“This is the horse you bought?” Although maybe not as strong as a warhorse, its muscles were well-developed .  Bai Qi patted the horse as he gave his evaluation . “For ten gold, it can be counted as a good deal . ”

His heart hid a feeling of shame .

He may be the dignified and respected Lord Wu’an, and he may hold the highest military t.i.tle in Qin . But now his own poverty was acknowledged .

The household money is all managed by Wei Lan, and his own private stash wasn’t much . Twenty gold is already a painful amount to take out .

Granted, if he asked Wei Lan for money she’d certainly agree . But he only planned for it to be a temporary horse to Gu Nan to train on . Then he could gradually acclimate her to riding a proper warhorse .

But Gu Nan’s relatively dirt-cheap horse exceeded his expectations .

This horses didn’t seem as uncoordinated as most second-rate Mongolian horses . It looks fit and with sharp muscles . It doesn’t look very healthy, but that’s from an improper diet and can be gradually fixed .

But in his view, although this horse is good, that’s about it . It’s not a mighty warhorse and his disciple could soon find herself hindered by it .

Gu Nan leaned on the tree in the courtyard . “Oh, and Master, you said for me to buy a sword, so I got one on the way back . But… do I really need to learn swordsmanship? How about we just skip that, and I’ll stick with my spear?”

She took out the bronze sword and began to play with it . In all aspects, it’s just an ordinary Jian (Sword) . What slightly shocked her were the advanced sword-forging techniques in Qin compared to the other states .

The bronze swords from other countries were only 50-60 cm (20-24in) and maybe the longest of 70 cm (27 . 5in) . Comparatively, Qin could regularly produce swords 80 cm (31 . 5in) long, and it could even reach 90 or 95 cm (35/37in) .

This way, when the Qin army fought, they could have another step of reach, greatly improving their combat effectiveness .

“Ah!”

Bai Qi stepped forward and flicked his disciple’s forehead . “What are you talking about? The sword is a weapon for close-combat . Your spear may be strong but it’ll be different in battle . ”

“Yes, Master . I know, I know, ‘One inch long is one inch strong . One inch short is one is inch wrong . ’ See, Master, I already know about this . Hehe . ”

“One inch long is one inch strong…” Bai Qi muttered as his eyes lit up and smiled . “Not bad, these two sentences are simple but convey the meaning of hundreds of weapons . A brilliant insight . ”

But his gaze hardened at his disciple’s smug expression . “But it’s a shame you’re so lazy, squandering this talent . It really incites the wrath of heaven . ”

“Yes, yes, Master, you’re right . ” She knew Bai Qi’s character and her attempt only further ensured that she couldn’t get out of swordsmanship training . “So, when does Master want to begin horse-riding and swordsmanship?”

“Tomorrow . ” Looking at Gu Nan’s carefree look, Bai Qi helplessly snorted . “I lost some significant face just so I could find two suitable teachers for you . Ah, never mind . Anyhow, you should go and name your horse already . ”

Gu Nan’s and the horse’s eyes collided together .

After a while, Gu Nan’s expression brightened, and it seemed that she had come up with a particularly good name . She said seriously… “It will be Gou-Dan (Dogs.h.i.t) . ”

“Plop . ” The horse’s legs went soft and fell on the ground .

“Plop . ” The horse’s legs went soft and fell on the ground .

Bai Qi’s face was also full of mixed emotions . Although he didn’t want to damage her enthusiasm, if word gets out that his disciple has a horse named dogs.h.i.t, it would be the end of his reputation .

The black horse looked angrily at Gu Nan’s triumphant face, kicked up mud and dirt in her direction .

“Hm!? You’re such a disobedient horse . I’ll return you!”

Bai Qi looked puzzledly and thought, This horse has good intelligence, I’ve perhaps looked down on it .

“Nan’er, even the horse doesn’t like your name . Change it to something else . Anyhow, you can’t call it Gou-Dan .

The next day .

“Lord Wu’An . ” In the manor lobby, a young man recently walked in and bowed .

In the lobby sat two older men chatting with each other, one of them was Bai Qi . The other wore pale-white robes and an ancient sword laid next to him . A dangerous feeling a.s.saulted the young man when he looked at the old man’s figure .

The young man stumbled and asked . “Is this?”

“Oh, you’re here early, I had thought you would be a bit late . ”Bai Qi said before presenting the old man next to him . “This is an old friend of mine, you call him Old Ghost . ”

Nowadays, there are only two young people in Qin that could make Bai Qi like this . One of them is the disciple he recently took in, and the other is the young man in front of him .

Old Ghost…

Old Ghost…

w.a.n.g Jian wiped the sweat acc.u.mulating on his forehead and forced a smile . “Mr . Ghost . ”

“En . ” The old man nodded slightly and acknowledged w.a.n.g Jian’s greeting .

If Gu Nan was in the area, she’d probably be depressed in her luck .

She wanted to be as far away from w.a.n.g Jian as possible, but she just can’t seem to shake the will of heaven!

“Sit . ” Bai Qi pointed to a position in front of him .

There were various customs present in this era, but Bai Qi didn’t like the complexity of them . Hence, w.a.n.g Jian was still given an equal spot, even though he was much younger .

“It’s really not a big deal, sit . ” Bai Qi insisted . “w.a.n.g Jian, I recently took in a disciple . I a.s.sume you’ve heard?”

“Ah, yes, I think I heard the court officials were talking about it . They all said that Lord Wu’An has been more lively than usual and that his disciple must be a person of great talent . ”

“Haha, okay . ” Bai Qi laughed as waved his hand . “This old man doesn’t wish to brag, but when my disciple grows up and becomes a general, their ability won’t be any worse than me . Haha . ”

w.a.n.g Jian was surprised by Bai Qi’s sudden laugh . It’s been a long time since he saw this stoic general smile .

Bai Qi isn’t one to exaggerate his claims . Since he’s said this much, this disciple must really be a monster talent .

w.a.n.g Jian was still young and retained a firey spirit . And he suddenly developed the urge to compete with this disciple .

Bai Qi isn’t one to exaggerate his claims . Since he’s said this much, this disciple must really be a monster talent .

w.a.n.g Jian was still young and retained a firey spirit . And he suddenly developed the urge to compete with this disciple .

The old man in the white robes sat quietly, gently sipping tea . Then he finally spoke up, “For you to say such praises, it’s interesting . If your disciple can give me enough surprises, I can teach a bit of my swordsmanship . ”

Bai Qi’s eyes shone for a moment . If Old Ghost can take train his disciple, it would be a phenomenal chance . In order to even bring him to Xianyang, it required a lot of pleading letters . “Old friend, I hope that this trip is worthwhile . It was hard bringing you here today . ”

“Humph . ” The old man snorted . “You think I’m as unscrupulous as you?”

After another cup of tea, Bai Qi said, “Alright, let’s talk about why I called for you . w.a.n.g Jian, I want you to help me teach the child some horse-riding skills . And this old gentleman is here to teach swordsmanship . ”

“I was going to teach all of it myself, but my riding skills have fallen the past decades . So, how about you help this old man out?”

w.a.n.g Jian, who began to vaguely regard this disciple as his future opponent, said with some expectation, “If the general wishes it, I would be happy to oblige . ”

“Good! Let’s go then . The child should still be practicing martial arts in the courtyard . Old Ghost, w.a.n.g Jian, please this way . ”

“En, lead the way then . ”
“Thank you, General, lead the way please . ”