Yu Jian’an excitedly told his family about his new job at the police station.
He recounted everything from beginning to end, including how he had encountered the human traffickers, the dangerous situation he had found himself in, and how he had rescued the captives.
After finishing his story, he was still shaken.
“Luckily, Little Sister, you gave me those talismans yesterday. Otherwise, I would have been in serious danger.”
Yu Huan hadn’t expected the talismans she had given him the previous day to come in handy so quickly. Thankfully, her third brother hadn’t been hurt.
However, when she thought about how many more dangerous situations he might encounter after becoming a police officer, she wanted to offer him some advice.
But seeing how happy her third brother was, she swallowed the words she had been about to say.
“Being a police officer means facing even more dangers. Third Brother, have you really thought this through?” Yu Huan asked.
“Little Sister, I won’t lie to you. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t afraid of danger. But I still want to do this. I’ll also work hard to learn the necessary skills so I can protect myself.”
Yu Jian’an spoke with determination.
Yu Huan knew that her third brother had always been a person with a strong sense of justice. Since he had already made up his mind, she would certainly support him.
“Then I’ll prepare some more talismans for you. Keep them with you at all times.”
“Little Sister, those talismans are so powerful. Will drawing them cause you any harm?”
Having witnessed how effective the talismans were, Yu Jian’an was genuinely worried. Something as extraordinary as these talismans might come at a cost to his little sister.
Yu Huan felt warmth in her heart.
“Third Brother, don’t worry. I’m perfectly fine. Drawing talismans only consumes spiritual power, and once my spiritual power is depleted, I can cultivate and replenish it again.”
Yu Jian’an roughly understood. It was probably similar to using up physical energy.
That reassured him.
When their parents returned and heard that their youngest son had already found a job, and that it was at the police station, they were both delighted and worried.
They were happy that he had found such a good job, but concerned because the work carried certain risks.
However, when they thought about it, no job was perfect. Since their youngest son was willing to do it, they decided to focus on the positive aspects.
Yu Jian’an didn’t want his parents to worry, so he simply told them that he had helped the police station’s leadership with something important, and that the leader had arranged the job for him as a gesture of gratitude.
That evening, Yu Huan specially steamed a pot of rice and stir-fried all the remaining salted venison. There wasn’t enough time to stew it again.
Her mother also slaughtered an old hen that had almost stopped laying eggs. She prepared a plate of scrambled eggs and some cold cucumber salad as well.
The whole family celebrated together over a hearty dinner.
After dinner, Yu Huan entered her space. Besides selecting several talismans, she also found a few ancient martial arts manuals tucked away in a corner of the main hall.
They were all suitable for ordinary people to practice. She had no idea when they had been placed inside the space. The pages had already turned yellow with age.
Yu Huan carefully examined them and selected one.
She then handed the prepared talismans and the martial arts manual to Yu Jian’an.
“Third Brother, keep these talismans with you. And make sure you practice this martial arts manual properly. It’ll help you protect yourself better when you’re arresting criminals in the future.”
Yu Jian’an accepted the items. He wanted to ask her something, but he didn’t know how to put it into words.
“Third Brother, if there’s anything you don’t understand, you can ask me.”
Yu Huan pretended not to notice her brother’s hesitation.
Some things were better left unexplained. One lie often required countless more lies to maintain. It was better to let him draw his own conclusions.
As long as her family understood that no matter what secrets she might have, she was still one of them, that was all that mattered.
Yu Jian’an knew that his little sister had noticed his desire to ask questions, but she clearly didn’t want to explain.
From then on, he decided he wouldn’t ask.
He picked up the manual and looked through it. It contained various martial arts techniques along with written explanations, and he could understand them.
“Little Sister, don’t worry. I’ll definitely practice diligently, and I’ll be very careful when using the talismans.”
The Following Day
Early the next morning, Yu Jian’an rode his bicycle to the police station to report for duty.
It wasn’t until the villagers had finished their day’s work that afternoon that he rode his bicycle back to the village wearing a full police uniform.
Quite a few villagers felt intimidated when they saw the uniform.
But when they realized it was Yu Jian’an, the entire village was astonished.
“Isn’t that the village chief’s youngest son? Has he become a police officer?”
“My goodness! I never heard anything about this. Just a couple of days ago, he was still working in the fields!”
The villagers began discussing it among themselves.
“The village chief’s family really is something. All three of his sons have turned out so well.”
“That’s the difference a high school education makes! He found a job just like that, and what a good job it is!”
“Just a few days ago, some people with nothing better to do were gossiping behind his back, saying Jian’an was useless. Look at them now! They’ve been proven wrong!”
“Exactly! He’s a high school graduate, after all. Just look at that uniform. I almost feel too intimidated to greet Jian’an!”
Everyone continued chatting excitedly.
Some of those who had previously gossiped about the village chief’s family no longer dared to say anything.
Yu Huan’s father had already enjoyed considerable respect in the village. Now, even fewer people dared to offend his family.
Yu Jian’an had deliberately chosen this time to return home because he wanted the villagers to get a good look at him. He also wanted to send a warning.
He wasn’t unaware that many sharp-tongued women in the village had been speaking badly about his little sister behind her back.
He had always been closest to his little sister, and now, in his heart, she ranked above everyone else.
After officially starting work, Yu Jian’an moved into the police station’s staff dormitory because of his job. He would only be able to return home when he had time off.
That left only three people in the household again.
However, the family was far from enjoying any peace and quiet.
Because of Yu Jian’an’s success, the Yu family, which had already received frequent visits from matchmakers, became even more popular. Their courtyard gate was practically worn down from all the visitors.
Yu Huan’s parents were thoroughly fed up.
In the end, they simply announced that young people were free to choose their own partners. As long as their children liked someone, they wouldn’t arrange marriages on their behalf.
After this announcement, the matchmakers became fewer.
However, young men and women from their village and the surrounding villages began growing restless with excitement.
The Yu family was considered one of the best households in the entire surrounding area. The parents were kind, and all four children were good-looking. Their youngest daughter, in particular, had become famous for her beauty over the past six months.
Now that all the sons had jobs, the family had become an exceptionally desirable match for marriage.
The village girls certainly wanted to get close to the Yu family’s sons, but unfortunately, none of them lived in the village anymore.
Gradually, the girls gave up on those ideas.
But Yu Huan was still living in the village!
After encountering yet another young man who blushed and became shy upon seeing her, Yu Huan’s expression went completely blank.
She couldn’t even manage a polite smile anymore.
In the end, she was the one who had to bear the consequences of all this attention.
To avoid these admirers, Yu Huan had started releasing her spiritual senses whenever she went outside.
As soon as she detected a young man within ten meters ahead of her, she would immediately turn around and disappear.
The consequence was that her already limited spiritual power was being completely wasted every day.
Instead of using it to cultivate or practice drawing talismans, she spent all of it avoiding unwanted admirers.
Yu Huan was furious.
In just a few days, not only had her cultivation made no progress, but it had actually regressed to the early stage of the second level.
This cultivation technique truly followed the principle of advance or retreat. If she didn’t progress, she would fall behind!
And because she had been busy avoiding all those persistent admirers, how long had it been since she last visited Educated Youth Ling?
The moment Yu Huan thought of Ling Yuan, she immediately avoided the people around her and headed toward the place where he was working.
Today, Ling Yuan had been assigned to land reclamation work.
The location was rather remote, and Song Yujie, who usually worked alongside him, wasn’t there that day.
However, the woman who had stopped Yu Huan the previous time was actually there!
Yu Huan had asked her father about the woman afterward. She was also from Beijing and was called Lin Zhiyu. Her father didn’t know anything else about her.
Yu Huan couldn’t help wondering whether Ling Yuan had been spending all these days with that woman. Was that why he seemed to be avoiding her?
Don’t think she hadn’t noticed!
Ever since she had delivered that venison, she hadn’t been able to get close to Ling Yuan again.
The village was only so big. If he wasn’t deliberately avoiding her, how could they possibly keep missing each other?
Yu Huan glared at the two people working ahead of her.