Chapter 24: The Xue Family Bow Shoots Unmatched

Soft flower petals and leaves drifted down in a gentle flurry.

The girl wore white silk socks, covering her ankles, yet Li Guanyi still felt the cool, jade-like texture; the instant he realized, he released his grip—Xue Shuangtao recoiled like lightning, her right foot touching the ground yet trembling as if shocked, stumbling backward step after step—tap-tap-tap—several paces.

Then her body swayed sideways, barely steadying herself by propping her battle bow against the ground.

Her almond eyes were filled with panic, her face faintly flushed.

Xue Shuangtao saw her brother, and the clear-faced, awkward boy, took a deep breath, feigning calmness:

"... Mr. Li?"

"You've arrived."

That kick came too fast; Li Guanyi, having never learned any body technique, could only block and press down—and now he was embarrassed: "Just playing with the young master."

At that moment, Xue Changqing, just stunned by his sister's glare, snapped back to awareness.

He realized he had walked straight into a trap.

He sprang up as if springs were attached to his buttocks, shouting:

"Y-you—you're that Mr. Li?!"

"You're not even much older than me!"

The boy behind him had already pressed both hands onto his shoulders.

As he had expected, his lips slowly curled upward; amid the child's terrified expression, he said gently: "Correct. I'm the one you're trying to avoid—the new Math Master."

"Come, class begins."

Xue Shuangtao watched Li Guanyi half-carrying Xue Changqing toward the pavilion, took several quick, shallow breaths to restore her outward gentleness and poise, ignoring her brother's terrified "Who are you, you're not my sister!" expression, and invited Li Guanyi to sit at the pavilion.

"This is the Listening Wind Pavilion."

"Xue family members sometimes come here to enjoy the scenery; my elder brother, my younger brother, and I would bring osmanthus cakes here to watch the full moon during Mid-Autumn. Now, undisturbed, please begin teaching Changqing the basics. Changqing, pay your respects to the Master."

"I don't want to!"

Xue Shuangtao, who had just regained her gentle demeanor, let her gaze fall.

Xue Changqing bowed obediently: "Changqing greets the Master."

Growing up together, the elder sister held supreme authority over her younger brother.

Xue Shuangtao's voice remained soft and composed: "Please wait a moment, Master. I'll change my attire—this armor is not suitable for calmly studying mathematical texts."

Xue Shuangtao nodded and turned away, her steps calm and quiet; after rounding a shrub, her pace suddenly quickened, and she finally ran into her private courtyard.

She burst into the room, tossed her battle bow onto the bed, kicked off her boots, yanked off the silk sock from her right foot, revealing a foot as white as Bai Yu, then flung the soiled sock onto the floor like tossing a ball of snow.

Her face burned with shame and anger.

Could she have hired a lecher? Even if he had some skill, he was still a lecher!

But that kick had been hers to deliver.

The Master had stepped forward without any body technique—he'd been seated cross-legged, with nowhere to dodge—and Xue Shuangtao felt both embarrassed and helpless.

She called out: "Ru Yun, Xue Mei."

Two twenty-year-old maids answered in unison.

The girl said: "I need a bath!"

A girl's ankle had been touched—there was naturally some shame and anger; but she couldn't beat the Master, nor could she hurt herself. After a pause, she huffed: "Burn—that silk sock!"

The two beautiful maids exchanged glances; though they didn't know why, they smiled and agreed.

Soon, bath preparations were ready. As the eldest daughter of the Xue family and the most favored, her bath vessel was a 【Jian】 seven chi long, three chi wide, and one chi three cun high, adorned with tiger beasts and large rings; the two maids poured in water at the perfect temperature, infused with herbs to soothe muscles and bones.

Xue Shuangtao sat in the 【Jian】, thinking about today's incident.

Also, her inner demeanor with her brother had been seen by the newly hired Math Master, shattering her outward image of gentle grace—this inexplicably stirred her shame and irritation, yet after ruminating, she found no good solution.

Unable to resolve it, she gave up, hugged her knees, and sank deeper into the water.

Glub-glub-glub.

Maid Xue Mei laughed: "The young lady is sinking again."

"Last time was when her pet sparrow flew away after she forgot to trim its tail feathers."

The other maid, Ru Yun, smiled: "It's fine. A bath will soothe her spirit and lift her mood."

………………

Li Guanyi and Xue Changqing stared at each other.

Earlier, maids had brought snacks: six kinds of dried fruits, six kinds of fresh fruits, six kinds of pastries, and a pot of freshly brewed tea. Li Guanyi sipped the tea and asked: "Why don't you like mathematics?"

Xue Changqing said: "Because it's useless!"

He glanced around, saw his sister hadn't come, and said childishly and bluntly: "Look, I'm telling you—I don't need math. Don't teach me. Just take your pay normally! We can chat, eat snacks, and pass an hour—that's all!"

Slack off and get paid?

Without the bronze tripod, she might have accepted it.

But Li Guanyi needed to teach this child mathematics so he could meet the old master and let the bronze tripod's jade essence fill completely—he had to refuse. He said calmly: "No."

The boy, about seven or eight, looked at Li Guanyi and said:

"Is it because the pay is too low?"

"I'll double it!"

Behind the bushes, Xue Shuangtao, now changed into new clothes, lifted her gaze slightly; her eyes and ears were exceptionally sharp. She had slowed her steps after using her body technique, frowned slightly—many tutors had been dismissed this way by Xue Changqing. Noble youths saw too much, and though young, they were unexpectedly mature in certain ways.

Previous Math Masters who tried to take advantage had all been expelled by the Xue family.

The little Xue Changqing waved his tiny hand, declaring: "How much did my sister offer you?" "I'll give you double!"

Li Guanyi smiled: "I'm afraid you can't afford it."

Xue Changqing declared boldly: "How much?"

Li Guanyi said calmly: "Priceless."

Xue Changqing's face stiffened. Li Guanyi said, "Miss Xue helped me redeem an elder's belongings; I am grateful. Little fellow, don't waste your effort. You must learn this arithmetic."

Xue Shuangtao, who had heard clearly from afar, felt a little embarrassed instead.

Such faithfulness to one's word.

Calling him a lecher in private just now—hadn't that wronged him?

Internal Wu Gong circulated, footsteps unhurried as she drew near. Only then did Li Guanyi hear the footsteps. He tilted his eyes slightly and saw Xue Shuangtao had changed into a pale-yellow long robe.

A blue sash at the waist, a jade pendant hanging down. Since she wasn't going out, her hair ornaments were fewer, her bearing delicate and pretty.

Seeing her own elder sister, Xue Changqing, who had just been rather disrespectful to the newly arrived arithmetic Mr., immediately became obedient.

Seeing this, Li Guanyi asked again, "Then if you don't like arithmetic, what do you like?"

Xue Changqing said matter-of-factly, "Of course it's archery, horsemanship, and Wu Gong techniques!"

Xue Shuangtao felt a headache coming on.

At this moment she also felt somewhat helpless. If he truly got angry and made a fuss, it would serve no purpose, and afterward she'd still have to comfort him properly. She explained to Li Guanyi: "Mr., please don't laugh. Our Xue family's inherited martial arts and archery are unrivaled. Changqing has seen his elders' skill since young, and has wanted to learn archery from childhood. But he's only eight; it's hard to achieve much in archery at that age, so we hope he'll first cultivate the other items among the Six Arts of the Gentleman."

Xue Changqing sat there with arms crossed, sulking.

Li Guanyi seemed thoughtful, then said in a gentle voice, "But what if arithmetic could greatly advance your Wu Gong?"

Xue Changqing said, "I don't believe it!"

Li Guanyi said with a smile, "If you don't believe it, shall we go to the martial arena and see?"

Xue Changqing was puzzled, then immediately looked forward to going to the martial arena to practice:

"Really going?"

"Of course."

Li Guanyi looked at Xue Shuangtao: "Young Lady Xue, you don't mind?"

Though puzzled, Xue Shuangtao merely nodded and said, "I'll follow Mr.'s arrangements in everything."

The place where the Xue family disciples practiced archery was not in the usual martial arena, but indoors. First, they worried disciples' skill wasn't sufficient and they might injure others; second, beginners found it easier to master in a windless environment. After gradual progress, there were naturally other places where they could train in archery.

Quite a few Xue family disciples were honing their archery here.

Seeing Xue Changqing and Xue Shuangtao arrive, they were all quite curious—especially when they saw Xue Changqing change into archery clothes and come out carrying a bow, their curiosity grew, and they gathered in a circle.

Li Guanyi smiled and said, "Try shooting a few times, let me see your skill."

Xue Changqing, full of confidence, took an arrow, nocked it on the bowstring, and loosed it in a level shot. He truly was the child of a famous house, with a certain bearing. But because he was young and weak, his form was off, and he failed to hit the target. The Xue family certainly had all manner of supreme archery arts, but they wouldn't teach them to a child of this age.

The surrounding Xue family disciples watched with faint smiles.

Li Guanyi silently counted the time it took for the arrow to hit the ground.

Someone over there called out the distance where the arrow had landed.

After asking about the bow's draw weight, the Weight of Arrows, and Xue Changqing's height, along with a series of other questions, Li Guanyi had Xue Changqing shoot several more times. Silently working out the approximate data he needed in his mind, he verified it twice, and gradually felt confident.

A mere estimation of a parabolic trajectory—just a high-school physics problem.

Only, adding air resistance, it couldn't be calculated as precisely as a physics problem.

But calculating a rough range and hitting the target was possible. Yincaishi Sect—if this child could be made interested in arithmetic, then teaching him could proceed naturally. And when the academic check came next month, there would be a chance to meet that old gentleman and complete the bronze tripod's jade liquid.

Xue Changqing was frustrated at missing the target repeatedly. Xue Shuangtao looked at Li Guanyi in puzzlement, not knowing how he intended to accomplish it—using arithmetic to aid Wu Gong. The surrounding people had also heard of the agreement between Li Guanyi and Xue Changqing, and were extremely curious; in a moment a large crowd had gathered to watch the fun.

Li Guanyi sat down on the ground and said calmly, "Please bring me paper and a brush."

"Then I can tell you how to do it."

………………

At the very center of the Xue family residence stood a pavilion, with a pond in front of it. The Bai Hu Dharma Form lay quietly at the pond's edge, watching the spring breeze ripple the lotus pool. A tall, white-haired old man sat before the pond, a handful of fish food in his hand, while carp rolled in the water.

A steward hurried over.

The old man watched the carp in the pool and asked with a smile, "The arithmetic Mr. Shuangtao brought today has also arrived. How is it? Can he teach that boy Changqing?"

The steward said, "I just heard the news."

"The young master has gone to the martial arena."

The old man frowned slightly: "Learning arithmetic—why go to the martial arena?"

The steward replied, "I heard that Mr. said arithmetic could aid the young master's archery."

The old man's hand paused briefly, and he said in surprise, "Arithmetic aiding Wu Gong?"

"Interesting."

After a moment's thought, he scattered all the fish food in his hand into the pond and said lightly:

"I've never heard such a claim before. Let's go."

"This old man will go take a look as well."

The old man rose. The Bai Hu Dharma Form beside him lazily yawned, stood up, and followed behind the old man as they headed toward the martial arena.

(End of chapter)