Ryoma was baffled by the barrage of questions, but Su Ming didn't explain, and the older man chose not to pry.
They shifted to martial arts instead.
Ryoma grew confident again.
"First, you consider suitability. Our Hokushin Itto-ryu excels at reading opponents—defense, counter, and decisive finishes. Most martial arts aim for a decisive finish; the differences lie in how."
He studied Su Ming. "What kind of martial art do you want?"
"I want something for prolonged combat," Su Ming said, "something that can circle and outlast enemies bigger and stronger than me."
After being crushed by the Titan, Su Ming had realized Hokushin Itto-ryu wasn't ideal for Honkai combat. Mei could brute-force problems with Herrscher authority and talent.
He couldn't count on that.
He needed a technical foundation.
Ryoma frowned. "That's…"
He heard what Su Ming was asking: how to fight monsters.
Most martial arts were designed for humans—target weaknesses, end it cleanly. Su Ming was describing a different category of enemy.
But Ryoma's experience gave him one answer.
"World Serpent's 'ancient arts' division—Miss Hua. I once saw her fight. Splitting stone and cleaving earth was nothing. Her style may fit what you want."
Su Ming's face tightened.
How did this always come back to World Serpent?
He'd asked precisely to avoid them.
But he kept it polite. "Thank you, Father. I appreciate it."
They exchanged the usual formalities until Mei came to call them for dinner.
The meal was rich—more than a simple dinner, because for this household, it was a rare "all together" moment.
Ryoma tasted a bite and smiled. "Mei's cooking is still excellent."
"She cooks at home too," Su Ming said. "So it makes sense she keeps her level."
Ryoma chuckled. "When I got out of prison, I came home and found Mei suddenly knew how to cook. I didn't understand then. Now I think she learned for you."
"Huh? Did she?" Su Ming blinked. "That was before she started bringing me lunches."
"Father—don't say that," Mei protested, embarrassed.
She'd been a sheltered young lady at first. Her earliest attempts were awful. She'd trained in secret until she was confident enough to let Su Ming taste her food.
Su Ming sighed theatrically. "So she started that early? I missed a whole year of Mei's cooking. What a loss. And I didn't even get to witness the 'growth arc.' I kind of want to know what it tasted like at the beginning."
"Watch your mouth," Mei said, pinching his thigh under the table.
Ryoma roared with laughter. "All right, all right—don't bicker."
Then his expression shifted as he remembered something.
"Oh—by the way. Have you thought about having kids?"
The classic parent pressure.
"You asked this last time," Mei said, hiding her face. "Don't be so impatient…"
"We're trying," Su Ming said with maximum sincerity.
Ryoma nodded, pleased. "Then try harder. Give me a grandchild next year."
Mei looked ready to flee the topic entirely. She urged Su Ming to finish quickly.
After dinner, they said their goodbyes.
"Come visit when you can," Ryoma said, seeing them to the gate.
He watched their backs disappear into the distance and murmured, "Busy is good. Busy is fine."
…
Back home, Su Ming and Mei shared a private, affectionate evening (kept non-graphic here). When Mei finally fell asleep, he kissed her lightly, satisfied.
Then he closed his eyes.
Instance—activate.
[Instance loading…]
The familiar vertigo passed.
He returned to the starting point.
Today's plan: farm the basic enemies, then find a Charger-class Honkai Beast to test himself against.
He found a familiar undead girl—back turned.
Perfect.
He lunged in and claimed the experience.
He moved down the corridor, ignoring the emergency stairwell leading to the first floor, and gently pushed open a partition door.
It shrieked on its hinges—exactly like the kind of door that betrays you at night when you're trying not to wake your parents.
He stepped through, scanning the area. Nothing jumped out. He exhaled.
Good. At least this isn't some paranormal rules-horror where you get jump-scared for breathing wrong.
-------
My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
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