Watching. Trying to understand. Why he, who already stood far above them, still trained like this. Luo He didn't explain.
He simply kept punching. Because explanation wasn't needed.
Later, when the training slowed, Luo He turned his attention fully to Fei. His gaze lingered. Focused. Not on the surface but beneath. Scanning. Analyzing.
Fei shifted slightly under that look, feeling as though he was being seen through entirely. "What is it, Master?" he asked cautiously. Luo He didn't answer immediately. Then "I've figured it out."
Fei stiffened. "Your element." Silence.
Even Jin Mulan paused, her grip tightening slightly on her spear. Luo He's voice remained calm. "Metal." The word settled heavily. Rare. Uncommon. Difficult to master.
Fei's eyes widened slightly. "Metal?"
Luo He nodded once. "One of the rarest elements. Even more so than lightning."
He began walking slowly, circling them both as he spoke.
"There are eight primary elements," he said. "Fire. Water. Earth. Wood." He gestured lightly. "Those are the common ones. Easier to awaken. Easier to control." His gaze sharpened slightly.
"Then come the others." "Wind. Light. Lightning and metal." Each word carried weight.
"These are harder," he continued. "Not because they're stronger but because they're less forgiving." Fei listened intently now. "So I'm at a disadvantage?" he asked. Luo He stopped. "No."
A pause.
"You're at a delay." That distinction mattered. "Once mastered," Luo He continued, "no element is inferior. Every element has its strengths and its weaknesses." His eyes flicked briefly to Jin Mulan.
"Fire overwhelms. Metal endures. Wind adapts. Lightning destroys." Then back to Fei. "But until mastery" His tone hardened slightly. "elements will control you more than you control them." Silence followed.
Heavy. Meaningful. Fei slowly clenched his fists. Not discouraged. Focused. "I'll master it," he said. Luo He watched him for a moment. Then gave a small nod.
"You will." A faint, almost dangerous edge slipped into his voice.
"Because I don't train weaklings." Jin Mulan smirked slightly at that, though her grip on the spear tightened again. Luo He turned away slightly, rolling his wrist before throwing another punch into the air. Clean. Sharp. Precise.
"And when my boxing skill maxes out..." he added casually, "I'll start teaching you both the real techniques." That caught their attention instantly.
Fei frowned slightly. "Real techniques?"
Luo He's lips curved faintly. "The kind you don't learn by just swinging your fists." Another punch. Faster this time.
"Secrets," he said simply. And just like that the training field, quiet moments ago
was filled again with tension. Not from exhaustion. But from anticipation.
Weeks passed in a steady rhythm of training, sweat, and small but undeniable progress. Morning after morning, the forest clearing echoed with the sounds of effort wood splitting, feet grinding against earth, fists striking practice posts, spearheads cutting through the air.
The two disciples improved, though neither as quickly as Luo He demanded.
Which meant, in his eyes they were still slow. Even so, he kept training them.
Correcting stances. Breaking bad habits.
Mocking weakness. Rewarding discipline. And forcing them to clash against each other whenever either grew too comfortable.
When he was not training them, Luo He often disappeared back into the mansion. Not for politics. Not for medicine. Not for strategy. But for something far more entertaining.
His daughter.
Little Luo Lin was now seven months old, bright-eyed and endlessly curious. She had begun to crawl with determination and reach for everything within sight, especially anything she was not meant to touch.
Luo He had discovered a new pastime
Playing with her. He would lift her high into the air until she laughed, carry her across the halls like a conquering general, or let her grab at his sleeves while he pretended to lose every battle.
For all his coldness elsewhere, none of it remained around her. Servants noticed.
Jin Mulan noticed. Even Su Kim noticed.
Though none commented openly. Lin would tug at his hair, strike his chest with tiny fists, and babble nonsense as if issuing commands.
Luo He, naturally, obeyed every one of them with complete seriousness. "This one already has authority," he once said flatly while the child sat triumphantly on his lap.
Su Kim, meanwhile, was now mostly confined to bed. Her child Luo He's first son was certain to be born soon. Her belly had grown heavy, and though she complained little, even she had slowed noticeably.
The sharp, dangerous woman who once moved like a shadow now spent long hours resting in cool rooms, draped in silk, issuing orders from pillows with the same authority she once used in battle.
Luo He visited often. Not always to speak. Sometimes simply to observe.
Sometimes to place a hand against her stomach when the child moved. A son.
The thought pleased him more than he openly admitted.
And he had already made one decision with absolute certainty he would deliver this child himself. As he had with Jin Mulan. No physician. No midwife. No outsider hands. His children would enter the world through his own skill.
Time moved quickly. Too quickly.
Luo He grew restless. Peace never suited him for long. So he trained harder.
He studied more and at last he fully mastered the boxing skill within his system.
The moment it was completed, new knowledge flowed into him like a door opening. Angles. Timing. Weight transfer. Hidden rhythms of combat. Techniques far beyond ordinary punching. Naturally, he shared only enough to be useful. The rest he kept for himself.
Fei was taught first. "The Jab Punch," Luo He said, standing before him. "A strike with no wasted motion. Fast enough to interrupt. Sharp enough to control distance. Simple enough to underestimate."
He demonstrated once. The air cracked.
Fei's eyes widened. Then training began.
Again. And again. And again. Until Fei's shoulders shook and his knuckles bruised.
Jin Mulan received something entirely different. "The Serpent's Strike." She narrowed her eyes. "That sounds unpleasant." "It is," Luo He replied.
He taught her how to disguise intent, how to let the body appear relaxed before striking in a sudden, piercing burst. Fast, deceptive, precise like a snake striking from stillness. It suited her more than she liked to admit.
Within days, she had begun using it naturally. Her spear tip arched and struck like a serpent's fangs. Within weeks, it became dangerous.
Both disciples advanced rapidly. Fei's growth was monstrous. He had only trained seriously for little more than a month, yet he now stood nearly equal to Jin Mulan a woman who had practiced martial arts since the first day she could stand.
It was absurd. Terrifying. And completely real. They clashed often now. Spear against gauntlet. Technique against raw talent. Fire against stubborn endurance.
Neither could dominate the other. Fei had not yet awakened his metal element but even without it, he was already a match for Jin Mulan.
One evening after another brutal spar, Jin Mulan stood breathing hard, sweat along her brow, spear lowered. She looked at Fei. Then at Luo He. "This is ridiculous," she said coldly. "I trained my whole life."
Luo He folded his arms "Yes."
"And he's talented." He said. Fei wisely said nothing. Jin Mulan's eyes narrowed further. Luo He's lips curved faintly. "If it helps," he said, "you're still prettier." Fei nearly laughed.
Jin Mulan nearly stabbed him. And Luo He, for the first time that day was no longer bored. These are his fun times he thaught. Pissing off his wife and playing with his daughter are some of the most fun he is having in his life.