76 Acquainted? (1/2)

Strange. Roland felt that this girl's words seemed quite odd.

Indistinctly, this girl seemed to give him a familiar feeling. However, after Roland gave it some thought, he confirmed that he really had never seen her before. She looked quite pretty and sophisticated, and she definitely would've left an impression on him if he'd seen her before.

Seeming to feel that she had spoken a little too much, the girl turned back around and walked forward in silence.

The two of them arrived in front of the storehouse behind the large shed, and the girl opened the door with a key. There were many weapons inside, along with some protective gear.

”Choose one that you like.” The girl walked in first.

Roland walked into the storehouse. He discovered that there were miaodaos placed horizontally across a wooden weapons rack, and also sword sheaths.

He randomly picked one up. Although it was wooden, the length of the miadao was apparent; it was somewhat heavy in his hands. The sheathe was made of bamboo, the workmanship decent, and the shaft was quite glossy, seemingly having been immersed in tung oil.

Roland raised the miaodao. He wanted to draw it from the sheathe for a closer look. But in the end, the miaodao was too long and he couldn't draw it out.

”It's easier to unsheathe it if you hold it horizontally.”

The girl said this while she held a tape measure and approached him. She sized up Roland for a while and said, ”Stand still.”

Soon afterward, she started measuring Roland's height, and the circumference of his chest, waist, and arms.

After the girl got close, that sweet osmanthus fragrance was even stronger.

Roland was somewhat surprised. He let her take his measurements, but he still asked, ”Before learning miaodao techniques, I still need to go through a physical examination?”

”This is for making your protective gear.” The girl measured the dimensions of the various parts of Roland's body while saying in a quiet voice, ”Even a wooden sword is quite dangerous.”

Roland was somewhat astonished. He said, ”But I didn't see those youngsters wear any protective gear.”

”It's obviously unnecessary when practicing the routine movements.” The girl stood up and said matter-of-factly, ”However, when sparring, you'll have to wear them, otherwise even a slight hit from a wooden sword would be quite painful.”

”Do I have to pay separately for this protective gear?” Roland asked. He felt that this was a separate hidden fee!

The girl shook her head. ”It's free.”

”Free breakfast, free swords and protective gear, the benefits are pretty good,” Roland said with a smile.

At this moment, the girl had already finished measuring his physical dimensions, and upon hearing his words, she said in a light voice, ”Although the tuition is a little expensive, the things we teach are actually worth the price.”

Roland keenly recognized this. He was somewhat surprised, and after a while, the strange feeling he had become more apparent. Somewhat baffled, he asked, ”Have we… met before?”

The girl spared a glance at him, her expression serene. ”What do you think?”

Roland felt that he had over-thought it, chuckling awkwardly.

Then, he picked a random wooden sword and left the storehouse quickly.

At the large shed, Qi Shaoqiu was already there waiting for him.

This man leaned against the load-bearing metal pillar of the large shed, smoking a cheap cigarette. His emotionless dead fish eyes had a kind of sorrowfully cool feel to them.

Of course, this was only an illusion, as Qi Shaoqiu's air changed the moment he spoke. ”If you spent a little more time alone with my sister, I would've gone to beat you.”

Roland couldn't help but roll his eyes.

”All right, now that you've chosen your saber, you can bring it home later or leave it here with us for safekeeping.” Qi Shaoqiu pinched out the fire on the cigarette then placed the cigarette into his pocket, and said, ”Since you've trained in boxing before, then we don't need to do the basics like stretching the muscles and joints. Now I'll briefly explain the basic footwork of miadao techniques. In sword techniques, the majority of movements can be completed with the exchange between goose-steps and horse stance, so for the stereotypical horse stance, you'll have to practice it for half an hour each day. Then there's the basic way to hold the saber, unlike the Wa people…”

Qi Shaoqiu instructed and demonstrated at the same time.