Ling Mohan, hearing this, put down the scroll in his hand and his gaze fell upon Da Bao. After a moment of hesitation, he slowly walked forward.
Holding a small stick, he lightly tapped Da Bao's slightly bent thigh twice and said sternly, "Your thigh is too straight. If it bends like this..."
"Straighten your arms!"
"Straighten your waist..."
Ling Mohan patiently pointed out Da Bao's flaws. Even a simple horse stance was executed so poorly, riddled with errors everywhere. And this child still wanted to learn other things. If it were known that he was the one who taught him, it would be truly embarrassing.
"With your current skill, you should focus on perfecting the horse stance before anything else!"
Deep in his eyes was undisguised disdain. Da Bao was too restless, finding it difficult to calm his mind. He was always fantasizing, thinking about unattainable things.
In contrast, Er Bao was calm and steady, never seeking shortcuts, and his basic training was now quite good.
After another half an hour, Ling Mohan, seeing that the time was almost up, finally told them to stop and rest.
"We'll train until this point today. Practice well when you return. If tomorrow yields no progress like today, I will punish you again."
Ling Mohan put on a stern demeanor. If he were truly gentle with them, it would be difficult to subdue them, especially the clever Da Bao, who would take advantage if given an inch.
If he didn't establish his authority from the beginning, it would be truly difficult to manage Da Bao in the future.
After giving a few instructions, Ling Mohan turned to leave.
Standing behind, Da Bao and Er Bao instantly felt something was missing. Didn't Father have something else for them?
Da Bao reacted first, trotting forward and grabbing Ling Mohan's sleeve: "Father, did you forget something?"
Stopping his forward progress, Ling Mohan looked at Da Bao, assessing him. With a single glance, he saw through Da Bao's little scheme but still pretended to be completely oblivious.
"Ah, yes... you're right, I forgot."
Thinking his father had remembered, Da Bao's eyes lit up, and he eagerly awaited his beloved wooden sword to be returned to him. However, the final outcome proved that his anticipation was merely wishful thinking.
"You will practice for another half an hour, and Er Bao will supervise you!"
Da Bao's bright little face immediately drooped. The smile that had been on his lips vanished without a trace.
"Father..."
"Say one more word, and you'll practice for an additional half hour."
This declaration immediately made Da Bao swallow back the words that were about to be spoken. He stared at Ling Mohan with mournful eyes.
"What are you standing around for? Continue practicing!"
Under Ling Mohan's stern gaze, Da Bao reluctantly resumed his horse stance.
"Er Bao, you supervise him. Make sure he doesn't slack off."
"Yes, Father."
Er Bao was very willing to do this. He was a perfect replica of Ling Mohan, with a face still carrying childishness but filled with a stern expression.
Glancing at Er Bao, who was performing well, Ling Mohan couldn't help but smile. This boy was truly like him.
His appearance, temperament, and disposition were as if carved from the same mold, identical. With Er Bao supervising, he had nothing to worry about. After a few simple instructions, he walked away.
After practicing for only a short while, Da Bao was already exhausted, sweat beading on his forehead.
"Er Bao, is it time yet?"
Er Bao glanced at the incense burner beside him, which was only half burned, and said slowly, "Not yet. It's only half past. You should keep going."
At this moment, Da Bao was truly despairing. His father had finally left, but why was there a supervisor left behind? Was this meant to exhaust him to death?
"Er Bao, Father is gone. You can stop now!"
"No. Father said to practice for half an hour. It's only been half the time. Besides, this is all for your own good. If your foundation is unstable, no matter how profound the martial arts you learn, they will be full of flaws!"
Father had said that practicing the horse stance built fundamental skills. Only with a stable foundation would learning other things be twice as effective. If the foundation was unstable, it would merely be a showy display, impressive to look at but useless in practice.
Moreover, Da Bao's fundamental skills were indeed lacking. Practicing a little longer now would bring nothing but benefits, and it was all for his own good.
Da Bao wished Er Bao would disappear from his sight immediately and stop tormenting him.
Father was gone, and he had thought he could rest for a while, but he hadn't expected to have a second father here, who was even more ruthless than his father.
This half an hour felt as long as a year. Only when the last wisp of incense burned out did Da Bao finally breathe a sigh of relief. He instantly collapsed onto the ground as if his bones had melted, gasping for breath, large beads of sweat trickling down uncontrollably.
"Time's up. Get up quickly and stretch your muscles, or you'll be sore all over later."
They had suffered for a long time because they had been lazy and didn't stretch their muscles after practicing the horse stance. It had been truly uncomfortable.
Now, Da Bao showed no memory of that, still sitting lazily on the ground. Did he want to be sore all over again later?
With no other choice but to be nagged by Er Bao, his ears were almost calloused. Da Bao finally stood up reluctantly, dragging his sore, seemingly about-to-break legs, and slowly began to move.
"You keep stretching. I'm going back to my room to catch up on sleep."
Er Bao yawned. He was really sleepy. If it weren't for Da Bao dragging him down earlier, he would have already returned to his room for a lie-in.
Seeing that Er Bao had also returned to his room, Da Bao decided not to continue stretching: "I'll go back with you."
Da Bao shouted after Er Bao's retreating back. His legs didn't hurt as much now, and he quickened his pace, catching up to Er Bao in no time.
"Running so fast, aren't your legs sore at all?"
Looking at Er Bao, who was still walking with nimble steps, he seemed to be from a different world. They had just gone through the same experience, yet Er Bao appeared not tired at all, but rather very relaxed. What was going on?
"I'm used to it."
Practicing day in and day out, from the initial discomfort and soreness to the current habituation, he had long grown accustomed to it.