At the very least, he could try to prevent Yun Huizhou from being ambushed. Yun Huizhou was the first person he had met since coming to this world, and he was also his savior.
Furthermore, Yun Huizhou had good-naturedly accepted him following along shamelessly. Lian Li truly did not want to see this high-spirited man before him reach a point where he could no longer progress in his martial arts in the future.
But regarding this book—he knew of it. He had heard his childhood friend talk about it, and the friend had even tried to pitch it to him.
Yet, he simply hadn’t gotten around to reading it.
Everything he knew about the book came from what his childhood friend told him during those pitches.
At that time, he was ill and in pain. When others described the general plot to him, he couldn’t concentrate on listening.
He had thought that once the pain subsided a bit, he would go and read the book.
As it turned out, before he had the chance to read it, he had damn well died of his illness.
When he opened his eyes again, he was inside this book.
If he had known this would happen, he would have finished the book even if it killed him from the pain.
Lian Li didn’t snap out of his daze until Yun Huizhou walked right up to him.
Yun Huizhou thought something was wrong with him, so he grabbed his wrist and funneled a bit more internal energy into him.
To his surprise, once the internal energy entered, he found that aside from being a bit frail, nothing was actually wrong with the man.
Thus, he raised a hand and waved it in front of Lian Li’s eyes, calling out, “Hey, hey, Lian Li. Stop spacing out. I’ve become the Champion.”
Lian Li looked at Yun Huizhou and squeezed out a sliver of a smile, saying, “Congratulations, congratulations. Now you have something to show the Master when you return.”
Yun Huizhou saw that his expression wasn’t quite right and assumed something had happened that was inconvenient to discuss now.
So, after turning around to exchange quick pleasantries with the crowd that had gathered to offer congratulations, he reached out, tucked Lian Li under his arm, and soared directly into the sky using his lightness skill.
Lian Li: !!!
He was flying!
At this moment, he no longer thought about how he had transmigrated into a meaningless book.
His eyes widened as he watched the residences below him rapidly recede. Then, he realized they were getting higher and higher, reaching a point where his acrophobia began to kick in.
“Yun Huizhou, you… go lower.” Lian Li suddenly clutched Yun Huizhou tightly, his voice trembling as he said, “I think I’m afraid of heights.”
Yun Huizhou: “…Then do you still want to practice martial arts?”
“Can’t someone with a fear of heights practice martial arts?” Lian Li shot back.
Yun Huizhou replied, “If you’re afraid of heights, how will you learn the lightness skill?”
Just as he finished speaking, the two had already reached the inn. He didn’t bother with the main entrance, jumping directly to the window of their room. He tossed Lian Li into the room first before flipping inside himself.
Because they had flown so high earlier, Lian Li’s face—which was already pale—was now a terrifying shade of white from the fright.
Yun Huizhou funneled some more internal energy into him again. Once his complexion improved slightly, Yun Huizhou repeated his previous question.
“You’re scared like this just from being a little high up. How are you going to learn the lightness skill?”
Lian Li leaned against the table and sat down. He poured himself a cup of water, and after drinking it, he took another cup to pour water for Yun Huizhou. Only then did he recover his wits enough to answer Yun Huizhou’s question.
“Can I just not learn the lightness skill?”
Yun Huizhou gripped the cup and looked at him, saying, “You can.”
Lian Li: “Really!?”
“Fake.” After Yun Huizhou finished teasing him and enjoyed his dejected expression for a moment, he continued, “The lightness skill is the basic entry point. If you don’t learn it, you won’t be able to beat others in the future, and you won’t even be able to run away.”
Lian Li immediately followed up, “Then I’ll just learn martial arts so well that no one can beat me. Wouldn’t that be fine?”
Yun Huizhou looked at him with a beaming smile, not wanting to crush Lian Li’s spirit. Instead, he said, “But even if you learn martial arts perfectly, if you don’t know the lightness skill and the other person wants to run, you won’t be able to catch them.”
“When the time comes, you won’t be able to run if you can’t win, and you won’t be able to catch them if you can win. Wouldn’t that be frustrating to death?”
“So, this lightness skill is absolutely mandatory, isn’t it?” Lian Li asked.
Yun Huizhou nodded and asked him, “So, do you still want to practice martial arts?”
Lian Li knitted his delicate brows, thought for a moment, and said, “I want to learn.”
“Then what about your fear of heights? Are you really not going to learn the lightness skill?” Yun Huizhou asked him again.
“Then… could you take me flying a few more times?” Lian Li looked at him, his eyes full of hope. “Maybe if I fly enough, I’ll get used to it and won’t be afraid anymore.”
Yun Huizhou propped his chin on his hand, adopting a thoughtful pose.
Lian Li watched him nervously.
After a long while, Yun Huizhou finally gave a slight nod, essentially agreeing to Lian Li’s request.
“Wait until we return to Drunken Dream Island,” Yun Huizhou said. “Your foundation is too weak. We need to go back and let the Island Masters see which style suits you. Your meridians are too thin and weak; you won’t be able to learn ordinary martial arts.”
Hearing Yun Huizhou say this, Lian Li’s heart finally felt at ease.
Since he said it was arranged, then he must truly be planning to take him to Drunken Dream Island to practice martial arts.
In that case, would the two of them be considered fellow disciples in the future?
Thinking about how Yun Huizhou would be his Senior Brother in the same sect, Lian Li suddenly remembered the plot point from the novel where Yun Huizhou would be ambushed and his martial arts would regress.
Thus, he asked Yun Huizhou in a roundabout way, “So, Yun Huizhou, is there anything you particularly want?”
When he heard his childhood friend pitching the novel, the friend mentioned that the supporting male character was ambushed while fighting for something.
He felt that if there was a struggle, it must be something Yun Huizhou particularly wanted.
He would ask now. Although he didn’t know the specific circumstances, having an idea would allow him to follow along and act according to the situation when the time came.
Yun Huizhou found the question baffling. “Something I particularly want? I don’t have anything for now. If I had to say something, it would be to become the World’s Number One, and then find the World’s Number One Beauty to be my wife.”
Lian Li: “…”
Ah… what a simple and unadorned dream.
Lian Li tried to deduce what Yun Huizhou might want from his answer.
In the end, he concluded: This guy couldn’t possibly have been ambushed while fighting someone over the World’s Number One Beauty, could he?
What would that be? “To die under a peony flower and remain a romantic ghost”?
Lian Li instinctively wanted to roll his eyes. In his previous life, he had been ill since the age of ten and had lived a life of few desires; he truly couldn’t understand ruining one’s future for such a thing.
The look he gave Yun Huizhou was somewhat complicated, which made Yun Huizhou even more confused.
What’s wrong with this sickly kid now?
Lian Li waved his hand and walked toward the bed, not really wanting to talk.
He just felt that in the future, he would have to keep a closer eye on Yun Huizhou. Before the plot played out, he wouldn’t let him get close to women—especially beautiful women.
Because he was the Champion of this year’s Young Swordsman Martial Arts Assembly, Yun Huizhou received many invitations to banquets.
Although he was very impatient with them, among these invitations was one hosted by the current Martial Arts Alliance Leader, Zhao Rong.
No matter how impatient he was, he had to give face to Zhao Rong.
Zhao Rong was Zhao Honglan’s father. Zhao Honglan’s mother came from a merchant family; her name was Shen Wanyun. She had once saved Zhao Rong when he was still a young swordsman, and the two had developed feelings over time, eventually marrying.
However, Shen Wanyun was the only daughter of the Shen family and was also a skilled hand at business. Originally, the family had intended to bring in a matrilocal husband.
