A Pair of Eclipse Swords
Chapter : 4 – Meetings With Teachers
The cottage in the middle of the forest was very simple and seemed quiet. Surrounded by tall trees and flower gardens on the right edge of the cottage, making the condition of the small building look beautiful and cool.
To his left was a horse stable that looked empty. Presumably the owner of the cottage was traveling on his horse.
The sun had appeared from the East about half an hour ago, but in this place still looks dim because the leaves of trees and cliffs to the East of the cottage cover the light of the sun.
Birds seem to be waking up, not because of glare by the sunlight, but rather just waking up because of instinct and habits. Beautiful chirps gradually more crowded in the middle of the silence of the forest that still feels cold.
"Kriej...."
The door of the cottage which belonged to no one opened to reveal a confused eleven to twelve-year-old boy. Her yellow iris glanced here and there to find something that could dispel her confusion. But the more he looked, the more confused he was.
"Where, I don't know this area at all." he muttered slowly as he learned of the high cliff to the left of the hut.
"Whose cottage is this? I guess I've been helped by someone?" again there was a slow mutter as his head scrutinized every corner of the simple cottage.
"Auh.." he slowly complained as he felt pain in his left thigh. When the pants were opened, it turned out that there was a bandage wrapped tightly bound there.
"Tang Qian.." his gaze scooped up instantly as he remembered the beautiful girl who was killed horribly right in front of his face. Secretly he regretted why all this time never thought to learn martial arts.
Soluble in his mind, his ears hear the sound of the roar of the horse's legs are getting clearer. Quickly this brat came out of the hut to see who was coming. It turned out that the horseman was a thirty-year-old man who saw himself welcome at the door of the cottage.
"Ah, are you awake? You passed out last night." said the man as soon as he got in front of him while descending from the saddle of the horse.
"Now, eat these fruits. You must be hungry, right?" with a friendly smile the unidentified boy thrust a basket of fruits at him which he received confusedly. The man then led his horse into the cage to be fed.
The boy who was none other than Sung Han looked at the man attentively. Looking at each of his subtle movements, he estimated that this person was an ordinary person, not at all a silat expert who only had a glance at it already visible from every movement of the hands and feet.
But he doubted this thought when he saw a beautiful gloved sword hanging on the man's back.
"Uncle, who are you? You're the one who helped me?"
The man stopped his activities of feeding the horses and turned to face Sung Han with a smile. "If I told you I kidnapped you, would you believe me?"
"Which kidnapper gives fruits to his goods. Or is this food not normal anymore?" what Sung Han meant by abnormal was, he said that the fruits had already been poisoned.
"Hahaha.there-there-is just you." reply the person and this time fill the horse drinking place with a bucket full of water.
Sung Han began to eat one apple as he continued to look at the person he believed was his helper. He suddenly choked on his apple and couldn't cough because he was so surprised.
"I don't remember there was a bucket of water there before. Where'd he get it?" he asked full of horror. "Well this guy? Or a forest demon? But there's still a shadow!"
This person then approached Sung Han and invited him to sit in the front seat of the cottage which has a length of about two meters.
"My name is Xiao Shi Yong, what is your name young man? And how's the story going until you're this small fell unconscious in the middle of the woods?" ask the person who claimed to be named Xiao Shi Yong.
Sung Han placed the fruit basket beside him, letting Xiao Shi Yong pick up some of the fruit. Then he started to introduce himself and tell me everything.
Starting from delivering the goods, the mysterious chest contained a head. Then the people from the Black Dragon society, the clash between the White Eagle and the gathering. Even the heartbreaking death of Tang Qian did not escape the story.
Xiao Shi Yong nodded as he stroked his clean chin without the beard. "Mmm.I understand your story. It's unfortunate that your fate so young has seen such unpleasant things." he muttered with a comment before biting a banana in his hand.
"Whose own uncle? This forest guard?"
Suddenly the man coughed followed by laughter roaring at Sung Han's innocent question just now. He patted his own thighs as if the question was really the funniest joke of his life.
"Hahaha.I'm just an ordinary person living here. You think I'm a demon guard of the forest?" he said after his laughter had died down.
"But earlier uncle could bring up a bucket of water from the air. I didn't see any buckets before." Sung Han replied innocently pointing at the empty bucket in front of the stables. As if understanding Sung Han's words, the horse turned its head and neighed as if laughing at the boy's innocence.
"Hahaha.ember it's been there since before I left, it's just beside the cage. Where does it look from?"
"Oh.." that was all Sung Han responded to while harboring his embarrassment.
After that, only silence existed between them. The two were busy eating the fruits that Xiao Shi Yong had brought home without a word.
Sung Han contemplated looking far ahead, his gaze blankly expressionless, as if there was no soul in it. Except for his moving mouth chewing fresh fruit, it was possible for Sung Han to look like a statue sitting in the front seat of the cottage.
It was far from the look on Xiao Shi Yong's face that looked radiant and always smiling. Slowly his fingers peeled off every piece of fruit he held. Whether it's bananas, oranges, apples, even wine!
Sung Han who was astonished by the person next to him because his eating seemed so slow, could not bear to not look over and see. His eyes bought in shock knowing the man was peeling off the skin of a melon that was as big as his palm.
"Uncle, is there no knife to peel the skin of the melon? Should I wear fingers? Why don't you use that sword?"
This time it was the person who was shocked, "Well, wear this sword? Of course I can't! This sword is a weapon, not a peeling tool!"
"Why use your hands?"
Hearing the question, Xiao Shi Yong's mouth smiled faintly as he said. "It's to train my inner strength."
"Woah..paman can silat?" Sung Han was shocked.
"Hahaha, of course you can! Doesn't this look like me?" Xiao Shi Yang puffed out his chest while holding the sword hilt on his back.
Then he put the melon that had been peeled off half of its skin into the basket and jumped into the cottage yard. "Well look at this, some of my magic!"
Xiao Shi Yong started playing silat with his bare hands. Relying on kicks and punches accompanied by loud, deafening claps. Sung Han was amazed to see that.
Since this brat's knowledge of silat was completely empty, then in his view the basic movements played by Xiao Shi Yong were extremely powerful. Though he did not know that such movements were only the easiest silat movements to learn.
He just thought, if the movement of the person was similar to the movement of Sie Kang when teaching silat his students. He had always been amazed at the old man's nimble and agile movements. This time, however, Xiao Shi Yong played each movement faster and stronger. So in Sung Han's innocent thinking, this person was stronger than Sie Kang.
"Uncle, teach me that!" Sung Han exclaimed with joy as he approached Xiao Shi Yong who was forced to stop the movement.
The man smiled, seeing a look of joy on Sung Han's face. It was as if the young man had forgotten the terrible event some time ago that he had just experienced.
This was indeed his goal, to comfort Sung Han who was deeply grieving over the death of his family, especially Tang Qian.
"Well, you'll be my student from today! I'll train you to be good at silat!" xiao Shi Yong said excitedly. Making Sung Han's spirit rise up anyway and quickly prostrate.
"Murid salutes the teacher..."
...ΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩ...
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