had done so.
Steering clear of that topic, Li Lianhua continued sharing his good news: "The village chief told me he happens to be going into town the day after tomorrow to see his youngest son, so he'll take care of getting our household registrations and travel passes sorted out and bring them back. That way, we won't have to worry when we go out in the future."
Yun Qingyue suddenly remembered that entering the yamen on official business always required giving gifts, so she asked, "Did you give the village chief any money? Don't people in the yamen only get things done after you give them gifts? Oh right, I forgot you have no money—here, take this!"
Looking at the banknotes and silver pieces thrust before his eyes, Li Lianhua said speechlessly, "Are you truly planning on making me a kept man who lives off a woman? Rest assured, I still have a bit of silver!"
Yun Qingyue looked at him oddly and said, "I wasn't planning on making you a kept man. It's just... well, you only just came up from the sea. When you went to the martial arts duel, you didn't bring anything with you, so you'd better save those fifty taels for later. Consider this money a loan from me, and pay me back later. Hurry up and take it!"
As she watched Li Lianhua pull out his own purse to store the money, Yun Qingyue suddenly remembered something and asked, "What about your old purse and beaded bracelet? How come I feel like I haven't seen them in ages?"
Hearing this, Li Lianhua waited a moment before replying, "Those were things Miss Qiao gave me in the past. I felt it wouldn't be appropriate to keep wearing them given my current status, so I put them away. I'll return them to her if the opportunity arises."
Feeling it was improper to meddle and make remarks about other people's romantic affairs, Yun Qingyue kept her mouth shut and didn't press the matter further.
On the contrary, seeing Yun Qingyue react with total indifference to the topic, Li Lianhua unexpectedly felt a wave of inexplicable disappointment!
The two of them tacitly dropped the subject and began drinking tea and eating snacks. Enjoying a rare moment of leisure, the pair chatted desultorily about the events of the day.
Before long, Yun Qingyue rolled her eyes playfully and said, "Do you want to know about things in my world? I have lots of books. Tell me what kind you want to read, and I'll get them for you!"
"Alright, let's start with your histories then. Let me understand your history first, and then I can consider reading some other books!" The top student was always so methodical in his planning—she couldn't help marveling at that once more!
Yun Qingyue fetched over a dozen history books from her spatial dimension, including an antique-style edition of *Five Thousand Years of Chinese History*, *Shi Tong*, *Records of the Grand Historian*, *Modern History*, *History of World War II*, *Foreign History*, and others, along with a *Simplified and Traditional Chinese Character Dictionary* and *Explaining Graphs and Analyzing Characters*.
Looking at the towering stack of books placed beside the snacks and milk tea, Yun Qingyue felt truly delighted! Since the top student had never taken exams, she would now let him experience the agony of studenthood as well.
Having inexplicably rejoiced herself silly, Yun Qingyue seemed to have forgotten that she had also arranged several courses for herself, all to be studied in her spare time every day!
First of all, her medical skills were still far from adequate. For a medical student without clinical practice, no amount of theoretical learning was worth a damn.
A doctor who could take pulses and diagnose illnesses but didn't know how to prescribe medicine was simply unthinkable. She was far inferior to Li Lianhua, a martial arts swordsman who could at least prescribe remedies for minor ailments and pains. She was completely useless!
Well, to be fair, it wasn't entirely Yun Qingyue's fault. During both of her time-travels, she had only ever had theory without any chance for practice. Her ability to take a pulse was something she had secretly picked up from that scholar before he became successful, back during her very first mission!
The time that followed slipped away gently as Li Lianhua simultaneously read the books and dictionaries while Yun Qingyue snacked and read. From time to time, Li Lianhua would softly ask Yun Qingyue a question or two. It wasn't until late into the night that the two of them tidied up their things and returned to their respective rooms to sleep.