The Young Maiden Takes a Master, Lessons at Midnight

The gleaming weapons left Lin Tianlu momentarily dumbfounded.

"Miss Cheng, what is this..."

"I hope you won't take offense."

Cheng Yishi smiled faintly and bowed with elegant grace. "I wish to learn some self-defense skills from you, Mister Lin."

"Learn some skills?"

Lin Tianlu was rather surprised.

Cheng Yishi soon said softly, "Though you usually present yourself as a scholar, I can tell that you must possess abilities beyond the imagination of ordinary people. Miss Hua seems to be extraordinarily skilled in martial arts, yet she still often follows at your side. I imagine she must work hard and train diligently day and night to satisfy you."

"..."

Why did that sound so strange?

Lin Tianlu gave an awkward laugh and spread his hands. "Miss Cheng, why don't you come into the courtyard first?"

A white-haired woman standing in the middle of the street with a sackful of knives, swords, and other weapons would scare any passerby half to death if they happened to see her.

"But I'll carry these weapons... Huh?"

Before he could finish speaking, Lin Tianlu's expression froze.

Cheng Yishi was dragging the sack into the courtyard with an easy expression.

That sack was filled with real knives and spears. It had to weigh two or three hundred pounds, didn't it?

"Ah—"

Cheng Yishi abruptly stopped in her tracks. As though she had only just realized something, her pretty face stiffened. She hurriedly released the sack and turned back, forcing a smile. "M-Mister Lin, my hands and feet are a little weak. Could you lend me a hand? This heavy thing... is truly too difficult for me to lift."

Lin Tianlu chuckled and stepped forward, helping her pull up the sack. "Miss Cheng, your strength has certainly improved."

Cheng Yishi's face was already flushed with embarrassment, and she mumbled wordlessly.

Once they returned to the courtyard, Lin Tianlu quickly set all the weapons on the ground and clapped his hands clean.

"May I ask why you wish to learn these martial arts skills, Miss Cheng?"

A refined young lady from a distinguished family who had suddenly decided to diligently practice martial arts...

It was truly strange.

Cheng Yishi gently stroked her gradually cooling, faintly flushed cheeks and said warmly, "The yin energy has entered my body, and I am now half human and half ghost. I have considerably more strength than ordinary people. I thought I might as well learn some martial arts techniques and make proper use of this physique, lest I fall victim to some villain in the future and be left utterly powerless to resist."

Lin Tianlu looked at her in surprise.

It seemed the upheaval at Cheng Manor had indeed brought her quite a few changes.

Still, this was certainly a commendable development.

Even against the backdrop of this world, it was rather peculiar for such a delicate young lady to learn martial arts. But if a woman learned some self-defense techniques, she could protect her own safety while strengthening her body and falling ill less often. It was killing two birds with one stone.

Of course, with Cheng Yishi's current body of yin energy, she might not fear ordinary illnesses in the slightest.

Seeing him remain silent for a moment, Cheng Yishi lowered her brows and said softly, "Mister Lin, was I too bothersome this time and disturbed your rest and peace? If this is inappropriate, I won't be overbearing. I shall merely trouble you for a while before leaving..."

"Not at all. It is still early before I retire for the night. Besides, I greatly admire that Miss Cheng has such aspirations. Naturally, I will help where I can."

"But in the end, I am making you expend effort and worry for nothing. Afterward, I will certainly give you a satisfactory reward!"

"Your good intentions are enough, Miss Cheng."

Lin Tianlu smiled and waved his hand. "All right, let us get back to the matter at hand. Though I cannot teach you any profound martial arts, I can barely offer some guidance in the basics."

With the Immortal Destiny he now possessed, even though he had only dabbled in martial arts for half a month, he could not transform into a renowned master overnight. Still, giving a little guidance to a complete novice was well within his abilities.

Cheng Yishi's eyes lit up. "Please enlighten me, Mister Lin!"

"Before I offer any guidance, I should ask... What kind of weapon do you wish to learn, Miss Cheng?"

Lin Tianlu casually pulled a long sword from the sack and weighed it in his hand. "The sword?"

"Eh?"

Cheng Yishi stared blankly.

For a moment, she found herself at a loss. "I am to choose the weapon myself?"

She knew little about martial arts and had only occasionally heard a few rumors. Naturally, she had assumed that a "master" would help lead her through the door, which was why she had deliberately brought a large assortment of weapons to apprentice herself.

She had never expected that she would instead be dazzled by the choices herself.

"Which weapon you use naturally depends on your preference." Lin Tianlu smiled. "If you do not like it, why practice with it at all?"

"Mister Lin is absolutely right."

Cheng Yishi wore a conflicted expression as she stared at the dazzling assortment of weapons, fretting and hesitating for quite some time.

But in the end, her gaze quietly drifted toward that...

axe.

The corner of Lin Tianlu's eye twitched.

A frail woman and a heavy iron axe... They truly made an excellent pair.

If he recalled correctly, Miss Cheng had used this same cold, massive axe when she personally slew her younger sister.

Could this be fate?

"Mister Lin, would using an axe be too strange?" Cheng Yishi had also sensed that something was amiss, and her expression was somewhat troubled.

"That is no problem. It is merely a weapon for self-defense. Knives, swords, axes, and halberds are actually much the same."

Lin Tianlu casually picked up the axe and weighed it in his hand twice.

With his current physique, the iron axe—which weighed some twenty or thirty pounds—felt as light and easy to grasp as cotton.

"Miss Cheng, I have not studied the martial way very deeply. The few techniques I know are merely clumsy imitations of Miss Hua's skills. You need only watch for now. In the end, you will still have to practice and ponder them yourself."

"I will remember that!"

Lin Tianlu carried the axe to an open patch of ground in the courtyard. He fell into thought without speaking and slowly raised the axe blade.

Whether before or after transmigrating, he had never used an axe. But all martial arts shared a common origin. From the Thirteen Forms of the Army-Breaking Sword, he could temporarily work out a corresponding set of axe techniques, then modify them with some of his own insights.

Cheng Yishi widened her beautiful eyes and watched with rapt attention.

The next moment, Lin Tianlu tried swinging the axe rapidly around the courtyard. His feet stamped one after another as he carved out waves of forceful wind, performing nine consecutive forms before gathering his strength and bringing the axe down before him.

Of course, he was merely demonstrating the general movements of axe technique.

"That is more or less how it is done."

Lin Tianlu nodded slightly and lowered the axe before turning toward the woman in the pavilion. "Miss Cheng, did you notice anything?"

But Cheng Yishi looked utterly bewildered.

It seemed she had not understood the slightest thing from those few simple axe swings.

"Looks like I truly have no talent for teaching." Lin Tianlu gave an awkward cough.

His guidance to Miss Hua a few days ago had gone quite smoothly. Why was he suddenly so clumsy now? Could it vary from person to person?

He simply beckoned. "Miss Cheng, try it yourself. I will guide you up close."

Cheng Yishi came over quickly as instructed.

She carefully took the axe handle in both hands and assumed a stance.

But after a moment of silence, she turned toward him with a pitiful expression. "Mister Lin, this... I truly do not know how to perform axe techniques."

Lin Tianlu secretly laughed. He simply stepped forward, grasped the axe handle together with her, and slowly began moving it with her.

"Watch carefully, Miss Cheng. The axe must be used this way. You cannot rely only on the strength of your arms. You must also bring your entire body into motion."

"..."

Cheng Yishi's face flushed faintly, and her delicate shoulders drew up like a small animal's.

Feeling the warm breath so close to her, she sensed a stir of heat in her heart. For a moment, she forgot all about axes and axe techniques, her thoughts unconsciously drifting toward Lin Tianlu, who nearly held her in his embrace.

The embrace she sought...

Was now right behind her, no more than a few inches away.

Again and again, they practiced the axe technique. As Lin Tianlu guided her hands through each swing, the maiden followed his every step around the courtyard, wielding the great axe as well. Yet her thoughts drifted farther and farther away, her earlobes flushing red and hot.

But in her daze, a wondrous sensation seemed to rise within her. The emotional tide in her chest, nearly impossible to suppress, surged and churned like rivers and streams.

The maiden's blood-jade-like eyes suddenly lit up. Strange patterns faintly appeared beneath her skirt, tracing along her exquisite collarbones to outline a lotus seal.

When she should have stepped forward, she instead involuntarily took a step back, letting her cool, delicate body press into Lin Tianlu's embrace. Her entire body trembled as she let out a faint, seemingly satisfied moan, while an alluring charm blossomed across her cheeks.

"Huh?"

Lin Tianlu's body stiffened slightly. He clearly had not expected this girl to be practicing martial arts perfectly well, only to suddenly start pestering him.

Wait!

His expression turned strange. As though sensing something, he released his hands and took several steps back. The Cheng Yishi who had been stumbling through the motions just moments ago was now smoothly wielding the axe technique on her own, her figure spinning lightly as the axe blade carved out sharp, forceful gusts of wind.

Then, as yin energy rippled around her body, she suddenly swung the great axe at the sky.

Vmmm—!

A faint ripple spread through the air above, while the lingering force whipped up a cold wind throughout the courtyard.

Lin Tianlu stared in astonishment.

That worked?

"Ha—"

Cheng Yishi lightly patted her chest and panted twice, a faint sheen of sweat appearing on her brow.

But then she abruptly revealed a seductive smile. Tilting her head, she narrowed her ruby-red eyes, which overflowed with an eerie crimson radiance like fresh blood.

The great axe in her hand crashed to the ground with a bang, scraping up sparks as the maiden advanced step by step with a sinister grin.

"Miiisteeer~ Liiin~"