Han Rubing was so surprised that she didn’t know what to say.
Watching the little one practicing that set of martial arts, Han Rubing could hardly believe her eyes.
She turned to look at her equally astonished sister beside her.
It was clear that she also couldn’t believe that the little one could perform such a sophisticated martial art.
Last night, Han Rubing had to deal with some matters in the palace and didn’t return to the inn.
By the time she finished all her tasks and instructed some inner disciples in the palace on what to do, it was already dawn.
On her way back to the inn, Han Rubing encountered Han Rushuang, who had come looking for her.
After briefly explaining to her sister why she hadn’t returned to the inn the previous night, the two of them headed back to their inn together.
When they arrived at their room, they didn’t see Meng Xiaoyu, who would usually still be sound asleep at this hour.
They found it very strange.
Where could the little one have gone so early?
So, Han Rubing called the innkeeper to inquire.
When the innkeeper told them that the little one had gone to the courtyard behind the inn, they immediately headed there.
When they arrived at the courtyard and saw the little one practicing swordsmanship, Han Rubing and her sister Han Rushuang didn’t go forward to disturb her but stood watching from a distance.
When they saw the little one clumsily practicing the basic entry-level swordsmanship, both of them couldn’t help but smile.
Seeing her sister’s usually cold face now showing a slight smile, Han Rubing’s smile grew even bigger.
She thought to herself, “The little one is really amazing! She even managed to melt my sister’s icy demeanor.”
While Han Rubing was still thinking about how the little one had managed to melt her sister’s icy demeanor, she inadvertently looked up and saw that the little one had stopped practicing swordsmanship.
Instead, she was standing there, looking displeased, her small mouth moving as if she were muttering to herself.
Although they were too far away to hear what she was saying, Han Rubing could guess that the little one was probably complaining about how difficult and awkward the entry-level swordsmanship taught by “Mi Jiu” was.
After complaining for a while, Meng Xiaoyu seemed to think of something, her eyes lit up, and she clapped her hands in excitement, starting to mutter to herself again.
But soon, she seemed to remember something sad and began to cry.
Seeing the little one suddenly enveloped in sadness, her tear-streaked face made Han Rubing’s heart ache.
She wanted to rush over and comfort the little one, but she restrained herself and also stopped Han Rushuang, who was about to walk over.
When her sister looked at her with questioning eyes, Han Rubing just shook her head gently and turned her gaze back to the crying little one.
Han Rushuang, seeing her sister’s silent gesture, also turned her gaze back to the crying Meng Xiaoyu.
Although puzzled, she didn’t move forward.
Like her sister, she focused on the crying Meng Xiaoyu.
Seeing Meng Xiaoyu in tears made both of them feel uncomfortable.
Their hands clenched into fists at their sides.
Fortunately, Meng Xiaoyu stopped crying after a while.
After muttering to herself again, she wiped her tears and closed her eyes, seemingly deep in thought.
When she opened her eyes again, the sadness was gone, replaced by a calm demeanor.
This quick change almost caught Han Rubing and her sister off guard.
But what surprised them even more was that after the emotional shift, Meng Xiaoyu began to perform a set of intricate swordsmanship they had never seen before.
After finishing the swordsmanship, she put down her sword and started practicing a similarly intricate set of martial arts.
After finishing the entire set of Tai Chi, Meng Xiaoyu felt hungry.
She turned to head back to the inn’s dining hall for breakfast.
As soon as she turned around, she saw the stunned Han Rubing and her sister.
Excitedly, she called out to them and quickly walked over.
Han Rubing and her sister were brought back to reality by Meng Xiaoyu’s call of “Sister Rubing, Sister Rushuang.”
They both smiled faintly at the approaching Meng Xiaoyu.
Han Rubing reached out and pinched Meng Xiaoyu’s cheek, then said, “Are you hungry, little one? Let’s go have breakfast!”
“Yes, I’m a bit hungry,” Meng Xiaoyu nodded and replied.
Then, as if remembering something, she asked, “Sister Rubing, when did you and Sister Rushuang come to the courtyard?”
“We’ve been here for a while,” Han Rubing replied with a smile.
“Really? Then why didn’t I notice you earlier?”
Meng Xiaoyu asked in surprise.
“Maybe you just didn’t notice,” Han Rushuang replied, looking at Meng Xiaoyu’s cute expression.
Then she thought for a moment and asked, “Little one, the martial arts you just practiced, why haven’t I seen you practice them before? And who taught you such sophisticated skills?”
Han Rubing was very curious.
The little one had struggled with basic entry-level swordsmanship, so how could she perform such intricate martial arts so skillfully?
“Are you talking about Tai Chi Fist and Tai Chi Sword?”
Meng Xiaoyu asked uncertainly.
In her understanding, Tai Chi Fist and Tai Chi Sword were just exercises for health, not martial arts for fighting.
So, hearing Han Rubing describe them as sophisticated martial arts, she had to confirm if they were talking about the same thing.
“Oh, so those martial arts are called Tai Chi Fist and Tai Chi Sword! Where did you learn such sophisticated skills?”
Han Rubing asked, still puzzled.
“Hahaha, Sister Rubing, you must be mistaken. Tai Chi Fist and Tai Chi Sword are just exercises my grandfather taught me for health. They are nothing like the sophisticated martial arts you’re talking about,” Meng Xiaoyu explained with a laugh after confirming that Han Rubing was indeed referring to Tai Chi Fist and Tai Chi Sword.
“Oh, is that so?”
Han Rubing asked, still a bit confused after hearing Meng Xiaoyu’s explanation.
“Of course! Besides, how could there be martial arts in the world like Tai Chi Fist and Tai Chi Sword, which are so slow and soft, and look like they have no attack power at all?”
Meng Xiaoyu answered Han Rubing’s question matter-of-factly.
Seeing Meng Xiaoyu’s disbelief that the Tai Chi Fist and Tai Chi Sword she had just practiced were actually very powerful and sophisticated martial arts, Han Rubing thought, “It seems this little one doesn’t understand the principle of ‘using softness to overcome hardness, and stillness to control movement.’ Although the Tai Chi Fist and Tai Chi Sword she practiced earlier appeared slow and weak on the surface, they are actually incredibly powerful, with each move seamlessly connected to the next, forming an unending chain.”
Just as Han Rubing was about to explain to the little one that the seemingly slow and soft Tai Chi Fist and Tai Chi Sword were indeed rare and exceptional martial arts, she was interrupted by Meng Xiaoyu before she could even get a word out.
“Sister Rubing, let’s not discuss such pointless topics anymore, okay? I’m starving. Can we go have breakfast first? If you and Sister Rushuang are interested in Tai Chi Fist and Tai Chi Sword, I’ll show you next time! Let’s eat first, okay?”
Meng Xiaoyu said, rubbing her nearly empty stomach and looking pitifully at Han Rubing and her sister.
Seeing Meng Xiaoyu’s pouting and coquettish expression, Han Rubing pinched her cheek and smiled, “Alright, let’s go have breakfast!”
Han Rushuang, on the other hand, simply took Meng Xiaoyu’s hand and led her towards the inn’s dining hall.
On the bustling street, “Wow… this sugar figure is so beautiful! Uncle, I want this one. How much is it?”
At this moment, Meng Xiaoyu, holding a skewer of candied hawthorns in her right hand, stood in front of a sugar figure stall, pointing at a very beautiful sugar figure and asking the stall owner.
“Five wen each,” the middle-aged man selling the sugar figures replied with a smile.
“Alright, give me one,” Meng Xiaoyu said, taking out five copper coins from her purse and handing them to the man.
She then happily took the sugar figure from his hand, licked it, and said with a smile, “So sweet! Thank you, uncle.”
She then turned and continued her stroll.
Han Rubing watched Meng Xiaoyu, who was walking ahead, holding a sugar figure in her left hand and a skewer of candied hawthorns in her right, eating happily.
She thought to herself, “Didn’t this little one just finish breakfast not long ago? How can she still eat so many snacks now? Sometimes I really admire her appetite. She ate so much at breakfast, and now she still has room for these snacks.”
Thinking this, Han Rubing looked at Meng Xiaoyu, who was happily eating and strolling, occasionally looking around.
She then turned to look at her sister, who was walking beside her with a cold expression, and another person disguised as a man, smiling and watching the little one.
Han Rubing sighed softly.
As Meng Xiaoyu was happily strolling and eating her candied hawthorns and sugar figure, she saw a large crowd gathered not far ahead, seemingly watching something.
Curious, Meng Xiaoyu decided to go over and take a look.
When Meng Xiaoyu got closer and squeezed into the crowd, she saw a very clichéd scene often found in martial arts novels.
A man, dressed in luxurious clothes but with a lecherous appearance, possibly a rich second generation or an official’s son, was harassing a beautiful, innocent young woman, accompanied by a group of lackeys.
“Any normal person with a sense of justice would jump out at this moment, shout ‘Stop!’ and then perform a heroic rescue. Meng Xiaoyu had a sense of justice, but she wasn’t exactly normal. When she saw this scene, a classic internet phrase immediately popped into her head. So she stretched out her right hand, still holding the skewer of candied hawthorns with three eaten and two left, pointed at the lecherous man, and shouted, ‘Beast, let go of that girl, I’m coming!!!'”
