165: Chapter 45 Hitting and Getting Hit

"Have you memorized the mnemonic?" Meng Li changed the subject and asked Mu Nianci.

His time alone with her this time wasn't just a private tryst; seeing that everyone had settled in, he was making good on his earlier promise to teach her Internal Skill.

Mu Nianci didn't answer directly but let the facts speak for themselves, reciting the mnemonic in a low voice.

After listening, Meng Li found no errors at all and nodded slightly. "Next, I will transfer some True Qi to you to help you get started and familiarize you with the circulation path."

"Okay."

Less than an hour later, Mu Nianci had successfully reached the entry level.

Feeling the True Qi circulating within her body, she looked amazed. "Is this Internal True Qi? It feels so magical."

Meng Li smiled. "True Qi indeed has many magical effects, but since your cultivation is still shallow, they aren't very obvious. You'll understand once your cultivation improves in the future."

Mu Nianci looked thoughtful, then said worriedly, "But won't transferring some of your True Qi to me be a loss for you?"

Meng Li said calmly, "It's fine. Once your cultivation reaches a certain level, a bit of loss is nothing; it can be recovered with a short period of breath adjustment. In the time I've been talking to you, the energy I lost from the transfer has already recovered."

"Really?" Mu Nianci thought he was just comforting her and was a bit skeptical.

Meng Li's eyes twinkled with a smile. "Truer than pearls."

Mu Nianci looked him over carefully, and seeing no change in his expression, she finally believed him and relaxed.

Just then, there was more movement outside.

The two of them, having finished their business, went out to see that Huang Rong and Guo Jing had returned.

Guo Jing was being supported by Huang Rong, clearly injured.

Meng Li and Mu Nianci exchanged a look and went over to check on the situation.

As expected, Guo Jing was injured, with visible swelling and bruising on his face.

Bao Xiruo was wiping his wounds.

Yang Tiexin was asking what happened.

Huang Rong was preparing to brew some medicine.

Mu Nianci asked Huang Rong directly, "Sister Ronger, what happened to Brother Jing?"

Huang Rong paused, glanced at the stammering Guo Jing who was facing Yang Tiexin, and said crossly, "He and Yang Kang went up the mountain and ran into a wild boar."

Mu Nianci was stunned.

Ran into a wild boar on the mountain?

Bao Xiruo took it seriously and immediately said anxiously, "Then what about Kanger?"

Yang Tiexin seemed to realize something; his face darkened, and he said angrily, "I'll go find him."

With that, he went to the nearby weapon rack, took a Red-tasseled spear, and left.

Meng Li shook his head secretly.

The "wild boar" Huang Rong mentioned was likely Yang Kang.

Thinking this, he took a close look at Guo Jing's injuries. Using his sleeve as cover, he pulled a box of ointment from his Portable space and handed it to Huang Rong. "Apply this to his wounds; he'll be fully healed within three days."

Huang Rong looked surprised, then took it and applied it directly to Guo Jing.

Guo Jing hissed, sucking in a breath of cold air.

Huang Rong stopped immediately and asked with concern, "Does it hurt a lot?"

Guo Jing shook his head. "A little at first, but not now. It feels cool, and the wounds don't hurt as much anymore."

Meng Li explained, "It's just a stimulating reaction from the ointment coming into contact with the wounds. You'll get used to it."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Seeing this, Mu Nianci followed him.

Once they were out of the courtyard, she spoke up. "It wasn't a wild boar that hurt Brother Jing, it was Yang Kang, right?"

Meng Li nodded. "They went out together. If they had really encountered a wild boar, given Guo Jing's personality, he wouldn't have left Yang Kang behind to return alone. Most likely, a conflict broke out between them; Yang Kang hit Guo Jing and then left, and Huang Rong arrived a step too late."

Mu Nianci immediately frowned. "Yang Kang went too far!"

Meng Li smiled. "While Yang Kang's behavior was certainly wrong, Guo Jing himself bears some responsibility for this."

Mu Nianci was puzzled. "What responsibility does Brother Jing have?"

Meng Li said, "Yang Kang was clearly in a bad mood and probably wanted to go out for some fresh air. Normally, in such a situation, you should just let him be alone for a while. But Guo Jing likely worried about him or wanted to enlighten him. However, because he didn't handle it well, it backfired, and he ended up being hit instead."

"There's no doubt Guo Jing's heart was in the right place, but using the wrong method inevitably leads to a bad outcome."

Mu Nianci thought about it carefully and felt it made sense, but she was still indignant. "But he still shouldn't have hit him!"

"Mm, true." Meng Li agreed softly, then joked, "Then how about we find an opportunity to give him a beating?"

Mu Nianci rolled her eyes at him and scolded playfully, "You're teasing me again. I just said one shouldn't hit people, and you immediately tell me to go hit him. If we did that, how would we be any different from Yang Kang? Even if he should be beaten, it ought to be done by Foster Father, his own dad..."

At this point, she suddenly paused, then said suspiciously, "Foster Father wouldn't be going to teach Yang Kang a lesson, would he?"

Meng Li was amused. "You only just realized?"

Mu Nianci was taken aback, then said in mock annoyance, "Are you calling me stupid in a roundabout way?"

As she spoke, she raised her hand, making a gesture to hit him.

"No, you're very smart, really," Meng Li said solemnly, while dodging her.

Mu Nianci didn't believe him and stepped forward to chase him.

One fled and the other pursued; they fooled around for a while before stopping.

Afterward, seeing that Yang Tiexin had been gone for so long without returning, Mu Nianci couldn't help but worry. "Foster Father has been gone for so long; nothing happened, did it?"

"Probably not," Meng Li replied.

Even if a conflict broke out between father and son, Yang Kang wouldn't do anything to Yang Tiexin.

Aside from their father-son relationship, there was also a gap in strength.

In terms of just fists and kicks, Yang Tiexin was no match for Yang Kang, which was shown during the Martial Arts Marriage Contest plot in the original story.

But Yang Tiexin had taken a spear with him this time. Once he performed a set of the Yang Family Spear techniques, his combat power would at least double.

In the original story, when Yang Kang was acting wildly in a tavern, he provoked a strange man with a crutch; even teaming up with Guo Jing, they only got beaten. Yet, with a spear in hand, Yang Tiexin fought the man back and forth, even slightly gaining the upper hand.

This shows that for those skilled in battlefield slaughter, having a weapon versus being unarmed puts their combat power on two completely different levels.

This is also why many fierce generals, invincible on the battlefield, are easily killed by Jianghu people.

Because on the battlefield, they always have their handy weapons with them, allowing them to fully exert their strength, which isn't necessarily the case at other times.

Just as Meng Li finished speaking, he sensed someone approaching. Turning his head, he saw it was indeed Yang Tiexin and Yang Kang.

Yang Kang was being supported by Yang Tiexin, swaying unsteadily and clearly injured. From the look of it, he was hurt even worse than Guo Jing.

Yang Tiexin, on the other hand, showed no signs of injury at all.

This...

Yang Kang took a one-sided beating from Yang Tiexin? Yang Tiexin was quite ruthless with his strikes!

With suspicion in his heart, Meng Li gave Mu Nianci a look.

She understood instantly and ran into the courtyard to find Bao Xiruo.

Meng Li went over to lend a hand and check the situation, finding that Yang Kang had indeed been beaten quite severely.

As the three entered the courtyard, Bao Xiruo and Guo Jing came to meet them.

Seeing Yang Kang's injuries, Bao Xiruo's eyes immediately filled with tears. "How did that wild boar hurt you like this?"

Yang Kang was a bit dazed.

Wild boar?

Meng Li turned around and covered his mouth with his hand.

He hadn't had professional training and was afraid he would burst out laughing, which would be impolite.

Hearing this, Yang Tiexin was fuming. "He wasn't hurt by a wild boar; he was beaten by someone."

Bao Xiruo was taken aback. "Who hit him?"

...