Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

"Not at all," Zhang Renfeng scratched his head and flattered, "Sister-in-law's lightness skill is profound and her technique is superb. She walks silently, which I greatly admire."

"Hmph~~~ Did you hear that? Your junior brother said it himself."

Hearing this, the girl believed it without a doubt and raised her head with a smug look. But then she turned to Zhang Renfeng and said in a rather spoiled tone, "Last time I came, didn't I tell you not to call me sister-in-law? It makes me sound like I'm very old."

“Since you are Lao Zhu’s junior brother and Ping An’s godfather, we are family. Let’s be more affectionate and call me ‘Sister Xiao Kui’.”

"Xiao Kui!" Zhu Kuilong called out, though he really couldn't do anything about her.

Zhang Renfeng was quite curious about this unusual "older man, younger woman" couple. Because Zhu Kuilong had never married, he had assumed his senior brother would live out his days alone. Unexpectedly, a few years later, he and this young woman became engaged and had a child.

Zhu Kuilong was unwilling to discuss these matters, so Zhang Renfeng could only glean a smattering of gossip from Qiu Yun—this charming, long-haired young woman was named Yu Xiao Kui, and she was originally a member of the martial arts world. She met Zhu Kuilong while traveling the martial arts world.

Over time, just like in martial arts novels, they forged a rare bond. The young girl's feelings for Zhu Kuilong began as admiration for a chivalrous hero, but as they spent more time together and learned more about him, they transformed into love for him as a person.

As for what the two of them went through together… Qiu Yun said she didn’t know the details. It seemed that Xiao Kui had gotten involved in something that disturbed some martial arts forces. In the eyes of this young heroine, it was perhaps a catastrophe, but it was easily resolved by Zhu Kuilong, who happened to be passing by.

Zhang Renfeng was not surprised by this.

Within their sect, Senior Brother Zhu's talent could be considered rather mediocre. However, once he left the sect and ventured into the outside world, there was no telling what people would call him.

Such a powerful, reliable, and unfathomable martial arts master would easily win a woman's heart, not to mention... Zhu Kuilong's true nature is that of a man with a cold exterior but a warm heart who enjoys taking care of others. Xiao Kui's love for him has even transcended their age difference.

As the saying goes, "a woman pursuing a man is like piercing a thin veil," and under her ardent pursuit, the two married not long after. Not long after that, their child was born. Because the child was a few years younger than Zhang Fulin, he always followed him around. Since the two families' sons recognized each other as godfathers, their relationship became even closer, strengthening their already strong bond.

As night falls and smoke rises from the chimneys, the two families sit down at the same table for dinner.

Xiao Kui is straightforward and adorable, unabashedly putting food into Zhu Kuilong's bowl, but sometimes she'll also take things from his bowl. It seems this is their usual way of interacting; Xiao Kui doesn't hold back her affection at all, expressing it so directly.

Although she was married and had children, Zhu Kuilong usually took very good care of her, hardly letting her do any of the household chores or miscellaneous tasks. He even prepared all three meals a day, including today's sumptuous dinner.

To fulfill Xiao Kui's dream of wandering the martial arts world, they used some of their savings to open a teahouse in town and made her the proprietress. Normally, she would sit in the teahouse, collecting tea money, welcoming and seeing off customers, and also listening to rumors and gossip about the martial arts world.

As a result, Xiao Kui's personality is still no different from that of the female knight-errant from back then: frank, cute, and full of energy.

With her around, the atmosphere at dinner became lively. Zhang Renfeng couldn't help but feel a little envious as she watched her talk eloquently and animatedly.

Once upon a time, he too harbored such a dreamlike longing for the martial world. Zhu Kuilong was also by his side, silently protecting his martial world dream, keeping those sordid things out of sight.

Until he ripped open the sky, and everything fell apart, he finally realized that there was no such thing as a martial arts world at all; what existed was only the persistent struggle between people.

Now, on the other side of the sea, he has attained a position of great power and supreme prestige.

If they really wanted to, a single word could grant them land and make them kings; it wouldn't be a trivial matter.

Even so, this persistent struggle did not let him go. On the contrary, it intensified. In his daily life, Zhang Renfeng faced the most difficult choices: how to distribute interests among different parties in a way that would satisfy the majority.

Having witnessed so many such incidents, Zhang Renfeng sighed inwardly as he listened to the young girl before him recounting the pristine world of martial arts, realizing that he was indeed getting old.

For a brief moment, I felt a sense of aging.

……

"Oh, right, Fulin..."

During a break in the meal, Zhang Renfeng took a moment to ask, "How have you considered the matter mentioned in the previous letter?"

Chapter 905: Studying Abroad in the West?

Upon learning that Qiu Yun had given birth to his child, Zhang Renfeng's first thought was to bring the mother and child to the other side of the river so that the whole family could live together. However, Qiu Yun refused. Moreover, her refusal was firm and left no room for negotiation.

She and Zhu Kuilong went to America once together.

Despite the language barrier, local customs and traditions can still be discerned through the attitudes of the locals. Even in San Quintak, a major city, there is a complete lack of civility; the culture there generally exhibits considerable discrimination against Chinese people of Asian descent.

Of course, in the past ten years or so, due to the existence of the Sanyuan Group, at least in the south, this kind of discrimination has visibly decreased... at least on the surface.

But in northern America, due to the meddling of certain individuals, the situation only escalated. Amidst this clamor, a new organization called the Blue-Clad Army emerged, openly challenging Zhang Renfeng to a duel, and a rebellion broke out. Zhang Renfeng, far across the ocean, was unaware of this at the moment.

From this perspective, Qiu Yun's concerns cannot be said to be wrong—for someone with yellow skin like her, America is not a friendly enough place.

Even if we take a step back and act in a friendly manner, so what?

That was the other side of the ocean, where everything was different, from language and culture to eating habits, requiring her to readjust. Qiu Yun considered herself a homebody, unlike Zhang Renfeng, who could adapt to such a dramatic change.

Moreover, she barely knows any Chinese characters, let alone English. At her age, learning English from scratch won't be easy. If she goes there, she'll probably be completely clueless and unable to do anything.

She figured that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, she would never leave her homeland again in her entire life.

Zhang Renfeng respected her choice, so he never mentioned it again before Zhang Fulin came of age—he didn't want to wrong Qiu Yun; the child wasn't even grown up yet, and they were already separated by a vast ocean. Even if it were just a few weeks, let alone months, how could a mother not worry?

Now, Zhang Fulin is fifteen years old. Compared to other children his age, he is already quite mature. Under Zhu Kuilong's tutelage, his martial arts skills have reached a high level, and he has the ability to protect himself. The time is ripe for him to succeed.

……

“I…” Zhang Fulin glanced at Qiu Yun, his brows furrowing unusually, revealing a hint of conflict. After hesitating for a moment, he said in a deep voice, “I won’t go, Father. Most Western creations are exquisite and ingenious. I’ll be all alone there, and the language will be different. I’m likely to become addicted to ingenuity and lose my ambition.”

"Me! Me! I'm willing to go in my brother's place!" Zhu Ping'an, his mouth greasy from eating, his eyes shining, quickly raised his hand and said expectantly, "Godfather, please take me with you!"

"This is utter nonsense." Zhu Kuilong slapped his head lightly, but not too hard, and scolded him gently, "You're not even as tall as a foreigner's calves, and you want to go to Western countries? If you go there, they'll kidnap you and sell you off."

"With a godfather like me, who would dare sell me out?" Zhu Pingan rubbed his head and said with a grin, "Dad, they say you can speak Western languages ​​too, is that true?"

"Learn Chinese first before you start talking about Western languages," Zhu Kuilong said to his youngest son, sounding annoyed. "After dinner, review today's lessons and copy them again. Only after you've finished copying can you have some snacks."

“Eh—??!”

Zhu Ping'an couldn't help but scream, but he was just joking. After all, Zhu Kuilong was only asking him to copy it one more time, which was nothing compared to the ten or twenty times he often had to copy in school. Besides, he had promised him a treat afterward, so with the reward mechanism in place, the child quickly accepted it.

"I've heard that in the West, there's a kind of iron horse that you can sit inside. You can manipulate it from inside, and it will start running by itself," Xiao Kui asked excitedly. "Is that true?"

“It’s true.” Zhang Renfeng nodded and said with a smile, “That’s called a ‘car.’ It’s a new type of transportation invented by Westerners, and it’s much more advanced than a horse-drawn carriage.”

"No matter how fine a steed is, it will eventually get tired and need to rest after running for an hour or two. But a car is not a living thing. As long as there is enough fuel, it can run for several hours without any problem. And because it is not a living thing, you don't need to try to tame it or adapt to its temperament. You just need to master how to drive it."

In fact, whether it's cars or oil, they're all just dishes on the plate of the behemoth that is Sanyuan Group. It's just that Zhang Renfeng didn't specifically mention it at the dinner table.

People say that returning home in wealth and honor is like wearing fine clothes at night, but Zhang Renfeng didn't like the feeling of being surrounded by admirers.

His friendship with the Zhu Kuilong family made him feel that talking about his family business at the dinner table would inevitably be seen as showing off.

"How amazing..." Xiao Kui listened with fascination, as if she were hearing a story from a distant world. Like a child, her curiosity was piqued. "So what does it usually eat? Steel beans?"

"Haha, no, I already said it's not a living thing." Zhang Renfeng was amused by Xiao Kui's statement, and then explained, "But its structure is actually similar to that of a living thing. The outside is a layer of car skin, just like human skin, covering bones and flesh."

"Humans live by the pumping of their hearts, and cars also have a heart called an 'engine,' or you could call it a motor. It's a complex made up of many parts, about... um... about this size."

Zhang Renfeng raised his arms and gestured a rough estimate of the size, which surprised everyone.

"The processed oil, like blood, is injected into this metal heart. Then, it explodes..."

"Explosion?!" Xiao Kui exclaimed in surprise.

“That’s right, an explosion.” Zhang Renfeng nodded. “An explosion generates energy. The function of this metal heart is to control the state of the explosion between ‘initiation’ and ‘explosion,’ continuously cycling through this process to release energy and propel the car body. In this way, as long as it is handled properly, it can drive in any direction.”

"The car also has four tires, all made of rubber, just like a horse has four hooves. Except, all four tires are round, and when the car starts moving, they roll in the same direction..."

----

Having sold cars for so many years, and as the boss of Sanyuan Heavy Industry's boss (nominally Henry Heissen, but actually Igor), Zhang Renfeng had absorbed some basic knowledge of his company's products through his surroundings. While not an expert, he was perfectly capable of engaging in lively conversation at dinner parties.

……

He was saying these things.

Zhang Fulin sat upright, staring intently at him, nodding occasionally, appearing far more attentive than any student in a classroom.

Qiu Yun saw all of this.

Chapter 906: Your good son has already done half the job.

"call……"

"Want some?"

"Thank you so much, senior brother... Ugh, it's so sweet!" Wolf choked twice, moved the cup further away, and frowned. "What is this?"

"Hahaha, Little Wolf, what's wrong with you?" Zhang Renfeng laughed and downed the wine in his cup in one gulp. "Isn't this your favorite rice wine? You used to love sweet things, like pastries and rice wine. Every time I came, I would bring you some."

"..." The wolf looked at the wine in the glass with some suspicion, swirled it a couple of times in the moonlight, then brought it to his nose and sniffed it twice, muttering, "It really is."

"After having children, my taste preferences seem to have changed."

"Would that be?" Zhu Kuilong sat down beside them and said in a casual tone, "Xiao Kui has always liked spicy food, and she still does. She hasn't changed."

"Hehe, senior brother, you didn't know that, did you?" Zhang Renfeng lay down and comfortably squinted his eyes. "Spicy isn't a taste, it's a feeling of pain, so it won't change. You should also talk to your sister and tell her not to eat such strong flavors, or it will hurt her tongue."

"Where did you learn all this strange knowledge?"

“Scientists.” Zhang Renfeng yawned and rubbed his eyes. “I have a great scientist in my circle. He’s assembled a team of scientists, a whole room full of them, researching this and that every day. That’s what they told me.”

……

After dinner, to show that she was a good wife, Xiao Kui took the initiative to wash the dishes. Although usually Zhu Kuilong would do even the simplest tasks like washing dishes and wiping the table, and Xiao Kui was quite clumsy at it, she managed to get by.

After a satisfying meal and as night fell, it was time to rest.

Zhu Kuilong, Zhang Renfeng, and Xiaolang, who all came from the same sect, went to the rooftop to begin another gathering within their sect.

Having traveled the world for many years, Zhu Kuilong had some knowledge of carpentry and masonry. He had built this house himself, without cutting corners. The roof was quite sturdy, able to withstand the weight of three people, with the tiles laid very tightly, layer upon layer. Zhang Renfeng could even lie sprawled on the roof without worrying that the beams would not be able to support his weight.

Wine and song, life geometry.

Although the three of them lacked such boldness, after experiencing so much, and now that the elders of their sect had all retired to immortality, the fact that the three of them could still gather together for a drink filled them with many emotions. None of them spoke first, allowing the quiet and peaceful atmosphere to slowly unfold between them, like flowing water.

"...You all say..."

Zhang Renfeng stopped circulating his internal energy in the Lesser Formless Skill. After several cups of wine, he finally became somewhat drunk.

He slowly raised his right hand, spread his five fingers, and made a clenching motion towards the moon in the sky. "Will there ever be a day when people can really go to the moon?"

"Senior brother is talking nonsense," the wolf chuckled softly. "The moon is very far away from us. Master told me that the moon is a very, very big ball of earth, floating in a very, very dark night sky. No matter how big a bird's wings are, it can't fly to the moon."

“I’m not talking about birds, I mean…” Zhang Renfeng mumbled a few words, “I’m not quite sure either, maybe… people in the future, hundreds of years from now, might be able to do it.”

"Think about it, would the people of the Ming Dynasty have imagined all these new things a hundred years later? Trains, ships, cars, electric lights, and all sorts of guns and cannons..."

"It's too fast, far too fast! One thing ends and another begins, it's dazzling!" Zhang Renfeng exclaimed. "Science is truly terrifying. Compared to it, our martial arts are nothing."

"Perhaps, two hundred years from now, people will see our lives today as if we were savages eating raw meat and drinking blood?"

……

"The world is changing very quickly."

Zhu Kuilong said calmly, "But people's hearts change very slowly. Even two hundred years from now, it will still mean the same thing."

"What you said, senior brother, is so insightful." Zhang Renfeng nodded, deeply agreeing.

The massive Sanyuan Group was like an empire at its zenith, and Zhang Renfeng had indeed conquered it on horseback, relying on his formidable military might to achieve all of this. However, at the same time, the strategic planning and tactical arrangements of the "Empire's Internal Minister" were also extremely important.

Everyone in the group knows that the one who actually assembles and operates this huge machine is a short figure sitting on a throne.

Despite his high position, Igor still held Zhang Renfeng in the highest esteem. He would report many things to Zhang Renfeng that he didn't need to tell him directly, allowing him to oversee the group's overall direction without abusing his power.

As a result, he inevitably heard about the various open and covert struggles and conflicts of interest with America's upper class.

He often felt powerless listening to this, but was also grateful that he had drawn this ultimate UR card that night in the snow-covered Sparrow Mountain camp. Otherwise, no matter how large his business was, without Igor's help, it would have fallen apart sooner or later on his own.

As Zhu Kuilong said, even in countries with advanced technology, nothing has changed. Wherever there are people, there will be competition for interests and open and covert struggles; these are unavoidable, only the methods and appearances may differ.

……

"Senior brother..."

"I'm old." Before Zhang Renfeng could finish speaking, Zhu Kuilong sighed and said in a deep voice, "Nowadays, I also have a wife and children, and I don't have that drive anymore. I'm afraid that if I go, I won't be able to help you much, and I'll only cause you trouble."

“Before, you were a wanted criminal in two countries, which inevitably made people worry. But now that you’ve made a name for yourself over there and your business is growing bigger and bigger, I can finally rest easy.”

Zhang Renfeng understood his senior brother's personality. Hearing this, he knew that his senior brother truly had no intention of leaving the mountain, so he sighed.

Everyone has their own ambitions, and we cannot force them to.

He knew that the differences and barriers between the South and the North in America were deepening, and a war was inevitable sooner or later. Having Zhu Kuilong's help would be a significant boost.

"but……"

"As for your son, I think you should try to persuade him again."

“Fulin?” Zhang Renfeng raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not afraid you two will laugh at me for saying this, but with my abilities... I can't teach him." Zhu Kuilong sighed and laughed self-deprecatingly, "No wonder he's your son."

“I started teaching him Wild Goose Kung Fu when he was five years old. In ten years, his skill has improved by leaps and bounds, exceeding my expectations. It might be better if you continue to teach him.”