130. Zhang Patriot? Zhang People-Lover!

"Snap, snap, snap!!!"

There was no exaggerated explosive sound, only the noise of a wooden pillar snapping and the wooden human target falling to the ground.

"Quite useful."

Du Ruo ignored the destruction in the arena. He watched as the steel wire retracted, returning to its plain, unassuming bracelet form—the Coiling Dragon Wire—a look of satisfaction appearing on his face.

The resilience might have decreased, but it did not affect his control over it. Furthermore, the thinning of the wire greatly increased its cutting power and maneuverability, making it feel more responsive to his will.

Moreover, Du Ruo hadn't even used his full strength. He had a premonition that if he were to increase the infusion of "Qi," he might not even need the final manual tug; he should be able to slice through the wooden human target directly.

Du Ruo was delighted, but Chen Yanting, standing to the side, had seen enough to understand.

Du Ruo’s Coiling Dragon Wire wasn't just bought for display; he actually used it. Chen Yanting now understood why the previous one had been destroyed by Du Ruo. Looking at the solid wood pillar in the arena—though not very thick, it was sturdy and durable—he realized something.

Their blacksmith shop had forged so many weapons, yet they had never created a blade capable of severing that pillar in one strike. It seemed this wasn't a matter of their forging standards after all. As expected, one cannot judge a weapon solely by the blade; one must look at the person wielding it.

Today, Du Ruo had stood in one spot and managed to destroy it. If a person were standing in his place, wouldn't that mean that within a radius of ten meters, Du Ruo could take a life just by flicking his arm?

"As long as you are satisfied, Master Du, is there anything else you would like modified?"

Chen Yanting couldn't help but shiver at the thought of Du Ruo waving his arm and leaving a trail of carnage, but he quickly forced a smile and looked at Du Ruo.

"No, that’s all. Master Chen, we won’t disturb you any further. Farewell."

Du Ruo picked up on the polite hint that he was being ushered out. Since the item was exactly to his liking, he saw no point in staying and took his leave immediately.

"Very well, let me see you out. Next time, if you have any needs, Master Du, you don’t need to come yourself; just let Xiao Qi know."

Chen Yanting walked in front to lead the way, but he showed no intention of leaving contact details. He didn't say he would refuse to forge weapons for Du Ruo, but he clearly didn't want any direct connection with him.

"Grandpa, why didn't you ask him to stay longer?"

The grandson stood behind Chen Yanting, puzzled. Even he could tell that his grandfather had no intention of keeping their guest—a sharp contrast to the hospitable man he usually knew. Besides, Du Ruo was clearly an extraordinary expert, and he had hoped to seize the chance to communicate with him and see if he might be willing to teach him a few moves.

"Sigh, go tell your father to take more orders for kitchen knives, and we can take those online orders for decorative swords as well."

Chen Yanting waved his hand, ignoring his grandson's question. After giving these instructions, he turned and headed upstairs.

"Grandpa, will you teach me martial arts tomorrow? It’s been so long since we practiced together."

The grandson watched his grandfather’s retreating back and asked suddenly.

"All right. But tomorrow we won't practice basic skills; you will practice the White Crane Fist routines with me directly."

Chen Yanting paused, his voice sounding somewhat relieved, though his back appeared even more lonely. He had spent over a decade trying to convince his grandson, who had always practiced reluctantly. He hadn't expected that after just one meeting with Du Ruo, his grandson would want to learn martial arts proactively.

There was just one thing he didn't intend to tell his grandson: "I want to learn that kind of martial arts, too."

...

"Du Ruo, can I take a look?"

Xiang Yuanyuan watched Du Ruo eagerly. She had abandoned the passenger seat to sit in the back next to him. The silver-red glow she had seen when Du Ruo waved his arm had left her mesmerized.

It seemed that every time Du Ruo made a move, she was stunned. In the past, she wouldn't have asked such a question, but now that they were close, she couldn't suppress her curiosity.

"Here, take it. But be careful, don't press the dragon head."

Du Ruo smiled and handed the bracelet to Xiang Yuanyuan, adding a cautious reminder. After all, the Coiling Dragon Wire was a weapon, even if Chen Yanting had said that due to the increased length of the wire, it couldn't eject the dragon tail to cause as much damage as before.

That didn't mean it lacked lethality; it just meant the force had been reduced. At close range, the ejected dragon tail could still be quite dangerous.

"What happens if I press it?"

Du Ruo shouldn't have mentioned it. As soon as he did, Xiang Yuanyuan started searching for the dragon head. Of course, she was only joking; she wasn't foolish enough to court death after being warned.

"You can try it. Don't worry, with me here, you won't get hurt."

Du Ruo smiled in response.

"Then I’m going to try it."

Xiang Yuanyuan lowered her head, holding the dragon bracelet in both hands to locate the head. Once she found it, she glanced at Du Ruo, spoke, and pressed her finger down.

"Swish!"

After Xiang Yuanyuan pressed it, she saw nothing. She only felt a blur before her eyes, and then a hand appeared in front of her, the fingers pinching the tail of the Coiling Dragon Wire.

"Wow, what kind of speed is that? I didn't even react."

Xiang Yuanyuan wasn't surprised that the dragon tail had shot toward her; she was amazed by Du Ruo's speed.

Du Ruo was speechless. He loosened his fingers, let the tail drop, and stopped worrying about her, letting her play with it.

"Where are we going?"

Du Ruo looked at the receding scenery outside the window and asked Li Qiyao, who was driving. With the Coiling Dragon Wire in hand, he was in a great mood, but seeing the high-rise buildings becoming fewer and further between, he couldn't help but ask.

"Yuanyuan was complaining last night about wanting to go to an orchard to pick snow pears. I saw we had time today, and it’s on the way, so I decided to head there. I didn't tell you; you don't mind, do you?"

Li Qiyao drove, glancing at Du Ruo through the rearview mirror.

"Why would I mind? I didn't know what local specialties to bring back anyway, so this works out perfectly."

Du Ruo smiled and looked at Xiang Yuanyuan—or more accurately, at the Coiling Dragon Wire in her hands.

"Alright, stop looking. Give it back. Later, you have to help us pick more snow pears. When I get back, I’ll soak them in rice wine; it’ll definitely be delicious."

Seeing Du Ruo staring at the bracelet, Xiang Yuanyuan, who couldn't figure out how to play with it anyway, handed it back to him and began talking about snow pear wine. Looking at her expression, she seemed to already be imagining the taste, drooling slightly.

"You can't even eat it right now..."

Du Ruo put the bracelet back on his wrist and muttered under his breath.

"I’m soaking it in rice wine—it’s a low-alcohol fruit wine that we’ll drink in half a year!!!"

Xiang Yuanyuan rolled her eyes at Du Ruo, looking like an angry child.

...

The vehicle traveled further and further away. The surroundings shifted from tall buildings to low-rise houses, and soon vegetable fields and rice paddies appeared. Once they were completely away from the city, Li Qiyao pulled the car up in front of a low, flat building halfway up a mountain.

"We’re here! I came here to sketch before. The scenery is beautiful, and the snow pears from this orchard are their signature—so juicy! And the grandfather and grandmother who run the orchard are such kind people."

Li Qiyao stepped out of the car, shrugged her shoulders to breathe in deeply, and her eyes curved into crescents, looking very relaxed.

"Is this the only family living here?"

Xiang Yuanyuan stepped out and looked around, asking curiously.

"No, there are other farmers nearby and down the mountain. The orchard is quite large, so they always need people to help manage it. If we walk this way, we’ll reach the orchard; it’s really beautiful there."

Li Qiyao smiled as she explained and introduced the surroundings to Du Ruo and Xiang Yuanyuan.

"Qiqi, you’re here! Is this your friend? Come on in and sit down. Granny will get you some fruit."

As Li Qiyao was introducing the place, a woman of about sixty years old came out of the house. Seeing Li Qiyao, her face lit up, and she beckoned the three of them inside.

"Granny, I brought friends to buy some fruit to take back. We won’t sit for now. Where’s Grandpa?"

Li Qiyao took some milk out of the car and handed it to the grandmother.

"It’s enough that you came; no need to bring gifts. The old man is in the orchard. You can go pick some yourselves, and stay for dinner later; Granny will kill a chicken for you."

The grandmother’s smile was very kind, especially when she looked at Li Qiyao.

"Okay, then we’ll head over first."

Li Qiyao led Xiang Yuanyuan and Du Ruo toward the orchard.

"Grandpa and Grandma’s son works in the city. Usually, the old couple manages the orchard themselves. Whenever I felt down, I used to come here to spend half a day."

Li Qiyao walked in front along a small path with three distinct tire tracks—the tell-tale marks of an electric tricycle.

Du Ruo listened quietly, knowing full well why Li Qiyao had felt down.

"Mm-hmm, that’s all in the past now. Didn't you see? Granny looked so happy when she saw your smile just now."

Xiang Yuanyuan walked alongside Li Qiyao, comforting her softly before whispering something else.

"Okay, we’re here. Grandpa! I’m here to pick snow pears!"

After ten minutes of walking past several vegetable plots, Li Qiyao stopped. Before them lay an orchard with large pear trees hanging heavy with fruit.

Beside them sat an electric tricycle with two old people and a child inside. Li Qiyao trotted over to greet one of them.

Du Ruo followed behind Li Qiyao, but his eyes didn't linger on the old man Li Qiyao was greeting. Instead, they moved to an older man sitting next to him.

"Master Zhang, I didn't expect to see you here. I hope you’ve been well."

Du Ruo spoke first, his tone tinged with a smile. He hadn't expected that in such a vast world, he would bump into an acquaintance here.

In truth, they weren't really acquaintances—this man was Zhang Aiguo, whom Du Ruo had met a few times and traveled to the Philippines with. Du Ruo remembered that the man practiced "Xinyiba."

"Aimin, you know this young man? Qiqi, is this your friend? Come, here are the baskets. Pick whatever you want. Dongdong, take the big sister to pick some pears."

The old man, who was about to start the electric tricycle, looked at the old man sitting in the cargo bed smoking and asked a question. He then told the ten-year-old boy on the vehicle to take a basket and go pick pears with Li Qiyao.

"Uh, heh, yes, I know him."

Zhang Aiguo—no, he should be called Zhang Aimin—instinctively grabbed the hoe by his feet the moment Du Ruo spoke. He immediately let go, however, and nodded with an awkward, forced smile when the old man asked. His expression was not good.

Clearly, he hadn't expected to run into Du Ruo here.

"Mm, then Aimin, you take them around too. I’m going back to help the old woman kill a chicken. We’ll have a drink at noon."

The old man sat in the driver’s seat. Not noticing Zhang Aimin’s strange expression, he assumed they were just acquaintances. He didn't think much of it, let Zhang Aimin and his grandson Dongdong off, and began backing up to leave.

"Attention! Reversing! Please pay attention! Reversing!"

The old man didn't notice the tension between them; he backed the vehicle up and drove away.

Only Li Qiyao and Xiang Yuanyuan noticed that the relationship between Du Ruo and the old man, Zhang Aimin, seemed to be more than just a simple acquaintance.

"Dongdong, which trees have the best-tasting pears? Take the big sister to pick them. Boss Du, you two chat; we’ll go pick fruit first."

Li Qiyao whispered to the little boy, then took Xiang Yuanyuan and Dongdong deeper into the orchard, leaving the space to the two men.