Вut sinсе hе had beеn сhоsеn, hе might as well go uр in his аrmor, the sоldier thought, trеаting it аs аn unfоrgеttable lifе experiencе.
Аs it turned оut, he wаsn’t wrоng—whаt hаpреnеd nехt was trulу unforgettablе, еven in dеath!
"Therе are оne hundred аnd еight vitаl роints оn thе human bodу. In wаrfarе, уоu oftеn faсе more thаn оne оpponеnt. When surrounded, it’s ехhаusting to kill еnemies onе bу оne tо brеаk thrоugh. То cоnsеrve еnergу, aim for thе vital роints whеnevеr роssiblе."
After spеaking seriously, Yin Gezhi turnеd to look аt the soldiеr, his eуеs devоid of any warmth. "On the head and face, pay attention to where I strike."
The two young masters leaned in, watching closely. They saw their master strike like lightning, hitting the soldier’s Baihui point, Jingming point, Taiyang point, Renzhong, Yintang, Ermen... After a series of strikes, the standing soldier’s face turned pale, his eyes suddenly filled with terror.
"Don’t be nervous. I didn’t use any force at all. You won’t die." Watching the human target tremble, the First Prince kindly reassured him, "At most, you’ll ache for a few days when you get back."
The soldier: "..." Was it too late for him to leave now?
Clearly, it was too late. Yin Gezhi ignored him entirely and continued, "Next is the body, but the major points there are usually protected by armor. To conserve energy, I don’t recommend attacking the torso."
Despite saying this, his slender hand clenched into a fist and still landed with force on the soldier’s chest, back, and abdomen, producing loud thuds. Even with the armor on, the human target’s face turned slightly pale, whether from pain or fear.
"The most energy-efficient target, of course, is the throat. Next, I’ll teach you a few techniques to accurately take a life even in the chaos of battle." Stepping back a few paces, Yin Gezhi looked at the soldier and beckoned with his hand. "Come and try to kill me."
After having his vital points struck like that, even if his body was fine, his mind was scarred! The soldier’s legs went weak. Trembling for a while, he finally raised his broadsword and charged forward.
"Yah—"
Calmly watching him, Yin Gezhi sidestepped the first strike, picked up a branch from the ground, and swung it fiercely toward him. The soldier reacted fairly quickly, raising his sword to block.
At that moment, Yin Gezhi’s left hand suddenly slashed toward his throat, his eyes instantly flashing with a chilling, soul-piercing killing intent.
Feeling a cold sensation at his throat, the soldier didn’t even dare to breathe. Staring blankly into the other man’s eyes, he suddenly felt as though he had already been killed.
He was foolish—he couldn’t even avoid such a simple feint. But this lord moved too fast; he couldn’t keep up... He was just a human target. What wrong had he committed to deserve such cruelty?
His body went limp, and the soldier slowly collapsed to the ground, closing his eyes unwillingly.
Xu Huaizu clapped repeatedly. "This technique is excellent. We disciples must practice it diligently."
Withdrawing his hand, Yin Gezhi nodded, flicked his sleeve, and said, "Fundamentals will always be the most important. All other moves and techniques are only built upon a solid foundation. Come back to practice tomorrow. That’s all for today."
"Yes," An Shichong and Xu Huaizu replied, watching Yin Gezhi leave first before packing up their things and heading out together.
The soldiers gazed reverently at the departing nobles. Once they were out of sight, they hurriedly helped the soldier lying on the ground to his feet. "Li Shannan, playing dead? Wake up quickly. It’s almost time for dinner."Li Shannan closed his eyes and cautiously spoke: "I'm almost dead, what's the point of eating dinner!"
Dead? Glancing at his perfectly intact throat, everyone rolled their eyes: "Prince Yin doesn't even have a weapon in his hands, how could you die?"
Huh? Feeling his own neck, Li Shannan immediately straightened up, shook his arms and legs, and covered his chest, saying: "It really felt like walking through the gates of hell..."
Prince Yin's gaze was truly terrifying!
But if only I could achieve his level of martial arts prowess in my lifetime, that would be great.
After sighing for a while, the soldiers who had finished their shift still went arm-in-arm to have their meal.
Since Yin Gezhi wasn't there, Feng Yue only prepared dinner for the two young masters and was waiting for them to return. Then she heard commotion outside again.
"Master," Duanxian forced a smile as she stopped a guest: "You've always favored me, why are you asking for someone else this time?"
"That's right," Mama Jin chimed in: "And Feng Yue really isn't available, she's been booked by someone."
The burly patron snorted coldly and pushed his way upstairs without a care. Mama Jin couldn't stop him and glared at Duanxian. Duanxian was helpless too—this guest had shown some interest in Feng Yue last time, and now he was asking for her, what could she do?
Hearing the noise, Feng Yue opened the door and came out. Seeing the man coming up, she smiled: "What's going on?"
As soon as the patron saw her, his expression softened. He approached and said: "Naturally, I missed you, little beauty. Last time we met in the backyard, you ran away so fast."
Staring at him and thinking for a moment, Feng Yue remembered. Last time when she crawled back through the dog hole, she happened to run into this guest doing something with Duanxian. She still had some impression of his burly face.
Faking a laugh, Feng Yue said: "So the guest has taken a liking to me. Want to book me?"
"Naturally," the patron said: "I've been dreaming of you for days!"
"Unfortunately," Feng Yue replied: "I'm already with another guest."
His expression changed. The patron glanced behind her and, seeing no movement in the room, immediately became displeased: "You people here are always playing tricks. Clearly, there's no guest, yet you insist you're unavailable? Is it about money? Are you afraid I can't afford it?"
As he spoke, he reached out and pulled out a silver ingot, waved it in front of Feng Yue, then flicked his finger and threw it on the ground. His expression was arrogant, even disdainful.
Usually, in such a situation where a girl is humiliated by having money thrown at her, a girl with some pride would slap the person across the face and step over the silver. Miss Weiyun in the brothel had done just that, earning a reputation for being "too noble to be demeaned by money."
However, Feng Yue glanced at the silver on the ground and bent down to pick it up. She weighed it in her hand and rolled her eyes.
"With just eight taels of silver, you dare to act so arrogantly and ask to book me?" She scoffed, holding the silver, her expression even more arrogant than the patron's. Flipping her index finger, she tossed the silver ingot backward: "Not enough."
The patron was stunned and couldn't help but exclaim, "Hey!" He pointed at Mama Jin and asked: "Is she really that precious?"
Mama Jin smiled apologetically: "Our Feng Yue has been booked recently, and she's been receiving large banknotes, so naturally...""Bigger? How much bigger can it be?" The patron scoffed, feeling his face was at stake, and immediately pulled out banknotes as well. He counted two and stuffed them into Feng Yue's waistband: "Is this enough?"
Feng Yue took out the banknotes and looked at them, her heart slightly startled. She couldn't help but size up the person before her again.
One hundred taels per note—even in Shadowless City, where high-ranking nobles gathered, few could produce two such notes. Judging by his attire, this man didn't seem like a merchant.
Then he could only be an official.
What kind of official could be so generous? Feng Yue smiled, tucked the banknotes into her bosom, and cast a flirtatious glance at the man before her: "In that case, would the lord care to come inside?"
The patron chuckled and was about to follow her into the room when someone from behind asked, "What's going on here?"
Everyone turned around. They saw An Shichong and Xu Huaizu, one holding a knife and the other a sword, walking over with an air of righteousness.
The plump patron was startled. He withdrew his half-stepped foot, his eyes darting around, and immediately turned to flee toward the stairs on the other side. Stumbling and staggering, he vanished in a flash.
Feng Yue raised an eyebrow.
"Nothing much. Please, young masters, go inside and have your meal." Seeing the man had fled, Feng Yue turned back with a smile: "Mama Jin, you should rest as well."
Mama Jin acknowledged her words and glanced at the two young gentlemen. She immediately pulled Duanxian and headed downstairs.
Duanxian was quite indignant: "Feng Yue is still a newcomer, yet she acts more and more arrogantly!"
Mama Jin curled her lip: "Here, we only care about who earns the most silver. What does it matter if you're new or old? Don’t provoke Feng Yue for no reason. Just focus on serving your own guests."
Though resentful, Duanxian couldn’t say much more. She turned and left.
Entering the room and closing the door, Feng Yue glanced at the two young masters, thinking that Yin Gezhi really knew how to pick a place for them to eat. With them here, she truly couldn’t entertain any other guests.
"Who was that man just now? He looked somewhat familiar." An Shichong frowned, thinking for a moment: "I didn’t get a clear look at his face."
"Just a patron," Feng Yue replied with a smile. "We never ask about the identities of our patrons here."
"Is that so?" An Shichong nodded and obediently sat down to eat. Meanwhile, Xu Huaizu looked around and picked up a silver ingot from the floor.
"Truly worthy of being called a 'money pit' by scholars. Look at all the gold and silver scattered around. It’s quite heavy."
Feng Yue smiled: "The patrons are generous."
"Patrons who are this generous are rare," Xu Huaizu said, looking up at Feng Yue. "I feel that your patrons all seem quite influential."
"Just lucky, that’s all."
Xu Huaizu nodded, placed the silver ingot on the table, and chuckled: "But the most influential one is probably our master. Miss, our master is quite concerned about you."
Concerned about her? Feng Yue raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile: "What is he concerned about regarding this humble servant?"
"Today, he tricked our master during a fight by having someone call your name," An Shichong calmly explained. "Our master actually got distracted and fell for it."
Feng Yue paused, slightly bewildered.
Was Yin Gezhi that concerned about her?
"Because he was distracted, this fine knife and sword now belong to us," Xu Huaizu said happily. "We should thank you, miss. Later, I’ll have someone pick out some trinkets to send to you."Swords and blades? Feng Yue snapped back to attention and glanced at their hands, finally noticing what they held were the Unrepentant Sword and the Eternal Regret Blade.
She chuckled softly and shook her head. "If the prize is this, then it has nothing to do with me. Your master must have planned to give them to you from the start, using me as an excuse to go easy on you."
She had thought as much—someone like Yin Gezhi, how could he possibly care about someone he had only known for a few days?
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