DPECT 08

Chapter – 08

Yan Bing Teaches Martial Arts

At first glance, Yan Bing looked rather ordinary.

She had a flat face, a flat chest, and hair cropped short to her ears.

But if you looked a bit longer, you’d realize she was actually quite a pleasing girl to look at.

Zhang Yang, however, had absolutely no interest in her. Yan Bing’s style was far too masculine—she didn’t have a shred of feminine charm about her.

“I don’t eat late-night snacks,” Zhang Yang said, about to close the door.

Yan Bing pressed her hand against it. “I’d like to have a word with you.”

Zhang Yang walked over and sat down on the sofa. “I don’t like beating around the bush. Just say what you have to say.”

“You can’t beat Lan Zhijie.”

“Who?”

“The man in gray from earlier. He’s from the Lan family, a martial arts clan in Jiangnan City.”

Zhang Yang sneered. “You saw it yourself—he couldn’t even block one punch from me. How could he possibly be my match?”

“He’s no match for you in bare-handed combat, but with weapons, I don’t think you’d stand a chance against him.”

Zhang Yang stared at her with piercing eyes, wondering how she could tell he had no formal martial arts foundation. He had hidden it so well.

“I can teach you,” Yan Bing continued. “With your foundation, you’d only need a few days, and Lan Zhijie would no longer be your match.”

“How did you figure out that I have no martial arts background?” Zhang Yang couldn’t help but ask.

“I’m a former special forces soldier. I can tell at a glance whether a person’s body has undergone long-term training. A strong person’s gait, their eyes, even the skin on their hands and feet—everything is different. Lan Zhijie is still young, having just broken through to the Innate Martial Artist level. He couldn’t see through you right away, but once he goes back and thinks it over, and checks into your background, you’ll be exposed in no time.”

“Why are you helping me?”

“You’re a rough diamond. Once you grow stronger, you can be of great help to Sister Yun.”

Zhang Yang didn’t know the exact relationship between Yan Bing and He Shiyun, but everything Yan Bing did seemed to revolve around He Shiyun as her core focus.

For that reason, he believed what she said.

“When do we start?”

“No time like the present. Let’s begin now.”

Led by Yan Bing, the two entered the room at the far end of the fifth floor.

Inside was actually a martial arts hall. Several wooden training dummies stood on the floor, their surfaces covered in long, thin cut marks.

There was also a forest of blades—dozens of knives suspended in midair.

“I’ll go change.”

Yan Bing entered a side room and soon emerged in a tight-fitting workout outfit. Since she wasn’t wearing anything underneath, her chest looked even flatter.

“You already have an internal energy foundation, so you’ll learn fast. You just need to master the simplest combat techniques and avoid a few major pitfalls.”

Next, Yan Bing began explaining various combat principles—for example, using your strengths while avoiding your weaknesses, and the concept of minimizing harm.

Minimizing harm meant knowing when to sacrifice a part to save the whole in a dangerous situation, such as severing an arm to survive or using your palm to shield your chest.

Zhang Yang had an exceptional ability to learn, and he quickly committed all of Yan Bing’s instructions to memory.

Then, Yan Bing began teaching Zhang Yang combat techniques. Before they started, she asked him a question: “Setting aside internal energy and relying purely on technique, which do you think is stronger—the martial arts routines of ancient martial families, or modern combat techniques?”

Zhang Yang thought for a moment and replied, “Modern combat techniques are stronger.”

“I think so too.” Yan Bing nodded. “Not having a martial arts foundation is your disadvantage, but it’s also your strength. The descendants of great families have their minds heavily constrained by traditional martial arts routines. They stick to the old ways and refuse to accept advanced combat techniques. To be blunt, if Lan Zhijie didn’t have internal energy and we were purely comparing technique, I could take his life within a minute.”

“I think that’s the truth.”

When Yan Bing had fought Lan Zhijie, Zhang Yang had already gone downstairs with He Shiyun. He had seen how poised and ruthless she was.

If he could master her fighting techniques, with his current internal energy foundation, beating Lan Zhijie would be a piece of cake.

“Let’s begin. To speed up your training, you’re not allowed to use your inner energy. Okay?”

“Okay.”

…

A whole night passed.

Zhang Yang had been punched in the chest fifty-four times and kicked thirty-two times.

His face had taken twenty-six punches and seventeen kicks.

Dragging his exhausted body, he went back to his room and crashed into a deep sleep.

Eat, sleep, wake up and train—just like that, three days flew by.

Zhang Yang’s combat skills improved by leaps and bounds. Even without using his inner energy, he could trade blows with Yan Bing on fairly even terms.

“Your martial arts talent is the best I’ve ever seen. Bar none.”

After taking a punch to the chest, Yan Bing looked at him in disbelief.

“You’re a great teacher.”

He said that, but Zhang Yang knew the real reason for his talent was that he was a doctor—he understood human anatomy inside out.

He knew exactly what methods could quickly incapacitate an opponent.

“Let’s take a break.”

Yan Bing was drenched in sweat; her clothes were soaked through and clinging to her body.

“Stop staring. There’s nothing there.”

Noticing Zhang Yang’s gaze on her, Yan Bing didn’t shy away. Instead, she made a self-deprecating remark.

“Big has its beauty, small has its delicacy,” Zhang Yang said with a smile.

After several days of getting along, their relationship had grown closer, and they could joke around a little.

“Don’t all you men like them big?” Yan Bing asked curiously.

“Men prefer childhood sweethearts even more.”

“What do you mean?”

“Someone you’ve grown up playing with—from small to big!” (a playful pun in Chinese)

A rare blush appeared on Yan Bing’s face. She shot him a glare. “You men are disgusting.”

He stood up and walked into the changing room.

“She seems to have realized she’s a woman.”

From that day on, Yan Bing’s clothing was no longer the androgynous style she used to wear. She started dressing in proper women’s clothes.

Even the people in the shop seemed to notice she was a woman, and when men passed by, they couldn’t help but steal glances at her.

“Zhang Yang, Sister Yun wants to see you.”

One day, while Zhang Yang was training in the martial arts hall, the two women walked in.

“Yan Bing, go attend to your work. I’d like to have a word with Zhang Yang alone,” He Shiyun instructed.

Yan Bing nodded, withdrew, and closed the door behind her.

“Sister Yun, what do you need from me?”

Zhang Yang grabbed a towel, wiped the sweat off his face, and asked.

He Shiyun was still wearing her tight, curve-hugging cheongsam with a high slit, revealing her smooth, jade-like long legs.

There wasn’t a single part of this woman that didn’t attract men—she exuded a deadly, mature allure.

Zhang Yang only glanced at her for a moment before he felt his body heat up.

He Shiyun caught all of these subtle reactions.

She looked at the face before her—sharp brows, bright eyes, delicate features—more handsome than a celebrity.

He had extraordinary medical skills and knew martial arts. No wonder her personal bodyguard, who had never so much as looked at a man before, had changed her way of dressing.

“Zhang Yang, what do you think of Yan Bing?”

“Cold on the outside, warm on the inside. She has good morals and character.”

“Do you have any feelings for her?”

He Shiyun smiled, revealing two dimples, looking every bit the matchmaker.

“Not for her. For you.”

This counterattack caught He Shiyun completely off guard.

Her smile instantly froze, and her skin visibly flushed. She stared at Zhang Yang in disbelief.

Zhang Yang remained perfectly calm. He was curious to see how she would respond.