CH 14

Ch14 - Experiment

The others looked at Yiyan with envy and jealousy. Everyone knew the master favored him, but no one thought it’d be to this extent. This was the kind of task only trusted subordinates got!

Yiyan didn’t spare them any thought. The vague smile on his gorgeous face had captured him completely. He blushed like a tomato and went to Liang Feng’s side. With only a step’s distance between them, he could detect his faint fragrance floating in the wind. His heart sped and his breath quickened. Liang Feng didn’t notice as he casually laid his hand on Yiyan’s arm.

He was still sick, after all, and after dallying so long with Tian Chang, sitting in a chilly hall to put on airs for over an hour, his legs were nearly numb. The benefits of having a personal bodyguard were particularly apparent right then. He doubted Lüzhu would be able to haul him off the ground.

“The rest of you are dismissed. You’ll begin training the day after tomorrow,” Liang Feng said as he very elegantly leaned half his weight on Yiyan. They began to slowly shuffle over to the bedroom. This youngster was quite astute. He compliantly matched his speed, doing his best impression of a human-shaped crutch.

After reaching the bedroom, Liang Feng’s legs finally gave out as he sat back on the bed.

They didn’t even have chairs yet in this damn era. It was lucky he was the head of household, or he wouldn’t even have a rest to lean on. If it were a formal occasion, he still had to sit properly in seiza. Liang Feng had wanted to get a few woodworkers to make a high-legged chair or two, but who knew that in this era, pants were more like crotchless chaps. The trousers that did have closed crotches, just beginning to come into fashion, were only used when horseback riding or going on outings. Formal occasions still called for crotchless pants.

And since he was so frail that he required caretaking, he was obliged to wear “leggings” that were pretty much two tubes of cloth encased around his legs and tied at the waist with strings. Not only were they crotchless, they strongly resembled women’s garters. Wearing those, don’t mention sitting on a chair, it’d be indecent as hell if he even parted his legs slightly in seiza.

No wonder everyone sat in seiza before the Tang Dynasty. As long closed-crotch pants didn’t become widespread, any kind of furniture revolution would remain an empty daydream.

At least he’d achieved quite a bit that day. Suppressing the old retainer was only secondary, what was most important was having people that he could personally train as private soldiers. Of course, Liang Feng didn’t plan on just recklessly recruiting random rabble. He’d see how it went with the people he had on hand first. He’d consider expanding his forces once he had a batch of capable soldiers. With precedents like Yan Sheng and Tian Chang, he couldn’t be sure that there weren’t any more two-faced rats hiding within the estate. It was crucial to have a fighting force that belonged to him.

When Lüzhu came over, she glared at Yiyan like he was intruding on her territory. Liang Feng couldn’t help but chuckle. He knew, of course, that Lüzhu cared deeply about her master, but he was still a grown man from the twenty-first century. It was tolerable during the day, but at night, he really didn’t want the luxury of having a preteen girl wait on him hand and foot.

He coughed lightly and informed Lüzhu, “In the future, Yiyan will remain in the main residence to attend to me and take up night duty.”

Lüzhu protested in dismay, “Master, what would this crude barbarian know about anything? You’re still unwell, how can you let this kind of person by your side… ”

Yiyan pressed his lips and said earnestly, “I can learn!”

Liang Feng and Lüzhu both paused in surprise at the silly youngster’s unexpected retort. Liang Feng couldn’t help sputtering into laughter. He raised a brow at the servant girl, “Lüzhu, you may as well just take on this disciple. Make sure to teach him well.”

Lüzhu blushed in anger at being teased but couldn’t come up with a retort. Liang Feng then addressed Yiyan, “Do you normally use your left or right hand?”

Yiyan was still caught up on the idea of personally attending to him. He blankly raised his left hand.

So, he was a southpaw. Liang Feng nodded, “Very good. Starting today, you’ll need to practice distinguishing between left and right. When I say left, turn to the left. When I say right, then turn to the right. Understand? ”

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

That was very simple. Yiyan instantly nodded, “Yes.”

Qtlif tf kjr ralii ijhlcu jybea bc atf yfv, Oljcu Mfcu revvfcis bgvfgfv, “Kegc gluta, atgff rafqr obgkjgv!”

Qtfc qfbqif qgjmalmfv wjgmtlcu lc obgwjalbc obg atf olgra alwf, atfs’v jii yf vlgfmalbcjiis mbcoerfv ab rbwf fzafca, frqfmljiis ifoa-tjcvfgr; yea Tlsjc, klatbea j rtgfv bo tfrlajalbc, lcrajcais aegcfv gluta jcv ragbvf atgff rafqr.

“Turn left, forward one step. About face.” Liang Feng continued and purposely threw in a new command.

However, Yiyan wasn’t tripped up. He even intuitively used his heel as a pivot to quickly turn around. His adaptability was truly amazing.

“Very good.” Liang Feng clapped lightly, “How is your endurance? How many kilometers can you travel in a day?”

Caught off guard by the subject change, Yiyan thought for a moment before answering, “Sixty kilometers.”

That was very specific, and very fast too. Liang Feng raised his brow, “You’ve done it before?”

“Last year when we were fleeing famine, I traveled from Wu Township to Xiangyuan in one day. The official road is sixty kilometers,” Yiyan answered matter-of-factly, as if it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.

But, Liang Feng had a concrete concept of what it meant to walk dozens of kilometers a day. Legend had it that back in the days of the Red Army’s rapid advance, their fastest pace had only reached sixty kilometers per day. That he, a fleeing teenager, was able to do it was no easy feat. Liang Feng nodded and asked Lüzhu, “How many kilometers is the circumference of the estate?”

Lüzhu blinked and hesitatingly answered, “At least several, I suppose?”

The young girl really didn’t have a sense of distance. Liang Feng instead asked, “Is there anything that can be used to record time?”

“Are you talking about a water clock, master?” This question, Lüzhu understood. She hurriedly got to the desk and hauled out a copper-made cylinder, “You can track time with a water clock.

Liang Feng glanced at it and figured it wasn’t too different from an hourglass, using the speed of flowing water instead of sand. There were etchings on the side too, probably indicating units of time. He nodded in satisfaction then said to Yiyan, “Run one lap around the estate as fast as you can.”

Yiyan was puzzled but didn’t question him. He sprinted out of the room. Liang Feng said to Lüzhu, who was gaping like a stunned fish, “Mark the time and track how long it takes for him to get back.”

Leaving Lüzhu to ponder his intentions, he closed his eyes and started to count silently. After about twenty minutes, they heard heavy breathing and footsteps at the door. Liang Feng opened his eyes to see that a sweat-soaked Yiyan had returned.

He asked, “How long has it been?”

“More than one quarter, less than two quarters,” Lüzhu replied after checking the clock.

Liang Feng questioned Yiyan, “Can you tell how far you ran?”

A competent military officer needed to have a precise feel for distance. Liang Feng hadn’t instructed him beforehand, precisely to test whether this youngster was just mindlessly running or keeping track of surroundings. As expected, it only took a moment before Yiyan answered, “About six kilometers.”

Though there were differences in the unit of measurement, it was no wonder he was soaked in sweat after running six kilometers in twenty minutes; but it was proof that his endurance was indeed excellent. Perhaps it was thanks to his youth, or perhaps people in this era were simply hardier in general. Having a land like this was certainly convenient for training.

Liang Feng grinned and instructed Yiyan, “Go run another lap, but conserve your energy this time. Don’t go too fast when you start out, increase your pace as you approach the endpoint. Try to select a route that’s about five kilometers.”

No matter how good his stamina was, there was no way he could run another five kilometers at his previous speed. Although, Liang Feng needed him to complete it. The 5k was an essential part of training for new troops. It’d all be pointless if even the military instructor couldn’t run it. Seeing that Yiyan was about to take off again, Liang Feng added, “Inhale through mouth and nose simultaneously, exhale through your mouth. Time it to your pace, two steps inhale, one step exhale. When running fast, change to one step inhale. Try it out.”

That was a science-backed breathing technique for long-distance running. Even so, a good breathing habit wasn’t something build up in a mere day. He’d see how teachable this fellow was, first.

Yiyan nearly tripped at his words, then as if being chased, he disappeared in a dust cloud.

Lüzhu came back to her senses and asked confusedly, “Master, what are you making him scamper around for?”

“Before soldiers learn to fight, they must first learn how to run.” Liang Feng smiled and didn’t explain further. He ordered, “Go prepare brush and ink, I’ve a letter to write.”

Lüzhu instantly went on alert, “Master, you’ve already been up and about for most of the day already. Imperial Physician Jiang already said not to tire yourself out.”

“It’s fine.” Liang Feng knew his condition wasn’t good, but Physician Jiang was probably going to leave tomorrow. If he didn’t copy the scripture out immediately, he’d probably miss his chance to let the physician deliver it.

Seeing as her master’s mind was set, Lüzhu bit her lip and started arranging the desk. In a short time, the paper, brush, ink, inkstone were all laid out neatly. She even set up an intricately carved incense censer and scattered a spoon of fragrance in. Wispy smoke floated out of its lid The smell was livening and refreshing, overpowering the faint stench of ink.

Liang Feng managed to sit up and shuffle to the desk. It was only about a meter high. This time he sat properly in seiza and didn’t slack off. Perhaps the body he occupied had already gotten into the habit, but sitting in seiza wasn’t as uncomfortable as he expected. He picked up a brush and lightly rubbed its tip. Its quality was excellent, supple and strong, probably made of rabbit fur. The paper, of course, wasn’t Xuan paper, but it wasn’t too bad either; its color and texture were even.

It’d been years since he’d used brush calligraphy. Liang Feng took a deep breath, hoped not to make a fool of himself, dipped the brush in ink, and began to write. It came out a blotted mess; his wrist was still shaky and weak and he was out of practice. Not to mention that, as he worked to recall the Diamond Sutra’s original text, he paused frequently, making his calligraphy look more like some kind of ritual talisman.

The Diamond Sutra had thirty-two chapters in total. Liang Feng was transcribing the last chapter, the one containing the line “Are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow; Like dew or a flash of lightning.” After arduously putting these hundred or so words to paper, he stopped to examine his work. He shook his head and prepared to rewrite it. At that time Yiyan, who’d noticeably slowed his pace, returned. He looked up and took in his appearance.

Yiyan’s face was flushed and dusty and his clothes were pretty much soaked through from running eleven kilometers all at once, but even so, he looked to be in good spirits. He’d probably gotten a grasp on the breathing technique if he was still so energetic. Liang Feng reckoned that it’d probably been just over twenty minutes. He smiled but instead of saying anything related to running, asked, “Yiyan, do you know how to grind ink?”

“Master!” Lüzhu’s eyes widened, not daring to believe that he would give the “important task” of grinding ink to someone else.

Liang Feng said, “What, are you afraid I won’t need you anymore? Let him learn. He’ll have use of it eventually.”

Lüzhu couldn’t have imagined there would be a day when, instead of her, it’d be some barbarian waiting on him at his desk. But Yiyan had already walked forward and kneeled beside the table as if to take on the task of grinding ink. Lüzhu was so indignant she wanted to grind her teeth. Her small hand remained clamped like a vise on the inkstone.

Liang Feng ignored the two youngster’s antics and focused his attention on writing. The feeling of familiarity began to resurface while he practiced. Calligraphy was like swimming, once someone learned it for a few years, it would become ingrained into muscle memory. Liang Feng’s brush strokes gentled as he recalled those days when his grandfather would shut him in the study to have him practice.

Yiyan’s shoulders and jaw stiffened; he tried to quieten his breathing. It was his first time witnessing what his lord was like when he wrote. The light of the setting sun scattering through the window softly illuminated the figure at the table, holding a brush in one hand, his wrist suspended above the desk, as he scrawled something. When his brilliant black eyes were slightly lowered, the sharpness seemed to vanish away. He was like the incense burner behind him, delicate and exquisite from head to toe, too beautiful to touch.

The faint fragrance drifted lightly in the study; the thin wrist swayed slightly in dance. Yiyan’s gaze stuck uncontrollably to that pale jade-like hand, with fingers so long and slender that held the deep purple brush shaft so nimbly, that it felt like they held his heart.

Lüzhu gradually began to hold her breath as well She had waited on him for years, and had seen countless texts but had never seen script so elegant or regal. When had her master changed his handwriting? But, this script suited her master so very much, like bamboo in the wind, like lotus upon a pond, unforgettable.

Liang Feng copied it over four times in a single sitting before he put down his brush and carefully looked over his work. He hadn’t been able to bring out the essence of the Liu-style calligraphy; his brushstrokes were too feeble. But then again, the Liu style had been known for being stately and rigorous; it was especially true of Liu Gongquan’s penultimate work, the Diamond Sutra. The Sage of Calligraphy, Wang Xizhi of Eastern Jin had not been born yet. Since the regular script was based on Zhong Yao’s style, the Liu style was sure to be a breath of fresh air.

The scripture was going to be sent to Wang Wen, who was not only a controller but a member of the Taiyuan Wang clan. None of the effort he put in would go to waste.

Liang Feng asked, “This scripture, how’s it look?”

“Master, your handwriting has become… ” Lüzhu mumbled, “become a lot prettier than before.”

“Only this script would be worthy of this scripture.” Liang Feng smiled and asked Yiyan, “Are you literate? What do you think?”

Yiyan looked at his twinkling eyes, his ears reddened, “I….I….”

His face had already been flushed from running, now his neck was also red. Liang Feng didn’t think this youngster was so easily flustered. He couldn’t help laughing, “If you’re not literate, there’ll be time to learn in the future. Help me up, won’t you.”

Yiyan just then hadn’t heard his lord’s question at all, he was still entranced by the sight of him. Hearing that the other needed assistance, he instantly wiped his hand on his clothes to clean off the dried sweat and dirt, and carefully supported Liang Feng by the arm.

He’d been sitting in seiza for quite a while. Liang Feng’s legs were nearly numb. He stumbled when he tried to stand. Yiyan was afraid to stand too close. He’d just run two laps around the estate; there wasn’t a clean spot on him. If he accidentally touched his lord’s robes…. Somehow his already red ears got even redder. He silently, carefully helped him to the bed then instantly stepped back and slightly lowered his head.

Liang Feng didn’t notice Yiyan’s frivolous thoughts. He said, “Starting tomorrow, you’ll serve as sergeant and train the militia on my behalf.”

The translator has something to say:

Old units of measurement will be converted into some unholy mishmash of imperial/metric to save readers some effort & confusion.