Practicing Martial Arts

Gu Shenwei stayed that day to learn martial arts from Xue Niang.

The two were neither master and disciple nor friends, yet one taught diligently and the other learned assiduously.

Gu Shenwei knew very well that Xue Niang and the Young Madam's goals were not merely to provide assassin apprentices for the Golden Peng Fortress. They held his leash firmly, undoubtedly with other intentions. However, he would have temporary safety until they presented their final demands.

This was truly a strange combination. Gu Shenwei claimed his name was Yang Huan, and his vengeance was likely aimed at the Eighth Young Master, Shangguan Nu. Yet, Luo Ningcha, the Eighth Young Madam, seemed unconcerned, and Xue Niang didn't probe further, easily believing this story. And he, an assassin harboring murderous intent, had to rely on two women with ulterior motives for his own safety.

Another thing surprised Gu Shenwei: he wasn't the only one learning martial arts from Xue Niang.

The Golden Peng Fortress named its female slaves similarly to its male servants, selecting a character from the Thousand Character Classic and appending the character "女" (woman).

The person practicing martial arts with Gu Shenwei was named He Nu, one of the ten young girls bought by the Great Head God.

She was a girl of few words. Were it not for her overly serious expression, she could have been considered beautiful. She always appeared lost in thought, wary of everything around her, and paid particular attention to listening to Xue Niang's every word and observing her every movement.

From Xue Niang's perspective, He Nu was an excellent disciple.

Gu Shenwei had never heard Yao Nu mention her.

The sharp-faced youth had mentioned other girls, but never He Nu. This was extremely unusual behavior for someone who loved to brag.

Xue Niang's method of teaching martial arts was completely different from the Gu family's. On the first day, without demonstrating a single move, she had the male and female "disciples" spar. It wasn't a light spar, but a full-force fight.

Gu Shenwei was knocked down by a sudden kick in the first move. Only then did he understand that He Nu was fighting seriously, and he also understood why Yao Nu was often injured.

He Nu had no foundation in martial arts. It was purely through her excellent comprehension and fierce determination that she had learned a set of fist and foot techniques from Xue Niang in just a few dozen days.

Gu Shenwei initially wanted to hide his strength, but in the end, he had to use all his skills, unleashing the entire first layer of Hehe Jin, just to barely fight to a draw.

He Nu had never practiced internal energy cultivation. Her combat experience was simply much richer than Gu Shenwei's.

After less than half an hour of sparring, Gu Shenwei was already drenched in sweat, his dantian churning with energy, feeling as though he might collapse.

Xue Niang offered guidance from the sidelines, but it was mostly directed at He Nu. She only gave advice, or rather a command, to Huan Nu, who was there on the first day, at the very end:

"Forget the shoddy fist techniques you've learned. Practice your internal energy. If you want to enter the East Fortress and become an assassin alive, you need to start from scratch."

That afternoon, Xue Niang went to attend to the Young Madam and had He Nu teach Huan Nu the "Tiger Subduing Fist."

Being unable to defeat a girl his own age was embarrassing enough, but having to learn fist techniques from her, move by move, made Gu Shenwei feel utterly disgraced. Especially since He Nu's attitude was cold, and she didn't say an extra word, appearing extremely reluctant.

However, upon returning to the Kindling Courtyard that evening, Gu Shenwei experienced another unexpected reception.

The new courtyard manager spoke to Huan Nu for the first time proactively and even encouraged him a few times, telling him he no longer needed to tend to the injured in the courtyard.

The other five youths also greeted their "sworn brother" with awkward smiles. Lei Nu even helped brush the dirt off him. The drastic change in their attitudes was something Gu Shenwei couldn't quite accept at first.

His primary focus remained on Qian Nu.

Qian Nu was as usual. Although he also came to show goodwill, he spoke little, often saying something when the conversation was about to stall, giving the impression that he was the leader of the small group.

Gu Shenwei decided to put the matter of White Silk aside for the time being. He needed to focus on learning martial arts, both to become an assassin apprentice in the East Fortress and to deal with those two women.

The Golden Peng Fortress was like a Vajra mountain, appearing impregnable from afar. Upon closer inspection, however, one could see tiny cracks. Gu Shenwei had found a few, but it was far from enough for his revenge. He needed to delve deeper until he reached the intersection of all the cracks.

Gu Shenwei could now practice martial arts openly. Apart from eating and sleeping, he dedicated almost all his time to practicing martial arts. Even after returning from Xue Niang, he would go to Ghost Cry Cliff to cultivate Hehe Jin. He intended to make up for the ten-odd years he had wasted.

Xue Niang was eager for the two youths she was recommending to excel in the East Fortress, so her supervision was extremely strict. She even intervened in Huan Nu's internal energy cultivation, fearing a repeat of Yao Nu's tragedy.

Xue Niang was unlike Gu Lun. She didn't teach internal energy gradually, prioritizing stability over speed. She almost used violent methods to push Huan Nu's internal energy to improve.

Gu Shenwei had to practice Hehe Jin in front of her every day. She would occasionally poke him at different acupoints, injecting a domineering hot energy to help him unblock his meridians.

This naturally benefited his internal energy cultivation greatly, but it was also extremely painful. Within a few days, Gu Shenwei was covered in bruises, unable to find a comfortable sleeping position at night.

The daily sparring with He Nu was even more agonizing. This silent girl harbored an inexplicable resentment towards Huan Nu from the very beginning. When Xue Niang began helping him cultivate internal energy privately, it made her view her fellow disciple as an enemy.

Gu Shenwei had never been hated like this before.

He was bewildered by this, followed by a surge of annoyance and defiance. He wanted to surpass He Nu.

This goal was difficult to achieve while learning the Tiger Subduing Fist. Gu Shenwei was not particularly skilled in fist and foot techniques, and he had joined Xue Niang's tutelage nearly two months later than He Nu. However, when Xue Niang began teaching saber techniques ten days later, the situation changed.

The date for the East Fortress's annual recruitment of new apprentices was fast approaching. To catch up, Xue Niang had to impart as much martial arts as possible in a short period. She reminded Huan Nu and He Nu:

"For martial artists, fists and feet are the foundation. With a light body and strong physique, learning other weapons will naturally follow. But fists and feet are merely the foundation; do not expect to fight others with them. No matter how good your fist and foot techniques are, holding a sharp blade will only make you stronger. Someone who defeats swords, spears, and sabers with bare hands does so because the difference in strength is too great, not because their fists and feet surpassed the weapons. Remember, you are to be assassins, making killing your profession. You do not choose your opponents; they are designated by your clients. Therefore, you must never think of defeating a saber with your fists. Only defeat a saber with a saber, or a saber with fists."

Xue Niang herself practiced the Iron Finger Skill, which didn't quite align with her theory. But she wasn't an assassin, nor did she want to be one. Having served the Young Madam in the deep compound for so long, she rarely needed to use swords or sabers.

Gu Shenwei was intimately familiar with his family's saber techniques, but he had already claimed he hadn't learned them well, so he deliberately concealed his skill.

Fortunately, Xue Niang didn't seem to mind. She taught practical saber techniques without fixed forms, totaling eighteen stances. Each stance was simple, involving either chopping, slashing, thrusting, or parrying, with few variations. However, after mastering them, Xue Niang required them to combine the eighteen stances themselves, which could then evolve into countless new moves.

Xue Niang called this saber technique the "Iron Mountain Saber Technique," one of the martial arts the Iron Mountain bandit gang relied on to roam the great desert.

Gu Shenwei felt the Iron Mountain Saber Technique was not as refined as his family's, but it excelled in being easy to learn, understand, and versatile. He occasionally incorporated one or two moves from the Gu family's saber techniques when combining the eighteen stances, and they connected smoothly, sometimes with unexpected results.

For He Nu, however, this was a difficult hurdle. Before this, she had never even held a real saber. It took her several days just to familiarize herself with holding the saber and the method of applying force. Consequently, she fell far behind in sparring. Sometimes the gap was so large that Xue Niang had to step in and spar with Huan Nu herself.

He Nu became even more silent and gloomy. Every time Gu Shenwei arrived, he saw her already practicing with the saber, and when he left, she still had the saber in hand.

Gu Shenwei's progress with Hehe Jin was also remarkably swift. After a month, he had broken through two stages, reaching the second level for both Yin and Yang energies.

Since entering the Golden Peng Fortress, Gu Shenwei had never felt this good. His confidence in seeking revenge had also greatly increased. Although he was still a long way from his ultimate goal, he could vaguely see the highest peak.

He would become the strongest assassin and then take revenge on the assassins.

The Great Head God's daughter would sometimes come to watch Xue Niang teach martial arts when she was bored, of course, still behind a screen. Many of her habits from Iron Mountain had been forced upon her, but this one she adhered to even more strictly. Not only were men other than her husband forbidden from seeing her, but even ordinary women within the fortress could not see her true face.

It was said that the young lady wore several veils every day when greeting her mother-in-law, which made it understandable why their relationship was so terrible.

When Gu Shenwei practiced the Iron Mountain Saber Technique with He Nu, the young lady would sometimes offer a few comments. Chenxin Suiyi, her four personal maids, would then seize the opportunity to reminisce about happier times with the young lady.

From these rambling memories, Gu Shenwei discovered that the young lady knew no martial arts at all. Iron Mountain wasn't a real place; wherever the bandit camp was located, that place was called Iron Mountain. Xue Niang wasn't a genuine wet nurse either; she had only joined the bandits when the young lady was a few years old.

The day the East Fortress recruited assassin apprentices happened to be the beginning of autumn. The first frost of the year fell the night before. The sky was overcast, but the air above the sheer peaks was fresh.

Xue Niang personally led Huan Nu and He Nu to the East Fortress.

The fortress had numerous buildings and crisscrossing alleys, resembling a maze. Without a guide, an outsider would be unable to navigate it. Although Xue Niang had not been in the fortress for long, she was already intimately familiar with the complex paths, which Gu Shenwei did not find surprising.

Like the West Fortress, the East Fortress also had countless courtyards. Xue Niang led the two into a very small courtyard. Like many places in Golden Peng Fortress, the small courtyard, having weathered a hundred years of wind and rain, showed signs of decay. However, the registrar behind the long table maintained an air of authority, making one feel that the strength of Golden Peng Fortress lay in its people, not its buildings.

The registrar looked up at the arrivals. This was the first group of new apprentices; no ink had yet marked his ledger.

"Which courtyard?"

"Eighth Young Master's."

"Name."

"He Nu."

The registrar asked a series of detailed questions, even recording what martial arts had been learned. Xue Niang answered all the questions on their behalf; Gu Shenwei and He Nu merely had to wait quietly.

Everything went smoothly, and He Nu became the first assassin apprentice recorded for the year.

By this time, two or three more groups of new apprentices had arrived, and the small courtyard had become somewhat crowded.

It was Gu Shenwei's turn. Everything was proceeding smoothly; Huan Nu's name was already written in the ledger, with only a few final items remaining. However, when asked about learned martial arts, a problem arose.

"He has learned internal energy cultivation?"

"Yes, a bit of introductory technique." Xue Niang answered for him again, her brow furrowing slightly.

The registrar lowered his head, crossed out the record under Huan Nu's name in the ledger, then looked up and said:

"He cannot enter the East Fortress."