Chapter 95: Dali Gets Married

Acting at once, Xiao Weiguo locked the door and shut the windows, then stepped into the inner realm.

He first stood barefoot and unhurried on the black earth beneath the mountain and began practicing the Golden Vajra Method, section by section. As he trained, Xiao Weiguo kept feeling as though something was seeping in from the dark soil in fine, threadlike strands and sinking into his body, settling there.

It left his whole body feeling cool and clear.

Most striking of all was the moment he finished and ended the closing form. The sensation far surpassed anything before it, flowing straight up from the soles of his feet, as though he had bitten into an ice pop in the height of summer.

Xiao Weiguo was enormously invigorated.

It worked. It worked very well.

It seemed this was a method for using spiritual energy, not, as he had previously thought, a method for producing it.

After finishing, Xiao Weiguo moved his body around and found that he had a little more strength than before, and his muscles felt fuller.

It should be a technique that strengthened the body and enhanced it.

Then what about the other art, the Eight-Section Longevity Method? Xiao Weiguo was deeply curious about what that technique was meant to do.

He could continue learning it tomorrow.

And so Xiao Weiguo practiced again and again. As for Yang Mo Guang's claim that it could only be practiced when the sun had just risen, Xiao Weiguo merely said that inside the inner realm there was always a field of pale whiteness, so that concept simply did not exist here.

He also drank a cup of well water before beginning his practice and discovered that its effect was far superior to that of the black earth. It seemed the well water contained far more spiritual energy than the soil.

Thus he practiced over and over again, and whether because of the well water or the excitement in his heart, Xiao Weiguo felt no trace of fatigue.

Only when he could no longer draw out any more well water did he finally stop.

He immediately fertilized the ground in the inner realm.

Feeling his body, Xiao Weiguo realized that his strength had grown by a great margin. His build was now the kind that looked lean in clothes but solid and muscular without them.

His figure had become even more perfect.

Xiao Weiguo was extremely satisfied.

He went back to the well and saw that the water inside had run dry, not a single drop left.

Only then, looking at the dried-up well, did he remember that he had meant to keep observing how the spring water was consumed.

He thought that for now he could stop adding water to the well, letting the spring remain dry for a time, and then watch the changes in the inner realm to see what role the spring water played in daily use.

That was a good idea. He would do exactly that.

Having made up his mind, Xiao Weiguo left the inner realm, lay down on the bed, and fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, Xiao Weiguo woke up.

Half-asleep, he reached for the new Shanghai wristwatch beside his pillow. It was only six o'clock.

Today was also the last day of his holiday. Tomorrow, Monday, he would have to go back to work, and Xiao Weiguo wanted to sleep in a little longer.

He had no idea how late he had practiced in the inner realm last night. Though his body felt refreshed, his mind was somewhat tired.

But then he remembered that today was Li Daniu's wedding day, and he had already promised to attend.

Besides, he could go early. What if there was something he could help with?

In the factory, Xiao Weiguo did not have many friends yet, and Li Daniu counted as one of them.

Thinking this, Xiao Weiguo forced down his drowsiness and got up to wash and brush himself clean.

He then took out the fried flatbread he had previously stored in the inner realm and ate a simple breakfast with hot water.

After that, he rode his bicycle out. It was Sunday, and the courtyard was very quiet.

In those days, people usually had only one day off a week, or none at all, with just three or four days of compensatory leave in a month, so most people were at home resting today.

They certainly would not be getting up so early.

Li Daniu had told him the address before, and Xiao Weiguo asked his way there all along the road.

As soon as he arrived, he saw Li Daniu sitting all alone on the threshold at the gate of a crowded courtyard, looking somewhat forlorn.

From afar, Xiao Weiguo thought something was not right. Today was the joyous day of a wedding, so why did it not feel festive at all?

There were no red double-happiness decorations, no red paper, nothing of the sort.

When Xiao Weiguo came close, he said, "Big Brother Dali, why are you sitting here all by yourself? When are we going to fetch the bride? Just say the word if you need help."

Hearing someone call him, Li Daniu quickly looked up. A smile appeared on his lonely face as he said to Xiao Weiguo, "It's you, Weiguo. Good, I'm not alone after all! Come on, in a little while we'll go together to bring your sister-in-law home. Ha!"

From the sound of it, why were there only the two of them? Not to mention that Li Daniu was a native old Beijinger; just considering the driver group at the factory, there were plenty of men there. Surely they could not all be on bad terms with Li Daniu.

So Xiao Weiguo asked, "Big Brother Dali, is it really just the two of us? That's a little thin. What about your coworkers or childhood friends?"

Li Daniu was silent for a moment, then said to Xiao Weiguo, "Weiguo, to be honest, because of this matter of mine, my parents and all the elders in the family do not support it.

They already told all the neighbors and relatives in advance that not a single person would come today.

I took over from my father, and everyone in the driver group at the factory gives my dad face, so none of them will come today either.

That leaves just the two of us. I don't know whether anyone else from the other departments who gets along with me will come.

They're not like you, newly arrived at the factory and not knowing anyone, so you have no such worries.

If they know the people from the driver group aren't coming, then they probably won't come either.

Forget it. If they don't come, they don't come. The two of us brothers will do just fine.

Good brother, from now on, Weiguo, you are my very best brother, Li Daniu's best brother!"

So that was what was going on.

Xiao Weiguo put himself in his place and thought that if he were Li Daniu's father, forget simply informing everyone not to attend the wedding—he could even have broken his son's legs and done it.

A fine young man with an excellent job and a bright future, and he had to go off and play the role of a stepping-stone for someone else's household.

Still, as a friend he had only met a few times, all he could do was offer his blessing.

He just hoped that sister-in-law would have some conscience, and that the children from before would too.

Otherwise, he might end up with the same fate as Foolish Zhu. In the end, once he could no longer work, he was driven out of the house by Qin Huairu's whole family, froze to death beneath a bridge, and it was only his old rival Xu Damao who claimed his body.

"All right then, Big Brother Dali. When do we set out? Do you have a big red flower? I'll tie it to my bicycle."

Xiao Weiguo could only force up his spirits and accompany Li Daniu through what would clearly be a less-than-grand wedding.

"Let's wait a bit longer, wait a bit longer. I'll see if anyone else is coming," Li Daniu said, gazing toward the far end of the street, still hoping in his heart that someone would come to attend this wedding that others viewed so poorly.

He could not understand why no one believed in his marriage to Sister Qinqin. Sister Qin was such a wonderful person, and all three of her children were good-natured as well. He was willing to become their stepfather.

Xiao Weiguo could only sit on the steps by the courtyard gate and chat idly with Li Daniu.

Another half hour passed, and it was nearly nine o'clock, yet still no one came.

Li Daniu took one last look into the courtyard. He had been waiting at the gate for two hours, and not a single person had come out from inside.

Apparently his neighbors were avoiding him to such an extent that they were even holding back from going to the toilet. It was truly helpless.

He called to Xiao Weiguo, gave a self-mocking smile, and said, "Weiguo, let's go. Seems you're the only one who doesn't know what's going on, staying here to keep your brother company."