bookbashuk Chapter 51 Chen Dagou Entrusts His Son
Chapter 51 Chen Dagou Entrusts His Son
Lu Yuan looked at the sky; the fog was indeed very thick.
The forest path was no longer clearly visible.
He thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.
It won't make a difference if it's just one more night.
"Brother Chen, then I'll trouble you."
The Chen family's wooden house was not large, consisting of only two rooms.
Chen Ergou cleared out the small hut next to the kitchen, which was used to store miscellaneous items, and laid out a layer of dry straw and an old mattress.
Lu Yuan lay on a pile of dry hay, the window open.
I closed my eyes and remained there for a long time...
Until the moonlight seeped in through the cracks in the window and fell on his eyelids.
He can't sleep.
It's not that I'm not sleepy, it's that I was fed too much at that meal, and it wasn't just my stomach that was full.
Something inside me was stirred up, and I couldn't calm down for a while.
Since coming into this world,
This was the first time he had experienced the kind of warmth that only existed in his previous life.
He got up, pushed open the wooden door, and walked into the yard.
The moonlight was beautiful, illuminating everything in the courtyard clearly.
At this moment, Chen Dagou was practicing his boxing alone under the pine tree.
It's not that kind of aggressive, menacing style of boxing.
The movements were slow, like performing a basic set of long fist punches, with each punch delivered with utmost seriousness.
His steps were steady and firm.
He was shirtless, and the moonlight shone on his back, making his old scars stand out clearly.
"Brother Chen, you have such refined tastes."
Lu Yuan leaned against the door frame, speaking casually.
Chen Dagou stopped his punch, turned around and saw Lu Yuan, then grinned.
He turned around and continued punching slowly, while talking as he punched.
"You can't sleep either?"
"When I was young, I practiced martial arts and always thought I could make a name for myself... Back then, I was young and arrogant, and relying on my talent in the surrounding villages, I didn't take anyone seriously."
Later, after saving up travel expenses for half a year, I went to the county town to see the Yellow List Arena, thinking that I could also go up and try it out...
He stopped, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.
It's like pushing that memory from deep in my chest to my throat.
He paused.
"In the end, I didn't even get the chance to register."
"Are there qualifications required to register?"
Lu Yuan asked in surprise.
"Yes. Either a sect's recommendation, or a prestigious family's guarantee, or..."
He looked down at his rough fist.
"Either win ten consecutive matches in the underground arena of the county town and obtain a wildcard qualification on the yellow list."
I didn't know anything back then. I stood at the entrance of the fighting arena for three days, but I didn't even dare to go inside.
He stopped punching and turned to look at Lu Yuan.
As if he had finally found someone to talk to, he continued, "Later, in order to make a living, I joined the Blood Wolf Gang... My biggest wish in this life is to have my name on the yellow list."
Lu Yuan said, "Yes, we will."
Chen Dagou shook his head and sat down on a rock under the pine tree.
"Young Master Lu, I know my own limitations."
I'm just an ordinary person from a poor family, with no ability, no talent, no background... The rankings on those lists are probably something I'll never have in my life.
His voice gradually lowered, as if he were talking to himself, or as if he were confessing some long-established fact.
"But I've made too many enemies over the years... especially the Blood Wolf Gang. Even if I let them off the hook, they won't let me go... Even if I hide in the Four Sacred Mountains, they'll find me sooner or later."
He raised his head.
"If something really happens to me one day, I'll only have Ya Ya as my daughter. If Ya Ya can escape this calamity..." Chen Da Gou didn't say anything too definitive.
"Could you look after Ya Ya for me from now on?"
Lu Yuan looked at him, remaining silent for a moment.
The moonlight made Chen Dagou's face stand out clearly.
Those eyes no longer held their usual honesty.
All that remains is the humble final act of an ordinary father.
Seeing that he didn't speak, Chen Dagou suddenly stood up, his knees hitting the muddy ground without warning.
It's not the clean, crisp single-knee touch that martial artists do, but rather both knees touching the ground simultaneously.
A man who had never knelt before anyone before awkwardly and almost stiffly knelt before a boy.
"Young Master Lu, I know this is inappropriate, but I'm truly desperate..."
His voice was soft, with a slight sob in it.
"You saved Ya Ya's life, I believe you. I know you're a good person. I've never asked anyone for anything in my life..."
I promise you.
Lu Yuan reached out and grabbed Chen Dagou's arm, forcefully pulling him up from the ground.
He wanted to say something comforting to Chen Dagou so he wouldn't take it too seriously.
But his rough, calloused hands were still trembling slightly, and he could only nod in the end.
"I really like Ya Ya. If that day ever comes... don't worry."
Just then, the door was suddenly pushed open a crack, and Ya Ya stood in the doorway, rubbing her eyes.
Lele was sticking out her tongue and licking her chin.
"Father, Big Brother...why aren't you asleep yet?"
She yawned and walked into the yard, carrying the puppy.
"Big brother, we have to travel tomorrow... Big brother, will you come with me to catch cicadas before you leave?"
She tilted her head back, her eyes sparkling, completely unaware of what had just happened.
Chen Dagou turned his back to her, quickly wiped his face with the back of his hand, and then bent down to pick up Ya Ya.
"Okay, we'll go tomorrow. But you need to go to sleep first... Come on, Daddy will tell you a story."
He carried his daughter into the house, and glanced back at Lu Yuan as he reached the door.
There were no extra words in his eyes, only the composure of a father after unloading his heaviest burden.
Lu Yuan stood under the pine tree, watching the wooden door slowly close.
After agreeing to Chen Dagou's request, he realized that he seemed to be in debt again.
But then again, it seems like there's nothing wrong with it.
......
Lu Yuan left very early.
Before dawn, the morning mist of Sisheng Mountain shrouded the forest like a thin veil.
Chen Dagou was already waiting in the yard, carrying a coarse cloth bundle filled with a few roasted sweet potatoes and two dried rabbits, insisting that he take it with him.
Lu Yuan declined twice, but Chen Dagou simply slung the bundle over his shoulder.
The two people and the dog walked through the woods, one in front and one behind.
Chen Dagou escorted him all the way to the edge of the woods; beyond that was the main road.
He stopped at the edge of the woods.
"That's enough for now."
Lu Yuan turned and glanced at him, saying, "Take care, Brother Chen."
Chen Dagou grinned but didn't say anything.
He stood under a pine tree at the edge of the forest, watching Lu Yuan's figure gradually shrink along the official road.
Only after that figure had completely disappeared into the depths of the morning mist did he turn around and walk back.
He made up his mind on the way.
When I get back, I should apologize to Ya Ya first.
Last night she kept pestering Lu Yuan to accompany her to catch cicadas this morning.
In order not to delay Lu Yuan's schedule, Chen Dagou specially sent Lu Yuan away before Ya Ya woke up.
This morning, when the little girl woke up and saw that Lu Yuan wasn't there, she must have been pouting.
But it's alright, he can catch a cicada for her on the way back, tie it with a grass stem, and let her hold it and play with it.
Thinking of this, Chen Dagou unconsciously quickened his pace.
Before I even reached the courtyard gate, the wind was blowing in from inside the courtyard.
He smelled a scent.
It's not pine resin.
It's not morning dew.
It wasn't the charcoal fire that hadn't gone out in the kitchen either.
...
It smells of blood.
The smell of blood was so strong it was almost sweet.