activa-t Chapter 221 Advance Troops
Chapter 221 Advance Troops
Chapter 221 Advance Troops
Uncle Hai glanced at Lin Ziping sideways: "Want to learn swordsmanship?"
Lin Ziping nodded: "I want to learn!"
"I can't!" Uncle Hai answered quite decisively.
……
Six black dots appeared on Lin Ziping's head.
“Okay, then what will you teach us, Uncle?” Lin Ziping asked.
"You just told me to look around here, what am I supposed to teach?" Uncle Hai retorted.
Lin Ziping looked puzzled: "Uncle, didn't you tell me to learn from you?"
“You didn’t agree back then, so why are you learning it now?!” Uncle Hai said matter-of-factly.
People can laugh when they're speechless. Lin Ziping wanted to argue a bit more, but Fan Ji stopped him.
"Uncle Hai is here watching us practice. Please point out anything that's wrong to us," Fan Ji said, bowing with his hands clasped.
Lin Ziping opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing. He casually clasped his hands in a salute and stood at the back.
The reason is simple: Uncle Hai is too infuriating, and Lin Ziping doesn't want to talk to him for the time being.
Xiao Chen and the others also came over at this time, greeted Uncle Hai and bowed, and then started to move around.
"Xiao Xiao, I remember you know how to use a knife. Show me a few moves today," Uncle Hai said to Xiao Chen.
Xiao Chen was puzzled, but he still obediently took a knife from the weapon rack.
Uncle Hai said, "Let's start with the most basic one."
"Yes." Xiao Chen clasped his hands in a fist salute.
Lin Ziping looked up at Uncle Hai. He had just said he wanted to learn how to use a knife, and then Xiao Chen demonstrated it. Did Uncle Hai have some unspeakable reason?
"Cough-cough-"
Uncle Hai coughed twice, and Lin Ziping quickly snapped out of his thoughts, just as Xiao Chen began his demonstration.
Lin Ziping concentrated, staring intently at the screen.
Xiao Chen's set of movements took about 5 minutes.
Lin Ziping only remembered about 70% of it.
He mentally rehearsed it and then mimicked it with his hands.
"Raise your hand a little higher, and use your wrist force..."
Before anyone knew it, Uncle Hai walked up to Lin Ziping and frowned as he watched Lin Ziping's actions.
Lin Ziping adjusted his movements as Hai Shu instructed.
"Wu Xudong, demonstrate Xiao Xiao's move from earlier," Uncle Hai said as he walked up to Wu Xudong.
"Okay." Wu Xudong demonstrated the knife once.
Watching Wu Xudong's fluid movements, which seemed to be a perfect replica of Xiao Chen's, Lin Ziping saw the disparity in the world.
Xiao Chen didn't say anything, his gaze sweeping over Lin Ziping, Wu Xudong, and Uncle Hai.
"Uncle Hai, I have something to attend to, so I'll take my leave first. You go ahead with your work." Xiao Chen clasped his hands in a fist salute to Uncle Hai, gave Wu Xudong and Lin Ziping a meaningful look, and then gestured for his men to leave.
Lin Ziping was completely baffled; if it wasn't Xiao Chen, then what was that look in his eyes?
"What are you looking at? Keep practicing." Uncle Hai walked up to Lin Ziping, took out a thin wooden stick from somewhere, and hit Lin Ziping's hand.
"hiss--"
Lin Ziping let out a soft sigh, looked at Uncle Hai in front of him, but didn't say anything, and followed Wu Xudong's lead.
Uncle Hai would occasionally offer a few words of guidance from the side.
Tang Jiawei, Fan Ji, and Pu Santong also practiced it a few times, but since it differed from the original martial arts, they didn't continue.
Wu Xudong demonstrated it about ten times, and seeing that Uncle Hai didn't say anything, he switched back to his original technique.
After learning from Wu Xudong more than ten times, Lin Ziping finally memorized all the moves. He didn't practice anything else, but instead practiced with a large knife every day.
Uncle Hai watched as Lin Ziping went from initially disliking him to later ignoring him, and he spoke less and less.
Lin Ziping didn't mind, as all experts have their tempers.
Although the expert I met was a bit of a hypocrite, he was still quite capable overall. He initially expressed a desire to learn how to use a knife, and now he does too.
Having lived in this era for so many years, I have never met anyone who possesses internal energy.
Lin Ziping speculated that there might be two possibilities. One was that he had encountered too few people, and those who possessed internal energy were extremely rare, belonging to beings he couldn't reach, so he didn't know.
Another possibility is that the concept of internal strength simply didn't exist in this era. The ceiling of combat power was roughly equivalent to the former top martial arts masters, who were stronger, faster, better equipped, and more familiar with human anatomy than others.
If it's the first case, then even if you practice for another 20 years, you can only look up to them.
In the second scenario, innate differences can be overcome through hard work, and changes in techniques do not significantly affect the outcome of a duel.
Regardless of the situation, it's the same for Lin Ziping right now. Even if he has internal energy, judging from the boxing techniques taught by the two guards, Li and Zhang, these are exclusive secret techniques that are generally not passed on to outsiders. No one would teach him these techniques now. The second situation is even simpler. The deciding factor is not the change in the technique, so learning such advanced techniques is useless.
Those who can demonstrate in public are usually the most basic ones, and Lin Ziping learns them without complaint, enjoying it every day.
He even learned the body techniques that Wu Xudong, Tang Jiawei, Fan Ji, and Pu Santong practiced every day. With more skills, Lin Ziping felt that he was making rapid progress. If he didn't learn from everyone's strengths, he could be considered well-rounded.
Autumn has arrived in the blink of an eye.
The royal palace is beginning preparations for the annual autumn hunting festival.
This was just a team-building activity led by His Majesty the Emperor, along with his court officials and concubines.
Moreover, this is a high-risk period for accidents.
However, when the emperor leaves the palace, he is always accompanied by imperial guards with swords. If the concubines of the harem go with him, they will definitely be accompanied by the Imperial Guards, and the Jinwu Guards should not be lacking in martial prowess.
Although Xiao Chen didn't know exactly what the Tengxiang Guard did, Lin Ziping knew from Zhou Chaofeng that the Tengxiang Guard was the imperial palace's cavalry guards, and they were responsible for things like outings and picnics where transportation was needed.
With so many bodyguards and logistics personnel following him, His Majesty the Emperor surely wouldn't need security personnel when he's traveling.
One second Lin Ziping was happily planning what he should do with more free time during the Emperor's absence from the palace, not having to stand guard at the Taiji Hall anymore, and the next second he was notified that he had to go to the Autumn Hunting Festival early to clear the area.
No, this is an event that's basically held every year. Can't we just build a scenic protection zone and prohibit unauthorized personnel from entering?!
Lin Ziping got angry and cursed under his breath, but his body still worked diligently and conscientiously.
The autumn hunt took place in the suburbs of the capital, truly far from the hustle and bustle of the city, about 100 kilometers away from the capital, in a range of rolling mountains.
Lin Ziping was a member of the advance team. Although the mission was to clear the area for the Autumn Hunting Festival in advance, he was actually responsible for clearing the way and preparing supplies as soon as he left the capital.
In this situation, the Ministry of Internal Affairs did not even provide a means of transportation, so Lin Ziping had no choice but to bring out the "Wuling Hongguang".
The innkeeper was an honest man. The Wuling Hongguang was well-maintained in his care for more than a month and became shiny and smooth. When Lin Ziping went to redeem it, he didn't ask for an exorbitant price. The price was not much higher than that of a donkey of the same price on the market.
When Lin Ziping pulled the Wuling Hongguang away, the shopkeeper and his nephew both looked reluctant to part, a scene that was somewhat sad.
In short, the Wuling Hongguang returned to Lin Ziping's embrace and became a member of the advance team for the imperial autumn hunt, beginning its life as a beast of burden with Lin Ziping.