My Wife Came From A Thousand Years Ago

Chapter 8: Very Strong

"What about inner strength? The Eighteen Palms of the Dragon? The Longevity Technique? The Demonic Arts?" Xu Qing continued his questioning.

Jiang He looked utterly puzzled, frowning as she asked, "What's that?"

"How did you... train in martial arts, then?"

"I've been training since I was a child."

"Do you think I could learn it?"

Xu Qing straightened up, making a few gestures and looking at her expectantly.

"You're too old." Jiang He glanced him up and down briefly, then shook her head. "Even if you have determination and perseverance, you wouldn't achieve much."

"Oh, come on! It doesn't have to be great success, as long as I can learn something. How about I become your disciple?"

"Is there some sort of strict tradition around accepting disciples?" Xu Qing slapped his forehead. "Was I being too abrupt? No worries, let’s just..."

"No, not really. It's all just martial tricks, there's no formal apprenticeship."

Seeing his expression, Jiang He couldn't bear to refuse, so she stepped back a couple of steps, stabilized her stance, and said, "To practice martial arts, you must start with training your waist; training the waist starts with stance work, and force is generated from the ground up..."

"Wait, wait... are we starting already?" Xu Qing was dumbfounded.

Her decisiveness was astonishing.

"You're already of a certain age, and martial arts take a long time to master, bit by bit, accumulating over time."

"Is there a way to skip the stance work?"

"How would you train without stance work?" Jiang He asked, perplexed.

"…"

Xu Qing hesitated. "How long do I need to practice this stance?"

"Three years, maybe."

"Uh... okay, well, try on those clothes first. If they don't fit, I can exchange them at the store." Xu Qing casually turned around, gathered the bag from the couch, and handed it to Jiang He. "As for the rest... think it over. If you really don’t understand, I’ll figure something out to teach you."

"Not training anymore?"

"Next time, for sure."

Three years of stance work... If he had that kind of patience, he’d have joined the army ages ago.

Xu Qing glanced dejectedly at the sword on the table, then, unwilling to give up, asked again, "Can I just learn sword techniques?"

"Your hands can't keep up with your eyes, and your eyes can't keep up with your hands. You’d only learn some flashy moves."

"Fine."

After closing the door to her room, Jiang He went to try on the clothes. Xu Qing, left sitting on the couch, picked up Jiang He’s sword out of boredom. After testing its weight and practicing a couple of stances, he put it back and sighed deeply.

His dream of being a martial arts hero had been shattered.

No, he thought to himself, once they became closer, he’d have to coax some secret techniques out of her somehow.

A moment later, Jiang He came out of the room, now dressed in a beige, long-sleeved knit sweater paired with jeans, her hair tied back with a simple string, looking clean and sharp. Xu Qing’s eyes lit up.

Clothes really make a person; this ancient girl in modern clothing looked pretty good.

"Everything fits well, thank you… young hero." Jiang He felt a little awkward in these clothes and tugged at the hem. Saying that title made her feel even more out of place.

Xu Qing cheerfully waved his hand. "It’s nothing!"

He paused, studying Jiang He closely, then, rubbing his chin, said thoughtfully, "Don’t move… turn around for me."

"I forgot to buy you a proper hair tie; that string you’re using looks odd, doesn’t match the outfit. Just let your hair down for now."

As Jiang He loosened her hair, letting it cascade down, Xu Qing nodded in satisfaction, and the last bit of mismatch faded away.

"Later tonight, I’ll take you out for a walk and pick up a new hair tie. Don’t let me forget." He gave her this instruction before pulling out a list of notes and questions he’d jotted down the night before.

This girl was very cooperative, making things much easier for him—or rather, for both of them.

Xu Qing appreciated dealing with smart people. It saved him from wasting energy on needless troubles… Fortunately, this ancient girl was only lacking in understanding, not intelligence.

---

By afternoon…

"What are you doing?"

Hearing noises outside, Jiang He peeked out from her room, hesitated, then stepped into the living room to stand behind Xu Qing, eyeing the strange object in front of him.

"This is called a computer."

Xu Qing paused his work, still wary from the time she’d destroyed the TV, and carefully explained its functions, including the kinds of things she might see on it.

A TV was just a few hundred yuan, but this computer was worth ten times that, a truly valuable item.

"Is the book… difficult to read?" Noticing her somewhat dejected expression, he asked.

"Yes, very difficult."

Jiang He nodded slightly, after a pause. "I’ll go through it slowly."

"Take your time, no rush… After all, this is something no one else has ever experienced. If it were me, I’d probably do worse than you." Xu Qing reassured her, confirming that she wasn’t about to kick his computer, then continued watching.

"What’s that?" Jiang He asked again.

"It’s hard to explain… Just think of it as a ‘Thousand-Mile Eye.’ I can see what’s happening far away on this screen."

Xu Qing held a pen, with a notebook in front of him, and the screen was showing a rebroadcast of the evening news—something he missed yesterday because she had smashed his TV, so he was catching up now.

Xu Qing’s background was worth mentioning: although he was currently unemployed, he had started a side gig editing various movies during college, eventually becoming a small-time content creator online. It didn’t earn much, but enough to live on.

As for watching the news… it wasn’t for editing material, just a regular habit. Yes, he was an enthusiast of these updates, in every sense.

Jiang He didn’t disturb him further, standing quietly by his side until the news broadcast ended. Xu Qing organized the notes he had taken in his notebook, tucked his pen in, and then she finally asked again, "Don’t you have to work?"

"This is work." Xu Qing chuckled. "In this world, making money takes brains."

"Are you a businessman?"

"Not exactly, but close enough. Once you get familiar with this world, you’ll understand."

He then checked the data on his content creator account, explaining, "Right now, that’s not important for you to understand. You should start with the basics, like history, or at least modern development, to get a general idea."

Jiang He was silent, growing more convinced he was a wealthy young master.

"Oh, by the way, how skilled are your bosses in martial arts?" Xu Qing asked, glancing at the movie clips in his account’s dashboard.

"Very strong."

"Very strong, huh…"

He nodded, moved his mouse, and started a clip from the Jet Li version of The Swordsman, playing it in front of Jiang He’s astonished gaze.

The six-minute edited fight scene was enough to shock Jiang He, especially with Brigitte Lin’s character wielding a needle that could practically move mountains.

A ‘Thousand-Mile Eye’… a way to see events from miles away.

Amused by her reaction, Xu Qing pretended to be serious and asked:

"Are they as strong as this?"

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