Chapter Eleven: Return to the Central Plains

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Li Sanshan saw that the roadsides were packed with a dense mass of people, impossible to squeeze through, and he grew anxious, scratching his head and grabbing a passerby. "Brother, what's going on up ahead?"

The man boasted, "Our Changzhou City has produced a tiger-fighting hero, they say he's nine feet tall, broad-shouldered and strong-waisted, iron arms and bronze fists, wielding a forged iron mace, possessing courage to stand alone against ten thousand men. I tell you, the fastest updates come from the Eye of Speed, right?"

Li Sanshan was puzzled but deeply impressed, muttering, "So formidable? Is he as powerful as that old Zhou Xun?"

Another bystander retorted, "Brother, you’re mistaken! That hero doesn’t use a mace, he wields a gilded sledgehammer. They say with one blow he smashed the tiger’s skull, splattering brains and leaving a crater the size of a bowl!"

Yet another chimed in, "You’re all wrong! My cousin is a gatekeeper, and he was present when the hero entered. According to him, the hero is a short fellow, but his strength is heaven-given. Some doubted he killed the tiger, but with a light push he sent several doubters tumbling."

The group argued animatedly, each insisting on their version. Li Sanshan listened, utterly enthralled, thinking, "If only I could take such a man as my master, wouldn't that be a hundred times better than the old one!"

Just then, a commotion erupted ahead, with cries of, "The tiger-fighting hero is coming!" "Don't push, let me see!"

Changzhou, being remote and sparsely populated, rarely saw any excitement. Now that a tiger-slaying champion had appeared, it was an unprecedented event. People crowded the roads, packed shoulder to shoulder, all straining to get closer.

Li Sanshan, small and weak, ended up drenched in sweat but never made it through, cursing under his breath. But Li Second Brother—what a character he was, clever and quick-witted! His eyes rolled, and he raised his voice in a dramatic wail, "Father! Dear father! You’ve finally returned from slaying the tiger! Your son thought he'd never see you again..."

The crowd was startled, discussing—

"Is that the tiger-fighting hero’s son? Doesn’t look it."

"You’ve got a brave father, boy!"

"Like father, like son!"

A path was quickly cleared, and Li Second Brother, to make his act believable, wept until his face was covered in snot and tears, fully immersed in the role. He staggered forward, pondering how to sustain the lie, occasionally crying out, "Father! I missed you terribly..."

"Father! I missed you so much... Old Third?!"

"Second Brother?" Zhou Qian and Li Sanshan stared at each other in the middle of the road.

"Old Third? You? The tiger-fighting hero?" Li Second Brother felt his head spinning.

"Second Brother, what did you call me?" Zhou Qian’s face was full of confusion.

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"You rascal! You took so long to come back! And what’s the story with this tiger?" Li Sanshan, embarrassed and angry, grabbed Zhou Qian’s neck and shook him.

"Second Brother, can we talk about this at home? Look at all the people around!" Zhou Qian, face flushed, managed to speak.

The two were watched by countless onlookers as they walked, Zhou Qian blushing in shame while Li Second Brother basked in the attention, waving to the crowd, clearly enjoying the spectacle.

Arriving at the temple, Zhou Qian handed some silver to two porters, instructing them to deliver the tiger’s corpse to his lodging. They encountered Jiechen, performing evening prayers, who was astonished but, being less curious, soon resumed his devotions.

Just then, Wang Hu, the eldest, arrived. The brothers stared at the enormous tiger corpse, Li Second Brother trembling as he stroked the whiskers, intoxicated, "Old Third is a tiger-fighting hero, and that makes me the hero’s second brother! What prestige!"

Wang Hu, meticulous, couldn’t resist asking, "Qian, how did you kill this beast?"

Inside, Zhou Qian told them everything—how he searched for leopard-tail grass and accidentally ate wild apricots. Both were dumbfounded.

"Old Third’s fortune is truly extraordinary! Could there really be monsters in this world?" Wang Hu gasped.

"Is this rascal a lucky star descended from heaven? First, a powerful master, then a magical treasure—why do such blessings never come to me?" Li Second Brother grumbled, envious.

"If it were you, you’d surely be dead. Even if you had the guts, would you dare fight that black-clouded beast?" Wang Hu retorted.

"True enough. If it were me, I’d have fled long ago. Only Old Third is foolish enough to risk his life." Li Second Brother was shameless, yet proud.

"Indeed, Second Brother is too clever," Zhou Xun remarked sincerely.

Having not seen each other for days, the three were overjoyed, chatting until the golden crow set and the jade hare rose. Li Second Brother patted his shriveled belly and smacked his lips, "Old Third, it’s late, your Second Brother is hungry. Go make some dog-meat noodles, and be generous with the beef and noodles!"

Wang Hu, embarrassed, scratched his head and laughed, "If Second Brother hadn’t mentioned it, I’d have forgotten. I’m hungry too—trouble Old Third for this."

Zhou Xun nodded, "Leave it to me."

He kneaded, mixed, and pulled noodles in one seamless motion. Ever since eating the wild apricots, Zhou Xun’s hands were swift and his eyesight sharp; with the iron-sand palm’s ‘inch force’ mastered, the noodles came out fine as thread, all identical in size and length, sparkling and translucent, irresistible when boiled in rich broth.

Li Second Brother examined a cluster of noodles, marveling, "Old Third, your skills have improved! These noodles are fine as thread—beautiful! Beautiful! Isn’t that right, Eldest? Eldest? Why aren’t you saying anything?" Turning, he saw Wang Hu already finishing his third bowl and shrieked, "You shameless beast! You’ve eaten so much already..."

As the saying goes, with more people, the appetite grows. The three finished three large pots, each with bulging bellies and rolling eyes. Second Brother cursed, "I ate eight bowls—can’t walk a step now. Tonight I’ll sleep here, as usual, I take the bed and you two take the floor." He laboriously crawled onto the bed.

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"Get lost!" Wang Hu and Zhou Qian shouted in unison, each kicking Second Brother off the bed.

"You can't do this to me!" Old Third wailed.

Zhou Qian spent several more days in their company. During that time, a traveling merchant from the south bought the tiger corpse for five hundred taels of silver. Wang Hu lamented the loss more than once. Zhou Xun visited seven or eight pharmacies, gathering almost all the herbs he needed, save for fruit blossom, which, in Changzhou’s small and remote city, hadn’t been available for ages.

One day, Zhou Qian went to the burial ground as agreed with his master, waiting early. Soon Zhou Xun arrived, dusty and weary.

"Master!" Zhou Qian greeted excitedly.

"My disciple, you’re here!" Zhou Xun nodded. "First, pay your respects to Elder Linghu."

After offering incense, Zhou Qian turned to Zhou Xun, puzzled. "Master, why are you so disheveled?"

At that moment, Zhou Xun’s clothes were rumpled, hair a mess, his former elegance gone.

Zhou Xun smiled bitterly and shook his head. "That old diviner truly did me harm. I spent ten days rushing to Datuo River to check the water conditions. The source is deep and rugged, winding through steep ravines. These old bones haven’t suffered such hardship in years."

Zhou Qian clicked his tongue. "Datuo River is over a thousand miles from here, across more than a dozen mountains. You made the round trip in ten days? Incredible!"

"Stop flattering me!" Zhou Xun laughed and scolded. "Help me up and let’s see if you’ve neglected your training these past days."

Zhou Qian obeyed, extending his right hand. Zhou Xun grasped it, sending a surge of energy—Zhou Qian’s hand reflexively applied ‘inch force,’ snapping back. Zhou Xun’s eyes flashed with surprise, but he blocked the powerful blow with a turn of his palm.

"Your internal breath is strong and forceful," Zhou Xun said, closing his eyes and feeling the pulse. "The organs beat like a drum—signs of internal training reaching small mastery. Qian, what happened these past days?"

Zhou Qian honestly recounted his deep mountain herb-gathering and encounter with the monster. Zhou Xun was silent for a long time.

"The world is truly full of wonders!" Zhou Xun sighed. "Could the tales of immortals really be true?"

"You are indeed lucky—this has saved you at least five years of hard work!" Zhou Xun shook his head, smiling wryly. "I’ll teach you the Cloud Hand technique now. Once you’ve mastered it, we’ll return to the Central Plains."