Xu Xinghe's eyes widened in surprise.

It's true that you can't judge a book by its cover. This seemingly ordinary peasant woman is actually a hidden master!

The woman handed the pistol back to her. "When it comes to shooting, posture is fundamental, and feel is key. Just practice more. You're steady and persistent; given time, your accuracy will definitely improve. But there's something I must tell you: always guard your gun and don't let anyone take it, understand?"

"Thank you for your guidance." Xu Xinghe thanked her again, then a thought suddenly occurred to her, "Auntie, what brings you here?"

The woman smiled but didn't answer directly. She simply said, "I just came to the mountains for a walk and happened to see you practicing shooting here. It's good that young people are energetic, but you also need to be careful. Guns can be used for self-defense, but they can also hurt people. Don't use them lightly unless absolutely necessary."

After saying that, she turned and walked towards the entrance of the shooting range. Her steps were light, and she quickly disappeared into the woods as if she had never been there.

Xu Xinghe gripped the gun in his hand, gazing thoughtfully in the direction the woman had gone.

She always felt that this woman was not simple; perhaps she was specially arranged by Political Commissar Wang to give her guidance?

But she didn't have time to delve into it; she simply readjusted her posture and continued practicing her shooting.

With the guidance she had just received, her accuracy improved significantly, and her bullets hit the bullseye more and more often.

After practicing until noon, Xu Xinghe put away his pistol, rubbed his slightly sore arms, and turned to leave the small shooting range.

She went to the military canteen and got two meals: one was a coarse grain steamed bun with stir-fried greens, and the other was braised pork and rice.

High-intensity training requires replenishing physical strength.

After returning to the courtyard, she quickly finished her meal, cleaned up the dishes, and then slipped into her spatial dimension.

A large wooden bucket had already been placed on the open ground in the space.

Xu Xinghe scooped out some spiritual spring water from the spring, diluted it with some ordinary warm water, and then sat down inside.

The warm spring water enveloped my body, and the nourishing power of the spring seeped into my muscles through my pores. The muscle soreness and fatigue from the morning's shooting practice instantly disappeared, and even my spirits were greatly invigorated.

She soaked for about fifteen minutes until she felt completely refreshed before getting up, drying herself off, and changing into some dry clothes.

At 1 p.m. sharp, a knock came from outside the courtyard gate.

Xu Xinghe opened the door and saw a young soldier standing outside. "Comrade Xu, Political Commissar Wang sent me to pick you up."

"Okay." Xu Xinghe didn't ask any more questions and followed the soldier quickly into the depths of the military headquarters.

To her surprise, the soldiers did not take her to Political Commissar Wang's office, but instead led her to a secluded private training room.

The training room was empty, with only a few thick mats on the floor and some simple training equipment hanging on the walls.

"Where is Political Commissar Wang?" Xu Xinghe asked in confusion.

The soldier saluted. "Comrade Xu, Political Commissar Wang told me to bring you here. You can ask him for details later."

After saying that, the other person turned and left, closing the training room door behind them.

Xu Xinghe stood there alone, her heart filled with confusion.

She looked around, wondering if she should find a place to sit down and wait, when the door to the training room was suddenly pushed open and a woman walked in.

The woman looked to be in her forties, wearing a faded coarse cloth jacket, her hair casually tied back, her skin a healthy wheat color, and her knuckles covered with a thin layer of calluses.

As soon as she entered, she went straight to Xu Xinghe, her tone crisp and decisive, "Come on, hit me."

Xu Xinghe took a step back in shock, her eyes wide. "Who are you? Why did you make me hit you?"

The woman rolled up her sleeves, revealing her strong arms, and smirked. "Political Commissar Wang sent me here, saying he wanted to teach you a few self-defense techniques. How am I supposed to know what's wrong with you if you don't hit me? How am I supposed to teach you? I only teach people during a fight; I don't know any other methods."

Xu Xinghe then realized that this was the instructor that Political Commissar Wang had specially arranged for her.

But she had never been in a fight before, let alone attacked anyone, so she was at a loss for what to do. "But... I'm afraid I'll hurt you."

"You can't hurt me." The woman chuckled coldly, her tone laced with arrogance. "I've been learning martial arts from my father since I was a child. Back on the battlefield, I could take on three people with my bare hands. Your strength isn't even enough to fill my teeth. Hurry up and make your move, or I'll leave and no one will teach you anymore."

Having said all that, Xu Xinghe took a deep breath and suppressed her hesitation.

To protect himself, to be able to protect himself in dangerous situations, and even more so to find Jiang Linchuan!

She clenched her fist, aimed at the woman's shoulder, and tentatively threw a punch.

This was the part of her body that she could think of that would be least likely to hurt someone.

But as soon as she stretched out her fist, the woman grabbed her wrist.

The woman's grip was extremely strong. Xu Xinghe felt a numbness in her wrist, and her whole body was pulled forward by a force.

Immediately afterwards, the woman exerted force with her waist and swung her arm smoothly, executing a clean and neat over-the-shoulder throw. With a thud, Xu Xinghe landed heavily on the thick mat behind her.

Xu Xinghe groaned in pain, feeling as if all the bones in her body were about to fall apart.

The woman looked down at her with a hint of disdain in her voice, "You're no good. You're too weak and only use your arms. You're not using your waist at all. Fighting is about using your whole body, turning the strength of your waist, legs, and arms into a single force. That's how you make your punches more powerful."

As she spoke, she reached out and lifted Xu Xinghe off the mat as if she were a chick, then with a sudden effort, threw her onto another mat not far away.

Before Xu Xinghe could recover, the woman strode forward and reached out to grab her arm.

Xu Xinghe instinctively tried to dodge, but the woman easily grabbed her shoulder. "Too slow to react!"

As the woman spoke, she guided her hand, "If someone grabs your arm, don't struggle. Turn your body with their force, then use your elbow to push against their ribs. Remember this point of leverage..."

The woman's teaching method was simple and direct, entirely based on practical experience.

She never talked about complicated theories, but let Xu Xinghe experience them for himself through repeated attacks, defenses, and counterattacks.

Xu Xinghe was frequently hit by the attacks at first, falling down, being held down, and being disarmed, leaving her covered in bruises and wincing in pain.

But she did not back down. Every time she fell, she immediately got up, carefully remembered the techniques the woman taught her, and pondered the key points of exerting force.

The woman's attacks became faster and more ruthless, not at all like a lesson, but more like a real fight with an enemy.

Xu Xinghe was forced into a series of defeats, but under this high pressure, he also grew rapidly.

She gradually learned to use the momentum of her body to generate force, to find opportunities to counterattack while defending, and to attack the enemy's vitals in the simplest and most direct way.

In the training room.

Xu Xinghe's clothes were soaked with sweat, her hair was plastered to her forehead, and her face was full of exhaustion, but her eyes were getting brighter and brighter.

With each new martial arts move she learned, she would have an extra layer of protection on her journey to find Jiang Linchuan.

Even though her whole body aches now, and even though she has been knocked down time and time again, she will never give up.

After an unknown amount of time, the woman finally stopped what she was doing, took a breath, and said, "Alright, that's enough for today. You have good comprehension, but your foundation is too weak. From now on, come here to find me every afternoon at this time, and I will teach you until dark."

Xu Xinghe leaned on the cushion, panting heavily. Her muscles were screaming with soreness, but she still managed to force a smile. "Thank you, Auntie."

The woman waved her hand and turned to leave.

As she reached the door, she suddenly stopped and looked back. "Remember, the purpose of what I'm teaching you is to save your life, not to show off. Run if you can, and only fight if you can't. If you fight, be ruthless and don't give the enemy a chance to turn the tables."

"Between you and your enemy, in many situations, only one can survive."