The steward bowed in apology before asking Yunyin to enter, "Honourable Official Jie, please come in! The assistant minister has a guest, so I have been told to lead you to the garden!"
Yunyin nodded and followed behind, looking at the scene around. There weren't many servants in this courtyard, only a few walked by, carrying something or even just chatting together.
'A second test so soon?' Yin was curious, but seeing there was no interaction, he thought that this might just be how the courtyard operated. The servants weren't lax, but chatting together at this time of the day, walking leisurely and having no task at hand usually meant that their lord wasn't strict.
Occasionally the steward would glance at these servants, motioning to them to be mindful of an official's presence, which led to the servants lowering their heads and bowing when he passed by.
Yunyin looked back once and saw that the servants returned to their casual chatter after bowing – a sign of good upbringing and discipline in important matters, but also casual and relaxed in other matters.
He walked for over ten minutes when they finally arrived at the garden that had been mentioned by the steward, a rather small garden close to a large building to the right and an open space to the left.
Being led to the pavilion in the middle of the garden, Yunyin was expected to sit down, but he didn't, instead looking over to the open space to the left.
Huffs and puffs were heard from there, as if someone was fighting or training. The sound of crashing water and splashes was mixed between these.
"What's going on there?" Yunyin asked while already moving to that area, walking on the stone path leading there.
"A training ground," the steward said, slightly cautious.
"Training ground? Oh, one of these used by martial artists?" Yunyin asked in surprise. Why would there be a training ground in an official's courtyard?
It was fine if it was next to the guard quarters or something, but this was clearly an area closer to the study of the assistant minister, which Yunyin guessed to be the building on the right.
He had seen many studies and wasn't interested, but an open space, a training ground right in the courtyard of the assistant minister was interesting, so he wanted to know more.
"It's the training ground of the young miss!" the steward's senses deeply observed every minuscule change in Yunyin's face as he said this.
Yet what he saw was just a look of curiosity – no confusion, contempt or disregard.
"The young miss? Oh, is it the assistant minister's only daughter?" Yunyin remembered, understanding dawning on him, "So she became a martial artist?
Ah, yeah, the martial arts world seems to be very accepting of women, with there being nearly as many female martial artists as males, the difference being quite small," he nodded and remarked casually.
Compared to the wives of officials who generally focused on learning creative arts, becoming attendants or sometimes choosing to become managers of the Material Path to manage the business of the family, the martial arts world was more free spirited.
Women becoming martial artists was normal, and there were even female only sects.
Even when you look at the martial arts sects descending from religions, such as buddhists and taoists, you will see that next to the famous Shaolin Sect there's also the Mount Emei!
Taoist sects usually don't differentiate, but the Mount Hua Sect has always had more female disciples while the Wudang Sect has mostly had male disciples.
Even among the military, female generals might be a bit rare, but there were still quite a few in the past and now.
Comparing it to officialdom where there isn't a single prominent female official, the difference is indeed quite drastic.
As he thought of these, he reached the training ground, seeing a spectacle in front of him –
Splash
A whip lashed across the ground, leaving a mark as it slithered up into the sky, forming a water dragon rising into the sky.
Yunyin followed the whip – a graceful hand, soft to the eye yet firm in its grip, waved the whip in a fierce manner – the dragon had just ascended to the sky when it was pulled down –
CRASH
The sound of a waterfall crashing could be heard as the dragon crashed right onto an iron puppet!
Crack
Thin cracks formed on the puppet's armour, yet even as the whole dragon crashed on it, it couldn't be destroyed…
In the moment Yunyin was focused on the puppet, he hadn't noticed that the graceful figure jumped with extreme speed, one hand gripping the whip while the other reached out, an illusion of a dragon claw forming as she slashed across the puppet's visage –
Slash
Tssssss
The sound of iron tearing was heard in Yunyin's ears for just a moment as the claw hit the puppet, yet it stopped after just a moment.
"Haaaaaaah," a loud breath escaped the woman's mouth, attracting Yunyin's attention.
Her trembling lips…
"Who are you?" the woman suddenly asked after looking up, as if she had noticed Yunyin's entry prior, yet ignored him in her training.
Yunyin looked at her with a curious look, not answering but asking instead, "You're focusing on all three aspects of martial arts? That's… very rare!
The three main aspects – Blood and Qi, Weapon Wielding and Manifestations are all extremely difficult to master… so most of the time, people simply learn the three while focusing on one.
But your art… you have superb movement skills based on Blood and Qi, your mastery over the whip is outstanding, and the manifestation of a water dragon is truly unique.
Learning so many things at the same time…" the more Yunyin said, the more he felt astonished, looking at the woman differently.
Not only did she learn these three and was outstanding in each of them, she also had a seamless fusion – all three worked together to achieve the greatest effect, the greatest power…
On the other hand… the woman who heard it, and who saw a look of pure curiosity, was actually equally surprised…