Soft and delicate flower petals fluttered down.
The young girl wore white silk stockings, her ankles covered, yet Li Guanyi still felt a cool touch like jade. In the moment he realized, he quickly released his grip. Xue Shuangtao retreated like lightning, her right foot, which had been caught, touched the ground as if it had been electrocuted, staggering back several steps.
Then she swayed to the side, barely managing to steady herself with the battle bow in her hand.
Her almond-shaped eyes were filled with panic, and a faint blush appeared on her face.
Xue Shuangtao saw her younger brother, along with that handsome and awkward young man, took a deep breath, and pretended to be calm, saying:
“... Mr. Li?”
“You have arrived.”
The previous kick had come too swiftly. Li Guanyi, who had never learned any footwork, could only awkwardly block it. Now, feeling embarrassed, he said, “Just playing around with the young master.”
At that moment, Xue Changqing, who had just been stunned, immediately reacted.
Realizing she had walked into a trap.
She sprang up as if springs had been installed in her backside, exclaiming:
“You, you, you, you are that gentleman?!”
“You’re clearly not much older than me!”
The young man behind had already placed both hands on her shoulders.
As she had thought, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and in the face of the child's terrified expression, he said gently, “That's right, I am the one you are trying to avoid, the newly arrived technique master.”
“Come, it's time for class.”
Xue Shuangtao watched as Li Guanyi half-embraced Xue Changqing and walked toward the pavilion. She took a few quick, deep breaths to restore her gentle and gracious demeanor in front of others, ignoring her younger brother's terrified expression of ‘who are you, you are not my sister,’ and invited Li Guanyi to sit down in the pavilion.
“This is the Listening Wind Pavilion.”
“The children of the Xue family occasionally come here to enjoy the scenery. My brother, my younger brother, and I also come here during the Mid-Autumn Festival to admire the moon while bringing osmanthus cakes. Now that there is no one to disturb us, please teach Changqing some basics first. Changqing, come greet the gentleman.”
“I don’t want to!”
Xue Shuangtao, who had just regained her gentle demeanor, lowered her gaze.
Xue Changqing obediently bowed, “Changqing greets the gentleman.”
Having grown up together, the elder sister held great authority in front of her younger brother.
Xue Shuangtao spoke softly and calmly, “Please wait a moment, I will go change into a different outfit. Wearing armor is not suitable for calmly studying techniques.”
Xue Shuangtao nodded and turned to leave, her footsteps calm and quiet. However, after turning a corner, her pace suddenly quickened, and she finally ran into her own courtyard.
Entering the room, she threw the battle bow onto the bed, removed her boots, and pulled off the silk stocking from her right foot, revealing a foot as white as jade. Then, with a flick of her hand, she tossed the stocking, which had been held, onto the ground as if throwing a ball of snow.
Her face was filled with embarrassment and anger.
Could it be that she had encountered a lecherous man?!
Having some skills, he was still a lecher!
But that kick had been her own sweeping move.
That gentleman had come in without having learned any footwork, sitting cross-legged, with nowhere to hide. Xue Shuangtao felt a mix of shame and frustration, not knowing what to do.
She called out, “Ruyun, Xuemei.”
The two twenty-year-old maidservants responded.
The young girl said, “I want to bathe!”
Having had her ankle touched, a girl naturally felt three parts shame, but she could neither hit that gentleman nor harm herself. After a pause, she could only angrily say, “Burn, burn this stocking!”
The two beautiful maidservants exchanged glances, though they did not know the reason, they smiled and complied.
Soon, they prepared the bathing items. As the eldest daughter of the Xue family, who was most favored, her bathing vessel was a long seven feet, three feet wide, and one foot three inches high basin, adorned with tiger motifs and large rings. The two maidservants poured the most suitable hot water into it, infused with herbs to soothe the muscles.
Xue Shuangtao sat in the basin, thinking about today’s events.
Moreover, there was the matter of how she had behaved in front of her younger brother, which had been seen by the newly recruited technique master, breaking her usual gentle and gracious demeanor. She felt inexplicably embarrassed, but after thinking it over, she found no good solution.
Unable to think clearly, Xue Shuangtao gave up, wrapping her arms around her knees and sinking down.
Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle.
The maidservant Xuemei laughed, “Miss is feeling down again.”
“The last time was when my pet sparrow flew away because I didn’t trim its tail feathers.”
The other maidservant Ruyun smiled and said, “No worries, a good bath will soothe your mind, and you will feel much better.”
………………
Li Guanyi and Xue Changqing stared at each other.
Just then, a maidservant brought some snacks, six kinds of dried fruits, six kinds of fresh fruits, six kinds of pastries, and a pot of freshly brewed good tea. Li Guanyi took a sip of tea and asked, “Why don’t you like techniques?”
Xue Changqing replied, “Because they are useless!”
He glanced around, noticing his sister hadn’t come yet, and spoke in a childish and rude tone, “Anyway, I’m telling you, I don’t need techniques, and you don’t need to teach me. Just take your payment normally, okay?! We can just chat here and eat snacks for an hour!”
Lazing around for a salary?
If it weren’t for the Bronze Cauldron, it wouldn’t be unacceptable.
However, Li Guanyi needed to teach the child in front of him techniques, so he could then meet that old man, allowing the Bronze Cauldron’s jade liquid to accumulate perfectly. Naturally, he had to refuse, saying leisurely, “No.”
The child, about seven or eight years old, looked at Li Guanyi and said:
“Are you dissatisfied with the pay?”
“I’ll pay more!”
From behind the flowers, Xue Shuangtao, now changed into new clothes, slightly raised her gaze. Her eyesight and hearing were both exceptionally keen. She adjusted her pace, slightly furrowing her brows. In the past, many masters had been dismissed by Xue Changqing in this manner. The children of noble families had seen too much, and although young, they were unexpectedly mature in some aspects.
Those greedy technique masters had all been expelled from the Xue family once discovered.
The small Xue Changqing waved his hand confidently, “How much will my sister offer you?”
“I’ll give you double!”
Li Guanyi smiled and said, “Then I’m afraid you can’t afford it.”
Xue Changqing boasted, “How much?”
Li Guanyi replied leisurely, “Priceless.”
Xue Changqing’s face flushed, and Li Guanyi said, “Miss Xue helped me redeem an item belonging to my elder. I am grateful, little fellow, don’t waste your efforts. You must learn this mathematics.”
In the distance, Xue Shuangtao heard clearly and felt a bit embarrassed.
Such a promise kept.
Earlier, she had secretly called him a lecher, hadn’t she wronged him?
As his internal energy flowed, his footsteps slowly approached. Only then did Li Guanyi hear the sound of footsteps. He slightly turned his gaze and saw Xue Shuangtao had changed into a goose-yellow long shirt.
With a blue waist tie and a jade pendant hanging down, she had fewer adornments in her hair since she wasn’t going out, and her appearance was charming.
Seeing her sister, Xue Changqing, who had just shown little respect to the newly arrived technique master, suddenly became obedient.
Li Guanyi then asked, “If you don’t like techniques, what do you like?”
Xue Changqing replied confidently, “Of course, archery and horsemanship, martial arts skills!”
Xue Shuangtao felt a headache coming on.
At this moment, feeling somewhat helpless, getting angry and making a fuss wouldn’t help. She still needed to comfort him afterward and explained to Li Guanyi:
“Mr. Li, please don’t laugh. My Xue family has a unique martial arts archery tradition. Changqing has seen our ancestors’ skills since he was young and has always wanted to learn archery. However, he is only eight years old, and it’s difficult for him to achieve anything in archery. That’s why I hope he can first study the other six arts of a gentleman.”
Xue Changqing crossed his arms, sulking as he sat there.
Li Guanyi pondered and spoke gently, “But what if techniques could greatly enhance your martial arts?”
Xue Changqing replied, “I don’t believe it!”
Li Guanyi smiled and said, “If you don’t believe it, shall we go to the training ground and see?”
Xue Changqing, puzzled, then became somewhat excited about practicing at the training ground:
“Really?”
“Of course.”
Li Guanyi looked at Xue Shuangtao: “Miss Xue, is that alright?”
Though Xue Shuangtao had doubts in her heart, she merely nodded and said, “Everything is up to the gentleman.”
The place where the Xue family’s children practiced archery was not in the usual training ground but indoors. This was to prevent disciples with insufficient strength from injuring others and to allow beginners to master their skills more easily in a windless environment. After progressing step by step, they could practice archery in other places.
Many children of the Xue family were honing their archery skills here.
Seeing Xue Changqing and Xue Shuangtao arrive, they were quite curious, especially when they saw Xue Changqing change into archery attire and take out a bow, they were even more intrigued and gathered around.
Li Guanyi smiled and said, “You can try shooting a few arrows so I can see your skills.”
Xue Changqing, full of pride, nocked an arrow on the bowstring and shot it straight. Indeed, as a child of a prestigious family, he had some grace, but due to his young age and lack of strength, he shot incorrectly and missed the target. The Xue family certainly had various archery techniques, but they wouldn’t teach them to a child of this age.
The surrounding Xue family children watched with amusement.
Li Guanyi silently counted the time it took for the arrows to hit the ground.
Someone over there shouted the distance the shot arrow landed.
After inquiring about the bow's strength, the arrow's weight, and Xue Changqing's height, along with a series of questions, he had Xue Changqing shoot a few more times. He silently derived the approximate data he needed, verified it twice, and gradually felt confident.
Just a simple parabolic estimation, a high school physics problem.
It was just that adding air resistance made it less precise than a physics problem.
However, calculating a rough range, hitting the target was possible. By teaching according to the material, this child would develop an interest in techniques, thus allowing for a smooth teaching process. Additionally, when checking his studies next month, he would have the opportunity to meet that old man, allowing the Bronze Cauldron’s jade liquid to be completed.
After several misses, Xue Changqing felt frustrated, while Xue Shuangtao looked at Li Guanyi in confusion, not understanding how he would turn techniques into martial arts. The people around them had also heard about Li Guanyi and Xue Changqing's agreement and were very curious, gathering in large numbers to watch the fun.
Li Guanyi sat down calmly and said, “Please give me paper and pen.”
“And then, I can tell you how to do it.”
………………
In the center of the Xue family estate, there was a pavilion. In front of it lay a pond, where a White Tiger Dharma Image quietly rested by the pond, watching the spring breeze ripple across the lotus pond. A tall, white-haired elder sat in front of the pond, holding fish food in his hand, while koi swam in the pond.
A steward hurried over.
The elder looked at the koi in the pond and asked with a smile, “Has the technique master that Shuangtao found today arrived? How is it? Can he teach this little brat Changqing?”
The steward replied, “I just heard the news.”
“The young master has gone to the training ground.”
The elder frowned slightly, “Why go to the training ground to learn techniques?”
The steward answered, “I heard that gentleman say he could use techniques to enhance the young master’s archery skills.”
The elder paused for a moment, intrigued, “Techniques assisting martial arts?”
“How interesting.”
After pondering for a moment, he scattered all the fish food into the pond and said lightly:
“I’ve never heard such a claim before. Let’s go.”
“I’ll go take a look too.”
The elder stood up, and the nearby White Tiger Dharma Image lazily yawned, stood up, and followed the elder toward the training ground.
(End of Chapter)