"Ahhhh, that hurts..."
I couldn't help but let out a groan.
My entire body felt sore, and I could barely get myself off the sofa.
Grandma Guanhuai had fed me her "special healing potion" last night, and I could still feel its lingering effects not only on my body but also on my tongue.
"Ya better get yer ass back ta sleep if ya want that potion ta work in!"
"AhH, w-what the hell are you still doing here? Don't you have something to do?"
Grandma Guanhuai just sat there at the dinner table, eating what my everyday breakfast was: stale bread.
"Gave myself an off day; what's that gotta do with you, eh?"
"N-nothing to do with me, I guess."
I glanced over at the empty floor mattress next to me.
"Wei's already gone to selling potions?"
"That brat's left for a vacation, that's what-"
"What—!"
Wei left? To where? Why? I have to track him-
"Ah-!"
Suddenly, my right leg decided to collapse on me.
"Hey, I told ya ta lay down, didn't I!"
"Yes... Yes, you did..."
Reluctantly, I lay back down.
... This isn't good...
Not only is Grandma Guanhuai watching right over me, but my entire body feels like shit...
At this rate, tracking Wei is impossible...
"The hell are ya thinking about? Didn't I tell ya ta sleep?!"
"How did you even know I wasn't sleeping?"
"Don't talk back ta me!"
"..."
Despite her yells for me to sleep, I just couldn't.
I mean, Wei went on "vacation"? That isn't right.
Something important is happening, and I'm missing everything right now!
Maybe I was twisting and turning too much, to the point where Grandma Guanhuai said something once again.
This time, though, her words surprised me.
"... Hey, ya brat."
"... Yeah...?"
"What actually happened yesterday? Yer Li-Liang, I mean."
"Well, they flew away, just like you said."
"... You damn-"
"Okay, okay! As I said, I just exerted myself; that's all. Seeing all those shops excited me, I guess. You could've asked Wei; I bought him boxes of fancy macarons."
There was a moment of silence before she answered again.
"... Ya damn jitterbug, just say ya were trying to practice yer Li-Liang."
"... Huh...?"
... Practice my Li-Liang? Well... I guess that's a better conclusion than what I was actually doing.
After all, I bet she wouldn't be too happy if I told her I was spending my Li-Liang and Jia on illegal technology...
"Yer overworking yerself, and ya don't know how ta train properly; that's why it's draining so quickly with slow improvement."
"... Oh, really? Haha, you got me...!"
"... Yer really a pain, y'know..."
"... A pain?"
"Just say it, ya damn punk! Thought with yer personality, you'd be more shameless 'bout it!"
"A-about what?"
What the hell is she talking about?
"Fine, kiddo, I'll train ya. It's obvious you ain't gonna sit there and rest, so ya might as well make the most out of it!"
Train me? Train? What?
"But don't think this is gonna be easy; I ain't no pushover!"
"Wait, what do you mean, train me?"
"Stop tryna save face, kiddo, I'm doing ya a favor here, ain't I?"
Grandma Guanhuai, teach me how Li-Liang works?
As if I don't know this game inside and out?
Just because someone is powerful doesn't mean they're some prodigy in Li-Liang manipulation or know the rules... after all...
Knowing all the loopholes is when you know you've truly mastered the arts!
"Grandma Guanhuai, I know you're powerful, but-"
"Alright! I've decided we're starting right now!"
"Huh-?"
She walked over and shoved a piece of bread and a glass of water into my hands.
"Finish yer breakfast, and we're going out!"
"But-"
"I SAID EAT."
"..."
And so I quietly ate my meal.
***
Honestly, I thought about it, and it's not like it'd be a bad opportunity...
It's like a review of sorts; she'll just teach me things I already know, and it'd be nice to refresh my brain.
With all the hectic things going on, I should make sure Li-Liang rules haven't changed from what I know... but from my use of Li-Liang already, I'm quite certain everything's the same.
I stood outside Grandma Guanhuai's house while she locked the front door, ready to depart.
Weirdly enough, she told me to leave my phone back home along with her own.
But it's not like I need to call anyone anyway.
I smirked to myself.
I was actually quite confident in my abilities.
One huge pro of transmigrating into Hanzhi's body is that he's of direct lineage to the Wen Household, giving him tremendous power.
He has an incredibly high damage ceiling, and with my knowledge, well... it's obvious what the outcome will be.
"Are we going anywhere specific to practice? Obviously we're not going to do this on the streets."
"Yer damn right, kiddo. First thing ya got right in a while."
"... Thanks... I guess..."
If we're also practicing my move sets, then we'll have to be in a much more open area...
... but I don't recall anywhere super desolate around here...
From her black bag, she took out what looked like a little keychain.
"Hey, Grandma Guanhuai, how will we get to our destination?"
"Goddammit, can't ya just wait?! Kids these days got the attention span of a goldfish!"
She held the keychain from the split ring.
Looking at it more closely, it resembled an old-looking broom, dirty and extremely worn.
"I didn't strike you as the type to use keychains, Grandma Guanhuai."
"Well, ya thought wrong. Didn't I just compliment ya on being correct before? Don't make me take that back, yeah?"
She held the keychain out against the wind.
"... So... are you going to attach it-"
"Enlarge."
Suddenly, strong blue lights emitted from within the keychain, and before I knew it, Grandma Guanhuai was now holding a life-size broom.
... Was that object enlargement?
That definitely isn't one of Grandma Guanhuai's skills, though, so this must be a Li-Liang device, like my Stingray.
... This object wasn't also bought illegally, though, right?
Although there were multiple thoughts filling my head, I could only mumble one question.
"... Um, and why do we need a broom...?"
Without even acknowledging my question, Grandma Guanhuai hopped onto the broom.
"Get yer ass on here before I beat you with it."
"..."
Reluctantly, I swung my legs over the broom, feeling all dignity leaving my body as I did so.
"Ya better hold on tight, eh?"
"... I doubt we'll even lift two feet off the ground..."
"What did ya just say?!"
"Nothing."
I could hear Grandma Guanhuai mumbling something before tightening her grip on the broom's handle.
Something about "lousy kids these days".
There were a few seconds of silence before the broom started shaking.
It was a slight shake, barely noticeable, but it wasn't Grandma Guanhuai that was making it do that.
I guess that was the point where I started questioning things.
A purple hue covered the broom, and little light particles started swirling around it.
Instinctively, I tightened my grip on the handles too.
"ALRIGHT, KIDDO, WE'RE TAKING OFF."
"W-wait, this isn't really-!"
Instead of a slow ascent, the broom blasted right off the ground at a sharp eighty-degree angle, and for a second there, I could also feel my soul ascending to the heavens.
My legs dangled in the sky as I held on for dear life.
At some point, I could hear Grandma Guanhuai telling me to stop screaming, but how could I stop screaming when we were in the sky, going fifty miles an hour?
Wind rushed past my face, and I felt that my hands were the only thing keeping me attached to the broom.
By the time the broom was back in its original horizontal angle, we were way above the clouds.
"W-WHAT THE HELL?! I ALMOST FELL OFF!"
"Well, ya didn't."
"Hah?!"
Yet it wasn't long before my anger was extinguished.
Looking above the clouds like this... well, it was nothing short of breathtaking.
The clouds looked like a Renaissance painting, so full that if I jumped in, they would catch me.
No longer being at an eighty-degree angle made the winds feel soothing, pairing well with the warm, embracing sunlight.
"Enjoying the view, eh?"
"... yeah."
"Ay, I would go under the clouds so that you'd see the city, but can't be letting people see us floatin like this."
At times, I forget this is a fantasy game.
I'd never be able to experience this in my old world...
... I... huh... it really does feel nice.
Time above the clouds passed quickly, and we were soon at our training destination.