"To be honest, I thought you were just messing around at first."

Upon hearing this, Judy slowly sat up straight, lowering her crossed leg, and tilted her chin up at Li Yan.

"Who's messing around with you?"

She stood and began to walk away, then suddenly turned around, her beautiful eyes glaring.

"Let's go, are we still eating?"

Li Yan smacked his lips and stood up as well, signaling the waiter.

"Could you pack this up for me, thanks."

Judy descended from the Dining Boat and hopped onto a Sea Fishing Painted Boat. Li Yan followed closely behind.

"Where to?"

He asked.

The boat floated on the sea, gently swaying with the current, the soft yellow light inside the cabin exceptionally warm.

"Let's drift."

Judy removed her hairpin, letting her hair cascade down. She stretched lazily as Li Yan entered the cabin and took in the sight.

"Is that all you wanted to say earlier?"

Judy inquired.

Li Yan, head bowed, said, "Considering I rushed to save you in such a panic, do me a favor, I have a neighbor..."

As he spoke, he suddenly felt a tickle in his nose and was about to look up when warm lips pressed against his.

It was like a surging wildfire.

Li Yan turned and pinned Judy down, her laughter ringing in his ears like silver bells.

His pectoral muscles pressed tightly against Judy's full bosom.

"Did you listen carefully to what I said?"

The woman hooked her hand around Li Yan's waist, gently nibbling on his ear.

"Very clear."

She twisted at his waist and said through clenched teeth:

"If you hesitate even now, don't ever call yourself a man again."

Li Yan stared at Judy, the sound of him swallowing his saliva audible. He grinned, a different kind of ripple in his eyes.

"You're right."

With that, he buried his head.

The night sea was deep and vast, two white fish sliced through the surface, their light-colored tails, A Fleeting Glance, swiftly disappearing into the water. They left behind a quivering ripple, reflecting the crushed Star Speck across the sky.

Drunk, unaware of the sky above the water, the boat laden with clear dreams presses down the Milky Way...

...

"What are you doing?"

The woman's voice was both shy and reproachful.

"My right hand is inconvenient, let's switch positions."

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

...

"Try the Char Siu I made."

Li Yan, wearing an apron, had an unusual tenderness in his eyes.

Ah Xiu remained silent.

Li Yan raised his bandaged right hand.

"I'm in such a state, give me some face, will you?"

After a pause, the girl finally asked:

"Where were you last night?"

"I had some private matters to deal with."

Li Yan tossed the shovel into the sink.

"By the way, I've sorted out the paperwork for the school for you. Later, I'll introduce someone to you, a distant relative from your family. It took me a lot of effort to find her, but she's willing to be your guardian. Both legally and morally, she's more suitable than I am."

"My family fled here to escape famine; how could we have relatives in Hong Kong?"

"Your mother mentioned it before she passed away, it's definitely true."

Li Yan's statement was delivered with finality.

Ah Xiu's eyes were cast downward.

"Don't think I'm easy to deceive just because I'm young."

A girl who knew her mother was dead but could act as if nothing happened, a teenager who, upon seeing corpses strewn all around, instinctively dragged them inside to keep them from being discovered—how could she be easily fooled?

Li Yan sat down beside Ah Xiu and patted her shoulder.

"Your mother also hoped you would have a good life."

The girl didn't respond, simply picking up her bowl and chopsticks and quietly shoveling rice into her mouth.

At two in the afternoon, Judy, wearing light blue jeans and a pair of black ladies' leather shoes, arrived at Li Yan's place.

"I never expected that my aunt had been in Hong Kong all along; I never saw her before she died."

Judy's eyes were swollen red.

"But she left behind a daughter, and I will definitely take good care of her. Come on, call me Sister Judy."

Ah Xiu's little face was timid, a stark contrast to the silent gloom she exhibited in front of Li Yan.

It took a while before, under Judy's encouraging gaze, she finally moved her lips.

"Ju—Sister Judy."

Watching the two embrace and cry together, Li Yan couldn't help but marvel at the natural acting skills of women.

...

"That little girl is quite interesting," Judy remarked as she lit a lady's cigarette, resting her arm on Li Yan's.

"I told you to acknowledge her as your cousin because I hope she won't be gossiped about in the future. There's no need to indulge her too much; just make sure she finishes her schooling."

Judy smiled noncommittally, then turned her head curiously to look at Li Yan.

"Even with your injured right hand, you couldn't have lost to that Wing Chun kid, could you?"

In Judy's eyes, Li Yan's ability to kill Ah Yu with the Coiled Serpent was nothing short of superhuman. Even now, if Li Yan told her he could shoot down planes from the rooftop of the Hong Kong Government House, she wouldn't question it immediately.

Li Yan tilted his head.

The awe-inspiring Yanfu Heritage of Li Jiangyu was indeed intimidating. When the Giant Serpent, impervious to blades and guns, swallowed bullets as if they were candy, anyone would feel that this adversary was invincible.

Li Yan did not share the common opinion. Ba Snake was indeed dangerous, but Li Jiangyu's qualities were subpar.

Sometimes, the frantic commands of Li Jiangyu, the Host, could even suppress Ba Snake's innate predatory instincts.

With the Host being Ba Snake's Achilles' heel, coupled with the restriction of having to operate within two hundred meters post-release, the potential of this extraordinary power was immense, yet not particularly practical at the moment.

The inherent frailty of the human body meant that life-and-death struggles were fraught with too much instability.

Eyes, groin, heart, neck, spine.

If both parties were mere mortals, a fist strong enough to shatter bones was sufficient—no need to split diamonds. After all, the Yanfu World had no health bars.

Of course, if Xu Tianci were to face Li Jiangyu, in such a scenario, Li Yan would still favor Li Jiangyu. Even Li Yan's own victory over Li Jiangyu was more a matter of mental fortitude and courage rather than brute strength. Ba Snake's invulnerability to weapons, its lightning-fast sprint when coiled around Li Jiangyu, and the bizarre strength of its teeth that could devour anything in their path were indeed insoluble.

Yet from another perspective, Zhang Mingyuan might not be inferior to Li Jiangyu. The Power of the Enlightened Beast could burn through souls, which meant that perhaps Zhang Mingyuan's punches and kicks could be effective against Ba Snake.

After all, this wasn't about clearing levels, where the next opponent was necessarily stronger than the last. Everyone had a chance at victory, dependent on mindset, courage, and luck.

If he himself possessed Ba Snake, how would he utilize it? Li Yan couldn't help but ponder.

After the Yanfu Incident concluded, he too should own a Heritage like Zhang Mingyuan and Li Jiangyu, one that was uniquely his. According to Zhang Mingyuan, Heritage was one of the most precious things in the Yanfu World, attainable with a one hundred percent chance only upon the first completion of the Yanfu Incident. After that, the difficulty of acquiring a second or even more Yanfu Heritages would increase exponentially.

"Do you hope I win?"

Judy, who could easily obliterate a Large Association like Consecutive Victories, looked up with the bright eyes of a young girl.

"Of course."

"Then I shall..." Li Yan took the cigarette from Judy's hand and took a drag.

"I will definitely defeat him."

**********

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