Chapter 9: Hard Work

  "General, please speak." Liu Xiu's voice was a little hoarse.

  "Looking at you, I think you haven't served in the army before. What's interesting is how did you know my moves in advance?" Wu Junhou slowly walked over and said casually: "This is a martial art from the Western Frontier Army, not many people from the Northern Border know about it."

  Liu Xiu furrowed his brow: "I've never practiced martial arts, nor do I know if this is a military technique. It was just something I said off the cuff and happened to be right. General, you don't have to take it to heart."

  Wu Junhou stopped in his tracks, raised his head and stared straight into Liu Xiu's eyes, with a sharp gaze that made Liu Xiu involuntarily shrink back. After a while, he relaxed his expression and smiled again: "Alright, let's just say you're lucky. I have another question, can you enlighten me?" He raised his head, narrowing his eyes: "I'm not good at anything else, but I love martial arts. Since I grew up, I enlisted in the border army, fought in over a hundred battles, first following General Duan to kill the Qiang people, then killing the Wuhuan people and also the Xiongnu people. Over a hundred Xianbei people have died at my hands. Do you know what they call me in the army?"

  Liu Xiu shook his head, took a step back, and bowed: "It turns out that Jun Hou is a brave warrior who kills foreigners, I apologize for my disrespect."

  Wu Junhou was taken aback, his eyes twitching slightly before quickly calming down: "You don't have to be so polite, I'm just making a living." He paused for a moment, then continued: "In the army, I have a nickname - 'Ghost Hand'. It's because these hands of mine are not only ruthless, but also fast. The enemy can't even see my hand before I take their life." He reached out and took a stone from Liu Xiu's hand, examining it briefly before suddenly exerting force with two fingers, causing the stone to shatter into several pieces with a loud "crack".

  "How did you see through my actions?" Wu Junhou slowly relaxed his fingers, and the stones he had crushed one by one fell down. Although there was a smile on his face, his eyes were extremely sharp, like a knife, piercing people's hearts.

  Liu Xiu subconsciously opened his mouth wide, this guy was actually so fierce, could it be that he had practiced hard qigong? He didn't come back to himself for a long time, thinking of Wu Junhou's question, he shook his head repeatedly and smiled bitterly: "Maybe it's because I don't read much, my eyesight is better, and..." He scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed, saying: "I seem to be more sensitive to fast things, when you guys were hand-fighting, I vaguely could see your movements."

  Wu Junhou had been paying attention to Liu Xiu's eyes, taking in his somewhat silly expression without finding any flaws. Although Liu Xiu's explanation was unexpected, it wasn't surprising, because Wu Junhou himself had good eyesight and could naturally believe Liu Xiu's words, even though his own eyesight was the result of bitter practice, while Liu Xiu seemed to be born with it. He had heard of such things before and didn't think Liu Xiu was lying, and from Liu Xiu's reverent gaze, he could see that Liu Xiu admired him and wouldn't deceive him.

  With this in mind, Wu Junhou finally relaxed his mood. As the head of the Mao family who was responsible for arranging the security of the college, he didn't dare to be careless. Not only could Lu Zhi not be harmed, but among these students who came to study, there were also many who had a good reputation and background. If someone suspicious mixed in, he would naturally come to investigate.

  However, he can now basically eliminate his suspicions about Liu Xiu. He believes that in front of him, a young man like Liu Xiu would not be able to deceive his eyes if he really had any problems, unless Liu Xiu was a born liar, which seems highly unlikely given the current situation.

  "Is that so." Wu Junhou laughed this time, he looked Liu Xiu up and down with great interest, and said: "How's your strength?"

  "It's okay." Liu Xiu replied honestly.

  "How many stone bows can be opened?"

  "Not yet tried." Liu Xiu shook his head, "However, the thirty-catty stone lock at home, I can lift thirty in one breath."

  "Really?" Wu Junhou's eyes widened in surprise, his interest piqued: "Good eyesight, great strength, you have the conditions to become a good archer. If you're interested, come try out when the guards are practicing."

  "Thank you, General." Liu Xiu hastily bowed his head in gratitude: "I will still need your guidance at that time, General."

  "Uh, you're busy, we'll catch up later." Wu Junhou nodded and walked away slowly with his hands behind his back. Liu Xiu watched him disappear into the peach forest before letting out a sigh of relief. Although he didn't understand why Wu Junhou asked those questions, he felt a sense of danger. When mentioning his strength, he consciously gave a conservative number. In fact, he could lift 100 in one breath, but was afraid of scaring Wu Junhou, so he deliberately discounted it.

  It seems that this natural talent can't be too arrogant, heaven is jealous of outstanding talents. Being low-key is the best way to go. However, this Wu Junhou is so powerful, if I could learn a few moves from him, maybe in the future, I'll have more chances to save my life.

  Liu Xiu was thinking as he carried the water jug back to his dormitory, where Gong Sun Zan and Liu Bei had already set up their writing utensils waiting for him. As soon as he entered, Liu Bei's face showed some displeasure, just about to speak when Liu Xiu's words blocked his throat.

  "I just met Wu Junhou." Liu Xiu said lightly while pouring water into the inkstone: "I chatted with him for a bit, didn't you guys get impatient?"

  Gongsun Zan stared at Liu Xiu in shock, on the one hand because Liu Xiu was carrying such a large water jug yet seemed completely carefree, not spilling a single drop as he poured water into the inkstone, and on the other hand because the military officer who had just defeated him was chatting with someone like Liu Xiu for so long?

  He and Liu Bei exchanged a glance, but said nothing. He lowered his head, picked up an ink stick, and placed it on the inkstone. Then he pinched the stone and began to grind the ink while thinking. Liu Xiu poured himself some water and stole a glance at Liu Bei's actions, imitating him. However, he was used to using ink sticks in his past life and wasn't quite accustomed to grinding ink with an inkstone. Moreover, his fingers, which were skilled at manipulating the stone lock, didn't seem to be suited for such delicate work as grinding ink. After only two grinds, his hand slipped, knocking over the inkstone, causing Gong Sun Zan and Liu Bei to burst out laughing.

  Liu Xiu didn't mind, smiling as he refilled the inkstone and slowly regained his feel for it. He ground the ink until it was thick and rich, then picked up a new brush, dipped it in the ink, and stroked it on the inkstone. After hesitating for a moment, he looked at Liu Bei with embarrassment and said, "Xuande, how do I write this... letter of resignation?"

  Liu Bei smiled slightly at the corner of his mouth and said without raising his head, "Didn't that person just say so? No need to be too complicated, just write your name, hometown, and what books you've read."

  Liu Xiu originally intended to let him take a look at what he wrote, but looking at him like this seems to have no intention, and had to give up. Thinking that this should be similar to filling out the school registration card in the past, anyway, I'm just a beginner, and in their eyes, I'm also an unrefined person, even if I write something wrong, it's not a big deal. You don't let me see, and I don't want you to see either.

  He thought of this and picked up his pen, writing in his familiar script: "Liu Xiu, courtesy name De Ran, from Zhuo County, Zhuo Prefecture..." After finishing quickly, he put down his pen, picked up the wooden slip and blew on it, then placed it calmly on the desk, looking at Gong Sun Zan and Liu Bei who were still writing with an air of composure.

  Liu Bei looked at him with a mixture of surprise and annoyance, his smile frozen on his face. His hand trembled slightly as he wrote, leaving a large ink blot on the paper. He glared at it in frustration before putting down his brush and picking up his knife to sharpen it fiercely. Meanwhile, Gongsun Zan merely glanced at them briefly before continuing to write at his usual pace.