Chapter 45 Clearing the Mind

Chapter 45: Clear Mind

The Beidi people are tall and rough around the edges, so they're better with hammers, just going for straight-up violent crushing.

The Great Zhou, on the other hand, is big on literary culture, plus the regional diet, so people tend to be slimmer. They usually carry swords or knives, and their moves are more agile.

That's exactly why Cui Ji made that face when he saw Cheng Ge swinging those Sky-Shattering Hammers.

It was like seeing Lin Daiyu with a cig in her mouth and a rocket launcher on her shoulder, swearing to take over Eurasia.

"Pick something else," Cui Ji said, not taking any argument.

Cheng Ge shot back, "You don't know how to use them?"

Cui Ji: "..."

Cui Ji seriously thought he needed to get his fortune told to see if Cheng Ge was just born to be his personal curse.

"Your build's not right for those," Cui Ji said, trying to be diplomatic. Just picturing Cheng Ge swinging those hammers and launching himself across the room made his head hurt.

"No way, Ao Bing uses them! You don't even know how badass he is!"

Cui Ji: "..."

"I don't care what 'bing' it is, it's a no-go."

Cheng Ge gritted his teeth, staring down at his precious hammers with a look of pure reluctance and inner conflict, and finally turned silently back to the weaponry.

No choice; when you're under someone else's roof, you've gotta play nice.

But soon enough, Cheng Ge came back with two big axes, looking all fierce as he walked up to Cui Ji. "You gotta know how to use these, right?"

Cui Ji rubbed his forehead hard, downed a cup of tea, and felt a knot in his chest.

"Nobody uses those," Cui Ji reminded himself to stay patient.

"Who says? Cheng Yaojin uses them."

"Tch... then go get him to teach you."

Cheng Ge was pissed. They'd already agreed, and now the guy was backing out.

Fuming, he stomped back to the armory, cussing under his breath.

"Fine, don't teach me. When I get rich, I'll find someone else. If you won't, plenty of people will."

Cui Ji didn't let those angry words get to him. After all, no one else would teach him this stuff.

Of course, Cui Ji never imagined that soon enough, he'd be eating his words so hard.

In the end, Cheng Ge kept lowering his standards, and settled on the Northern-style dual blades. From a distance, they looked way less wild.

"Your Highness, these good?" Cheng Ge smiled a little, trying to look all obedient and cute.

Cui Ji glanced at him and, for once, didn't say no. He slowly stood up and reached out to take the dual blades from Cheng Ge's hands.

Compared to the Southern-style ones, the Northern-style dual blades were shorter, with tips that curved upward.

The main style was all about ferocity, with aggressive footwork that focused on power and chaining attacks together, better for the battlefield.

"Watch close. I'll only show you once." Cui Ji gripped the dual blades, his posture snapping straight, his eyes sharp as an eagle's.

He slashed forward with both hands, then the blades cut two sharp arcs in the air, striking left and right in quick succession, whistling through the wind.

Then he stopped, spun around, and moved with big, sweeping motions, the blades becoming a blur of light that seemed to cover everything around him.

Finally, he finished with a stance, the blades stopping steady in front of him, clean and without a hint of hesitation.

Cheng Ge's eyes went wide, and he clapped like crazy. "That's badass! So cool!"

Cui Ji sheathed the blades, stood still, looked at Cheng Ge, and tossed them over. "Go on, give it a shot."

Cheng Ge took a deep breath, caught the blades, and tried to swing them like Cui Ji did.

But as soon as he put some force into it, his moves were a bit clumsy, and the blades almost flew out of his hands.

Cui Ji sat down slowly, watching Cheng Ge's moves without much worry.

Some beginners even cut themselves or trip over their own feet—it happens all the time.

Still, Cheng Ge seemed pretty sharp. After a few tries, he started to look decent, even if his strength was still a bit off.

Cheng Ge was soaked in sweat and chugged several gulps of tea before he could barely catch his breath.

"There was a part I didn't catch. Can you do it again?"

"No," Cui Ji said without a second thought, pushing the snacks toward him.

"Oh... how come?" Cheng Ge looked a bit disappointed, grabbing a piece of pastry to eat.

"My foot's killing me," Cui Ji replied expressionlessly.

Cheng Ge: "..." He'd almost forgotten this guy was still a cripple.

"Then it's... it's fine. I'm not in a hurry."

Cui Ji couldn't stand his look and unconsciously promised, "When my leg gets better, I'll practice with you a bit more."

Cheng Ge glanced at Cui Ji's foot and hesitated before asking, "Who hurt your foot?"

"A barbarian from the Beidi."

Cheng Ge nodded, thinking that anyone who could injure Cui Ji like this must be very strong.

"He must be pretty formidable, right?"

"Average."

Cheng Ge pressed on recklessly, "If he's average, how did he break your leg?"

Cui Ji had the urge to cover his mouth, his tone turning slightly heavy. "It's not broken. He got hurt too."

Cheng Ge nodded in sudden realization. "So it was a mutual defeat. By the way, do you know Qinggong?"

"What Qinggong?"

"You know, the kind that lets you walk on walls, appear and disappear, and take enemy heads from their camps like picking something out of a bag." Cheng Ge gestured excitedly.

Cui Ji looked at Cheng Ge and slowly raised his hand to place it on his forehead.

Cheng Ge: “...?”

“No one can do that except ghosts,” Cui Ji added.

Cheng Ge shut up, because that was damn true—he couldn’t argue with that.

“If you wanna master this blade, you gotta build a solid foundation first. Otherwise, no matter how powerful your moves are, you won’t be able to unleash its full force.”

Cheng Ge knew he wasn’t wrong, obviously. Lately, he’d been drinking all sorts of tonics, and the imperial physician said as long as he didn’t overdo it, moderate exercise would actually help his recovery.

The poison was mostly hanging around in his heart meridian. Medicine and dietary supplements could only play a supporting role; the priority was to nurture his heart, ideally keeping his cool even if a mountain crumbled right in front of him. If he got too emotional, the poison could easily flare up.

Although Cheng Ge didn’t really care about dying, each flare-up was excruciating. He could accept kicking the bucket instantly, but he didn’t want to be tortured repeatedly.

If possible, he planned to just lie low and coast for now—drinking a bowl of lotus seed soup every night and silently reciting the Heart-Cleansing Mantra.

And surprisingly, it actually worked pretty well. Now, even seeing a hot girl left him totally chill.

But lately, things had been a little too calm. When he woke up in the morning, Little Gege wasn’t looking too good.

He planned to secretly find an experienced doctor outside when he got the chance. This was a matter of male dignity, and he had to take it seriously.

He was still hoping to marry a beautiful, gentle, and lovely woman to warm his bed someday.

Just thinking about it made Cheng Ge’s grin turn a little lecherous.