Start practicing martial arts early
Staring at the mask pattern that Zhang Mobai had drawn, which looked like a ghost's scribbles, Tang Feng sat on the stone bench, so angry that he couldn't say a word for a long time. After all, this mask was a very important clue. No one witnessed the whole process when Tang Feng fell from his horse, so the possibility of continuing to investigate from the fall incident was almost zero. But the masks worn by those assassins were so special that as long as they were drawn, maybe someone would recognize them!
Seeing that Tang Feng remained silent for a long time, Liu Yiwan quickly poured him a cup of tea and handed it to him, saying, "Young Master, please don't worry. Young Master Zhang is indeed not good at painting, so..."
“I don’t blame him,” Tang Feng sighed. “It’s just that we finally made some progress this time, and I can’t ignore this anymore. Last time, I could barely convince myself that it was just bad luck, that someone assassinated the wrong target and ended up assassinating me. But this time, it was clearly very targeted!” Tang Feng was a little anxious. The assassins hadn’t killed him this time, which meant they would come back next time. Tang Feng wasn’t sure if he would be so lucky next time, with Zhang Mobai by his side again, or if Liu Yiwan would be able to drop by his side to protect him again.
"Young man, I'm sorry, I really did my best. Here's what I'll do: I'll investigate this matter and let you know as soon as I have any news or clues." Zhang Mobai felt somewhat guilty, after all, this was a matter of life and death, and he already felt very guilty about Tang Feng's fall from his horse; he didn't want anything else to happen to Tang Feng.
"Alright, little madman, don't blame yourself too much. Let's leave it at that for now! There are some things he can't rush." Tang Feng patted Zhang Mobai's shoulder to comfort him, then turned to Liu Yiwan and instructed him, "Go to Nancheng for me, take the first arrow I brought back, and see if you can figure out who made it. Also, ask him if he has ever made hidden arrows."
"I understand," Liu Yiwan said, bowing to Tang Feng and Zhang Mobai before turning and going inside to get her things.
"You little madman, do you think my father has any formidable rivals in the imperial court?"
"A formidable enemy? How could that be? Nobody has a formidable enemy, not even Uncle Tang! He's a historian, the safest position in the entire court. He's just someone who records major historical events. Where would he get a formidable enemy?"
"Then who do you think would kill me?" Tang Feng rested his chin on his hand, looking at Zhang Mobai. It wasn't the indiscriminate killing of innocents in the martial arts world, nor was it a premeditated murder in the officialdom. So who exactly wanted to kill him?
Zhang Mobai shrugged. "This matter has been completely unsolved from beginning to end. Suspicion without any basis is useless! Don't worry, I'll inquire around outside for you." With that, Zhang Mobai stood up, picked up the tea on the table, and drank it all in one gulp. "I'll head back now. Don't leave the manor for now. The streets are crowded and noisy; you don't want anyone to track you down and cause trouble. It's better to avoid trouble."
Tang Feng nodded, thinking that Zhang Mobai's words made some sense. "I understand. You don't need to worry so much. I have Liu Yiwan with me!"
After bringing Zhang Mobai back to the manor, Tang Feng began his happy life of fattening up at home. After a week of careful feeding by Qin Jiujiu, Tang Feng's face finally became rounder, and his waistline was also thicker than before. In Qin Jiujiu's words, he wanted to make up for the weight he lost a few months ago while trying to break off the engagement.
Tang Feng had been feeling utterly listless at home these past few days, constantly thinking about finding something to do. But every time he thought about something, he would end up remembering that time he was chased at Xiaoyao Tower. Tang Feng felt that even with Liu Yiwan protecting him, he was ultimately too unreliable, and Zhang Mobai wasn't with him every day. Perhaps it was better to rely on himself than others? Maybe he should learn some martial arts? Hmm… thinking about it that way, it didn't seem like a bad idea.
Tang Feng lay in bed at night, legs crossed, thinking about going to Zhang Mobai the next morning to ask if he could teach him some kung fu. Although he had Liu Yiwan, who knew martial arts, beside him... Tang Feng's mind was filled with Liu Yiwan's annoying, unreliable face. He decided to go find Zhang Mobai instead; after all, Zhang Mobai was quite reliable.
The next morning, Tang Feng got up as soon as the rooster crowed three times. As soon as he got dressed and opened the door, he saw Qin Liuliu squatting at his door. "Liuliu? What are you doing squatting here!"
"I'm waiting for Brother Tang to come out and play with me," Qin Liuliu said, squatting on the ground, looking quite aggrieved. "Brother hasn't played with me in so long. Today, the teacher has something to do at home, so the private school is closed for the day. Can you play with me for a while?"
Since the annulment of the engagement, more than three months have passed, and Qin Liuliu has barely seen Tang Feng. During the annulment, Tang Feng was incredibly busy and had no time to see Qin Liuliu. Now that he's free, Qin Liuliu has to go to her private school and do her homework every day. The two of them haven't had time to play together, and they only see each other during breakfast and dinner. Tang Feng feels somewhat guilty; the child is at the age where she should be playing, and despite the large Tang family estate, there are very few people who can play with her. He thinks he's been too busy those past few days and has made the child feel stifled.
"Brother is going to Brother Mo Bai's place today, do you want to come along?"
Upon hearing this, Qin Liuliu immediately stood up, grabbed Tang Feng's arm, and said, "Yes, yes, wherever brother goes, I'll go!"
Tang Feng took Qin Liuliu's hand, called out to Liu Yiwan that he wouldn't be home for breakfast, and then left with Qin Liuliu.
When Tang Feng and his group arrived at the Zhang residence, Zhang Mobai was still asleep. After being woken up by the old steward, he washed and dressed before slowly emerging from his sleep.
"Hey bro, you're up so early today!"
"Yes! I've come to learn something from you."
"You want to learn something from me?" Zhang Mobai perked up immediately. "What could I possibly know that you have to come to me to learn from?"
"I want to learn martial arts."
"Huh? Did I hear that right? You're learning martial arts?" Zhang Mobai laughed so hard he could barely stand up straight. "Why are you learning martial arts? Liu Yiwan can't protect you anymore?"
"I call it relying on yourself rather than others. Are you going to teach me or not? Give me a straight answer, stop dawdling," Tang Feng rolled his eyes at Zhang Mobai, wondering what was so funny about him learning martial arts.
"Teach me, teach me, teach me! You've gone to so much trouble to ask me for help, but I have to tell you beforehand! I only know a little bit of basic kung fu, so don't blame me if you don't learn it well."
"Fine, fine, you're quite good at making excuses. At least know a little bit of kung fu! It's better than me knowing nothing at all!"
Tang Feng had seen it on TV before. The male protagonist found a book about martial arts metaphysics, and it was as if his Ren and Du meridians had been opened. His martial arts skills improved rapidly, and he went from a martial arts novice to the leader of the martial arts alliance. Tang Feng thought that learning martial arts might not be too difficult, so he asked Zhang Mobai, "When are you going to give me the book?"
"Books?" Zhang Mobai was completely baffled by this question.
"Yes! Martial arts manuals, the Sunflower Manual, and all that."
"Pfft! Little brother, you don't actually think you can learn martial arts just by reading a few books, do you?" Zhang Mobai laughed uncontrollably after hearing this. He tried to take a sip of tea to calm himself down, but ended up spitting it out. Zhang Mobai turned to Qin Liuliu and asked, "Your Tang brother actually thinks he can learn by reading a few books? Isn't that hilarious?"
"Whatever my brother says is right," Qin Liuliu said, squatting on the ground, poking at the ant nest with a twig in her hand, without looking up.
Seeing that Qin Liuliu wasn't paying much attention to him, Zhang Mobai felt bored and turned to Tang Feng, saying, "Teaching is definitely no problem, but let me tell you first! Martial arts training is very tough; you have to get up before the rooster crows every day."
"Oh, it's just getting up early! Okay, okay, it's no big deal."
Tang Feng and Zhang Mobai agreed to meet at the Tang residence the next day. Afterwards, Tang Feng took Qin Liuliu out on the street. Perhaps he was having too much fun, as he had long forgotten about his agreement with Zhang Mobai that morning.
When Tang Feng, still half asleep, slowly opened his eyes, he saw a figure squatting beside his bed. Startled, he threw the blanket off and jumped up from the bed. "What the hell?!" After calming down and looking at the person's clothes and accessories, he breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought a thief had broken into the house! You little madman, are you really crazy?! What are you doing here in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?!"
Zhang Mobai slowly removed the blanket that Tang Feng had thrown on his head and said, "Little brother, we agreed yesterday that we would practice martial arts this morning!"
"Now?" Tang Feng glanced out the window. "So early?"
"It's getting late!" Zhang Mobai was both angry and speechless, throwing the blanket he was holding onto the ground. "Little brother, it's already past 5 a.m.! What time do you want it to be?!"
Zhang Mobai stood with his hands on his hips, watching Tang Feng slowly finish washing up and getting dressed. Then, with dazed eyes and a blank mind, Tang Feng stood in the backyard and said, "I'm ready, come on, come on!"
Zhang Mobai lifted his robe and sat down on the stone bench, saying, "For the first lesson, we'll practice the horse stance. Squat properly, feet shoulder-width apart, hands on your waist, focus your energy in your dantian, and breathe out through your mouth and in through your nose." After saying that, Zhang Mobai stood up and swayed Tang Feng's posture, "Little brother! Don't slouch at such a young age! Stand up straight!"
Tang Feng initially thought it was alright; a horse stance, right? He'd seen kids practicing martial arts at the children's palace near the entrance before, so it didn't seem too difficult. But Zhang Mobai made Tang Feng hold that stance for four whole hours. By the time Zhang Mobai finally said "Stop," Tang Feng couldn't get up. He half-squatted, limping to the stone table, found a stone chair nearby, and sat down. "Little madman, what are we doing tomorrow?"
"Practice the horse stance!"
"Stand in a horse stance!"
"What do you know! The most important thing in martial arts is the basics. Only by enduring hardship can one rise above others."
Tang Feng thought about it and realized what was said made sense, so he agreed. Two long weeks passed, and Tang Feng was still stuck in horse stance. He hadn't learned any martial arts, but he had cured his long-standing hunchback, and the muscles in his calves had visibly grown. Qin Jiujiu would always scold Tang Feng and Zhang Mobai whenever she saw them practicing in the backyard, saying, "You weren't diligent when you were studying, but you're quite enthusiastic about this nonsense. The weight you gained recently has gone down again because of martial arts practice." At first, Tang Feng practiced with great enthusiasm; after all, everything is difficult at the beginning. He thought that once he mastered the techniques, he wouldn't be afraid of assassins coming to kill him. But eventually, after practicing horse stance for half a month, even Tang Feng's strong will gradually wore thin.
"Hey you little lunatic, can't you teach me a different move? At least teach me something else!"
"Um... I really can't teach you anything else besides this."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Back when I was learning martial arts, I often skipped classes. Every time my dad dragged me back, the master had already finished teaching me a whole round, so I had to start all over again from teaching me the horse stance, so..."
"Don't tell me this is all you know how to do," Tang Feng suppressed the urge to punch him, repeatedly reminding himself that this wasn't Liu Yiwan and he couldn't be hit.
"Don't be angry," Zhang Mobai chuckled. "I can't teach you, but others can! Let's not put all our eggs in one basket."
"You call yourself a tree?" Tang Feng gritted his teeth in anger. "Then tell me, who else could teach me?"
"I think your son Ziliang is quite good! He's been drafted into the army and is a veteran of many battles."
Tang Feng nearly choked on his own saliva upon hearing this. "Who? Zhou Ziliang? You better stop right now! I finally managed to forget about him, and you bring him up again. Quickly, quickly, find someone else."
"Hiss~" Zhang Mobai rested his chin on his hand and thought for a long time. "Besides Zhou Ziliang, I'm not very familiar with the others! But there's one more person whose martial arts are decent, but I don't really want to see him lately."
Tang Feng glanced at Zhang Mobai and said, "I'm learning, not you. Why are you taking it so seriously?"
Zhang Mobai looked at Tang Feng as if he had mustered a great deal of courage and said, "Alright then! I'll take you somewhere."
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