Chapter 503: Awakening Lion

By Sanjiu Yinyu

Word count: 1286

"Xingyi Quan?" Yao Qing murmured in surprise as he watched. "After all these years... is Older Sister still practicing?"

Chen Ling walked over to him. Watching the elegant figure practicing alone under the willow tree, he asked, "How do you know that?"

"When I was a child, Older Sister Zhiwei's family was very strict," Yao Qing mused. "Boys had to study calligraphy and painting, while girls were taught martial arts, supposedly to balance yin and yang, combining strength with flexibility. But for girls, I think self-defense was probably the most important aspect." He sighed. "Older Sister Zhiwei chose Xingyi Quan back then and would wake up before dawn every day to practice. That was eight or nine years ago. I can't believe she's still keeping it up, especially with everything that's happened to the Su household..."

Chen Ling then recalled that when he and Yang Xiao first found Su Zhiwei, she was wearing training clothes, seemingly having just practiced martial arts at home.

"Talented people aren't truly formidable," Chen Ling concluded. "It's those with both talent and perseverance who are the most formidable."

After a few minutes of watching, Su Zhiwei finally finished her practice and rested. Seeing his chance, Yao Qing darted out, handed her a tray, and said something, his cheeks flushed.

Su Zhiwei paused, seemingly surprised that Yao Qing had prepared breakfast for her. After a moment's hesitation, she nodded, carried the tray to a nearby stone table, and began to eat earnestly, a gentle smile occasionally gracing her lips.

Chen Ling stood by the glass door, hands in his pockets, not moving closer, just watching quietly.

Just then, as if sensing something, he suddenly turned to look down the corridor... an elderly woman with white hair, leaning on a cane, was slowly approaching.

Xiao Chunping?

At the sight of her, Chen Ling's body instinctively tensed, his guard immediately heightened.

With Yao Qing and Su Zhiwei in the courtyard and Yang Xiao still asleep, Chen Ling and Xiao Chunping were the only two on the corridor. This was Chen Ling's first direct conversation with a Divine Path practitioner from this era.

Xiao Chunping approached Chen Ling, leaning on her cane, and slowly began, "Little friend Chen Ling... did you rest well last night?"

"...I rested adequately."

"It's quite windy on the rooftop. If you need rest, it would be more comfortable indoors."

"That's alright, I couldn't sleep anyway," Chen Ling replied after a brief pause. "One can see further by standing higher."

Xiao Chunping stopped in front of Chen Ling, resting her hands on her cane, and subtly turned her head to look into the courtyard.

In the bright sunlight, Yao Qing sat somewhat awkwardly at the stone table, watching Su Zhiwei intently eat her breakfast, an unspoken thought on his face. The slender willow branches swayed gently behind them, and the only sound was the soft rustle of the wind.

A look of gentle kindness appeared in Xiao Chunping's aged eyes. She spoke softly, "Thank you for your thoughtfulness, little friend Chen Ling."

"Excuse me?"

"Initially, I was also quite wary of you, little friend," Xiao Chunping said, extending a hand, her snow-white hair glinting faintly in the sunlight. "But after you guarded the rooftop all night, even I, slow as I am, understand that you mean no harm to Zhiwei or my dear grandson. Please forgive any offense I may have caused last night."

Chen Ling hadn't expected Xiao Chunping to be so direct. After a slight hesitation, he reached out and took the elderly woman's hand.

Xiao Chunping's hand was dry, covered in age spots and wrinkles, yet it felt as warm as sunshine. She looked into Chen Ling's eyes, a benevolent smile forming on her lips.

"Little friend Chen Ling, what is your profession?"

Chen Ling understood that Xiao Chunping wasn't merely asking about his occupation but subtly probing his Divine Path. He replied, "I am... an opera performer."

"An opera performer?" A flicker of surprise crossed Xiao Chunping's eyes. "Years ago, I knew an opera performer as well... Sadly, he passed away peacefully over a decade ago."

The "opera performer" Xiao Chunping spoke of was, of course, not just a typical singer, but someone who, like Chen Ling, followed the Divine Path of Opera. Given Xiao Chunping's age, nearly eighty, most of her acquaintances from that era were no longer alive.

Chen Ling felt a pang of regret. He wished he could have encountered a practitioner of the Opera Divine Path from that era.

"However, a few years ago, I met a young man roughly your age," Xiao Chunping then added. "Though I never saw him in action, based on his 'profession,' he seemed to be like you."

"About my age, and also an opera performer?" Chen Ling's eyes lit up.

"Not opera... Have you heard of 'Awakened Lion'?"

"'Awakened Lion'?" Chen Ling mused. "Is it similar to a lion dance?"

"Yes, it originated in Guangdong and, like Suzhou embroidery, is an intangible cultural heritage," she explained. "The last time I saw him, he was carrying a red lion head, walking on clouds, and heading off into the distance."

Walking on clouds... Cloud Steps? Could someone in this era still grasp Cloud Steps? Chen Ling was astonished.

"Where is he now?"

"He's no longer in the country," Xiao Chunping said with a smile. "He's in America now. He said he wanted to see the world and show those foreigners the might of 'Awakened Lion.' Ah, to be young..."

America... Chen Ling mused.

Xiao Chunping seemed to recall something and spoke proactively: "From today, little friend, you can rest assured indoors. Someone else will handle the watch."

"I don't need rest," Chen Ling replied, shaking his head. "Besides, I can see further from up there."

Seeing his resolve, Xiao Chunping didn't press the matter. "In that case, I'll leave it to you, little friend..."

With that, Xiao Chunping gently tapped the glass door. The crisp sound startled Yao Qing, who was still watching Su Zhiwei eat. Seeing his grandmother standing at the doorway, he quickly walked towards her.

"Grandma, is something wrong?"

"Child, why are you only focused on attending to Zhiwei?" Xiao Chunping said, feigning strictness. "Go prepare breakfast for our two guests as well."

"I was planning to go in a moment..." Yao Qing scratched his head, about to offer another excuse, but seeing Xiao Chunping's look, he reluctantly cast a final glance at Su Zhiwei in the courtyard and walked straight to the kitchen.

After Yao Qing left, Su Zhiwei in the courtyard also finished her meal.

She picked up her soy milk bowl, took a final sip, and was about to put it away when her gaze unexpectedly landed on a corner of the tray.

Su Zhiwei saw the incredibly faint heart shape. She froze for a moment, then a look of panic spread across her face...

After a long silence, she carefully replaced the lid on the soy milk bowl, her expression complex, pretending not to have seen anything. She then rose and walked out of the courtyard.

After everyone had finished breakfast, Chen Ling returned to the stone table in the courtyard, sat down, and gently closed his eyes.

When the countdown for the era's archive reached zero, Chen Ling went offline once more. Awaiting him was another month of cultivation in the ancient Opera Path.

This time, however, before Chen Ling could fully return, his surroundings rapidly dimmed. A path, rising from an abyss, carried his body, winding its way towards the sky...

At this sight, Chen Ling's eyes brightened.

He knew... a new performance was about to begin.