Disaster always became a turning point in a person's life.
The following year, on the day of Jingzhe.
"Second Brother, how should I twist it here?" Zi Juan had tied her long black hair behind her with a rope, looking neat and capable. She held a smaller spear in her hands. Though it was still the lingering chill of early spring, she was already drenched in sweat from training.
"Your body's more flexible than mine. You should be able to try it like this."
Xiang An sharply twisted around. The spear moved faster than he did, stabbing into the wooden post behind him in an instant and piercing straight through its head.
Xiang Yu sat at the edge of the training ground with his arms crossed, silently nodding.
Xiang An's turning-back spear thrust was becoming increasingly fierce.
"Second Brother, so cool!" Zi Juan gave Xiang An a thumbs-up.
"Practice more. Spears aren't easy to master—you need to put in more effort." Xiang An pulled his spear from the post and touched the post's head.
"Mm!" Though Xiang An's words were somewhat stern, they did nothing to dampen Zi Juan's enthusiasm.
"But... A-Hua, why do you want to practice martial arts?" Xiang An looked a little curious.
Zi Juan, who had been poking at the wooden post with her spear, stopped and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
There was no sadness on her face—only determination.
"When our village was struck by the earthquake and mudslide, it was Big Brother and Second Brother who saved me, wasn't it?" Zi Juan lowered her head and looked at the spear in her hands.
Xiang An did not answer. He merely watched Zi Juan quietly.
"Grandpa died. Father and Mother died too. A-Shu died too." No matter how strong she was, Zi Juan still