Li Jin's lips curled into a slight smile.
"Let the Princess beat me first, then we can talk."
Duoduo's competitive spirit was roused, and she immediately began to recite.
After she finished reciting a poem, Li Jin would follow with another.
Beside them, Yingniang let out a long sigh.
As a study companion, her presence felt entirely redundant.
Duoduo was so brilliant; why would she even need a study companion?
The three of them strolled around the garden. After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, they returned to the outside of the study.
"Princess, next is the time for martial arts practice."
"Please show me what you have learned so far."
Duoduo nodded.
She walked to the open clearing and warmed up a bit.
Then, she ran a few laps around the garden.
Next, she held the horse stance for a while, demonstrating everything Ling Feng had taught her.
"Your foundation is solid. Today, I will teach you a set of fist techniques."
Hearing this, Duoduo's interest was instantly piqued.
Ling Feng made her run, hold the horse stance, and carry weights every day, which she found incredibly dull.
"This fist technique relies on a clever use of force."
"Once you master it, you and Yingniang can spar with each other."
"Now, I will perform the entire set of techniques once. Watch closely, Princess."
Li Jin lifted the hem of his robe and tucked it into his belt.
Then, he stood still in place and took a few deep breaths.
Li Jin dropped into a squat, slowly raised his hands, and struck out to the left with his left hand.
Duoduo stared intently, her body subconsciously mimicking his every move.
Beside her, Yingniang also watched very carefully.
She had never learned this fist technique either.
Soon, Li Jin finished his routine and pulled back his stance.
"Did you memorize it?"
Duoduo nodded.
"I remembered it! I will do it once, please correct me, sir!"
Duoduo stood in the open clearing. She bent down, brushed her hands past her legs, and placed them on her waist.
Her movement made Li Jin feel a bit puzzled.
Did he make such a move just now?
Duoduo took a few deep breaths, began to squat, and raised her hands.
Yingniang followed along beside her. Whenever she reached a move she couldn't remember, she would glance at Duoduo.
Duoduo demonstrated the fist technique Li Jin had just performed from start to finish.
Li Jin nodded.
"Hmm, not bad, but some parts require more power."
"Come, I will explain it to both of you in detail."
Li Jin proceeded to explain from the very beginning.
"Sir, you did it wrong. You missed a move."
Duoduo called out to stop Li Jin.
Li Jin straightened up. "What move?"
Duoduo bent down, brushed her hand over her clothes, and placed it on her waist.
Li Jin stared blankly at Duoduo, and then burst into laughter.
"Princess, the movement just now was not part of the fist technique."
"It was simply because the hem of my robe makes it inconvenient to practice martial arts, so I tucked it into my waist."
Only then did Li Jin realize why Duoduo had made that gesture earlier.
It seemed he had misled Duoduo.
Duoduo widened her eyes and then smiled sheepishly.
"I thought it was a martial arts move!"
Beside her, Yingniang also giggled.
She had copied it too.
"Alright, now that we have cleared that up, let's continue with the explanation."
With the misunderstanding resolved, Li Jin resumed his explanation of the fist technique.
He explained every single stance and move in great detail.
When he finished, he had Duoduo and Yingniang each perform the routine once.
Duoduo was a quick learner; she was already able to perform the set of techniques quite decently.
However, because she was small and lacked strength, her punches lacked power.
Yingniang learned a bit slower, and she couldn't even clearly remember some of the moves.
But since she had been practicing martial arts since childhood, she actually executed the moves better.
Duoduo looked at Yingniang with great admiration. "Sister, you are so amazing!"
Yingniang felt embarrassed. "Duoduo, you are even more amazing!"
"You actually memorized all of it, while I only remembered half."
"But your punches are much more powerful than mine. Bad guys would be scared just looking at them!"
"Duoduo, if you practice more, you will definitely surpass me!"
Yingniang encouraged Duoduo.
"Yes, Princess. You have just started learning, and to reach this level is already very impressive."
"It doesn't matter if you lack strength. Now, I will teach you how to train your strength!"
Li Jin went into the room and brought out the food boxes from earlier.
He placed some pebbles into the two food boxes.
"Come, Princess, see if you can lift these."
Duoduo walked over curiously and lifted one food box in each hand.
"I can."
"Hold the horse stance and keep your arms raised straight out. Let's start with the time it takes to drink a cup of tea as the limit."
Duoduo squatted down as instructed and held the two food boxes out level.
"Yingniang, keep an eye on the Princess. When the time is up, let her put them down and relax."
"Father is going to make something and will be right back."
"Okay."
Yingniang agreed obediently.
Li Jin left, and Yingniang stood beside Duoduo, holding the horse stance alongside her.
At first, Duoduo held the food boxes with full confidence.
But gradually, she felt the food boxes in her hands becoming heavier and heavier.
She gritted her teeth and persevered.
Slowly, her hands began to tremble.
The pebbles inside the food boxes clinked and rattled.
Yingniang hurriedly stood up.
"Duoduo, are you alright?"
Duoduo's face was flushed red, and she didn't dare open her mouth to speak.
She was terrified that if she spoke, she would drop the food boxes to the ground.
She could only shake her head with great difficulty.
Yingniang felt anxious for Duoduo.
"Duoduo, hold on a little longer. The time is almost up."
Duoduo parted her lips, her smile looking worse than a crying face.
Beads of sweat as large as beans rolled down her forehead.
Duoduo's two arms trembled continuously and began to droop.
Seeing that her hands were about to drop to the ground, Duoduo gritted her teeth and raised them up again.
Beside her, Yingniang suddenly thought of an idea.
"Duoduo, when I first learned the horse stance, my father placed a bowl of water on my head."
"He said that if all the water spilled out, I wouldn't get anything to eat."
"But not only did I spill all the water..."
"...because I couldn't stand steadily, I even broke the bowl!"
"Hehehe!" Holding her breath with a flushed face, Duoduo couldn't help but laugh.
"Because of that, my mother complained to my father, saying that at this rate, we wouldn't have enough bowls for me to break."
"Later, my mother came up with an idea."
"She had someone make a new set of wooden bowls. That way, they never had to worry about me breaking bowls again!"
Yingniang shared her embarrassing moments from learning martial arts with Duoduo bit by bit.
Unknowingly, Duoduo became engrossed in the stories and forgot about the food boxes in her hands.
"Duoduo, the time for a cup of tea is up."
"Here, don't move. I'll take the food boxes down."
As soon as Yingniang said this, Duoduo suddenly felt an unbearable soreness in her arms, as if they no longer belonged to her.
The moment Yingniang took the food boxes away, Duoduo plopped down onto the ground.
Holding the horse stance for the time it takes an incense stick to burn in the past had never been as exhausting as this cup of tea's time.
Yingniang set the food boxes aside, took hold of Duoduo's arms, and massaged them to help her relax.
"This is your first time doing this. Once you get used to it later, it will be fine."
Duoduo looked around. "Where did sir go? Why isn't he back yet?"
