Chapter Twenty-Three: Beginning to Practice Boxing

  Zhao Fei gritted his teeth and approached Tong Yuan. He tightly grasped Tong Yuan's sleeve and hastily asked, "Really, Master? What kind of fist technique is it? Hurry up and teach me, I want to learn now."

  Looking at Zhao Fei's anxious appearance, Tong Yuan couldn't help but laugh. He comforted him, "Haha, little Fei, don't be in a hurry, you should know that practicing martial arts can't be rushed. You have to progress step by step. With your current physical condition, even walking is still a bit difficult, how can you practice boxing?"

  After listening, Zhao Fei's face turned red. He withdrew his hand that was holding Tong Yuan's and made a bow to him. "It was I who was too abrupt, I hope the master will forgive me."

  "There's no need for so much courtesy, Little Zhao. You'll have to keep doing this from now on." Tong Yuan waved his hand, signaling Zhao Fei to get up.

  "Elders are present, how can etiquette be neglected?" Zhao Fei said stubbornly.

  "Etiquette is dead, but people are alive." However, seeing Zhao Fei's stubborn expression, Tong Yuan stopped talking. "Forget it, forget it, since you want to do it then just do it. Alright, you go see Xiao Yun first, he has been thinking about you for a long time."

  "But." Zhao Fei still wanted to ask about practicing boxing. "Go first, we'll talk about practicing boxing when you're feeling better." Tong Yuan stopped Zhao Fei's question and waved his hand at him. Seeing Tong Yuan's firm attitude, Zhao Fei didn't dare ask more questions and turned around to head towards the thatched hut.

  As he walked to the door of the thatched hut, he pushed open the door and was hit with a wave of herbal scent. He looked at the familiar figure on the bed, looking at the face that was still slightly pale. Zhao Fei's eyes couldn't help but well up with tears.

  "Brother Yun... Brother Yun." As he spoke, Zhao Fei's voice was choked with emotion.

  It seemed like someone was calling him, so Zhao Yun opened his eyes. Seeing that the person who came was Zhao Fei, Zhao Yun struggled to sit up. "Little Fei, how are you? Has your body recovered?"

  Seeing Zhao Yun like this, still caring about himself at the first time, Zhao Fei couldn't bear the tears in his eyes. "Brother Yun." Regardless of the pain in his body, Zhao Fei ran to Zhao Yun's bedside and hugged him, crying out loud.

  "Alright, a man has tears but doesn't shed them easily. What's the point of crying?" Looking at Zhao Fei in his arms, who was in pain, Zhao Yun's eyes also became moist.

  "It's all my fault, Brother Yun. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have suffered such great hardships." Zhao Fei wept as he apologized to Zhao Yun.

  "What are you talking about? I'm your brother, and it's my responsibility to protect you. I also promised Uncle Hu, the village chief, that I would send you back home safely. You're speaking like this means you don't take me as your brother. Wipe away your tears and show some manliness, or else you're not worthy of being my brother Zhao Yun." Although Zhao Yun had lost a lot of blood and hadn't recovered his strength yet, the aura of an invincible general still lingered. One sentence was enough to stun Zhao Fei, who was still crying.

  "Brother Yun." Zhao Fei looked at Zhao Yun, unable to say a word.

  "Alright, wipe away your tears. I, Zhao Yun, don't have a brother who always cries and whines." Zhao Yun looked at Zhao Fei again and continued to say: "I'm still waiting for you to be my aide-de-camp, how can someone who cries like this lead the three armies?"

  "Alright, Brother Yun, I understand." Zhao Fei wiped away the tears on his face and stood up. "Brother Yun, how's your body now?"

  "You should worry about yourself, you know my physical condition, this little injury is nothing." Zhao Yun looked at Zhao Fei, forcing a smile on his face, but the smile was somewhat awkward.

  "Brother Yun, don't force it anymore. You're smiling harder than crying." Zhao Fei teased, looking at Zhao Yun's smile. "By the way, Brother Yun, I have some good news to tell you - Master Tong is going to teach me boxing!"

  "Really? The teacher has accepted you as a disciple?" Zhao Yun was very surprised, but it could be seen that he was truly happy for Zhao Fei from the bottom of his heart.

  "No, Master Tong didn't accept me as his apprentice. He just agreed to teach me a set of physical exercises." After finishing speaking, Zhao Fei revealed an expression of helplessness, and Zhao Yun also felt sorry for him. "Brother Yun doesn't need to feel too much regret for me. Even if I could find a master to take me in, with my physique, I would only bring shame to the school."

  "Haha, you're actually quite optimistic. I was going to comfort you, but it seems like I'm the one who needs comforting instead." Zhao Yun chuckled and looked at Zhao Fei, unsure of what to say next.

  "Yun Ge, you take a good rest, I'll head back first. Hope to recover from the injury soon and learn boxing with Tong Shi."

  "Go ahead." Zhao Yun waved his hand, indicating that Zhao Fei should leave. With permission granted, Zhao Fei turned around and walked out.

  Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, three days had passed. Zhao Fei's injuries had also healed by more than half, as they were only superficial wounds. Coupled with Tong Yuan's exceptional medical skills, it took only three days for Zhao Fei to recover completely. During these three days, Zhao Fei fully embodied the spirit of being thick-skinned and shameless, pestering Tong Yuan every day with questions about practicing boxing. Tong Yuan seemed resolute, not revealing anything to Zhao Fei. These three days had thoroughly satisfied Zhao Fei's desire for knowledge.

  This morning, Zhao Fei got up early again and came to Tong Yuan's house, feeling at a loss. Rubbing his hands, he didn't know whether he should go up and knock on the door. "Creak..." The door opened, and Tong Yuan walked out of the room. Seeing Zhao Fei rubbing his hands at the door, Tong Yuan couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Haha, good morning little Fei." Looking at Tong Yuan's wicked smile, Zhao Fei couldn't help but feel that even saints have a lovely side.

  "Good morning, Master." Zhao Fei bowed to Tong Yuan and emphasized his words.

  "I see that your injuries have almost healed, so I've decided to start teaching you boxing from today." Tong Yuan said calmly, ignoring Zhao Fei's tone.

  "Got it." Zhao Fei was somewhat absent-minded, as if he hadn't quite heard what Tong Yuan had said. But that wasn't surprising - for the past three days, Zhao Fei had been coming to pester Tong Yuan every day, only to be dismissed each time due to his injuries. Suddenly, Zhao Fei snapped back to attention. He grabbed Tong Yuan's sleeve abruptly. "Master, what did you say? You said I can start practicing my fist techniques today?"

  Tong Yuan didn't say a word, just looked at Zhao Fei and nodded. Seeing Tong Yuan agree, Zhao Fei was extremely excited.

  "Alright, go get ready. We'll be practicing boxing soon." Tong Yuan waved his hand at Zhao Fei, signaling him to go prepare.

  "What else are you preparing for, Master? I'm ready. We can start now." Zhao Fei couldn't wait to begin, where was the mood to prepare anything else? These three days had already worn away all of Zhao Fei's patience.

  "You're young and strong, you don't need to eat anything or prepare. But I'm an old man, my body is weak, I don't have your vitality." Tong Yuan smiled at Zhao Fei, who stared back at him with a dazed expression. In Zhao Fei's eyes, Tong Yuan's smile grew more and more lecherous. He muttered to himself, "Shameless, shameless, you're a master-level person, yet you say I'm old and weak. If you're old and weak, then does anyone else need to live?" Although Zhao Fei had a thousand unwilling thoughts in his heart, he could only whisper them to himself. On the surface, he could only respectfully say, "Alright, Master, I'll go prepare. You take your time eating breakfast." Zhao Fei almost gritted his teeth as he finished speaking, then turned and went back into the house.

  After finishing breakfast, Zhao Fei came to Tong Yuan's house again in a hurry. "Master, are you ready?"

  "Alright, follow me." Tong Yuan emerged from the house in a suit of armor, and Zhao Fei followed him with a nervous heart.