Lían nodded.
"Then I'll tell Mother about it."
Wa Shi nodded.
Lían glanced toward the four movement techniques still lying on the table.
"Also..."
He hesitated.
"Since I'll be staying here for the time being..."
"Can I keep all four techniques?"
Wa Shi raised an eyebrow.
"All four?"
Lían nodded.
"I'll return them tomorrow."
"I just want to go through them once more before deciding how I want to practice."
Wa Shi stared at him for a moment.
Then—
he sighed.
"If you're planning to copy them..."
Lían blinked.
"Copy them?"
Wa Shi looked at him.
"You aren't?"
"No."
Lían shook his head.
"I didn't even think of that."
Wa Shi stared.
Lían scratched his cheek.
"What would I do after copying them anyway?"
He glanced at the books.
"Keep them?"
"Or sell them?"
He paused.
"Who would I even sell them to?"
Silence.
Wa Shi's expression became complicated.
Lían continued.
"And if I sold them..."
"Wouldn't that cause trouble?"
Wa Shi rubbed his forehead.
*This child...*
For a moment—
he wondered whether Lían was genuinely this straightforward.
Then—
he sighed again.
"Forget it."
He waved his hand.
"You can take them."
Lían's eyes brightened.
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Just return them tomorrow."
Lían immediately nodded.
"Thank you, Village Head."
He carefully gathered the four books.
Inside—
his thoughts remained calm.
*I don't need to copy them.*
*I just need to make sure I don't forget what I read.*
He glanced at the titles once more.
*Flowing River Steps is the one I'll actually practice.*
*But understanding the others might still be useful.*
Lían placed the books together.
He was about to stand—
when Wa Shi suddenly spoke.
"Lían."
Lían looked up.
"Hmm?"
"There is something else I want to discuss with you."
Lían paused.
"What is it?"
Wa Shi remained silent for a few breaths.
Then—
his expression became strangely serious.
"What do you think about my granddaughter?"
Lían blinked.
"...Your granddaughter?"
"Xu Mei?"
Wa Shi nodded.
Lían stared at him in confusion.
"What do I think about her?"
He tilted his head.
"I don't understand."
Wa Shi took a slow breath.
"What I mean is..."
He looked directly at Lían.
"I would like to arrange an engagement between the two of you."
Silence.
Lían froze.
His face slowly turned red.
"...What?"
Wa Shi remained completely calm.
"An engagement."
Lían stared at him.
"Me and Xu Mei?"
"Yes."
Lían's mouth opened slightly.
For several moments—
he didn't know what to say.
Wa Shi continued.
"I spoke with your mother."
"She told me that you reached the age of ten last year."
Lían's face became even redder.
Wa Shi continued as though he hadn't noticed.
"Xu Mei is only eight."
"You're both still young."
"So I thought..."
He paused.
"It wouldn't be unreasonable to arrange the matter early."
Lían stared at him.
Inside—
his mind was completely blank.
*An engagement?*
*Me?*
*With Xu Mei?*
His expression became increasingly awkward.
Wa Shi calmly continued.
"Of course, I'm not asking you to marry her now."
"It would only be an agreement between the two families."
"When you are older..."
"You can decide how you feel about one another."
Lían remained frozen.
Then—
he finally managed to speak.
"Village Head..."
"Isn't this a little too sudden?"
Wa Shi smiled faintly.
"Perhaps."
"But think about it."
"Your mother and I have known each other for years."
"And you and Mei have also known each other since childhood."
Lían's face twitched.
*Known each other?*
He remembered Xu Mei.
She was only eight.
And—
he only remembered meeting her when he started coming here and never once considered something like this.
Wa Shi leaned back.
"There is another reason."
Lían's expression became slightly more serious.
"What reason?"
Wa Shi's gaze sharpened.
"You now possess a Spiritual Physique."
"And your cultivation has advanced remarkably quickly."
"You have a mysterious master behind you."
"Your future..."
He paused.
"...is difficult to predict."
Lían's eyes narrowed slightly.
*There it is.*
He immediately understood.
*So this isn't only about Xu Mei.*
Wa Shi was thinking about the future.
He wasn't merely trying to arrange a marriage between two children.
He was trying to establish a connection with Lían.
A connection that could become valuable if Lían continued growing.
Lían looked at the old man.
Wa Shi's expression remained calm.
But—
there was no hiding the calculation in his eyes.
Lían sighed inwardly.
*Old bastard.*
*You really are thinking several steps ahead.*
Wa Shi smiled.
"So?"
"What do you think?"
Lían's face remained red.
He looked down at the four books in his arms.
Then—
he muttered.
"...Can I think about it first?"
Wa Shi chuckled.
"Of course."
"I'm not forcing you to decide today."
Lían quietly nodded.
"Good."
He stood.
"Then I'll go tell Mother about staying here."
Wa Shi nodded.
"Go."
Lían turned toward the door.
Just before leaving—
Wa Shi added casually,
"And Lían."
Lían stopped.
He looked back.
"Don't worry."
"Mei doesn't know anything about this yet."
Lían's face instantly became even redder.
"...That's somehow worse."
Wa Shi laughed.
Lían quickly walked out of the room.
Behind him—
Wa Shi's smile slowly faded.
His gaze settled upon the closed door.
*That child...*
*His future may truly be extraordinary.*
*Perhaps forming this connection now isn't a bad idea.*
Outside the room—
Lían walked down the hallway with the four techniques held tightly against his chest.
His expression was completely awkward.
*An engagement...*
He shook his head.
*I'll deal with that later.*
*For now...*
*I need to tell Mother we're staying here.*
He continued walking.
Then—
he suddenly stopped.
Someone was standing ahead.
A young girl was walking toward him.
The moment their eyes met—
Lían froze.
The girl also stopped.
She stared at him for several seconds.
Then—
her eyes widened.
"Huh?"
"Lían?"
Lían remained silent.
He hadn't expected to run into her this quickly.
Mei tilted her head.
"Is that really you?"
Lían finally nodded.
"Yes."
"It's me."
Mei stared at him.
Then—
a small smile appeared on her face.
"It's been a long time, hasn't it?"
Lían nodded awkwardly.
"Yeah."
Mei stepped closer.
Her gaze immediately traveled over him.
His clothes.
His posture.
And especially—
his hair.
Several strands had grown long enough to cover most of his face.
Mei blinked.
"What happened to you?"
Lían touched his hair.
"Hmm?"
"You look completely different."
She stared at him again.
"If I didn't already know you were here..."
"I probably wouldn't have recognized you."
Lían scratched his cheek.
"I didn't really have time to do anything about it."
Mei laughed softly.
"Clearly."
She looked at his hair again.
"You look like you're hiding behind a curtain."
Lían sighed.
"I'll cut it eventually."
Mei smiled.
"Eventually?"
"How long is that supposed to be?"
"I don't know."
Lían smiled faintly.
Then—
Mei suddenly remembered something.
"Oh, right."
"I heard from Grandma that you were with Grandpa."
Lían nodded.
"Yeah."
"I was just with him."
Mei pointed farther down the corridor.
"I was actually going to see him."
"So that's why you're here?"
"Yes."
She nodded.
"I wanted to ask him something."
Then—
her expression became curious.
"But I didn't expect to run into you."
Lían smiled awkwardly.
"Neither did I."
Mei stared at him for another moment.
Then—
she suddenly grinned.
"Actually..."
"Everyone has been talking about you."
Lían sighed.
"Yeah."
"I've noticed."
Mei laughed.
"Of course."
"You disappear for so long..."
"Then suddenly come back by emerging from a giant clam in front of the entire village."
She spread her hands.
"What did you expect?"
Lían's expression became awkward.
"I didn't exactly plan for everyone to see me."
Mei laughed again.
"That's not the point."
"When something like that happens in the middle of the village..."
"Of course everyone is going to talk about it."
Lían glanced away.
"I know."
Mei continued.
"I've heard so many different versions already."
"Some people say you were trapped inside the clam."
"Others say you were cultivating inside it."
"And someone even said you defeated a giant demon beast by yourself."
Lían's mouth twitched.
"People really like making things up."
Mei shrugged.
"That's what rumors do."
She looked at him again.
"But..."
Her expression became thoughtful.
"It seems like your cultivation has increased too."
Lían paused.
Mei narrowed her eyes.
"I can't tell what level you're at."
She looked him up and down.
"But..."
"You definitely feel different."
Lían smiled.
"You can sense that?"
"A little."
Mei tilted her head.
"I'm not strong enough to tell exactly."
"But you're definitely not the same Lían who left."
Lían smiled faintly.
"I've improved a little."
Mei stared at him.
"A little?"
She laughed.
"That's what everyone says when they've gotten much stronger."
Lían scratched his cheek.
"Maybe."
Mei shook her head.
"You're really strange."
Then—
she suddenly remembered why she had been walking down the corridor.
"Oh."
"I should go find Grandpa."
She stepped past him.
Then—
she stopped.
Looking back—
she smiled.
"It's good to see you again, Lían."
Lían nodded.
"You too."
Mei continued down the corridor.
Lían watched her disappear around the corner.
For a brief moment—
his expression became thoughtful.
Then—
he remembered Wa Shi's words.
His face immediately turned red again.
"...Engagement."
He quickly shook his head.
"No."
"Don't think about it."
He tightened his grip around the technique manuals.
"I'll just pretend that conversation never happened."
Then—
he continued toward his mother's room.