Her Entire Court Reborn with Her in the Modern World

Chapter 136: Chapter 135: Trading Blows, Gu Qingjin Arrives

To defeat an army, capture its commander—a principle understood by anyone who has fought a war.

Silence fell over the training ground once again.

A young man’s eyes widened. "You can’t do that! Even though the commander is retiring in a decade, he can still pack a punch!"

Last time, the five of them had tried to ambush Xu Yunfan, and they had all failed.

"It’s a good thing he can fight," Shi Changying said unhurriedly. "Otherwise, people might say I’m bullying an old man."

The words "old man" made Xu Yunfan’s eyebrow twitch. Everyone who saw him said he looked thirty, not fifty. How could she call him old?

Xu Yunfan rolled his wrists. "Alright, Uncle Yunfan will spar a few rounds with you."

"No, this..." Just as Xu Shuangqiao was about to protest, Shi Changying pulled her behind her back.

"The commander definitely won’t use his full strength. After all, she’s his niece."

"But I think this little girl has quite some spirit. She looks more like a drillmaster than the commander himself."

"She’s got the fearlessness of youth. I wonder—"

THUD! All voices came to a sudden halt.

Xu Shuangqiao’s jaw dropped, nearly hitting the floor. "U-Uncle Yunfan, you... how did you suddenly fall over?"

She hadn’t even seen what happened!

Xu Yunfan lay on the ground, staring up at the sky. He had clearly suffered a devastating blow—not to his body, but to his pride.

Shi Changying stood exactly where she was and dusted off her hands. "Sorry about that, old man."

After a moment of stunned silence, the young men quickly rushed forward, leaning over Xu Yunfan.

"Are you okay, sir? Can you stand up?"

"Don’t worry, Brother Fan! Nobody else saw this. We’re all your own people."

"Right, right, your own people! We absolutely won’t spread the word that you were knocked down by your niece in a few punches. We won’t!"

PFFT—HAHAHAHAHA!

Hearing the chorus of laughter, Xu Yunfan flushed with embarrassment and anger. "Fall in! Grinning like idiots—what kind of soldiers are you?!"

The young men instantly snapped into formation.

"Not bad, Changying. You’ve got a lot of strength," Xu Yunfan said, dusting off his clothes as he stood up with a loud laugh. "Good, very good."

Xu Shuangqiao lowered her voice and asked, "Is Uncle Yunfan’s brain broken? He just lost face, but he’s actually happy?"

"No idea," Shi Changying said casually. "Maybe he just likes getting beaten up."

"Oh, that makes sense," Xu Shuangqiao agreed after a moment’s thought. "Every time Aunt hits him with a spatula, he seems pretty happy."

Xu Yunfan, who had heard every word loud and clear, was speechless. He decided to change the subject, eager to move past this incredibly embarrassing moment.

Couging twice, Xu Yunfan said authoritatively, "Shuangqiao, if you ask me, you’re the one who needs to train. If you had this kind of strength, you wouldn’t get mugged on the street. You were lucky last time that Changying came to your rescue. What about next time?"

Xu Shuangqiao looked serious. "Uncle Yunfan, I think you make a valid point. That’s why I hope the robotics industry matures quickly, so I can buy a combat robot to protect me."

Xu Yunfan choked on his words. He waved a hand in defeat. "Alright, enough being a smart aleck. Come on, I’ll show you girls some good stuff."

Miniature models of heavy weaponry lined both sides of the training ground. Xu Yunfan pointed at one inside a glass display case and asked, "Do you know what this is?"

Shi Changying glanced at it, finding its appearance somewhat familiar. "Firearms."

As soon as she said the word, the surroundings fell silent again.

"Firearms?" A young man scratched his head. "You mean ancient Firearms? This thing is way more powerful than primitive firearms."

Shi Changying thought for a moment and asked, "Can this thing blow up a city in a single shot?"

"Of course. Not just a city—it can strike anywhere on the globe," Xu Yunfan said proudly. "When it was first invented, even we thought it was a fantasy. Who would have imagined that Jiuzhou would develop so rapidly in just over a decade?"

"You seem very interested in these things, little niece," a young man asked eagerly. "Does your uncle tell you about them at home every day?"

Without a shred of guilt, Shi Changying used Ming Chengli as a shield. "My dad has a lot of books, and I’ve read them all. There are military strategy books among them."

"You’ve read them all?" The young man gasped. "That’s incredible."

Xu Yunfan was also surprised.

Shi Changying said lazily, "But when marching armies and fighting battles, military strategy books are only supplementary. If you want to win, you have to adapt to the terrain and circumstances. You can’t rely solely on books."

"Makes sense, very much so," the young man nodded. "I’m not great at history, but I remember learning about Grand Ancestor Jing—also known as Emperor Chengtian—in middle school. He fought without any rules or structure, yet he won no matter how he fought. It’s obvious he was a master of warfare."

Shi Changying stared at him expressionlessly.

The young man fell silent. He wondered if he had said something wrong, and why he suddenly felt a surge of murderous intent.

"If you don’t know history, don’t talk nonsense. Brother Fan’s little niece definitely knows." Another person smacked him on the back of the head. "Little niece, tell us why Emperor Chengtian always won his battles."

Shi Changying replied, "He won his battles because he had been single for many years, so his hand speed was incredibly fast."

Everyone fell silent, feeling like there was something not quite right about that statement.

"Since you girls are here, let’s grab a meal together in a bit." Xu Yunfan checked the time. "Changying, don’t you have classes this afternoon? We should hurry and—"

His words were cut off by a flurry of urgent footsteps. It was a middle-aged man around Xu Yunfan’s age.

"Yunfan, there’s been a sudden landslide. The dam broke, triggering a flash flood that submerged several villages," he said anxiously. "We must head out for rescue immediately."

Xu Yunfan’s expression instantly changed. "Fall in! Move out!"

The young men dropped their smiles. With serious expressions, they rushed off to change clothes and grab their gear. In barely a minute, all personnel had assembled. Boarding the vehicles and moving out—the entire process was exceptionally swift and decisive.

As Shi Changying watched the vehicles depart, she suddenly turned her head. "Qiaoqiao, ask for a leave of absence from Jianghuai High School for me. I’m not going to class this afternoon."

Xu Shuangqiao failed to grab hold of her and shouted, "Yingying, where are you going?!"

***

PATTER, PATTER—The rain began to fall again, transitioning from a fine, dense mist into a torrential downpour.

Gu Qingjin had originally planned to stay in Jin’an City for another day, but Old Sir Gu had something to discuss with him, so he decided to head back early. However, Gu Qingjin disliked flying, preferring to travel by car.

Halfway through the journey, just as they entered Yunzhou, the car came to a halt.

The driver turned around. "Mr. Lan, we can’t take this road anymore. We’ll have to take a detour."

Gu Qingjin opened his eyes. "What’s wrong?"

"A sudden landslide and flash flood occurred about a hundred kilometers from here," the driver explained. "Several villages were flooded. The floodwaters were so massive that they completely washed out the bridges!"

Gu Qingjin asked, "Have rescue teams arrived?"

"They have, but there’s no way they can repair the road anytime soon. We..."

Gu Qingjin cut him off. "Keep driving. We’re going there."