Gradual Recovery

Yan Liqiang tossed and turned on the bed in his room for the whole night, finding it difficult to fall asleep. After having a little too much to drink, Yan Dechang’s words that sounded like he was sleep talking lingered around his ears.

Revenge… Revenge… Revenge…

Ever Yan Liqiang could remember, he didn’t have any memories of his mother in his mind. Yan Dechang told him that his mother had passed away from her illness when he was only half a year old. Yan Liqiang was brought up by the wet nurse that Yan Dechang had hired since then. For these past ten years, Yan Liqiang had never doubted the story Yan Dechang told him even once. However, his drunken words tonight were earth-shattering to Yan Liqiang. Could it be that his mother had passed away due to some other reasons? Or was she murdered by someone?

If that wasn’t the case, Yan Dechang wouldn’t have mentioned anything about revenge.

Yan Dechang must have known the identity of the culprit but was too powerless to exact a revenge. Therefore he was strict with Yan Liqiang since his youth. He had him practice martial arts every day for the sake of getting stronger. ‘Did he wish for me to become powerful and progress towards becoming a Martial Warrior so that I will be capable enough to avenge her?’

This explained everything he had experienced at home since his childhood.

Should he ask father about it tomorrow?

No, he would definitely not tell him when sober unless he could move forward as a Martial Warrior and show him the hope of avenging her. Otherwise, he figured he might never hear the truth from his father.

Yan Liqiang tossed and turned relentlessly for half of the night and didn’t feel sleepy at all. In the end, he decided that he might as well get up and start practicing the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing in his dark room.

The more he practiced this technique, the more Yan Liqiang could feel that his body seemed to gradually become addicted to the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. He’d feel uncomfortable from head to toe as soon as he missed a day of practice. The more he practiced, the more comfortable his body would feel, and he would often be brimming with bursting light and fluttery energy.

As soon as Yan Liqiang started practicing, he went straight for no less than three rounds and only stopped after the sky had turned bright. He then exited his room and made his way to the backyard where he usually trained his martial arts to exercise his muscles and bones for a while. After practicing two rounds of Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique and seeing that it was about time for Zhou Hongda and his wife to finish preparing breakfast, he went into Yan Dechang’s room to help him with his morning routines.

By the time Yan Liqiang entered Yan Dechang’s room while carrying the water he had drawn, Yan Dechang was already awake and was slowly getting himself dressed.

"Father, your injuries have not healed yet. Take care to not reopen the wounds. Let me help you…"

"No need, no need. I’m slowly regaining my hand movements these past few days. I can already raise my arms up. Humans are like metal. If you don’t move, especially after an injury, you’ll get rusty and it’ll be even harder to heal. The old disorders won’t go but the new disorders will come. But by moving a little, the blood circulation in your whole body will improve and the body will also heal faster…" Yan Dechang refused Yan Liqiang’s help and insisted on doing things himself.

Seeing that Yan Dechang could already slowly get himself dressed, Yan Liqiang finally let out a sigh of relief as quite a lot of worries had been lifted from his heart.

As the saying goes, ‘joy puts heart into a man’. After getting a little drunk and emotional last night, Yan Dechang’s entire complexion suddenly improved significantly after a night of sleep. He seemed to be fully rested too. Although his movements were still a little slow, he could sit upright on the bed by himself and he could try to put his clothes, socks, and shoes on without Yan Liqiang’s assistance. After that, Yan Dechang refused Yan Liqiang’s help again and finished washing up himself.

Yan Liqiang could only stay in the room and watch Yan Dechang slowly finish every task.

In the end, when he saw that Yan Dechang was going to pour the water, Yan Liqiang hurriedly took the washbowl and pitcher from him. "Father, let me do it for you…"

"Alright..." Yan Dechang stopped insisting. However, he watched Yan Liqiang carry the washbowl outside with a complicated gaze. Just when Yan Liqiang reached the door, Yan Dechang suddenly called out to him again. "Liqiang…"

"Yes, father?" Yan Liqiang stopped and turned around.

Yan Decheng hesitated for a moment before asking a question. "Yesterday… after I got drunk, I remember you sending me back to the room. Did I say anything strange then?"

"You did, but it was nothing strange…" Yan Liqiang paled. "I remember you were very happy after you were drunk and you were telling me to continue working hard and cultivate diligently so that I can become a Martial Warrior soon…"

"Only that?" Yan Dechang stared closely at Yan Liqiang’s face. He seemed to be quite nervous.

"Of course!" Yan Liqiang laughed, the expression on his face was relaxed. "Father, your were slurring your words. If it weren’t for the fact that I’m your son, other people probably wouldn’t get what you were mumbling about!"

Seeing how the expression on Yan Liqiang’s face wasn’t strange at all, Yan Dechang finally let out a sigh of relief. "Yes, I had some wine yesterday and couldn’t even remember what I had said myself. I’m only worried that I might have acted a little crazy from having too much to drink and said something ridiculous. That’s why I had never touched a drop of liquor these past years. I made an exception last night out of joy. It seems like I really should hold back from drinking after this. Oh yes, Liqiang, I’ve really troubled you all this time!"

"Father, is there a need for a father to tell a son that?" Yan Liqiang made a face of resignation at Yan Dechang. "Father, you have raised me well. I’ve never told you that I’ve troubled you either. So are you implying that I have to tell you that a few times from now on? If you really want to hear that, then I can tell you that twenty or thirty times every day..."

Yan Liqiang almost made Yan Dechang laugh in amusement. There was a small smile on his face before he hurriedly put on a straight face again with a solemn expression. "What I mean to say is that my body is slowly recovering and I can already slowly take care of myself. We have Mother Wu, Zhou Hongda, and his wife to take care of house chores and cooking, so there’s no need for you to worry about them. From now on, you don’t need to stay around me so much and you can just focus on what you have to do like you did back then. Do what you are supposed to do and don’t slack on your cultivation, especially now that you are the first among the top three in the martial arts examination for the entire county. Countless people have their attention on you. It’s very important to strike while the iron is hot. Remain consistent in your cultivation, and don’t slack so that you won’t fall and become a laughing stock by the time you attend the Pingxi Prefecture martial arts academy and face many powerful opponents. Do you understand?"

"Rest assured, Father. I haven’t been slacking in my cultivation these days. This morning I even got up early to practice two rounds of fist technique. I will definitely become a Martial Warrior soon. I won’t let you down!"

"Good!" Yan Dechang nodded. "After breakfast, rest a little and then you shall continue your cultivation in your courtyard. From now on you don’t need to concern yourself with matters at home like in the past. You can’t afford to slack on your daily morning, afternoon, and evening training. You are old enough now, I’m not going to interrupt your training and I’m no longer capable of guiding you. You’ll have to plan yourself. However, you cannot drop the spear technique. I heard from Uncle Qian that you even managed to get a Horned Python Bow in the Weaponsmiths Quarter. If time allows, you should also practice archery…"

Yan Dechang seemed to have really recovered and also regained his Tiger Dad [1] demeanor as he started ordering Yan Liqiang again...

However, it seemed like Yan Dechang’s plan for today was destined to fail. When the father and son duo finished their breakfast, their home was instantly bustling with noise and excitement...