Even at her age, this was the first time Airi had had her hand grabbed by Chang Yuan. She was stunned for a moment as he pulled her along at a run.
Once she came back to her senses, the corners of her lips, which had been frozen in surprise, curved up slightly.
"Chang Yuan, we need to run faster, or they'll catch up to us."
"Don't worry. They won't catch us."
Feeling the hand he held tighten around his own, Chang Yuan felt a surge of excitement.
It seemed his efforts over the years had not been in vain. Perhaps he really could make it.
Sure enough, companionship was the longest confession. He had won, though not entirely.
Before long, the two of them successfully shook off the people chasing after them and returned to the martial arts hall.
"You're back this late? Don't let it happen again. I don't have time to wait for you until this hour."
Hua's father said sternly as he opened the door for Chang Yuan and Airi.
But in truth, there was much concern beneath his words.
"It won't happen again. This time, I was just taking Airi around to experience Shenzhou's local customs."
"Yeah, yeah. I was the one who asked to go out and have a look."
"...You two really do work well together. But no next time. Go back and sleep. Tomorrow, I'll have Hua wake you."
Looking at the two of them, Hua's father could not help thinking of his younger self.
The sunset of that day had been proof of his youth—and of its passing.
At that, the two obediently hurried back to their rooms.
Chang Yuan bathed first, mainly because he was faster, which meant he could wash the clothes sooner.
Airi bathed only after he was done.
However, before Airi came out after her bath, Chang Yuan was already lying in bed asleep.
"Mm, I haven't told today's story yet. Oh well, I'll give you a day off."
Wearing pink pajamas, Airi sat at the desk and picked up a hair dryer to dry her hair.
After drying it, she put the pink bracelet back on her right wrist.
"Mm-hm~? How much longer will this journey last? And how much longer can we travel together?"
Lying on the bed, Airi raised her right hand high and murmured.
During this time, she had gradually begun to notice that something was wrong with her.
She had not trained, yet her stamina and strength far surpassed Chang Yuan's.
That was highly unreasonable, so Airi worried that some accident might happen in the future and force her and Chang Yuan apart.
She had read many storybooks and reached a decision of her own.
Since an exception like her could exist, perhaps this world had a side unknown to others.
"Mm, should I tell Chang Yuan?"
Turning over and looking at the pink dumpling plush beside her pillow, Airi felt restless.
If she did not tell Chang Yuan, she always felt she was letting down the trust he had placed in her.
If I tell him, will he think I'm a monster and stay away from me?
"...Forget it. I'll find a chance to come clean later."
In the end, Airi decided to find a time to confess everything to Chang Yuan.
She believed Chang Yuan would never distance himself from her over something like this.
If her trust proved wrong, then she had simply misjudged him.
Having thought everything through, Airi closed her eyes and went to sleep peacefully.
Until six the next morning.
Knock, knock, knock!
Hua knocked on the door three times, but she did not force her way inside.
"Chang Yuan, Airi, it's time to get up."
"Got it. Hua, go to the training ground first. Airi and I will be there soon."
Awakened by her call, Chang Yuan immediately sat up.
After answering, he promptly began getting dressed, brushing his teeth, and washing his face.
Having received Chang Yuan's affirmative response, Hua stopped knocking.
"Then hurry up. I'll wait for you at the training ground."
After saying that, Hua turned and left.
A few minutes later, Chang Yuan and Airi arrived at the training ground.
"Now that you're here, I'll start by teaching you the basics. We'll spend a month building your foundation, then use the remaining month to teach you other things."
As she spoke, Hua assumed a horse stance.
"Hold this position. Start by standing like this for ten minutes to build your foundation, then there'll be other training."
Hearing that, Airi and Chang Yuan immediately copied her with convincing form.
One month later...
"The foundation has been laid. Now tell me what interests you. I can teach you myself, and if it's something I don't know either, I can ask Father to teach you."
"I want to learn Cun Xin Quan Fa."
"I want to learn archery."
At her words, the two spoke in unison about what they wanted to learn.
Chang Yuan wanted to learn Cun Xin Quan Fa, while Airi wanted to learn archery.
Hua did not refuse either request.
Although Cun Xin Quan Fa was their family's inherited martial art, it was not forbidden from being passed on. On the contrary, her father hoped it would spread.
After all, as the times changed, every martial art had faded into decline. Otherwise, their martial arts hall would not have only two students.
"Then I'll teach you Cun Xin Quan Fa first. I'll demonstrate it once, and then you can practice it slowly. After that, I'll teach Airi archery before coming back to guide you."
After saying that, Hua began to assume a stance.
Seeing this, Chang Yuan immediately began copying her in earnest.
In the end, he learned roughly eighty or ninety percent of the form, but only the appearance. He did not grasp any of the force application points or anything of the sort.
"Practice on your own first. I'm going to teach Airi archery."
When they arrived at the archery range, Hua handed Airi a bow.
"Hold this. I'll teach you hand by hand how to use it."
Once Airi had properly taken the bow, Hua moved behind her.
Then she began instructing her hand by hand.
"First, aim like this. Use the index finger of your left hand pointing forward as support, pull the string with your right hand, aim, and finally release."
Following Hua's instructions step by step, Airi easily got the hang of it.
But her subsequent improvement left Hua dumbfounded.
When Hua returned after guiding Chang Yuan on the force application points of Cun Xin Quan Fa, she saw arrows in the nine and ten rings all over the distant target.
"Did you shoot all of these?"
"Yep. It feels really easy."
As she spoke, Airi released her right hand and fired another arrow.
And, unsurprisingly, that arrow struck the bullseye of the target thirty meters away.
"..."
Watching this scene, Hua could not help but marvel.
What was a naturally gifted talent? This was a naturally gifted talent.
Back then, it had taken her at least half a year of learning to reach this level.
But what about Airi? At first, she had not even known how to hold a bow, and now she could hit the bullseye.
How long had that taken? Not even two hours.
In those brief two hours, she had directly surpassed Hua's half-year of effort.
"You're very talented. Compared to Chang Yuan, your talent is terrifying."
Hua could not help shaking her head as she spoke.
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