True Solution of the Sword Dao

(The headache was severe, apologies for being a bit brief.)

At fifty percent of his strength, Lin Fei would be utterly unable to resist someone like the combat expert Sun Chengbin. However, if someone underestimated him because of this and saw him as an ordinary high school student, then even someone stronger than Sun Chengbin would not be sufficed to deal with him. Lin Fei, who had studied the second illustration, felt a significant increase in his body's sensitivity. Swinging the Bear Claw felt almost like nothing, nearly the same as when his hands were empty. With such speed, a deadly strike would surely bring forth a power that would shock anyone.

The darkness and silence in the bedroom allowed Lin Fei to catch a glimpse of two sneaky figures downstairs. These two had been wandering under the street light for quite some time now, both mysteriously looking left and right.

Of course, if that was all there was to it, Lin Fei wouldn't have noticed them. But the fact that every dozen or so seconds they glanced in his direction was a clear sign that the two were likely heading towards his home.

From their movements, he discerned a hint of well-trained discipline. This wasn't something that ordinary people or even typical combat enthusiasts possessed.

"Thieves? Robbers?"

Lin Fei guessed.

As he pondered, suddenly, there came a banging on the door.

"Bro~~ are you there?" It was the voice of his sister, Lin You. However, something was off; the girl never took the initiative to call him 'bro.' Her sudden change of behavior clearly indicated that something was up.

"What's wrong?" Lin Fei hurriedly responded. After dinner, he had gone straight to his bedroom, and Lin You had been in the living room the whole time; she was well aware that he hadn't gone out.

"It's nothing, just…" Lin You hesitated, her usually disdainful tone oddly gentle. "If you're alright, you better not go out tonight. There seem to be two sneaky people outside."

Indeed, Lin Fei understood; those two were here looking for her.

"That's not right. If I've already got this kind of trouble at home at this time, how did I spend so many peaceful years in my previous life?" Lin Fei's thoughts spun rapidly, instantly leading him to the most probable scenario.

"In this world, I haven't done anything impulsively to change the course of events, so the situation should be similar to my previous life. Yet the only difference is that I now have preliminary information about the Inner World. But that shouldn't make much of a difference. So the only possibility is that Lin You had always been silently protecting mom, dad, and me in my previous life without our knowledge. It was only when the enemy's power exceeded her ability to protect us that it led to the massacre in that great fire."

While his thoughts raced, Lin Fei still pretended to let out a hint of panic through his voice.

"Sneaky people? Lin You, are you sure you didn't see it wrong?"

"No, they are standing right under the streetlight. They glance over here every now and then," Lin You explained, "Anyway! Just don't go out tonight!!"

"This community is so large, how do you know they are coming for us? Plus, whether they are robbers is still uncertain." Lin Fei feigned dissatisfaction.

"I just know! Why so many questions!!" Lin You was getting impatient. The feeling of secretly protecting someone and then being doubted was really terrible.

"But…" Lin Fei didn't finish his sentence before Lin You cut him off,

"No buts! Let me tell you, Lin Fei! Don't think nobody knows about the dirty stuff under your bed. If you don't listen to me today, don't blame me for telling mom and dad!!" Lin You played her trump card.

However, Lin Fei was somewhat amused. During his high school years in his previous life, he was despised by his sister because of precisely these things, and she would use them as leverage to threaten him whenever anything substantial came up. But now, having been reborn and after practicing Basic Sword Technique and Qi Cultivation, such matters were strictly forbidden. The collection under his bed had long been disposed of in the large trash bin outside the school. Now that his sister was using it to threaten him, it gave Lin Fei a slight sense of warmth towards her. After all, Lin You was ultimately concerned about him, just not in the gentlest of ways.

Thinking this, Lin Fei realized that the absurd threats made in the past were probably just Lin You's way of protecting him—a fact that made him grow increasingly annoyed with her, and once even led to a loud argument. Now that he understood, a sense of guilt arose in his heart.

Hearing no response from inside, Lin You outside probably assumed Lin Fei had silently complied. She snorted, her slippers clacking as she went back to the living room.

After a moment of silence, Lin Fei gently touched the Bear Claw Sheath tucked at his waist, feeling a cool sensation from the metal handle. The sheath of the Bear Claw was made of metal and had a metal spring clip on the back, convenient for clipping onto the belt at his waist, which Lin Fei had done.

Having composed himself, Lin Fei looked out the window once more.

Even through the window, he could see the two people glancing over in the direction of his house from time to time. Coupled with Lin You's inexplicably certain manner, even a fool would know that these two were definitely targeting his house.

"If they are here because of Lin You, then it must be related to the Inner World, this means that these two are unlikely to be just ordinary people."

Just when things were feeling tricky...

Under the streetlights, a shirtless young man with his top tied around his waist walked over, dribbling a basketball from the direction of the school basketball court. The ball bounced rhythmically on the pavement, the sound steady and rhythmic.

Lin Fei recognized him.

This young man was Chen Feng, the child of a teacher living in the neighboring staff residential building. They had played together when they were younger, but now that they were older, they weren't as close as before.

The sound of the basketball suddenly attracted two shady-looking men standing under the streetlight. They stood to the side, ready to let Chen Feng pass by.

But something unexpected happened.

From a distance, Lin Fei saw Chen Feng suddenly throw the basketball aside, surge forward with a quick step, and land a punch savagely on one of the men's faces. With a scream, the man collapsed to the ground.

The other guy must have been stunned, because he didn't react in time. Chen Feng turned and kicked. The man got hit right in the gut and howled in pain as he was sent flying two meters before collapsing, half-dead, on the ground.

Stunned, Lin Fei stood in front of his window, speechless, watching Chen Feng knock down the two men in less than two seconds with moves like standard combat techniques, fierce and powerful.

It took a while before he caught his breath, recovering from the shock.

"When did this kid become so tough?? Damn, this is insane!"

Chen Feng dragged the two men together on the ground and pulled out a cell phone from somewhere, starting to make a call. It looked like he was reporting to the police.

Soon, the sound of police sirens wailed in the distance.

Lin Fei still stood at the window, watching the belated police handcuff the two men that Chen Feng had knocked out. The big boy with the basketball looked sheepishly around, surrounded by a crowd of guys from the yard who had heard the commotion.

When someone asked him why he had suddenly attacked two fleeing suspects, Chen Feng said with an air of righteousness, "It's my duty as a citizen to act bravely for a just cause and catch thieves." His words were immediately met with jeers. After a moment, it seemed he realized he might have overplayed his hand and added, "Actually, I just found those two guys annoying. I just didn't expect them to go down so easily." He scratched his head, looking embarrassed, which set off a wave of laughter around him.

*********

On the rooftop of a distant residential building, the young man who had been playing a block-pushing game on his phone watched thoughtfully as Chen Feng was surrounded by a crowd.

"Why is this guy here?"

He quickly closed the game and dialed a string of numbers with practiced ease.

"Hey, Captain, Chen Feng from Ping City suddenly made a move. Lei Kun's two men were caught by the public security. What now? How do we count Lin You's assessment?"

A middle-aged man's voice came through from the other end.

"Luck is also a form of strength. Count it as Lin You passing. But how could Chen Feng show up out of the blue? There are only three Psychics in Ping City—him, Lin You, and that one from West City District. Is it really such a coincidence?"

"Lin You and Chen Feng live in the same complex. It's exactly that coincidental," the young man said helplessly.

"So when Chen Feng reported Lin You's psychic identity, that wasn't a coincidence either?"

"Isn't that obvious?"

"Forget it, then. You and Lily come back tomorrow. Three Psychics in Ping City is already a lot. Staying longer wouldn't be permitted by other parties either." The man on the phone paused and then added, "Give the basic information to Lin You. The situation is tense right now; we don't have spare people to train her specifically. She'll have to develop on her own from now on."

"Okay." The young man snapped the phone shut, stood up, rubbed his legs, yawned lazily, and then turned to leave.