(5) The King of Hell's Overwhelming Presence

"Sister, don't fret over me—I can go sit next to Uncle Heng." Out of nowhere, Guo Huilian spoke up like rain after a drought, clearly stating her willingness, instantly resolving Han Qian's most pressing crisis. But all three of them—Han Qian, Han Jin, and Yueming—turned to stare at her in astonishment at the same time.

"Truly, a newborn calf doesn't fear the tiger..." all three of them couldn't help but think to themselves. Han Qian asked, hardly able to believe it, "You're really all right with it?"

"I'm all right with it." Guo Huilian nodded. "The whole way here, at every relay station, we all sat together at the same square table—Uncle Heng, Tenth Brother, Auntie Gui, and me!" Guo Huilian even sketched out their "seating chart" in the air with her finger, the four of them at the four sides of the table—Yue Heng to her left, Wang Qiugui to her right, and Tian Xu directly across from her...

Oh, right! For a moment they had all completely forgotten that Uncle Heng had accompanied their brother to Chang'an to bring Guo Huilian back to the manor. The two of them had spent so many days together along the road, naturally sharing countless meals together already—they were hardly complete strangers to one another. All that worrying for nothing had turned her hair half gray with anxiety...

"You're not scared?" Yueming's eyes lit up. This Guo Fourth Sister, only twelve years old, with not a shred of martial training to her name, actually possessed the composure to face the heavens crashing down without so much as flinching? That practically put her on the same level as Auntie Wan.

Guo Huilian shook her head so hard it looked like a rattle drum by now, and asked, mildly, in return: "Why would I be scared? Is Uncle Heng really that frightening?"

This was the second time Guo Huilian had heard everyone speak of their awe of Yue Heng—Wang Qiugui had mentioned it once already back in the carriage, and now, having witnessed it firsthand and heard it discussed again with her own ears, Guo Huilian found herself thoroughly curious. She knew Uncle Heng was a man of few words, the sort who kept to himself—whenever she'd greeted him politely, the most he'd ever offered back was a single "Mm," and nothing more. To Guo Huilian, Uncle Heng was simply an elder who was hard to get close to; he wasn't warm and attentive the way Uncle Da was, but he didn't strike her as frightening either. Was she simply not sensitive enough to pick up on it? She had no idea.

"Now Yueyue Manor has another heroine among women..."

Han Jin gave Guo Huilian a thumbs-up in praise, and seemed about to say something more, when a commotion arose outside—it turned out to be Tian Xu and Yue Heng arriving together, with Wang Qiugui and the trio of Hu Yiwan, master and two disciples, trailing behind them, and, bringing up the rear, the six Yue-disciples. With mealtime upon them, this whole group had naturally come to eat, and the four of them—Han Qian and the others—had been so caught up in their heated discussion that they'd completely forgotten the fact. As Tian Xu walked in, he shot them a look, meaning that he'd heard everything they'd just said—Yue Heng's martial skill and hearing both surpassed his own, so of course he'd have caught every word too, clear as day, and they'd best keep that in mind. Wang Qiugui and Hu Yiwan, not having seen each other in over two years, were chatting away happily, beaming from ear to ear, with no attention to spare for anything else; Yueying shrugged, giving them a look that said "there's nothing I can do to help"; Yuefeng, Yuehua, Yuehao, and Yuesheng, who always took their cues from their senior martial brother Yueying, followed his lead in turn, their expressions and gestures identical down to the last detail; and Yuelan made faces at Yueming and Han Jin, as if to warn them to fend for themselves from here on out.

The moment Han Jin caught sight of Yue Heng walking into the dining hall, he leapt straight up out of his chair and, together with Yueming, called out with the utmost deference: "Master." Han Qian's heart pounded in her chest, and without daring to even lift her head, she tugged at Guo Huilian beside her and joined in the awkward chorus: "Uncle Heng."

Yue Heng swept a cold glance over Han Qian, Han Jin, and Yueming all at once, and all three of them wilted on the spot, breaking out in a sweat despite the bitter cold.

"He who does nothing shameful in daylight need not fear a knock at midnight." Aside from the training grounds, no one could say how long it had been since Yue Heng had last spoken, and his sudden remark scared all three of them half out of their souls.

"Who taught you to gossip about your elders behind their backs?" Yue Heng didn't so much as glance their way, simply walking straight to his own seat and sitting down.

Given that being scolded on the training grounds was practically a daily occurrence for them, Yueming and Han Jin didn't dare waste another moment once they saw how things stood, and immediately dropped to their knees to beg forgiveness. Yueming quietly tugged at Han Qian's hand, signaling for her to kneel as well, and only then did Han Qian snap back to her senses, pulling Guo Huilian down with her to kneel and confess their fault to Yue Heng in a hurry.

Wang Qiugui and Hu Yiwan sensed that something was off and both turned their eyes toward Tian Xu, who gave them a look that clearly said "don't get involved." With both her son and daughter caught up in this, Wang Qiugui couldn't help feeling anxious, but since it evidently concerned Yue Heng, she didn't dare ask about it rashly either.

"What's the point of dragging the poor girl down to kneel too?" Yue Heng glanced at Han Qian, and every hair on her body stood on end; she scrambled to help Guo Huilian back to her feet, her own head bowed so low it nearly touched the floor.

"After the meal, Yueming and Han Jin will go to the training grounds and hold horse stance with a water jar balanced on their heads for one hour. If the jar falls, they start over from the beginning." He looked toward Han Qian. "You'll go too—stand off to the side, for the same hour."

And so the meal began amid roiling, stormy tension, both tables of diners frantically shoveling down their food, not daring so much as a deep breath, in an atmosphere thick enough to cut with a knife—only for Yue Heng, of all people, to calmly start heaping food into Guo Huilian's bowl as though nothing at all were the matter, until before long her bowl was piled full to overflowing.

"Uncle Heng! That's too much food, I can't possibly eat it all..." Guo Huilian's face was a picture of shock, the food in her bowl mounded up like a small hill, leaving her utterly unsure where to even begin.

Just as everyone else broke into a cold sweat on Guo Huilian's behalf, Yue Heng, most unexpectedly, responded to her without a trace of displeasure.

"Eat as much as you can. Whatever you can't finish, just give it back to Uncle Heng."

Surely today the sky over Yueyue Manor ought to rain blood, or tomorrow's sun rise in the west. Both tables of diners found their jaws dropping at the scene unfolding before them—it was simply impossible to believe.