"What about Inner Strength? Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms? Longevity Formula? Heavenly Demon Skill?" Xu Qing continued to ask.
Jiang He had a puzzled look on her face and said with a frown, "What are those?"
"How... how did you train your martial arts?"
"Trained since childhood."
"Do you think I could learn it?"
Xu Qing stood up straight, gesturing with his hands, and looked at her expectantly.
"You're too old," Jiang He scrutinized him for a moment and shook her head, "Even if you have determination and perseverance, you won't achieve much."
"That's okay! That's okay! I don't ask for great achievements, I just want to learn, can I take you as my master?"
"..."
"Are these master-apprentice traditions very strict?" Xu Qing slapped his forehead, "I was too abrupt, it's okay, first..."
"It's not. Those are all just for show in the martial world, there's no such thing as master-apprentice heritage."
Jiang He saw his expression and couldn't bear to refuse, thought for a moment, stepped back two steps, lowered her waist and drew in her stomach, striking a pose, "To train in martial arts, you must first train the waist, and to train the waist, you start with stances, the force starts from the ground..."
"Hold on, hold on... are we starting right now?" Xu Qing was stunned.
That's some decisiveness.
"You are already old, and practicing martial arts is a long-term endeavor, it all accumulates bit by bit."
"Can we skip the stances?"
"How can you practice martial arts without practicing stances?" Jiang He asked, puzzled.
"..."
Xu Qing held back a moment, "How long do I need to practice this stance?"
"Three years maybe."
"Cough... you should try on the clothes first, if they don't fit I can take them back to the shop to exchange them." Xu Qing nonchalantly turned around, picked up the bag on the sofa and handed it to Jiang He, "The rest... you can think about it first, and if you really don't understand, I'll find another way to teach you."
"Not practicing martial arts anymore?"
"Definitely next time."
Three years of stances... if he could stand that, he would've joined the army in the first place.
Xu Qing looked at the sword on the table with disappointment, still not giving up, he asked again, "Can I directly learn the sword techniques?"
"If the hand can't follow the eye, and the eye can't follow the hand, you'll only learn the superficial forms."
"Okay then."
The room door closed, Jiang He hid in the room to try on the clothes, and Xu Qing sat on the sofa, idly drawing Jiang He's sword and examining it—it was pretty heavy. He played with it in a few poses before putting it back, letting out a long sigh.
The martial arts dream had shattered.
No, he had to weasel out some secret manuals from her after they became more familiar with each other.
After waiting quietly for a moment, Jiang He came out of the room, now wearing a beige long-sleeved knit jacket and jeans, her hair tied up behind her head with a lace, looking clean and neat, which brightened Xu Qing's eyes.
Clothes make the man—the ancient girl dressed in modern clothes actually didn't look bad.
"I've tried them on, they fit well, thank you... Hero," Jiang He still felt uncomfortable with the clothes, awkwardly tugging at the hem and then saying the word that made her feel even more uneasy.
Xu Qing waved his hands cheerfully, "It was no trouble at all!"
After a pause, he scrutinized Jiang He again, stroking his chin thoughtfully, "Don't move... turn around for me to see."
"I forgot to buy you a hair tie; that lace you're using to tie your hair looks strange, it's not harmonious. Let your hair down first."
Watching Jiang He untie the lace in her hair, letting her long black hair cascade down, Xu Qing nodded with satisfaction, as the last bit of incongruity also vanished.
With her current appearance, as long as she stayed silent and didn't fidget, there were basically no major flaws.
"I'll take you out tonight for a stroll, and we can buy a new hair tie on the way. Don't forget to remind me," he instructed, then took out the list of notes and pending issues from yesterday to reorganize.
The girl was very cooperative, which saved a lot of trouble for both of them.
Xu Qing liked dealing with smart people, and that was why; he didn't have to waste too much energy on nonsensical issues... Fortunately, what this ancient girl lacked was knowledge, not intelligence.
...
Before long, it was afternoon.
"What are you doing?"
Hearing noise outside, Jiang He peeked through a crack in the door and, after a moment's hesitation, walked out to the living room to stand behind Xu Qing, looking at the strange object in front of him.
"This is called a computer."
Xu Qing pressed pause, still jittery from her previous encounter with the television, and seriously explained the device's purpose, as well as the possible appearance of people on it.
A television might cost only a few hundred, but a computer was worth ten televisions; it was an extremely valuable item.
"Is that book... difficult to read?" Seeing Jiang He looking somewhat downcast, he couldn't help but ask.
"Yes, very difficult."
Jiang He fell silent for a moment, then nodded gently, "I'll read it slowly."
"Take it easy, no rush... after all, no one has ever encountered this situation before, and if it were me, I might be doing worse than you," Xu Qing consoled her, making sure she wouldn't suddenly kick his computer to pieces, and then continued watching.
"What is this?" Jiang He asked again.
"It's hard to explain... you can think of it as a Thousand-mile Eye, with which I can see things happening far away," he replied.
Pen in hand and notebook in front of him, Xu Qing's computer screen displayed the news broadcast – a replay from yesterday. Since Jiang He had smashed the television and he hadn't been able to watch, he was catching up now.
Speaking of which, it's necessary to mention Xu Qing's profession. Although he hadn't found a job yet, he started editing various movie clips out of boredom in college, turning a hobby into being a modestly popular Uploader. He didn't earn much per month, but it was enough to sustain his living.
And the news broadcast... it wasn't used for editing material, but just for watching – indeed, he was a decent stock investor, the fighter jet among investors, so to speak.
Once, when a few seconds of an ordinary salty vegetable dish appeared on a plane in the news, the following day saw Fulinglee stock hit the daily limit. His computer's graphics card was bought with the earnings from then.
Laypeople watch the spectacle, experts watch the technique; settling in front of the television at seven o'clock each evening had become his routine.
Jiang He didn't disturb him any further, quietly watching by his side. Fifteen minutes later, when the broadcast ended, Xu Qing organized the several pieces of information noted in his notebook, clipped his pen inside, and put it away. That's when she spoke up again, "Don't you have work to do?"
"This is my work," Xu Qing chuckled, explaining, "In this world, making money requires brains."
"A merchant?"
"Well... not exactly, but you could say that. You'll understand once you're more familiar with this world," he said.
He used the computer to log into his Uploader account and checked the back-end data, remarking, "What you need to understand now isn't this stuff. Start with the very basics, such as history, recent development history – it's hard to get you acquainted all at once, so just get a rough idea for now."
Jiang He was silent, growing even more convinced in her heart that he was a moneyed landlord, a rich young master.
"By the way, how good is the martial arts of your 'head of the house' and the others?" Xu Qing glanced at the film editing clips on the website's back end, and suddenly asked.
"Very strong."
"Very strong, huh..."
He nodded, scrolled the mouse, and opened Jet Li's version of "Swordsman," and began to play it under Jiang He's astonished gaze.
It was an edited version, just over six minutes of climax fight scenes, where Lin Qingxia wielded her embroidery needle with earth-shattering power, leaving Jiang He astonishingly shaken.
A Thousand-mile Eye... things happening far away.
Xu Qing was amused by her astonishment, but sobered his expression and asked with feigned seriousness,
"Is it really that strong?"