“Strike! Strike harder! If you hold back again, I’ll beat you myself!”
On the drill grounds, the students were practicing sparring in pairs. Ye Zhao, seeing how gentle and refined Xie Yusong appeared, had originally chosen to team up with him.
At first, things were as pleasant as Ye Zhao had envisioned, but reality proved that… Old General Wei was still Old General Wei!
He would not tolerate Ye Zhao’s attempts to slack off or play tricks.
Xie Yusong looked helpless. “My apologies.”
Ye Zhao, whose leisurely "rowing" was now in danger of capsizing, glanced at Xie Yusong in front of him and then at Wei Xiyang, who stood aside watching them like a hawk. After a moment of silence, he declared with the air of a hero marching to his execution, “Come at me!”
Seeing his solemn readiness, Xie Yusong moved.
And then…
Before he could even react, Ye Zhao took a punch. “???”
He clutched his chest, his face a mask of utter confusion and question marks.
*Huh? What happened? What just went down?*
He had forgotten that this man wasn't Jiang Ziqi; they didn't have the tacit understanding to fake a fight. Seeing the other man’s foot about to sweep down, Ye Zhao’s face paled in alarm as he scrambled backward. “Wait, wait, wait! Hold on!”
“? What is it?” Xie Yusong checked his momentum, looking puzzled.
“How are you so fast?” Ye Zhao said, winking frantically to hint: *It’s just an act, don’t try so hard.*
Unfortunately, Xie Yusong didn't catch the drift. He froze for a moment, unsure how to respond. “I… my strikes aren't actually that fast. Look at Yunting.”
He tilted his chin slightly, gesturing toward a certain direction.
Ye Zhao looked over, and then… his expression went numb.
What was he seeing?!
Pei Yunting and Su Jinzhou were fighting back and forth with such intensity and fire that it made his head spin.
“……”
Fine, it turned out he was the only weakling here. Even the "frail and scholarly" Xie Yusong was quite the combatant when he actually moved.
Ye Zhao felt his self-esteem plummet. He suggested to Xie Yusong, “Can you pick where you hit? I’ve got plenty of meat on my backside; feel free to vent your strength there.”
Well…
Xie Yusong glanced at the Old General standing guard nearby and gave a bright, sunny smile.
“I shall try my best to satisfy your request. After all, you wouldn't want to spar with Master Wei personally, would you?”
Ye Zhao looked utterly dejected.
“…Come on then!” Compared to his previous two words, his tone was now truly tragic.
Xie Yusong pulled back his smile, and thus began Ye Zhao’s journey of scurrying away with his head in his hands while being chased.
As he took the beating, he also had to endure the indignant roars of Wei Xiyang:
“Punch faster! Did you not eat today?!”
“He’s to your left! Where are you aiming?! Are you blind?!”
“Fight back! Why are you running?!”
“Fight back, damn it!!”
“Exposing your back to the enemy—do you want to die?!”
Seeing Ye Zhao being beaten like a mangy dog, the Old General was both furious and anxious, wishing he could step in and do it for him.
Ye Zhao grew indignant and couldn't help but snap back, “I’d be a fool if I didn't run when I can't win!”
“You’re telling me to fight back? Fighting back is just handing him my head on a platter!”
“Is this how you teach students?!”
Ye Zhao dodged and wove. The others nearby heard his exchange with Wei Xiyang and burst into loud laughter.
Wei Xiyang roared, “What are you laughing at?! Get back to practicing!”
The others immediately resumed their sparring, though their eyes drifted toward the spectacle from time to time, clearly enjoying the show.
“If you don't fight back, it’ll hurt more when you’re caught!”
“If I fight back, I’ll just get beaten continuously!”
“How can you be so cowardly? Only a craven runs away!” Wei Xiyang’s beard quivered with rage.
Ye Zhao played hide-and-seek with Xie Yusong around the wooden training posts. “This isn't being a coward; it’s a strategic retreat. Only a brute stays to endure a beating when he knows he can't win!”
Faced with this barrage of twisted logic, Wei Xiyang fumed. “That is nothing but sophistry!”
Ye Zhao retorted instantly, “If I’m using sophistry, then you’re talking nonsense! You’re leading your students astray!”
“Pfft… Hahahaha…”
Someone couldn't hold back their laughter, then quickly stifled it, pretending to be serious while throwing punches.
Xie Yusong was also amused, but in the next instant, Ye Zhao suddenly lunged forward and tackled him. He circled behind him, and before Xie could react, he was pulled off balance and dragged to the ground.
Xie Yusong tried to move, but Ye Zhao’s arms and legs quickly entangled him, locking Xie’s limbs in a tight grip. “Hehe… Now you can't move!”
Ye Zhao’s arms were clamped tightly around Xie Yusong’s waist as they lay on their sides. This position made it difficult for Xie Yusong to exert any leverage. He struggled a few times to no avail and finally gave up. He said helplessly, “Could you loosen your grip a bit? You’re squeezing too hard.”
Ye Zhao: “No! I don't trust you. I’m not letting go until this class is over.”
“In the meantime, we can talk about the stars and the moon, or have a deep conversation about our life ideals. Rest assured, I absolutely will not let go until the time is up!”
Xie Yusong smiled bitterly, beginning to doubt his own credibility in Ye Zhao’s eyes. He hadn't been fighting in earnest, which was why he had been caught off guard.
This was truly a case of a seasoned sailor capsizing in a shallow ditch. Sigh…
With his waist squeezed uncomfortably, he sighed inwardly with resignation.
Wei Xiyang’s face was as black as ink. Only then did he snap out of it and roar, “What do you think you’re doing?! Get up this instant!”
Ye Zhao showed no intention of letting go. “ I can't get up! Xie Yusong and I are in a deadlock! Don't disturb us!”
“Hahahaha…”
This blatant lying with eyes wide open was truly unparalleled. The whole group was entertained, and even Xie Yusong, lying helplessly on the ground, couldn't help but let a sliver of a smile escape.
Wei Xiyang, face dark, strode over. “Stop playing the rogue! Get up!”
“I won't! We are locked in a fierce struggle. We won't stop until a victor is decided!”
He said this with such righteous indignation and imposing momentum that it was only the absurdity of the scene that made it hilarious.
Xie Yusong expressed his refusal to be tied down and conceded. “Let me go. I admit defeat.”
Ye Zhao’s eyes widened in momentary disbelief, then his expression turned resolute. “No, no, no. How can you admit defeat before the final moment? You must be speaking against your heart, right? I knew it. You don't have to say anything; I will definitely fight with you until the very last second…”
Ye Zhao babbled on and on, completely ignoring everyone else’s explanations. He performed the entire drama by himself—truly the best actor on the field!
Wei Xiyang reached the limit of his patience. He stepped in and personally pried the two apart.
Even though the Old General was advanced in years, the strength in his hands was immense—certainly not something a weakling like Ye Zhao, who had never seen a battlefield, could compare to. In a few moves, he rescued Xie Yusong from Ye Zhao’s clutches.
However, while the Old General pulled Ye Zhao’s upper body away, the boy’s legs were still death-gripped around Xie Yusong in a final struggle. He shouted at Wei Xiyang, “You’ve interrupted our duel! It won't be fair if we start again! I’m telling you, I only get this serious once a day. Once this match is over, there are no more!”
Wei Xiyang dragged him away with force. “Bullshit! Today I’m going to beat this rogue streak out of you! I’ll teach you to behave!”
Ye Zhao stubbornly refused to let go with his legs, causing Xie Yusong to be pulled back and forth as he tried to save himself. The surrounding crowd was doubled over with laughter.
“How am I being a rogue? How am I not behaving?”
“That was clearly a sneak attack!”
Ye Zhao retorted, “Do you not use sneak attacks against enemies? On a battlefield, if you only use frontal assaults, how many soldiers' lives do you have to throw away? Are you stupid? With a brain like that, how did you ever become a General?”
*Holy crap?!*
Those were sharp words! Likely only Ye Zhao would dare speak to the Duke of Zhen in such a manner!
Seeing that he was about to be dragged away completely, Ye Zhao sensed trouble and quickly scrambled to his feet and bolted. Wei Xiyang was so enraged that he momentarily lost his grip, letting the boy slip away. “Stand still! Ye Zhao!”
The crowd cheered and laughed.
Wei Xiyang: “I’m trying to discipline you, and you still think you’re in the right?!”
Ye Zhao looked back. “If what you say is wrong, then I am in the right.”
“One should not make pointless sacrifices. When something is done, what matters is a tangible, effective return. Otherwise, every action is just a meaningless, stupid waste.”
After Ye Zhao finished speaking, he ran a good distance away. Seeing no response from behind, he peeked back.
“?”
The Old General didn't look tired, yet he stood rooted to the spot, motionless. The expression on his face shifted rapidly, his eyes filled with a mix of shock and suspicion. It was a very strange sight.
Ye Zhao asked cautiously, “Are you… alright?”
*Please don't let me have provoked some kind of medical episode…*
Wei Xiyang suddenly said in a low voice, “Repeat what you just said.”
“?” Ye Zhao was confused. “Don't make pointless resistance?”
Seeing Wei Xiyang staring at him in silence, Ye Zhao tentatively tried the latter part. “Actions must have tangible returns?”
He was about to continue guessing when Wei Xiyang suddenly asked, “Who taught you those words? Tianshu?”
As he spoke, his face was grave and serious, not looking at all like he was joking.
Ye Zhao was startled. “What Tianshu? I just said those words myself. Why are you suddenly bringing him up out of nowhere?”
Wei Xiyang’s expression became very peculiar. The way he stared at Ye Zhao made the boy feel like a prime piece of meat, making his skin crawl. “I said, why aren't you talking? Why do you keep looking at me like that?”
“Have you ever met him?” Wei Xiyang asked abruptly.
Ye Zhao denied it instantly without a second thought. “Of course not! How could I have ever met him!”
When that big shot vanished without a trace, he hadn't even been born yet!
Ye Zhao’s expression of shock and exasperation looked incredibly genuine, without a hint of falsehood.
Wei Xiyang’s face remained cold. After scrutinizing Ye Zhao closely, he suddenly turned and left, leaving behind a final instruction: “Keep practicing on your own. I’ll be back shortly.”
Wei Xiyang’s expression made it seem as though something major had happened, leaving Ye Zhao and many others scratching their heads in confusion.
“What’s wrong with Master Wei?”
Ye Zhao strolled back leisurely, showing none of the guilt or cowardice from his earlier flight. “Who knows? Everyone has urgent needs; he’s no exception.”
One could only take Ye Zhao’s nonsense with a grain of salt; it never stood up to scrutiny.
Xie Yusong pressed a hand to his forehead. “You… even though Master Wei usually seems full of energy, he is old after all. You should stop provoking him.”
“I know, I know. If I actually provoke him into a heart attack, I’d have to take responsibility…” Ye Zhao nodded with a cavalier air. “But the way I see it, he’ll torture me to death long before I provoke him to death!”
He sighed sorrowfully, looking at Xie Yusong with a condemning gaze. “You have the time to pity him, but why don't you pity me first? Look at the bruise on my arm! That’s from the fall just now! And the other injuries on my body!”
Ye Zhao rolled up his sleeve to show a patch of purple on his arm, practically shoving it under Xie Yusong’s nose.
The other man leaned back. “Alright, alright… I see it… I see it.”
Ye Zhao comforted himself inwardly with a vivid display of self-pity.
Xie Yusong, however, after relaxing, thought of something else and suddenly asked, “Ye Zhao, have you truly never met Lord Tianshu?”
Several people nearby pricked up their ears to listen.
“No.” Ye Zhao answered naturally, then added a complaint: “I don't know how the rumors started. Some of them make even me feel ashamed. Sigh…”
Rumors about some tragic love-unto-death between Tianshu and his unknown mother…
Rumors about being hunted by enemies and the son changing his name to hide his identity… blah blah blah.
There was nothing people wouldn't spread if you could imagine it.
The sheer number of versions made Ye Zhao doubt his own life!
The others observed his reaction, lost in their own thoughts.
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
---|---|---
卫西扬 | Wei Xiyang | The full name of Old General Wei.
天枢 | Tianshu | A legendary figure (Lord Tianshu); the name refers to the star Dubhe in the Big Dipper.
镇国公 | Duke of Zhen | A high-ranking noble title, literally "State-Defending Duke."
校场 | Drill grounds | A training field for martial arts or military exercises.
