Chapter 376 Professor
Lin Changning stayed in the prince's courtyard that day. After several busy days, Lin Changning fell asleep almost as soon as she lay down and slept soundly through the night.
Lin Changning, who got up early, stretched and dressed herself before slowly walking out of her room. She remembered that she was to teach the two princes swordsmanship today.
As soon as she pushed open the door, Lin Changning saw Li Mingde, which startled her. But she remembered her manners and cupped her hands in a respectful gesture towards Li Mingde.
"Greetings, Your Highness. I kept watch all night yesterday. Why didn't you get some sleep?"
Li Mingde looked at Lin Changning clasped his hands in greeting and gently shook his head: "I couldn't sleep, so I simply came to wait in front of your door, sir."
The title "sir" made Lin Changning feel somewhat uneasy, so he waved his hand and said, "There's no need to call me 'sir,' just call me by my name."
Li Mingde hesitated for a moment, then, seeing that Lin Changning's expression was genuine, he let go of her hand and said, "Okay, Changning."
Lin Changning naturally got up early to practice his swordsmanship. He touched the precious sword at his waist and sized up Li Mingde for a while.
"It's not good for just the two of us to practice. I'll go and call the young master."
Li Mingde bowed to Lin Changning again: "I'll go. Changning can wait in the courtyard."
After saying that, he turned and walked towards Li Mingde's room. In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Li Mingxiu, who was clearly still sleepy, was pulled up by his myna bird.
Squinting at the sky that was just beginning to brighten, and then looking at Lin Changning who was waiting for them in the courtyard, he composed himself and his tired expression.
"gentlemen……"
Lin Changning's lips twitched silently twice, and he helped Li Mingxiu up again: "I cannot accept the title of 'sir,' Your Highness is too kind."
Li Mingxiu harbored some wicked intentions. Seeing Lin Changning's embarrassed expression after being addressed by him, he smiled warmly and said, "Since you want to learn swordsmanship, Changning will naturally be my teacher. I am worthy of it, I am worthy of it."
Lin Changning continued to decline, and the amusing Li Mingxiu, seeing Lin Changning's increasingly embarrassed and frightened appearance, said, "We are still in the Prince's mansion. Outside, you call me Prince and I call you Vice Minister. In the Prince's mansion, we will call you Master. I hope you will not refuse. Let's just address each other as we would like."
As he spoke, he pulled Li Mingde to bow to Lin Changning again, and Lin Changning cupped his hands and hurriedly returned the bow to the two of them.
Lin Changning, realizing that Li Mingxiu was joking, stopped worrying about it. Since she had already agreed, she would let them call her whatever they wanted.
Lin Changning straightened his expression and looked at the two of them: "It is swordsmanship training. A foundation is indispensable. You two young masters must have laid a solid foundation since childhood."
Li Mingxiu and Li Mingde looked at each other. Li Mingxiu was alright; the King of Chu had taken him to the battlefield since he was a child, so he knew swordsmanship, though it was only so-so. Li Mingde, on the other hand, had only started practicing diligently in recent years.
When he was young, his mother doted on him, and his father didn't care much about him. It wasn't until he got older that he seriously learned some swordsmanship and martial arts for self-defense.
Therefore, his basic skills were not very good, and he looked at Lin Changning with some difficulty.
"Sir, I don't have a very good foundation. I didn't practice basic skills for long when I was a child."
The truth is that when he was young, his mother felt sorry for him, so he delayed mastering the basics year after year.
A knowing look flashed across Lin Changning's face. He needed to test the two men's strength. With that thought, Lin Changning drew his sword, looked at the two men, and frowned slightly: "Both of you come at me together. I want to see what you're made of now."
After exchanging a glance, the two silently nodded, took the swords from the maids in the courtyard, drew their blades, and looked at Lin Changning warily, preparing to attack him together.
Lin Changning stood in the center of the courtyard, quietly waiting for the two men to draw their swords against her.
Li Mingxiu was the first to strike, and his strike was fast, but lacked power. Lin Changning simply parried lightly, knocking Li Mingxiu's knife aside.
He swiftly struck again, using the back of the blade to slap Li Mingxiu on the back. Li Mingxiu gasped in pain and lunged forward.
Lin Changning was extremely strong; even a light tap on Li Mingxiu's back would hurt a lot, let alone the fact that Lin Changning didn't hold back at all.
Since the prince entrusted these two to him, it meant he trusted him. Only a strict teacher can produce outstanding students, and only through discipline can one achieve success. Therefore, Lin Changning had no intention of holding back from the very beginning.
If we are stricter with the two of them now, the chances of them having an accident on the battlefield in the future will be smaller.
Li Mingxiu felt a burning pain in his back. After lunging forward a bit more, he turned around with his knife and slashed at Lin Changning. Losing to a boy younger than himself, even knowing that Lin Changning was skilled in martial arts, still made Li Mingxiu feel somewhat ashamed.
He turned around and attacked Lin Changning again, this time with a faster strike. Lin Changning dodged to the side and struck Li Mingxiu's hand with the back of his blade.
Under normal circumstances, the knife in Li Mingxiu's hand should have been knocked away, because Lin Changning's strength was not to be underestimated. Unexpectedly, Li Mingxiu endured the pain and still held his knife tightly, and swung it fiercely at Lin Changning.
A look of surprise flashed in Lin Changning's eyes. He quickly took two steps back, the tip of the knife lightly grazing his forehead.
Lin Changning blinked. At this moment, Li Mingxiu didn't have time to deliver another blow, so Lin Changning quickly moved the knife toward Li Mingxiu's neck.
The two were extremely close, and Lin Changning's knife strikes were not only fast but also powerful.
Li Mingxiu instantly felt a chill on his neck, a coldness rushing straight to his head, but the sharp back of the blade only pressed against his neck and did not go any further.
"Your Highness, in close combat, don't just focus on killing the enemy. You must always be on the defensive. If you get too close, the enemy may dodge your blade, but once that blade misses, it will expose your fatal weakness."
Before Changning could finish speaking, Li Mingde unexpectedly found a tricky angle and stabbed straight at her heart.
Lin Changning slapped Li Mingxiu aside, then performed a backflip to dodge Li Mingde's sneak attack. After creating distance between them, Lin Changning turned to look at Li Mingde, who was charging at him again.
After tilting his head slightly, Lin Changning narrowed his eyes. Seeing that his knife had been easily dodged, Li Mingde charged at Lin Changning again with his knife in hand.
Li Mingde must have just overheard what Lin Changning said to Li Mingxiu. He was extremely wary as the longsword approached, and the two exchanged blows for three moves.
Lin Changning slashed fiercely at Li Mingde with his sword. Li Mingde instinctively raised his sword to block, but Lin Changning pressed it down hard with his sword.
He had originally intended to block Lin Changning's blade, but he could only watch helplessly as Lin Changning pressed down on his blade, slowly approaching his shoulder.
Lin Changning chuckled, released his grip on the knife, and with one hand free, punched Li Mingde in the abdomen.
"Hiss~"
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