Chapter 95 Her First Weapon 7

However, unlike Lü Zhi, who had someone to teach her, Liu Fei was just waving the tree branch around purely out of fun.

Liu Fei waved the branch casually for a while, but after a while he got bored, so he dropped it and ran away. Someone was calling him from afar.

He thought it sounded like that guy from next door...

Lü Zhi glanced up and saw that the children calling Liu Fei were from the neighborhood, whom she knew quite well, so she didn't bother to pay attention to what they were doing.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, she quickly finished her work and, when she had a spare moment, found a suitable long wooden stick.

Lü Zhi lifted the wood and bounced it up and down. Her first impression was how heavy it was. She then thought it would be great if she could carve it into a wooden sword. The wooden stick she picked up at random was still not good enough.

The thought had barely crossed her mind when she felt the wooden strip in her hand tremble, the shaking becoming more and more intense, to the point that she could barely hold it.

Startled, she instinctively let go.

The wooden strip spun in the air for a moment, splintering wood everywhere. She had to raise her sleeve to cover her face and take a few steps back to prevent the splinter from getting into her eyes.

After a few moments, Lü Zhi lowered her raised arm. She looked at the wooden sword floating in front of her, waiting for her to take it, which was both unexpected and reasonable.

He has come.

Lü Zhi carefully observed her surroundings. Although she didn't see His figure around, she knew that He must have been there, otherwise she couldn't explain how the wood could change shape according to her wishes.

Zhu Qing'ai lay reclining on the large tree planted near Lü Zhi's house. The place was quite spacious, and it wouldn't be difficult to fit her in.

She conjured up a data apple, took a bite, and then casually pointed it in Lü Zhi's direction. The wooden sword was no longer in its original form; it had been polished and refined.

There's no need to worry about getting pricked by small wooden splinters when you get your hands on it. She even deliberately controlled the weight, making it closer to the weight of the commonly used bronze swords.

Lü Zhi noticed this the moment she picked up the wooden sword. Despite the fact that most of its volume had been removed during the carving process, the wooden sword was actually much heavier than the original piece of wood. Only someone from her hand could have made such an illogical wooden sword.

Of course, it's also possible that He directly gave her a bronze sword, and the wooden sword was just a disguise.

She packed her things, unsure which way to thank Him, so she looked towards the gate and softly thanked Him for the wooden sword He had given her.

****

When evening came, Lü Zhi first prepared dinner for the whole family, and then called Liu Fei to go to the fields to call people home for dinner.

Evenings were a rare time when the whole family could sit together. Liu Bang would usually go home on time after finishing his official duties and not having to socialize with friends.

Their group prefers to be active in the morning or at noon, and they always go home in the evening no matter what.

Today was a rare occasion for Liu Bang to return home on time, just in time for dinner, saving him the trouble of reheating the food later. Liu Bang took his own bowl and sat down at the table with his family.

Although it was time to eat, Liu Bang was a restless person, and recently he had been paying extra attention to figures that shouldn't be there, trying to spot them around him from time to time.

He thought that if he found her, he would definitely show off in front of her: This time, I'm the one who found you!

Perhaps that person is somewhere closest to him, yet not easily noticed.

Liu Bang's line of thinking is correct. If Zhu Qing'ai knew, she would praise his unique way of thinking and also marvel at his self-satisfaction.

Zhu Qing'ai was indeed nearby, but the person watching was not Liu Bang. It can only be described as a three-way chase, with her looking at Lü Zhi and Liu Bang trying to find her.

The two people connected to Him were husband and wife, yet they were unaware of each other's secrets, which resulted in Liu Bang being both very close to Him and infinitely far away.

Liu Bang looked at the bare walls of the house for a while. He had seen the same house year after year and was tired of it, so he couldn't see anything different.

The only exception was a wooden sword placed on a wooden box next to it, because the box was too small to fit the sword, so it was placed on the lid.

Liu Bang raised an eyebrow and waited until everyone had finished eating before asking, "E'xu, did you buy this wooden sword for Fei'er? He's just a little kid, he doesn't need this."

Judging from the polishing and the luster of the wooden sword, it was not something they could afford; perhaps it was brought by his wife from her family.

Liu Fei was completely stunned. The little boy, who was only five or six years old, turned his head to look at the wooden sword that was as tall as him.

"..."

Liu Fei: Huh? Me?

He doesn't like this, he really doesn't!

Lü Zhi couldn't explain that it was for her own use, so she smiled and beckoned to Liu Fei, "Fei'er, come and try it."

Liu Fei: ...

He looked at his kind parents, inching closer step by step, his lips trembling as he spoke before he made a move: "Father..."

Liu Bang slapped his son on the back of the head, his tone slightly disdainful: "You think you can be a real man like this? Be more ambitious!"

Liu Fei glanced at Liu Bang on his left, then at Lü Zhi on his right, and decisively chose to look for Lü Zhi. His voice was filled with grievance as he cried, "Mother, Father hit me! It hurts so much, waaaah..."

"Hey, you little rascal, you've even learned to speak ill of your father to his face." Liu Bang rolled up his sleeves, ready to give Liu Fei a loving lesson.

It was Lü Zhi who spoke up: "Forget it, forget it. How old is Fei'er now? How old are you?"

She lowered her eyes to look at Liu Fei, her gaze concealing a motive. She had originally thought that before she had any real skills, it would be fine to treat this wooden sword as Liu Fei's toy. She had also deliberately chosen the location of the wooden sword, and since she would have to explain it sooner or later, she might as well resolve it now.

No one else would touch a child's things. At this point, Liu Fei might not even be as tall as that sword, so in the end, she'd still be the one using it.

In the end, Liu Fei is still her good shield.

So she nudged the child who was snuggling in her arms: "Go and try it, and see how long it takes for you to grow taller than Jian."

After saying this, Lü Zhi led her men over, held the sword upright next to Liu Fei, and looked up at Liu Bang: "Well, is Fei'er taller than this sword?"

Liu Bang nodded: "More or less, but it will probably take another five or six years for him to grow tall enough to use this sword. You should put it away normally, E'xu."

Lü Zhi smiled and agreed, saying that she understood, but whether or not she actually kept it was still up to her.

There are advantages to Liu Bang not being home much. She takes care of all the household affairs and has a say in how the household items are distributed. Her parents-in-law are probably very tolerant of her because she is a member of the Lü family.

Liu Bang didn't care much about the extra wooden sword in his house; it wasn't a privately hidden weapon, so it wasn't a big deal.

It's just something for kids to play with; they don't have to spend any money, so it's free. Isn't that great?

****

The matter of the wooden sword was simply brushed aside. When the swordsman measured Liu Fei's height, it was Empress Lü herself who carried the sword, so no one noticed that the sword's weight was a bit off.

In the following days, out of curiosity, Liu Fei secretly tried to lift it. When he found that he couldn't lift it, he gave up on the spot. As long as he gave up quickly enough, the sword wouldn't tire him out.

He carefully tried to recreate the crime scene as much as possible before Lü Zhi returned, but unfortunately, the sword was not a gift from an ordinary person.

That night, after finishing her moral education class, Zhu Qing'ai casually mentioned the incident to Lü Zhi: "Liu Fei touched that sword while you were away. Do you need me to keep it safe for you?"

Empress Lü declined, knowing that He meant well, but how could she trouble Him with such a small matter every time?

No matter what kind of feelings they are, they will all be worn away by these repeated unreasonable demands and annoyances.

She said, "Thank you, but I thought it was just a wooden sword, so it should be fine. It would be too conspicuous for it to suddenly appear and then disappear."

“Things that have passed through my hands, whether they exist or not, will not affect the future. They will simply ignore the existence of the wooden sword. Just a few days ago, Liu Bang himself found a reason to justify the existence of this wooden sword.”

Zhu Qing'ai frankly told Lü Zhi about her shortcomings and that she was not an omnipotent god: "So even if I didn't give you the wooden sword, you could have gotten one by buying or making it yourself, and it wouldn't have affected the final outcome. That's why I was able to give you the wooden sword."

As Lü Zhi pondered these words, she realized that as a god, He was bound by many constraints. Perhaps His teachings in a dream were because dreams allowed for more freedom.

“But you’re right, it’s better to do it less often, so as not to attract… attention.” Zhu Qing’ai murmured, not forcing Lü Zhi to do as she asked.

"Someone's coming, so I'll be leaving now." Zhu Qing'ai was naturally referring to Lü Zhi's other teachers. She had already used her free time to chat with Lü Zhi, and it wouldn't be good to take up other people's class time as well.

Although the AI ​​program acting as the teacher here dared not complain out loud because she was a system, it still dared to look at her with a resentful look. So after Zhu Qing'ai finished her part of the course, she immediately returned to her little home in the database.

The next one was Bai Qi, who recently taught Lü Zhi basic swordsmanship and explained the most basic military tactics, laying a solid foundation for her.

Today, he planned to put his ideas into practice. After changing the teaching location according to his wishes, he and Lü Zhi appeared in a square paved with stone slabs, surrounded by several wooden figures wearing armor.

"A general should strategize and plan carefully, and not easily put himself in danger. But if such a situation does occur, close combat is also very important. So today's requirement is to fight our way out of their encirclement."

Bai Qi did not first teach Lü Zhi how to lead troops in an attack, nor did he teach her his own "Battle Formation Diagrams." Instead, he taught her how to protect herself and successfully break through the encirclement in the worst-case scenario.

He wanted to teach these things precisely because he knew everything that Lü Zhi's teachers had taught her.

Lü Zhi held a bronze sword in her hand, which was the same in shape and weight as the wooden sword outside. She nodded resolutely to 'Bai Qi', indicating that she was ready.

Bai Qi stepped back and waved his hand, summoning more than a dozen wooden figures clad in armor to surround her. He even kindly left two wooden figures for Lü Zhi as personal guards.

The two guards were dressed in a color different from the enemy's, but the same color as the straps tied around Lü Zhi's arms, making them easy to identify.

Despite being considered thin and frail in Bai Qi's eyes due to years of hard work, she was actually quite strong.

Lü Zhi brandished her bronze sword and chopped off the head of the wooden figure closest to her with a single stroke.

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Author's note: Good news: My fever is getting better. Bad news: It seems like my parents caught it from me; the whole family has a cold now.

I've been taking care of myself three times a day for the past few days, and I usually update in the evenings. When I wake up in the morning, I have a headache and feel dizzy, so I can't write. It's probably a lingering effect of the fever.

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Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 18:52:48 on May 31, 2024 and 20:26:15!

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Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!