Mo Sang – CH 187

Chapter 187. A Little Sparring

Passing through a winding cave, they emerged into a small grove of trees. Beyond the grove lay a wide, neatly maintained earthen training ground.

In the center of the training ground, forty or fifty children of varying ages were practicing their moves in accordance with commands.

Girls made up a good seventy percent of these children.

The proportion of girls among the abandoned children was probably about the same.

Li Sangrou stood at the edge of the grove, watching for a while before catching up with Blind Mi, who had already circled half of the training ground.

Blind Mi circled around to behind a young woman who was watching the children train. Seeing her turn to look at him, he called out, “Where’s your Aunt Lin?”

“She’s here!” the young woman pointed behind Blind Mi.

From the grove behind Blind Mi, Lin Sa turned the corner of a house and first saw Li Sangrou approaching from the opposite side of the training ground.

Li Sangrou also saw her, smiling broadly and waving.

Lin Sa pretended not to see and abruptly turned her head away.

“Sister Lin! Sister Lin! It’s me! Ma Yuncan! I bought you osmanthus cloud cake! Your favorite osmanthus cloud cake!”

Hei Ma saw Lin Sa and immediately held up the large bag of pastries high, waving frantically with its other hand, jumping up and down every now and then, its voice echoing loudly: “Cloud cake! Cloud cake!”

The young woman watching the children practice martial arts burst out laughing.

The children in the training ground twisted their heads, watching the jumping Hei Ma, laughing so hard their formation was disrupted.

Lin Sa glared at Li Sangrou from Hei Ma, then immediately looked away, turning her head away again.

Li Sangrou simply walked across the training ground, past the group of children, waved to them, and walked to Blind Mi’s side.

Before Li Sangrou could react, Hei Ma rushed to Lin Sa, handing her a large bag of osmanthus cloud cakes with a smile. “I asked Little Song, and she said this is your favorite. She said it was just made this morning; have a taste.”

“Thank you.” Lin Sa reluctantly took the cakes and slung them behind her back.

“Senior Brother Wu asked me to show her around,” Blind Mi explained with a forced smile, looking at Lin Sa.

“What’s there to see here!” Lin Sa stiffly turned her head away, refusing to look at Li Sangrou.

“I came especially to visit Sister Lin,” Li Sangrou said, taking a step to the side and getting closer to Lin Sa.

“Is this young lady a friend of Uncle Mi?” the young woman asked, smiling as she sized up Li Sangrou.

Her Aunt Lin was too stubborn.

“The Boss of Shunfeng Express,” Blind Mi introduced reluctantly.

“My surname is Li, Li Sangrou. These are my brothers: Hei Ma, Datou, and Mazha.” Li Sangrou introduced them one by one with a smile.

“My surname is also Li! Li Qi’an,” Li Shaoyao laughed.

“Your Li and her Li, they really are the same Li!” Blind Mi glanced at Li Qi’an from Li Sangrou.

Li Qi’an raised an eyebrow.

“My Li, I chose it myself. Great minds think alike,” Li Sangrou said, smiling at Li Qi’an.

Li Qi’an chuckled. “I do not deserve it. My Li was chosen for me by Uncle Wu. Are the Boss and Aunt Lin friends? Aunt Lin rarely comes down the mountain.”

“Yes. Sister Lin is very good to me,” Li Sangrou said with a smile.

Lin Sa could not help but roll her eyes at Li Sangrou.

“Aunt Lin?” Li Qi’an looked at the awkward Lin Sa, then at the smiling Li Sangrou, clearly very curious. He was about to ask how they knew each other, but then swallowed his words. His direct question was somewhat rash and impolite.

“We just became friends a few days ago and hit it off immediately,” Li Sangrou said, sizing up Li Qi’an. “You’ve gone down the mountain for training? Where have you been?”

“Only to Nanyang,” Li Qi’an replied, somewhat surprised.

It seemed this leader knew about their upcoming training and seemed quite familiar with their sect.

Who was she? How did she know?

“Your Martial Aunt Lin has also been to Nanyang,” Li Sangrou said, pointing to Lin Sa.

Blind Mi glared at Li Sangrou, while Lin Sa glared back at Blind Mi.

“Qiming said you said I am no match for you. If the Boss does not mind, let’s have a match,” Lin Sa said, shifting her gaze from Blind Mi to Li Sangrou as she stuffed a piece of cloud-shaped cake into Blind Mi’s arms.

“What I mean is: I cannot beat you, but you will not even have a chance to show off in front of me.” Li Sangrou smiled with her eyes crinkling. “If you really want to have a match, fine, let me think about how to do it.”

“Yes!” The tall girl at the front responded and ran towards a row of houses nearby.

A moment later, Mingyan returned with an inkstone.

Li Sangrou looked at Lin Sa. Lin Sa picked a wooden sword from the weapon rack, gripped it, and stared at Li Sangrou with a grim face.

Li Sangrou smiled as she dipped the tip of a twig into the ink, then walked up to Lin Sa. “Ready?”

“Please!” Lin Sa clasped her hands in a fist salute, but before she could raise the sword, Li Sangrou slid forward, the twig in her hand sweeping across Lin Sa’s neck, leaving a clear ink mark.

Lin Sa had just taken a step when she felt a chill on her neck and froze.

Li Qi’an sighed, “Aunt Lin, you lost.”

“Again!” Lin Sa shouted, holding her breath.

“Alright.” Li Sangrou stepped back and dipped her twig in ink again.

This time, Lin Sa neither invited nor bowed but swung her sword and slashed.

Li Sangrou dodged the blade, her arm brushing against Lin Sa’s, and a branch grazed Lin Sa’s neck again.

“Aunt Lin, you’ve lost again.” Li Qi’an stared intently at the two crisscrossing ink marks on Lin Sa’s neck.

This boss was too fast and too agile!

“Again!” Lin Sa said, but before her words had even faded, Li Qi’an hurriedly called out, “Aunt Lin, do not use the sword anymore; try the spear!”

Li Sangrou took a step back, pointing to the weapon rack, indicating that Lin Sa should go and get a spear.

Lin Sa’s face darkened. After hesitating for a moment, she turned and walked to the weapon rack, exchanging her sword for a long spear with a cotton-padded tip.

Lin Sa brandished the spear, thrusting it at Li Sangrou. Li Sangrou dodged the spear tip, took a step forward, and slid forward along the spear shaft. Before Lin Sa could block with her elbow, the branch had already grazed Lin Sa’s neck.

Lin Sa was practically enraged. She turned his spear and hurled it at Li Sangrou.

Li Sangrou, like a willow branch swaying in the wind after the whistling spear, staggered backward. With a spun motion, the branch dipped in ink from the inkstone and, almost without hesitation, traced a semi-circle, leaving another ink mark on Lin Sa’s neck.

Swoosh!

“Aunt Lin, she’s too fast!” Before Li Qi’an could finish speaking, Li Sangrou had already dipped the branch in ink again, leaving a fifth ink mark on Lin Sa’s neck.

Blind Mi squatted nearby, watching the utterly frustrated Lin Sa with a bitter expression.

Hei Ma, Datou, and Mazha squatted in a row next to Blind Mi, their six eyes wide with shock.

This was truly the first time they had seen their boss kill so clearly.

Before, when their boss killed, they were also killing, unable to watch, or if they caught a glimpse, they only saw the spurting blood.

“Boss, this killing does not look like killing at all; it’s so beautiful!”

Lin Sa wiped her neck with her hand, staring blankly at the black ink on her fingers for a moment, then turned and placed the spear she was holding on the weapon rack.

Li Sangrou casually tossed a branch aside.

“Boss, your movements are incredibly fast!” Li Qi’an exclaimed, then asked curiously, “Has Boss ever killed anyone?”

“Yes,” Li Sangrou smiled, simply replying with a soft “hmm.”

“She’s a natural assassin. She could not beat you in a real fight,” Blind Mi said, sidling up to Lin Sa and comforting her.

“You are right, she showed mercy and did not hold it against me,” Lin Sa said dejectedly.

“The first time I saw you, Sister, I felt you were kind. How could I hold it against you?” Li Sangrou added with a smile.

Li Qi’an looked at Lin Sa, then at Li Sangrou, incredibly curious, but did not ask a single question.

“Sister, do you have any tea? I am a little thirsty,” Li Sangrou asked with a smile, looking around.

“Yes,” Lin Sa replied, head bowed, and told Li Qi’an, “I will take them to have tea.” She turned and walked towards the grove of trees.

Blind Mi followed behind, hands tucked into his sleeves.

Li Sangrou waved to Li Qi’an and followed Blind Mi.

Lin Sa’s dwelling was perched on a small cliff, two stone-walled thatched huts. The west side was carved into the mountainside, while the east and north sides clung to cliffs. The doors faced south, and in front of the huts was a small courtyard, about two zhang square.

In the courtyard, against the western cliff face, a small shed had been built, under which a stove was set up.

In the middle of the courtyard, there was a stone table and bamboo chairs, and about ten pots of orchids.

“Sit down.” Lin Sa brought out a few bamboo chairs from inside the house, went to the shed, squatted in front of the stove, lit a fire to boil water, and went back inside to get tea cakes, a teapot, and cups.

Li Sangrou took the tea cake, broke off a piece, and put it in the teapot. Lin Sa brought out boiling water and poured it into the teapot to make tea.

Li Sangrou carried the tea to the shed and carefully examined the stove that connected to the heated kang inside the house.

The stove was simple and small, with a small four-inch pot on it. Below the small pot was a large stove opening, next to which was a small water-boiling opening. Below that small opening was another small stove opening.

The stove was here, but the chimney stood at the back of the house.

It seemed that the large stove, when lit, could also boil water and warm the house.

The small stove opening could be used to boil water separately, and while boiling water, it could also warm the house.

“These stoves are common in the mountains. This one is not anything special, but the ventilation is crucial. There’s a vent underneath; if you open it all, it works even better than a bellows,” Blind Mi explained as he strolled over.

Li Sangrou bent down to examine it closely before turning back to sit down.

Lin Sa brewed tea and sat down at the stone table, holding the cup in both hands, gazing blankly at the distant mountains.

“Do you have a sect?” Lin Sa asked, looking at Li Sangrou as she sat back down.

“No, I just trained my body with my master when I was very young.” Li Sangrou smiled at Lin Sa.

“She’s a natural assassin; you cannot compare to her,” Blind Mi added.

“Yes, I am indeed more naturally suited to killing than others, but…” Li Sangrou’s smile faded as she looked at Lin Sa, and she said seriously, “The biggest difference between you and me is our purpose.

I train my body and mind and practice my skills; everything I think about is for killing as quickly and easily as possible. The faster, the easier, the better.

And you? Why do you practice? You certainly do not do it to kill.”

“Practicing, first, is about strengthening the body…”

After strengthening the body, Lin Sa got stuck.

From a very young age, when practicing, his master always said, “You must do this to defeat the opponent. You must do this to subdue the opponent. You must do this to hit the target with one strike.” Were these not also for killing?

“The skills in the mountains are also for combat,” Blind Mi immediately chimed in.

“It’s for combat too,” Li Sangrou slowly said. “That means it’s also a skill for killing.

Killing skills cannot be learned just on the training ground.

On the training ground, you can only develop agility and quick reflexes.

True killing skills must be practiced through killing. Either you kill others, or you are killed. Living in this life-or-death situation for ten or eight years will hone your skills.”

Li Sangrou looked at Lin Sa, smiling, and pointed towards the training ground. “Of those dozens of people just now, if they are lucky, three or five will survive. If they are unlucky, none will survive.”

Lin Sa stared at Li Sangrou for a moment, then asked, “What about you?”

“He just said I am a born assassin. That’s it. I’ve died once before, and he saved me.” Li Sangrou gestured with her chin towards Blind Mi.

“No matter what it is, relying solely on study, reading, and listening to others is all just theoretical knowledge. When it comes to actual combat, it’s like you and me.

My skills are far inferior to yours, but killing you would be a piece of cake.”

Lin Sa pursed her lips tightly, her face slightly pale. She had already witnessed this “piece of cake” firsthand; indeed, it was just a matter of lifting a finger.

Blind Mi glanced at Li Sangrou and, after a moment, let out a faint hum.

“Am I wrong?” Li Sangrou asked immediately with a smile after hearing Blind Mi’s hum.

Blind Mi ignored her.

“Sister Lin’s skills are utterly pathetic. Your Senior Brother Wu’s schemes are just like Sister Lin’s skills—overconfident and conceited,” Li Sangrou said bluntly.

“How do you know Senior Brother Wu’s skills are just theoretical? Senior Brother Wu is not her,” Blind Mi retorted irritably.

“If your Senior Brother Wu is going to help defend Jiangling City, he should be sending weapons, blueprints, silver, and supplies, or at least a few capable fighters like you. Why send Cheng Shan and the others? To be targets?

Even if I am a variable, let’s not talk about that.

Has your Senior Brother Wu not considered that Southern Liang might think you have not tried hard enough, have not given your all, and might simply capture Cheng Shan and Song Qiming, beat and interrogate them, then come back and wipe out your entire sect, or capture a group of people, take them there, imprison them, and use them as slaves?

Has your Senior Brother Wu thought of this? If he has, how did he plan it? How does he intend to defend against it?”

Li Sangrou looked at Blind Mi and asked a series of questions.

“Of course, Senior Brother Wu has thought of that. How he plans it and how he defends it, I definitely cannot tell you!” Blind Mi subconsciously moved back a little.

“I do not think he even considered this.

The previous Grand Master Wu, leading you all through the chaos of war, might have thought of it and had the ability to deal with it.

As for your Senior Brother Wu, the world has been at peace for over twenty years. You do not get involved with the government, and you probably do not get involved in the conflicts of the martial world either. That’s being far removed from the darkest and most filthy place in the world. How is that any different from your Senior Sister Lin’s martial arts?

Why do you think he has the ability to deal with it?”

Li Sangrou said bluntly.

“Not getting involved does not mean being far away!” Blind Mi retorted irritably.

“Forget it, let’s not talk about this anymore. If you think it’s good, then it’s good.

Everything in the world has its own way of survival.” Li Sangrou picked up her cup, leaned back in her chair, and sipped her tea leisurely.