Then, soone imdiately sidled up to Lu Yuan and said,
"Young Master Nephew, please don’t. This kid’s skills are no joke."
Lu Yuan, however, waved a dismissive hand.
"It’s nothing. My skills are even more impressive."
This struck the onlookers as a bit odd. Wasn’t their Young Master Nephew a scholar?
’He’s trained in martial arts, too?’
As Lu Yuan was speaking with the people beside him,
Gu Gaoxu stood his ground, hands on his hips, and shot Lu Yuan a snide look.
"Well, well. Don’t tell you’re getting scared.
We’re all n here. Don’t chicken out now, heh."
Lu Yuan looked at Gu Gaoxu, an amused smile on his face.
"Don’t bother with the cheap taunts.
Let ask you, what happens if you can’t even beat in a one-on-one duel?"
Seeing Lu Yuan’s confidence, Gu Gaoxu gave him a thorough look-over.
’Hmm...’
’Not tall, and not stout.’
’His wrists are so slender.’
’And his hands are so soft and delicate.’
’He doesn’t look like a martial artist at all.’
’But even if he were, it wouldn’t matter.’
He, Gu Gaoxu, wasn’t just bragging. From the day he started his Martial Arts training as a child, he had never t his match among his peers!
He was a hard-ass who grew up in military camps!
Just a few months ago, when he went to the Imperial City, he’d even beaten up a few of the imperial princes.
Gu Gaoxu imdiately jutted out his chin and declared,
"Simple!
You’re mad that I ruined your field, right?
If you win, I’ll fix it all by myself. I’ll make it perfect!
But on the other hand, what if *you* lose?!"
Lu Yuan glanced at the strapping young man before him, who was a few years his junior. He found the kid to be refreshingly straightforward and said at once,
"That’s simple too. Everything that was trampled will have nothing to do with you.
I’ll even compensate you with money and a formal apology.
And I’ll treat you to a feast at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion right here in Taiping City!"
Gu Gaoxu was decisive, and so was Lu Yuan.
In no ti, they had an agreent and were ready to begin.
The crowd backed away, clearing an open space.
No one was sure who yelled "start."
Gu Gaoxu charged at Lu Yuan first, and then—
BAM!!
A dull thud echoed.
A hush fell over the area. But the silence lasted only a few seconds before the crowd erupted.
Everyone stared at the scene, looking at each other in utter disbelief.
"Huh??"
"Huh???"
"Wh... what just happened?!"
Gu Gaoxu was already lying face-down on the ground.
Half of his face was buried in the dirt, which had been loosened by the crowd’s trampling.
Lu Yuan had one of Gu Gaoxu’s arms in his grasp, his knee pressed firmly into Gu Gaoxu’s back.
His other hand was holding Gu Gaoxu’s head down.
The crowd was completely baffled by this scene.
’No...’
’Wh... what the hell was that?’
’What just happened?’
The spectators hadn’t even gotten ready. They were just about to find a comfortable spot to sit and watch, and then...
’It’s over already?’
Never mind the dumbfounded crowd; Gu Gaoxu, who had been slamd to the ground with a powerful grappling move by Lu Yuan, was just as stunned.
’Wait, what?’
’Just now... What happened just now?’
Gu Gaoxu hadn’t seen a thing. One mont he was charging, the next he was on the ground.
And at this mont, Lu Yuan looked down at Gu Gaoxu, whose face was pressed into the dirt, and said with an amused smile,
"So, have you had enough?"
Gu Gaoxu, snapping back to his senses, imdiately gritted his teeth.
"It doesn’t count!!
This ti doesn’t count!!
I wasn’t ready! It doesn’t count! It doesn’t count! This one doesn’t count!"
Lu Yuan found Gu Gaoxu’s words hilarious.
He imdiately let Gu Gaoxu go.
If for no other reason, Lu Yuan hadn’t had his fill of fun yet either.
The mont Lu Yuan let go, Gu Gaoxu leaped to his feet, ignoring the dirt all over his clothes and caked onto one side of his face.
He just stared at Lu Yuan, completely bewildered.
"What kind of technique was that?!
How co I’ve never seen it before?!"
It had to be said, Gu Gaoxu really had been training since he was a child. Whether it was the Southern Fist and Northern Leg, or any other famous Martial Arts, Gu Gaoxu had studied them.
All taught by renowned masters, no less.
But he had never seen anything like what Lu Yuan had just used.
It was so uncanny. He hadn’t even seen what happened.
One mont he was fine, the next he was tumbling head over heels before being pinned to the ground.
Lu Yuan stood his ground, rolling his shoulders as he raised an eyebrow.
"Enough with the excuses. This ti, I’ll let you say when to start. Don’t give that ’I wasn’t ready’ routine again."
Gu Gaoxu: "..."
Then Gu Gaoxu’s eyes widened.
"Hold on. I’m going to get a drink of water first."
With that, Gu Gaoxu turned and walked toward his horse.
He wasn’t really thirsty. As he grabbed his waterskin, he glanced at his two Attendants and whispered,
"What happened just now? Did you see it clearly? How do I counter it?"
The two Attendants shook their heads in unison, looking embarrassed.
"We didn’t really see it clearly..."
Gu Gaoxu cursed under his breath before finally returning to the center of the clearing.
After staring at Lu Yuan for a mont, Gu Gaoxu made his move. Only after he had already lunged forward did he shout,
"Start—
Aargh!!"
BAM!!
Another dull thud.
The sa thod, the sa scene.
It was a complete and total carbon copy of what had just happened.
There was basically no difference at all.
Gu Gaoxu was once again pinned to the ground by Lu Yuan.
This ti, Lu Yuan couldn’t help but break into a wide, mocking grin.
"What’s the matter, buddy?
Had enough this ti, or not?
Want to let you go for another round?"
Gu Gaoxu was utterly stupefied.
’This...’
’This can’t be happening, can it?’
’He had, after all, trained in the Martial Arts since he was a kid. To put it bluntly, at his age, he should be without peer.’
Of course, Gu Gaoxu wasn’t so arrogant as to think he had to win every ti, that he was invincible.
’But... it shouldn’t end like this, right?’
’Good heavens, he hadn’t seen a thing, and he’d been taken down twice in a row?’
’Twice, and I still didn’t see what happened?!’
It wasn’t like Gu Gaoxu had never fought experts before. Even against true masters, he could at least last two or three exchanges.
’At the very least, you should know *how* you lost!’
’But this...?’
"Hey, I’m talking to you. What are you spacing out for?"
Lu Yuan said, pressing down on Gu Gaoxu’s head as he raised an eyebrow.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Alright, alright! Stop pushing!
What kind of Martial Arts is that?
How co I’ve never seen it? What school or style is it from?"
Snapping out of it, Gu Gaoxu imdiately blurted out.
Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow, a smirk on his face.
"What?
You want to learn?"
Hearing this, Gu Gaoxu beca instantly excited. Even with Lu Yuan pinning his head to the ground, he managed to nod.
"Of course! Of course! Can you teach ?"
Lu Yuan gave Gu Gaoxu a strange look.
’This kid really has so nerve.’
’Just a mont ago he was baying for my blood, and now he’s begging to teach him?’
’Does he think I’m Zhou Xingchi or sothing?’
The next second, Lu Yuan let go of Gu Gaoxu and said with a raised eyebrow,
"You’re a real piece of work.
Why should I teach you?
So you can use it to go bully other people?
Get up and fix the ground you trampled!"
As he spoke, Lu Yuan gave the still-prone Gu Gaoxu a kick.
Gu Gaoxu didn’t get angry at all from the kick to his rear.
He scrambled up like a shaless leech and sidled up to Lu Yuan with a cheeky grin.
"Brother~
Big Brother~
What kind of skill is that, really? Co on, teach .
Or just na your price! Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you!"
Lu Yuan just raised his eyebrows at him.
"Cut the crap and get to fixing the field."
Since Lu Yuan had spoken, Gu Gaoxu nodded eagerly. He went to grab a nearby hoe, saying,
"Done, done, done! Whatever you say.
You’ll teach when I’m done, right?~"
With that, Gu Gaoxu grabbed the hoe, called over his two Attendants, and set off to work.
Lu Yuan stood where he was, watching the three of them, and couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.
’Whose bumbling fool is this...?’
...
As noon approached, a number of large fras had been erected in the area in front of Lu Yuan’s tent.
"What are you building here?"
Lu Yuan was standing at the edge of the field, hands behind his back, watching the Nursing Ho staff set up the fras, when a voice spoke up beside him.
It was Gu Gaoxu.
He had finished his work. Of course, it wasn’t just him.
Lu Yuan had eventually let the Zhao Family’s n help out.
Otherwise, the three of them would have been at it until kingdom co.
Lu Yuan looked at Gu Gaoxu, but before he could speak, the boy adopted a serious expression, cupped his fists, and said,
"I am from Yandu. My na is... Gao Er!
You seem older than , so I’ll call you ’Brother.’
I was out of line earlier. My apologies."
Lu Yuan blinked at Gu Gaoxu, then broke into a grin and returned the cupped-fist salute.
"Lu Yuan."
Seeing Lu Yuan respond, Gu Gaoxu imdiately broke into a cheerful smile.
"Brother Lu..."
But before Gu Gaoxu could finish, Lu Yuan cut him off with a raised eyebrow.
"Not teaching you.
Scram!"
Gu Gaoxu: "..."
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