Volume One: At the Foot of Mount Zhongnan Chapter 22: A Life Was Lost

After Master Li Xuanba had left, he had promised to return within three months at the latest, but half a year passed without a single word from him.

Li Mingyu was not particularly worried about his master. First, Master’s skills were extraordinary; ordinary people could not harm him. Second, since Li Yuan had raised his army, their advance had been unstoppable, and until the battle at Hulao Pass, there had been no great dangers. So, every day went on as usual: practicing martial arts, drilling the village children, and training their bodies. After half a year, Li Mingyu was already more than five years old, taller than most seven- or eight-year-olds, and strong enough that he was scarcely weaker than many grown men.

The children, too, progressed rapidly. Their daily warm-up runs had gone from a single lap around the village to five, and they finished these five laps with steady breathing and calm faces, utterly at ease. Afterward, they trained for half an hour, doing exercises from Li Mingyu’s previous life: push-ups, sit-ups, squats, frog jumps, and more. Half a year of grueling practice, plus extra meals for nutrition, had built up their small frames with bands of muscle, making them look swift and sturdy, like a pack of fierce young leopards.

Their bodies developed well, and their mastery of boxing techniques grew too. They had already started learning the second set of military boxing forms. Each day, after physical training and half an hour standing in the “Hun Yuan Stake” posture, they would practice their forms.

Li Mingyu was extremely strict with their boxing, overseeing them personally and allowing no sloppiness. He divided the children into two groups, A and B, lining them up face-to-face for sparring. Standing to the side with his hands behind his back, Li Mingyu barked, “Ready!”

Both groups took fighting stances. At his shout of “Begin!” a boy from Group B feinted with a right punch, then drove his left fist straight at the boy from Group A’s face. The Group A boy stepped up quickly, blocking with his right arm, grabbing the attacking forearm, and with his left hand, seized the upper arm from below. He dropped his weight to pull the attacker forward, then, with a step and a half squat, slammed his hip into the other boy, braced his left shoulder, straightened his knees and thrust his hips, lowered his head, bent his torso, and with a forceful shout, hauled both arms forward, throwing the Group B boy over his back.

After the throw, the Group A boy immediately advanced, grabbed the opponent’s elbow with his left hand, pressed down with his right, twisted the left arm behind the back, pinned it to the side of the head, then forced the boy’s left arm, head, and right shoulder down in turn, locking him in a grappling hold.

Li Mingyu frowned deeply as he watched. Though this combination of a back-throw and a hold was a difficult combat technique, the children had been practicing for over six months and still had flaws. While it might be barely acceptable for ordinary soldiers, Li Mingyu’s standards were those of an elite special forces trainer: perfection was mandatory, and he tolerated not a single mistake.

“Zhou Daniu, your movements aren’t smooth enough—you were distracted!” Li Mingyu’s reprimand was sharp and unrelenting. “Why did you freeze for a moment when you grabbed Zhao Sanhu’s arm? What were you thinking? On the battlefield, that moment of distraction would get you killed a hundred times over! Do you realize that in that instant, you gave your opponent a chance to react, making it impossible for you to throw him?”

Zhou Daniu scratched his head, stepped out of line, and replied loudly, “Reporting, boss! Zhao Sanhu is a head taller than me. I was worried I couldn’t throw him with my strength, so I hesitated.”

“Nonsense! Didn’t I teach you from the start? The back throw uses waist power and leverage, relying on explosive force in a split second. What does his height matter?” Li Mingyu jabbed a finger at Zhou Daniu’s nose, scolding furiously. Then he beckoned, “Come here. I’ll show you how it’s done!”

Zhou Daniu, realizing he would be used as a demonstration dummy, pulled a face and shuffled over hesitantly. Seeing Li Mingyu’s stern glare, he quickly shouted, and threw a straight punch at Li Mingyu’s face. Li Mingyu dodged aside, grabbed Zhou Daniu’s arm, stepped back, turned, ducked his head, bent at the waist, braced his legs, and executed a flawless textbook back throw, sending Zhou Daniu flying.

Then Li Mingyu barked, “Remember! The pull and drop must be swift and sudden, and you must step back and duck at the right moment!”

Zhou Daniu scrambled to his feet and stood at attention. “Yes, I understand!”

Li Mingyu nodded. “Zhou Daniu, your technique isn’t up to standard. Now, run three laps around the village as punishment! No food until you finish!”

Zhou Daniu dared not protest; he repeated, “Yes! Three laps around the village, no food until I finish!” Turning smartly, he set off at a jog, shouting slogans to himself as he went.

Having punished Zhou Daniu, Li Mingyu turned a stern eye on the others. “What are you all gawking at? Back to training! Or do you want to run laps with him?”

Startled, the children had no desire to share in Zhou Daniu’s punishment. They hurried back to their drills, laughing nervously as they went.

At that moment, a girl of about ten or so came running breathlessly from the village, shouting, “Big-Eyes Li! Big-Eyes Li! Come quickly! Your father’s in trouble!” She was panting heavily, her face red and sweaty, clearly exhausted.

Li Mingyu recognized her as Niuniu, a girl from the village who usually learned needlework with the women. Why was she here today? He asked, “Niuniu, slow down—what happened to Big-Eyes Li’s father?”

“Oh, hurry and call Big-Eyes Li! His father’s been hacked—he’s bleeding so much, he’s about to die!” Niuniu cried anxiously.

Big-Eyes Li heard how serious it was—his father was at death’s door. He could not stay calm and, with a cry, dashed off toward the village.

Niuniu, having delivered her message, moved to follow, but Li Mingyu caught her by the arm. “Niuniu, what happened? Is there an enemy? How could Uncle Li be hacked like that?”

“I don’t know how it happened. I was working on needlework and watching the grown-ups practice, not paying much attention, when suddenly I heard Uncle Li scream, and Uncle Zhou yelled for someone to fetch the priest to save him! I saw Uncle Li fall, clutching his thigh, and the blood just wouldn’t stop. His face was as pale as a corpse!” Niuniu recalled the scene, her own