thefictionvixens Chapter 31 Pufferfish is angry
Chapter 31 Pufferfish is angry
"I didn't expect there to be a practice room on the second floor."
"I usually use this place myself. Don't accuse me of abusing my power for personal gain. This used to be a storage room, but I cleaned it out. Strictly speaking, it's still a storage room. Here, you can put the sandbag in the corner. I took one from here yesterday to restock downstairs."
Lin Zhuo carefully placed the sandbags, and Min Peier came over carrying thick armor and training clothes, stuffing them all into his arms at once.
"The changing room is next door."
After Lin Zhuo changed his clothes and put on his protective gear, he returned to the training room. Min Peier stood by the weapon rack, with a row of swords, knives, and clubs at his disposal.
"I did not prepare a chain hammer. This kind of strange weapon is not in accordance with the principles of swordsmanship, and I have never learned it before."
Min Peier touched the blunt sword in her arms, feeling somewhat embarrassed. She had proposed the duel on a whim. Although she had indeed wanted to test Lin Zhuo's skills for a long time, she hadn't expected the opportunity to come so suddenly, and therefore hadn't made adequate preparations beforehand.
"It's alright." Lin Zhuo smiled, took a staff from the weapon rack, and twirled it in his hand with a beautiful flourish, making a loud whistling sound.
"You know how to use a stick?"
"Yes, because I like Sun Wukong, the first weapon I learned was a staff. But later I switched to a more powerful flail. Otherwise, I couldn't really hit some targets."
Min Peier's expression was solemn. For every inch the weapon was longer, the threat level increased by three. The difficulty of using a knife to subdue a spear was comparable to disarming someone with bare hands; both were techniques for masters to show off their skills. Lin Zhuo was clearly an extraordinary martial artist. She didn't have much confidence in winning to begin with, and seeing that her opponent had chosen a long staff, she was already mentally prepared to be beaten up.
Lin Zhuo suddenly put the stick back on the weapon rack, drew out a silver soft sword, and gently shook it in his hand. The sword blade resembled a willow branch swaying in the wind by the river, and the cold sword light revealed a touch of tenderness.
Min Pei'er secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The weapons of both sides were similar, so they still had a fighting chance.
Considering Lin Zhuo's military background, his methods must be simple and brutal. However, his physical strength is simply unimaginable. After all, she has witnessed the absurd thing of firing a chain hammer as if it were a bullet and piercing through a thick sandbag. To this day, she still suspects that Lin Zhuo is a cyborg.
The two arrived at the open space in the center of the room, stood facing each other, and clasped their hands in a gesture of respect.
"Please," Lin Zhuo said.
"please."
Min Pei'er took a stance, moved slowly closer to her opponent, her eyes never blinking, her mind racing: she needed to use her swordsmanship advantage to devise a strategy, relying on technique to overcome brute force.
Her thoughts were still lingering on the previous idea when she suddenly saw the figure in front of her become blurry, and then suddenly magnify in her field of vision. A gentle, cold light leaped up like a snake bite, easily bypassing the defenses she had set up, and touched her neck guard before moving away.
Min Pei'er's mind went blank. The iron sword in her hand, like a frontline soldier who had never heard of the fall of her homeland, continued to chase the enemy in vain. However, her skillful swordsmanship, which could knock a small bottle cap off the ground, could not catch up with that fleeting figure.
The air in the practice room fell silent for a moment.
[Combat action successfully assessed; [Finger Flicker Invisibility Technique] basic proficiency +1%]
[Fineness factor × 1.0 (Neither good nor bad)]
[Statistics on actual combat results: (Bullying the weak - 1%)]
[Final Calculation Result: [Finger Flicking Invisibility Technique] Proficiency +0%]
"I...I lost?" She stared at Lin Zhuo, who seemed to be standing still without moving an inch.
"How about a best-of-three series?" Lin Zhuo was also worried that he might anger Min Pei'er and she would refuse his request.
If we deliberately let her win, making the girl happy, she might immediately agree to take care of the disciple.
However, Lin Zhuo still did not hold back.
He reflected on himself and realized that the outcome of the mission tonight would be decided, so he felt a little anxious and his thoughts became somewhat hasty. He was only concerned with getting rid of the trivial matters at hand and lost his composure in dealing with the world.
Min Pei'er shook her head, and Tie Jian looked dejected. She struggled to take off her helmet, her expression still quite calm, but her eyes were fixed on Lin Zhuo. Gradually, her cheeks puffed up again, like a pufferfish used by a fisherman to polish his shoes.
Lin Zhuo also took off his helmet and walked closer. He could clearly see the slightly protruding blue veins on her fair forehead. This girl was really angry. Her eyes, which were looking up at Lin Zhuo, flashed a small fierce light, as if she was about to pounce on him and bite his arm.
"Comrade Min Pei'er, is it possible for you to be appeased again?"
She neither nodded nor shook her head, but just glared at him fiercely.
Lin Zhuo knew a way to coax children that worked every time he dealt with his younger siblings.
He placed his hands on his head and chin, one above the other, and opened and closed his hands, while his mouth opened and closed, imitating a puppet speaking: "I am Min Pei'er. I am a magnanimous person and have decided to forgive the ungrateful Lin Zhuo this once."
"Pfft!" The young woman, who was trying hard to maintain her angry persona, immediately broke down and burst into laughter, pointing at the silly face in front of her.
Lin Zhuo continued to speak in a childish tone: "Oh, I, Min Pei'er, am just that kind-hearted. I'm not only willing to forgive Lin Zhuo, but I'm also willing to help him take care of the child. You can rest assured that I will take care of the training schedule for those four students this afternoon!"
"Hey, hey, hey! I never said I'd help you!"
"Waaah, how could I, Lord Min Pei'er, go back on my word? Someone must have been imitating me just now. Let's all pretend we didn't hear anything." Lin Zhuo's accent sounded like that of a senior mental patient who had suffered from dementia for twenty years.
Min Pei'er really wanted to stay angry, but she was so amused that she squatted down on the ground, clutching her stomach, and lost the strength to argue.
Lin Zhuo, worried that she would laugh herself sick, squatted down and tilted his head to look at her face buried in his arms. Min Pei'er was laughing so hard that snot was running down her face. When he saw this, she immediately turned on him, covering her nose with one hand and pushing his head away with the other.
"Are you still angry?" he asked, shrugging.
"Of course, but it's not mainly because of you. It's because I'm not convinced. After training for so many years, I lost so badly." The embarrassment, anger, and joy on Min Pei'er's face gradually receded like the tide, revealing a bit of desolation and sadness on the white sand beach under the moonlight.
Lin Zhuo thought for a moment and comforted him, "Don't practice martial arts for the sake of victory; be happy for every little bit of progress you make."
"Hmph, talking like a master. I, Min Pei'er, have learned something." As she spoke, she recalled Lin Zhuo's foolish behavior earlier and chuckled to herself.
"Then I'll be going now. Please apologize to the children for me."
"Hmm, are you coming again tomorrow?"
"I'll come every day until these kids finish their matches."
"Well... never mind, take care." Min Pei'er pursed her lips.
After Lin Zhuo changed his clothes, he passed by the training room and glimpsed her wielding an iron sword alone through the crack in the door. Her figure was lithe and her posture was agile, but her swordplay carried a fierce and stoic air. After watching for a while, he saw that her movements slowed down and softened, and she was truly immersed in the swordsmanship itself, without any distracting thoughts.
Click. Min Peier stopped at the sound and turned around. The door, which had been slightly ajar, was now closed. The footsteps in the corridor faded into the distance and soon could no longer be heard.
She wanted to continue swinging her sword, riding on the exhilarating feeling she had just experienced, but no matter how she raised her weapon, she couldn't recapture that fleeting inspiration.
Looking at the cluttered practice room, he scratched his head in frustration for a long while and sighed, "This is so annoying!"
She threw the iron sword back onto the weapon rack, stormed out the door and downstairs, ready to greet the students Lin Zhuo had entrusted to her.