Chapter 25

"Yeah, that one. You have no idea—back then, the city police sent out all their officers, and military vehicles were coming and going too." Russell perked right up at the mention of it.

"Wasn't it supposed to be a robbery and murder?" Lin Sheng asked casually.

"Who knows? That's just what they tell idiots!" Russell scoffed. "Would a robbery and murder suspect really bring out that many people and make such a huge commotion?"

"True." Lin Sheng nodded.

"Forget it, forget it. Let's focus on sword practice. It has nothing to do with us. Come on, it's my turn." Russell started shouting.

Lin Sheng nodded too and began responding to Russell's attacks.

The guy was all flash and no substance. He started off with all sorts of showy moves, going for whatever looked the coolest and most impressive.

Lin Sheng had already corrected his basic moves five or six times. But as he corrected Russell's form, the words of the girl pushing the water cart kept resurfacing in his mind.

I pushed my cart past there once. The ground—tch, it was covered in blood! It felt like downright abuse!

And what Russell had just said.

My dad told me not to go out and mess around lately, and to stay away from the wilderness.

It wasn't just him. Xiayin's family had said the same thing. Clearly, they were all worried that this so-called robbery and murder case might put Russell, Xiayin, and the others in danger.

"Oh, right." After practicing for a while, Russell spoke up again. "Teacher Lin, you're the practical type, right?"

"The practical type? I'm not sure what you mean." Lin Sheng looked puzzled.

"People who practice Naxi Swordsmanship usually fall into two camps: those who care about looking good and those who care about real combat. Chen Huan's one of the practical type," Russell explained.

"How about teaching me a couple of moves that are both cool and useful, Teacher Lin?" He grinned cheekily.

"I don't know any." Lin Sheng shook his head.

He had inherited some of Ravel's swordsmanship memories, as well as those of the mercenary.

One had been a veteran of the battlefield, the other a freelance mercenary. Naturally, both had focused on practical swordsmanship.

"Well, that's no fun." Russell swung his sword and complained.

"Are you sure you don't know any, Teacher Lin?" Xiayin asked from the side, sounding a little reluctant too.

Lin Sheng thought it over.

"There might be sword techniques like that, but I don't know them."

"What are you two thinking? You should be satisfied with having an expert teach you, instead of complaining about this and that." Madilan looked baffled.

"What's the point of learning swordsmanship if you can't use it to look cool?!" Russell spread his arms, looking thoroughly frustrated.

"I learned it to look good too. If it doesn't look good, it's no fun." Xiayin nodded emphatically.

Lin Sheng looked at the two of them, then glanced at Madilan, who seemed to be wavering. He suddenly felt exhausted.

As expected, they were all rich kids who changed their minds on a whim. They'd barely gotten started, and they were already losing interest.

Now he understood why there wasn't a single instructor here. The real reason was probably that none of the instructors could teach these three.

But he didn't want to lose the high-paying job he'd just landed so soon.

Lin Sheng thought for a moment, then said hesitantly, "Maybe you could learn it for self-defense?"

"Self-defense?"

All three turned to him, immediately drawn in by the suggestion.

"Carrying a sword that big around is already a hassle. If you run into trouble, someone can just shoot you. Are you really going to wait until you've drawn your sword and gotten close?" Xiayin shook her head.

Her family was in the arms business, so she knew all about that sort of thing.

"Not everyone can have a gun, can they? There'll be times when they don't." Lin Sheng paused. "As for how long it takes to draw a sword and get close, want to try?"

"Really?" Russell perked up. "I've had professional training in knife defense. Within two meters, I'm at special-forces level! How about we spar?"

Lin Sheng knew that unless he showed them what he could do, these rich kids might find some excuse to fire him in a few days. He wasn't ready to give up this high-paying job yet.

"Sure."

He wanted to see what his actual combat skills were like. Until now, he'd only crossed swords with the Rotten Swordsman in his dreams. Maybe a real-world test would give him a more accurate idea of his level.

As soon as the two agreed, Xiayin and Madilan got excited.

Lin Sheng kept his sword and changed into a stab-resistant suit and helmet.

Russell switched to a short dagger and wore the same protective gear as before.

The two stood facing each other in the center of the practice room.

"Teacher Lin, just so you know, Russell's not bluffing about his skills. His family hired a retired special-forces officer to train him." Xiayin gave another serious warning.

"Thanks. It'll be fine." Lin Sheng nodded, lowered his face guard, and signaled that they could begin.

Russell also stopped grinning. He drew his dagger and held it in a reverse grip, concealed inside his sleeve.

They were two meters apart. At that distance, Lin Sheng wouldn't even have time to draw his sword. Russell only needed to lunge forward and crash into him to land a stab.

The other two in the practice room couldn't help holding their breath.

"Matches in Naxi Swordsmanship are often decided in an instant. Unless the fighters are extremely evenly matched, they usually don't last long," Xiayin said quietly.

"Now we'll see how Teacher Lin responds." Clang!!

A sharp clang rang out in an instant.

Right in front of Lin Sheng, Russell was sent flying sideways and crashed to the floor. The dagger slipped from his hand and clattered away.

Lin Sheng's expression didn't change. He stood quietly, looking down at Russell, his sword hanging casually at his side.

"W-What happened!?" Madilan stared in bewilderment.

"I don't know." Xiayin hadn't seen what happened either.

Before they could react, Russell's face reddened. He picked up his dagger, rolled to his feet, and sprang nimbly to the side, stabbing at Lin Sheng's lower back.

Clang!!

A flash of silver.

Russell fell to the floor again, flat on his back.

Before the other two could say a word, he let out a low growl like a beast, got back up, and charged at Lin Sheng once more.

Clang!!

Another flash of silver.

Thud.

Russell was sent flying again, with no suspense at all. The dagger in his hand gouged a long gash in the mat.

He struggled to push himself up, but the repeated bursts of effort and falls had left him unable to go on.

Lin Sheng flicked his longsword and calmly walked over.

Swish.

The tip of the sword stopped right in front of Russell's throat.

The gleaming blade reflected Russell's startled, confused, and humiliated face like a mirror.

"Want to learn?"

Russell's throat bobbed.

Since opening this club, he'd hired more than ten instructors, all experts in Naxi Swordsmanship.

But not one of them had ever made him feel such a real and powerful sense of danger as the man before him.

That feeling—

"This is fucking incredible!!!" he suddenly roared, bursting into uncontrollable laughter.

Madilan and Xiayin both screamed and laughed at the same time.

Lin Sheng withdrew his sword and looked at the three of them, beside themselves with excitement. A wave of helplessness suddenly washed over him.