The next morning at dawn, Su Yue as usual got up early to exercise. She happened to run into Su Yu, who had just returned from the practice field. Su Yu also saw Su Yue and seemed surprised that she was up so early, "Cousin, why are you up so early? Didn't sleep well last night?"
"Oh, no, I'm just used to getting up early to exercise. Is Second Uncle coming back from the practice field?"
"Yes, I went there early to practice and work up a sweat to feel refreshed."
"Second Uncle should go and get cleaned up. You've worked up a good sweat, and it's still a bit chilly in the morning, be careful not to catch a cold."
"No worries, we military generals from a family of warriors aren't that delicate. You are Older Xuan's disciple, your martial arts skills must be decent. Would you like to practice together?" Su Yu smiled.
"Sure, please go ahead, Second Uncle."
"Um... oh, alright, hahaha, as expected of a daughter of the Su family."
Su Yu took Su Yue into the practice field. Although it was still early, there were already quite a few soldiers training inside. When the soldiers saw Su Yu bringing a young lady into the practice field, they were very curious, wondering who this young woman was that the third military general had brought, and how he could bring a young lady to the practice field, which was a bit disrespectful.
Su Yue ignored the stares from the others and followed Su Yu to a corner of the practice field where many weapons were kept. Su Yu asked Su Yue to choose a suitable weapon.
Su Yue looked around and said, "No need, I have my own weapon." She then untied a soft whip from her waist.
Seeing this, Su Yu's eyes lit up. A good weapon, indeed.
Su Yu casually picked up a long spear, "Please begin!"
Su Yue struck first, her jade-like hands gracefully wielding the whip, which seemed to have eyes as it aimed straight for Su Yu's face. Su Yu blocked it with his spear, the clash of weapons ringing out. He swiftly dodged and launched a fierce offensive. The two were evenly matched, and their battle intensified. The surrounding soldiers training were stunned.
They silently wondered how many moves they could withstand against this young woman the third military general had brought. The answer was disappointingly not many.
Just as the spectators were getting into the action, Su Yue flashed and disappeared from sight, then reappeared behind Su Yu's back in another flash. Her whip lashed out, and Su Yu, half a beat too slow, lost.
Lost? The third military general had actually lost, and to a young lady no less. Everyone was shocked.
"I lost."
"You didn't really lose. I just took a shortcut. Second Uncle is just unfamiliar with my techniques. A few more times and you won't fall for it again." Su Yue was also drenched in sweat by now, having gotten a good workout.
"Hahaha, a loss is a loss. You're just afraid I'll be upset. As expected of Older Xuan's disciple, you just wait, next time I'll definitely beat you, hahaha."
Su Yue was also very happy. She liked his good nature. "Okay!"
The two then left the practice field and ran into Su Li, who was heading that way. "Uncle." "Great Uncle."
"What are you two doing here?"
"Oh, I ran into Cousin this morning during her morning practice, so I brought her to the practice field for some sparring."
"Sparring?" Su Li glared, kicking out his leg, "You dared to lay a hand on your cousin?"
Su Yue was startled and touched her nose, shuffling a bit to the side.
"Ah? Uncle, why didn't you give me a warning before kicking me?"
"What's wrong with me kicking you? Want me to use my hands too?"
"Aiya aiya, no need Uncle. I was just practicing with Cousin."
"Practicing? Practicing what? Your cousin is a young lady, how can she be like you, all brawn and muscle?"
"Don't let Cousin's appearance fool you. She's quite formidable, I couldn't even beat her."
Su Yue: ...Can we just play nicely...
"Couldn't beat her? Useless."
Su Yu rubbed his kicked bottom, feeling wronged.
Su Li looked at Su Yue with a warm expression, "Are you tired, Yue?"
Su Yu: ...Uncle is terrifying, those smile lines on his face...
"Great Uncle, I'm not tired. I'm used to getting up early to exercise."
"Is that so? Not bad, good habit. As expected of a daughter of the Su family. What do you say? Interested in a friendly match with your Great Uncle?"
"Uncle, what about what you just said to me?"
"What did I say to you? You're too rough with her, what if you hurt Yue?"
Su Yu looked at him hopelessly, "But you're not that much better yourself?"
"You little brat, what did you say?"
Su Yu hid behind Su Yue like a rabbit. Su Yue smiled, "Then please go easy on me, Great Uncle."
"Hahaha, I'll know when to stop."
The soldiers at the practice field still hadn't recovered from the previous match when they saw General Su Li bring the two back in. Then they watched as General Su Li picked up a sword and asked Su Yue, "Yue, what weapon are you skilled with?"
Su Yue untied her soft whip and swung it, ready for the match.
Once again, Su Yue struck first. She was very fast, but Su Li's reactions were even faster, dodging her attacks. As an experienced veteran on the battlefield, his reflexes, offensive power, and skills were all top-notch. Su Yue soon found herself struggling to keep up. At this point, Su Li took the offensive, his every move powerful and dominating.
Su Yue tried to evade with her lightness skill, which made Su Li's eyes light up - her lightness skill was truly remarkable. But his onslaught did not let up, and Su Yue fought hard to defend herself, eventually succumbing to defeat.
"I lost, Great Uncle."
"Hahaha, at your age, with your current skills, there are very few in all of Great Qing who can match you. This is already exceptional." Su Li looked at her with satisfaction.
The surrounding soldiers, witnessing this scene, were filled with passion.
"General! Formidable!"
"General! Formidable!"
"General! Formidable!"
...
The group went their separate ways to get cleaned up. Su Yue was especially happy today. For the first time, she experienced the closeness and ease of being with family. Even though they had not interacted at all in the past thirteen years, there was not a hint of unfamiliarity or distance at this moment. Perhaps this was what having family felt like.
"Little Five, where did you go?" Xuan Little Four came out of the tent, rubbing his eyes sleepily.
"Oh, I went for morning practice. Where's Third Senior Brother?"
"Third Senior Brother didn't fall asleep until it was almost dawn. He spent the whole night studying that pill of yours, sniffing and inspecting it. Then when he couldn't figure it out, he got all upset and flustered, but still felt bad about the wasted pill. He was so noisy all night that I couldn't sleep well." He yawned.
"Well, you can go back and get some more sleep then, Fourth Senior Brother. We don't have anything urgent today anyway, so go catch up on your rest."
"I'll go get us some food first, I'm hungry from being woken up. Little Five, what would you like to eat?"
"Just plain congee is fine, keep it simple."
"Okay, you go and get cleaned up then. Oh, and give me a bottle of that pill from yesterday too."
"But didn't you say you didn't want it yesterday?"
"I don't want it, but Third Senior Brother does. Third Senior Brother said that if I can get a bottle from you, he'll take me to the biggest restaurant in Xuancheng City to eat. Apparently, their signature dish is squirrel fish stew, and it tastes really good. I want to go try it."
Su Yue: Third Senior Brother would sell you for a dime, and you'd help him count the money...
Su Yue ignored him and went back to her tent, leaving Xuan Little Four calling out to her from outside, "Little Five, why are you ignoring me? Just give me some, will you? Remember to give me some! I'll take you to eat too when we go, we can both mooch off Third Senior Brother..."
