strictlysupreme Chapter 381 We're not going the same way
Chapter 381 We're not going the same way
Should I give her something?
Lu Yangyang warily withdrew her hand, sat up straight, and looked at Sheng Junyi with scrutinizing eyes.
Sheng Junyi: "..."
"Give me your hand," he reminded Lu Yangyang helplessly.
"What do you want to do?" Lu Yangyang asked.
Sheng Junyi tapped her finger on the table. "If I really wanted to do something, could you escape?"
Lu Yangyang reluctantly extended her hand.
Sheng Junyi placed two fingers on Lu Yangyang's pulse. At first, Lu Yangyang didn't feel anything, but after a moment, she felt a warm current, like air, flow through her meridians and then throughout her entire body. She had been learning about human meridian diagrams from her aunt since childhood, and at this moment, with her eyes closed, she seemed to be able to see the complete shape of her meridians by following that flow of air.
After circulating through the body for a full cycle, she felt a slight soreness, but her meridians were open, giving her a feeling of being able to breathe—it was quite a strange sensation.
Sheng Junyi withdrew his finger: "Your aptitude is good, but the internal energy cultivation method requires soaking in medicinal baths from a young age to open up your meridians and start practicing from childhood. Not many people can even get started. You are now more than ten years late. Unless someone is willing to pour all the internal energy they have cultivated over the years into you, you have little hope of becoming a master in this lifetime."
Lu Yangyang: "...So you just wanted to tell me that I have some talent for martial arts, but it's too late?"
“No, that’s not it. I’m telling you that even though it’s late, it doesn’t mean you can’t learn anything. No skill in swordsmanship or spear fighting can be mastered overnight. You don’t need to waste your time on it. I’ve seen your strength and speed, but you act entirely on instinct without any method. You can win against ordinary people with strength, but against a master, you’ll be dead before your strength even has a chance to go down,” Sheng Junyi explained to her.
Lu Yangyang seemed to be deep in thought. She recalled the time when she was in the Sheng family and was held down by the guards around the Duke of Sheng. She was confident that she was stronger than many people, but if she encountered a master like Sheng Junyi, or a death squad like the one around the Duke of Sheng, she would have no chance of winning if the other party used their full strength.
This is the difference in techniques.
It also means that they are lagging behind others by more than ten or twenty years in terms of effort.
Lu Yangyang looked at Sheng Junyi. Although she and Sheng Junyi had a grudge against each other, she would be a fool to refuse now that he was showing her goodwill.
Seeing that Lu Yangyang understood his meaning, Sheng Junyi smiled slightly: "There's no need to practice swordsmanship, spears, or other martial arts, but there is one thing that is fundamental and can complement your current strength, allowing you to unleash your full potential. In other words, if you really encounter a master and can't beat them, you can still escape."
After a moment's thought, Lu Yangyang understood: "You mean footwork?"
Sheng Junyi's smile deepened: "Smart."
Sheng Junyi glanced at the not-so-large private room and waved to Lu Yangyang: "Stand a little closer to the door."
Lu Yangyang got up as instructed and stood at the door.
Sheng Junyi twirled his fan between his fingertips, then flicked his finger, sending a teacup landing in the center of the table. He placed his toe on the cup and said, "Use this as a starting point and watch carefully."
Lu Yangyang stared at him intently.
Sheng Junyi's footwork was light and unpredictable. On the first pass, he deliberately slowed down, and the entire square table seemed to form its own space under his feet. Using the teacup as a reference, Lu Yangyang could hardly count how many times he had touched it in this small space within about half an hour.
On the second try, Sheng Junyi sped up, nearly doubling the speed of the first time.
By the tenth time, his speed was more than ten times faster than the first time.
Lu Yangyang felt like her eyes were about to blur.
Sheng Junyi stopped, and Lu Yangyang's gaze fell on the cup in the center of the table. The cup was not moved at all, and not a single drop of tea had spilled.
"Did you remember? The reason why footwork can be called footwork is because there are rules. I heard that you took arithmetic in the entrance exam for Taiming Academy. So, treat this table as a space, and take a certain point as the base. There can be countless variations of the rules. You just need to remember to always keep your strength balanced. If you control your strength well, this should not be difficult for you," Sheng Junyi said.
Lu Yangyang's eyes grew brighter and brighter. It really wasn't difficult. When she was little, she was strong and couldn't control her strength, so her aunt forced her to practice acupuncture until her hands and needles became one, and she could precisely control every inch of force. Only then could she be considered to have mastered it. So, the footwork that Sheng Junyi taught her, as long as she grasped the pattern and practiced continuously, would be tailor-made for her.
Seeing that she understood her meaning, Sheng Junyi raised an eyebrow: "How about my return gift?"
Lu Yangyang said to him frankly, "Thank you, I like it very much."
Sheng Junyi's eyes flickered slightly.
She always seems to be so open-minded and composed.
He gave a slight twitch of his lips: "Practice for one hour every day, in conjunction with internal energy cultivation techniques."
As he spoke, he tossed her a purse: "The formula is written inside. You've studied medicine since childhood and are very familiar with the human body's meridians, so I don't need to give you any further guidance. Just don't overdo it. Also, there's a jade pendant inside, which is a token of Tiancheng Trading Company. If you need to buy information or send messages from me in the future, just take the token to Tiancheng Trading Company, and someone will receive you."
Lu Yangyang accepted it without ceremony, but she still thought of a question: "Since it's a return gift, then I don't need to become your disciple, right?"
Sheng Junyi shook his fan: "If you want to become my apprentice, it's not impossible."
Lu Yangyang grinned at him, "Dream on!"
Then she turned around and opened the door to the private room, just in time to see Lu Wei walking over. Lu Wei looked her up and down and asked, "I've seen you two chatting for so long, are you alright?"
Lu Yangyang quickly shook her head and waved to him, "It's nothing, I'm leaving now, see you later."
Before she had taken two steps, Lu Wei reached out and grabbed her braid: "I'll see you off."
Lu Yangyang tilted her head and glanced at him: "We're not going that way."
Lu Wei smiled and said, "Shall I walk you downstairs? Is it on my way?"
Lu Yangyang: "...You seem to have a lot of free time."
Lu Wei maintained his smile, but secretly clenched his fist.
Once they reached the bottom of the stairs, Lu Yangyang belatedly asked, "Is there something you want to say?"
Lu Wei reached out and pinched her face hard: "Lu Yangyang, have you forgotten? You only told me where to go, but you didn't say where I should go to find you?"
"Huh?" Lu Yangyang pried her hand away, covered her face where he had pinched it, and casually replied, "What do you want from me?"
Lu Wei stared intently at her, his smile completely vanishing.
Seeing his expression, Lu Yangyang gave in helplessly: "Alright, alright, it's nothing, why are you so angry? How come you're still so temperamental after all these years?"
She took a step forward, tiptoed slightly, and whispered in his ear, "Changyang County, Lingnan Prefecture, Southwest China."