Chapter 23: The Old Demon's Scheme

  Qin Mubai was turned over for the seventh time.

  Immediately followed by the eighth landing.

  Ninth, tenth

  After more than twenty times, Qin Mubai fell to the ground and couldn't get up. Liu Shi, who was far away, also cried out in sympathy. Cheng Zhijie smiled and threw down his gun, jumping off his horse.

  He pulled Qin Mu Bai up from the ground, laughing: "Haha, actually it's not bad. I've practiced for over thirty years and have been through countless piles of corpses to become like this. If you could beat me now, that would be a ghost story! However, I see that your talent is pretty good, improving significantly with each match. More importantly, you refuse to give up even in the face of death, this personality is just like your dad's! Practice well, you have great prospects! In the future, when I have time, I'll often come to guide you!"

  Qin Mubai's entire body ached to the bone, and he gritted his teeth in a bitter smile as he nodded: "Thank you, Uncle Cheng. I'll definitely work hard on my martial arts from now on!"

  It's not going to work if you don't practice hard! What if one day you encounter another person like Cheng Yaojin, and he doesn't want to show mercy, won't your body be pierced with thousands of transparent holes?! Now there's no way to get ahold of a Type 54 handgun for self-defense

  "Who the hell says that ancient people are inferior to modern people? Just take this horseback riding and gunplay martial arts, how many modern people dare say they can beat Jin Yong?"

  After watching the commotion, Li Xian nodded and smiled: "Qin Erge, Sanlang is still quite good, has talent, has endurance, you must cultivate and teach well, who knows, maybe in the future of the Great Tang Dynasty there will be another generation of famous generals?"

  "Hehe, that's all I can say about my son." Qin Shubao said with a smile.

  "My younger brother still has some military duties to attend to in the palace and report to the Emperor, so I'll take my leave first. If there's time later, I'll come back to Qin Erge's place for a drink." Li Xian bowed his hands and was about to bid farewell.

  "All right." Qin Shubao nodded and said, "General Mao is busy with military affairs, and important matters are pressing. If there's nothing urgent, feel free to come and sit down for a chat anytime."

  "Goodbye, little brother." Li Yu bowed his hands and bid farewell to Cheng Zhijie before leaving.

  "Sanlang, go change your clothes and come back to keep company with Uncle Cheng for a drink." As soon as Qin Shubao finished speaking, Liu Shi and Qin Xiang'er rushed over with concern, pulling Qin Mubai away.

  Cheng Zhijie burst out laughing and clapped his hands, walking to Qin Shubao's side and saying: "Qin the second brother, your third son is more promising than you were in your youth!"

  "What did you say? You also tested him just now, isn't his martial arts skill poor?" Qin Shubao asked.

  "Haha! What times are these? A peaceful and prosperous era! Do you think it's still like the old days when we had to rely on our bravery and swordsmanship to make a living?" Cheng Zhijie said, "Besides, we've spent our whole lives fighting on horseback, but that doesn't mean we're necessarily better off than others. Let's not mention distant examples, just take Li Xian (Li Yuan's son) for instance! He's so clever and smooth-tongued, how else could he have become such a high-ranking official and command so many soldiers?"

  Qin Shubao smiled slightly: "Then what do you mean?"

  "This kid from your family is clever and has a good understanding!" Cheng Zhijie said, "I just had a gunfight with him, and I can see the nature of this kid. His shooting skills are very awkward, obviously he hasn't fought with people often, and it's not possible to be too powerful. But I figured it out, this kid is clever and quick-witted, every time he falls down, his shooting skills will improve a bit, and his flaws will decrease a bit, and the shooting skills will become more mature and stable. If he weren't a smart person, how could he progress so fast? This kind of person uses their brain to fight with people, unlike us, who rely on strength!"

  "Haha, you old devil!" Qin Shubao burst out laughing, but didn't confirm or deny. In his heart, he thought: Does my own son need you to tell me whether he's clever or stupid? Not long ago, with the Wu Meiniang incident, I've already seen through him - that kid is a little demon!

  "Haha, I might be staying in Chang'an for a while, don't mind if I come to your place every day to drink wine? Cheng Zhijie smiled and said, "I like this kid Mu Bai, when I have time, I'll teach him martial arts and gunplay! No matter how good the talent is, without guidance, it's useless! Second brother, you're not feeling well, let me do it!"

  "Agreed!" Qin Shubao replied without hesitation, bursting into loud laughter. "Do we still need to distinguish between each other? My home is your home, my son is your son. Whatever you want to do is fine with me!"

  "Haha, Qin Ergou is still so straightforward!"

  Qin Mubai returned to the house with a swollen face and nose, causing Liu Shi and Qin Shuang'er to cry for a long time before they were finally comforted. After changing his clothes, he came back to the front hall, where Cheng Zhijie was drinking and chatting with Qin Shubao, but he didn't dare drink that strong wine again, instead switching to ordinary Da Tang light wine.

  The three of them drank and chatted for a while, then Cheng Zhijie bid farewell to leave. As he was about to depart, he staggered and grabbed Qin Mubai: "Young man, see your uncle off, I've had too much to drink!"

  Qin Shubao watched as the two of them walked out, and chuckled: "You old scoundrel, why didn't you say that to my face?"

  Qin Mubai accompanied Cheng Zhijie onto the carriage and they left the Qin Manor. Cheng Zhijie blew out a mouthful of wine breath, his eyes shining brightly as he said: "Third Brother, have you heard of Yuan Tiangang?"

  "Is that the legendary fortune teller, Yuan Tiangang, who's said to be half-immortal and can see right through a person's fate?" Qin Mubai wasn't well-versed in history, but he had heard of this man. What a renowned figure!

  About his legend, it has been a long time in history. It is said that he gave Wu Zetian a face-to-face reading when she was a child and said that if this person were born as a boy, he would be the emperor's fate, and later everyone knew about the history. In addition, many famous officials of the Zhenguan period had their fortunes told by him, all of which came true. However, the most famous one is probably the "Push Back Diagram" he deduced with Li Chunfeng to predict historical events, even the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom uprising was calculated years later.

  These legends are all very mysterious and inexplicable by science, but they are indeed facts!

  "Not bad, it's that cow nose," said Cheng Zhi Jie, "A few years ago, he gave your father a fortune-telling."

  "What did you say?"

  Cheng Zhijie's thick eyebrows furrowed into a knot, saying: "At that time, he said, your father was invincible in his lifetime, with the ambition of a man's hot blood, and won great honor for the whole family. But in old age, he had no fate to enjoy good fortune, half-paralyzed and half-disabled, and died at the age of fifty."

  "Fifty?" Qin Mu Bai was taken aback for a moment, "Isn't that next year?"

  "It's already been calculated that it will be next year, and the exact date and time have also been determined." Cheng Zhijie let out a deep sigh and said, "The 17th of the first month, at midnight."

  Qin Mubai was taken aback: Wasn't that just over a month? Believe it or not?

  "Believe it or not. To be honest, I didn't want to believe it either, but that old Yuan's face-reading and fortune-telling has never been wrong." Cheng Zhijie let out a deep sigh and said, "You take good care of him! I specially invited Li Xuan to come visit him today, also wanting to spend more time with him before he passes away. Your father doesn't know about this himself, don't tell him."

  "I understand." Qin Mu Bai nodded, feeling somewhat unwell in his heart.

  "Also, there's something else I want to tell you," Cheng Zhijie said. "You should focus on practicing your martial arts well! According to the news from the palace, the Emperor is planning to establish a personal guard unit, specifically responsible for guarding the imperial palace, and directly receiving orders from the Emperor. The personnel will mainly be selected from among the sons and nephews of meritorious officials and high-ranking courtiers who have outstanding martial arts skills. This is a rare opportunity to serve by the Emperor's side, far better than your current situation in the Wu King's mansion. Moreover, it's not easy to get along in the current Prince's mansion, with hidden undercurrents and intense competition among the princes. That Li Ke, in particular, is a sharp-tongued troublemaker, you'd best avoid him if possible!"

  "Thank you, Uncle Cheng!" Qin Mu Bai bowed his hands and made a sincere bow, also feeling a wave of gratitude in his heart. It turned out that he had intentionally tested my martial arts skills by pretending to be drunk today, and was actually guiding me to jump ship and serve the Emperor!

  This Cheng Yaojin is indeed a clever and cunning old demon who hides his true nature!

  "No need to thank me. Your father and I are sworn brothers, closer than biological brothers. You're his son, so you're also my son. I'll come to guide your marksmanship whenever I have time. Actually, your father's marksmanship is the best in the world, but unfortunately, he's not as agile now, so I'm taking over. Mastering marksmanship isn't about killing enemies on the battlefield in the future, it's for the emperor's upcoming selection of soldiers, do you understand?"

  "Nephew understands! Uncle Cheng's ear-picking and face-asking care, nephew is deeply grateful!" Qin Mubai solemnly bowed his hands in thanks.

  Qin Mubai returned home and bumped into a servant, who passed on the message that Qin Shubao had told him to go straight to the polo field in the backyard after he got back.

  What's going on there?

  Qin Mubai hesitantly arrived at the backyard, seeing Qin Shubao standing alone in the yard with his back to him, without a crutch, but holding a spear and staring intently.

  Waist rod straight, the whole person stands upright like a gun!

  "Dad, what's this?" Qin Mu Bai asked in surprise as he walked over.

  Qin Shubao now looks like this, with a red face and a spirited appearance, how can he be a person who only has one month of life left?!

  "After studying the Tai Chi Fist for a long time, I practiced it in my room for over a month and found it to be quite wonderful." Qin Shubao stroked his beard and said with a loud voice, "I think this fist technique indeed has many similarities with horseback riding spear techniques, and is quite exquisite. I tried combining it with the Qin family's spear technique to create a new horseback riding spear technique. Let me demonstrate it now, you watch from the side!"

  "What?" Qin Mu Bai was slightly surprised, "Dad, you're not in good health and your legs aren't convenient, so let's just forget it, okay?"

  "Nonsense!" Qin Shu Bao's eyebrows sank, his eyes gleaming with intensity. "Look at me now, what's not convenient about my current state? Hmph! Although I'm no longer as vigorous as in my youth, if I were to engage in a fierce battle with you, Program Uncle, the outcome would be far from certain! You stand there and watch closely!"

  Having said that, Qin Shubao shook his robe and personally led a horse to come over, with a nimble and neat movement, he turned over and got on the horse.

  "Look carefully!"

  With a loud whoop, Qin Shubao rode his horse at full gallop towards them.

  Man as swift as lightning, horse as colorful as rainbow, divine soldiers descending from heaven, gun techniques like gods!

  Qin Mubai was thoroughly stunned.

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