Chapter 14: A House Full of Loyal Martyrs

Everything happened too fast; Li Qinxiang was still savoring how Li You had deliberately opened his right side, luring Tian Si into overconfidence, provoking an attack to his right, and only after Tian Si's blade had passed its center of gravity did Li You swiftly close in, launching a fierce assault on Tian Si's right flank.

"Waiting until the blade's center of gravity has passed and its momentum has grown stale—this timing alone is something no ordinary person would dare attempt. What if the strike came too late? What if the blade failed to deflect the opponent's? What if the feet weren't fast enough?"

Lost in these chaotic thoughts, he snapped back to reality only to see Li You's blade already pressed horizontally across Tian Si's throat, blood flowing freely.

At that moment, his body shivered involuntarily, and he exclaimed, "Tsk tsk... terrifying! Fast, so fast!"

Nearby by the riverbed, Cao Er and Shi Jiu'en, who had been chatting and laughing, looked as if they had seen a ghost.

They were only about thirty meters from Li You, with a clear line of sight, watching plainly as Tian Si was dispatched by Li You in fewer than two or three exchanges.

"He absolutely cannot be a Xiucai; no one could develop such a scissor-step in their feet without ten years of training!"

Though Shi Jiu'en was no expert, he had at least served a few years in the Rapid Class and, in his youth, had studied sword techniques under Grandmaster Xue Lu at the Tianying Martial Hall in Baoning Prefecture.

In the earlier clash between Li You and Tian Si, many only watched the hand techniques, yet few noticed the feet; from start to finish, Li You's lower body maintained a solid root, making his gathering of force, release of power, and deflection of energy appear as smooth as flowing clouds and water, perfectly balanced between tension and relaxation.

"This style is clearly the formal technique of a prestigious sect, yet when he executes it, it looks like a killing art of border soldiers!"

A chill ran through Shi Jiu'en's heart.

In truth, all martial arts in the world fall into two schools: one is the army's killing art, the other is the civilian's ornamental style.

From Qi Jiguang's "Jixiao Xinshu" and Wu Shu's "Shoubi Lu," one can see that whether it is Shaolin martial arts or civilian styles like the Yang Family Spear, Ma Family Spear, Shaanxi Small Red Fist, Hunan Yue Family Fist, Tang Shunzhi's Twin Blades, and so on, all originated from battlefield martial arts.

However, due to differing purposes, they eventually developed into distinct martial paths; as for which is superior, Teacher Yu Zhijun provided an objective explanation in his "History of Chinese Traditional Martial Arts":

A single retired veteran generally cannot defeat a civilian martial artist, but the martial artist's dazzling acrobatics and ornamental moves, when placed on a battlefield, would be beheaded by the supervising officers before they even had a chance to kill an enemy.

Cao Er cared nothing for civilian ornamental styles or battlefield martial arts; at this moment, his face had turned pale, his soul having fled in terror at the gruesome scene of Tian Si.

"Clap, clap, clap..."

Suddenly, a sound of applause rang out...

He turned his head sharply and saw ten or so people standing on the northern ridge, led by Wu Zhuge, with Dayun'er standing beside him.

Dayun'er seemed to have dressed up deliberately today; she wore a large cloak over a pink floral cross-front robe, with slits opening at both armpits, the front open, fastened not with buttons but with thin cotton cords.

In this manner, nothing could contain those two surging waves, while her round, firm buttocks were so large and high that they made her skirt flare out like an umbrella.

"When did Wu Datou arrive?"

Cao Er's face turned gloomy and sinister as Wu Zhuge began walking down toward them.

Clapping his hands, Wu Zhuge shouted as he approached, "Damn it... what swordsmanship! Ah... I truly never expected Li Xianggong to be so accomplished in both civil and military arts!"

Wu Zhuge's arrival immediately caused everyone to stand at attention, except for a few soldiers like Gao Conglong.

"Ah, Great Hall Master, you must seek justice for me... truly, this Tian Si deliberately picked a quarrel, bullying me beyond endurance, I..."

Li You, terrified beyond measure, stammered incoherently as he raised his hands high in a gesture of respect toward Wu Zhuge.

"Damn it, no need to explain... I arrived early and saw everything clearly; this counts as a martial duel in the Jianghu, and since you fought for your lives, if your skills were inferior, then dying is just dying; besides, how can a lowborn bastard like Tian Si be compared to a Xiucai?"

As Wu Datou spoke with a smile, Zhang Zhuanggen in the back row cast a cold glance over Li You's face, then subtly glanced at the approaching Cao Er, cursing inwardly, "Damn your mother's fur, Cao bastard, daring to stir up trouble for me!"

Only Dayun'er gazed at Li You with watery, beautiful eyes; originally, Wu Zhuge had long forgotten his rebellious ambitions from yesterday.

He had come only because Dayun'er had begged and urged him to see Li You, this talent, and Wu Zhuge, unable to resist, had finally come.

"Li Xianggong, your martial arts are certainly not half-baked! They seem to come from a prestigious family, yet also resemble the killing arts of border soldiers?"

Niu Jinku, standing nearby, could no longer hold back; having accompanied Shi Dayong from the Seven Western Guard Posts, he eagerly proposed, "How about we spar?"

"I dare not; it would be showing off my axe before Lu Ban's door!"

Li You looked up at his fiery gaze, speechless, and replied, "I am originally from a military household, and these martial arts were taught by my father, so perhaps it is a combination of both."

"Might you tell me your father's name and where he served in the military?"

"Li Zhao. Border Army, Jizhou Garrison, under the command of Youji Zhang Qigong, Night Scout Squad Leader."

"Li Zhao... Li Zhao... Ah... is it Li Baihu? The one exceptionally skilled in mounted archery?" Niu Jinku exclaimed in shock.

"Baihu?"

Li You was somewhat speechless; in his memory, Li Zhao had never mentioned being a Baihu, yet Li You still acknowledged that Li Zhao's mounted archery was indeed outstanding.

Nevertheless, he still did not believe Niu Jinku knew Li Zhao, for Niu Jinku was at most twenty-five or twenty-six, only a few years older than himself, while Li Zhao had deserted early; by the twenty-first year of Wanli, he had already gone to Binzhou to farm.

"Hey, damn it, do you really know him?"

Wu Zhuge also grew interested; after all, he was extremely curious about this Li You, who possessed both the talent to govern the world and such fine martial arts, making him even more mysterious.

Not only Wu Zhuge, but Cao Er and Zhang Zhuanggen also turned their heads.

Niu Jinku then began to speak...

Li Zhao was originally from Dingyuan, Anhui; in the early Wanli years, he followed General Liu Ting on the campaign to the Western Pass, accompanying Vice General Qi Jin, and was the first to scale the high walls of Goryeo City.

After Qi Jin retired due to illness, he followed Vice General Ma Gui; in the twentieth year of Wanli, he joined Li Rusong in a pincer attack on Zhuoli Tu at Zhangliang Fort, pursuing the defeated enemy all the way to the Helan Mountains, beheading over one hundred twenty enemies.

Night Scout Total Flag Officer Li Zhao, in this battle, displayed astonishing mounted archery, personally shooting twenty-three enemies, thus gaining great fame.

Ma Gui, due to his military merits, was promoted in rank and granted hereditary titles; soon elevated to General, he was stationed to guard Yansui. Meanwhile, Li Zhao, promoted to Baihu, wisely withdrew from the fray at the height of his success, leaving the army with his friend Wu Yicheng.

However, that battle beneath the Helan Mountains still circulated among the border soldiers.

"You didn't mistake the person, did you?"

Li You truly did not recall Li Zhao ever telling him of such glorious achievements; yet some things that seem absurd in novels actually happened in history: Gao Xie leading thirty cavalry to raid Longzhou; Zhao Shijiao recovering the Qiantunwei City with thirty-eight men; Mao Wenlong crossing the river with a hundred men to harass and raid.

He could not help but recall Li Zhao's mounted archery skills, which were indeed as smooth as flowing clouds and water, hitting the mark every single time.

"Ah, damn it, I never expected Li Xianggong's father to have such an experience; by that account, your father also gave his life's effort for the Great Ming."

"But now, why do you think to come here and incite me to rebel? Isn't that acting with a wolf's heart and a dog's liver, splashing dog dung on your family's ancestral grave? Haha..."

Wu Zhuge threw his head back and laughed heartily.

"No, no, no; my father served the Great Ming with a loyal and sincere heart, and now I serve the Great Hall Master with equal loyalty; we judge by heart, not by deeds; our family should be described as a house full of loyal martyrs!"

"A house full of loyal martyrs?" Li You's words left Wu Zhuge bewildered; after a long pause, he cursed, "Damn your scholar's mouth, you twist words into a round shape!"

"Hmph..."

Zhang Zhuanggen, standing nearby, found Li You's flattery utterly grating and, with a look of disdain, said, "A scholar's mouth is a liar's ghost; by your twisted logic, does the talk of conquering the world yesterday mean you will accept amnesty one day?"

"Accepting amnesty for high rank and rich salary is also perfectly natural!"

Zhang Zhuanggen said this deliberately for Wu Zhuge to hear; Li You understood this naturally in his heart and continued addressing Wu Zhuge: "Great Manager, I see Second Master has governed this mining district in perfect order. Perhaps I should come to the Great Manager's side; even serving as a miscellaneous clerk would do. Who knows, I might truly offer strategies to conquer the world."

"Conquering the world is too far away."

Wu Zhuge smiled at Cao Er and said: "Second Brother, didn't you say yesterday that you were too busy here?"

"Yes, yes, yes. It's just that Mr. Li has just arrived, and I feared tiring him out, so I didn't disturb him." Cao Er could finally join the conversation.

"Oh, that is good! Mr. Li, you stay here for now. My place is too shabby; let me tidy up before I fetch Mr. there..."

"Yes!" Li You felt disappointed in his heart.

"Let's go see how the iron smelting is doing. Recently, iron supplies have been unable to meet demand!"

Saying this, he took Cao Er's hand, and the two walked at the very front, stepping out first.

Li You felt rather vexed inside and followed closely behind Da Yun'er.

Da Yun'er suddenly blushed.