Chapter Forty-Five: You Really Did Consider It

A trace of embarrassment flashed in Zhang Ziying's eyes as she deflected with the excuse of prioritizing her career for now and having no immediate plans for marriage. She said no more, set down her gift, and spoke briefly about the matter of crossing the river.

The meal was nearly ready, all that remained was to let the residual heat crisp the rice at the bottom of the pot. Without further ado, Li Si personally escorted Zhang Ziying to the dock, rowing the Li Dayong family boat to see her safely across. His own boat was on the far bank; when the time came, Zhang Ziying could cross back together with Li Yunfei.

“Thank you, Great-Uncle Four. I’ll head in now.”

“Mind the time—you’ll want to hurry. Soon the wild boars will be out foraging. Meet up with Xiaofei as quickly as you can, just to be safe.”

“I know, I know.”

Parting with Li Si, Zhang Ziying strode briskly along the path toward the village. Her stamina was not lacking—five or six kilometers of mountain trail would take her less than an hour. Yet she hadn’t walked ten minutes, hadn’t even crested a single hill, when she saw Li Yunfei descending from the mountain, a travel pack on his back and the little fox draped over his shoulder.

At once, she stopped, hands on her hips, pausing on the mountain path to catch her breath with a few deep inhalations. The climb had been steep enough to be taxing, and her cheeks were flushed with the healthy glow of recent exertion.

“Yingzi? What brings you here?” Li Yunfei affected surprise at the sight of her.

In truth, he’d seen her from atop the ridge, spotting the boat on the river and recognizing her aboard. Hastily, he’d had the little fox resume its true form, slung his pack on his back, and only when she disembarked and started up the mountain did he emerge, feigning that he’d just come from the village himself.

As Li Yunfei drew closer, Zhang Ziying finally spoke, “You—while the world outside is turning upside down, you’re holed up in these mountains? What is it, trying to become some kind of hermit sage?”

Li Yunfei blinked, pretending confusion. “Turning upside down? Has there been a huge outbreak of supernatural phenomena?”

Zhang Ziying reached out to take the little fox from his shoulder, cuddling it in her arms as she turned to walk on. “More or less. Come on, I’ll tell you as we go.”

Side by side, they headed toward the dock, and Zhang Ziying recounted all that had unfolded recently.

Two days prior, she’d completed her physical examination and received her results. Not only did she possess the aptitude for cultivation, her potential was rated extremely high. Soon, she would attend Zixiao—the special cultivation academy established for the public security system.

Li Yunfei, being part of the military system, would, if he qualified, attend a different institution. Cultivation academies were divided into five distinct tracks: public security, military, other civil servants and state enterprise employees, students, and adults already in society. Each system had its own administrative and teaching methods, with the public security and military tracks being the most straightforward—both groups had the highest ideological awareness, entirely unlike the general population. Once they began training and achieved combat readiness, they could be assigned directly into Zixiao’s various units, becoming part of the greater power of Daxia.

Next were the state employees and civil servants, whose awareness was likewise commendable; they required only some militarized training, learning strict discipline and obedience, to transition from ordinary citizens into warriors.

Adults from wider society were more varied in thought, but as grown-ups, they generally had some degree of maturity. The most challenging group, however, was the students—a true trial for administrators. From elementary school to university, the age range spanned widely; their understanding of the world differed, making the task of management all the more demanding. Yet students made up the vast majority of those with cultivation aptitude, with elementary and middle schoolers comprising the largest share.

The saying “the flowers of our nation’s future” had never been more apt. In terms of age and physical condition, this group was the most ideally suited to cultivation. Middle and high schoolers were somewhat easier to reason with, but elementary students—those were a handful.

Thus, Zixiao had established separate academies for elementary students, placing them under the management style of traditional sects rather than a militarized system, with the faculty drawn from major cultivation schools.

Even with Daxia’s massive population, those selected for cultivation were not many—out of over a billion people, only a few tens of thousands qualified, truly one in ten thousand. Of these, about seventy percent were students, with elementary and middle schoolers making up seventy percent of that group. After all, as one aged, the bones and meridians set; unless one was extraordinarily gifted, adults generally lost the aptitude for cultivation.

Someone like Zhang Ziying was a rarity across the entire nation. There was nothing for adults to do but lament their timing—if only the world’s spiritual energy had revived a few decades earlier.

…

After hearing Zhang Ziying’s story, Li Yunfei sighed inwardly. So, in the end, it was unavoidable. With his body now six times stronger than the average person’s, and his not inconsiderable reserve of spiritual power, who knew what the examination might reveal? He wondered if his system could mask his abilities, make him appear utterly ordinary—or even lacking any aptitude at all. For with his circumstances, entering a cultivation academy would only slow his progress; only by remaining “wild” could he grow stronger at the fastest pace.

“The Armed Forces Department has called you several times, but couldn’t reach you. So they ended up calling me instead.”

At this, Zhang Ziying shot him a sidelong glance, her eyes flickering as she tried to appear casual. “Hey, how come you put me down as your emergency contact?”

Li Yunfei shrugged. “There’s no one else, aside from you and your parents. If not you, then who?”

Though Li Yunfei’s tone was light, a pang struck Zhang Ziying’s heart. Indeed, aside from her family, he had no relatives left to list—those in his hometown were just extended kin, not true family.

Her voice softened, “You could have listed my parents, you know. Why me?”

Li Yunfei replied, “Because no matter what happens, I want you to be the first to know.”

No matter how tough, no matter how “steel-hearted,” any woman would be moved by such words. Zhang Ziying’s heart skipped a beat. Remembering how Li Yunfei had used her as a shield with his elders, she couldn’t say what she felt as she said, “By the way, you told Great-Uncle Four and the others we were together. They took it seriously! Just now they were asking when we planned to get married. How do you plan to get out of that?”

Li Yunfei blurted out, “What’s the problem? If it comes to that, we’ll just invite them all to the wedding.”

At that, Zhang Ziying’s heart raced. Was he serious?

“Come on, I thought we were just friends, and you actually want to sleep with me?”

That was typical Zhang Ziying. The little fox in her arms looked up at her and rolled its eyes.

Li Yunfei raised an eyebrow, grinning slyly. “Why not? Friends are friends, but I’m a man and you’re a woman. Don’t tell me you’ve never daydreamed about me?”

Zhang Ziying was momentarily speechless.

Li Yunfei exclaimed, “Wait, you actually have?”

“Of course not. Don’t flatter yourself.”

“I don’t believe you. I’m this handsome—girls on the street ask for my WeChat. You, right here at my side, never had any designs?”

“Oh, sure. You’re so handsome, I should hang you on the wall like a painting.”

“Seriously? That’s your thing? I never would’ve guessed.”

“…”