Consciousness flickered between clarity and chaos in the darkness.
Faintly, it seemed that Lu Hongti had carried him, moving swiftly through the mountain woods. A soft sensation.
"How did you find me...?"
"Do you think I wouldn't? How else did I find your house? I sprinkled tracking powder on you. My Xiaoqing can follow your trail. If you ever betray me... But this time, you went too far…"
"If I'd known, I wouldn't have pushed myself so hard…"
"What?"
The flames crackled, casting a yellow glow over the surrounding chaos. The roof tiles above were broken, and a decrepit, crumbling statue loomed overhead. Lu Hongti crouched beside him, swiftly unwrapping the bandages on his left hand. She brought out some medicine and a water gourd, expertly tending to the burns on his left arm. The flickering light illuminated her focused profile.
"I... I need paper, ink, and a brush. I have to write a letter... Send it to Jiangning City, to my family... Otherwise, they'll start searching for me. It's best if they don't…"
"You're thinking about this now?"
"There's a friend... Nie Yunzhu. She lives... in that two-story building over there with her maid. She looks like... Please check if she's alright…"
"Got it."
"There are two people—two people who need to be killed. They're in... a courtyard near Xinlinpu. One's called Xiao Si…"
"Good people or bad people?"
"They're planning to harm my friend…"
"You sure do have a lot of issues."
His consciousness faded again. When he woke, Lu Hongti had brought some writing tools. His left hand had been rebandaged. She seemed reluctant to wake him, but when she noticed he was awake, she helped him sit up, placing the brush in his right hand.
"Can you still write?"
"Barely..."
"I underestimated you before…"
"I had no choice... Is my left hand... ruined?"
"If it weren't for me, it might've been."
"Oh, thanks…"
"What exactly happened earlier…?"
"...Ran into a lunatic."
"Sleep. I'll be back later."
Her figure vanished with the wind.
What happened the rest of that night remained unclear. Having shared everything weighing on his mind, an overwhelming exhaustion swept over him like a crashing wave, leaving him utterly spent.
By the time he woke the next morning, his body still ached. He felt so drained it was hard to even move. Birds chirped melodiously as morning light streamed through the broken roof.
Eventually, he forced himself to sit up. His chest, shoulder, and left hand were wrapped in fresh bandages, and his clothes had been changed. The ones he wore now, found in the boat house, were far too big for him but free of blood.
He realized he was in a dilapidated mountain temple. Stepping outside, he saw Lu Hongti practicing martial arts in the forest nearby. Dressed in black, her skirt fluttered in the morning light. Each strike she executed carried the brutal intensity of battlefield combat. There was a blend of beauty and savagery in her movements—swift, powerful, and unyielding.
Ning Yi quietly sat on the temple's steps, watching.
After a while, Lu Hongti finished her practice, standing still to regulate her breathing. She turned to look at him, observing for a long moment.
"Alright, I've changed my mind."
"Hmm?"
"You do seem like someone who could use some martial arts skills—and your temperament is suitable."
"Ha." Ning Yi chuckled. "That's the best thing I've heard these past few days."
"There's a style I can teach you. It won't make you a top-tier fighter, but it'll be enough to protect yourself. I interrogated that Xiao Si and his accomplices, then retraced your path..."
She shook her head and smiled. "You gave me quite a scare."
"Cornered rabbits bite."
"I've handled everything you mentioned. Your family was frantic last night. That little maid of yours was so worried she couldn't stop jumping around. But she's good—panicked but didn't cry. Instead, she directed the household staff to take action and start searching. I left the letter where she could find it. As soon as she saw it, she burst into tears, ran off to report to your wife, and even tripped on the way. As for Nie Yunzhu, she's fine. When I checked, she was sound asleep."
Ning Yi had written in his letter that he'd left to help a friend with an urgent matter and would be away for a few days. Knowing the letter had reached its destination brought him some peace of mind. Nie Yunzhu's safety was also a relief. As for Xiao Si and his lot, their fate no longer mattered.
After sitting together on the steps for a while, Lu Hongti said, "I'll go make some porridge."
She seemed to have stayed at this temple before. There was an old pot, and she'd brought along a travel bag, likely left in Jiangning for emergencies. Now, she'd retrieved it.
After breakfast, as they sat in the temple, Lu Hongti spoke, "Martial arts, once truly mastered, can become hard to resist using to solve problems. When it becomes a tool for handling everything, a certain aggressiveness follows. For us, it's unavoidable. But for you, it's different. Unless facing an enemy, it's better not to resort to violence. You're educated and resilient. I need you to promise me you'll understand when it's truly necessary to act."
Ning Yi thought for a moment. "I dislike resolving issues with personal violence. I promise you."
Lu Hongti nodded. "Good. Let's start training later."
Ning Yi lifted his left hand slightly. "Can I even train like this? I'm completely drained—I'm a wounded man."
Lu Hongti chuckled softly. "I'll teach you some basics first. Memorize them in your mind, or jot them down if you have the strength. Either way, you can only start practicing when you get back."
"Do I need to kowtow and formally acknowledge you as my master?"
"No need. After all, what I'm teaching you is just second-rate martial arts." Lu Hongti thought for a moment. "In the afternoon, let's continue talking about Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils. Best if we can finish it during these days."
"Heh, alright."
For the days that followed, the two of them stayed in that dilapidated temple.
In the mornings, Lu Hongti would explain the methods of training second-rate martial arts, occasionally demonstrating a move or describing various scenarios. In the afternoons and evenings, Ning Yi would narrate Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, or they would simply chat about random topics. It was nearing the height of summer, with days and nights equally sweltering and plagued by mosquitoes. At night, Lu Hongti would burn strange leaves in the temple to ward off mosquitoes, often driving Ning Yi into a frenzy as he scurried away, yelling and laughing at her antics.
If one were to describe it romantically, it felt as though they were a destitute young couple settling down in this broken temple. There was little they possessed—the old pot they used for cooking, boiling water, and making soup was the only essential item. On the second day, Lu Hongti went out and returned with some bowls and utensils, but apart from her single bundle of belongings, they had nothing else. At night, Lu Hongti would apply medicine to Ning Yi's injuries. She didn't mind tending to his left hand or helping him treat the wounds on his chest and shoulder, which he couldn't manage with just one hand.
"I've seen plenty of men in the mountains, and you're not much to look at," she always remarked with disdain. "Just a bit sturdier than the average scholar."
Ning Yi had worked on his fitness for a year and built some strength, though he was far from having a muscular build and couldn't compare to men hardened by battles. Still, he thought he had a pretty balanced physique. He wanted to retort with a cheeky comment, like asking whether she had seen "up there" or "down below," but considering the era, such jokes could easily get him beaten up. In the end, he could only admire her apparent expertise and let the matter slide.
Bandaging wounds on the battlefield and in this setting were undoubtedly different experiences. Occasionally, Ning Yi would catch himself pondering the difference, only to dismiss the thought with a wry smile.
Not far from the back of the temple was a mountain spring. During the day, they used gourds or bamboo tubes to fetch fresh water. Lu Hongti owned a small green bird that favored a peculiar type of fruit with a distinctive aroma. She ground the fruit into powder and sprinkled it on him to maintain its scent for days, which was how she had managed to track him outside the city that night.
On the third day, a thunderstorm struck. The dilapidated temple seemed like a ship about to capsize in the torrential rain. Lu Hongti reinforced the roof with dense branches and sat with Ning Yi in the only dry corner of the temple, chatting while listening to the rain. Ning Yi told her stories, and it felt as if they were the last two people clinging to a sinking world.
Occasionally, Lu Hongti would talk about Mount Lüliang. She didn't sound as if she were complaining, but Ning Yi could infer the hardships of life there, especially during invasions by the Liao army. It seemed she was leading one of the smaller groups of bandits in the region. Her master, also a woman, was an intelligent and skilled fighter. However, she had taken a risky mission to assassinate a Liao general. Though successful, she became surrounded, fought until she was exhausted, and ultimately took her own life to avoid capture. This loss likely shaped Lu Hongti's reluctance to casually teach martial arts.
"My master was both brilliant and formidable. Her skills were so extraordinary that she considered assassination a viable option. Perhaps using strategy could have worked too. Even if she failed to kill the general, she might have survived. If she had lived, she could have led us to survive as well..." Lu Hongti paused before continuing. "That's why you shouldn't blindly trust martial arts. You talk about 'investigating things to understand their principles'—once you've figured them out, that's enough. For someone smart like you... don't take unnecessary risks. Staying alive is far more valuable."
Those who had faced death often held life in greater esteem. Perhaps it was the weight of responsibility she felt after her master's death that had taught her this. Leading even a small group wasn't just about bravery—it required coordination and organization, challenges that only the perceptive could fully grasp. Although Lu Hongti hadn't received formal education, she was sharp, and it was likely her master had imparted such lessons to her. It wasn't surprising she shared these thoughts now.
By the seventh day, Lu Hongti had finished teaching the martial arts methods, but Ning Yi had yet to conclude Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils. When she complained, Ning Yi remarked, "I'd like to teach you something as well. It might be useful to you. Originally, I intended to exchange this knowledge for your martial arts."
"Hmm?" Lu Hongti's eyes lit up. "Another one of those bizarre ideas of yours?"
Although she often dismissed Ning Yi's notions as unorthodox, she knew his personality well enough to recognize his reliability in certain areas. If he confidently offered to teach her something, it must be worthwhile. Ning Yi nodded. "Maybe. It's a mix of many things. I hadn't fully worked out a system before, as I didn't know your circumstances. But first of all, I also know a few martial arts techniques. Perhaps you could use them as a reference."
Lu Hongti furrowed her brows, suspecting he was joking. Ning Yi grinned. "At least take a look. Maybe you'll find something useful. For example, techniques involving vital points or joint locks might be relatively systematic."
Lu Hongti exhaled. "...I don't even know what you're talking about."
Still, by now, she was used to his nonsense. Whether it was molecules, atoms, chemistry, or physics, she often couldn't make sense of his ramblings. That he wanted to teach her martial arts seemed equally absurd.