Do not lean against the west railing to lock in the clear autumn - Chapter 15
Everyone mustered their spirits and gathered in the open space of the training ground. Master Kong paced back and forth imposingly, with four martial arts instructors standing beside him. Mr. Qi and Meng Yue were not present; they were distinguished guests and instructors of the Prince's residence, residing elsewhere. Shen Haojue hadn't arrived either; this young prince was trying to get special treatment.
Master Kong finally stopped pacing and stood in front of us, saying loudly, "You children, eighteen of you in total, big and small, will practice martial arts and live together every day. You must be like brothers. You are not only the young prince's sparring partners, but also his guards in the future, protecting his safety. To emphasize your importance to the young prince, he has specially named you after himself, 'Yu Guard.' From now on, the young prince's safety is entirely in your hands. Do you have confidence?"
"Yes!" After Master Kong finished his passionate speech on the establishment of the "Yuwei Team," the children below responded confidently. But what I was thinking was whether Mr. Qi, who seemed so refined, had taught him to say those words.
After the meeting was dismissed, Master Kong divided us into two groups. One group consisted of the ten former princes' children, and the other group consisted of the eight of us who had just joined. Since the princes' children had all been learning together from the beginning, only one martial arts instructor was assigned to teach them. The eight of us were further divided into three groups, with Song Zhixuan and I in a separate group.
The new children were far behind the previous princes' children, and the requirements were very strict in order to catch up with them quickly. I glanced at Song Zhixuan with concern; we were the last to come in, so we would probably have the hardest time.
The person who took me and Song Zhixuan with him was a handsome young martial arts master with cunning eyes named Jiang Ming, who was Master Kong's junior brother.
Jiang Ming taught us some basic skills. Since Song Zhixuan and I both had some foundation and were both quite smart, we learned quickly.
Jiang Ming said happily, "You two newcomers are just to my liking."
"Master, please teach us as quickly as possible. We don't want to hold you back, and we will try our best to learn," I said.
Jiang Ming laughed and said, "I won't suffer if you follow Master. You'll surpass them very quickly."
In the afternoon, Jiang Ming taught us a set of boxing techniques. He demonstrated it a few times and we memorized the moves. However, we were unsure about the force and the way we punched was not quite right. He sat aside and told us to practice more. Song Zhixuan and I obediently practiced again and again until dark.
In the evening, after most of the others had gone back to their rooms to rest, I fetched some hot water from the kitchen and took a short shower in a corner of the bathhouse. It was really inconvenient in ancient times, and even more inconvenient to live among men.
After showering and returning to the room, Lin Zhao and Song Zhixuan were already lying down. Everyone must be suffering from backaches and pains.
Hearing the noise, Lin Zhao asked, "Where did you go? Why are you only just coming back?"
I closed the door, climbed into bed, and lazily replied, "I was sweating, so I took a shower."
"Hmph," Lin Zhao said disdainfully, "You've washed away all the sweat, where's the manly scent?"
I ignored him, but Song Zhixuan spoke up: "Lin En, are you in pain?"
I hummed in agreement, and Song Zhixuan crawled over and said, "Let me give you a massage too, otherwise you might not be able to get up tomorrow."
I nodded gratefully and lay down on the blanket.
Song Zhixuan massaged me for about half an hour. I felt he was also very tired, so I told him to stop and lie down so I could massage him instead.
Lin Zhao spoke up unhappily: "Why is nobody taking care of me?"
"Why don't you come over and help us knead it, and then we'll knead it for you?" I suggested.
"No, I want to sleep today," Lin Zhao replied and then fell silent.
As I was massaging Song Zhixuan, I fell asleep without realizing it. When I woke up the next day, I found that Song Zhixuan and I were both sleeping in my bed. He must have fallen asleep without me noticing yesterday as well.
That morning, Jiang Ming checked on my and Song Zhixuan's studies and smiled with satisfaction, "Truly, a great teacher produces outstanding students."
"How come I've never heard of you being mentioned in the martial arts world?" It was Mr. Qi, who had walked in gracefully, who spoke.
"Can't I indulge in a little self-admiration?" Jiang Ming said with a grin.
Mr. Qi looked at me and Song Zhixuan and said, "These two children are probably the most talented among these eighteen people. That's why I asked Brother Kong to arrange for you to teach them. Don't let them down."
“They are indeed smart,” Jiang Ming said.
Mr. Qi nodded and said, "I didn't expect that two more children would show up at the end. Why don't you have them practice for me now?"
Since we had just finished practicing our boxing techniques, Jiang Ming stopped letting us practice and instead made me spar with Song Zhixuan. Although we had sparred before at the Marquis of Qiyun's residence, everyone always let me win. Would Song Zhixuan let me win? I'm afraid of getting hurt!
"Just keep fighting and see who can beat whom. It will get even worse later. Others won't let you off the hook, and the enemy certainly won't," Mr. Qi encouraged us when he saw that Song Zhixuan and I were hesitant to make a move.
We had no choice but to bow to them and begin our attack.
At first, Song Zhixuan and I knew the moves Jiang Ming taught us, but the more we learned, the more confused we became. Song Zhixuan had learned some miscellaneous things before, and I had also practiced some at the Qi Yun Marquis's residence. Jiang Ming and Mr. Qi always looked at us with smiles on their faces.
Finally, seeing that I was running out of strength, I used a Taekwondo "single-leg combination kick" followed by a "back spinning kick" to finally knock Song Zhixuan to the ground, and then quickly helped him up.
“From now on, it should be like this,” Mr. Qi said approvingly as he walked over. “You played very well.” Then he left, probably to do some spot checks elsewhere.
Jiang Ming also walked over and laughed, "I didn't realize you two kids had some skills."
I chuckled and said, "It's human instinct. I only kicked those few times because I didn't have the strength to hit anymore." Then I checked Song Zhixuan and asked, "Does it hurt a lot?"
"It doesn't hurt. I really didn't have the strength to kick. I couldn't stop such a fast foot and that's why I fell." Song Zhixuan said embarrassedly, patting the dust off his face. "Although Lin En is the youngest, he is the most powerful."
Jiang Ming told us to rest for a while and that he would teach us new boxing techniques later. So the three of us sat down in the shade of a tree.
"Master, do you know how well Lin Zhao is learning?" I thought of what Mr. Qi had said. Judging from his tone, Jiang Ming, who seemed a bit cunning, was probably the best among the four martial arts masters. Shen Haojue was naturally taught by Master Kong and Meng Yue, with Mr. Qi giving him pointers from the side.
"Is his master Kong Wu? He seems quite good too," Jiang Ming said after thinking for a moment.
I said happily, "Then Master, can we ask him to come and train with us? Me, Brother Zhixuan, and Lin Zhao live together. If the three of us are together, we might learn even better, and Master will be very proud."
Jiang Ming sneered, "Whether it's to make me look better or to make yourself more amused, you know better than anyone else."
"Wouldn't that be better for everyone?" I muttered.
"Alright, I'll go ask. Don't blame me for not trying my best if their master is unwilling to release them," Jiang Ming compromised.
"Thank you, Master! Please teach us the new style of boxing." I stood up happily and said.
Do not lean against the west railing to lock in the clear autumn. Chapter 014
Chapter word count: 3040 Update time: 09-07-25 14:02
It's been almost two months since we arrived at Prince Qing's residence. It started snowing a couple of days ago, and now there's a very thick layer of snow.