Chapter 210: What “Things for Two People” or “Things for Three People”?

He huddled by the door, wailing in despair.

Yun Huizhou followed him over and crouched down beside him, gently patting his back as he continued to offer comfort. “It’s alright. Don’t be ashamed. Master won’t mention this matter anyway; he won’t tell others, and he won’t bring it up in front of us.”

“No, you don’t understand.” Lian Li rubbed his face until it was distorted into a pathetic grimace. “The main thing is that as soon as I think about it myself, I feel so embarrassed.”

Yun Huizhou truly didn’t quite understand. Since only the three of them knew about it and Master wouldn’t speak of it, why did Lian Li still feel so embarrassed and ashamed?

Seeing Lian Li like this, he realized that it was best not to mention the matter for now and simply act as if it had never happened.

Thus, he stopped talking and just stayed by Lian Li’s side, crouching at the door.

After a good while, Lian Li finally felt a bit better. He lowered his hands and leaned his entire weight against Yun Huizhou.

He decided to immediately switch to another topic to make himself forget this moment of ultimate social death.

He said, “Yun Huizhou, our trip out this time will take at least two years as a baseline, right?”

“That’s for certain.” Yun Huizhou obediently followed Lian Li’s lead in changing the subject. “And we won’t be heading straight for the grasslands. You’ll have to fight your way there.”

“If you don’t resolve things fast enough and let the opponent keep fleeing all over the place, the time we spend on the road will be even longer.”

Lian Li’s gaze went blank as he thought of the wuxia novels he had read in the past. In those stories, heroes punishing evil often spent a long time chasing down a villain.

Days, dozens of days, months, or even years were all possible.

He suddenly understood where the difficulty of this tempering lay.

If he could never catch the person, then this situation would likely occur: he would be constantly chasing someone and would hardly get to fight any life-or-death battles.

Naturally, his progress would be slow.

Realizing this, he finally understood just how strong the Yun Huizhou of the past had been.

After a long silence, Lian Li said, “I will work hard.”

He would work hard to become even more powerful and keep up with Yun Huizhou’s pace. Just as he had started as nothing more than an accessory to Yun Huizhou, he now no longer really needed to hang onto him to be carried along.

Oh, except when they were flirting.

“However, we probably won’t have much time to rest,” Yun Huizhou said. “Since Grandmaster said you’re going out for tempering, we should be setting off around this time. Prepare yourself well.”

Lian Li gave an “mm” in response, stealing a glance at Yun Huizhou, only to be caught red-handed.

Yun Huizhou didn’t say anything; he just stared at him, his eyes dancing with a hint of teasing.

Lian Li looked away, staring at his own hands and gently picking at his fingers, his eyes darting around restlessly.

“Then… doesn’t that mean for the next few years, the three of us will be staying together all the time?”

“Mm.” Yun Huizhou gave a lazy response and asked, “What are you trying to say?”

Lian Li: “…Nothing.”

Dammit, how is this guy so sharp? He noticed I had something else on my mind instantly.

Seeing that he wouldn’t speak, Yun Huizhou’s voice turned slightly low and husky. “Staying together as three people all the time… it seems like some things meant for two people might be a bit difficult to do.”

Lian Li stood up with a whoosh and snapped, “What ‘things for two people’ or ‘things for three people’? What are you talking about!”

He bypassed Yun Huizhou and stepped over the threshold with frantic strides, heading toward his half of the room.

Yun Huizhou didn’t get up from the floor. Instead, he poked his head out to watch Lian Li’s retreating back as he fled in panic, arching an eyebrow.

During dinner that evening, Lian Li refused to come out from his side of the room. He had pulled the curtains shut tight, preventing Yun Huizhou, who was sitting in the middle of the room, from seeing him.

Yun Huizhou didn’t force him to come out. Instead, he brought over a few more bowls, divided half of the food into them, and placed them on a cabinet outside the curtain.

“I’ve put the food here for you.”

Only after a long while did Lian Li’s reply come from inside: “Mm, I’ll take it in to eat in a bit.”

The corners of Yun Huizhou’s mouth curled into a smile. He gave an “mm” and returned to the table to eat.

Only when Lian Li heard the sounds of eating from outside did he tiptoe to the edge of the curtain, quietly lifting a corner to peek toward the dining table in the center.

Seeing that Yun Huizhou happened to have his back turned, he felt a surge of joy. He quickly took two steps out, grabbed all the food on the cabinet, and brought it back into his room.

After finishing, he carried the empty bowls to the curtain and crouched down, pushing the bowls out one by one with his fingers.

Just as he pushed the last bowl out, he saw them all being picked up and placed on a small side table.

The curtains were made of light gauze, but since he had let down all three layers, he could only see a blurry silhouette through them.

Yun Huizhou hadn’t left; he stood right on the other side of the curtain, his gaze meeting Lian Li’s.

“During the time before we set off, I probably won’t be coming back here to stay,” Yun Huizhou suddenly said.

“Why?” Lian Li’s heart tightened. Why the sudden move?

Sensing the tension in Lian Li’s voice, Yun Huizhou quickly explained, “Didn’t Senior Uncle set a goal before? He wanted me to break through to the Super-First Class level as soon as possible. Now that you’ve reached your goal but I haven’t reached mine, I need to put in some effort.”

“Oh.” Lian Li felt relieved. Thinking about how the East Island Lord had been in charge of their martial arts training lately, he asked, “Are you going to stay at the East Island then?”

Yun Huizhou shook his head and said, “No, I’ll be staying at Grandmaster’s place temporarily. Senior Uncle and Master will be heading over there as well.”

Lian Li understood immediately upon hearing this. This was essentially giving Yun Huizhou private tutoring sessions.

But breaking through in martial arts wasn’t the same as academic tutoring.

So, after a moment of hesitation, he still said, “Don’t be in too much of a rush. It wouldn’t be good if you suffered a cultivation deviation. You should still prioritize your own safety.”

Yun Huizhou chuckled softly and said, “I know. It’s just that I’ve been stuck at this bottleneck for quite a while. When we faced those two in the Southern Border, I felt like I was only one step away. It was only because of my injuries that I had to slow down.”

“Now that we’ve made the trip to Linjiu City, enough time has passed that my injuries are completely healed. It’s about time to give it a try. I just need a little bit of pressure.”

Knowing that he wasn’t acting out of haste but had a plan, Lian Li felt a bit more at ease. “Alright, then focus on that. I’ll handle the preparations for going out.”

“Mm.” Yun Huizhou paused for a moment before saying, “So, are you sure you’re not coming out? Starting tomorrow, I won’t be coming back. And with your level of martial arts, you can’t just wander over there casually; you might get accidentally injured.”

Lian Li pulled back a tiny slit in the curtain, revealing a single eye to look at Yun Huizhou. “Um… we’ll see.”