Chapter 12: Heart of Deception

  Liu Xiu had a good habit since he came to this world, which was unprecedented in his previous life. Every day, as soon as the rooster crowed, he would get up, wash and start running. At first, he ran empty-handed, later carrying two small stone locks, with an unknown distance, but at least five kilometers. Although his home was not far from the county town, the population in this era was much smaller than that of his previous life. The villages were separated by large tracts of open land, and often when he ran a lap, he couldn't even see a ghostly figure. Not many people knew about this habit of his.

  This habit was initially due to Liu Xiu's well-planned long-term escape plan, but later on, he gradually became addicted to it. Occasionally, if he didn't run for a day, he would feel uncomfortable. When he arrived at Taogu Jing She, he couldn't bring the stone lock with him, but fortunately, there were many stones on the nearby mountain. He simply picked up two blocks and started running on the mountain road. The first time he ran on the mountain road, he was a bit unaccustomed to it, taking much more time than usual. When he returned, drenched in sweat, the sky had already brightened, and many early-rising students were reviewing their lessons, with voices reciting texts visible everywhere in the peach forest. Seeing Liu Xiu running over with a sweaty body, they politely nodded and slightly raised an eyebrow to show disdain.

  Liu Xiu didn't mind, and walked straight to the Jing She, from a distance he saw someone practicing sword in the peach forest on the east side. The sound of shouting was clear and crisp, Liu Xiu felt a bit surprised, took a look, and found it was actually Gongsun Zan. Gongsun Zan practiced very intensely, although there was nothing in front of him, he used all his strength, making people feel like he was fighting with a very difficult enemy.

  Liu Xiu was very curious and wanted to see what kind of kung fu Gong Sun Zan usually practiced, but he was also afraid that Gong Sun Zan would not be pleased. So from a distance, he smiled and said: "Brother Bo Hai gets up early."

  Gongsun Zan heard the sound and withdrew his stance, wiping the sweat from his arm with a somewhat forced and reluctant smile: "How come you're up so early, De Ran? You've already finished your martial arts training?"

  "Haha, I'm just running, what kung fu can I practice?" Liu Xiu said with a half-true and half-false smile: "If it's convenient for Brother Bo, teach me a few moves, next time we fight, I'll help out too."

  Gongsun Zan hesitated for a moment, his face somewhat embarrassed: "Yesterday, Wu Junhou chatted with you for so long, didn't you ask him for advice?"

  Liu Xiu remembered what Wu Junhou had said yesterday and asked again: "Right, Bo Kui, was the martial arts used by Wu Junhou from the military?"

  "It should be." Gong Sun Zan apparently thought about this issue a lot, and said without hesitation: "Although I haven't been on the battlefield yet, when I was in Liaoxi, I came into contact with many brave warriors in the military. Their martial arts are simple, violent, and very similar to Wu Jun's. In fact...” He paused for a moment, then continued: “In a real battlefield where you kill enemies, hand-to-hand combat doesn't have much use. When facing a large group of armed enemies, the number of brave warriors who can kill with their bare hands is small. Of course, I suspect that even if Wu Jun was unarmed, he wouldn't be someone ordinary people could handle. What's important in the military are the five elements and formation tactics. For the northern border army, they value horseback archery skills more. Hand-to-hand combat is just for everyday practice to make people more agile. Although it's said that the hand-to-hand combat of the military has a unique killing aura, it's easy to distinguish from the childish martial arts of Confucian scholars and literati. Wu Jun's martial arts are like this."

  He had wanted to say that later he saw the thick calluses on Wu Jun's palms, if it weren't for Wu Jun showing mercy, he might have been strangled to death. But thinking about it, it was too humiliating, Liu Xiu had exceptional eyesight but didn't know martial arts, and probably wouldn't be able to see these things, so there was no need to embarrass himself, and he swallowed his words again.

  Although he didn't say it out loud, the heroic spirit accumulated from just practicing martial arts had dissipated, and he felt that talking about yesterday's matter was extremely uninteresting. He put away his sword and walked back with Liu Xiu.

  Back in the dormitory, Lu Min was sitting in that empty position, Liu Bei cupped his hands and stood respectfully beside him to chat. As soon as he saw Liu Xiu, his eyes swept across Liu Xiu's face, and he immediately felt guilty and dodged away, saying to Gongsun Zan: "Brother Bo, I was just about to go find you, sir has come to ask you some questions about the Xianbei people."

  Gongsun Zan was taken aback and hastily apologized: "Please allow me to wash up first, then I'll listen to your inquiries, sir."

  Lu Min smiled and said, "Don't rush, you all go eat first, then come to my place together."

  "Ah." Liu Xiu and the other two bowed their heads in response, respectfully sending off Lu Min out the door. Liu Bei quickly poured water with his nimble hands, first inviting Gong Sun to wash up, then letting Liu Xiu do the same. Taking advantage of the time it took for Liu Xiu to wash, he swiftly ran to the dining hall and brought back breakfast. The Mao family was wealthy, so their food was not bad; aside from a large bowl of congee, each person also got two steamed buns. Although Liu Xiu didn't think much of it, after all, having lived in this era for several months, he knew that ordinary families could hardly afford to eat steamed buns, and his new family, despite being relatively well-off economically, could only have them every few days, partly because Tang had been taking care of his health.

  Liu Bei did not speak to Liu Xiu, accompanying Gong Sunzong for dinner, occasionally glancing at Liu Xiu's eyes with a hint of shyness. When Lu Min arrived, neither Liu Xiu nor Gong Sunzong were in the room, and Liu Bei chatted with him, but didn't dare ask about Liu Xiu's whereabouts. Lu Min only mentioned that he wanted to inquire about some matters regarding the Liaoxi Xianbei people from Gong Sunzong, and only asked about Liu Xiu once before dropping the subject. Liu Bei felt even more uneasy, on one hand regretful, on the other worried about how to face his mother's sighs and Tangshi's scolding when he returned, a thick cloud of anxiety hanging over his heart.

  After finishing the meal, Liu Bei took the initiative to pick up the three food cases and washed them. Then, he carefully followed behind Liu Xiu and walked towards Lu Min's house. This temple is divided into four courtyards in front and back, separated into three yards. The last yard is where the Mao family lives, the middle largest and most refreshing yard is where Lu Zhi and his son live, and also where Lu Zhi teaches his students. The outermost yard is where the students who come to study live, those who are not good enough can only be taught by Lu Min, and they can only listen to classes in this yard.

  In this era, classes were mainly self-taught, with a teacher lecturing and answering questions in the hall every five days, known as "dougong". Normally, if you had any questions, you would have to go to the teacher's house to ask for guidance, of course, depending on whether the teacher was available. Liu Xiu and others were newcomers, following the usual practice, the teacher would meet with them once to get familiar with the situation, and the location was in the front yard hall. Now Lu Min took the initiative to find them, there was something he wanted to ask, it wasn't convenient to be with other new students together, so he let them go to his residence, which is a room in the second courtyard.

  When Liu Xiu and his party arrived, Lu Min was already seated in the hall, where three grass mats had been prepared. Liu Xiu took a glance and exchanged a look with Liu Bei, who also recognized them - these grass mats were made by their mother and son. The mother and son made a living by weaving seats and straw shoes, and because of their good craftsmanship, they were somewhat famous in Zhuo County. To prevent others from imitating them, they usually put a mark on the corner of the mat to identify it as their work.

  Liu Bei silently pursed his lips, sitting upright on the mat with his hands on his knees, quietly listening to Lu Min's inquiry. Lu Min first asked about their studies, nothing more than whether they had read books like "Jiujipian" and "Cangjiepian" for recognizing characters, and "Nine Chapters" for arithmetic, then he tested them with a few quotes from the Analects of Confucius and the Classic of Filial Piety.

  Gongsun Zan and Liu Bei both answered one by one, but Liu Xiu didn't say anything. Although he also knew a few sentences of the Analects, he was not confident in his heart, so when asked, he only said that he roughly recognized characters, didn't understand the meaning of the classics, and even had limited knowledge of the Analects. Lu Min had already intended to let him assist Lu Zhi with writing, and there would be plenty of opportunities to ask him later, so for now, it wasn't necessary to ask more questions. He casually said something and began asking Gongsun Zan some questions about the Xianbei people.

  As a result, Liu Bei felt even more uneasy and anxious, his worried expression couldn't be concealed, and he was somewhat at a loss for words in his responses.