In the Southern Song era, which valued literature over martial arts, William Harris actually practiced martial arts—something Edward Harris simply couldn’t understand. But after all, he had survived the fierce competition of his previous life, so he quickly adapted, flattering William Harris at every turn, calling him brave and mighty, which delighted William Harris immensely.

“Third Brother, your body is weak. From now on, follow me and practice martial arts every day. In the future, you’ll join the army and achieve everlasting feats.”

“Martial arts? Big Brother, do you have inner strength?” Edward Harris had always been interested in martial arts in his previous life—after all, he’d read too many wuxia novels.

“Inner strength? That only exists in chivalric novels.” William Harris shook his head.

“What about qinggong?” Edward Harris sounded a bit disappointed.

“I can easily leap over the outer wall of our house,” William Harris said proudly.

“You mean you can flip over it in one somersault?” Edward Harris pictured scenes he’d seen on TV.

“That’s flying!” William Harris laughed and scolded.

“That’s exactly what I meant by flying,” Edward Harris hurriedly replied.

“That only happens in dreams!”

“Can you break stone tablets with a single palm strike?” Edward Harris asked again.

“My teacher can. As for me, give me another three to five years of training and I should be able to as well.” William Harris finally heard something he might actually achieve, and immediately spoke with pride.

“Then I’ll wait three to five years before training with you.” Edward Harris had already figured out William Harris’s true abilities. He was just an inner student at the Imperial Academy, and might become a military officer in the future, but this was quite different from the martial arts Edward Harris had imagined.

“No way. Starting tomorrow, you’ll come to the training ground with me every morning to practice.” William Harris wasn’t about to let him off the hook. Just now, Edward Harris had been praising his martial prowess, but now he didn’t seem interested at all.

“Wei’er, aren’t you going to thank the eldest young master?” Grace Walker had been happy to see the two brothers chatting and laughing, but when Edward Harris started talking back to the eldest young master, she grew worried, afraid it would upset William Harris.

“Big Brother, can you find me a few books to read?” Edward Harris also felt he needed to exercise to recover better, but he wanted to ask William Harris for a small favor.

“What’s so interesting about those? I have plenty in my room—just take them whenever you want.” William Harris replied indifferently. Every time he looked at those books, he got a headache and just wanted to sleep.

Edward Harris appeared at the family’s training ground every morning. Of course, unlike William Harris, who lifted stone locks and practiced with spears and staffs, all he did was run—jogging laps around the training ground, starting with five laps and gradually increasing to thirty laps after a month, adding more each day.

Chapter 5 Leaving the Residence

Edward Harris now lived a very regular life. At dawn, William Harris would drag him to the training ground. Even though all he did was run, it still made William Harris very happy. Ever since the training ground was built, only he and a few martial arts instructors had ever used it—none of the other family members, not even their father, had ever shown up.

Now, with Edward Harris joining him, William Harris felt a great sense of accomplishment. So even if Edward Harris just treated the training ground as a track, he didn’t mind at all.

After exercising for an hour, Edward Harris would return to his small courtyard to bathe—he didn’t want to greet his grandmother while covered in sweat. Under his influence, William Harris also changed his old habit of just wearing a scented sachet.

“Third Brother, your injuries have mostly healed. Come out with me today and have some fun.” William Harris said. He seemed a bit distracted today, ending their usual practice before even finishing half of it.

Edward Harris was bored staying in his room every day. The household rules were too strict, and he didn’t want to leave his room unless he had to. The books he found in William Harris’s room were all the orthodox Four Books and Five Classics. He lost interest after just a glance—not only were they all in traditional characters, but also in vertical columns, and he couldn’t understand much of it. He’d rather be bored than suffer through that!

As soon as he left the residence, Edward Harris found everything fascinating. Although the original body had left him some memories, seeing was believing. Edward Harris was like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden, curious about everything.

The Han residence was located in the high official district of the Southern Song. Outside the gate was a wide street with few pedestrians, but plenty of government offices—departments like the Three Bureaus and Six Ministries were all set up here. The very center of the street was a smooth avenue painted yellow, with brick-lined canals on either side, where lotuses were planted in the water and peach, plum, pear, and apricot trees grew along the banks. It was the height of summer, and the green trees and red flowers looked like an embroidered painting.

Beyond the canal was the street for ordinary people—a broad avenue paved with bluestone, lined with shops and bustling with crowds. Vendors’ cries filled the air. Since it was Edward Harris’s first time leaving the residence, even if he found things novel, he was too shy to ask William Harris about them, and just followed him quietly. Soon, William Harris led him to a restaurant in front of the Yuhang Gate.