Lin Zhenshan's face darkened completely.
"Lay down."
Lin Qingdai didn't move.
Her hand holding the sword was steady, but a faint red mark had already been left on the blade.
"Since Father considers his daughter a burden, then Qingdai has no choice but to atone with her death."
Lin Zhenshan stared at her.
"You dare."
Lin Qingdai chuckled.
What do I have to be afraid of?
She looked up at Lin Zhenshan and said, word by word.
"My father was seventeen when he took up his sword and charged into the barbarian camp with thirty riders."
"Later, you were merely the garrison commander of Black Tortoise Gate, yet you dared to lead five hundred elite Imperial Guard to open the city gates and assist His Majesty."
"You rose from a battlefield warrior to a high-ranking official in the imperial court, risking half your life's fortune to bring wealth and status to the Lin Clan today."
"You dared to do that back then?"
"Now that it's your daughter's turn, if I don't dare, how can I be worthy of being your daughter?"
"Shut up."
Lin Zhenshan lowered his voice considerably.
Lin Qingdai knew her father was angry, but she couldn't back down.
If he had to back down, Gu Moran would have no choice but to continue relying on his Sixth Rank qi and blood to tough it out.
Sixth Rank martial artist without martial arts skills wouldn't last long against a true martial artist who knows how to kill.
Lin Zhenshan looked at the line of blood on the side of her neck, his lips tightened, but he still managed to squeeze out words of advice.
Are you willing to go to this lengths for him?
"You haven't consummated your marriage yet, so you still have a way out later."
Lin Qingdai sneered.
"I, Lin Qingdai, will never remarry. If Father does not believe me, I will prove my innocence with my death."
She pressed the sword in her hand down another half step.
Blood seeped out and rolled down her fair neck.
Lin Zhenshan's eye twitched violently.
" Lin Qingdai!"
The sound caused fine dust to fall from the beams, and the scabbards on the weapon rack also rattled twice.
Lin Qingdai did not back down.
"Father, I'm not here to beg you to hand over the Grand Commandant's Residence to him."
Her voice was harsh.
"I just want a martial arts manual."
Lin Zhenshan was so angry that he burst out laughing.
" Lin Clan Martial Arts?"
"The Crown Prince and the Second Prince are both ordinary military men. Do you know what my actions mean in the struggle for the throne?"
"Know."
You know nothing.
Lin Zhenshan took a step forward, and a gust of wind from his palm swept past, directly knocking the sword out of her hand.
The longsword fell to the ground and slid to the edge of the blue brick with a clang.
He stared at Lin Qingdai, veins bulging on his forehead.
The Crown Prince was staring at him, the Second Prince was staring at him, and His Majesty was also watching him.
"If you take the martial arts manuals back from the Grand Commandant's Residence now, the Censorate can accuse my Lin Clan teaching the prince military strategy and martial arts, thus harboring rebellious intentions."
Lin Qingdai bent down to pick up the sword, and the wound on the side of her neck was rubbed against her collar, causing her lips to turn slightly pale from the pain.
"The daughter knew that drawing her sword in front of her father was presumptuous."
"But my daughter has returned to the manor today to beg her father."
She gripped the sword again, but no longer pressed it against her neck.
"If Father truly finds this difficult, then don't bestow the town's secret techniques upon him yet."
Lin Zhenshan lowered his brows.
Lin Qingdai continued speaking.
"No formation -Formation-Breaking Saber, no Tiger-Roar Spear, no Lin Clan Battle Formation."
She met her father's gaze, a trace of blood still on the back of her hand.
Give me a skill in hand-to-hand combat.
Lin Zhenshan narrowed his eyes.
Lin Qingdai said, "What he lacks most right now isn't a killing move, but rather the ability to avoid being crippled in one move by a master."
Lin Zhenshan fell silent.
He had tested Gu Moran at the Grand Commandant's Residence's training ground last time.
Back then, that kid was a good-for-nothing who had been drained by wine and women. The fact that he could withstand three moves wasn't due to his martial arts foundation, but rather his reckless and ruthless spirit.
However, a spy recently reported that Prince Yi's martial arts energy was faintly leaking out.
Lin Zhenshan originally planned to visit in person to take a look.
When Lin Qingdai returned home today, he noticed a fresh abrasion on his daughter's sleeve from a distance of ten feet. The wound wasn't deep, but it was indeed caused by the force of a martial artist's energy.
Lin Zhenshan stared at her.
What level is he at now?
Lin Qingdai's gaze lingered for a moment.
They've arrived.
She knew her father would ask.
Lin Zhenshan is the strongest military general in the capital, not some idle loafer on the street who can be easily fooled.
Gu Moran's rise from a useless person to Sixth Rank is something that cannot be hidden from those who have actually been on the battlefield.
Lin Qingdai slowly sheathed her sword.
" Sixth Rank."
Lin Zhenshan's face immediately darkened.
"Nonsense."
Lin Qingdai said, "I saw it with my own eyes."
Lin Zhenshan took another half step closer, his boots treading on the dust on the blue bricks.
"The last time he came to the Grand Commandant's Residence, he hadn't even practiced standing meditation; his qi and blood were weak, and his waist and legs felt unsteady."
"You're telling me now that he's become Sixth Rank?"
Lin Qingdai gritted her teeth.
He's very talented.
Lin Zhenshan stared at her, his face saying, "You'd better make up three more words."
Say it again.
Lin Qingdai forced a smile and said, "He is exceptionally talented."
Lin Zhenshan laughed in anger.
" Lin Qingdai, do you think your father is someone as easily fooled as a street vendor?"
Lin Qingdai flipped her wrist, pointing the sword tip downwards towards the ground.
"Then let me put it another way."
Lin Zhenshan looked at her with a cold expression.
Lin Qingdai said, "It wasn't that he couldn't practice before, it's just that no one forced him to practice."
"Continue editing."
"After I married him, I often got into fights with him."
Lin Qingdai spoke very calmly, without even her ears turning red.
"He's been beaten so many times that his muscles and bones have actually loosened up."
"I then used the Lin Clan's method of guiding qi to smooth his meridians several times, dispersing the accumulated blockages, and he progressed rapidly."
Lin Zhenshan stared at her for a long time.
"You helped him regulate his meridians?"
"Um."
"Several times?"
Lin Qingdai answered decisively.
"Three or four times, I guess."
Lin Zhenshan sneered.
"You managed to get a Sixth Rank in just three or four tries?"
Lin Qingdai raised her chin.
"This is because my husband and I are well-matched. If Father doesn't believe me, go ask him yourself."
Lin Zhenshan almost laughed out of anger at her.
Of course, he wouldn't ask.
The Grand Commandant, a man of great stature, went to Prince Yi's Residence to ask the Third Prince, "Did my daughter open up your meridians?"
If these words got out, even the ancestral tablets of the Lin Clan would be crooked with anger.
Lin Qingdai understood this perfectly.
Lin Zhenshan looked at her.
This girl is lying.
It's true that Gu Moran's blood and qi surged.
Lin Zhenshan didn't know what Gu Moran was hiding, but one thing was certain.
That kid is something else.
His daughter was also caught up in it.
Lin Zhenshan turned around, his back to Lin Qingdai.
A row of old weapons hung in the training hall.
Swords, spears, halberds, axes, hooks, and forks—every single item was stained with blood and had been carefully wiped clean.
When he was young, he believed that if the knife was sharp enough and the person was ruthless enough, he could protect the people he wanted to protect.
I later learned that the swords in the imperial court are sometimes harder to defend against than those on the battlefield.
Lin Qingdai stood still, without urging him.
She knew her father was weighing his options.
Once he starts to weigh the options, there's hope.
After a long while, Lin Zhenshan spoke.
Has he ever bullied you?
Lin Qingdai was taken aback.
No, I was the one who bullied him.
Lin Zhenshan then asked, "Is he good to you?"
Lin Qingdai frowned.
"Father, why are you asking this?"
"Answer."
Lin Qingdai turned her face away.
"They treated me very well."
Lin Zhenshan glanced at her sideways.
My daughter's expression didn't seem like she was wronged; rather, it looked a bit awkward.
Lin Zhenshan suddenly had nowhere to vent his anger.
He was silent for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter, causing the scabbard on the wall to rattle softly.
"My dear wife, my only regret is not having asked you to have more children."
"If you're watching from heaven, see what kind of state this girl has become?"
Lin Qingdai looked up.
Lin Zhenshan turned around and walked to the bookshelf, reaching out to pull out an old book.
The old book had no cover, the edges were worn black, but the pages were pressed very flat.
He tossed it aside casually.
The old booklet fell with a thud at Lin Qingdai's feet.
"Start by learning the Wind-Breaking Hand."