Chapter 154

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He Tianshu, fully embracing his role as a master, asked once more with determination: “You really understand?”

Zhang Xiaohua nodded vigorously and replied: “Captain He, I’m absolutely certain I understand. I’m just waiting for you to demonstrate it for me.”

Even though Zhang Xiaohua was so sure, He Tianshu remained skeptical. Nevertheless, he demonstrated the first level of the Piaomiao Step’s lightness technique in the clearing, carefully showing Zhang Xiaohua how to use the technique. He also explained the inner energy formulas that accompanied the footwork.

After watching He Tianshu’s demonstration, Zhang Xiaohua knew that he couldn’t apply the inner energy formula since he lacked internal energy, but the footwork was something he could imitate. Right in front of He Tianshu, Zhang Xiaohua tried his best to mimic the movements.

Having previously taught Zhang Xiaohua fist techniques, He Tianshu was well aware of Zhang Xiaohua’s martial aptitude—or so he thought. He never expected that he could teach Zhang Xiaohua in just one morning. He’d already prepared himself mentally for a long morning of instruction.

However, the reality before him left He Tianshu dumbfounded. Even though Zhang Xiaohua’s initial performance was rough, the posture, angles, and steps were precise. He Tianshu couldn’t shake the suspicion that Zhang Xiaohua might have secretly practiced the Piaomiao Step before giving him the manual.

As Zhang Xiaohua looked at He Tianshu expectantly, He Tianshu was at a loss for words. The footwork was eerily accurate, almost as if Zhang Xiaohua could already use the technique, minus the internal energy. If Zhang Xiaohua had internal energy, he might already be flying through the air with ease.

Seeing He Tianshu looking at him with resentment, Zhang Xiaohua felt a sudden chill down his spine and asked cautiously: “Captain He, did I do something wrong? Perhaps you could demonstrate again? I’m sorry if I misunderstood.”

He Tianshu blinked and said: “No need.”

Zhang Xiaohua rushed up and showed concern: “Captain He, you must be exhausted. How about you rest for a bit? I’ll fetch you some water. Once you’re rested, you can demonstrate it again for me.”

He Tianshu waved dismissively and said with a slightly irritated tone: “No need. You’re doing really well, truly. Just keep practicing a few more times.”

Hearing this, Zhang Xiaohua could hardly believe his ears. “Really? I’m actually doing it correctly?”

When He Tianshu nodded, Zhang Xiaohua was overjoyed. Since beginning his martial arts training, this was the first time he had mastered something so quickly. Could it be that he was finally becoming smarter?

Seizing the moment, Zhang Xiaohua practiced the footwork a few more times. With each attempt, he became more proficient, and his movements became lighter. He even felt as though he might take flight at any moment. Caught up in the excitement, Zhang Xiaohua sprinted deeper into the forest. He Tianshu watched in disbelief. Is this Piaomiao Step truly tailored for Zhang Xiaohua? Without any foundation in internal energy, Zhang Xiaohua was already moving with the grace of a lightness technique, his steps embodying the essence of the style. He Tianshu knew Zhang Xiaohua’s background—this was his first time practicing a lightness technique.

While he was lost in thought, he suddenly heard a cry from deep within the forest: “Ahh! I can’t stop! Captain He, save me!”

Alarmed, He Tianshu sprang into action, quickly activating his own Piaomiao Step. He dashed into the depths of the forest at lightning speed. When he arrived, the scene before him made him burst into laughter. Zhang Xiaohua was sprawled out against a large tree, slowly sliding down it like a dead fish.

He Tianshu approached with a light step and helped Zhang Xiaohua up, asking him what had happened. It turned out that Zhang Xiaohua, caught up in his excitement over his newfound lightness technique, had started weaving through the trees at an exhilarating pace. Though he lacked the internal energy to propel himself into the air, the Piaomiao Step’s use of momentum allowed him to move faster and faster. However, having never experienced such speed before, Zhang Xiaohua soon lost control over his footwork and body. Seeing a large tree rapidly approaching but powerless to stop himself, he shouted for help. Unfortunately, He Tianshu had been too deep in thought to notice, leaving Zhang Xiaohua to collide head-on with the tree, resulting in a rather “intimate” encounter!

Hearing this, He Tianshu couldn’t help but chuckle to himself. He remembered his own early days of training in lightness techniques—he’d ended up in even more embarrassing situations, including falling from trees.

He Tianshu helped Zhang Xiaohua brush the dirt off his clothes while explaining the finer points of using lightness techniques safely. Zhang Xiaohua, keen to avoid another painful collision, listened attentively. Meanwhile, He Tianshu unconsciously overlooked a surprising fact: despite lacking internal energy, Zhang Xiaohua had managed to crash into a tree at a considerable height.

For several days, Zhang Xiaohua had become proficient in “lightness skill”, something He Tianshu never had anticipated. He had prepared himself with great courage to face the fact that Zhang Xiaohua might have average aptitude, but the reality far exceeded his expectations. Not only did Zhang Xiaohua learn and master the “Piaomiao Step” on the first try, but he also grasped the lightness skill techniques immediately after being taught. Zhang Xiaohua even made inferences beyond what was taught, leaving He Tianshu scratching his head in amazement. Could this guy have been born to run away? Reflecting on the hardships he had endured to learn these lightness techniques himself, He Tianshu couldn’t help but wonder who really had the inferior aptitude.

Now, He Tianshu was eager to teach Zhang Xiaohua some internal energy techniques. He wanted to see how his lightness skill would evolve after gaining inner energy. Will he be able to even reach the point of traveling thousands of miles in search of plum blossoms?

Another thing that surprised He Tianshu was Zhang Xiaohua’s agility and certain inexplicable movements while practicing his lightness skill. These movements gave He Tianshu new insights, despite the fact that Zhang Xiaohua was just casually performing them and not following He Tianshu’s teachings. These revelations helped He Tianshu gain a deeper understanding of the “Piaomiao Step”. He had thought he had already mastered the first level of it, but after observing Zhang Xiaohua’s footwork, he realized there was much more to explore.

As a result, He Tianshu postponed his own training and did not immediately begin practicing the second level of the “Piaomiao Step.”

On one hand, Zhang Xiaohua made rapid progress with the “Piaomiao Step” and was thrilled, but on the other hand, his progress in cultivating the Heart Sutra was non-existent. It was truly a contrast of extremes, like ice and fire!

One day, after finishing the practice of his fist technique and swordsmanship in the forest and playing around with his lightness skill for a while, Zhang Xiaohua slowly made his way back to the small courtyard.

Before he even reached the round door, he saw two guards standing at the entrance from afar. Zhang Xiaohua found this strange because the guards rarely came here. Could something have happened?

When he reached the round door, he saw that the two guards were merely standing there. In the courtyard, sitting on a small stone bench was none other than Li Jinfeng, the scholarly gentleman.

Li Jinfeng, sitting on the stone bench, had grown bored from waiting. Hearing footsteps, he turned around, saw Zhang Xiaohua, and stood up with a smile.

Zhang Xiaohua was pleasantly surprised. The last time he had seen Li Jinfeng was before the New Year, and now, several months had passed. Overjoyed, he ran forward, grabbed Li Jinfeng’s hand, and said: “Big Brother Li, what brings you here? It’s been such a long time.”

Li Jinfeng was equally happy to see his unofficial pupil. He noticed that Zhang Xiaohua had grown quite a bit in the past few months, and his eyes were now clearer, lacking the confusion and curiosity they once had when they first met. Li Jinfeng couldn’t resist patting Zhang Xiaohua’s head and said: “You never come to the academy to visit me. I missed you all, so I stole some time away to come here.”

Seeing that Zhang Xiaohua and Li Jinfeng knew each other, the two guards at the courtyard gate approached, carefully inquired about Zhang Xiaohua’s identity, and even noted something down before finally nodding and leaving, reassured.

After the two guards had walked away, Zhang Xiaohua hurriedly pulled Li Jinfeng into the house, poured him a cup of water, and they began chatting.

Li Jinfeng, puzzled, asked: “Xiaohua, what’s going on at Huanxi Villa these days? Right after the New Year, I went to the Lotus Escort Agency to find Zhang Xiaohu, but I was told he had gone on a long escort mission, so I couldn’t find him. I figured you must still be at the villa, so I came here to look for you. But to my surprise, there are far more guards at the villa than before. No matter how many times I explained that I had been here before, that I knew you well, and even that I knew Captain He, they still wouldn’t let me in. I almost got into an argument with them! I even asked them to just pass on a message to you, saying I didn’t need to come inside, if you came out to meet me, that would have been fine. But they refused to report it. Don’t you think that’s infuriating?”

Zhang Xiaohua could only smile and say: “It’s nothing serious. It’s just that after the New Year, the villa tightened its security. I guess they’re just being cautious.”

Still confused, Li Jinfeng said: “But they wouldn’t even let me see you—that’s outrageous. As the old saying goes, ‘When a scholar meets a soldier, reason is lost’. I could have had ten mouths and still wouldn’t have been able to argue with them!”

Zhang Xiaohua chuckled but didn’t respond, guessing that Great Scholar Li must have been quite irritated the last time he was denied entry.

He continued to grumble: “And today, what’s going on? Why are there suddenly two people following me? Last time, when I came with your second brother, they just registered us and only had one person accompany us. This time, I had to meet someone in person just to get in.”

Zhang Xiaohua, still not fully engaging, casually replied: “The tighter security is probably just for our safety. If it weren’t so strict, and a thief snuck in, wouldn’t that be terrible?”

“Hm, true enough. Just the other day, we lost quite a few books from our academy. “Li Jinfeng scratched his head and said: “And you know, of all things to steal, why books? Although some say that when a scholar steals books, it’s not really stealing, it’s still a disgrace to the scholarly tradition.”

Zhang Xiaohua was confused and asked: “If a scholar steals books, it’s not called stealing? What is it then?”

“Book theft!” Li Jinfeng replied, as if embarrassed by Zhang Xiaohua’s lack of knowledge.

[TL_Note: The humor here lies in the wordplay: “偷” (tōu) and “窃” (qiè) both mean “steal,” but “窃” is considered a more formal or “elegant” term, often associated with intellectual or higher-level theft, such as stealing ideas or knowledge.]

“Pfft!” Zhang Xiaohua spat out the tea he had just sipped, almost spraying it on Li Jinfeng.

He asked in bewilderment: “What’s the difference?”

“It’s about elegance! This is the grace and respect of a scholar!”Li Jinfeng replied with a sense of righteous indignation.

Zhang Xiaohua was left speechless.

After taking a sip of tea, Li Jinfeng remembered something and asked: “By the way, Xiaohua, earlier I went to the escort agency to find your second brother. I heard he doesn’t work there anymore. I asked that guard, Xiao Si, but he was all mysterious about it and wouldn’t tell me anything. He just said your brother had found better prospects. I find that strange. Why couldn’t he just tell me where your brother went? Do you know where Zhang Xiaohu is? If necessary, I can ask one of the academy professors to see if they can help him find a better position.”

“Huh?” Zhang Xiaohua was puzzled. Zhang Xiaohu had gone to Piaomiao Sect to become a disciple, which should have been an honor for the Lotus Escort Agency. So why were the guards being so secretive about it?

However, from Li Jinfeng’s tone, it was clear that he had misunderstood the situation with the guard, assuming that something bad had happened to Zhang Xiaohu and that he had been kicked out of the Lotus Escort Agency. Hearing how concerned Li Jinfeng was and his offer to help Zhang Xiaohu find work, Zhang Xiaohua felt a warm sense of gratitude. He couldn’t deny that Li Jinfeng was a man of great integrity and kindness. Although Zhang Xiaohua and his brother had no blood relation to him and had merely traveled together to Pingyang City, Li Jinfeng often came to check on them and even taught Zhang Xiaohua how to read and write, truly serving as his first teacher.

In contrast, Shangguan Yun and Yu Lun from the Lotus Escort Agency, who had also shared the same carriage to Pingyang City, behaved quite differently. They did everything to prevent Zhang Xiaohua from getting closer to them. This stark contrast naturally made Zhang Xiaohua feel closer to Li Jinfeng.

With this thought in mind, Zhang Xiaohua said: “Brother Li, you don’t need to worry. My second brother is doing very well. He’s gone to a place to learn martial arts, and he’s really happy there. Can you guess where he went?”

Seeing Zhang Xiaohua’s relaxed expression, Li Jinfeng realized that there was no reason to worry about Zhang Xiaohu, so he thought for a moment before saying: “You martial artists have your own world—I wouldn’t know anything about that. Last time, didn’t you mention that your second brother was going to the martial arts school at the Lotus Escort Agency? Why would he have gone somewhere else? I really can’t guess. Surely, he didn’t end up at that Piaomiao Sect you mentioned?”

Zhang Xiaohua laughed even harder and said: “Brother Li, you really are sharp. You guessed it right.”

“Huh?” Li Jinfeng was surprised. He then said: “Congratulations, congratulations! I never imagined your second brother would have such a fortuitous opportunity. Didn’t you mention that it was difficult to enter that sect? When I returned to the academy, I even asked some local scholars, and they told me that the Piaomiao Sect only accepts children around the age of five. Your second brother is already fifteen, isn’t he?”

Zhang Xiaohua explained with a smile: “It was all thanks to my brother’s good fortune. He met an old acquaintance who recognized his talent and took him in out of appreciation.”

“Talent?” Li Jinfeng was surprised. “Zhang Xiaohua, if I remember correctly, your talent is nothing short of extraordinary. How come they didn’t choose you?”

Zhang Xiaohua pouted and said: “I may be good at reading and writing, but when it comes to martial arts, I’m a completely different person. Just like before, I have no hope.”

“Hehe,” Li Jinfeng chuckled, knowing all too well about Zhang Xiaohua’s embarrassing experiences with practicing martial arts. He laughed but didn’t probe further.

Zhang Xiaohua then asked: “Brother Li, where did you spend the New Year? You didn’t stay in Pingyang City, did you?”

Upon hearing this, Li Jinfeng gave a mysterious smile and said: “Although I went to the escort agency and the villa after the New Year, I actually spent the New Year in Lu Town.”

“You went home, Brother Li!” Zhang Xiaohua was excited to hear news from his hometown. He quickly asked: “How is everyone at home? And…”

Although Zhang Xiaohua didn’t finish his question, Li Jinfeng understood what he meant and smiled: “Everyone at my home is doing well, and your family is also doing fine.”

“Really?” Zhang Xiaohua was somewhat incredulous. Since leaving Guo Village, it had been over a year, and although he appeared focused on his training and reading without feeling homesick, he was still a teenager, how could he not miss home?

He remembered that when he went to the Lotus Escort Agency last year, he wanted his second brother to take some of his wages back home. But with everything that had happened since, he had completely forgotten about it. He vaguely remembered his second brother mentioning that he wanted Li Jinfeng to take a message and get some money back home during the New Year. Since his second brother had been on a long escort mission before the New Year, it was likely that he hadn’t arranged this matter.

Thinking of this, Zhang Xiaohua quickly took out the money pouch from his chest and said: “Brother Li, I have some silver here. Could you take it with you next time you go back home?”

Hearing this, Li Jinfeng quickly stopped him: “No, Zhang Xiaohua, keep it for now. It’s still quite a while before I go back home, and I’m not sure when that will be. You might return before I do.”

“Oh, I see.” Zhang Xiaohua reluctantly put the money pouch back into his chest and said: “If you have a chance to go back, please let us know in advance, alright?”

Li Jinfeng assured him: “Of course, I’ll definitely let you know. I went back before the New Year specifically to find you, but since your second brother was out on an escort mission, I didn’t get to see him. Fortunately, your second brother had already arranged to leave the money with me for you, so I gave it to your parents last time I went home.”

“Is that so? That’s great! By the way, Brother Li, please tell me more about what’s going on at home.” Zhang Xiaohua eagerly wanted to hear more news from his family.

“Well, according to your parents, it seems like not much has changed since you left, hehe.” Li Jinfeng said, apparently not very good at describing things in detail.

Zhang Xiaohua pressed: “Just tell me whatever you can.”

Li Jinfeng thought for a moment and said: “Oh, by the way, your father and mother seem quite young. I’d say my parents and yours are probably about the same age, but why do they look at least ten years younger than my parents?”

“Really? That’s surprising. I remember that when I left, they looked perfectly normal,” Zhang Xiaohua said, puzzled. But then he seemed to realize something and asked: “What else?”

“Oh, right, your sister-in-law is very beautiful! I can’t believe your eldest brother is so fortunate to find such a wonderful wife,” Li Jinfeng said with a touch of envy.

“My eldest brother, like me, is extremely handsome, so of course, he could find someone as beautiful as my sister-in-law.” Zhang Xiaohua replied with a hint of self-admiration.

“Keep dreaming,” Li Jinfeng teased. “Honestly, although you brothers are not unattractive, none of you are exceptionally handsome or charming.”

“Hehe.” Zhang Xiaohua laughed and then recounted the story of his eldest brother and sister-in-law.

Li Jinfeng listened with admiration and clapped his hands: “A tale worth singing about, indeed! A beauty to accompany a hero—it’s fitting! But Zhang Xiaohua, I really didn’t expect that the bully you mentioned was the Wolf of Lu Town, a notorious troublemaker! You dared to confront him, and I must say, I’m truly impressed. The rest sounds like an exaggeration.”

“Let’s not talk about that, Brother Li. Tell me more about my family. How is the farming going at home? The land on the south slope, is it being cultivated? And how is my father’s health? My mother? Also, has my eldest brother had a child? Oh, and Mr. Liu, who also lived with us—how is he doing? Finally, how is Grandma’s grave? Is it being maintained well?”

Zhang Xiaohua fired off a rapid series of questions, his eyes reddening as he mentioned his beloved grandmother.