Patrol Captain

At An Ge's invitation, Huwa, his face flushed with anticipation, entered the small courtyard with its blue tiles and white walls.

His face was as red as an apple, and he had a chubby, robust appearance.

An Ge patted the little guy's head and led him into the courtyard.

After entering the courtyard, Huwa's round eyes wanted to look around but dared not. However, with the gentle voice of the pretty older sister beside him, he quickly calmed down. Being a child, he soon became curious about his surroundings, looking left and right.

Gradually, it overlapped with the scene in my memory!
Nothing has changed.

"Pretty lady, are you new here?"

"How do you know my name?" Huwa asked Ange, looking up at her.

An Ge is already a mother, yet being called "sister" by this little child made her eyes crinkle into a smile.
Someone told me!

She led Tiger Cub through the secluded path in the courtyard and towards the inner room, where the soft, childlike voices of a child could be heard.

Then, a tall, slender figure carrying a chubby baby walked out of the inner room.

Chen Yuan held An An in his arms, teasing his daughter as she held his little hand, while turning to look at Huwa, who was walking towards them with An Ge's hand in hand, and raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Good lad, you've grown quite a bit taller!"

This sound was warm and peaceful.

When Huwa saw Chen Yuan, his eyes widened, his little mouth opened, and he nervously moved behind An Ge. But then he remembered something, let go of the pretty sister's hand, and with a thud, his knees hit the stone slab. He bowed down with his little body and put his hands in front of him, looking very respectable.

"Little Tiger, Little Tiger greets you...!"

In his anxiety, he couldn't even shout.

It actually looked rather comical.

Seeing the little boy's knees thumping loudly, An Ge pulled him up with one hand, bent down, and patted Huwa's knees.

"You little rascal, you came up here and did such a big bow, did it hurt?"

After saying that, she turned her head and glanced sideways at Chen Yuan, who had a smile on his lips, and gave him a reproachful look.
"Why didn't you stop him? You scared the child!"

Chen Yuan was a little embarrassed. "I didn't expect this little guy to be so quick. He was like a child asking for lucky money during the New Year. He kowtowed so fast and hard."

He started laughing as he spoke, looking at the nervous and timid Tiger Cub.

"Are you afraid of me?"

Tiger Cub quickly shook his head and whispered, "My mother said that when I see you, I should bow three times and kowtow nine times."

"They say you're a great person, a very important person."

In fact, at this age, Huwa is just a child, innocent and naive. He has nothing on his mind and doesn't understand the world's sense of awe or respect, nor does he know how powerful or influential the "adult next door" his mother talks about is. He only remembers to be grateful, respectful, and impolite, as his mother often reminds him.

After repeated mentions, it planted a seed in his young heart.

Chen Yuan smiled at Huwa's naive words.
"Hehe, it's been a while since I've seen you, you've become more sensible. You little rascal, you used to make your mother angry quite a bit."

A few years ago, when he was still a patrol captain, the mother and son in the neighboring yard were always causing chaos and were incredibly mischievous. Thinking about it now, it's still vivid and interesting.

"Go and call your mother over here!"

"By the way, call me Uncle from now on!"

His words, spoken as if from an ordinary family, gradually eased Huwa's tension.

Tiger Cub nodded, then turned around and ran happily out of the courtyard.

He ran while shouting, "Mother!"

"mother!"

And so, Tiger Cub ran out of the yard and into his own house next door, full of excitement.

At this moment, his mother, Cai Hua, was tidying up in the inner room. The house had been uninhabited for a long time, so cleaning would take some time.

Hearing Huwa's cries, she quickly came out, holding a brush that looked like it was made of palm fiber and with a cloth covering her head.

Seeing his son Huwa's excited and curious expression,

"what happened?"

"What are you yelling about?"

Tiger Cub rushed over, shouting:

"Uncle, you're back!"

"Uncle, you're back!"

Cai Hua was even more confused, full of bewilderment, "What uncle? Speak properly!"

Tiger Cub rushed up to her and pointed to the next room.

"It's the adult next door. He told me to call you over, Mother!"

Upon hearing this, Cai Hua froze, her eyes widened, and the long whisk in her hand fell to the ground. However, she quickly recovered and became tense.

She quickly wiped her hands on her apron, then hurried outside. But after a couple of steps, she stopped and quickly took off her dusty apron and headscarf. She then tidied her hair and clothes.

After doing all that, she quickly took her son's hand and walked outside, adjusting her breathing and easing her tension as she walked. When she reached the entrance of Chen Yuan's courtyard, she tidied her appearance and clothes to make sure they were clean.

"Mom, you're so nervous!"

Tiger Cub didn't quite understand.

The adults next door are quite peaceful, just like they always have been. Why is Mother making things so complicated?

Cai Hua didn't say anything. She straightened her son Huwa's clothes before taking a deep breath and going inside.

Things seem much more tense now than in the past.

When Cai Hua led her son into the courtyard and saw Chen Yuan standing in front of the inner room, she felt a moment of disorientation. Then everything seemed the same, yet everything changed.

A woman as beautiful as a fairy stood beside the adult, and she was holding a doll in her arms.

This scene actually brought tears to the eyes of this woman.

She quickened her pace, reached Chen Yuan, and from a distance, was about to pull Huwa down to kneel.

"This humble woman, Cai Hua, greets Your Excellency!"

The voice was sincere and heartfelt.

But the next second, a gentle breeze lifted their kneeling bodies, helping them to their feet.

"No need to be polite!"

Chen Yuan's voice came through.

This, however, made Cai Hua look anxious.
"Yes, yes, I'm sorry, sir. I feel guilty because I promised to take care of this house, but I broke my promise."

She kept this matter on her mind and felt guilty. Seeing that Chen Yuan did not accept the gift, she began to have all sorts of wild thoughts.

Upon hearing this, Chen Yuan suddenly remembered that there was indeed such a thing.

However, he didn't take this trivial matter to heart.

"It's nothing, just a small matter. You had your reasons, so don't worry about it. I heard that Tiger Cub was discovered by a master and taken out of the mountains to learn martial arts!"

Upon hearing this, Cai Hua clutched her ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) with both hands and took the opportunity to explain the whole matter, recounting her misunderstanding and Chen Yuan's initial instructions. "It's all my fault for being foolish and ignorant, failing to appreciate your kindness, sir." Cai Hua felt ashamed, realizing she had let Chen Yuan down.

She tried her best to explain, but she didn't want Chen Yuan to think that she and her son were ungrateful and had turned to other people in the blink of an eye.

Chen Yuan shook his head and simply asked:
"None of that matters. Let me ask you, how did those people from the mountain gate treat you and your son?"

“That master valued Huwa highly and took great care in teaching him; he was… a good teacher,” Cai Hua said.

Chen Yuan nodded, "That's it. As long as it's like this, why dwell on it? Sometimes things turn out unexpectedly well; perhaps this is simply their destined master-disciple relationship!"

Chen Yuan thought this was a good thing. After he bestowed a blessing upon Huwa with his magic, he originally planned to have Lian Nishang, who was staying in Qingshan County, teach the little guy. However, he later got involved in the Ten Thousand Mountains, and Lian Nishang also joined the battlefield, so things were delayed.

This is a wonderful coincidence, nothing more to say.

"I'm just worried that you might think my son and I are having an affair!" Cai Hua explained anxiously.

Upon hearing this, Chen Yuan couldn't help but chuckle, and even An Ge, who was standing next to him, couldn't help but smile.

"Hehe, Sister Hua, the phrase 'fickle' isn't used like that nowadays. I'm afraid you've been led astray by that little tiger cub."

When it comes to explaining idioms, Huwa is an expert.

Sister Hua blushed deeply after being teased.

This laugh and interruption smoothed out the awkward atmosphere considerably.

Sister Hua felt a little relieved.

At this moment, Chen Yuan glanced to the side and looked at Tiger Boy next to Sister Hua.

"Tiger Cub, you've been learning your skills for over half a year, what have you learned?"

"Replying to... Uncle, I have learned stance training and fist techniques!"

"My master said that standing meditation cultivates character, and practicing martial arts strengthens the body; one must first lay a solid foundation!"

"Well said, it seems you've learned something real. Now, let me test you!"

Since I had nothing better to do, I decided to train this kid and see if he'd picked up any skills.

As Chen Yuan spoke, he turned his head to look at An An, who was nestled obediently in his arms, her eyes wide with curiosity as she stared at the stranger. His gaze was full of affection.
"An'an, how about letting your mother hold you?"

As she spoke, she tapped the little one's nose, making Xiao An'an babble.

An Ge reached out with affection and naturally pulled the little girl into her arms.

After a short while, in the small courtyard pond, stone pillars of varying thickness and height stand in the water.

A small figure stands on a stone pillar.

He braced himself with his legs planted in a horse stance, raised his fists, and his small figure quickly transformed into a different persona.

"call"

With a shout, he stretched his arms like a monkey, twisted his waist, shifted his feet, and changed his stance. His fist swung out with a slight whooshing sound.

Then, he kept changing stances with his feet, his fists moving and changing moves, sometimes like a mantis hooking its fists, the punches sharp and fierce; sometimes like a snake emerging from its hole, his wrists flipping and moving flexibly.

Gradually, the force of the punch gained momentum, its speed increased, and a few muffled explosions echoed in the air.

As the little boy punched and pounded the stakes in the pond, Chen Yuan leaned against the railing with his hands behind his back in the pavilion beside him, his gaze following the little figure with a glimmer of light.

Just as this scene was unfolding in the courtyard, outside the courtyard, in Jiazi Alley, two figures were walking towards the end of the alley.

Among them was a young man dressed in a black robe, holding a sword in his hand, and a young woman dressed in a light blue outfit, with a mole on the corner of her mouth.

These were the two senior brothers and sisters that Huwa had in the cave.

The man's name was Chu Yu, and the woman's name was Qiong Le.

The disciples from Dongtian who were escorting Huwa and his mother back to their hometown in Qingshan County chose to stay at an inn in the county town because Huwa's home was rather simple.

These past two days, having nothing to do, they strolled around Qingshan County and found that the county town was too small and had nothing interesting to offer, falling far short of the description of a place of natural beauty and spiritual wonder.

The two of them came at this time to ask their junior brother and his mother how things were going and when they would return.

"I don't know why my junior brother and his mother are so determined to come back to this remote place. It's inconvenient for them to do anything!"

"There isn't a single decent expert in the city!"

"That's really boring!"

Chu Yu held a sword in her arms, the red tassel swaying, and casually spoke as she walked towards Huwa's house.

“Junior brother is young and always misses home after being away for so long. Senior brother, you don’t need to think about these things too much. This place is quite nice, and it has a strong sense of life.”

"Senior brother, have you noticed that as we traveled along, many of the surrounding counties were sparsely populated and lacked vibrancy, but this small county is bustling with life, full of life, and the people seem to live a peaceful life?" The woman with a mole on her lip, named Qiong Le, said as she walked, tilting her head thoughtfully.

This was something she had recently observed, and she had even asked the innkeeper about it. The innkeeper said that when the demonic calamity occurred before, many people died in the surrounding counties. As for why there were so many people in this particular county, the innkeeper seemed strange, as if his brain had crashed, and he didn't know either.

"Who knows? Maybe it's because this place is a bit remote, so they've all come here to take refuge." Chu Yu didn't seem to care much.

As they spoke, the two siblings arrived at Huwa's house and found the gate open, so they went inside.

"Little junior brother!"

Chu Yu stood in the courtyard, not noticing the presence of the mother and son. Feeling a little strange, she called out.

"Nobody's here!" Qiong Le quickly walked around the room but didn't find anyone.

"go out?"

The two of them standing together looked rather odd.

"Senior Brother Chu, listen, it sounds like Junior Brother's voice!"

At this moment, Qiong Le turned her gaze to the neighboring courtyard wall, where she could faintly hear the sounds of children shouting.

It sounded like someone throwing a punch, the unique sound of air being cut by their lineage's top-level boxing technique, like the howl of a monkey.

Upon hearing this, Chu Yu's ears twitched. She then walked outside, went out the door, and looked at the small courtyard with black tiles and white walls at the end of the alley before heading over.

As they approached the courtyard gate, the commotion became increasingly clear to them.

My junior brother is indeed here.

Chu Yu looked and saw that the gate to this courtyard was also open.

Whose family is this?
Why is junior brother practicing his boxing here?

Just as Chu Yu and Qiong Le were starting to have some doubts, they heard the noise inside stop, as if their junior brother had put down his fist.

The two exchanged a glance, took a step forward, and prepared to take a look. The next second, they heard a clear voice coming from inside.

"Not bad, little guy. It seems you've put in some effort and developed your fist strength, able to transition from external to internal training, tempering your muscles, bones, and skin, and strengthening your qi and blood. However, this fist technique still has flaws; it can't maximize the mobilization of your internal qi and blood!"

The sound wasn't loud, but it sounded extremely grating to Chu Yu and Qiong Le's ears, and even the female disciple couldn't help but frown.

That Demonic Ape Fist is the top-tier fist technique of their lineage, the ultimate method for disciples of the Cave Heaven to establish their foundation, passed down from their patriarch.

But in this guy's mouth, it's as if it's nothing. Do you think you're more powerful than my ancestor?

(End of Chapter)