DO YOU WANT TO WIN?
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Lin Xiao watched as Xia Yushen practiced his swordmanship. The young boy’s movement has become more fluid compared to the first time he trained him. Occasionally, Lin Xiao saw a slight mistake that would make him frown, but he didn’t openly comment on it until Xia Yushen finished all his steps.
“Xiao Shen, come here,” Lin Xiao called him over after Xia Yushen finished the last step and sheathed his weapon.
Xia Yushen looked over at Lin Xiao before he trots over to the older male. “Big brother Lin, how did I do?” he asked with a big smile on his face.
Lin Xiao didn’t reply immediately and instead, he knelt down so that he would be at eye level with Xia Yushen. Lin Xiao’s expression was too serious that it made Xia Yushen fidget. Then, with no warning, his hand shot out and grabbed Xia Yushen’s left elbow.
“Ah!” Xia Yushen yelped in pain, his face contorted into a wince.
Seeing that his suspicion had been confirmed, Lin Xiao clicked his tongue and immediately pulled up the sleeve of Xia Yushen to reveal the bruises on the boy’s arm. “How did you get this injury?!” Lin Xiao asked angrily.
“I… It’s nothing. I just fell down yesterday,” Xia Yushen replied with a nervous laugh as he moved his gaze away, not wanting to look at Lin Xiao.
“Xiao Shen… you know I don’t like it when people lie…” Lin Xiao said in a warning tone. “I will give you one more chance to tell me honestly.”
Xia Yushen clenched his hands and bit down on his lips. He was reluctant to tell Lin Xiao because he was afraid of what will happen. He did not want to be scolded again because of what happened.
Seeing this reaction, Lin Xiao only let out a heavy sigh before he let go of the boy’s arm. “Shenshen, ah…” he called out in a gentle tone, making Xia Yushen look up at him. “You are my only martial brother, and Shizun placed you under my responsibility. If you ever encounter any trouble, you can consult me and ask me for help,” Lin Xiao said to the young boy.
Xia Yushen appears to be hesitating, but in the end, he still told Lin Xiao about what happened the day before.
“Yesterday, the rest of the children were talking about Shizun and you. They say they will execute you and Shizun… and that you deserve it. They also said that Shizun is a bastard who only knows how to pleasure men to get what he wants…” Xia Yushen mumbled the last sentence in a low voice.
“… And then…?” Lin Xiao asked calmly. But inside, he was already furious at what Xia Yushen was telling him.
“And then I… beat them up,” Xia Yushen replied in a timid voice.
“You beat them up?” Lin Xiao questioned with an eyebrow raised. He knew Xia Yushen’s strength, and though he had improved a lot since he first started, it was far from those children who had been trained even earlier.
Xia Yushen suddenly bit his lips and immediately lowered his head when he felt tears pooling in his eyes. “… I got beaten up when I try to fight them…”
When Xia Yushen remembered his miserable experience from the day before, more tears fell. Even so, the young boy refused to let out even the smallest sob.
Seeing this, Lin Xiao felt guilty. When he was taken away, he had only asked General Bai to bring Long Yinlian to safety. He had thought that even though Xia Yushen was close to them, as family, the people from Xia Residence wouldn’t have gone overboard.
“Xiao Shen,” Lin Xiao called out to him. “Are you feeling frustrated?” he asked in a low voice.
Xia Yushen wanted to answer, but he could feel that when he opened his mouth, the sounds that he tried so hard to suppress would escape. So he merely nods his head.
‘This boy… his tears have already dripped down to the floor, and he still wants to act tough.’ a helpless smile appeared on Lin Xiao’s face. He could expose him, but if Xia Yushen doesn’t want to show his weakest moment to Lin Xiao, he won’t force the boy. ‘But, let me see his resolve…’ he thought to himself as he stared at the crestfallen Xia Yushen.
“Do you want to win against them?”
Once again, Xia Yushen only replied with a nod of his head.
“I can’t hear you. I’ll ask again, do you want to win against them?”
“… Yes…” Xia Yushen forced an answer out of his lips, trying his best to sound as normal as possible.
Unfortunately, Lin Xiao still wasn’t satisfied with such a timid answer. “Shenshen, ah, look at me when you answer.”
At this, Xia Yushen already knew that Lin Xiao wouldn’t stop until he did as he was told. So he quickly wiped his tears with his sleeve before he looked up to face Lin Xiao.
Though he has already wiped his tears, fresh tears are threatening to fall down his cheek. Taking several deep breaths to collect his emotion, Xia Yushen finally voiced out with much difficulty: “I… want to win…”
He had thought that Lin Xiao would tease him for crying, but when he saw that there was only a proud smile on his face, Xia Yushen was shocked. Then, as if being encouraged by that smile, he continued to speak, no longer caring that the tears are now freely cascading down his cheeks.
“Brother Lin, I want to win… I hate that I can’t even fight to protect Shizun’s dignity… I want to win and make them apologise…” Xia Yushen said, before finally breaking into a sob.
“Alright, that is good,” Lin Xiao said, before he picked Xia Yushen up and let the boy cry on his shoulder. He gently pats Xia Yushen’s back, before he stood up and walked away carrying him. “You can cry all you want. After this, I will teach you everything I know so that you can win. If you listen to this big brother, then you are guaranteed to win within a week,” he added in a confident tone.
Xia Yushen pulled away slightly to look at Lin Xiao. But because of the tears, his vision was blurry, so he wiped them away with his sleeve again. Once he could see the look on Lin Xiao’s face, he knew that Lin Xiao was serious when he said it.
“Can it be five days instead?” Xia Yushen asked after a while.
This question made Lin Xiao pause in his track before he looked over at the boy in his arm. “Why?”
“In five days… there will be a small annual competition being held in our family. There will also be a children’s division so…”
“Forget it.” Lin Xiao quickly cut Xia Yushen off. Even without Xia Yushen finish that sentence, Lin Xiao knew what Xia Yushen wanted to say. “Wanting to win that competition in five days is impossible even if I became a god. Even these seven days' period are already tight and you haven’t even experienced your new training regime. If you feel you can do more after you experience it, then we’ll talk about winning the competition again. If not, then you have to be content with the seven days period.”
“Oh…” Xia Yushen could not hide his disappointment. But there was nothing else that he could say. “Wait! New training regime?” Xia Yushen asked, dread suddenly filling his heart.
“That’s right. If you want to win within seven days, your training schedules, methods and frequency must be changed. Ah, but you must keep this a secret from Shizun or I won’t teach you anymore. What I am going to teach you… is not Shizun’s Soaring Hawk Style,” Lin Xiao informed Xia Yushen. “It’s… something that was stuck with me despite losing my memories. It is a bit… dirty but I assure you, if you can master this, you won’t need to be afraid of being bullied in the future!”
Xia Yushen could not understand why Lin Xiao said that it was dirty. It wasn’t until he learned one of the move that he could finally comprehend why it was called ‘dirty’. Though this single move is being obscured in several… what Xia Yushen considers as fancy steps leading up to it, the end result would still be deadly.
‘Brother Lin… if I do this, won’t those children lose their ability to pee?’