Chapter 83: 083. Ning Jing Passes the Exam (Part 2)
Translator: 549690339
Su Liang felt that the simplest over-the-shoulder throw was still quite difficult for Lin Shuzhi and Lin Xueqing.
They had learned the technical essentials, but their own strength was really too limited.
Lin Shuzhi practiced with Ning Jing many times, barely succeeding. When Lin Xueqing tried to throw Su Liang, she always failed.
“I’m too stupid.” Lin Xueqing cupped her face and sighed.
“As long as you know how to do it, practice makes perfect.” Su Liang planned to teach Lin Xueqing some easier self-defense techniques for women.
Lin Shuzhi and Ning Jing sat under the tree to rest, watching Su Liang teach Lin Xueqing.
“For self-defense. one must be ruthless. nut in full effort. and be accurate. If
you can defeat the enemy with one move, you’ve succeeded.” Su Liang said seriously.
Lin Xueqing had no confidence in this at all, “Ruthless? How do I become ruthless… ‘
Su Liang turned her head, “Ning Jing.”
Lin Shuzhi smiled, “Jingjing, go ahead.”
Ning Jing had just patted the dirt off herself, got up and walked over. Su Liang pointed out a position for him to stand still.
Lin Xueqing watched seriously and suddenly saw Su Liang’s index and middle fingers come together, quickly jabbing towards Ning Jing’s eyes!
Lin Xueqing was horrified, Lin Shuzhi’s expression tightened.
And Ning Jing’s eyes shrank sharply, standing still without moving a muscle.
Su Liang’s fingers stopped just before touching Ning Jing’s eyes, and she didn’t pull them back. She turned her head to Lin Xueqing and explained, “If you encounter extremely wicked people, never have any compassion. You must be ruthless. As soon as you get a chance, no matter how many fingers you use, stab hard into his eye sockets from the side of the eyes, and scoop the eyeball out if possible!”
Lin Xueqing’s little face turned pale, “I… I can’t do it…”
Listening to Su Liang’s voice, even Lin Shuzhi had goosebumps. But after calming down a bit, he realized that what Su Liang said was not wrong, and it was not excessive. To deal with someone who wants to kill you, you have to fight back to survive.
For a moment, Lin Shuzhi felt that Su Liang was teaching Lin Xueqing something too poisonous, but thinking of the assassins they encountered today, he thought Su Liang’s teachings were good. Lin Xueqing had always been under their protection, innocent and kind, unaware of the dangers of the outside world.
Lin Shuzhi hoped that his precious daughter would never need to use these skills, but she should learn them to avoid being defenseless when in danger.
“Are people trying to kill you?” Su Liang asked.
Lin Xueqing frowned and said, “I’m scared…”
“What if someone wants to kill your father and brother? Would you fight them to the death?” Su Liang asked again.
Lin Xueqing’s face still showed fear, but she clenched her fists, “Can I really do
Su Liang nodded, “Of course, I believe in you.”
As soon as the words fell, Su Liang suddenly withdrew her hand and aimed her knee towards a certain spot on Ning Jing’s body…
Lin Xueqing’s eyes widened, and Lin Shuzhi was astonished.
Ning Jing’s face turned a bit dark, but he still stood still, not moving a muscle.
Of course, Su Liang was just demonstrating to Lin Xueqing and would not actually hurt Ning Jing.
However, the scene was very awkward because it almost touched…
Su Liang’s expression was calm as she maintained the knee-up posture and explained to Lin Xueqing that in case of encountering a pervert, attacking their weak points was important. The knee attack was just one method. One could also use a knife, a stick, or a stone, but the target must be clear and the attack should be fast and accurate.
This time, Lin Xueqing didn’t find it scary; it was just so embarrassing that she turned her head away and dared not look at the strange posture of Su Liang and Ning Jing. She hurriedly said, “Sister Su, this is simple, I’ll remember it.”
Su Liang retracted her leg and demonstrated to Lin Xueqing other self-defense moves, such as using her elbow to strike the opponent’s armpit, and using her forehead to forcibly hit the opponent’s nose, etc.
Lin Xueqing listened with confusion, feeling that her mind could understand but her body couldn’t grasp the techniques.
When it came to the demonstration of how to escape a bear hug, Su Liang asked Ning Jing to hug her from behind.
Lin Xueqing blinked, and Lin Shuzhi’s expression eased.
Ning Jing frowned and asked, “What are you going to do to me?”
“Just pose. I’ll show Xueqing, don’t touch me, and I won’t touch you.” Su Liang said.
“It doesn’t matter if we touch! You guys are good brothers, I won’t think anything of it!” Lin Xueqing giggled.
Ning Jing ignored her and followed Su Liang’s instructions, only circling her with his arms without touching her.
Seeing Lin Xueqing’s disappointed expression, Su Liang coughed lightly,
“Xueqing, pay attention and study hard, I’ll test you later!”
Lin Xueqing’s expression changed, “Oh!”
Finally, the theoretical part was finished. Ning Jing, the “tool man” responsible for cooperating with Su Liang in the demonstrations, silently floated back to Lin Shuzhi’s side, sat down, and watched how Su Liang instructed Lin Xueqing in practical exercises.
“Pretend I’m the pervert who wants to assault you.” Su Liang said, and suddenly hugged Lin Xueqing from behind, saying, “Beauty, I’ll take good care of you!”
Lin Shuzhi held his forehead, and Lin Xueqing burst into laughter.
Su Liang solemnly said, “No laughing! Think carefully about what I taught you!”
Lin Xueqing recalled seriously, mimicking Su Liang’s previous actions, which were not wrong, but too slow. Su Liang had her practice repea tedly.
When Su Liang was sure Lin Xueqing had remembered all her teachings, Lin Xueqing was sweating and exhausted.
“Your body is too weak. I’ll take you to work out tomorrow. You must practice self-defense well, as now you are far from good enough.” Su Liang let Lin Xueqing rest nearby, asked Lin Shuzhi to come over, and said she would teach him a set of boxing techniques.
In her previous life, Su Liang came from a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, and her grandmother practiced Tai Chi for many years. Su Liang also practiced with her since childhood, memorizing every move.
The wind picked up, Su Liang stood on an open space, her green dress fluttering in the wind.
Seeing her practice Tai Chi, at first, Ning Jing and the Lin family thought the movements were deliberately slowed down for Lin Shuzhi to remember.
But soon, Ning Jing discovered that the boxing techniques were very ingenious, appearing very soft, even weak at first glance, yet indeed containing firmness within softness, showing an imposing manner of conquering the strong with the soft.
Lin Shuzhi felt it as well. He initially thought Su Liang would teach offensive boxing techniques, doubting if he could learn them. However, when he saw the actual Tai Chi moves, Lin Shuzhi developed great interest and actively raised his hands to learn along with Su Liang’s movements.
Lin Xueqing exclaimed, “It’s so beautiful! I feel it has the ‘Immortal Wind and
Daoist bones’ described in books, as if Sister Su is about to ride the wind away.”
Once the Tai Chi routine was completed, Su Liang heard Ning Jing say, “I want to learn too.”
Lin Shuzhi also insisted, asking Su Liang to teach him.
So, Su Liang taught one move at a time, and the three of them followed. Ning Jing performed the most accurately, learning everything in one go.
By the time the sun was almost setting, Su Liang’s martial arts coaching for the Lin family was temporarily concluded.
On his way back to the front yard, Lin Shuzhi recalled the Tai Chi movements, mimicking them with his hands.
“I’ll write to Big Brother and Second Brother to tell them Dad is starting to practice martial arts at such an old age.” Lin Xueqing laughed.
“This set of boxing techniques is only suitable for reinforcing the body for health purposes. In dangerous situations, you should still use the self-defense techniques I taught you – be ruthless,” Su Liang said.
“It’s so difficult, ” Lin Xueqing lamented, leaning her head on Su Liang’s arm. “Su Mei, how can you be so talented? After getting to know you, I feel so worthless. ”
Lin Shuzhi shook his head slightly, “No, Xueqing, you have one strength.”
“What is it?” Lin Xueqing asked.
Lin Shuzhi replied seriously, “Great self-awareness.”
Lin Xueqing: … She really is her biological father!
Lin Xueqing begged Su Liang to teach her a few simple but delicious dishes because she was afraid she wouldn’t do well with complicated ones.
Su Liang asked what the Lin family liked to eat and customized a menu for Lin Xueqing with four dishes. It would be difficult for her to cook poorly if she followed the recipes.
Although Lin Xueqing’s cooking skills were not great, she was not so terrible as to be an assassin in the kitchen. She took her studies seriously, but her mother died early and there was no one to teach her well.
Under Su Liang’s guidance that evening, Lin Xueqing cooked, and to her surprise, it was a success. After tasting the meal, Lin Shuzhi highly praised it, feeling proud, believing that his daughter was “no longer too foolish as she grew up”.
Lin Xueqing’s confidence soared, vowing to continue learning from Su Liang and cook more dishes. She would give her elder brothers a big surprise when they got to the capital city!
Before, there were only Su Liang and Ning Jing in the house, one taciturn and the other too busy to chat. The house was quite empty.
It was a bit more lively when Zhengzheng was there, but now, with the presence of the Lin family father and daughter, a gentle elder, and a talkative Miss, the house had a warmth of family.
After dinner, Lin Shuzhi again proposed to play chess with Ning Jing.
Not that Lin Shuzhi really loved chess, but there wasn’t much else for the two men to do for entertainment and socializing. They couldn’t imitate Su Liang and Lin Xueqing, strolling under the moonlit sky hand-in-hand or whispering intimately to one another.
Lin Shuzhi believed Ning Jing would accept the challenge, but instead, Ning Jing took out a piece of wood and a knife, “I’m busy. Master, you should rest early too. ”
Since Ning Jing said so, Lin Shuzhi went to bed.
The next day, Lin Shuzhi received a pen holder, handcrafted by Ning Jing as a gift, which surprised him. “You made this for your master last night? I never
Imew you were so talented. It’s really well done.”
“I learned it from a woodworker master in Bei’an County,” Ning Jing said.
Lin Shuzhi was delighted, taking the pen holder Ning Jing gave him everywhere he went. He even showed it off to his two sons, but that’s a story for another time.
Lin Xueqing also wanted one, but Ning Jing replied, “I don’t have time.”
Lin Xueqing pretended to be heartbroken and collapsed into Su Liang’s arms with a deep sigh. “He’s given one to Su Mei and Dad, but not me. Isn’t this favoritism? But he won’t admit it. Who can I turn to for justice?”
Lin Shuzhi twitched his mouth, noticing that his daughter had become more playful and lively since she’d met Su Liang, making her even more lovable.
Su Liang suddenly hugged Lin Xueqing tightly, “My beauty, now that you’ve fallen into my hands, you won’t escape!” Then she turned serious, “Xueqing, if you can’t break free, you’re not allowed to eat.”
Lin Xueqing: … she wanted to act spoiled with Su Liang because Ning Jing wouldn’t even give her a penholder, but why did that lead to a sudden test of her self-defense techniques? Life is really too difficult!
Su Liang let go of her grip, and Lin Xueqing successfully escaped. Before she could celebrate, Su Liang dragged her to the backyard to teach her daily exercise routines.
Lin Shuzhi laughed and asked, “Jingjing, shall we practice Tai Chi together?”
Ning Jing shook his head, “I’ve learned it already.”
Lin Shuzhi left with a dark expression, “How come you’re getting better at annoying people? You’re not nearly as cute as Liang girl!” In the end, Ning Jing was alone in the courtyard.
The sunlight was warm, and the cold wind burst intermittently.
With calm eyes, Ning Jing practiced Tai Chi alone in the courtyard, his white clothes fluttering in the wind, as if he were an immortal.
Soon it was time for the results of the Provincial Exams to be announced.
Lin Shuzhi asked about it last night, and Ning Jing and Su Liang told him they would head back to Bei’an County the day after they learned the results of the exam.
Ning Jing went out early in the morning for some reason, and as it was approaching the time when the exam results would be released, Lin Xueqing urged Lin Shuzhi and Su Liang to go see them.
The three of them left and headed for the bustling main street of Pingbei City.
“What a crowd!” Lin Xueqing looked at the throngs of people ahead, finding it difficult to squeeze in.
Su Liang planned to wait at the tea house until fewer people were present before checking the results. After all, she knew the results were out and believed that Ning Jing’s name would certainly be on the list, so she wasn’t in a hurry.
As Su Liang prepared to talk to Lin Shuzhi about going to the tea house, two familiar faces emerged from the crowd – scholars from Bei’an County.
“Miss Su!” One of them recognized Su Liang’s kind face from their last meeting and greeted her with a smile. “Congratulations! Your brother, Ning Gongzi, has become a top-scoring candidate! Since he’s not a local, there’s another top-scoring candidate as well!”
Seeing the joy on both men’s faces, Su Liang smiled and said, “I have to congratulate both of you, too. You must have passed the exam!”
They were indeed the most outstanding talents in Bei’an County, and only the top three in the Court Examination had the chance to study at Qianshan Academy.
Both nodded, then noticed Lin Shuzhi standing behind Su Liang and quickly paid their respects.
Lin Shuzhi smiled warmly, “Don’t be complacent. If you have any questions, you can come to me.”
Both were overjoyed. Although they didn’t know how Lin Shuzhi and Su Liang came to be together, they felt fortunate to have caught the dean’s attention due to Su Liang.
“And the other one…” Su Liang inquired about the other top-scoring candidate from Bei’an County’s Court Examination.
One of them sighed, “He failed. We saw him just a while ago but don’t know where he went.”
They didn’t chat much more, and the two scholars went back to the academy.
Lin Shuzhi met with his fellow teachers from the academy, and they went to a tea house to discuss the results of the Provincial Exam.
Su Liang and Lin Xueqing went shopping.
By the time they returned home, it was approaching noon.
Ning Jing was there, and as soon as Lin Xueqing saw him, she asked him to guess which place he had ranked in the exam.
Still carving wood and not looking up, Ning Jing said indifferently, “Do our best, and leave the rest to fate.”
Su Liang’s reply was to hug Lin Xueqing again, “My beauty, I only want you. If you don’t want me, run away!” After saying that, she turned serious, “Xueqing, if you can’t get away, you’re not allowed to eat!” Lin Xueqing looked up helplessly at the sky….
