One Lifetime Is Never Enough

1.37 The Generals' Sons

A few sparks were all that could be seen from the clashes between a sword and a spear - their wielders themselves could not be clearly observed due the speed of the movements. Only on several occasions, where their weapons collided and their strength were pitted against each other, then one could actually see the masters of those weapons.

Despite both using a real sword and a real spear to spar with each other - SongLi's and BuFeng's faces were all smiles. There was some traces of sweat, but their breath were steady despite the myriad of moves they had exchanged earlier.

Finally, SongLi sidestepped and withdrew his sword. 

That also prompted BuFeng to also withdraw his spear. He stared at the still smiling younger man in front of him, then he himself broke into a grin - his eyes bright.

The two maids who were just standing at the side - waiting with a basin of water and cooling tea - were dumbfounded. They hardly ever saw their Young Master showing any expression, let alone smiling that wide.

Both of the young maids looked at each other and couldn't help blushing. 

"If Young Master BuFeng would smile just more often, surely he would be very popular."

"That's right, just like this other Young Master with the sword, who also look very dreamy... ."

Ji SongLi had been going to Zhen's estate any chance he got, mainly because BuFeng had sent invitations - sometimes even personally - to Liu YangHuan's residence. The latter was always pestering him for friendly training.

Who knew, a couple of 'friendly trainings' soon became full-on contests, he himself had to face BuFeng seriously, as the young vice-commander definitely was never going to go easy on him.

SongLi enjoyed it though. There were a lot of moves in Ji sword art. Only a few could be used in military battles. But with BuFeng, he could utilize all of them. 

The both of them had mastered their own respective family arts - him with the sword, BuFeng with the spear.

BuFeng walked to one of the maids, causing her to quickly lower her head, lest her Young Master would notice her abashed expression. 

He took one of the cooling towels that had already been dipped in water, wrung the water dry, and threw it at SongLi.

SongLi caught it with his free hand and sat at one of the benches, then proceeded to wipe his face.

The other maid tactfully set the tea on the table and poured some into two cups. 

Then BuFeng waved his hand to dismiss the two maids.

He handed one of the tea-cups to SongLi. It was a herbal mixture of some immature tea leaves and hawthorn berries, infused with a bit of honeysuckle. BuFeng himself had known the concoction since he was a small boy, taught to him by his own father who knew about the recipe from his late mother. 

Zhen BuFeng had grown in a family of men, having lost his birth mother when he was small. He was only two years old when his mother passed away, so he hardly had any impression about her as he did not even really remember her face. He also lost his blood sister when his mother passed away during her labor to give birth to her. When the small infant was out of her body, both mother and daughter were already breathless.

At that moment, his father and his grandfather - both were still very much active in military matters in those days - were away to defend their northern borders from some of the more unruly tribes there.

The only females he had contact with were the maids in the household, and distant relatives of his father and mother. His father was much too unsocialized and sombre - BuFeng himself could thank his old man for that trait to be passed on to him. There was no new Madam Zhen after his mother passed.