Chapter Eighteen: Climbing Over the Wall

Page 1 of 3

It was not yet sunrise; the sky was only just beginning to lighten. There was a beauty in it that words could not capture—a deep, pale sky still scattered with a few solitary stars. The earth below remained shrouded in darkness, while the heavens above glowed faintly white.

In the east, a sliver of sunlight pierced the mountaintops, illuminating the forests of Kilimanjaro. Wild grasses trembled gently, the shadows of the trees thinning by degrees. Beside one such tree, a wolf suddenly sprang up, jaws wide, and seized a great serpent lying on the ground.

Lin Shan wiped the sweat from his brow, the product of vigorous exercise. He had risen at first light and already completed a full set of practice. After a night of careful thought—and seeing that his morning practice had yielded little—he decided to open Wind and Cloud Breath to study its second half: the Sword Interception Technique.

“Lin Shan!”

Just as he was about to turn the pages, he felt a weight on his shoulder. Someone had patted him.

“Lin Ruoxi?”

She smiled sweetly at him, dressed in fitted black attire, her dark hair tied simply atop her head, unadorned. It was clear she had dressed for training.

Why was she up so early to practice martial arts?

He frowned and glanced at the horizon—the mountains barely touched by the first rays of dawn.

Wasn’t she supposed to dislike training? Why was she so diligent today? The match in five days would certainly be a challenge.

Lin Shan’s face was clouded with worry.

“What’s this? You’re frowning now? You don’t want me here? Then I’ll go!”

Lin Ruoxi’s expression shifted. She hadn’t expected such a response after waking so early to find him. Pouting in frustration, she turned as if to leave.

“Wait!”

Lin Shan quickly softened, grabbing the hem of her tunic to keep her from going.

“Aren’t you usually lazy? Why are you up so early to train? I’m just confused, that’s all! If I didn’t care, why would I stop you from leaving?”

He spoke hurriedly, seeing her displeasure.

“Are you practicing Wind and Cloud Breath?”

Lin Ruoxi smiled without answering, circling to the other side of the platform, watching him with a teasing glint in her eye.

“Have you mastered the first part?”

“I think so, at least the upper section,” Lin Shan replied tentatively, shrinking back a little from her mischievous gaze.

“Have you generated inner strength?”

“Inner strength? What’s that?”

“It’s when you can feel a flow of energy inside, like a river coursing through your body. Wherever it goes, you feel stronger and more controlled.”

Page 2 of 3

That’s how it should be, at least—that’s what my father told me back then.

Lin Ruoxi mused sweetly, hand to her chin.

“Ah! If that’s the case, then I haven’t got it at all,” Lin Shan admitted with a heavy heart. After all that grueling practice, he only felt muscle soreness, with not the slightest sign of inner strength awakening.

He’d wanted to ask someone, but in the vast Lin household, there was no one but Lin Feng who could help. Did Lin Ruoxi’s words mean she knew more than she let on?

“Let me teach you, then! I know how!”

She picked up Wind and Cloud Breath, her tone shifting suddenly.

“Really? I was just worrying about how to proceed!” Lin Shan’s excitement was palpable—the prospect of a teacher was far better than fumbling alone.

Luck truly was on his side—he even felt happy drinking cold water.

“Show me how you practice. I’ve studied this technique as well,” Lin Ruoxi said with a sly tilt to her lips.

“All right! Watch for any mistakes and let me know—I’ll fix them,” Lin Shan replied earnestly.

“How do you know this technique, though?” He regretted the question as soon as it left his lips. Of course she’d know it—her father wrote the manual, after all.

“The whole town’s practiced it—my father revised it himself,” she shot back with a roll of her eyes.

“The whole town?” Lin Shan was about to begin in high spirits when her words struck like a bolt from the blue.

“Yes! Did you really think my father would give you this manual so easily? He wanted to test your martial foundation. Now stop standing there, hurry up and show me!”

Seeing Lin Shan frozen in place, Lin Ruoxi grew impatient.

Fine, I’ll deal with it later, Lin Shan thought, moving into the courtyard.

“A daughter grows up and can’t be kept at home,” Lin Feng murmured from the doorway of the west wing, sighing. “She just asked me how to practice this manual, and now she’s off teaching someone else!”

“But in doing so, she’s unwittingly set herself a harder challenge,” he reflected. “In the end, my skill still surpasses hers.”

Page 3 of 3

“Aunt Mei, bring them some food later—I’ll eat alone,” Lin Feng said, waving her off as he left, a hint of melancholy in his steps.

Aunt Mei sighed softly. The master had always been alone. In the past, young Ruoxi’s lively presence had filled the house, but now she was grown and things had changed.

Shaking her head, Aunt Mei went to the kitchen, gathered two sets of dishes and food, and set them in a room of the west wing, ready to bring a meal to Ruoxi and Lin Shan.

Time passed quickly. The sun was high before they realized it, two figures standing together in deep conversation for hours.

“Next, I’ll teach you the Sword Interception Technique,” Lin Ruoxi said, pressing her finger to Lin Shan’s acupoints to clear his meridians, then opening the manual to its latter half.

“So soon? I feel like I could practice a while longer,” Lin Shan said, breathing heavily as he paused at her instruction.

“Hurry up and learn. I’ll give you some special training, but don’t you dare say I taught you! Practice this for a few days and my father will surely see you differently, hmph!”

She smiled slyly, looking forward to her father’s surprised reaction.

“It’s almost noon—I need to get back to my own training. If I lose to that expert, it’ll be disastrous!”

Her face turned anxious, clearly uneasy at the prospect of being kept from her usual activities.

Now he understood—Ruoxi had paused her own training just to teach him, hoping he’d master the technique and gain Lin Feng’s recognition.

Looking at Ruoxi’s earnest face, Lin Shan felt a surge of warmth.

But Lin Feng did not see things as Ruoxi did; he was using the threat of death to force Lin Shan to succeed—or perhaps he never intended for Lin Shan to remain at the Lin household at all.

Thinking this, Lin Shan’s eyes dimmed.

Even Ruoxi was up at dawn to help him—if he didn’t work harder, he really might die.

Clenching his fists, a storm of determination rose within him, impossible to quell.

“I’m actually the one your father is looking for—” Lin Shan began, but saw that Ruoxi had already hurried off.

“Forget it, keep practicing. My father will be checking on me soon!” her voice called from ahead—she had already gone, eager to avoid being found away from her own courtyard.

She had risked discovery to teach him—if he failed now, he would be truly unworthy.