Chapter 012 - The Return-Willow Technique
Li Yuan’s stirring as he got out of bed woke Yan Yu, who was still tucked under the covers. She watched him practicing that same routine she’d shown him yesterday. She was partly amused and partly worried. Peeking out the window, she noticed the weather looked pretty good, so she hurried to get up as well.
They were running low on water at home, so she planned to go to the village well first thing in the morning. After a bit, she warmed up last night’s leftovers, put on her makeup, and stuffed a few scraps of cloth into her clothes. Then she looked at Li Yuan and said, “There’s some bean porridge in the pot. The pheasant oil is right there. Just mix it in.”
She took a few steps, then turned back with concern in her voice. “That set of moves really is just for health and fitness. It’s not a real martial cultivation technique. Don’t get too carried away.”
“Got it,” Li Yuan replied, pausing his practice to glance her way. “You going to fetch water?”
“The water jar’s empty, and it hasn’t rained these last few days.”
“You’re going alone?”
“Of course not. I’ll go with Auntie Wang and Feng’er. Even if their water jars aren’t empty, they’ll still tag along if I ask. Nobody goes out on their own these days.”
Sensing his lingering worry, Yan Yu gave him a reassuring smile. “It’s just along the main road. Nothing’s going to happen. After all, I used to do this on my own all the time when you weren’t around.”
With that, she lifted a large wooden bucket and headed for the door. It was tiring work; filling the water jar would take four or five trips back and forth to the well.
Li Yuan was about to continue his practice when he saw Yan Yu's soot-smudged face pop back around the doorframe. She nagged one more time, “I’m telling you, this is just a health routine. It’s not a real technique, so don’t lose yourself in it.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” he said with a wave of his hand. “I’m just doing it for exercise, not for cultivation.”
Hearing that, Yan Yu finally seemed at ease. From her point of view, cultivation was something distant and lofty, far beyond her grasp. Her nephew, Yan Mu, had dealt with such things, but that felt like another lifetime ago. Li Yuan, being her husband, seemed equally far removed from it.