"Young Master Chu Ming, if you ask me, you should come train with the Criminal Defense Division and build up your body. What good is reading? When the enemy comes, you can't just talk them to death."
"You're far too frail."
"Our Great Qin Dynasty ought to have more martial artists taking the field to kill our enemies. Scholars are fine in moderation, but too many of them will only lead to infighting."
Shao Pengshu leaned against the carriage, a sun hat on his head. He held a riding crop in one hand and rested the other on his raised knee, looking completely at ease.
But from his tone, it was clear that this Constable of the Criminal Defense Division seemed to look down on scholars.
"Mm, I am too skinny." Chu Ming's perfunctory voice came from inside.
Although he had already refined seven streams of qi and blood, his body did look frail from the outside, and he was nowhere near as strong as an adult like Shao Pengshu, who had trained in martial arts for years.
Hearing Chu Ming's reply, Shao Pengshu immediately perked up. He tipped his head back slightly and lowered his voice. "Young Master Chu Ming, didn't Instructor Fang teach you a few moves?"
The sound of pages turning came from inside the carriage. Poetry, Politics, and Military Strategy lay open on Chu Ming's lap as he read quickly. "He did."
"The Tiger Python Force?"
"Mm."
"Was it hard to learn? Couldn't you get the hang of it?"
"..." Chu Ming paused, then replied calmly, "I only practiced for a few days. After that, I stopped."
He had mastered the Tiger Python Force in just a few days, then started deducing and refining a new Body Forging Technique. By that measure, he really had only practiced the Tiger Python Force for a few days.
"Young Master Chu Ming, there's something I don't know if I should say." Shao Pengshu's eyes shifted.
"Constable Shao, go ahead."
"Martial arts training is hard—much harder than reading. You only practiced for a few days, so I doubt you even remember all the moves. Why give up?"
"But the Tiger Python Force Instructor Fang taught you is the body-forging technique of the Tiger Armor Army in West Rong Prefecture. Mastering it doesn't just strengthen your body; it gives you the strength of a fierce tiger. Ordinary people can't even get the chance to learn it."
"Do you know how long it took me to master the Tiger Python Force?"
"How long?" Chu Ming turned to the next page, not once taking his eyes off Poetry, Politics, and Military Strategy.
Shao Pengshu puffed out his chest, a trace of pride on his face. "Young Master Chu Ming, you've never seen dawn break at the hour of the rooster, or the stillness of the night after midnight, have you?"
His chin lifted along with it. "For two whole months, I studied and trained diligently every day. I often worked myself to the point of exhaustion, but in the end, I finally learned to perform the Tiger Python Force smoothly and reached the minor mastery stage."
"Two months..." Chu Ming glanced up at the scenery flying past outside the window, then lowered his head and continued reading. "Constable Shao, your perseverance is impressive."
Reaching minor mastery in the Tiger Python Force in two months was certainly something to be proud of.
"Hyah!"
The wheels rumbled onward, dust billowing behind them.
Shao Pengshu straightened up, adjusted his expression, and cleared his throat. In a grave tone, he said, "Young Master Chu Ming, you shouldn't give up."
"Fine, I'll practice some more," Chu Ming replied. "Thank you, Constable Shao."
"Is there something about the technique you're confused about? Tell me. I've probably encountered it myself."
"...Not for now. I'll ask you if I get the chance."
"Whoa!" At Chu Ming's words, Shao Pengshu suddenly pulled hard on the reins, bringing the horse to a stop. The carriage jolted to an abrupt halt.
"Constable Shao?" Fortunately, Chu Ming was sitting steadily, and his qi and blood were vigorous. An ordinary person would likely have been flung right out.
Shao Pengshu swept the curtain aside. His expression was stern. He first gave Poetry, Politics, and Military Strategy, thick and heavy as it was, a somewhat disdainful glance, then fixed his eyes on Chu Ming.
"Young Master Chu Ming, let's not wait for a chance. Let's do it now."
"My skill can't compare with Instructor Fang's, but when it comes to the Tiger Python Force, I can teach it better than he can."
His gaze was earnest as he looked straight at Chu Ming. "Because I understand what it feels like when Instructor Fang thinks something is so simple that it doesn't need explaining, but you just can't grasp it yourself."
As he spoke, Shao Pengshu jumped down from the carriage and stood by the horse's head, pointing toward the woods beside the road. "Young Master Chu Ming, I'll be waiting for you in the little woods."
Then he went in ahead of him, leaving Chu Ming sitting dazed in the carriage.
He really was enthusiastic...
But what did he mean, Instructor Fang thought it was so simple that it didn't need explaining? Had this Constable of the Criminal Defense Division misunderstood something?
As Chu Ming pondered, Shao Pengshu poked his head out from the woods. "Young Master Chu Ming, come on. Don't worry, nobody saw."
"..."
A little woods, two men, and nobody seeing...
Whoever wanted to go could go.
Just then, Tan Hong came over with Hou Wuchun from the carriage behind them.
"Brother Chu, what's going on?" Hou Wuchun walked up to the carriage and asked, while Tan Hong went to the roadside and looked toward Shao Pengshu. "Lord Shao, we're still some distance from Baiyuan County. Why did we suddenly stop?"
Seeing the two of them approach, Shao Pengshu came out of the woods. His eyes shifted as he lowered his voice. "I wanted to give Instructor Fang's young master some pointers on the Tiger Python Force, but the young master's lazy and won't get down."
"Tan Hong, tell him how I taught you the Tiger Python Force back then, and how well it worked." He didn't lower his voice for that part, speaking loudly.
Hou Wuchun blinked. What did that mean? The Criminal Defense Division's officer wanted to teach Brother Chu the Tiger Python Force?
Would Brother Chu agree to learn?
Hearing that, Tan Hong couldn't help understanding what Shao Pengshu was getting at.
He walked over to the carriage, pulled Hou Wuchun, who was still thinking things over, aside, and said to Chu Ming inside:
"Young Master Chu Ming, even though you're under Instructor Fang's protection, he can't protect you forever."
"Men like us should be just like Lord Shao, me, and young Hou here: train in martial arts to strengthen our bodies. In the end, reading will only turn you into a pawn of court politics."
It was clear that this Deputy Constable of the Criminal Defense Division, like Shao Pengshu, looked down on scholars and even seemed to resent them.
"Lord Shao may not be as skilled as Instructor Fang, but his understanding of the Tiger Python Force absolutely surpasses Instructor Fang's. Young Master Chu Ming only needs to demonstrate it once, and Lord Shao can point out and correct your mistakes."
"Young Master Chu Ming, don't worry about making a mistake and being laughed at. We all went through it. Go ahead and get down."
"Back then, I made plenty of basic mistakes without even realizing it. Then Lord Shao gave me some pointers, and my progress took off."
Chu Ming looked at Tan Hong's serious face, then at Shao Pengshu, waiting expectantly by the road.
There was no doubt about it: they really wanted him to get out and practice martial arts.
But...
"Constable Tan, Constable Shao, I've been bouncing around in the carriage all morning, and I'm a little... hungry. Could I eat something first?"
"Of course."
At a glance from Shao Pengshu, Tan Hong ran to the carriage behind them, hauled down pots, bowls, and utensils, then gathered firewood and started a fire...
Hou Wuchun's mother had packed all these things for them, and they'd come in handy after all.
Before long, the smell of meat drifted into the carriage.
"Young Master Chu Ming, come eat."
Hou Wuchun held a bowl big enough to fit his whole face inside. Squatting on a large rock, he shoveled food into his mouth.
Shao Pengshu and Tan Hong were even less fussy. They sat right on the ground. Their bowls weren't as big, but they ate just as enthusiastically.
Chu Ming stepped out of the carriage, sat beside the iron pot, and ate slowly.
The food wasn't as delicately prepared as Xiao Shan's, but there was plenty of it, and it was full of meat. It tasted pretty good, too.
Hou Wuchun polished off three big bowls, then lay back on the large rock with his belly full.
Shao Pengshu and Tan Hong had slightly smaller bowls. Each of them filled theirs seven or eight times before finally stopping.
"Young Master Chu Ming, a man should be like us: eat meat in big mouthfuls and drink... water from a big bowl..."
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