Chapter 7: The Internal Force Guerrilla War with Old Dad

  As he entered, a tall figure emerged, with snowflakes still on his body. He was wearing a white sheepskin coat, a fox-fur hat on his head, and a pair of leather boots on his feet. His entire being exuded an air of spirit and elegance, like an old red pine standing tall on the mountain. His dark red face left a deep impression on me at first glance, especially his eyes, which were exceptionally bright, spirited, and profound, with a piercing gaze that seemed to see right through things. They were calm as still water, yet peaceful, but if you looked closely, there would be an occasional glint of cold light in his eyes, like the undercurrents rushing beneath the frozen surface of a river.

  Our eyes met, and I felt like I was being seen through, but his gaze now is full of kindness and comfort, exuding a sense of relief that can't be suppressed, with concern and deep attachment. To be honest, his appearance is nothing like my father's from my past life - they're completely different types of people - but their gazes are surprisingly similar. Looking at him, I forgot about his appearance, and my thoughts were completely swayed by this gaze. For a moment, I felt like I was having a heart-to-heart talk with my father from my past life. My eyes moistened involuntarily, and in that instant, I lost myself and had an irrepressible feeling of psychological dependence, just like a child who's lost their way in the dark night suddenly sees the light from their home window and the familiar figure under the lamp.

  "Dad, you're back!" This cry came out naturally, even subconsciously. My heart was melted by the thick affection, all the strangeness and unease disappeared, a feeling of being connected by blood arose in my heart. Yes, although my thoughts and ideas were brought from my past life, but this body I have now is indeed his flesh and blood. It was he who gave this body life, allowing my soul and consciousness to have something to rely on, so that my life could be reborn in another way. Farewell, everything of my past life. From now on, my life will always be with him, everything I do will be closely related to him. He and my current mom will be the most important people in this world where I was reborn, in my life.

  "Yes, Autumn, Dad is back, wake up." The words were few and concise, with a hint of tremble in his voice, revealing the excitement in his heart. His voice was thick and rough, with a metallic quality to it, strong penetration power, standard male middle tone, with potential to become a singer.

  "Autumn, look what Dad has brought back for you!" As he spoke, he pointed to the thing in Mom's hand. I took a closer look and wow! It was the famous Jiangbai fish! That was delicious, especially in winter. Rare, rare, especially in this era without industrial pollution. Just thinking about it made my mouth water, I wanted to eat.

  Everyone was busy getting up and saying hello to my dad, it's clear that they were very familiar with each other, and there was a kind of tacit understanding and closeness that came from going through many things together. "How is it, big brother? I said Xia Qiu would be fine, she has a good foundation from being tough since childhood, how could something happen to her so easily?" The doctor we invited said that whether she can wake up or not depends on the child's fate, what nonsense! I wanted to kick him out at the time," Second Uncle said loudly. "You, why are you still so impulsive when speaking and doing things? You're almost 40 years old, don't you know how to hold back your temper?" My dad said to Second Uncle, his tone had an elder brother's authority, but more of it was admiration. Yes, that's right, admiration. Second Uncle smiled, embarrassed, and rubbed the back of his head, not saying a word. It seems that Second Uncle wasn't afraid of Second Aunt, and he also had a certain degree of reverence for my dad.

  My second uncle and my dad are really different, not in terms of appearance, but in their personalities. If I had to say it, my second uncle is like a gleaming sharp knife, with an aura that's intimidating and his edges showing, while my dad is like a precious sword hidden in its scabbard, never revealing its edge, so others can never tell where his strengths lie. It's interesting, two people born of the same mother, yet with such different personalities. From my past life's perspective, it's really hard to say which one is better, they're both good, and it's hard to choose between them. If I were to learn from either one of them, it would be a loss, a regret. Oh well, why not just take the best qualities of both of these old men, absorb them, integrate them, wouldn't that make me, Tang Qiuli, have my own unique trademark? In popular terms, that's what they call having a special masculine charm. That's what I'll do, and with that thought, I felt a little smug, and secretly made up my mind.

  Dad came over to me, sat down beside me, touched my forehead, and then reached out to gently take my arm. He placed the three fingers of his right hand on my pulse, closed his eyes slightly, and I felt a warm flow coursing through my meridians, spreading throughout my body. Whoa! Old dad still has internal power! This is definitely someone with internal power, and the internal energy he's emitting can't fool me, a master of the trade.

  Wait, hold on! The natural internal energy within me is far more profound and pure than my old man's. We're not even on the same level. If he finds out that his 16-year-old son's internal strength surpasses his own, who knows what will happen? He might lose control of his emotions, a mix of shock, excitement, fear, confusion, doubt, and incredulity could cause him to lose control of his internal energy, go crazy, and put my life in danger. I've just barely managed to come back to life, and I'm still young and tender, like a delicate flower. I won't be able to withstand the blow. I need to think of a way to keep this from my old man, at least for now.

  I had a sudden idea, pretending to be somewhat tired, and slightly closed my eyes. I mobilized the inner energy distributed throughout my body, slowly thinking of shifting it elsewhere. Wherever Dad's inner energy went, mine would retreat from there. Under my spiritual exploration, the two strands of inner energy within me became as clear and distinct as a movie. He advanced, I retreated; he came, I went. In my body, Dad's inner energy and mine engaged in a guerrilla war. As I withdrew, I didn't forget to create some minor wounds on my already healed body from time to time. No choice, or it would arouse suspicion and not conform to reality, which would lead to Dad's doubts. Just explaining this would require a lot of saliva.

  My internal energy is retreating while creating injuries, it's not easy, "it sounds easy for you to say, come try it yourself", that's self-destruction on my own body. I feel Dad's breathing getting a bit heavier, his internal energy is probing the injuries inside me and trying to repair them at the same time. Poor old dad, I'm making him work so hard. I have no choice but to do this, God forgive me. Another day, I'll make it up to him, take him to the mountains to hunt wild game, down to the river to catch fresh fish, and repay what he lost today. I know that after a week of doing this, his original abilities will be depleted by a lot, and it's not like using one's own internal energy to heal oneself, those are two different things.

  Should I leave some internal strength to make Dad feel at ease? After careful consideration of the pros and cons, it's better not to take this risk. I have no idea where my old man's internal strength comes from. If he finds out that his son, whom he has taught since childhood, has internal strength that wasn't taught by him, there will be trouble. It's not like I fell off a cliff and changed the internal strength into something else, right? That would be too perverted. Even if I died, no one would believe it. You wouldn't believe it either, would you? Anyway, I don't believe it. Is he trying to fool a child? This is my own father who has been watching me grow up since childhood. He should know what I'm like!

  I dare not take this risk, so I'll just lose all my internal strength. Right, and also suffer from memory loss. Otherwise, when I see other people, I won't recognize them? Can't even say a word, die, you pig head! In the place where I've lived for 16 years, born and raised here, never left, nobody recognizes me, nothing is remembered, it's ridiculous, who would believe it? Although I have memories of this life, they're also somewhat vague, can't be sure. Alright, let's just lose all internal strength and suffer from memory loss, there's still room to cope. I'm not cunning or sinister, it's just forced by circumstances, ah, forced by circumstances!

  My father's inner strength had been circulating in my body for a week, and then it circulated again for another week. It was as if he was afraid of leaving any hidden dangers behind. You see, when someone else's inner strength circulates in your body for one week versus two weeks, the consumption is not just double, but rather exponential. This didn't feel like my own inner strength circulating within me, where it would be simple and from the same source. I felt my father's inner strength slowly withdrawing from my body. I opened my eyes to find that his forehead was covered in sweat, and his originally dark red face had turned pale, looking extremely exhausted. This deeply moved me - this is what my father is like. If motherly love is like the ocean, then paternal love is like a mountain, your eternal support.

  Dad took a slight rest, saw the inquiring gazes around him, especially my mom's worried look, and said faintly: "It's alright, I used internal energy to treat him a bit, he should be able to get out of bed in a few days." Including my mother, everyone was too happy to notice the deep regret and dense love in Father's heart. I knew that he was regretful for my loss of internal energy and pitied me for what had happened. This is my father, connected to me by flesh and blood. I swallowed back the tears I felt, quietly.

  In the northeast, winter is dark and early. As we were chatting, it suddenly turned dark outside. At this moment, everyone stood up to bid farewell, but my dad and mom stopped them. "Don't go, you all came together today, and Autumn's injury has improved. The wild boar I hunted last time is still frozen in the jar outside, and there are also fresh fish that arrived today. Don't leave, let Autumn's mother prepare some dishes, and we'll have a good drink to celebrate! It's been a long time since we've had a drink together, so don't go anywhere. Call the other brothers over and let's have a great time!" "Autumn's mom, go cook, don't forget to add more mushrooms in the wild boar meat, it's Autumn's favorite."

  "Hey, everyone sit down, smoke and drink water, just wait a bit, it'll be fine!" My mom replied while heading to the kitchen. "Auntie, let me help you," said Ling Jie. "Ah, that's great! With Ling's help, it'll be even faster. Little Ling's braised carp is famous in our village, and tonight everyone will have a treat." Mom was thrilled, holding onto Ling Jie's hand with a smile that couldn't be hidden on her face. It seems my mom also particularly likes Ling Jie. As they walked out, Zhang Dama, Er Niang, and San Niang all got up to help in the kitchen as well. After the group of women left, only a bunch of Northeastern men were left in the room. Suddenly, a masculine atmosphere filled the air, making my hot blood feel like it was about to ignite...

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  By the way: Today, Xiao Jin was delayed by some things and updated a bit late. Sorry to everyone, I hope you can forgive me!