Chapter 22 Martial

  The next day, inside the Red Dust Inn.

  Xue Weihai entered the hotel as usual to have an early tea, but unlike before, he was not alone today. A middle-aged man with a slightly pale face followed behind him.

  Song Kai was teaching Nie Lingtong accounting methods at the counter, and when he saw Xue Weihai arrive, he immediately went to greet him.

  "Xue Lao, this young master, upstairs please, upstairs please," Song Kai was very happy and pulled Xue Weihai to go upstairs.

  "Seeing Song Lang so happy, I suppose it's about that marriage proposal..." Xue Weihai said with a smile as he walked.

  "Haha, Old Master Xue's plan is really clever! Although Liu Zhuang didn't immediately agree to my proposal last night, he has already thrown away the betrothal gifts for Yang Huaiyan that little brat, and also no longer forbids Liu Niangzi from meeting me. All in all, success is within sight!" Song Kai said with a low chuckle, while ordering Chang Sheng to bring over a pot of good tea, as well as some pastries and peanuts.

  As soon as he sat down, the middle-aged man who had been following Xue Weihai bowed his hands and said, "Thank you, Song Lang, for saving my life. I, Zhou Mou, will remember it in my heart."

  "Ah?" Song Kai was taken aback, his eyes sizing up the middle-aged man again before he suddenly slapped his forehead and finally recognized that this person was indeed the patient who had been stabbed. He smiled awkwardly and said: "Brother Zhou is joking, I'm just a peddler of medicine formulas, it was Old Sun who saved your life."

  Zhou Ce heard Song Kai speak so bluntly and directly call himself "big brother", he was taken aback at first, then burst out laughing.

  Song Kai also came to his senses, now the term "big brother" is not commonly used, only people with extremely good relationships would call each other that, although so, Song Kai just smiled and didn't take it seriously.

  "Since Song Kai brothers are so straightforward, it would be wrong for me to be hypocritical. In the future, if you encounter any difficulties, just speak up," Zhou Ce nodded with a smile.

  Xue Wei Hai waved his hand, looked at Song Kai and said: "Young man, today's weather is not bad. Since Zhou Douwei's body has also recovered a bit, why don't we go out of the city to take a look at those tea leaves? These past few days, I've been thinking about this matter all along, but seeing that you were preoccupied with your own thoughts for the past two days, I didn't have the heart to call you."

  Song Kai nodded, "Alright, I was thinking of going out of town for a stroll too."

  "That's settled, let's go after dinner, the boat is ready," Xue Weihai drank a cup of tea. "Just right, Zhou Lang, you also try some of this restaurant's dishes, and it's not bad, they really have some flavor."

  Soon, the dishes were served, and although Zhou Ce's body had not fully recovered, he was fine as long as he didn't engage in strenuous activities with his shoulder; recovery was just a matter of time.

  At the dinner table, Song Kai casually asked about Zhou Ce's condition, nodded and said that in another half month, it should be able to scab.

  Zhou Ce smiled with gratitude.

  "Big Brother Zhou, how did you get this injury?" Song Kai asked.

  Zhou Ce unconsciously glanced at Xue Weihai, then looked up and smiled: "The injury from fighting the mountain bandits is really embarrassing to mention. The other side was just some local militia and fleeing thieves, yet they managed to injure me. If I hadn't encountered Song Lang's miraculous medicine, my life would have been over."

  Song Kai listened to Zhou Ce's tone and couldn't help but pause for a moment, then hastily asked: "Big Brother Zhou, it sounds like... you're quite formidable?"

  "What?" Zhou Ce was perplexed.

  "It's martial arts," Song Kai, who also grew up reading Jin Yong's wuxia novels in his past life, had long been looking forward to those mysterious kung fu skills. "Flying on the eaves, walking on walls, and beheading a general in the midst of a thousand soldiers."

  Zhou Ce laughed loudly, "Song brother, your words... are truly embarrassing. As for martial arts, I do know a thing or two. Alright, in front of Lord Xue and Song brother, I don't need to be modest. In this entire Suzhou city, there are only a few people who can surpass my knife skills."

  Song Kai immediately cupped his hands and his expression suddenly became very serious, "I beg of you, Brother Zhou, to accept me as your apprentice."

  "Ah?" Zhou Ce and Xue Weihai were both taken aback.

  "Song brothers, you're not joking?" Zhou furrowed his brow, looking at Song Kai's expression, which seemed to suggest otherwise.

  Song Kai rubbed his head, "It's not a joke, to be honest, Brother Zhou, Song had almost been killed by someone once. That experience left me with lingering fear, so over the years, I've always wanted to find a master to learn martial arts from. Not seeking to become a top martial artist, but at least have the ability to protect myself."

  Xue Weihai put down his chopsticks and said seriously: "Song Kai, you should be more cautious about this matter. To be honest, although we haven't known each other for long, I have a good impression of you, whether it's your poetry, business strategy, or the way you handle things. If you're not ashamed, I can recommend you to enter the imperial court as an official, even if it's just a small position, there will be guards and soldiers by your side. As for learning martial arts, that's really not worth it."

  Zhou Ce also couldn't help but laugh and cry, took a sip of wine, and said: "Yes, Song brother, it's not that Zhou Mou doesn't want to teach you martial arts, but it's really not worth it. Zhou Mou was born with brute strength, and on top of that, he has been practicing standing meditation and breathing exercises since childhood, which is how he achieved his current level. However, as you've seen, when facing some bandits or mountain thieves, one small mistake can be fatal. So, martial arts are just a dead end after all."

  Song Kai did not want to be an official, it was fine in a peaceful and prosperous world, but the key is that this is the end of the Tang Dynasty. In a few years, disputes will arise, and the Tang Dynasty will perish. At that time, the bigger the official, the more headaches he will have.

  "Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Xue, but being an official is not what I desire, Brother Zhou, this is my only request, please fulfill it," Song Kai said sincerely.

  Zhou Ce glanced at Xue Weihai.

  Xue Weihai let out a soft sigh and then smiled, "Suit yourself, Zhoulang. I bet this kid will give up within a month."

  Zhou Ce burst out laughing, patted Song Kai's shoulder and said: "Brother Song, if you insist on learning martial arts, I will certainly teach you wholeheartedly. However, you must understand that no matter how high your martial arts skills are, when facing a rain of arrows or a forest of guns, you will still be no match. Even I, when facing over ten robust men who fight to the death, would also get injured. And you, forgive me for speaking bluntly, Brother Song, your physique is weak, wanting to achieve something in martial arts is truly difficult."

  Song Kai smiled and raised his wine glass, "As long as Big Brother Zhou is willing to teach me, that's all that matters."

  Zhou Ce and Xue Hai just smiled at each other and didn't try to stop him anymore.

  Before long, all the dishes were served.

  Zhou Ce couldn't stop praising this meal.

  Song Kai took the opportunity to ask about Wu Gong's affairs. After a meal, he finally had a general understanding of Tang Dynasty's kung fu.

  Generally speaking, martial arts can be divided into two categories: one is the martial arts used in the military for horseback riding and shooting, and the other is the martial arts used for self-cultivation and solo combat. The knife technique learned by Zhou Ce is called "Tiger Roar Knife". It was originally a traditional knife technique passed down through the Zhou family, which combined with the internal energy of the Zhou family, could produce a tiger's roar during battle, hence its name. Later, starting from Zhou Ce's great-grandfather's generation, the Zhou family began to serve as military generals in the imperial court, and their knife technique gradually changed. By the time it reached Zhou Ce's hands, the Tiger Roar Knife had become mainly used for cutting and killing on the battlefield, with solo combat as a secondary aspect.

  "When two armies clash, the knife techniques used are completely different from those used in single combat," Zhou Ce explained with a smile as he ate his braised pork. "In a battle between two armies, brute force is relied upon, so only knives and guns are used, but not swords. The sword body is too thin, sometimes it will break when stabbing the shield...the moves can't be fancy, one knife down, must take away the opponent's arm or leg..."

  Song Kai nodded directly, but in his heart, he was a little disappointed. It seemed that Zhou Ce's knife method might not be suitable for himself. What is internal energy? Is it the Dragon Subduing Eighteen Palms from TV dramas?

  "Zhou Dage, you said your family has a traditional inner energy, what is it?" Song Kai asked.

  "Oh, it's a special breathing technique. If you want to learn, I'll teach you. The extent of one's power is not only related to their physical strength but also to their posture and weapon. Of course, if you combine it with the right breathing technique, you can increase your strength even more, and you won't get tired easily," Zhou Ce explained briefly. "The internal energy passed down in our family is a fierce and powerful technique. If practiced to the extreme, one can let out a tiger-like roar. However, this internal energy can be harmful to the body, so I wouldn't use it unless it's an emergency."

  Song Kai finally understood that there was no such thing as the Dragon Subduing Eighteen Palms, and what was called internal energy was just a type of qigong exercise. In short, it was about gathering one's bodily potential to its maximum extent in a short period of time to deliver a fatal blow. The key point was that this harmful practice could also harm one's body.

  Song Kai sighed and nodded in understanding. He smiled slightly, cupped his hands together, "Then, tomorrow... no, this evening, I'll go ask Big Brother Zhou to teach me."

  "Haha, naturally no problem," Zhou Ce laughed.

  Xue Weihai smiled and listened on the side, without expressing his opinion, just drinking wine while thinking about his own thoughts.

  After dinner, Xue Weihai stood up and said, "Let's hurry up, it still takes a while to get to the tea garden by boat."

  Song Kai went downstairs and arrived at the counter, saying to Nie Lingdang: "Give me some money, I have to go out for a while."

  Nie Ling Tong has not yet officially become the shopkeeper, but she is already in charge of the financial income of the guest house.

  "What's going on!" Nie Lingting only slightly raised his head, gave Song Kai a white eye, and continued to lower his head to check the account book income.

  "Who's the boss anyway?" Song muttered to himself, but had no choice but to answer, "Go outside the city to take a look at the tea leaves."

  "Tea leaves?" Nie Lingdang raised her head, a small dimple appearing on her face. "Can it make money?"

  "Of course!" Song Kai nodded heavily.

  "Alright, here's 300 wen, use it sparingly. If you need more, come back and discuss with me," Nie Zhong said, taking out a pouch of money and tossing it to Song Kai.

  Song Kai shook his money bag with a gloomy face.

  Xue Wei Hai and Zhou Ce have already walked out of the store.

  Nie Ling Tong suddenly shouted: "Hey! Old man, you haven't paid yet!"

  Xue Wei Hai stopped in his tracks, and the old face that had been smiling suddenly turned pale.

  Song Kai hastily said: "Xue Lao, don't be polite, I'm treating, I'm treating!... Surnamed NIE! Be careful or I'll fire you!"

  Nie Lingdang glared at Song Kai, "How dare you! Be careful or I'll chop your head off."

  "...... Mr. Xue is my guest, how can I accept his money!" Song Kai said in a low voice.

  Nie Ling Tong hummed: "One or two meals would be fine, but look, yesterday he had breakfast tea, lunch and dinner in the store without paying a penny. Today he ate breakfast tea and lunch again. Do you think this inn is running a charity?"

  Xue Weihai's face turned red as he looked at Nie Lingdang, walked over with his hands behind his back and said: "I am a supreme member, the cost of the meal is whatever it is, just put it on my account."

  Nie Lingdang's face lit up with a smile after hearing this, and he bowed to Xue Weihai, "Don't blame me, old man. As the boss, I have to keep things clear-cut. Although this inn was opened by Song, I also get a share of the profits. In the future, if Song wants to treat guests, just let him know and he can foot the bill. I'll give you a discount."

  Song Kai looked at Nie Lingdang for a long time before spitting out two words: "Shameless! Scoundrel!"