"I never expected that you two would be living here in seclusion," Li Yi said, bowing respectfully to them.

The landlord sighed, a hint of melancholy in his tone. "Young man, I don't know how you found out we were here, and I don't care why you're looking for me. We’ve been out of the martial world for many years now. There’s no more ‘Divine Eagle Hero’—just an old man and an old woman."

At the end of his words, the landlady moved to his side, leaning on his shoulder, and sighed softly. He, too, wrapped his arm around her.

While the two were lost in their nostalgic moment, Li Yi set out the food he had bought, placing the various cooked dishes on the table. He poured a glass of wine and handed it to the landlord.

"Senior, I’ve prepared this for you. Don’t you want to have a sip?"

The landlord glanced at the dishes—braised beef, salted goose, sweet water duck, pig’s trotters, assorted vegetables, and seven or eight cold dishes filled the table. The fragrance of the wine filled the air, teasing his taste buds.

"I’ll…," he started, but before he could finish, his gaze shifted to his wife, and the words stuck in his throat. The glass he had raised to drink was slowly placed back on the table.

For a drunkard, having the dishes ready and the wine in hand, but not allowed to drink, was pure torment.

"Here, senior, have a smoke. These cigarettes are good, won’t harm your lungs," Li Yi said, quickly tearing open the package and offering it to the landlady.

Li Yi didn’t understand why the landlady smoked, unless she wanted to slowly ruin her own martial abilities. Her Lion’s Roar Kung Fu was directly related to lung capacity, and smoking could irreparably damage her lungs. Even though martial artists' bodies detox better than ordinary people, prolonged smoking would still decrease lung capacity, weakening overall physical abilities.

For someone like the landlady, this was almost like crippling most of her martial arts.

She didn’t accept the cigarette, glaring at him. "Flattery, huh? It’s either trickery or theft," she said, scanning him from head to toe as though trying to see through him.

Li Yi gave an awkward smile. "Senior, you’re sharp."

The landlord knew exactly what he meant. "Flattery, huh? But let’s just eat and see what’s easy to solve," he thought. If it’s a simple problem, he might lend a hand, but if it’s difficult, he’d just enjoy his meal and forget it.

"I do have a request. I want to learn how to suppress the aura I have. When I was training alone, I didn’t notice it, but here I can feel it. If I don’t suppress it, everything I do becomes inconvenient, and people around me are terrified of me."

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Li Yi’s tone was sincere. This was one of the main reasons he came here, though it was also true that he hoped to learn a few things from them. But he didn’t want to ask outright—he planned to wait until he built a better relationship with them before making the request. The chances of success would be higher then.

"Humph!" The landlady snorted dismissively. It was obvious she didn’t believe a word of what he said.

The landlord raised his hand. The aura that had surrounded Li Yi earlier began to dissipate, but that oppressive force like a fierce tiger in the mountains resurfaced. Fortunately, this was the top floor, and most of the residents weren’t home.

Li Yi looked at them with an innocent expression. He wasn’t trying to release this aura—it was simply out of his control. Sometimes, he couldn’t even sense it himself. He could only gauge it by how the people around him reacted.

When he was in Stone Village, this wasn’t a problem because the villagers were generally stronger than him. But now, in this new place, he could feel it.

The landlady didn’t speak. Instead, she released her own aura. Her aura was focused, while Li Yi’s was scattered, overwhelming everything in all directions. As her aura pressed down like a mountain, Li Yi felt the oppressive force, yet he was helpless against it.

At that moment, he finally understood what it was like to be the target of such overwhelming force. If he didn’t know better, he might have mistaken her for a lion, one with the power to kill him. At least, he could still make some effort to resist.

But for ordinary people, facing such a force, they couldn’t even resist. Their fear would be magnified multiple times.

Seeing Li Yi’s innocent look, the landlady cursed him silently. She increased her pressure, and Li Yi felt as if he was trapped in a tiny boat, adrift in a violent storm.

Despite this, he did nothing. The landlady was now puzzled. She had applied so much pressure, yet Li Yi didn’t resist. Could it be that he really couldn’t control himself?

But that didn’t seem right. Even if he had no internal energy training, just his external martial arts should have gradually helped him control his aura over time.

She gradually lessened her aura, circling Li Yi. "This doesn’t make sense," she murmured.

No one noticed the landlord. He took advantage of the distraction, having already drunk most of the bottle of wine and eaten a good portion of the dishes.

Li Yi still wore an innocent expression, which made the landlady even more suspicious. If he was pretending, he was doing it exceptionally well. Could it be that he really couldn’t control himself?

"Can’t you really control it?" she asked, finally breaking the silence.

Li Yi quickly nodded. "I truly can’t control it."

"Sit cross-legged, close your eyes, and start to feel yourself."

The landlady’s final doubts had not fully dissipated, but she decided to give it a try. Li Yi immediately followed her instructions. She observed his posture and could tell instantly. He had never truly practiced martial arts—his posture was too relaxed. It was obvious he hadn’t trained seriously.

But where did his immense strength come from? The landlady wondered, though she didn’t ask—she didn’t care about that detail.

"Focus on your breathing—inhale, exhale. Focus all your attention on yourself, as if the entire world has disappeared, and there’s only you."

Her voice was soft, yet Li Yi could hear her clearly. This was the difference between having guidance and not. When someone guides you, they tell you exactly what to do and how to adjust. Without that, you can only blindly follow a confusing manual, which could lead to missteps and disaster.