Chapter 147
Chapter 147
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 147
>Chapter Title: Practice
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“Eat… eat… eat…”
Watching Gao Zhijian stutter for the longest time in front of him, utterly failing to get the word “eat” out, Li Huowang let out a frustrated sigh.
He reached out and took the two books from the big man’s hands.
“Alright, no need for you anymore. You can go out.”
Once the aggrieved Gao Zhijian had left, Li Huowang lowered his head and looked at the two books in his hands again.
One was an ordinary paper book, while the other was entirely wrapped in translucent wax.
The one wrapped in wax was the Fire Robe True Scripture that Jiang Yingzi had given him back then, along with her translation beside it.
The Fire Robe True Scripture was a good thing. No matter how agonizing the treatment process was, if he ran into some external injury on the road someday, this could save his life.
It would be such a shame not to learn to use something this valuable.
But now Li Huowang was virtually illiterate. Forget the strange script on the true scripture—even the translation she had written back then was beyond him.
“This won’t do. I can’t stay illiterate forever. I need to relearn how to read.”
With a trace of helplessness on his face, Li Huowang tucked the Fire Robe True Scripture into his robes.
He knew that was easier said than done. Systematically learning an entire writing system from scratch would take years.
Even if he found someone to teach him word by word, it would probably still take months—and he didn’t have that kind of time right now.
Having the only literate one in the group, the Fool, teach him would be pointless. The guy could barely stammer out two sentences in ten minutes.
Li Huowang stubbornly reopened the translation.
“Wood… mouth… person…”
Full of those blocky characters, he could only recognize the simplest few now.
“Heh, this must be what they mean by giving everything back to the teacher,” Li Huowang said with a self-mocking laugh.
He had thought that once Danyangzi died, all the lost knowledge would come back to him. But clearly, that wasn’t the case at all.
*Knock knock.* The wooden door suddenly rang out.
“Brother Li? Are you in? I’ve found the sword manual you wanted.”
Hearing this, Li Huowang perked up at once. He stood and went over to open the door.
The Fire Robe True Scripture could wait. He’d been hanging around this place for so long precisely for this sword art.
Soon, the sword manual arrived in Li Huowang’s hands from Zhao Qin.
Four large characters were written on it, but Li Huowang didn’t recognize them.
“I saw Brother Li’s sword was a three-foot blade, so I specially picked this Duan family sword art that matches it perfectly. It should suit you just right.”
“This sword art was created by the genius Duan Si. It’s different from other sword styles—no soft, tricky moves at all. It’s all about bold, sweeping strokes.”
“Duan family sword art?” Li Huowang murmured to himself. He flipped open the cover and breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that most of it was diagrams, with only scattered bits of text.
“No problem. I can have Escort Head Zhao teach me these few details, then just memorize them.”
With that thought, Li Huowang turned to Zhao Qin.
“Escort Head Zhao, I’ve never learned the sword before. Could you point me in the right direction on where to start?”
“Hm? You don’t use a sword? Not even the basics?”
Zhao Qin glanced at the two swords on Li Huowang’s back, a bit puzzled.
But a seasoned escort’s mind worked fast.
“No worries at all. Swords and sabers have always been close cousins. This humble Zhao isn’t much, but I can be Brother Li’s introductory master for a few days.”
They had just reached the training ground when Li Huowang spotted Xiaoman practicing her saber with Gouwa and the others in the distance. He called out to her directly:
“Xiaoman! You come too!”
Hearing this, Zhao Qin nodded approvingly.
“Very thoughtful of you, Brother Li. Sword practice is best done with a partner. Otherwise, you won’t have anyone to spar with later.”
Xiaoman gripped her longsword tightly, visibly thrilled. She clearly knew why Li Huowang had called her.
And so began a stretch of days where Li Huowang’s sword training at the escort agency truly took off.
With the experienced Escort Head Zhao guiding them—one teaching diligently, the two learning intently—Li Huowang and Xiaoman picked it up quickly.
*Clang!* Sparks burst in the air as Li Huowang and Xiaoman each retreated three steps.
Xiaoman raised her sword arm high, stepped forward with her right foot, and charged again.
Li Huowang sidestepped diagonally to dodge. The moment her wooden sword missed, he switched instantly from defense to offense with a sweeping Return Wind Falling Goose strike.
The rapid chain of moves threw Xiaoman’s rhythm into chaos. One mistake led to more, and soon her sword was sent flying. She conceded defeat amid cheers from the onlookers.
Zhao Qin walked up to Li Huowang, his face full of admiration.
“What amazing talent, Brother Li! To go from complete novice to this in just fifteen days—you’re a true martial arts prodigy!”
This was no flattery. As chief escort head, he’d seen plenty of promising seedlings, but ones like Li Huowang were rare indeed.
“You flatter me. I’m still a long way off,” Li Huowang said modestly.
Only he knew why he was picking up swordsmanship so much faster than Xiaoman.
Ba Hui’s gaze didn’t just heighten pain—it amplified all his other senses too.
These enhanced perceptions let Li Huowang learn twice as fast with half the effort. Whatever downsides might come later, for now, at least, it was helping him here.
He handed his bamboo sword to Sun Baolu nearby and turned to Zhao Qin.
“Escort Head Zhao, you’ve troubled yourself these past days. I can’t keep wasting time—I need to hit the road. Until we meet again.”
As the saying went: The master leads you through the door; cultivation is up to you.
Now that he’d gotten the basics, there was no need to linger. Besides, Zhao Qin used a saber, so he couldn’t teach much more anyway.
“Alright! Come with me, Brother Li. I’ll get you what you asked for.”
In Zhao Qin’s study, brush, ink, paper, and inkstone were laid out.
*Swish swish swish.* Zhao Qin wielded the wolf-hair brush with flair, then blew dry the finished paper and slipped it into an envelope.
“This is my letter of guarantee. I still carry a bit of weight in the escort trade. Brother Li, you can show this at any escort agency to take on jobs.”
Li Huowang took it with both hands cupped in a fist.
“Thank you for your guidance these past days, Escort Head Zhao.”
After thinking it over so long, Li Huowang had decided to become an escort.
Gouwa was right. They had to travel anyway—why not kill two birds with one stone, making money while on the move?
“No need to stand on ceremony, Brother Li. This is nothing. For you to help my wife recognize me—you’re my benefactor!”
“I won’t ask where you’re headed or what for. If fate brings you back to this town someday, you must come sit a spell!”
(End of chapter)