124. The White Crane Sect, “Unchallenged from South to North”

"How about this, Mom? I think it would be better to just have a proper vacation all at once. Let's go to all three places: first to Beijing to see the flag-raising ceremony and climb the Great Wall, then to the grasslands to ride horses and eat roasted whole lamb, and finally to the seaside for a holiday. We could even rent a yacht to go out on the water. If you're still not satisfied, we can visit other places too. No need to rush; just take it slow. You could travel for months, and maybe even head north to see the snow later."

Du Ruo took the initiative to plan it out for his parents. He wasn't a professional, of course, just throwing out some random suggestions.

"How much would that cost? I should ask your sister."

His mother was clearly tempted, but having spent her whole life worrying about her children, she felt a bit hesitant and reluctant to spend the money now that he suddenly suggested a trip.

"Why bother asking my sister? Mom, I'll sponsor you two hundred thousand. Just go and have a good time. Find a decent travel agency and let them arrange the itinerary. There are plenty of agencies in town; you can have my sister handle that part."

Du Ruo was a man of action. He set down his chopsticks, pulled out his phone, and transferred two hundred thousand to his mother's bank account.

"So much money? This..."

Looking at the transfer notification on her phone, his mother was at a loss for words and turned to look at his father.

"Ahem, son, how is the guesthouse doing? Is it profitable?"

His father didn't refuse the money, but instead asked about the status of Du Ruo's business.

"It's doing very well. We’re fully booked every day. In the peak season, the monthly revenue is around one or two hundred thousand."

Du Ruo didn't elaborate. Of course, that figure wasn't pure profit—it was just gross revenue—and after deducting various expenses, it would shrink by more than half.

"That's good then. I'll go tell the village tomorrow. Dear, you go talk to Na later, and we’ll head out on this trip in a few days."

His father made the decision immediately. Having worked hard his whole life, and with his children now having their own careers, he felt he had no more burdens to worry about in his old age.

"But we really don't need this much money."

His mother looked at the transfer on her phone, still feeling hesitant about spending it.

"Don't we still have some savings? That should be enough for the trip. As for this money, just keep it. If our son ever needs it in an emergency, we can provide a safety net."

Once his father made up his mind, he wouldn't change it. He said this for his wife, but in reality, he was saying it for Du Ruo.

"Alright then, I'll go ask Na now."

His mother beamed with joy, took her phone, and went to the side to make a call.

They had a very happy dinner, and his father even had a rare drink.

Du Ruo was happy too. He was glad he had moved back home. When he lived far away, his parents never knew how he was doing and constantly worried about him. Now, he was relieved; they could see for themselves that he was living well. He was relaxed every day, and thanks to his martial arts training, he looked sturdier and had a healthy appetite. He even traveled occasionally. The guesthouse was always packed, and he could easily take out two hundred thousand, so they knew his livelihood was secure. That was why they felt at ease, and why his mother wanted to go out and see the world while she was still able.

His parents moved much faster than Du Ruo had expected. They discussed it with his sister, Du Na, that night, and she came home the next day. After learning the details, she was very happy and helped suggest several plans.

In the end, his parents decided not to go for such a long time all at once. They would first go to Beijing to see Tiananmen Square and plan the rest later. As for the itinerary, it would be handled by one of his sister's friends who worked as a tour guide in town.

"Little brother, I heard from my friend that there are a lot of wild mushrooms in the mountains lately. Why don't you go up and help me pick some? I hear they're delicious; my feed is full of videos of people eating them."

His sister, Du Na, having finished planning with their mother, came to sit beside Du Ruo while snacking on melon seeds, chatting idly.

"Don't! Sis, don't go picking mushrooms randomly."

Du Ruo's hand shook at the mention. The miserable state of Yang Chenguang after eating them was still fresh in his mind. He was fine because he had likely avoided the highly toxic ones, but he wouldn't dare let his sister try her luck.

"Sis, don't watch those videos. People say it's fun to see 'little people' (hallucinations), but if you're not careful, it can be fatal. Besides, if you get poisoned, it's a huge waste of money and a painful experience. It's not worth the suffering."

"Oh, really? Tsk, that's a shame. I really wanted to try them."

Du Na smacked her lips. She was genuinely tempted. The mushrooms bought in the market weren't wild, and the taste was far different from what the videos claimed. Since they didn't often eat mushrooms here, the available varieties were very limited.

"If you want to try them, go to Yunnan. Eat them at a restaurant there; it's safe and reliable. If worst comes to worst, you can even eat them right outside the hospital so you don't have to worry about poisoning. My classmate and his uncle picked some mushrooms yesterday, and both ended up poisoned."

Du Ruo said this with a blank expression, pulling Yang Chenguang out as an example, though he kept quiet about the fact that he had eaten them too.

"Go to Yunnan? Alright, little brother, I'm off. Mom, I'm heading back now!"

Du Na's eyes lit up at the suggestion. She said goodbye to Du Ruo and their mother, then grabbed her bag and drove away. It seemed she had her own plans.

Du Ruo wasn't very interested in their arrangements, nor did he plan to join them. It was a rare trip for his parents, and they should have fun on their own; his presence might actually make them less relaxed.

The next morning, just as Du Ruo woke up, his parents were already heading out with their luggage.

Once he finished the breakfast his mother had left and locked the door, Du Ruo headed to the guesthouse.

With Yang Ling and a summer intern helping out, his workload was significantly reduced, leaving him with nothing to do for a moment.

He hadn't felt it while living alone in the city, but back home, he found it hard to be by himself. After thinking it over, he packed a few things and headed to Yang Chenguang's house.

"You're here..."

Yang Chenguang greeted him listlessly, lying on the sofa. His parents were likely out in the tea garden. His wife saw Du Ruo enter and got up to slice some fruit. Only his wife and two sons were in the living room, watching a cartoon.

"How are you feeling? Can you still see question marks floating over my head?"

Du Ruo put his things down and sat on the sofa.

"Don't even mention it. I feel lightheaded, even worse than a hangover."

Yang Chenguang held his head and shouted to his two sons, "You two, turn off the TV and go play upstairs! It's too noisy!"

"Have some fruit..."

His wife placed the fruit in front of Du Ruo and then sat down beside Yang Chenguang, complaining, "You guys, really. With so much food available, why did you have to eat those mushrooms? Look what happened. If you hadn't been rushed to the hospital in time, you'd still be lying there."

"I was just thinking, if they weren't poisonous, I'd pick some more for you all to try. It must have been that reddish mushroom that was toxic. There were only two of those, and my uncle wasn't sure about them either. I'm sure it was those two. I'll know for next time. Once I'm better, I'll go pick some more. Want to come, Du Ruo?"

Yang Chenguang held his head, still feeling unwilling to give up.

"Ouch! Why are you pinching me?"

Before Du Ruo could speak, Yang Chenguang was pinched by his wife.

"No, I'm heading out. Tomorrow—no, I'm leaving shortly. If you really want to try some, my sister is planning to go to Yunnan. I'll ask her to mail some back."

Du Ruo shook his head quickly. He couldn't discuss this here. Besides, the reason he hadn't been poisoned wasn't because he avoided the toxic ones, but because his physique was abnormal—he had essentially neutralized or absorbed the toxins.

He decided to leave immediately; this wasn't a place to linger.

"Alright then."

Yang Chenguang looked discouraged and slumped on the sofa, not wanting to move.

"I'm off, bye. Shasha, don't bother seeing me out. You should take care of him."

Du Ruo didn't even drink the tea; he got up and left.

Back at the guesthouse, he called Li Qiyao and asked her to send him a location. He decided to leave right away and take his "Dragon-Coiled Silk" with him.

There were no direct high-speed trains or flights from Huangshan to Longquan, and tickets were hard to get during the summer holidays. Not wanting to deal with the hassle of transfers, he decided to drive.

There wasn't much to arrange. He called his sister, Du Na, to tell her he was going on a trip.

"You're leaving so fast? I wanted you to help watch the shop for a few days. Oh well, go have fun. I'm waiting for your brother-in-law to settle some things; it might be a few days before we can set off."

Hearing that he had already left, his sister complained, but she didn't say much more and hung up shortly after.

"Whew, glad I left quickly."

Du Ruo put his phone aside and started driving.

The drive from Huangshan to Longquan didn't take too long. He didn't even stop for lunch and arrived near Li Qiyao's house in the afternoon.

He didn't want to trouble her, so he checked into a nice hotel.

Having arranged to visit the master blacksmith with Li Qiyao the next day, he spent the rest of the day exploring the local attractions.

Longquan had a decent tourism scene. Du Ruo looked around, though the local food wasn't quite to his taste.

The next morning, Li Qiyao called him; she and Xiang Yuanyuan were already downstairs at his hotel.

"You're here so early."

Du Ruo didn't drive his own car; he hopped into Li Qiyao's Volkswagen and asked.

"Not that early. My cousin really wanted to come, but she had to go to the hospital, so she didn't make it."

Li Qiyao explained as she started the car.

"Your cousin? What happened to her?"

Du Ruo thought his training hadn't worked and she had gotten hurt again.

"She's fine. She stepped on her husband's toe and broke it, so he's in the hospital. She had to go check on him."

Li Qiyao laughed as she spoke. Du Ruo's mouth twitched; it seemed he didn't need to worry. The moves he had taught her were very effective.

"Du Ruo, didn't you say you'd come later? It's only been a few days."

Xiang Yuanyuan, sitting in the passenger seat, spoke up. She had been having a decent time, but it was getting boring, and she had been thinking about leaving. Seeing Du Ruo arrive, she couldn't help but want to stay a few days longer.

"I had no choice. It became unbearable at home..."

Du Ruo recounted the story of Yang Chenguang.

It left both women speechless, and they were thankful they weren't there, otherwise, Du Ruo would have invited them to eat, and they would have ended up in the hospital too.

As they chatted, the car drove toward the ancient town. They didn't stop in the center, but pulled up in a more secluded area in front of a two-story building.

It wasn't very large and looked quite modern. The first floor sounded like a small machine shop, with various mechanical noises clattering away—nothing like the blacksmith shop Du Ruo had imagined.

"This is it. Most of the processing happens in the factory on the first floor. The second floor is the office, and there's a courtyard in the back with the original blacksmith shop and a room for testing swords."

Li Qiyao parked the car and gave Du Ruo a brief introduction.

"Welcome, welcome! You must be Master Du Ruo. I've heard about you from Xiao Qi; I've long admired your reputation."

As they walked from the parking lot to the entrance, a hearty laugh rang out, and an old man walked out to meet them from a distance.

"This is Grandpa Chen Yanting, the one who crafted the Dragon-Coiled Silk. He doesn't do much hands-on work these days. Grandpa, we've come to visit you."

Li Qiyao whispered an introduction in Du Ruo's ear, then took a few quick steps to help Chen Yanting.

"Master Chen, it's an honor to meet you. I owe you a lot for the crafting of the Dragon-Coiled Silk last time. I'm sorry to bother you again with this visit."

Since the man was so polite, Du Ruo responded with equal courtesy, handing over two bottles of fine liquor.

"You're too kind, too kind..."

Chen Yanting chuckled, looking Du Ruo up and down. He had been planning to go out for a stroll, but he hadn't expected Du Ruo to come to him.

Li Qiyao had told him how Du Ruo used the Dragon-Coiled Silk, which made him very curious about the young man; he didn't dare judge him by his age anymore.

He was quite robust for someone in his seventies, looking more like he was in his sixties. When they shook hands, Du Ruo could clearly feel the strength in his palms.

Chen Yanting led Du Ruo to the office on the second floor. Instead of letting anyone else make the tea, he did it himself, chatting as he brewed.

"Come to think of it, our Chen family used to practice martial arts, but due to certain events, we changed professions to become blacksmiths."

"Oh? May I ask what school of Southern martial arts the Chen family practiced?"

Du Ruo asked as he sipped the tea. Chen Yanting was fit, and even in his seventies, his muscles were prominent. While this could be attributed to the blacksmith profession, Du Ruo could tell it wasn't the result of Northern martial arts, which didn't typically build this kind of physique.

"White Crane Fist. Have you heard of it, Master Du?"

Chen Yanting mentioned it casually and lifted his tea to drink.

"The Chen family? The White Crane School's Chen family, who were undefeated from the South to the North?"

Du Ruo was surprised; he hadn't expected to encounter a legendary school.

"Pfft—*cough, cough*—no, no! Our Chen family doesn't belong to the White Crane School."

Chen Yanting sprayed the tea he had just sipped, and without bothering to wipe his mouth, he waved his arms frantically, denying it three times in a row.