Chapter 2: Trial Of Arms
A grand manor with high walls stood as stern as a prison, and beneath the eaves, icicles hung like inverted spears and halberds.
Over ten riders broke through the wind and snow, galloping towards the tightly shut vermilion gate.
The man in front, draped in a black sable cloak, revealed a ferocious scar between his brows, his gaze sharp and more biting than the harsh winter.
This was one of the current Ministers of State responsible for assisting the nation, Shi Hongzhao.
He dismounted, casually tossing his whip to a guard. His eyes, like knives, swept over them; seeing no one dared to meet his gaze, he then lifted his foot. His battle boots crushed the accumulated snow before the steps, making a bone-cracking sound.
“Have Second Young Master come see me.”
“Yes.”
Passing through the front courtyard and entering the main hall, Shi Hongzhao sat down. At that moment, he frowned, noticing a book on the table; it was the Book of Rites.
As expected, his eldest son, Shi Deyu, emerged from the side of the hall, bowed, and offered greetings.
Unlike Shi Hongzhao’s martial demeanor, he possessed a scholarly elegance and courteous manners.
“Father has returned. Just now, the Imperial Guard brought in a scholar because he spoke disrespectfully to you in public.”
Shi Hongzhao didn’t even lift his eyelids, holding up three fingers and casually waving them.
This was his unique habit of giving orders in the military: two fingers meant “scram,” and three fingers meant “kill.”
“Father, please calm your anger,” Shi Deyu said hastily. “This matter is peculiar, allow your child to investigate…”
“Still sympathizing with scholars?” Shi Hongzhao retorted. “I’ll say it again: to stabilize the court and quell chaos, all we need are spears and swords. What use are brushes and scrolls?!”
Shi Hongzhao valued martial arts over literature and disliked scholars; this was common knowledge. However, Shi Deyu enjoyed reading and associated with Confucian scholars, leading to frequent arguments between father and son.
Just as a dispute was about to erupt, a servant outside announced, “Master, Second Young Master has arrived.”
“Enter.”
Shi Hongzhao’s expression worsened.
His eldest son was disappointing, and his second son was even more of a failure. As a child, he had embarrassed the Shi family due to his dullness. After that, he had forbidden his second son from appearing in front of others, hoping strict discipline in martial arts would lead to his success. Unfortunately, even after changing over ten instructors, none were satisfactory.
Last month, Shi Hongzhao had no choice but to assign his capable guard general to his second son’s side.
After a while, Shi Deyuan shuffled into the main hall. He stood there, plump, dazed, his eyes darting around. He lacked any killing aura; he didn’t even look like a person.
“Child greets Father.”
“Demonstrate,” Shi Hongzhao said, too lazy to utter another word.
Shi Deyuan became flustered and glanced back. Seeing that everyone from his courtyard had followed him, he began to speak haltingly.
“Fa… Father, your child has been practicing martial arts diligently recently and sprained his foot.”
“Hmm?”
“It’s… it’s not a serious injury, but demonstrating it alone is not clear. Could your child… could your child spar with him?”
“As you wish.”
“Yes.”
Shi Hongzhao raised his eyelids and saw a servant boy emerge from behind Shi Deyuan. The boy had a calm demeanor, and they each took a whistle stick.
He disdained his second son’s weak grip on the stick and his sloppy stance, shaking his head.
“Begin.”
Shi Deyuan suddenly brought the whistle stick down through the air.
The servant boy dodged in a panic, the whistle stick grazing his clothes, and striking the ground with a “crack,” leaving a white mark.
This near miss immediately drew the attention of everyone in the hall, who felt the intensity of the fight.
Zhang Mantun couldn’t help but be surprised, his mouth agape.
“Such a quick start,” Shi Deyu praised casually.
Before he finished speaking, Shi Deyuan swept the whistle stick horizontally. The servant boy raised his stick to block, and with a crisp “clang,” he was repelled three steps back, his back hitting a corridor pillar with a “thud.”
“What power!” Zhang Mantun finally remembered to cheer.
Flattered by the praise, Shi Deyuan followed up with another strike. In his haste, the servant boy performed a somersault, thrusting the tip of his stick towards Shi Deyuan’s wrist as he went airborne.
“Beautiful!”
The maneuver was fluid and graceful. Shi Deyu truly applauded, his eyes fixed on the servant boy.
Unfortunately, despite the servant boy’s beautiful technique, his strength was insufficient. Shi Deyuan pulled back his whistle stick with a backhand motion, causing the servant boy to fall to the ground. With a quick recovery, he narrowly dodged the counter-attack at the last moment.
Shi Deyuan grew more courageous as he fought, while the servant boy was hard-pressed, the sticks interweaving in the air, a dense flurry.
After fighting for a while, Shi Deyuan flicked his whistle stick upwards, and the servant boy’s stick flew out of his grip, spinning through the air with a loud whistling sound before landing far off to one side of the hall.
“Forceful Mountain Splitting!”
The servant boy stumbled backward, and Shi Deyuan pursued, full of momentum.
In a flash, the servant boy awkwardly threw himself backward. The whistle stick swept past his nose and slammed into the ground with a “bang.”
“Excellent!” Zhang Mantun cheered loudly, clapping his hands vigorously.
But immediately after, the force of the whistle stick rebounded, and Shi Deyuan cried out in pain as his palm took the impact.
“Thank you, Second Young Master, for going easy on me!”
Before the cry had even faded, the servant boy clasped his hands together and thanked him loudly.
“Ah… ahahaha!”
Shi Deyuan stifled his cry, stole a glance at his father, quickly put away his stick, and fidgeted, rubbing his clothes behind his back.
Shi Deyu smiled slightly and said, “It seems, Brother, that you intentionally held back with this ‘Forceful Mountain Splitting,’ controlling it perfectly. You have truly made great progress.”
“Yes… yes, I suppose?” Shi Deyuan replied. “I didn’t want to hurt anyone.”
“It is good that Brother has such intentions.”
“Mother told me to listen to the Zen Master and accumulate virtue.”
Shi Deyuan, seeing that he had passed the test, grinned. The next moment, his smile froze instantly.
Shi Hongzhao’s cold gaze swept across the hall, and silence fell.
His piercing gaze roamed around, landing on the servant boy behind Shi Deyuan. It stopped, and he gently tapped the side table twice with his fingers. He spoke slowly, in an interrogating tone.
“What is your name?”
“…”
Xiao Yi had been observing Shi Hongzhao from the shadows since entering the hall.
The intimidating aura of this Later Han General was something even veteran actors on set couldn’t replicate. How to describe it? It was like the killing aura emanating from tens of thousands of stacked corpses, capable of withering even vegetation.
Xiao Yi also noticed that beneath Shi Hongzhao’s black sable cloak were a purple robe and a jade belt, but he wore iron armor underneath, and his boots were caked with mud.
This was a martial man who, despite his high position, was always ready to draw his sword and fight.
“Father is asking you a question,” Shi Deyu reminded him, with a hint of urgency.
“Xiao Yi.”
Xiao Yi took a deep breath, stabilized his mind, and answered in a deep voice.
He cautioned himself not to show fear and not to overreach. The Shi Hongzhao before him had walked through seas of blood; even a trace of falseness would not escape his intuition.
Shi Hongzhao raised his hands and slowly clapped three times, “pa, pa, pa.” The applause echoed in the hall, not like praise, but more like the drumbeat of an advancing army.
“A good performance.”
These four words carried immense weight.
Shi Deyuan visibly trembled in his legs, his eyes filled with horror.
It was over, he had been seen through! Today, he had merely flailed his whistle stick as usual. The fight had seemed intense, but it was all Xiao Yi’s performance.
Shi Deyu attempted to salvage the situation. “Father, his martial arts and intelligence are both excellent. He is indeed a talented individual.”
“It’s not your turn to speak.”
“Yes.”
A pin drop could be heard in the hall.
Under the immense pressure, Xiao Yi raised his head. Neither flinching nor bowing, neither arrogant nor subservient, he met Shi Hongzhao’s intimidating gaze.
He was not afraid, nor did he deliberately feign fear. He had reasoned that Shi Hongzhao, having spent years on the battlefield, would surely see through any deception.
However, whether Shi Deyuan passed the test was not the most important thing. What mattered was that his own life could become more valuable. A talent with good martial arts and courage was far more valuable than a submissive servant.
From the beginning, Xiao Yi had been gambling for an opportunity to perform in front of Shi Hongzhao, not to help Shi Deyuan.
Having seen so many historical dramas, now was the time to test his acting skills.
Their eyes met, and he said slowly, “Thank you, Marshal, for your praise.”
“Good courage, to dare to fool this old man.”
“I never presumed to deceive the Marshal. I was merely doing my duty, to serve the Shi family.”
“Serve?” Shi Hongzhao immediately understood Xiao Yi’s intent and said coldly, “So, a cunning fellow.”
The killing intent surged, and Xiao Yi knew that one wrong move could mean his death.
He squeezed his sweaty palms, deciding to be honest.
“Replying to the Marshal, it is not cunning, but rather that my status is low, and I have no other opportunities.”
“A fine display of low status, with flowery stick techniques and no killing intent,” Shi Hongzhao paused, then his words landed like heavy hammers. “Does the Shi family need your soft skills to serve?”
It was this question that made Xiao Yi smell a trace of hope, and he calmed down.
What killing intent would a servant need? Since Shi Hongzhao was applying a higher standard to him, it meant he intended to use him.
His life had finally become somewhat valuable.
So, he responded without hesitation, “I imagine the officers and soldiers who achieve great deeds for the Marshal did not start with killing intent.”
“Insolence!”
Shi Deyu immediately shouted to stop him. Although he was scolding, there was a protective undertone.
But it was too late. Shi Hongzhao’s right hand, which had been resting on the table, was raised again.
Instantly, all eyes in the hall focused on his hand.
Two fingers meant “scram,” three fingers meant “kill.” How many this time?
It was… five?
“Bang!”
He spread his five fingers wide and slammed them onto the table.
With a loud noise, the cups and saucers overturned, tea water spilled everywhere, and everyone trembled in fear.
Shi Hongzhao finally looked up. His eyes no longer held any probing, nor any hint of pleasure or anger. His gaze, like ice picks, shot towards Zhang Mantun.
“Bring a saber.”
