Before Yang Qing could be admitted to the ICU, they had to get a copy of his medical report. Yang Yifan's assistant helped to run errands for her.

"I'm sorry." Yang Yifan felt rather apologetic towards the young woman. "I have to trouble you so late at night."

"It's okay, it's what I should do, President Yang." The assistant panted for breath. "We are all people planning to join the Lonely Old People Helping to Collect Each Others' Bodies Group. There'll be many more such matters in the future, so I can warm up first… Ai, Grandpa's mouth is moving."

Yang Yifan rushed forward and pressed her ear close. "What do you want to say?"

Up ahead, the doctor had already made the arrangements for the ward and was calling out for the patient Yang Qing.

Old Yang was in a daze, an expression of terror and panic on his face. Perhaps it was due to the anaesthetic, he was muttering unclearly, "Yang… Ping… You… didn't register… didn't...."

"President Yang, the doctor is calling."

"Ah, okay." Yang Yifan straightened up, puzzled. Didn't register? Didn't register for what?

"Yang Ping, why didn't you register!"

It was a hot and humid summer's day. After coming home from work, the men would either bare their upper bodies or change into a tank top and roll it up above their chest, baring their bellies. The whole courtyard was full of shiny white bellies and belly buttons of various shapes as far as the eye could see.

Only Yang Qing was wearing a short-sleeved shirt neatly, buttoned up to the collar without a thread out of place. Like he was embodying the saying, "If your heart is calm, your body will naturally be cool," he was perfectly clean and fresh despite being dressed so properly.

The "calm" Sect Leader Yang was, for once, in a furious rage. "I'm asking you a question!"

If judged solely by his face, Yang Ping was a handsome man whose gentleness shone through his upright conduct. He was fair with pretty and delicate looks, his features sharp and clearcut. Take down this face and stick it onto any head on the streets and there would be no shame in that person becoming a movie star. Unfortunately, when stuck on his body, it looked very strange. A lad in his twenties but his head was not even up to his father's shoulders. His frame was as slender as an underage girl. When a head of normal dimensions was fixed on that body, it looked ill out of place. It wasn't to the extent that he had dwarfism but to say that he was a normal person seemed a little forced.

Yang Ping dropped his gaze and didn't say anything.

"The last time, there was no news at all after the exams and I thought you had failed. I was afraid you would take it to heart so I even kept comforting you, saying that it's okay, we can try again this year. Were it not because other people told me, I wouldn't know that you didn't even take the exams last year! Tell me the truth, did you also not register this year?"

"Who was it? Such a big mouth." Yang Ping spat out a breath like a bum and spread his hands. "I was just going along with it to humour you in the first place. You can just pretend you don't know."

Yang Qing said furiously, "What do you take the gaokao for!"

"Then what do you take me for?" Yang Ping scoffed. "Why, your son is useless so you can't lift your head up? You want me to take an alternative route and enter a university to bring honour to your ancestors? Let me tell you, even if I get into eighty universities, I'll just change from a 'cripple' to a 'crippled bookworm.' It won't bring you much respect! My advice to you, if you can't accept it, then take the chance while you can still do it and quickly get another kid with that Travellers' Sect bitch-"

Old Yang cut off his impertinent words with a slap across his face.

All the teeth in Yang Ping's mouth shook from the force of this slap. He finally shut his mouth and looked at his father with a strange expression, teeth clenched and lips in a smile that was not quite a smile, then looked at the Dog Beating Staff in the glass cabinet.

Yang Qing said, "Go out and kneel!"

"They have called me 'Little Sect Leader' since I was young, saying that Beggars' Sect has an heir," Yang Ping suddenly said in a low voice. "I could do any little thing and there would be bootlickers behind me saying that I resemble you, hoisting me up to the sky. Then, I don't know when it started but those people who had once hoisted me up, when they see me now, all of them smile awkwardly. Those people who praised me when I was young and said that I have a natural talent for martial arts have all changed to asking me if my academic results are good. All of you aren't putting any hopes on me anymore now that I've grown to be like this, is that it? Fine."

"Yang Ping! Stand there!"

Yang Ping turned a deaf ear to him, turning to leave immediately. Yang Qing rushed out after him and bumped into a neighbour who had just returned home after work. The neighbour pushed his bicycle into the courtyard, blocking the narrow entrance, and even made small talk with him laughingly. By the time he had gotten around his neighbour and went out to look, that unfilial son of his had disappeared from sight.

Sect Leader Yang held onto the old and rundown gate, and let out a sigh.

He never thought that his son would actually treat the university entrance exams as a humiliation. Yang Ping's physical body was indeed not suitable for practising martial arts but even if he was, what could he do? Defeat everyone and become unsurpassable in the land, take control of Beggars' Sect, and then? What would he depend on to survive? Surely he could not settle down and build a life by being a beggar and collecting protection fees, could he?

What year was it now, things were not like that anymore!

If Yang Ping was physically healthy and robust, he might be able to understand these arguments.

But he just had to be like that.

He was in his twenties already, no longer a child. Even his biological father could not drag him over as he wished to give him a beating and a scolding.

Yang Qing was naturally an introvert. It was very hard for him to play the role of a father who was attentive and considerate, who was able to talk about anything with his children. Meanwhile, after his teenage years, Yang Ping's behaviour became increasingly odd. Yang Qing could never tell what his son was thinking. Sometimes, the father and son would be sharing a meal at the same table but no one would be speaking and it was like they were acting in a silent film. Without someone at home playing the role of the mother to make things smoother, they only grew further and further apart.

When Yang Ping left the house this time, there was still no sign of him coming back even after a few days later. At that time, there were no mobile phones to make it possible to find a person easily. Yang Qing asked the few young people that his son usually had dealings with but no one knew where he had gone… or perhaps they did, and were just not telling him.

In his heart, Yang Qing didn't think much of these young people. These few people who mixed around with Yang Ping, each and every one of them had fickle and impatient temperaments, their eyes set on sights higher than their hands had the ability to reach.

If he went out to clear his mind, that's fine. At that time, that was what Sect Leader Yang had thought. He still has to attend the Martial Arts General Assembly anyway. When the time comes, I'll bring him back and have a proper talk with him. If he's really not willing to take the gaokao, it's okay for him to learn a trade too… but how nice would it be if he went to university.

Old Yu was handling the Martial Arts General Assembly. It was going to be held in half a month's time. He had discussed with Meizhen—at that time, Beggars' Sect and Travellers' Sect would come together, sit together, and then the two of them would make their relationship public. The people from both sides would surely have some dissatisfaction and criticisms at the start. In that case, they could do it slowly. Ultimately, Beggars' Sect and Travellers' Sect did not have any deep grudges or blood feud between them. If the relationship between the two sides could be repaired from now on, wouldn't that be a priceless achievement?

The moment he thought of Zhang Meizhen, an anticipation that came from nowhere rose in his heart. It was as though everything was filled with hope, all problems easily solved.

Yang Qing's thinking was actually a little old-fashioned. He kept feeling that to have a romance at this age had a shade of the offence of "not behaving properly despite one's age."

However, he had no choice. All these years, he had always worked hard to emulate everything his shifu had taught him through his words and his conduct—upstanding, loyal, maintaining proper behaviour even in his private life, keeping his word… If any of these clashed with his innate nature, then naturally, he would have to repress his nature and choose to be righteous. Shifu called this "cultivating one's character."

He had cultivated for over half his life and also repressed himself for the same amount of time. In his entire life, this was the first time he was indulging himself and he was completely defeated by this indulgence. He could only feel ashamed and, at the same time, sink into depravity helplessly.

If only he knew what Yang Ping was doing at that time.

If only…

"On the day of the Martial Arts General Assembly, I sat right next to Old Yang. There are no walls that the wind can't pass through—even though we kept our relationship a secret, there had been rumours since some time ago. At that time, that was the same as it being true," Zhang Meizhen said. "Within Beggars' Sect, there were people who didn't approve of it. There was a sect elder with the surname Zhu who refused to be involved anymore and left in a huff. Right on his heels, a few other people stood up and followed him out… It's understandable. I guess it's about the same as the current day young people finding out that their idols are taking drugs. I was used to being a demoness anyway so I wasn't really bothered but Old Yang was very apologetic. After all, the Travellers' Sect people were all rather calm. They didn't disgrace me, their North Branch Master, in front of outsiders."

"People from reputable and righteous sects have a lot more opinions. It's normal for them to be rather stubborn and proud," Gan Qing said.

Meanwhile, Travellers' Sect was better at producing bootlickers.

"At that time, that was what I thought too. I was even a little smug." Zhang Meizhen let out a laugh. "It was only later on that I found out that the reason why they were suddenly so quiet was because they were preparing for a big scene. Wang Jiusheng had long since gathered those barbs that most strongly opposed Beggars' Sect. Working behind my back, he had fanned the flames a few rounds. On one hand, he complained about me being too close to Beggars' Sect; on the other, he claimed 'injustice' for me, saying that Old Yang was a scumbag who was using me, tricking me for wealth and lust. In the daytime, this group of people got pissed off during the Martial Arts General Assembly. At night, they gathered together to drink. Then, high on alcohol, they kidnapped the families of Elder Zhu and his followers."

"Your esteemed sect… erm… really isn't particular with their methods." Gan Qing paused, then continued to say, "But for them to be able to do this so easily, it must have had something to do with Yang Ping, right?"

"When it came to their dislike for me, Yang Ping and Elder Zhu's side were united in having the same adversary. After Elder's Zhu side left the general assembly, he was called away by Yang Ping to hold a small meeting. This group of people cursed and vented their emotions, and also drank until they were dead drunk," Zhang Meizhen said. "Yang Ping sent a few people to inform the families of those drunkards. Since they were all familiar faces, no one had their guards up and the families even invited the messengers into the house for some water. The Travellers' Sect people following behind took the chance to launch a sneak attack. Exploiting weaknesses, kidnapping, confidence tricks—these are all tricks Travellers' Sect is an expert in. They also had a mole helping them so they could do it very cleanly and efficiently, without making any noise."

Gan Qing asked curiously, "Since it was Yang Ping who took them away and it was also Yang Ping who sent the messengers, didn't anyone suspect Yang Ping of betraying his sect and helping outsiders when there was a confrontation later?"

Zhang Meizhen slowly stroked the Dog Beating Staff. "No, because there was no confrontation."

"Why not?"

"They threw the people they kidnapped—the elderly and the young, the women and the children—into a factory that had machinery oil in storage and sent someone to keep watch. After that, they went back to their own homes to sleep. In the end, early in the morning, the guard fell asleep. A few drunk hoodlums were fooling around and threw cigarette butts, and set the factory on fire. Coincidentally, an oil barrel was leaking. The fire could not be put out in time and the people inside were also tied up. Not a single one escaped… Anyway, it was all 'a coincidence.'"

Gan Qing, "..."

"Didn't I say just now? Between Travellers' Sect and Beggars' Sect, the only thing missing was a deep grudge and blood feud," Zhang Meizhen said placidly. "By the time I found out about this, it was too late. Causing such a huge mess in Yanning, even without Old Yang, there was no way I could appease anyone. At that moment, a few people who were involved voluntarily stepped forward to confess their crime. They were all bachelors without families or jobs. The police took them away. Beggars' Sect did not accept this conclusion and insisted that these people were obviously doing so out of 'loyalty' and were bearing the blame for their comrades."

"Elder Zhu's group were not content and put this debt on the entire Travellers' Sect. They wanted to have Travellers' Sect repay the blood debt with blood. Old Yang and I went around putting out fires… but can the fire in which your family died a horrible death be put out by logic and sentiment? At that time, the government launched a strict crackdown on organisations that had a criminal nature. This thing, once started, could not be stopped. Elder Zhu's group made more and more noise, everyone was pulled into it, and Old Yang was put on the stake."

She remembered that it was the start of the eighth month. There was heavy rain and the entire Yanning seemed on the verge of being lifted by the violent winds and broken apart. The earth that had been baked warm by the peak of summer was cooled completely. In just one night, the plants were thinned out by half, the flowers and leaves scattering into the water and leaving a sorry sight behind.

Yu Huaide signed an urgent Alliance Leader's Command. He gathered everyone and stepped forth to mediate the situation. Under the weight of both duty and sentiment, Yang Qing could not lift his head and did not even dare to look at her. Amidst the mournful howls of the wind, he announced that Beggars' Sect and Travellers' Sect were irreconcilable and in the future, could not co-exist in the martial arts world.

That was the most difficult period of Zhang Meizhen's life. When she had caused trouble in her youth and had to go into hiding, there were at least still Travellers' Sect people protecting her. That time, because of her determination to uncover every single person involved in this matter, the Travellers' Sect people who had always defended their comrades regardless of whether they were right or wrong started to be dissatisfied with her. On top of that, Wang Jiusheng's side employed some small tricks in secret and the voices calling accusing her of "being overly generous to outsiders" and "paying up when we're the losing side" grew louder.

In less than half a year, Zhang Meizhen was forced to leave Travellers' Sect. From then on, she retired from the jianghu.

She applied to her workplace and was transferred to a post in another part of the country. For over ten years, she did not return.

Later on, the old public housing was demolished. No. 110 was built. Free of all those jianghu matters, she had nothing to occupy her other than her job and managed to fumble her way into becoming a veteran worker and key personnel. Perhaps it was because of this, or perhaps someone had used their connections internally… in any case, somehow or other, they left her an apartment.

"Maybe it was Xiao-Chuan's granduncle who asked someone to leave it for me." Zhang Meizhen smiled with feigned ease. "But I was not thankful to that old man. A few years after distributing the units, they wanted us to pay money to buy them. It nearly used up my tiny bit of coffin money."

She came back after she retired and became neighbours with Yang Qing again.

But the beauty in the past was now aged and worn, and the love and hatred had also turned into ash.

"It's not possible for the two of us anymore in this life," Zhang Meizhen said.

As for the next life… it was better to forget it.

The over fifty years they had known each other had been entirely a torment, wringing them dry. In the end, there were only those few memories that seemed almost like a figment of her imagination.

If there was really a next life, it would be better for them not to meet.

In the ICU ward, the old Yang Qing's condition suddenly worsened late at night. The doctors and nurses on duty brought him into the emergency treatment room again like they were fighting a battle. Yang Yifan was leaning against the corridor wall and taking a nap; she woke up with a start and was dragged up to sign the notice of critical illness.

"Doctor, can you give me an estimate, how likely is it that my grandpa will…"

"It's hard to say. Most people would be fine by now but his age is so advanced, anything can happen. His family members should be prepared." The doctor paused. "I guess it depends on the patient's vitality and his desire to live… It seems quite strong."

It was as though he understood in his heart that if he closed his eyes in this realm, there was someone who was going to sever ties with him and refuse to even be passing acquaintances with him anymore.

Zhang Meizhen held the walking stick and walked to the stairs. She muttered, almost inaudibly, "In old age…"

In old age one grows forgetful, only my thoughts of you remain^[1].

A few steps behind her, Gan Qing stood still, her thoughts somewhere else. Right then, car lights swept across the entrance of the little courtyard. The cab Yu Lanchuan and the others were taking had reached. Gan Qing turned her head towards the sound, just in time to see Yu Lanchuan get down from the car, his body mired in an air of gloom.

Without warning, their eyes met. The irritability on Yu Lanchuan's face instantly dissipated. For a moment, he seemed to suddenly shrink back, hesitating unexpectedly and not walking forward.

T/N:

[1] "In old age one grows forgetful, only my thoughts of you remain" 老来多健忘，唯不忘相思 — This is the last line of the poem "偶作寄朗之" by Bai Juyi. I am not able to find an English translation of this poem and it's also rather beyond my level of Chinese comprehension but this final line is an oft quoted line and my interpretation here is both a rather literal translation and also based on comments about it that I found online.