In the small courtyard of the Li family, Xu Qing and Li Gongpu carried out their sparring practice.
Both n were of similar height, their moves nearly identical, and they were exceptionally skilled in deflecting and blocking. Towards the end, they exchanged a palm strike, and Li Gongpu, unable to withstand the force, staggered three steps back.
"Brother Qing, your strength has already surpassed mine," Li Gongpu laughed heartily.
He observed Xu Qing's robust arms and the healthy flush on his face, a stark contrast to his illness a month ago.
Xu Qing humbly responded, "Uncle, you're just being cautious not to exert your full strength and hurt ..."
Li Gongpu, still in his pri, possessed even greater strength than when he was younger.
Furthermore, practicing the Crane Form stance was extrely beneficial in maintaining one's physical condition.
Li Gongpu had been taking dicinal als recently and although Aunt Zhou nagged him daily about the household expenses, it had so effect.
Li Gongpu smiled and said, "With your current kung fu skills, you could actually take the martial arts student examination."
The martial arts student examination was actually the child student test for martial artists, but its status was far from comparable to the scholarly version.
Because Li Gongpu was of the servant class, he wasn't qualified to participate in the martial arts student examination. And even if one beca a Martial Arts Scholar, one couldn't directly beco an official; one would have to wait in line. To "wait" ant that without a significant bribe, it would take an indefinite amount of ti to get a position.
Even if one beca a military officer, the position was far beneath that of a civil servant.
Low-ranking military officers were seen as no different from clerks in the eyes of civil servants who had passed the Imperial Examination through the proper channels.
Of course, Xu Qing knew Li Gongpu was joking and changed the subject, "Uncle, how does one differentiate the strengths and weaknesses among those who practice martial arts?"
Because inside the bronze mirror, a new description had appeared regarding martial arts, "Martial Arts Level: Muscle Training."
The description of the Crane Form stance ca later as supplentary annotations.
The minor achievent in the Crane Form stance clearly signified he had truly begun martial arts cultivation, with Muscle Training being the level he was currently at.
Li Gongpu asked, "Why would Brother Qing think to ask this?"
Xu Qing replied, "I just feel there's more to the Crane Form stance, so I wanted to ask."
Li Gongpu grew silent for a mont, then said, "Practicing martial arts is good enough for strengthening the body. If you're asking about strength, you must be harboring a competitive spirit. Brother Qing, you're a scholar. Having worked in the Governnt Office for many years, I've absorbed so knowledge from the books, like 'The son of wealth won't sit under a collapsing wall.' What you should do is stay away from danger."
Hearing this, Xu Qing pondered for a while, "Uncle, the matter of practicing martial arts, it's related to the annihilation of our Xu Family, isn't it?"
Li Gongpu wore a troubled expression, "You guessed?"
Xu Qing replied, "It seems I shouldn't have asked."
Li Gongpu nodded, "If you beco a high official in the future, you will naturally seek revenge. If not, relying solely on personal valor won't help."
Xu Qing said, "Then I'll refrain from asking."
He had always suspected that having less than three years to live was not due to a health issue. Now that he had achieved minor success in the Crane Form stance and his life had not been extended, it seed that it might be related to the extermination of the Xu Family.
Back then, how did this body survive the disaster that befell his family? How was Li Gongpu able to adopt him without being targeted by enemies?
Alas, as long as he inhabited this body, the original person's favors and grudges were his to inherit.
Currently, it seed likely that the enemies were not ordinary—they were formidable, so much so that even Li Gongpu, as an Archivist, dared not ntion these matters to Xu Qing.
Perhaps Li Gongpu also believed the the enemy would not eradicate them root and branch.
But the bronze mirror's assessnt of less than three years of life unmistakably indicated the contrary.
The enemy would not rest easy.
Yet why wait three years?
"No matter what, there's still ti to prepare for it." Xu Qing wasn't too anxious, as it wouldn't solve the problem.
After a mont of silence between Xu Qing and Li Gongpu, Li Gongpu finally spoke, "Right, Zhao Xiong ntioned departing tomorrow to escort the treasury silver."
Xu Qing replied, "Uncle, you ntioned it when you returned last night."
Li Gongpu remarked, "Now that I think about it carefully, he's been evading the task since ten days ago, only agreeing after the docunt from the court was issued yesterday approving our county's request to submit the sumr taxes early. What could go wrong in between?"
Xu Qing had mainly focused on studying and martial arts these past few days, particularly at a critical mont in practicing the Crane Form stance, so he hadn't pondered it deeply when hearing it last night.
Upon hearing this, he asked, "Uncle, has anything significant happened near Jiangning Prefecture recently?"
"There hasn't been anything major around here. Oh right, we received a dispatch a few days ago. Sothing about the Lotus Sect in Lingnan attacking a county governnt and rallying tens of thousands of civilians to their cause. But the Official Army quickly suppressed the rebellion. I've also heard that so of the scattered sect mbers took to the seas and fled towards South Zhili, possibly even colluding with the Eastern Barbarian Sea Pirates causing trouble along the coast. But our Jiangning Prefecture isn't near the sea, and even if trouble were to arise, it shouldn't affect us."
Xu Qing inquired, "Uncle, will the treasury silver be escorted along the waterways or by land?"
"Of course, along the waterways."
Water transport has always been the most convenient and cost-effective; they would never choose land if a water route is available.
Xu Qing pondered for a mont, then asked, "I rember you ntioned that Zhao Xiong hasn't been troubling you recently, only saying that he was unwell and wanted to relinquish his duty of escorting the treasury silver."
"The docunt from the court has been issued, and he has agreed to the task, so it would be hard for him to avoid it now," said Historian Li.
Xu Qing softly said, "That may not be the case. Uncle, before my child student test, as long as he doesn't trouble us, we need not stir up unnecessary incidents."
"Alright, I'll take your advice."
Ever since Xu Qing proposed the idea to advance the contribution of the treasury silver to the National Treasury, the dark qi within the qi fortune assessnt in the bronze mirror had dissipated considerably, leaving only a trace.
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