Preparing for the wedding
When Shen Jingchuan arrived at the entrance of the escort agency, he handed Big Black over to the gatekeeper, who told him that the chief escort was at the training ground. Knowing the way well, he walked towards the training ground in the backyard and saw Lin Weiyuan sitting on a stone bench by the field, staring at the field from afar.
The brothers Lin Shan and Lin Yue, each wielding a long spear, were practicing their skills back and forth in the arena.
Hearing footsteps, Lin Weiyuan turned his head and saw it was him. He raised his hand and patted the stone bench next to him.
"Jingchuan's here, please have a seat."
The servant immediately brought over a cup of tea. Shen Jingchuan accepted it with both hands, thanked him, sat down, took a sip, and then looked around the room.
Lin Weiyuan knew about his marriage proposal, and his demeanor unconsciously became more intimate and warm, as if they were family.
The two brothers in the arena caught sight of him entering, paused their gunfights slightly, nodded in acknowledgment from afar, and then resumed their fierce fighting, the wind from their guns stirring up dust on the ground.
Shen Jingchuan remained silent, quietly observing the two men's moves, pondering the patterns of the Lin Household Spear Technique.
After a few moments, the two brothers put away their guns, stopped firing, and walked over, each wiping away sweat.
Lin Weiyuan had only casually glanced up, but after Shen Jingchuan stood up and took two steps to greet the two brothers, he took a closer look and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow:
"That's strange, you look quite different these past few days."
Lin Shan and Lin Yue also looked closely and sensed that something was wrong.
The person was still the same, but their entire demeanor was completely different. Their eyes and brows radiated a clear and bright energy, and even their skin was fairer and smoother than before. Standing there, they exuded a refreshing and capable air.
Shen Jingchuan smiled and casually explained:
"It's a breathing and energy-cultivating method passed down in our Lineage. I've recently made some progress in it, and after some conditioning, I look more energetic."
"The family's inherited internal energy cultivation technique?" Lin Weiyuan stroked his beard and nodded, then asked, "After you achieved this minor success, how is it different from before?"
"I feel stronger than before, and my Movement Method are much lighter," Shen Jingchuan replied truthfully.
As soon as these words were spoken, Lin Yue's eyes lit up instantly. He rubbed his hands together and took two steps forward, looking eager to try.
"Then what are we waiting for! Come on, let's go down and have a few moves! I want to see how much you've improved!"
He was fond of martial arts, and when he sparred with Shen Jingchuan before, the other party relied entirely on his superhuman strength to hold his own, and was even slightly inferior to him in marksmanship. Now that he heard that the other party had improved, his hands immediately started itching to fight.
Shen Jingchuan, who was also eager to test his skills after his breakthrough, immediately smiled and nodded:
"Alright, I'll spar with you two, Second Brother."
The servant quickly handed over a smooth-polished spear. Shen Jingchuan took it and weighed it in his hand. It was too light, but he would make do with it.
The two stood still, and Lin Yue, without any politeness, shouted "Take this!" and with a flick of his spear, the tip pierced straight for Shen Jingchuan's heart.
In the past, Shen Jingchuan would have mostly raised his gun to parry, but this time his eyes narrowed, he took a light step to the side, turned his body nimbly, and the tip of the gun grazed past his clothes.
Lin Yue was stunned—this reaction speed was much faster than before. Before he could finish his move, he flipped his wrist and swept the spear shaft horizontally towards Shen Jingchuan's side. Shen Jingchuan raised his spear to block, and with a crisp "clang," Lin Yue felt his tiger's mouth go numb, and the spear shaft in his hand almost flew out of his grasp.
With that one click, Lin Yue knew what was going on. Not only was his opponent stronger than before, but his speed and reaction time had also increased significantly.
His marksmanship was unleashed one move after another, but his opponent always managed to dodge it half a step in advance. In a head-on confrontation, he couldn't withstand the attack at all. After about ten moves, he was forced to retreat repeatedly, and the sweat on his forehead was more than he had done for the entire set of marksmanship.
Seeing that his younger brother was about to give up, Lin Shan grabbed a long spear from the side and leaped into the arena, saying in a deep voice:
"Second brother, let me help you!"
His marksmanship was steady and solid. He immediately adopted a defensive and counter-attacking approach, his spear movements were dense and solid, and he was locked in a fierce battle with Shen Jingchuan.
Even with the brothers working together, they could barely hold their ground and couldn't gain any advantage. Instead, they were forced to defend themselves from both sides by Shen Jingchuan's gun, facing constant danger.
Lin Weiyuan, sitting on the sidelines, watched with increasingly bright eyes. Suddenly, he slapped his thigh, grabbed the long iron spear beside him, leaped into the arena, and shouted loudly:
"Good lad! This old man will join in the fun too!"
The father and his two sons each wielded a gun, and each had their own method of fighting.
Lin Shan, Lin Yue Yuekuai, Lin Weiyuan were experienced and cunning; their three spear shadows overlapped and enveloped Shen Jingchuan.
Shen Jingchuan's spirits lifted, and he wielded his spear flawlessly, fighting three opponents at once without showing any sign of defeat.
After another twenty or so moves, he knew that continuing the fight would inevitably result in friendly fire, so he immediately feinted with his spear, leaped out of the circle, sheathed his spear, cupped his hands, and shook his head with a smile.
"No, no, Uncle's marksmanship is superb, and with my two older brothers joining forces, I can't take it."
Lin Yue, leaning on his gun and panting heavily, rolled his eyes upon hearing this and said irritably:
"Come on! Three of us are up against you, and we've only just started to gain the upper hand, and you're already complaining? So you think we're shameless?"
Lin Weiyuan also put away his gun, looked at Shen Jingchuan with undisguised admiration in his eyes, and stroked his beard as he laughed heartily:
"Good lad! Your skills have improved so much, truly impressive!"
Shen Jingchuan said a few more modest words, then changed the subject and looked at Lin Yue:
"Second brother, I mentioned the marriage proposal to you last time. You know I'm not familiar with the customs and etiquette here, so I came specifically to ask you about the procedures."
"Hey, that's exactly what I was thinking of asking you about!"
Lin Yue slapped his thigh:
"My father has agreed. I sent someone to invite Matchmaker Wang from the city this morning. Since you're here today, she'll be here soon, and we can talk things over in person."
Before they had exchanged more than a few words, a servant came in to announce that Matchmaker Wang had arrived.
The woman who entered was in her forties, dressed in a neat blue cloth dress, with a lively smile on her face and a particularly quick tongue. As soon as she entered, she greeted everyone in turn, and all she spoke were auspicious words.
In front of the Lin Household, Shen Jingchuan asked about each step of the betrothal, including asking the name and the auspicious date. Matchmaker Wang explained everything clearly, including what gifts to prepare, what procedures to follow, and what time to take. Shen Jingchuan memorized it all.
The deal was struck in no time. Matchmaker Wang pocketed the reward money, said a few auspicious words, and then took her leave.
It was lunchtime, and the Lin Household had set out lunch. Shen Jingchuan didn't stand on ceremony and sat down to eat. Lin Qingyao, being shy, didn't dare to come out to see him and ate her meal in her room.
After finishing his meal and resting for a short while, Shen Jingchuan said to Lin Yue:
"I want to go to Wild Goose Tomb to see how Chief Hu are settled."
Lin Yue thought for a moment and said, "I happen to be free this afternoon, I'll go with you to take a look."
Lin Shan, standing beside him, also stood up. "I'll go too. The road out of the city isn't safe; more people means more protection. Jingchuan, did you bring your armor and weapons?"