Some things are best done when the night is dark and the wind is high.

Run Sheng: "Someone's coming."

Li Zhiyuan, lightly blowing on the sweet potato in his hand, stood up and looked in that direction.

He saw an old man carrying a young man on his back, walking along the ridge of the field towards them.

The young man had a piece of cloth wrapped around his head, resembling the attire of a rural woman in confinement.

Li Zhiyuan's gaze shifted downward, focusing on the old man's strides.

It had rained here last night, and even gathering dry firewood had been difficult, so naturally, the ground was a bit muddy. Yet, with the weight of an adult on his back, as the old man's cloth shoes touched the ground, they left no footprints.

This meant that the other party practiced genuine internal martial arts, and they were well-tempered.

Run Sheng practiced internal martial arts too, only his 'internal' was chiseled out.

Li Zhiyuan took a bite of the sweet potato and said, "Get ready to make a move."

Since it was a visit seeking revenge, and it was the other party's territory, encountering a martial artist at that, in broad daylight, everyone would have seen each other from a distance. But at night, one would probably knock the other down before clarifying identities.

Run Sheng picked up the Yellow River Shovel, standing in front of Li Zhiyuan.

Lin Shuyou picked up the trident, not competing for the front position with Run Sheng, but stood diagonally to Li Zhiyuan.

On the other side, Mr. Tian stopped in his tracks, puzzled, "Oh, what's going on? Looks like you're about to fight?"

Zhao Yi: "Hmm."

"Is it worth it, over a roasted sweet potato?"

"Grandpa Tian, next time you walk, don't worry about getting your shoes dirty."

Mr. Tian's face reddened slightly upon hearing this.

"That's a Yellow River Shovel right there." Zhao Yi patted Mr. Tian's shoulder, "Grandpa Tian, put me down."

"Young Master, I think it's better not to engage."

"Even if we turn and leave now, they might not be willing to let us go."

"Young Master, have some faith in me."

"Grandpa Tian, I have faith in you, but didn't you see, the young man over there is much younger than me."

"Huh?" Mr. Tian was very confused, "What do you mean by that?"

"In the Jianghu, the younger they are, the more one should avoid provoking them."

Zhao Yi dismounted from Mr. Tian's back. His body didn't have major issues, but he lacked balance when walking, needing to be supported.

After closing the distance a bit, Zhao Yi gently pushed Mr. Tian away and began to make a formal greeting.

His hands each patted his own chest, then both thumbs pointed towards his forehead, and finally, hands crossed over his chest:

"With the courage of Xunyang, the spirit of Lu Mountain, and the deity of Po Yang. Zhao Family of Jiujiang, greeting the fellows here!"

After the gesture and speech, the young man felt dizzy, his body swayed, and the old man behind him, wanting to help but not daring to, could only fret silently. Fortunately, after swaying around, the young man managed to steady himself.

The surname is Zhao?

Run Sheng's clothes suddenly puffed up, then clung tightly to his body, and puffed up again, with a vague sound of howling wind.

Lin Shuyou's eyes bulged as he slowly raised his head, his left hand in a fist, his right hand holding the trident, making a muffled sound in his throat, warming up and invoking Divination without showing his face.

Mr. Tian immediately moved in front of Zhao Yi, flung his arms back, and two daggers slid into his hands, held in a reverse grip.

His gaze first scanned over Run Sheng, then stopped on Lin Shuyou.

"What... is he doing?"

"He's preparing to Summon Gods. It's a hereditary faction along the southern coast, not sure if it's the Eight Generals or the officials."

"Young Master, since it's Summoning Gods Skill, just wearing down some time is enough. But that strong man, his aura is too rich, I'm old and lack vitality, afraid I can't outlast him."

"Grandpa Tian, didn't you just tell me to have more confidence in you?"

"Who would have guessed that upon leaving home to roast sweet potatoes by the river, I'd run into these two oddities?

Young Master, if it really comes to blows, the only chance is for me to go around and seize their young man, and they might also try to capture you, then we each hold one and force an exchange.

This is the only method."

Zhao Yi sighed, "The only method is gone."

Mr. Tian looked astonished because the young man across from them was steadily retreating, creating a sufficiently safe distance, and even the one preparing to summon the divine was also retreating with the young man, guarding the flanks.

While assessing their formation, they also figured out ours – an old man with a sickly master. Leave the most enduring one to wear down this old man, the sickly young master can barely run.

"This..."

Zhao Yi: "Grandpa Tian, next time don't blatantly spell out our plans."

"Young Master, I was already speaking softly."

"But they have good hearing."

"Sigh, this sweet potato, really expensive."

Zhao Yi raised his hands, approaching once more, bypassing Mr. Tian, and was about to say something when suddenly his foot slipped.

"Slap!"

He fell face down directly into the field.

Lin Shuyou tilted his head, as if he finally saw someone even more foolish and comical than himself, and immediately seized the opportunity to say, "Heh, is he trying to be funny?"

By his side, Li Zhiyuan said, "He did it on purpose, to break the tense atmosphere."

Lin Shuyou silently closed his mouth, alright, he was outsmarted again.

Mr. Tian put away his daggers and helped the mud-covered Zhao Yi to get up.

"Young Master, if I had known this trip would be like this, I really should have brought more people from home."

Zhao Yi wiped the mud from his face and shook his head, "Sometimes it's fate, not about how many people you bring."

After standing up again, Zhao Yi smiled awkwardly and said:

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