Yu Lanchuan circled around Rongxian Street eight times and still failed to find a spot to park his car. In the end, he had no choice but to stop at a shopping center 800 meters away and walk over. He felt like he might as well not drive.

Right out of No. 110 Courtyard's east gate was a very narrow one-way lane. On the other side of the lane was a row of small shops, their edges following the curve of the lane.

He had just confessed his errant intentions to Yu Yan and the next moment, he was called here. Yu Lanchuan felt that he needed to calm down. He ordered a cup of cooling herbal tea at a beverage shop and stood at the intersection while drinking slowly.

At that moment, he saw a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye. Gan Qing was at the fruit shop next door, picking up and putting down the fruits one after another, picking and choosing. Every now and then, she glanced towards the opposite No. 110.

Yu Lanchuan followed her line of sight and realised that there were two people dressed in beggars garb at the gate to No. 110 Courtyard, squatting in a corner while they talked.

The two beggars chatted for a long while. The whole time, Gan Qing dawdled at the fruit shop, touching every single orange in an entire box one-by-one. Finally, the two beggars left one after another and only then did she straighten up and miserly took out three coins. Bearing the brunt of the lady boss's eyes that looked fit to bite her to death, she bought two oranges.

Was she avoiding the Beggars' Sect people?

Yu Lanchuan's feet shifted lightly and he followed after her without a sound.

As for what he would say when he caught up to her, Yu Lanchuan hadn't thought it out.

He was the perfect example of a detached city person, a diehard member of the "None of My Business, None of Your Business" society. He hated meddling in other people's business the most. Regardless of whether Gan Qing was avoiding the Beggars' Sect people or avoiding the local law enforcement, what did it have to do with him?

Once he thought that, Yu Lanchuan again felt like there was something wrong with him today.

Gan Qing slouched a lot when she walked. She seemed too lazy to lift her feet and her relaxed shoulders swayed side to side. But on closer look, the area around her waist and stomach was tense. That little bit of tightness made her entire body seem like a tied bundle of sticks—no matter how much it swayed, it would not fall apart.

Yu Lanchuan stared at her back and spaced out. He remembered that when he was young, Granduncle had taught him that it was possible for a person to not wield the blade or fire the gun. In the current-day society, even if a person's hands did not have the strength to even truss up a chicken, it didn't affect anything. But the way one walked, sat or lay down must be proper. These were minor matters that didn't take much effort, but even dripping water could penetrate stone. If one's posture was not correct, if the areas that should be relaxed were tense and the areas that should be tense were relaxed, then it was one year, 365 days of that. If one persistently destroyed their own bones and flesh, then they did not have to wait for old age, illness would come first.

For example, walking. One's essence, qi and spirit resided in one's waist. If they ruined their waist, their spine would lose its shape and their body would be unstable—either the top half would tilt backward or their shoulders and neck would hunch forward.

The more one tilted backward, the bigger their stomach grew. Their legs would become increasingly unable to bear the burden. The lower back, knees, ankles, heels—they could forget about any one of these staying in good condition. The more one hunched forward, the more their back curved. All the hidden excess flesh on their body would move to their back and their chest would become increasingly thin, their breaths increasingly short. Meanwhile, their back would become increasingly thick, and slowly, it would look like they were carrying a sandbag on their shoulders and behind their neck.

Today, they wore away their spine a little and nothing happened. Tomorrow, they would wear away their spine a little and nothing would happen. But eventually—a few years if on the shorter end, perhaps thirty or fifty years if on the longer end—no matter how good a body one was born with, their spine would eventually be worn down until it was damaged.

When one's spine was damaged, their body was also done for.

Granduncle had brought him for walks around the little garden in No. 110 and had talked about many topics similar to that. When he was young, he didn't understand and put it out of his mind after listening. When he was a little older, due to the burdens of studies and work, he finally started practising the old man's way of maintaining health. By the time he joined society and had gone through ups and downs for a few years, he sometimes recalled those words and felt that the way of maintaining health that Granduncle had spoken of were also very meaningful.

In martial arts, a person first fortified their own body and connected with their bones and flesh. From there, they observed themselves, became self-aware, and found answers to their confusions. And with that, they observed the thousands of inhabitants and hundreds of changes that made up the living world.

By the time he came back to himself, he had followed the other person all the way into No. 110 and they were nearly at the elevator lobby. Yu Lanchuan realised that it was awkward, and was just planning to walk past her and pretend that they were just coincidentally going the same way when Gan Qing suddenly turned her head around. From the plastic bag, she dug out an orange and gave it to him.

Stunned, Yu Lanchuan looked at her in confusion.

"Seeing that your younger brother is totally unharmed from head to toe," Gan Qing lowered her voice, "don't tell anyone what you saw today at the urban village."

Yu Lanchuan didn't plan to tell anyone anyway. "Don't wo-"

He hadn't yet finished saying the word "worry" when Gan Qing stuffed the orange into his hand.

"Giving you a small bribe." She winked and gave him a half smile. Her gaze shifted fluidly and for a second, a simple and unsophisticated village girl transformed into a swindling and cheating modern-day witch. "If a single word leaks out, I will have enemies coming after me for revenge. If that happens, neither your conscience nor my spirit will forgive you. Shhh."

Yu Lanchuan, "..."

What nonsense was this!

When they got into the elevator, Yu Lanchuan finally regained his wits. "Your bribe is just one orange?"

Gan Qing no longer put on an act. She said lazily, "I'll only get paid tomorrow and only have three yuan left. The oranges are 1.5 yuan each, what I gave you is half of my entire fortune. Is it still not enough? Fine, I'll give you this one too. Let me be ruined and bankrupt."

Yu Lanchuan, "...No thanks. I am not that evil."

At that moment, they reached the sixth floor that Yu Lanchuan had pressed the button for. He walked off the elevator and Gan Qing was just about to close the door when he suddenly turned around. "Wait!"

Gan Qing tilted her head.

Yu Lanchuan asked, "Where are you from?"

Gan Qing said, "Guess."

"Forget it." Yu Lanchuan asked directly, "Fifteen years ago, did you come to Yanning?"

Without even thinking, Gan Qing answered without any hesitation. "I don't remember. After all, I'm only sixteen years old this year."

Yu Lanchuan, "..."

After teasing him, Gan Qing pressed the button to close the door, smiled and took a step back, disappearing behind the closing doors. This scene and the one that was etched in his mind fifteen years ago at a city suburb matched extremely closely and Yu Lanchuan nearly chased after her. Right then, someone suddenly said from behind him, "You're here. Go in, the old man is waiting for you."

Yu Lanchuan turned around and saw Old Master Yang's granddaughter, Yang Yifan, walk out with a cigarette dangling from her lips. "He's at that age already but the most busy one is him. From day to night there are all sorts of weird people coming to look for him, who knows what for."

After saying that, she rolled her eyes at the ceiling, threw her bag over her shoulder, and strode away on her lambskin heels.

Yu Lanchuan was very confused, unsure what he had done to offend her. He entered the apartment to see and sensed that the one Miss Yang was targeting was not himself—an old lady had come to Old Master Yang's home.

The old lady looked like she was around Old Master Yang's age. She had a headful of white hair, and a shriveled and thin body. The flesh on either side of her face drooped down. Together with her mouth, they formed a triangle, showing some signs of ferocity and cruelty, and also a trace of the woe of old age.

Before Yu Lanchuan could carefully think of who she was, the old lady stood up, holding on to the sofa for support, and then knelt before him with a thump.

Despite having a facade of "Kneel before us, peasants" to the outside world, this was the first time someone actually gave Yu Lanchuan such a formal bow. Shocked, he held onto the door frame and was stunned for a full two seconds before rushing over in a fluster to help her up.

"I-I-If there's anything, we can talk properly. What are you doing this for?"

The old lady looked like she weighed forty kilograms at most but when Yu Lanchuan reached out to help her up, he realised that she seemed to be rooted to the ground. Even with both hands, he couldn't pull her up.

"Madam Qian." Old Master Yang sighed and spoke, "He's from the younger generation. Aren't you making it hard for him this way? If there's anything, why don't you get up and talk about it?"

Only then did Yu Lanchuan feel the weight in his hands lighten. He quickly and nervously helped the old lady up and settled her down on the sofa.

At this moment, he had already guessed who this old lady was.

As expected, Old Master Yang said, "This is Madam Qian. In the past, she and her husband were known as the Two Qians. They were renowned warriors of justice in the south. Her leg skills are exceptional—the coal-powered trains in the past were not as fast as her. In the early years, there was a band of local bandits in the southwest who plundered along the rail lines. They entered the carriages directly through the windows, snatched the goods then jumped off the train. Back then, the passengers all didn't dare open the windows. It was this pair of virtuous man and wife who took the lead to guard the routes, and helped to catch not a small number of evildoers. But sadly-"

"Don't say anymore, Sect Leader Yang. I am too ashamed to show my face," Old Madam Qian cut him off. "My husband's reputation has been completely ruined by this old hag here and our few unworthy disciples. In the future, when I die and go over, I will have to avoid him. Little Master Yu, I'm sorry. I really didn't know that the child at Mudpool Backlane that day was your brother. Those disciples of mine even… even…"

Yu Lanchuan thought in his heart, Is this something a person should be saying?

So, children from other families can be scammed and kidnapped as you wish?

But his upbringing took over; given that the old lady was an elderly, he didn't feel that it was right for him to open his mouth and talk back, so he said placidly, "It's not a big deal. The police said that you were indeed unaware of what happened after. If it was an ordinary civil dispute, we would definitely just let it go. But once it has developed into a criminal case, it's no longer something we can just say 'Let it go' and the police will stop investigating. There is nothing I can do either, I hope you can understand."

Madam Qian's tears started falling at once. She said "I know" three times in a row, then added, "I dare not thicken my skin and ask for your favour."

"The country has its laws. Xiao-Chuan, sit," Old Master Yang said. "The main reason why Madam Qian is here today is because she feels very apologetic, and wanted to meet you and say a few words to you. She doesn't have any other intentions."

Madam Qian wiped her tears and at the same time, continued to speak brokenly.

Her deceased husband and her had once been heroes in their early years. At that time, they were in the prime of their lives, their spirits high and bold. Later on, her husband lost his life in a car accident and left her with only a sickly son and three little disciples they had fostered. A single woman supporting four mouths was already an extremely difficult thing to do but following closely was the rapid change in eras. Storms and wild winds rose in unison, sending some people up to the clear skies and some down to deep earth. Some people made their fortune overnight, while some lost their livelihoods.

Madam Qian was unfortunately among the latter.

Even later on, just like how bad posture wore down a person's spine, this joke of a thing called "spirit" was worn down day after day by all the petty troubles of daily life. It wore down and down, and eventually she was no longer the person she once was and could not even live her later years in peace.

It was only when her old friend brought up the Two Qians to someone from the younger generation that she dimly recalled those years. The glory of her past shone softly on the shameless deeds accumulated over the decades and unexpectedly, outshone them completely.

As Madam Qian continued to speak, her tears fell until she eventually could not speak anymore.

For a moment, she was confused. She couldn't understand how she had ended up like this.

Perhaps heroes shouldn't live so long.

Yu Lanchuan pulled some tissues and passed them to her. He didn't say anything.

Old Master Yang waited until Madam Qian's sobbing gradually calmed down. Then, he extended his hand, pointed upstairs, and said to Yu Lanchuan, "Xiao-Chuan may not know this but back in that year when your granduncle bought his apartment, Madam Qian got word of it. From thousands of miles away, she entrusted someone to bring 200 yuan here. How could she have money to spare? It was all dug out from between the gaps of her teeth."

Yu Lanchuan, "..."

Fuck. He cursed in his heart. A creditor!