Kazuya pondered slightly and didn't know how to answer. He couldn't say that he had no choice but to learn this thing to deal with your daughter's unreasonable troubles. He hesitated for a moment and chose a barely reliable reason, "I just wanted to exercise."
Naotaka didn't quite believe it. There were too many better choices to exercise and was no need to choose ancient swordsmanship. Even if it was a hobby, he should specialize in kendo, a modern sport. It would at least be useful in the future. Poeple practicing kendo could get extra points in recruitment interviews, like in the police department.
However, he did not continue to ask. Everyone has secrets. "It's just rare that you can exercise to reach this level. Have you really never been coached by anyone."
"Yes." Kazuya replied.
"Then as a swordsman senior, I have something to say to you. It was inconvenient to be in front of the police station last night, so I had to postpone it until now." Naotaka tore off the clothes on his chest.
Kazuya was stunned, took a closer look and frowned. Naotaka had a long, slender scar from his left shoulder to right abdomen, which looked like a long centipede and was very ferocious. There was an ugly scar on the left chest at the heart caused by a sword stabbing, but it didn't look particularly conspicuous next to the "centipede".
He had been fighting many swordsmen for a long time in the Meditative Battle, so he instinctively began to study how the wound was caused. He simulated it in his mind for a while, and thought that Naotaka must have been broken through from the front by someone. A powerful slash slashed from the left shoulder to the right abdomen, and then struck again and stabbed the heart of the left chest ruthlessly. Just looking at this injury, Naotaka should have died on the spot.
Naotaka was also observing Kazuya's expression with his arms open. Seeing that his expression only moved slightly but not afraid, he felt a little surprised.
He pointed to his chest, "I have special body structure and my herat is on the right side. Only then did I save a life... half a life. I signed a life-and-death contract at that time. I couldn't go to a regular hospital even if I was seriously injured. So I can only say that I have half a life left. "
As he spoke, he tied up his clothes, and Kazuya also withdrew his gaze, "What happened?"
This was obviously a fierce fight, and Naotaka was lucky to save a life.
Naotaka smiled lightly, "I used to be young and energetic, and thought that the swordsmanship I had practiced hard was invincible. So I promised a betting fight, but I met a swordsman from Kansai who was more talented and harder working than me."
"Betting fight?"
"Sometimes there is a dispute between gangs but they don't want to make it too big for the police to notice, so they will decide which party should give in through a private duel. At that time, there was an unworthy descendant in our family. He owed the gang a large sum of money, so he was forced to fight in the betting fight to pay off the debt. But he ran away. I was very confident in my swordsmanship so I went in his place."
Naotaka said so calmly that it didn't seem like he was talking about what happened to him, "You have also seen the result. Thinking about it now, I was really stupid at that time. No matter what kind of family reputation can't be better than living a stable life."
He then pointed to the wine bottle, "I see that you were hesitant to speak just now. Do you want to persuade me to drink less?"
Kazuya nodded, and Naotaka smiled, "Are you still planning to persuade me now?"
Kazuya hesitated for a moment, and this time he shook his head slightly.
He has a low level for [Chinese Medicine], and he also knew some common sense. When a person suffers a sword or gunshot wound, some nerve endings that are invisible to the naked eye will be severed. When the wound heals naturally, new nerve endings will gradually grow into the scar and invade the surface. Once the external climate changes slightly, such as the raining days, these nerve endings are stimulated and make people feel itching and pain.
Looking at Naotaka's injuries, it was obvious that they had not been properly treated at the time. It was probably even more painful now that the scar is like this. There was no cure for this situation, so he probably relied on drinking to anesthetize herself.
This man did not become addicted to alcohol because he had no self-control, but because he really had no choice.
Naotaka looked out the window and sighed, "The rainy season is coming soon, and a month when life is worse than death is coming."
But he quickly turned his gaze back and looked at Kazuya, "Matsuoka, there is an old saying in China that 'with a white blade in hand, a murderous intention arises'. The same goes for those of us who have learned ancient swordsmanship. Many times there are better choices but we can't help but want to use violence directly... I'm not accusing you of what you did yesterday, but based on my life experience, there are obvious ways to deal with those gangsters. A better way does not require violence, but you still chose to draw your sword and strike. Do you just rely on your own ancient swordsmanship and don't want to use your brain anymore?"
He paused and pointed to his temple, "Sword practice trains the brain and the mind, not the sword in the hand. In modern society, swordsmanship has no value in existence. It's not an exaggeration to say that swordsmanship is dead. Matsuoka, the first thing you should know when learning swordmanship is drawing a sword should always be the last step of a swordsman."
He finally added: "Under the current social rules, if you easily hurt others, you are a social outlier. If you want to have a bright future, it's best not to be labeled as this."
Kazuya listened quietly and didn't say anything. He was also a determined person and others can't shake his resolve with just a few words. However, he had to admit that what Naotaka said made sense after tasting it in his heart.
Violence should not be the first resort to solving problems, but the last resort. This Naotaka is reminding him not to get his hands dirty easily.
Seeing that he was silent, Naotaka shook his head, "These are supposed to be words given to you by the teacher who taught you swordsmanship, but Matsuoka's experience is a bit... a bit unbelievable. After thinking about it, I feel that I should still remind you that if there is anything presumptuous, don't take it personally, just listen to it."
In fact, he wasn't sure whether Kazuya could understand these words. After all, in his eyes, Kazuya was only a sixteen-year-old boy. No matter how patient and down-to-earth he was, he still had the stubbornness of a young man.
But Kazuya thought for a while and then thanked him directly: "I understand what you mean. Thank you for your reminder. I will pay attention to it."
Naotaka was very pleased with Kazuya's reasonableness, and felt that all her thoughts were not finally in vain: "Don't be so polite all day long, Matsuoka. If you really want to thank me, help Toutaro when you succeed someday."
Naotaka made a half-true joke and got up with difficulty. He had been disemboweled and his vitality was probably severely damaged. No wonder he acted like an old man on weekdays. "Both your talent in swordsmanship and your calmness and courage are far better than mine before. It's just that you lacks something. If you don't mind, you can follow me inside to have a look."
Kazuya stretched out his hand to help Naotaka, and Naotaka didn't refuse. He led him to an inconspicuous small door in the corner of the study. Kazuya helped him open the door first, and a strong smell of books and camphor immediately hit his nose. When he looked inside, he saw a bookshelves that was larger than his imagination.