Chapter 8: Literary and Martial Arts Combined

  "Yes, the child has made up his mind." Wang Xu nodded firmly without any hesitation.

  A chaotic era is about to arrive, and I died young in my previous life. This time around, I don't want to die too early either. Besides, since I've already come to this heroic age, as a man, I naturally have to take the battlefield by storm and compete with those historical heroes. After all, I'm an extremely hot-blooded man...

  Wang Yan looked at Wang Xu seriously for a long time before slowly revealing a smile. "Alright, since you've already made up your mind, I'll immediately arrange for someone to teach you. Our Wang family also has its own martial arts tradition. Although my own martial skills are not impressive, I can still teach you the basics. Moreover, given your grand ambitions, I will invite a tutor to come and teach you some fundamental things every other day. Later on, we'll search for a renowned master to instruct you further. Is this arrangement acceptable?"

  But Wang Xu heard this and looked at Wang Yan, blinking his eyes and slowly shaking his small head. "Father, I think we don't need to find a tutor anymore! Your study already has so many books, enough for me to read for a long time. Instead of finding some ordinary teacher, why not just close the door and study hard? If there's anything I don't understand, I can ask you or Uncle Xu!"

  Upon hearing Wang Xu's words, Wang Yan hesitated for a moment before nodding and saying: "Alright! My child is not like ordinary people, and ordinary people indeed do not have the qualifications. From now on, you can freely view all the books and classics in our home, and if you have any questions, you can ask me at any time."

  "Thank you, Father! However, the child's previous request was a bit difficult, actually in terms of martial arts. Because if the child wants to learn martial arts, they must study under a famous master, otherwise their skills will not be refined, let alone shake the four seas, and may even lose their body in battle."

  As soon as he heard this, Wang Yan's face changed immediately, and he didn't notice the mature expression that flashed on Wang Xu's tender face. He hastily scolded: "Don't spout nonsense, from now on you are absolutely not allowed to say such unlucky words again, what death or whatever."

  After finishing, looking at Wang Xu's innocent face, his expression eased again. But thinking of Wang Xu's words earlier, he looked worried and continued: "If you want to go on the battlefield and kill enemies, your martial arts skills can't be poor, which is a bit difficult. Nowadays, most martial arts are passed down through families, and occasionally there are masters who hide in the mountains or travel around, it's really hard to meet them. And those mundane schools in various places are really not worth looking at!"

  After a slight sigh, Wang Yan's expression flashed with a hint of desolation. "Actually, our family's traditional martial arts and skills are also top-notch, it's just that in the past hundred years or so, we haven't produced any talented individuals in martial arts, almost all of them were scholars. So even though we have excellent skills, there is no one who can meet your requirements to be your teacher."

  Actually, all of this was within Wang Xu's expectations. Seeing his father's slightly guilty face, he couldn't bear it in his heart. He immediately said: "Father doesn't need to worry too much, I'm still young, just need to practice the family's kung fu diligently and lay a good foundation. My intention is simply that I hope Father can pay more attention and help me find a teacher if there's an opportunity."

  "It can only be done this way, but your father will definitely go all out to find a famous teacher for you. For now, let me and Uncle Xu teach you martial arts temporarily! Don't underestimate Uncle Xu, his martial arts skills are much stronger than mine. As for studying literature, I'll look for more books for you, if there's anything you need, just tell me and I'll do my best to satisfy you." With a helpless shake of his head, Wang Yan looked at Wang Xu with some guilt.

  "Ah! Thanks Dad!"

  "Alright! What's there to thank for, these are what a father should do. With such an intelligent and clever son like you, I'm delighted beyond words!" Wang Yan said, putting aside his worries for the time being, and burst out laughing again.

  It wasn't long before the conversation between the two was spread by Wang Yan with pride, which also directly led to Wang Xu's reputation becoming even greater, and among ordinary people it was even passed on in a somewhat eerie way!

  However, Wang Xu didn't mind it that much and instead was rather pleased to see this situation. Since he found out which era he was in, he had already formed some ideas - the more famous he became, the more useful it would be in the future. As long as he wasn't treated like a monster and eliminated...

  In the family, Wang Xu's status was getting higher and higher. Every time the elders of the clan came to his home, they would take a look at him, let alone his parents and two aunts, who doted on him to the extreme.

  Wang Xu was born to a concubine, and in this era, according to etiquette, he could only call his stepmother "mother", while his biological mother could only be called "aunt". However, Wang Xu couldn't accept this concept, so he made a request that seemed extremely unreasonable to everyone: he insisted on calling his biological mother "mother" and the other two women "stepmother" and "third aunt". At first, Wang Yan disagreed due to various considerations, but later even the stepmother herself agreed and helped persuade him. In the end, Wang Yan simply went along with this precious son who was both a headache and a source of love for him.

  But still, he was asked not to call her that in front of outsiders, and Wang Xu also knew this was already the greatest indulgence everyone could give. Besides, he didn't want everyone to become a laughing stock for others, so he clearly stated that it was definitely not possible, and he would respect and love his aunt just like his mother.

  In this era, being able to achieve such a level is enough to prove how much Wang Xu was doted on. It was only during martial arts training that Wang Yan and the steward Xu Rui were extremely strict with him, making him suffer greatly.

  However, this was something he was willing to do, and the effect was very significant. At a young age, he could already skillfully use many weapons, and his internal skills had also laid a very solid foundation.

  Most importantly, Wang Yan and Xu Rui finally confirmed the fact that Wang Xu also had a stunning natural talent in martial arts after repeated confirmation.

  Also for this reason, Wang Yan became more and more anxious about finding a famous teacher for Wang Xu, and spent every day inquiring everywhere. Many times he even personally visited in person, but unfortunately they were all famous without substance, making him worry endlessly.

  Wang Xu was not surprised by his own martial arts talent, but was filled with incredulity at the existence of internal skills. After learning the Wang family's inner skills from Wang Yan, he immersed himself in it for a long time and had no time to think about anything else.

  In addition, during this period of time, there was another very special thing, which was that the daughter of the housekeeper Xu Rui became Wang Xu's study partner. This girl had been seen by Wang Xu before, but she rarely appeared in everyone's sight and never communicated with anyone except her parents, extremely introverted!

  After being forced to become Wang Xu's study partner, she seemed to want to learn martial arts as well. Every time Wang Xu practiced martial arts, she would sneak a peek from the side.

  Unfortunately, she was severely scolded by Xu Rui as soon as she made this request. In the end, it was Wang Xu who saw her pitiful appearance and took pity on her, running to plead for her. After all, his thinking is much more open-minded, who says that girls practicing martial arts are not good? Of course, there's another reason, this girl looks quite cute...