Chapter 145: Practice

Chapter 145: Practice

"Eat... eat... eat..."

Watching Gao Zhijian stutter endlessly before him, utterly failing to pronounce the word, Li Huowang sighed in frustration.

He reached out and took the two books from the large man's hands. "That's enough, I don't need you anymore. You may leave."

After the aggrieved Gao Zhijian walked out, Li Huowang lowered his head to look at the two books in his hands once more.

One was an ordinary paper book, while the other was entirely wrapped in translucent wax.

The wax-wrapped book was the True Scripture of the Fire Cult that Jiang Yingzi had given him back then, accompanied by her own translation.

The True Scripture of the Fire Cult was a precious treasure; regardless of the excruciating pain of the healing process, it could save one's life if they ever suffered external injuries on the road.

It would be such a pity not to learn how to use such a wonderful thing.

Yet now, Li Huowang was practically illiterate. Let alone the strange script on the true scripture, he couldn't even read the translation written back then. "This won't do. I can't be illiterate for the rest of my life. I must relearn how to read."

With a hint of helplessness on his face, Li Huowang tucked the True Scripture of the Fire Cult into his bosom.

That was easier said than done, for systematically learning an entire writing system from scratch would take years.

Even if he hired someone to follow him and translate it character by character, it would still take months, and he simply did not have that kind of time right now.

Asking the only literate fool in the crowd to teach him would be utterly futile; it would take ten minutes just to stutter through two sentences.

Refusing to give up, Li Huowang reopened the translation. "Wood... mouth... person..."

Staring at the page of block characters, he could only recognize the simplest few.

"Heh, this is truly returning everything the teacher taught me in the most literal sense," Li Huowang mocked himself.

He had thought that after Danyangzi's death, his lost knowledge would return, but now it seemed that was not the case at all.

"Knock, knock." The wooden door was suddenly tapped. "Is Brother Li in there? I've found the sword manual you asked for."

Hearing this, Li Huowang instantly perked up. He stood up and walked over to open the door.

The matter of the True Scripture of the Fire Cult would have to be put on hold for now; after all, he had been waiting here for so long just for this sword technique.

Soon, the sword manual in Zhao Qin's hands was passed into Li Huowang's.

Four large characters were written on it, yet Li Huowang could not recognize them.

"I noticed Brother Li's sword is a three-foot sword, so I specifically chose this Duan Family Sword Technique to match it. It will suit you perfectly."

"This sword technique was created by the prodigy Duan Si. It is quite different from other sword arts; it lacks any soft or clever tricks, relying entirely on grand, sweeping movements."

"The Duan Family Sword Technique?" Li Huowang murmured, lifting the cover with his hand. Seeing that it was mostly illustrations with only sparse written notes, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's fine. With this little text, I can just have Chief Escort Zhao teach me and memorize it by rote."

Thinking this, Li Huowang turned to look at Zhao Qin. "Chief Escort Zhao, I have never learned to use a sword before. Could you give me some guidance on where to begin?"

"Hmm? You don't use a sword? Not even a basic foundation?" Zhao Qin looked at the two swords on Li Huowang's back, somewhat confused.

However, a man who had been an escort naturally had quick wits.

He immediately placed his right hand on Li Huowang's shoulder and guided him outside. "No matter, no matter. Since ancient times, the sword and the saber have never been separate. I, Zhao, am humble, but I shall be Brother Li's introductory master for a few days."

Just as they reached the martial arts arena, Li Huowang saw Chun Xiaoman practicing her saber in the distance with Gouwa and the others, and he called out directly to her, "Xiaoman, come join us too!"

Hearing this, Zhao Qin nodded in approval. "Excellent. Brother Li is truly thoughtful. It is best to practice the sword with two people, otherwise, you won't even have a sparring partner in the future."

Holding her long sword, Chun Xiaoman was very excited, clearly knowing why Li Huowang had called her over.

Thus, Li Huowang's life of practicing the sword at the escort agency began in the following days.

With the experienced Chief Escort Zhao leading them, one teaching earnestly and two learning diligently, Li Huowang and Chun Xiaoman made rapid progress in their initiation.

"Clang!" Sparks burst in the air as Li Huowang and Chun Xiaoman each stepped back three paces.

Chun Xiaoman raised her right hand holding the sword, stepped forward with her right foot, and charged again.

Li Huowang dodged sideways. Seeing her wooden sword miss its thrust, he instantly switched from defense to offense, executing the move Returning Wind and Falling Geese.

This series of movements instantly disrupted Chun Xiaoman's rhythm. As the saying goes, one wrong step leads to a hundred wrong steps. Before long, her sword was knocked flying, and she was defeated, drawing a chorus of cheers from the onlookers.

Zhao Qin, looking amazed, walked over to Li Huowang.

"Brother Li has remarkable talent! To go from a complete novice to this level in just fifteen days is simply the mark of a martial arts prodigy!"

This was no flattery. As the head escort, he had seen many promising youths, but those like Li Huowang were truly few and far between.

"You flatter me. I am still far from adequate," Li Huowang replied modestly.

Only he understood why he was learning the sword technique so much faster than Chun Xiaoman.

The Gaze of Ba Hui did not merely increase his pain perception; all his other senses were heightened as well.

These enhanced senses allowed Li Huowang to achieve twice the result with half the effort. Whether there would be other drawbacks in the future remained to be seen, but at least in this matter, it was beneficial to him.

Handing the bamboo sword in his hand to Sun Baolu nearby, Li Huowang said to Zhao Qin, "Chief Escort Zhao, I have troubled you these past few days. I cannot dawdle any longer after wasting so much time. It is time for me to set off. We shall meet again in the future."

As the saying goes, the master leads you through the door, but the cultivation depends on the individual.

Now that he had entered the door, there was no need for Li Huowang to waste time here, especially since Zhao Qin used a saber and could not teach him much more.

"Very well! Brother Li, follow me, and I will give you what you asked for right now."

In Zhao Qin's study, the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone were laid out.

"Swish, swish, swish." Zhao Qin wielded the wolf-hair brush with flying dragon and dancing phoenix strokes, then blew the written paper dry and placed it into an envelope.

"This is my letter of guarantee. Within the escort business, I, Zhao, still have a bit of face. In the future, Brother Li can use this guarantee to accept escort commissions at any agency."

Reaching out to take it, Li Huowang cupped his fists toward Zhao Qin. "Thank you, Chief Escort Zhao, for your guidance these past few days."

After pondering for so long, Li Huowang finally decided that being an escort was a viable path.

Gouwa was right. Since he had to travel anyway, why not kill two birds with one stone, earning money while on the road?

"Brother Li is too polite. What is that compared to this? If Brother Li could help my wife recognize me, then you are my benefactor!"

"I will not ask where Brother Li is going or what he intends to do, but if fate brings you back to this town in the future, you must come in and sit for a while!"

(End of Chapter)