After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 732 The Necessity of Learning Martial Arts

There was no one else in the yard. Jin Jiashu looked back in the direction of the upper room. Seeing that no one else had come out, he quickened his pace and walked to Haitang's side. He lowered his voice and was about to speak: "Sister Hai..."

Haitang interrupted him and said, "Brother Jin, no matter what you originally thought, you should really learn the martial arts of horse riding and archery now."

Jin Jiashu was stunned: "Ah?"

"Don't you want to go to the capital?" Haitang stopped and looked back at him. "If the emperor really wants you to go to the capital, you may have to march quickly on the way. Your horse riding skills are still average now, right? If you don't want to suffer too much on the way, you'd better practice more. Besides, your safety after entering the capital is hard to say. If the emperor wants to embarrass you, no one can help, but if it is the Sun family or someone else who wants to harm you, then you'd better have some self-protection ability. Don't think that if someone follows you to protect you, you will be safe. When you lived in our house before, there were soldiers from the Zhenguo Mansion in the same courtyard to protect you, and my second uncle and brother were outside, but when the bad guys climbed over the wall, they could still get to you. At that time, I could protect you, but who can protect you when you go to the capital? If you have the ability to protect yourself, at least there is room for maneuver, and you can buy more time before the reinforcements arrive."

Jin Jiashu took it in and said, "Sister Hai, what you said... makes sense. But... I don't know if I can learn it."

"My brother has taught you for several years, but you can only practice to this level. It shows that your talent is almost entirely in studying, and your martial arts skills are very average. However, even if you fail to learn martial arts, if you make your body stronger, you will have the strength to run farther when you escape." Haitang thought for a while, "I will teach you a few more self-defense techniques, how to counterattack attackers when they are caught off guard, how to escape when you are tied up, how to identify common sleeping pills, and techniques for finding an escape route..."

Jin Jiashu's eyes widened as he listened: "Is it... necessary to learn so much?!"

"It's better to be prepared." Haitang glanced at him, "You asked to go to the capital yourself. If you hadn't taken the risk, I wouldn't have thought of teaching you these things..."

Many of these skills were acquired by Haijiao when he was a spy in his previous life. Haitang pestered him to learn them when she was free. It was originally just a pastime, but also a means of self-protection and learning new skills. Even if it is not used in this life, it may come in handy in the future. I didn't expect that I would teach Jin Jiashu before I used it myself.

If Haijiao was still there, it would be easier for him to teach. After all, he was the one with rich practical experience, while Haitang could only read from the book...

Jin Jiashu took a deep breath. The trip to the capital seemed to be more complicated than he had expected. However, Haitang's words were not without reason. Some things might be learned in vain, but learning them in vain would only waste his time. However, once he encountered a time when they could be used, he could use them to save his life.

Human life is the most important thing. He has to save his own life first before he can talk about the future and ask the two elders of the Hai family to marry the girl they like.

If he died in the capital, then all his hopes for a better future from the emperor, the freedom from his "aunt," and his future life would be in vain and meaningless. Jin Jiashu stood at the gate of the courtyard, silent for a moment, and then said to Haitang solemnly, "Sister Hai is right. The most important thing for me now is to learn how to protect myself. There is no need to worry about other things. As long as I can return safely from the capital, I will eventually be able to do what I want."

Haitang suddenly felt annoyed with his confident tone and wanted to refute him, but she felt it was unnecessary. Jin Jiashu still had many difficulties to overcome. If he couldn't overcome them, it would be useless to say these things. If he could overcome them, she would have plenty of opportunities to teach him a lesson in the future. Why rush now?

Thinking of this, she said to Jin Jiashu, "You have to find time to practice riding. You'd better temporarily reduce the time for reading and writing, but you have to ensure daily horse riding practice. At least, you have to be able to ride more than 2,000 miles by yourself, and if you encounter danger, you can also escape on a fast horse without falling off the horse in the middle of the journey."

Jin Jiashu nodded seriously. Riding skills were indeed the focus of his practice.

Haitang continued, "I will teach you the skills of self-defense. You'd better say hello to Mammy Ma so that I can go to your house to teach you openly. Originally, if Guard Lin was at home, I wouldn't have to worry about this matter, because he would be the master to teach you. But now that he has gone out to do something, and my second uncle and brother are not here, unless Mammy Ma can find someone else you can trust to teach you, it would be better for me to do it myself. At the very least, if I go to your house, or if you come to my house, it will make the least noise and will not easily attract attention."

Jin Jiashu thought for a moment and said, "Mammy has been busy lately and may not be able to spare the time to take care of my martial arts training. There is no need to disturb her about this matter. I will come here every day to learn martial arts. Grandma Hai cares about me very much. As long as I explain the whole story to her, I think she will not be angry."

Haitang frowned and said, "Did you have a conflict with Mama? Otherwise, why would you hide such a serious matter from her? No matter how busy she is, she has to go home every day and will always know what you are doing. Do you think practicing martial arts means staying at my house for half an hour every day and practicing the routines? Even in your own home, you have to practice all the time. Now that you can't find someone to practice with you, if you can't practice the routines well and can't react immediately when others make a move, and avoid or get away in time, then this hard training will be meaningless."

Jin Jiashu couldn't tell Ma Shangyi that she was very opposed to his private contact with Haitang, and was not optimistic that he could marry the girl he wanted, so he could only vaguely say: "Mammy is eager to urge me to study, and doesn't like me to practice riding and martial arts. She is afraid that I will bump into something, or get sick from the wind when I go out. She always thinks that she will take good care of me, and the task of protecting me is also the responsibility of Guard Lin and the imperial guards he brought. She doesn't think I need to practice martial arts on my own. If I insist on learning, it seems that I don't trust those people from the palace... Rather than making her angry, it's better for me to learn and practice in private. If I can't use it after entering the capital, that's the best, and it won't alarm anyone; but if I can use it... then Mammy and the others can feel at ease."

That sounds like it makes sense...

Haitang pursed her lips and simply stopped asking. How Jin Jiashu got along with the people sent by the palace was his own business and had nothing to do with her. She was not related to him, but just a neighbor...

Haitang whispered, "I'll write a list later, and you can ask Aunt Lu to prepare three meals a day for you according to the list. You need to supplement your nutrition when practicing martial arts, otherwise it will hurt your body. Come over every day when you are free, and I will teach you the moves. You can practice them by yourself at home. When you are familiar with them, I will let Xiao Shitou practice with you, and you can also accumulate some experience. But these are all aboveboard things, and I dare to teach you in front of my grandma. As for those not so aboveboard things..." She paused, "I will find another time later to tell you what to do without others!"

(End of this chapter)