Old Mage's Operation

Chapter 28: The Old Mage's Maneuvers

Last night's rain didn't stop until five in the morning. Cheng Yun had left his window open, allowing a lot of rain to blow into the room, but it kept the place cool all night.

Even though the air conditioning was on and it wasn't hot, natural wind always felt much more comfortable.

He got off work at two in the morning and was then kept busy by the Old Mage until the rain stopped. Only then did he return to his room and fall asleep amidst the sound of the wind.

He slept soundly, without dreams.

Cheng Yun woke up a little past eleven. After getting up and washing, he prepared to cook, which had become his daily routine.

His mobile phone kept buzzing with text message notifications. Cheng Yun opened it and saw they were all from Alipay, with the same content: 'You have used Intimate Payment to pay ** yuan for Cheng Yan...'

Cheng Yan also didn't look well today. He guessed she had stayed up late picking out items last night.

Yesterday's rain seemed to have vanished as if it never happened. The puddles that had filled the roads were gone without a trace. The ground was dry, and the sky held a bright sun, seemingly predicting another scorching hot day.

At three in the afternoon, Heroine Yin finished her work and met him on the rooftop.

"Since that's the case, then we'll proceed with technique practice and body conditioning simultaneously!" Heroine Yin said, her hands clasped behind her back in a display of mastery. She frowned, however. "As for the implements needed for body conditioning... Since you paid me so much money, I should naturally provide these external tools..."

"What implements?" Cheng Yun asked, staring at her doubtfully.

"Things like stone locks and sandbags, of course!" Heroine Yin replied. She then frowned and fell silent for a moment before saying, "How about this! I won't ask you for money. You find me a chisel and a hammer, and point out a place with lots of stones. I'll spend a few days crafting a set for you!"

Cheng Yun was taken aback. After a moment of silence, he said, "I think it would be better if I spent half an hour getting a gym membership card."

"???"

"Our world has a place called a gym, and its purpose is to let you train your body. You pay it money, and it provides you with hundreds of training machines, everything you could want." As Cheng Yun spoke, he suddenly shook his head. "No, it's not advisable to go to places like gyms in the short term. We don't need to go yet. Let's just find a place to practice first. It won't be too late to go to the gym once we're used to it."

"There's such a place!" The Heroine was stunned.

"Mhm," Cheng Yun nodded. "But don't rush too much. The Old Mage hasn't finished with me yet. It'll be a few more days before I can accept your 'torment' of my body. And even if you go to the gym, you need to be discreet. Don't casually display your superhuman physical abilities!"

"Okay!" The Heroine agreed decisively.

Then, the Heroine began her teaching process.

"If you represent the majority of people in your world, then your people must be quite fragile. I believe that strengthening any one aspect of your technique will allow you to stand out." The Heroine paced with her hands clasped behind her back. "Let's start by strengthening your offensive awareness and methods. These two will yield the quickest results in the short term."

"Okay!" Cheng Yun nodded.

"Mhm," Heroine Yin nodded, then looked at him earnestly. She bent over sharply and said, "I'll have to offend you now, Station Master!"

"Please don't say that! Heroine."

"No, no, I must. You are my benefactor now," the Heroine insisted stubbornly.

"Then let's begin."

"No problem!" The Heroine nodded at him, paused, and then continued, "First, I'll tell you about offensive awareness. This is one of the main factors that distinguishes us from beasts. Offensive awareness, to some extent, determines your position. For example, your attitude when you get into a conflict with someone, the methods you employ during a fight – it also determines your momentum. It's a very important point!"

"And fighting spirit is equally important."

"As for offensive methods, to put it simply, it's also very easy." Heroine Yin smiled slightly. "It's about mobilizing every part of your body in the shortest amount of time and at the fastest speed to attack the enemy's weakest point. You must pay attention: when launching an attack, you must mobilize as many parts as possible to gather great power! For example, when throwing a punch, you can't just use your arm. You need to gather the strength of your waist, back, and even your legs to punch. These parts of your body are much thicker than your arms..."

"I understand the principle," Cheng Yun said awkwardly. "We also have a discipline called martial arts in our world."

"Hmm, alright then," Heroine Yin nodded, her hands clasped behind her back. "Then I'll start teaching you directly... Let's call it the Nameless Divine Fist. It doesn't have a name anyway. It's a standing combat technique my parents taught me when I was young."

"Uh..." Cheng Yun looked a bit awkward. Was this another martial art on the same level as the basic meditation technique?

"Although this fist technique is something people in our world learn as children, due to the difference in our bodies, there are some combination techniques and special moves you still can't learn – either you can't do them, or you can't achieve the effect even if you do them, making them pointless to learn. So, I'll skip these combination techniques and moves while teaching you, okay?"

"Huh?" Cheng Yun blinked. He suddenly remembered that the basic meditation technique the Old Mage taught him also seemed to be a simplified or optimized version. Could it be that it was simplified and optimized in the same way?

Seeing that he didn't speak, the Heroine frowned and asked again, "Okay?"

Cheng Yun quickly replied, "Yes, yes, it's fine."

"Then I'll start by teaching you the simplest punch. Anyway, you can't carry swords and knives around in your world." Heroine Yin adopted a strict teacher's demeanor. "I discussed it with the Old Mage this morning. He said that the differences between your and my body structure, like bones and joints, aren't that significant, so many of our simple techniques can be used universally."

"Oh, oh."

"Given that you are at a child's level, I'll first teach you the punching posture, so you know which parts and muscles to use for power. Once you increase your punching power, we'll work on speed." As Heroine Yin spoke, she finally released her clasped hands. "I'll demonstrate it for you once, from fast to slow. Watch carefully. If you're not paying attention, you'll be punished!"

Bang!

She threw a straight punch, which shot out like a cannonball.

The afternoon passed quickly, and Cheng Yun felt he had gained quite a bit.

Perhaps because Heroine Yin underestimated his physical condition and treated him like a complete novice, most of her teaching focused on 'how to quickly subdue the strong with the weak' and 'how to quickly incapacitate the opponent'. Cheng Yun felt like he was learning self-defense techniques for women.

That evening, while Cheng Yun was on duty.

The Old Mage walked slowly downstairs, leaning on a cane he had somehow acquired. He smiled at Cheng Yun and, mimicking Heroine Yin's address to him, said, "Station Master, I'd like to go for a walk tomorrow."

Cheng Yun looked him up and down. The Old Mage was wearing a loose gray shirt and black straight-leg pants made of ordinary fabric. He had on a pair of cheap, oversized leather shoes, looking every bit the elderly gentleman in casual wear. His grayish-white hair and beard gave him a kind and benevolent appearance, while the cane and his calm smile were the perfect finishing touches.

"Where are you going?" Cheng Yun asked.

"Just wandering around. I'll be back in a few days."

"A few days?" Cheng Yun was taken aback.

"Yes, I want to understand your world and the culture of this kingdom more," the Old Mage said with a smile. "I've already designed the rune program for you, and it can be engraved tonight."

"O-okay," Cheng Yun nodded, hesitated, then opened a drawer under the counter and fumbled around until he pulled out a card. He handed it to the Old Mage. "You'll definitely need money when you go out, and knowing you, you'd never do anything dishonest. Take this card. The PIN is 000415. I'll also give you some cash for backup. If you see anything you want to buy when you're out, you can't be short on money!"

"No need," the Old Mage's smile grew even kinder, but he shook his head. "I don't need transportation or lodging, so I have very few expenses. And... I'm not short on money."

As he spoke, he flipped his hand and produced a piece of gleaming yellow metal from somewhere, showing it to Cheng Yun.

Cheng Yun was stunned for a moment, then took back the card and cash. "Alright, if that's the case, then I was just worrying unnecessarily."

"I should be thanking you for your concern," the Old Mage said with a smile. He flipped his hand again, and the gold ingot in his palm suddenly transformed into two cards. "And I'm quite embarrassed. I knew all along that staying at your inn required registration, and not registering your identity could cause you trouble. But I only managed to find time to do it last night."

Cheng Yun blinked and took the two cards from his palm. "I-ID cards?"

"Yes," the Old Mage nodded. "I went out and got them last night. Since I was going anyway, I got one for the Heroine as well."

"Where did you get them done? Under an overpass?"

"..." The Old Mage's expression stiffened for a moment. He tapped his cane. "I wouldn't be so foolish."

"You are a person of great divine abilities," Cheng Yun no longer pressed the issue. After all, the Old Mage wasn't like the mages from feudal fantasy novels, but a visitor from a highly developed civilization of energy. Logically, his wisdom should be as unfathomable as his strength.

"I'm going up now," the Old Mage said, then slowly made his way upstairs, leaning on his cane.

Cheng Yun finally held the two ID cards and examined them.

The Old Mage's ID card had his picture, and the issue date was actually several years ago. His address was in a prefecture-level city under Jizhou Province.

"How did this Old Mage even think of this place?" Cheng Yun twitched the corner of his mouth and picked up the Heroine's ID card.

The Heroine's photo was quite pretty; the scar looked fainter than in person, her face looked younger, and she had short hair. The issue date was also several years ago, and her address was in the same place as Cheng Yun's hometown. Cheng Yun didn't know whether to call the Old Mage bored or thoughtful...

Cheng Yun took out his own ID card and compared it. The texture and details were identical. He then used their IDs to register them, which went smoothly as always.

The Old Mage... is just awesome!