Volume One: Youths Meet in Humble Times Chapter 81: The Bodyguard of the Future

Xu Kaijiang still sat dazedly on the ground, struggling to process the words spoken by Wan Kui and the others.

Shortly after Li Yu and his companions had left, Xu Kaijiang was burning gold and silver paper when several figures entered through the door. He looked up to see that it was Wan Kui’s group. He couldn’t fathom why they had come at such a time. Grieving for his mother’s passing, he had neither the energy nor the will to be alarmed or suspicious about their arrival.

His indifference, however, did not mean that Wan Kui’s group would let him off so easily. Xu Kaijiang hadn’t registered a single word they said until Wan Yanyan, unable to contain herself at the sight of his lifeless state, remarked coldly, “If I were your mother and saw my son become what you are now, I wouldn’t want to cling to life either. I’d rather die immediately.”

Her words pierced his ears, stirring doubt in his heart.

Though he knew little about medicine, he had noticed that after his mother took the medicine Li Yu gave her, her complexion had visibly improved, and she would occasionally regain consciousness, even if she never fully recovered. Yet this time, his mother had woken up so suddenly, her condition seemingly restored to what it once was in her healthier days—only to pass away just as abruptly, as if her brief recovery had been the final flare of a dying ember, spent in a last, desperate bid for life before extinguishing altogether.

He could not help but suspect something was amiss.

With bloodshot eyes, he demanded, “Explain yourself. What do you mean by that?”

Wan Yanyan was taken aback by the fierceness in his voice. When she regained her composure, she felt a wave of shame, but she pressed her advantage, sneering, “You really don’t know, do you? Your mother didn’t want to go on living. You kept her alive with medicine against her will. She resented you for it, hated you. Did you know? Because of you, she suffered pain she never should have endured.”

Zhang Yue had tried to restrain Wan Yanyan, to keep her from saying more, but was unable to stop her. Wan Kui, for his part, remained unmoved. Zhang Yue could only sigh inwardly, cursing Wan Yanyan’s foolishness. What good could come from making an enemy of Xu Kaijiang at such a moment? Could she not have shown some restraint?

What followed was the confrontation Li Yu’s group witnessed upon their return, when Xu Kaijiang, unable to contain himself, lashed out at Wan Kui’s group, only to be thrown out by Wan Kui himself.

Sitting on the ground, Xu Kaijiang wept softly, muttering to himself, “Did my mother truly not wish to stay with me? She was all I had left in this world. Did she really have to abandon me too?”

The four of them watched, each feeling a pang of sorrow. Li Yu, unable to bear it, crouched beside him and patted his back in comfort. “Don’t say that. A parent’s love for their child is deep and far-reaching. I believe she loved you just as much as you loved her. She simply wanted the right to decide her own fate. To her, choosing this path may have been the best decision.”

“But why couldn’t she stay with me? Am I to live alone in this world from now on?” Xu Kaijiang sobbed.

Li Yu could offer little consolation, so he asked, “Did your mother leave any words for you, or perhaps a letter? She might have written down what she wanted to say.”

At Li Yu’s prompting, Xu Kaijiang stumbled home as if awakening from a dream, searching everywhere. The day before, after simply preparing his mother’s body for burial, he had sat in a stupor, burning offerings like a walking corpse, with no thought to look for anything his mother might have left behind.

Only now did he realize, thanks to Li Yu’s reminder, that his mother would surely have left him a letter.

After searching her room to no avail, he hurried to his own, where he saw an envelope on the table. Fighting back tears, he opened it and read every word, his vision blurred by tears that fell onto the page, smearing the ink.

Li Yu and the others stood at the door, watching as Xu Kaijiang clutched the letter to his chest, sobbing uncontrollably. Their hearts ached for him. Yet this was something no one else could help with. Human sorrow and joy are never truly shared; each person must bear their own joy and grief. Now, only Xu Kaijiang’s own tears could bring him solace.

Unnoticed, dusk had fallen. The Shen family, guessing that the Shen siblings hadn’t returned home because they were at Xu Kaijiang’s house, brought food over.

Madam Shen looked at the Xu family home with a heavy heart, recalling how happy the family once was. Now only the sole son remained, the once warm and joyful house turned cold and desolate. She looked at Xu’s mother, simply laid out in the center of the main hall with a modest altar and no mourners, and could not help but sigh.

She called the young people over to eat, lit incense for Xu’s mother, and, seeing the frail and tear-stained Xu Kaijiang, her eyes reddened as she said, “If there’s no food at home, come eat at our place. There’s always a meal for you. If you need anything, come find your uncle at our house. We’ll help however we can, you hear me? You must take care of yourself, even if you’re alone.”

Xu Kaijiang’s vision blurred with tears as he nodded his gratitude, and, with Li Yu’s gentle encouragement, managed to eat a little.

The affairs of the Xu family could not be settled in a day or two. Li Yu suggested the others head home first. Madam Shen left with her siblings. Lu Ming wanted to stay with Li Yu, but Li Yu felt it was unfair to keep him occupied with these matters for a whole day, especially as Lu Ming had his own business in Tianmen Town. He urged him to leave as well.

Lu Ming, realizing this, took his leave. He too had spent the entire day here and it was time to return and see to his own affairs.

Once everyone had gone, Li Yu helped Xu Kaijiang tidy up, and when they finished, the two of them returned to the mourning hall.

While burning offerings, Xu Kaijiang said to Li Yu, “Do you know what my mother wrote to me in her letter?”

Not quite understanding why Xu Kaijiang was asking, Li Yu nevertheless replied, “She probably told you why she made this choice—so as not to burden you.”

“There’s more,” Xu Kaijiang said. “She also wrote that she sensed those people harbored ill intentions. If possible, I should not join their sect. And she told me about her origins.”

“Her origins?” Li Yu was surprised. He had never imagined Xu’s mother had such a background. As he recalled her manner and bearing, he realized how unlike a common woman she had been. Every gesture and word had a certain grace and composure—though at the time he hadn’t thought much of it, being unfamiliar with the family.

“My mother said she was from a reclusive family. Because of internal strife, she fled alone and eventually settled here in Tianmen Town, marrying my father. She wrote that her years here were the happiest of her life. Only now do I understand why her health was so frail, why she fell gravely ill after my father’s death—it was the hidden injuries she sustained while fleeing her family. Old wounds and overwhelming grief left her with no strength to carry on. She said that joining my father now was her own choice, and she asked me not to blame her, but to live well.”

Li Yu fell silent. Her story mirrored his own—he too had escaped from the Li family. All they ever wanted was a simple, happy life, not power or influence, but fate had not been kind, and life rarely grants what one wishes.

Then he heard Xu Kaijiang say, “My mother also left me a cultivation method. I want to give it to you—do you want it?”

“What?” Li Yu was puzzled.

Xu Kaijiang explained, “My mother left me a cultivation technique, a secret passed down in her family. She never expected that I’d one day be alone, so she hadn’t intended for me to embark on the path of cultivation. But given the circumstances, she hoped I could protect myself, so she left it for me.”

Li Yu couldn’t help but laugh. “Are you serious?”

Xu Kaijiang replied earnestly, “Of course. In Tianmen Town, you’re the only friend I have. You’ve helped me so much. This is the only thing I have to repay you. I have nothing else.”

Seeing that Xu Kaijiang was not joking, Li Yu sobered and said, “I didn’t help you to get anything in return. I just felt we were alike, so I wanted to help. You shouldn’t feel indebted. Besides, this is something your mother left you. You shouldn’t show it to outsiders. Family secrets like this are passed down by blood. You’re her son, so it’s yours by right. But if you give it to me, it would be a betrayal of her family’s rules.”

Xu Kaijiang muttered, “She was cast out of that family. Even if she were alive, I doubt she’d care.”

“Perhaps, but it’s not for you to decide on her behalf. I know you want to thank me, but not this way. If you really want to repay me, just get stronger. You can be my bodyguard someday, all right?” Li Yu said, half joking, half serious.

Xu Kaijiang looked at Li Yu, whose eyes shone with gentle warmth, calm and serene, reminiscent of those peaceful, harmonious days of old. He smiled slowly and answered, “All right, I’ll be your bodyguard from now on.”

Li Yu, still curious, asked, “What’s the name of the technique your mother left you?”

“It’s called The Longevity Canon.”

Li Yu repeated the name to himself, then solemnly said, “You’d better keep that method well hidden. Judging by the name, it’s likely a powerful cultivation art. You know the saying, ‘An innocent man gets into trouble for his treasures.’ Let’s keep our good fortune quiet, shall we?”

Xu Kaijiang smiled at Li Yu and replied, “I understand. Don’t worry.”