Early the next morning, Song Yun habitually rose early and, after doing a few hundred squats and push-ups in the quadrangle courtyard he had bought since moving back to Sunan, heard a series of shouts coming from the neighboring courtyard.
Driven by curiosity, Song Yun set up a ladder and, leaning on the wall, peered into the next courtyard, only to find a girl in her early twenties practicing her boxing very meticulously.
The girl was clad in a tight white T-shirt and black sports pants, brimming with vitality. With her punching and kicking, her ample bosom trembled dramatically, leaving Song Yun, who was sneakily peering over the wall, stunned, fixating his gaze on her and pondering how he hadn't noticed such a pretty girl next door during his days back, for he would have surely gone to greet her given his personality.
But that wasn't all, Song Yun, with his keen eyes, noticed that the girl was practicing without wearing a bra, causing a small area of her chest soaked with sweat to cling to her body, nearly transparent. It is said that men are more fiery in the morning, and Song Yun was no exception; the sight of this enticing scene sent all his qi-blood rushing to his head.
"Who's there?" Mid-practice, the girl noticed a brick from the wall toppling over and sharply turned around to shout.
Caught in the act, Song Yun felt too embarrassed to pretend nothing had happened. Sitting astride the wall, he called out to the girl, "Hey, little sister, could you help me with the ladder?"
"Are you peeping at me?" The girl's delicate brows knitted tightly as she glared at Song Yun with disapproval.
"What do you mean peeping! Offering some pointers while watching you practice can't be called peeping," Song Yun said earnestly. "Besides, miss, do I look like a bad guy to you?"
Without waiting for her response, Song Yun quickly continued, "Of course not. If anything, a fine young man like me is a rare find in society these days."
"How can you be so shameless?" The girl grabbed a stick and pointed it at Song Yun, scolding, "Who are you, anyway? If you try to change the subject again, don't blame me for knocking you off with this stick."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Song Yun knew he was at fault and didn't want to leave a poor first impression on this beautiful girl, which would make it awkward to greet her in the future.
So, Song Yun put on a serious face and told the girl, "You were practicing Long Fist just now, but you haven't grasped the essence. You need to tense your upper body and focus your qi on your arms, feeling the flow of qi before releasing it explosively."
Initially, the girl had no intention of paying attention to Song Yun, but his advice seemed to make sense, so she tried it. To her surprise, a punch emitted a faint whooshing sound.
She was overjoyed and, when she looked up at Song Yun again, she felt that perhaps he wasn't a bad person and genuinely wanted to offer her some guidance.
"I'm sorry for the misunderstanding earlier. May I ask which school or sect you belong to, brother? I must visit you soon to express my respects," the girl said with utmost reverence, bowing to Song Yun.
This sweetened Song Yun's heart. Nowadays, people were too utilitarian; finding someone like this girl willing to admit mistakes and show respect was rare.
"My school is unremarkable. My home is just next door; feel free to drop by anytime," Song Yun said with a mischievous smirk, squeezing his eyebrows. As the saying goes: once a stranger, twice familiar, and with more visits, one may become a close friend or even share the intimacy of a family member… and who knows, perhaps during one of these visits, they might end up on the big bed in his house.
"Sure, brother, I suppose you haven't had breakfast yet. If you don't mind, wait for me to change, and I'll treat you to a meal," the girl said to Song Yun, her face full of anticipation.
Song Yun couldn't refuse; checking the time, he realized breakfast would be perfect before his meeting with his fiancée, so he agreed.
Moments later, there was a knock on the door. Song Yun opened it to find the girl changed into sportswear. He hadn't looked closely at her face on the wall, focusing only on her figure. Now, up close, Song Yun scrutinized her - a perfect oval face, big sparkly eyes, wheat-colored skin, and a curvaceous figure - a goddess-level beauty in anyone's eyes, even scoring a high ninety-five in his mind.
"Brother?"
Seeing Song Yun staring blankly, the girl blushed and waved her hand in front of him, whispering a call.
"Ah? No, no, let's go eat," Song Yun wished he could slap himself hard in the face. What a lecher he was – how couldn't he control himself? What if he frightened her into thinking he was a bad person?
On the way, Song Yun learned the girl's identity. Her name was Xiao Qing, the treasured daughter of the current head of He Xi Long Fist. She had been exposed to Long Fist from a young age, advancing rapidly, but recently hit a bottleneck and sneaked out, hoping to make a breakthrough.
Song Yun was familiar with He Xi Long Fist. Its heyday was during the Republic, and though it eventually declined due to a lack of successors, a starving camel was still bigger than a horse; He Xi Long Fist was more authentic compared to other Long Fist sects.
Watching Xiao Qing's innocent and carefree demeanor, Song Yun was happy to share all he knew about Long Fist, gleaned from his elder. Seeing her eyes widen in shock as she learned what Long Fist really was, he felt smug inside.
Sitting at a breakfast stall, as Song Yun was imparting knowledge to Xiao Qing, he saw a car violently heading toward the stall. With quick reflexes, he pulled Xiao Qing away, and they rolled to safety.
"Are you all right?" Song Yun looked down at Xiao Qing and asked.
"Brother, I'm fine, but your hand..." Xiao Qing murmured, her face flushed, eyes closed.
Song Yun saw his hand grasping Xiao Qing's chest and, shamelessly squeezing a few times, watching the shape of the flesh change in his hand before abruptly jumping up. His usual slick tongue nowhere to be found, he stuttered, "I'm... I'm so sorry, Xiao Qing. I didn't mean to…"
Xiao Qing stood up, dusted herself off, and looked down, too embarrassed to face Song Yun.
Song Yun felt a frustration rise within. Thankfully, it was just the two of them at the breakfast; if there had been more people, who knows how many could have been hurt.
He quickly walked over and yanked open the car door, a strong smell of blood wafting out. The driver ahead had a bullet hole in his forehead, clearly having been shot before crashing the car into the nearby breakfast stall.
In the back seat lay a woman in an OL outfit, her forehead streaming with fresh blood, unconscious.