"Nephew Li, when you are out and about, safety is the most important thing."
At night, Liu Qingshi and Wang Hengliang, who had laid their bedding down in two corners of the room, said to Li Ming with smiles, after just having entered the posthouse Li Ming had booked three middle rooms, but before they could go to sleep, the two crawled in through the window, and now Li Ming stood there staring at them, dumbfounded.
"For tonight, the first night, we two will sneak into your room to sleep; hereafter, we’ll choose a random room each night to stay in. But no matter what, the three of us must stick together to keep each other in sight,"
Wang Hengliang said cheerfully, then pointed out the window, "Another point is that we must never let our horses out of our sight, it’s best to tie them outside the window like we did today."
"In the Jianghu, there are many kinds of scent-tracking spices. Once they’re processed and an excellent tracking dog is trained from young to follow the scent, it’s quite easy to locate sothing just by sll."
Liu Qingshi, with a handful of horsehair in his hands, took a deep breath through his nose and started with a chuckle, "So first, we need to familiarize ourselves with the scent of our horses. The mont we notice anything odd, that ans the horse has been scented."
"The person who scented the horse might want to rob us or could have other purposes, but no matter what their intent, it surely won’t be anything upright and aboveboard. Otherwise, why go through the trouble of drugging the horse? So should there be any strange occurrence, we must deal with it promptly."
Still chuckling, Liu Qingshi then looked at Li Ming, who still seed sowhat bewildered, "Don’t worry, we both took a bath and washed our feet before coming, we won’t stink you out."
"It’s not that... um, would you uncles care to squeeze in a bit with ?"
Li Ming shook his head, then couldn’t help asking, "As I understand it, dogs can sll many scents that we humans can’t. If soone uses such a scent on the horses, what then?"
"Then we leave it to fate and let the sword in our hands do the talking."
With a slight smile, Liu Qingshi shook his head, "We can’t sleep in the sa spot, your uncle and I will each sleep in different corners. Pay attention and see, this is the ’Three Talents’ arrangent, allowing us to join forces as quickly as possible, as well as support each other with the utmost speed. Should soone burst in unexpectedly, no matter who they target first, the other two can respond swiftly."
"But if we were all in the sa spot and an enemy broke in, gun blazing, wouldn’t all three of us be hit?"
So that was the case, there was actually such a rationale.
Li Ming looked at the places where his two uncles lay down and indeed found it so. He couldn’t help but feel that there was still so much for him to learn about life in the Jianghu, and he nodded, affirming this arrangent. Just when he thought to close the two open windows, he was stopped.
"Leave the windows open. Even if soone tries to pump in knockout gas, it won’t linger in the room so easily,"
Liu Qingshi shook his head, and Li Ming paused, then slapped his forehead, "It seems I really do have a lot to learn."
"These are all little tricks picked up over years of roaming in the Jianghu; they’re not grand enough for esteed gatherings, just a bit of knowledge is enough. Don’t undervalue yourself, your path does not lie here,"
Hearing Li Ming’s comnt, Liu Qingshi chuckled and shook his head. Li Ming composed himself and gave a formal bow to the two n, then seeing that they had slept in their clothes, he silently put on his socks and shoes and lay down on the bed fully clothed as well.
"..."
The next day, as the sky started to brighten, Li Ming got up as usual to practice his martial skills and found that his two uncles had already risen and were moving their limbs. He couldn’t help but admire the old hands of the Jianghu; after practicing and eating a couple of buns downstairs, they mounted their horses and continued on the road to the Capital City.
"Inhale~"
Only after leaving the posthouse did Liu Qingshi take a deep breath near each of their horses, then narrowed his eyes with a chuckle, and continued on the journey with them.
Li Ming was curious if he really could sll sothing, but they were in a hurry to travel, so he didn’t ask, only waiting until they rested again at night when he couldn’t refrain from questioning.
"Uncle Liu, do you have so special skill that enhances your sense of sll, allowing you to detect things that most people can’t?"
Having taken a bath, soaked his feet, changed out of yesterday’s clothes after washing them and hanging them outside the window to dry naturally overnight, then put on clean clothes to sleep, Li Ming curiously asked Liu Qingshi.
"Indeed, there is a martial skill called ’Nasal Opening Technique’ that can open over a dozen acupoints in the nose, significantly increasing the range of slls one can detect. I always rely on this technique to be certain when slling,"
Liu Qingshi spoke with a chuckle, then looked at him with a teasing glance, "Cultivating this skill will let you experience more of this world. There are more scents out there than what ordinary people can perceive."
"Getting a whiff of more scents can give you a truer sense of the essence of this world. What do you say, do you want to learn? If you are willing, I will teach you."
There really was such a martial skill. Li Ming was slightly startled but then quickly shook his head as he thought of the possibility of slling more scents he disliked, "That’s not necessary. But, uncle, isn’t martial skills cultivation all about practicing the ridians? Why is there also a way to train the acupoints?"
"ridians are the foundation of martial arts. Only with broader ridians can one cultivate stronger true energy. With powerful inner force, various martial skills can be executed with greater might."
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