C23 Show off Your Skill with the Bow

Fong Huayu found the situation utterly incredible.

"Chao, tell me, how did you come to master such impressive martial arts?" Fong Huayu asked his son, unable to contain his curiosity any longer.

Fong Chao had anticipated this question from his father at some point.

He scratched his head and spun a tale, "Dad, I've been having dreams about a very powerful hero who taught me kung fu. I've been practicing in my dreams for many years. I always thought it was just a dream, not something real. Today, I was pushed to the limit. I felt I had to risk everything to uphold our family's honor, so I acted without hesitation. To my surprise, the kung fu I learned in my dreams turned out to be real, and I managed to give Lee Qinghe a good thrashing."

Fong Chao's fabrication was elaborate and detailed.

Fong Huayu was taken aback as he listened.

The story seemed far-fetched to him.

But then again, hadn't Cheng Yuejin also learned his signature moves in a dream? Perhaps it was entirely possible to acquire skills in dreams.

Hadn't his wife caught their son sneaking out late at night just a few days earlier?

Could it be that he had been sleepwalking and practicing martial arts?

The more Fong Huayu pondered, the more he convinced himself there was merit to his reasoning.

"It appears that even the deities are looking out for you! Chao, I truly believe you might be destined for greatness," Fong Huayu said earnestly to his son.

Over the following days, Fong Chao was able to dedicate himself to his writing.

By the 17th of October, he had finally completed the manuscript for To Live.

He had filled ten notebooks, six with paper provided by Lee Qingxiang, and the remaining four were Fong Chao's own math exercise books.

To conserve paper, Fong Chao wrote on the backs of the pages, allowing him to fit a thousand words or more on each sheet. Writing on the front would limit him to just 300 words per page, which Fong Chao considered wasteful.

In six days, he had written over 120,000 words.

By the end, Fong Chao was quite exhausted from the effort.

After Fong Chao finished writing his book, he stacked the drafts together, creating a pile over ten centimeters high—a substantial stack of paper.

That evening, as he leafed through the completed drafts, he was filled with an immense sense of excitement. He pondered whether this book could be his ticket to fame.

Yet another challenge presented itself: he aspired to travel to Magic City, but the means to fund the journey eluded him. Should he approach his parents for the money? He was uncertain if they would be willing to provide it. Money was hard to come by these days.

In a household like his, every penny was stretched as far as it could go, and the fare to Magic City would require at least 200 yuan—a considerable amount at this time. If he revealed to his parents that he needed the money to submit his manuscript in Magic City, they would likely think he was being frivolous.

Furthermore, they would probably be anxious about him traveling alone. Fong Chao clenched his jaw, resolving to broach the subject with his mother the next day. If there wasn't enough cash at home, perhaps selling two or three sheep could make up the shortfall. But those sheep were the family's lifeline; would his parents agree to sell them?

The more he dwelled on it, the more bewildered he felt.

Knock, knock.

The sound came from outside the window.

"Fong Chao."

It was Lee Qingxiang's voice. Since Fong Chao had dealt with Lee Qinghe and his cohorts, no one from the Lee family had dared to trouble him at Feng Chao's house. Lee Qingxiang had been visiting Fong Chao nearly every day, and Lee Laoen no longer interfered.

"I'm here. Come on in," Fong Chao responded.

A thought struck him—could he possibly borrow some money from Lee Qingxiang? His own family was impoverished, but Lee Qingxiang's was considered wealthy in the village. Her father, Lee Shuguang, had been running a tobacco and liquor store in Stone Stronghold Town for quite some time and was among the first in the village to prosper.

With this realization, Fong Chao felt a glimmer of hope.

The door creaked open, and Lee Qingxiang stepped into Fong Chao's room, bringing with her a subtle scent of perfume.

"Where's what you wrote today? I want to see it!" Lee Qingxiang burst into the room, unable to contain her eagerness.

"It's right here. The book is completely finished," Fong Chao replied, handing over the day's manuscript to Lee Qingxiang.

Lee Qingxiang sat down beside Fong Chao and eagerly dove into the pages, engrossed in the story. As she read, she casually draped one of her legs over Fong Chao's, gently rubbing it. Her leg was long, lean, and fair—a sight to behold.

Without much thought, Fong Chao rested his hand on her leg and began to caress it, noticing a layer of fine bumps had appeared. He wondered if these were the fabled goosebumps, a reaction to his touch.

Fong Chao felt a twinge of embarrassment. His body might be young, but it housed the soul of an older man. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was taking advantage of Lee Qingxiang, like an old bull grazing on tender grass.

How could he lay hands on such a young woman? With a sense of unease, he lifted his hand from her leg and rubbed his nose, forgetting for a moment that he was actually two years younger than Lee Qingxiang in body.

"Fong Chao, why did you stop? I like it when you touch me; it makes me feel so comfortable," Lee Qingxiang said, looking up at him.

"Oh?" Fong Chao was taken aback.

She was incredibly direct, sharing her feelings without any reservation.

"Just keep reading," Fong Chao suggested.

"Alright, I'll share my thoughts with you after I'm done," Lee Qingxiang crisply responded and returned her attention to the novel.

Transcribing 20,000 words a day from his mind was exhausting for Fong Chao, but Lee Qingxiang finished reading in just over ten minutes.

"Fong Chao, this book is amazing. It made my heart hurt so much by the end. You're too cruel. How could you write such a tragic story for Xu Fu Gui?" Lee Qingxiang lamented, setting down the manuscript, her face streaked with tears.

Xu Fu Gui was the protagonist of their tale.

"Such is life," Fong Chao mused, moved by her reaction. "Living can be a painful affair. Sometimes, life is shattered unexpectedly, over and over. To keep going, we need resilience and the ability to forget. Eventually, all pain dulls, and sorrow is met with indifference. In the end, we're all just waiting for death to arrive." Seeing Lee Qingxiang's tear-stained face, Fong Chao felt a pang in his heart and shared a bit of his own insight into life.