Chapter 52: Moonlight Shines Bright on the Fields, the Youth

Linhu Village!

Lin Chen’s return to the village drew the attention of everyone.

Even the old village chief, upon hearing the news, hurried back to the Lin household to inquire.

When he learned Lin Chen had merely come home to practice martial arts, he finally relaxed.

After seeing off the old village chief, Lin Chen thought of the chief’s anxious expression earlier—he understood the chief’s thoughts.

He was now the entire village’s hope; the chief naturally didn’t want anything to happen to him.

Lin Mu was overjoyed to see her son return and prepared a full table of dishes that night—fish, meat, and she even had Lin Fu buy several pounds of beef.

“Chen’er, tell me about your time at the martial arts academy.”

At the dinner table, Lin Mu wore an expectant expression.

“What’s there to tell? You wouldn’t understand.” Lin Fu sipped his cloudy liquor: “Don’t tell her too much. She’s been bored since she stopped going under the old camphor tree—now if you tell her about the academy, she’ll chatter about it to the village women for days.”

“Lin Jiang, what’s that supposed to mean? What’s wrong with me chatting in the village?” Lin Mu slammed the table: “Do I do less housework?”

“That’s not what I meant, I—”

“What, what? Do you think I go chatting just to hear them praise me? Liang’s at marriageable age—I need to find out who has a good girl.”

Lin Chen, who usually stayed out of his parents’ bickering, quietly ate his meal, but at this he looked up and asked: “Aren’t you saying Brother’s got feelings for Er Ya?”

“Your brother never says anything. Ask him, he just says it’s too early, no rush.”

Mentioning this made Lin Mu’s voice turn mournful. The youngest was now training in martial arts—marriage wouldn’t come soon. The eldest was just as tight-lipped; ask him anything, he’d just smile.

“Big brother, you can’t wait any longer. If you really like Er Ya, you need to send a matchmaker to propose, arrange the dowry, set the date—it’ll take months, maybe half a year.” Lin Chen looked at his brother Lin Liang seriously.

“I really am not in a hurry,” Lin Liang shook his head.

Lin Chen frowned: “Big brother, you’re not thinking that marrying now would delay my training, are you?”

Aside from this possibility, Lin Chen couldn’t think of any other reason.

Thinking of this, Lin Chen’s expression turned serious: “Big brother, you really don’t need to think that way. I’m training at the academy now—they’ve given me Class-A student status. It’s not like the noble Zidi , but I still have enough silver to spend. The instructors value me, otherwise they wouldn’t allow me to train at home. The academy’s rules are strict—new students can’t stay outside for the first six months.”

He still had two or three years of training ahead. If his brother delayed marriage because of this, Lin Chen would feel guilty.

His brother was eighteen—early for marriage in his past life, but perfectly marriageable in this world.

Most importantly, his brother could wait—but Chen’s Er Ya might not.

Village girls were marriageable between sixteen and eighteen. Er Ya was the same age as his brother; the Chen family must be anxious too.

“Chen-di, are you serious?”

Lin Liang looked at his younger brother. He hadn’t admitted his feelings for Er Ya because he knew marriage and betrothal would cost money—money Lin Chen needed right now for his training.

“Would I lie to you, Big Brother?” Lin Chen smiled at his mother: “Mom, I think you should send a matchmaker to the Chen household to propose.”

“Fine, I’ll go tomorrow. After all, you’re a martial artist now—your words carry more weight than your mother’s. I asked your brother, and he wouldn’t say a word.”

As Lin Mu spoke, her voice turned wistful. Lin Liang hurried to explain: “Mom, I didn’t not say anything—I just… ah… I do like Er Ya.”

The clumsy elder brother finally blurted it out.

Lin Mu secretly rejoiced and gave Lin Chen a triumphant glance. Lin Chen gave his mother a thumbs-up.

Old ginger is the spiciest—no matter how hard he tried, Big Brother couldn’t escape his mother’s grasp.

…

…

After dinner, the sky darkened.

Lin Chen stepped out of his home—not to stroll like his mother, but toward the village’s fields.

The first move of Flying Swallow Technique, “Swallow Returns to Nest,” required a wide, flat area to fully unleash speed.

“Lightly touch the ground, channel Qi to the dantian, leap with the Qi!”

Lin Chen’s figure began leaping across the fields—starting with one leap of ten feet, like a frog, from one end to the other.

Back and forth, again and again!

One round, two rounds, three rounds…

He trained tirelessly into the deep night!

…

…

Two hours later, it was past midnight. Lin Chen finally stopped, glancing at the surrounding rice paddies. Under the moonlight, he saw many eels moving in the water.

Plop!

Lin Chen moved like lightning, darting through the paddies, catching several large eels, then wrapping them in his shirt before walking home.

“My night vision seems much sharper—is it because of the [Black to the End] title?”

Lin Chen summoned his panel:

[Black to the End: The cosmos is not yet decided—you and I are both dark horses. Wearing this title enhances martial cultivation insight and perception during the night.]

This “perception” must refer to the five senses.

Lin Chen listened intently, closed his eyes, and focused. A gentle night breeze stirred, slow and unhurried, carrying the fresh, cool scent of the fields as it swept through them.

This night breeze was utterly different from the one he felt in the academy courtyard.

The courtyard wind was constrained, predictable.

The field wind was natural, unrestrained.

Like a spirit, it spiraled upward, then plunged downward, causing the surrounding grasses, rice shoots, and even the entire field to dance in an indescribable rhythm.

Lin Chen stood bare-chested, letting the night wind brush his skin. His entire spirit was immersed in sensing the wind.

Ethereal as wind—formless, shapeless!

This was the essence of Clear Wind Palm!

Follow nature, harness momentum—this was the heart of Clear Wind Palm.

After a while!

Lin Chen set down the clothes he held, not even noticing the eels that had escaped and scurried onto the ground, and began practicing Clear Wind Palm.

One palm, then another!

Palm strikes howled, harmonizing with the night wind!

[Clear Wind Palm] +1

[Clear Wind Palm] +1

…

…

Huh!

Suddenly!

The night wind roared, and the rice shoots bent low.

Plop!

Lin Chen struck with a palm that cracked like a firecracker.

The insect chirps fell silent instantly.

Lin Chen opened his eyes and whispered: “Panel.”

[Name: Lin Chen]

[Profession: Martial Artist]

[Realm: Opening Meridians (2/24)]

[Clear Wind Palm: Minor Mastery (0/10)]

[Water Cloud Palm: Not Yet Entered (90/100)]

[Destiny: [Water Flows Naturally]: In martial cultivation, persistence, gradual progress, and unstoppable momentum eliminate all bottlenecks.]

[Martial Title: Black to the End]

[Black to the End: The cosmos is not yet decided—you and I are both dark horses. Wearing this title enhances martial cultivation insight and perception during the night.]

Clear Wind Palm reached Minor Mastery in one night!

“Coming home was the right choice. If I’d stayed in the academy courtyard, it would’ve taken ten days or more to reach Minor Mastery.”

Lin Chen grinned widely, delighted.

Then he looked down at the eels, now all gone from the shirt he’d wrapped them in, and smiled contentedly: “Since Clear Wind Palm reached Minor Mastery today, consider yourselves lucky—you witnessed my progress, and now you may rest in peace.”

Letting them go was impossible.

Though his current blood qi gained little from eating eels, even a mosquito’s leg is meat.

After a few minutes, Lin Chen recaptured the escaped eels, wrapped them again in his shirt, and hummed a tune as he walked home.

PS: Sorry for the late update!

(End of Chapter)