When Yu Xiaoxiu got home from school, it was still early. Jing Chen was practicing his swordsmanship, so he opened the door and sat by the stove to warm himself while watching Jing Chen practice. He did not disturb him and only clapped when he finished a set of swordsmanship.
When Jing Chen heard the applause, he turned to look at Yu Xiaoxiu and asked, "Xiaoxiu, can I teach you this set of swordsmanship?"
Jing Chen's intentions were good. Ever since he started practicing swordsmanship, his body has become stronger day by day. He knew that this set of swordsmanship contained mysteries. But when he saw that Yu Xiaoxiu was small and skinny, he wanted to teach him swordsmanship so that he could strengthen his body as well.
Yu Xiaoxiu shook his head, "I can't learn it."
Which ordinary youngster didn't have a Jianghu dream in their heart? They longed to practice martial arts to strengthen their bodies, to be chivalrous and help the weak. But Yu Xiaoxiu was not an ordinary youngster. In this child's heart, the most powerful person was not the Ji family's Great Master who was a high-ranking official in the capital, nor was it the highly skilled Taoist Jing Chen, nor was it the legendary Master Yi. It was Yu Shu, that narrow-minded person who was full of lies.
In Yu Xiaoxiu's eyes, those who practiced martial arts were not as smart as his sister; those who were smart were not as cunning as his sister; those who were cunning were not as thick-skinned as his sister; and those who were thick-skinned were not as capable as his sister. Comparing them like this, his sister was the most powerful person. Compared to wasting time on martial arts, he was more willing to spend more time on Yi Zi and arithmetic. He wanted to be able to calculate and be more observant. He wanted to follow his sister's example and participate in the Great Yan Examination in three years.
Although a child's admiration was a little blind, it wasn't completely unreasonable. Even though Yu Shu had a lot of problems, her ability was something that others rarely had.
Jing Chen did not know that Yu Xiaoxiu was just being polite and thought that he was worried that he could not learn it. He said, "Don't worry, I will teach you carefully. This set of swordplay is easy to learn. There are only fourteen moves."
At this time, there was a knock on the door of the courtyard. Yu Xiaoxiu was worrying about how to dispel the idea of Jing Chen teaching him swordsmanship … When he heard Yu Shu's shout, he immediately ran out to open the door.
As soon as Yu Shu entered the door, she excitedly pulled Yu Xiaoxiu in a circle. "Xiaoxiu, I have good news for you. Aunt Huei has come to the capital!"
"Ah?" Yu Xiaoxiu was stunned for a moment. Then, he reacted and looked outside the door excitedly. "Where is it? Where is it?"
Yu Shu pulled him in and closed the door with her left hand. She held his arm with her right hand and waved to Jing Chen to follow her. The three of them entered the central room.
Yu Shu told Yu Xiaoxiu that Pei Jing came to see her with Zhao Hui this afternoon … Seeing Jing Chen was confused, she explained to him, "Didn't I mention it to you? Before you lost your memory, you helped me raise the medical expenses for an elder in Yiyang City. It was for Aunt Huei."
Yu Xiaoxiu interrupted, "Then where are they? Why didn't they come to our home?"
Yu Shu said, "It's too late. Aunt Huei is pregnant. It's inconvenient for her to run around … We will go to see her tomorrow."
As for Zhao Hui's pregnancy, Yu Xiaoxiu was not as surprised as Yu Shu when he heard it. "Well, the Academy is on holiday … I don't have to go to class."
Speaking of this, Yu Xiaoxiu muttered to himself. Xue Rui said that he would take him to ride horses, but he didn't have to go to the Academy tomorrow, and he didn't come back.
Yu Shu turned her head and said to Jing Chen, "You don't have to go. I haven't told Aunt Hui and the rest about your situation in detail. If they know that you're a Daoist, they'll feel very uncomfortable. Secondly, it'll make their imaginations run wild and it'll be hard to explain."
Jing Chen nodded. He knew that it was inconvenient for him to interact with others without knowing his identity. He turned to look at Yu Xiaoxiu and said to Yu Shu, "Xiaoxiu's physique is not strong enough. My set of swordsmanship has the effect of strengthening the body. I want to teach it to Xiaoxiu … What do you think?"
Hearing this, Yu Shu hesitated and said, "Can your swordsmanship be taught to others?"
Jing Chen was confused. "Why not?"
Yu Shu said, "I want to say that your swordsmanship has to be passed on to the sect. If there is any rule that forbids you from teaching it to outsiders, won't you break the rules?"
Compared with Yu Shu's cautiousness, Jing Chen didn't care much. "It's just a set of swordsmanship. Why not? I can't remember anything now. Even if I break the rules, it is unintentional."
Hearing this, Yu Shu was happy. She thought that he was not a pedantic person. She said happily, "If that is the case, you can teach Xiaoxiu swordsmanship. You can also teach me Qing Gong at the same time.
It was Yu Shu's dream when she was young to be able to leap onto roofs and vault over walls like characters in wuxia novels. Just thinking about it made her eager to try it. Originally, she wanted to wait until Jing Chen recovered his memory to see if he could teach it to others. Since he didn't mind, she naturally wouldn't let go of this great opportunity.
Facing Yu Shu, who was climbing up a pole, Jing Chen hesitated for a moment and said, "I won't teach you Qing Gong."
Qing Gong was different from swordsmanship. Qing Gong relied on internal force. He remembered all the moves of swordsmanship and could teach it to Yu Xiaoxiu one by one. However, he didn't know where he obtained the internal force of Qing Gong. He really didn't know how to teach Yu Shu.
Knowing that he didn't refuse, Yu Shu said disappointedly, "Then forget it. You can teach Xiaoxiu."
Seeing that Yu Shu agreed, Yu Xiaoxiu was afraid that he would really spend time learning martial arts every day. He hurriedly said, "Sister, I don't want to learn."
Jing Chen and Yu Shu looked at Yu Xiaoxiu at the same time. The latter asked in surprise, "Why don't you want to learn?"
She thought that all boys liked to learn martial arts. Why didn't Yu Xiaoxiu want to learn?
Yu Xiaoxiu was too embarrassed to look at Jing Chen. He braced himself and said to Yu Shu, "I have to go to school every day. There is a lot of homework in the Academy. I don't have time to learn martial arts."
Jing Chen said, "It doesn't need much time. You just need to get up an hour earlier every day."
Yu Xiaoxiu lowered his head and didn't say anything. But his attitude was obvious. He still didn't want to learn.
Yu Shu knew that this child was stubborn. She thought for a while and didn't force him to learn. She reached out to touch his head and smiled at Jing Chen. "He is too lazy to learn. How about you teach me?"
She was an open-minded parent. Learning martial arts was not the same as going to school. It was not necessary. If he didn't want to learn, then so be it. She didn't expect him to be an all-rounder. He just needed to be able to support his family in the future.
Hearing Yu Shu's words, Yu Xiaoxiu immediately raised his head and looked at her.
Jing Chen wasn't blind. Seeing that Yu Xiaoxiu was really unwilling, he didn't force him anymore. He shook his head at Yu Shu and said, "Learning martial arts consumes energy. You don't have extra energy now. Concentrate on the exam. We'll talk about it later."
Yu Shu said, "It's just an hour a day. Don't worry. I can handle it. I just need to use my brain. It's good to use up some energy. I can sleep well at night."
Jing Jian saw that she wanted to learn, so he agreed. "I'll start teaching you tomorrow morning."
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard someone say, "I'll learn too!"
Yu Shu squinted at Yu Xiaoxiu. She didn't know what was wrong with this child. He was the one who said he didn't want to learn, and now he was the one who wanted to learn.
Yu Xiaoxiu was embarrassed to say that he changed his mind because Yu Shu wanted to learn. He awkwardly said to Jing Chen, "Brother Jing, teach me too."
"Okay." Jing Chen didn't care that Yu Xiaoxiu changed his mind again.
Yu Shu didn't know what Yu Xiaoxiu was thinking. She reached out and patted the back of his head. She laughed and scolded, "You child."
He then teased Jing Chen, "This is great. You've taken in two disciples at once. Do you want us to call you Master?"
Jing Chen chuckled. He actually agreed with her joke. He said, "Okay, go ahead."
Yu Shu was just joking with Jing Chen. She didn't really want him to be her master. She smiled and touched her nose. It was the first time she lost to Jing Chen.
"I'll go make dinner."
After saying that, Yu Shu slipped into the kitchen.
The night passed. The next morning, Yu Shu woke Yu Xiaoxiu up. Jing Chen had already washed up and was waiting for them in the courtyard. He gave each of them a wooden sword that he had made last night and taught them the first move.
It was said to be a single move, but it wasn't simple at all. Just the movement of drawing the sword required Yu Shu and Yu Xiao to practice for an hour. They were so tired that their foreheads were covered in sweat, and they only managed to learn an empty move. Luckily, Jing Chen wasn't strict and taught them in detail, so the siblings didn't give up on the first day.
When the sun rose, Jing Chen asked them to stop. "That's all for today. Don't you have to go out? Don't be late."
"Okay." Yu Shu wiped the sweat on her forehead. She was slightly out of breath, but her body was warm and her face was ruddy. She just needed a hot bath to feel comfortable.
There was a bathtub at home that she bought a while ago. Unfortunately, it was getting late. She had to rush out to see Zhao Hui, so she didn't have time to boil the water slowly. The siblings could only wash their faces with warm water.
"Xiaoxiu, go back to the room and tidy up your hair. We'll leave later."
Yu Shu was about to pour the water out of the door with the basin. When she walked to the door of the courtyard, she vaguely heard someone talking outside.
"Is this the place?"
"Yes, they live in this house."
"Then knock on the door."
As soon as Yu Shu pricked up her ears, she heard a knock on the other side of the door. She turned to Jing Chen and raised her chin, signaling him to leave. Jing Chen understood. He turned back to the room with the rusted sword and closed the door. "Who is it so early in the morning?" Yu Shu didn't rush to open the door, but asked outside.
There was a moment of silence outside the door. After a few whispers, someone cleared their throat and said, "Open the door. It's me."
Yu Shu heard the woman's voice outside the door. It sounded familiar, but she couldn't remember who it was. She asked suspiciously, "Who are you?"
The person outside the door answered in a muffled voice, "I'm your mother."
Yu Shu thought it was the wrong door, so she said, "You're at the wrong door."
When she finished speaking, she heard the voice outside the door suddenly raised, "Wicked girl, you don't even recognize your mother. Open the door!"
Yu Shu's hand trembled, and she almost dropped the basin. This sharp voice and scolding tone, if it wasn't Aunt Cui, who else could it be!
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
