Chapter 94.2

Runsheng straightened his body and resumed his drills, but this time, every move was painfully slow. Each motion caused the sixteen coffin nails embedded in him to flare with a pain that felt like they were grinding against bone and severing tendons.

And that was the lesser torment. The real agony came from the corpse aura seeping out of the nails, infiltrating every corner of his body. It clashed with his own inner energy, producing a sensation like being roasted alive.

Uncle Qin stood with arms crossed, watching for a moment before asking,

“Didn’t eat enough at lunch?”

“I… I ate enough.”

“Then why are you dragging your feet?”

Runsheng quickened his pace. The intensified pain nearly drove him unconscious.

Just then, Uncle Qin flicked his toe, sending a pebble flying from the cobblestone path. It struck the back of Runsheng’s head.

Runsheng snapped back to full awareness. But that clarity only brought the pain into sharper relief.

And so it continued. Each time Runsheng began to faint, Uncle Qin would rouse him with a pebble to the head.

As the training went on, a sizable patch of the cobblestone path had been worn away by Uncle Qin’s constant kicks.

This wasn’t training. This was top-tier torture.

Uncle Qin had said he’d rebuild Runsheng’s foundation—and he meant it literally.

By dusk, Aunt Liu returned from the other house. It was time to prepare dinner.

She glanced at Runsheng as she entered the courtyard.

Then she turned a look of incredulous accusation toward Uncle Qin.

He nodded.

Aunt Liu’s lips trembled slightly as she muttered under her breath—soft enough, she thought, for only Uncle Qin to hear. But the one inside the house had excellent hearing and caught every word.

“You’re insane. You actually drove the Locking Dragon Pillars into him. Aren’t you afraid of killing the boy?”

Uncle Qin’s lips twitched in return.

“This kid’s body is special. He won’t die.”

“Does Xiaoyuan know?”

“Xiaoyuan saw it all.”

Right then, Uncle Qin flicked another pebble. It struck the back of Runsheng’s head again, snapping him out of another fainting spell. He resumed his drills.

“Ali, you’re sowing discord with the Dragon King’s clan.”

“It was Runsheng who came to me. Said he was too slow. Asked if there was a faster method. I told him this one—and he agreed.

He said he wants to grow strong quickly. So he can protect Xiaoyuan.

You think something like this would work just because I forced it on him? Or because I keep waking him up?

It’s his own willpower and belief that are holding him together.”

“Ali, next time, talk it over with Xiaoyuan first.

The Matron’s tolerated Old Li’s nonsense because of Xiaoyuan. With the status he holds now, and his future with Ah Li, by tradition we ought to be kneeling and kowtowing when we meet him.”

“You’ve never walked the river, Ting. You don’t know.

Most of the time, just surviving to light the third lamp and mark the end of a journey down the river—that’s already a luxury.

Walking the river can get you killed.”

“You’d better go explain it to Xiaoyuan afterward.”

“I will. By the way, where’s that girl you brought?”

“I taught her how to make West Lake Vinegar Fish.

It’s infused with twelve kinds of poison.

I took one bite. She ate a whole plate.

She’s lying in the house now—her skin shifting through a dozen different colors.

I want her to fully experience what it feels like when poison runs rampant in your body. Once I’m done making dinner, I’ll go wake her and teach her how to detox.”

“And you told Xiaoyuan this beforehand?”

“No.”

“Then what are you doing lecturing me?”

“It’s different. That girl’s not as close to Xiaoyuan as Runsheng is.”

“Shame, really. Our two families don’t have enough people anymore. Not much room for you to show off.”

“Bah, get out of here.”

Aunt Liu went into the house. She sliced some fruit and brought it to Ah Li’s room.

Li Zhuiyuan was no longer sitting in the chair. He now stood beside Ah Li, watching her paint.

Aunt Liu set the fruit platter down and leaned against the doorframe, watching the golden boy and jade girl for a while.

Only when the sweet taste returned to her mouth did she confirm her sense of taste had finally come back—after that cursed bite of the vinegar fish.

Then she left the study and headed to the kitchen to cook.

Uncle Qin also arrived—but as a man, he couldn’t just walk in like Aunt Liu. He had just raised his hand to knock when the door opened from within.

“Uncle Qin.”

“Xiaoyuan, about Runsheng—”

Li Zhuiyuan smiled.

“I trust your expertise, Uncle Qin. And I trust in Runsheng’s talent and resolve.”

“Then there’s nothing to worry about.”

Uncle Qin turned and left. But instead of heading back to the courtyard, he stepped into the kitchen.

Aunt Liu glanced at him from behind the chopping board.

“You cleared things up with Xiaoyuan?”

“Mhm.”

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