The supple flowers and leaves fluttered down.
The young girl wore white silk stockings that covered her ankles, yet Li Guanyi still felt a cool touch as if touching jade. He realized in an instant and let go of her hand, and Xue Shuangtao retreated like lightning. The caught right foot tapped the ground as though electrocuted, seeming unsteady, and she retreated several steps with a pitter-patter.
Then her body swayed to the side, barely stabilizing herself with the war bow she held.
Panic filled her almond-shaped eyes, with a faint blush on her face.
When Xue Shuangtao saw her younger brother and the awkwardly handsome young man, she took a deep breath and feigned composure:
"… Mr. Li?"
"You have already arrived."
The kick had come too fast, and Li Guanyi, who had never learned any movement techniques, could only block and press down, now feeling embarrassed, he said, "Just playing around with the young master."
At this moment, his sister, who had just intimidated Xue Changqing, was startled and immediately understood.
She knew she had walked into a trap.
Her butt seemed as though springs were installed, and she jumped up, exclaiming:
"You, you, you, you are that master?!"
"You're hardly much older than me!"
The young man behind her now held his shoulders down.
Just as he had predicted, the corners of his mouth curled up bit by bit, and amid the child's terrified expression, he gently said, "Indeed, I am the one you've been avoiding, the new Mathematics Master."
"Come, it's time for class."
Xue Shuangtao watched as Li Guanyi half-led Xue Changqing towards the pavilion, took a few short, deep breaths to regain her usual graceful composure, ignoring her younger brother's horrified 'you-are-not-my-sister' expression, and invited Li Guanyi to sit with her at the pavilion.
"This is Wind Listening Pavilion."
"Members of the Xue Family occasionally come here to enjoy the scenery. My elder brother, my younger brother, and I also come here during the full moon of the mid-autumn festival with osmanthus cakes to watch the moon. Now, with no one to disturb us, please start by teaching Changqing some basics. Changqing, come and greet the master."
"I don't want to!"
The recently tender Xue Shuangtao's eyes fell.
Xue Changqing obediently bowed, "Changqing greets the master."
Having grown up together, the elder sister held a high authority in front of her younger brother.
Xue Shuangtao's voice, gentle and composed, said, "Please wait a moment, Master, I will change my attire. This martial outfit is not suitable for sitting quietly and studying Mathematics."
Xue Shuangtao nodded, then turned and left, her steps leisurely and silent until she passed a bush, where her pace suddenly quickened, eventually running into her own courtyard.
Upon entering the room, she threw her war bow onto the bed, took off her boots, pulled off the silk stocking from her right foot revealing a foot as pale as white jade, and then flung the stocking that had been grasped to the floor as if discarding a lump of snow.
Her face full of embarrassment and annoyance.
Could it be that she had found a scoundrel!
A little capable, yet still a scoundrel!
Yet it was she who had swept her foot towards him.
The master's stepping seemed untrained in any movement technique, sitting cross-legged, no escape possible; Xue Shuangtao felt embarrassed and unsure of what to do.
She called out, "Ru Yun, Xuemei."
The two twenty-year-old maids responded.
The young lady said, "I want to bathe!"
For a daughter to have her ankle touched, it naturally brought embarrassment, yet she could neither beat the master up nor harm herself, so after a pause, she said indignantly, "Burn this silk stocking!"
The two beautiful maids looked at each other, not understanding the reason but responded with a smile nevertheless.
Soon, the bath was prepared. As the most favored young mistress of the Xue family, her bathtub was a large basin seven feet long, three feet wide, and one foot three inches high, decorated with tiger beasts and large rings. The maids poured hot water of the most suitable temperature added with medicinal herbs to relax the muscles and bones.
Sitting in the basin, Xue Shuangtao thought about today's events beyond this bath.
Also, there was her interaction with her younger brother, which the recently hired Mathematics Master had seen, breaking her usual graceful demeanor towards outsiders, inexplicably making her feel embarrassed, but after much thought, she found no good solution.
Unable to think of a solution, Xue Shuangtao gave up, wrapped her arms around her knees, and submerged herself.
Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle.
Maid Xuemei giggled, "Miss is feeling down again."
"The last time was when her own pet finch hadn't had its tail feathers trimmed and flew away."
The other maid, Ru Yun, smiled and said, "No matter, a bath will soothe your mind and you'll feel much better."
.........
Li Guanyi and Xue Changqing stared at each other.
Just then, a maid had brought some snacks, six kinds of dried fruit, six kinds of fresh fruit, six kinds of pastries, and a pot of freshly brewed fine tea. Li Guanyi took a sip of tea and asked, "Why don't you like Mathematics?"
Xue Changqing said, "Because it's useless!"
He glanced around, noticed his sister wasn't there, and bluntly said, "Anyway, I'm telling you, I don't need Mathematics, and you don't have to teach me. Just normally accepting your salary is enough, right?! We could just talk and snack here, and let an hour pass by!"
Getting paid for doing nothing?
Had there been no bronze tripod, it might have been acceptable.
But Li Guanyi needed to teach this child Mathematics to then meet the old master and ensure the Jade Liquid in the bronze tripod reached Perfection; naturally, he had to decline and leisurely replied, "I can't do that."
This child, who looked to be around seven or eight years old, looked at Li Guanyi and asked:
"Is it because you think the money is too little?"
"I'll add more money!"
Behind the flowers, Xue Shuangtao, who had changed her clothes, slightly lifted her gaze. Her eyesight and hearing were exceptionally strong; using her stepping skills, she slowed her pace, slightly furrowing her brow. In the past, many tutors were dismissed by Xue Changqing like this, as he was a young master of a grand family and had seen too much too young, making him mature in certain aspects prematurely.
The previous Mathematics Masters who tried to take advantage of petty gains were all expelled from the Xue Family after being discovered.
With a wave of his tiny hand, the young Xue Changqing confidently said, "Sister, name your price."
"I'll double it!"
Li Guanyi laughed and said, "Then I'm afraid you can't afford it."
Xue Changqing boldly asked, "How much?"
Li Guanyi leisurely replied, "Priceless."
Xue Changqing's face fell, and Li Guanyi said, "Miss Xue helped me redeem my elder's belongings, I owe you a favor, little fellow, don't waste your effort, you must study this mathematics."
From a distance, Xue Shuangtao, who heard everything, felt somewhat embarrassed.
Such was his fidelity to his promise.
Just now, secretly ridiculing him as a dilettante, wasn't I wronging him?
As his Inner Strength circulated, he slowly approached with normal stepping skills; only then did Li Guanyi hear footsteps and slightly turned his eyes to see Xue Shuangtao, now dressed in a goose-yellow long shirt.
With a blue belt and a Jade Pendant dangling, the ornaments in her hair were slightly fewer since she was not going out, her figure charming.
Upon seeing his sister, the previously somewhat disrespectful Xue Changqing suddenly became well-behaved.
Seeing this, Li Guanyi asked, "Then if you don't like mathematics, what do you like?"
Xue Changqing righteously replied, "Of course, horse riding, shooting, and the Absolute Skills in martial arts!"
Xue Shuangtao felt a headache coming on.
At this moment, feeling somewhat powerless, and knowing that getting really angry would not help later, he had to console him and explained to Li Guanyi:
"I apologize for the laughter, Sir. Our Xue Family's martial arts shooting skills are unparalleled. Changqing, having seen his father's skills since he was little, has always wanted to learn shooting. But he's only eight years old, making it hard for him to achieve anything significant in shooting. That's why we hope he first masters the other few of the Six Arts."
Xue Changqing crossed his arms and sulked as he sat.
Li Guanyi pondered deeply, his voice gentle, "But what if mathematics could greatly improve your martial arts?
Xue Changqing said, "I don't believe it!"
Li Guanyi smiled and suggested, "How about we go to the Martial Arts Arena to see?"
Xue Changqing, puzzled and then somewhat excited about practicing at the Martial Arts Arena, asked,
"Really going?"
"Of course."
Li Guanyi looked at Xue Shuangtao, "Miss Xue, would that be okay?"
Although Xue Shuangtao had doubts, she nodded and said, "We'll listen to the teacher."
The Xue family's disciples practiced archery not in the usual Martial Arts Arena but inside a room to prevent beginners, lacking sufficient skills, from injuring others. The windless environment inside also made it easier for them to master the basic techniques. Only after some progress could they practice shooting elsewhere.
There were quite a few Xue family disciples honing their shooting skills in this place.
As Xue Changqing and Xue Shuangtao arrived, they all became very curious, especially seeing Xue Changqing dressed in shooting attire and carrying a bow, their curiosity grew, and they formed a circle around him.
Li Guanyi smiled and said, "You may take a shot and show me your skills."
Proudly taking an arrow, Xue Changqing placed it on the bowstring and shot it horizontally. Indeed, as a son of the Ming Sect, he had some presence, but due to his youthful weakness, his shooting was improper, and he failed to hit the target. The Xue Family had various Absolute Shooting Skills, but they were not taught to children of his age.
The surrounding Xue family disciples watched with some amusement.
Li Guanyi silently counted the time it took for the arrows to land.
Someone shouted the distance where the arrows had landed.
After asking about the bow's tension, the arrow's weight, and a series of questions including Xue Changqing's height, Li Guanyi had him shoot a few more times. Silently, he deduced the necessary data and, after verifying twice, gradually became confident.
It was merely the calculation of a projectile trajectory, a high school physics problem.
However, considering air resistance, it could not be as precise as a physics problem calculation.
But calculating an approximate range would be sufficient to hit the target. To tailor his teaching method to this child, to pique his interest in mathematics, thus he could naturally proceed to teach him and might even have the opportunity to meet that old man next month to ensure the completion of the bronze tripod Jade Liquid.
Xue Changqing, failing multiple times to hit the target, was frustrated, while Xue Shuangtao looked at Li Guanyi baffled, unsure how he would achieve it using mathematics to enhance martial arts. The people around also heard about the arrangement between Li Guanyi and Xue Changqing and were very curious, quickly gathering a large crowd to watch.
Li Guanyi sat down and calmly said, "Please hand me some paper and a pen."
"Then, I will tell you how to do it."
.................
In the heart of the Xue family's estate, there was a pavilion located by a pond with a White Tiger Dharma Form quietly lying by the pond, watching the spring breeze stir the lotus pond, a tall, white-haired elder sat in front of the pond, holding a handful of fish food, while the carps in the pond swirled around.
A steward came walking briskly.
The elder, watching the carps in the pond, smiled and asked, "Has the Mathematics Master that Shuangtao found arrived today? Can he teach that boy Changqing?"
The steward replied, "I just heard the news."
"The young master has gone to the Martial Arts Arena."
The elder frowned slightly, "Studying mathematics, why go to the Martial Arts Arena?"
The steward answered, "It is said, Sir, that mathematics can enhance the young master's shooting skills."
The elder paused slightly, intrigued, "Mathematics to aid martial arts?"
"Interesting."
After pondering for a moment, he scattered all the fish food into the pond and said lightly:
"I have never heard of such a claim before, let's go."
"I shall see it for myself too."
The elder rose to his feet, the White Tiger Dharma Form yawned lazily before standing up and following behind the elder toward the Martial Arts Arena.