Ling Mo Han heard this, put down the book scroll in his hand, and his gaze fell on Da Bao. After a moment of hesitation, he slowly walked forward.
The small stick in his hand pointed to Da Bao's slightly bent thigh and gently tapped it twice. His tone was very stern, "Your thigh is too straight, this will cause problems…"
"Straighten your arm more!"
"Keep your waist straight…"
Ling Mo Han patiently pointed out Da Bao's flaws. Even a simple horse stance was done so poorly, full of loopholes and mistakes everywhere. If he were to say he was the one teaching him, it would be truly embarrassing.
"With you like this, focus on perfecting your horse stance before anything else!"
Deep in his eyes was undisguised disdain. Da Bao was too restless and found it difficult to calm down. He was also always daydreaming, thinking about things that were out of reach.
Looking at Er Bao, he was calm, steady, and never thought of taking shortcuts. His foundational skills were now practiced quite well.
After another half an hour, Ling Mo Han saw that the time was about right and told them to stop and rest.
"We'll practice until here for today. After you go back, practice diligently. If there are still no results tomorrow, I will punish you."
Ling Mo Han put on a stern demeanor. If he were truly amiable towards them, it would be difficult to control them, especially the cunning Da Bao, who was the type to take an inch when given a mile.
If he didn't establish authority from the beginning, it would be truly difficult to manage Da Bao in the future.
After a few instructions, Ling Mo Han turned to leave.
Da Bao and Er Bao, standing behind him, suddenly felt something was missing. Didn't Daddy still have something to give them?
Da Bao reacted first, running forward and pulling on Ling Mo Han's sleeve, "Daddy, did you forget something?"
He stopped his forward steps, and Ling Mo Han's gaze fell on Da Bao, appraising him. He saw through Da Bao's little scheme at a glance but still pretended to be completely oblivious.
"Oh right… you mentioning it, I did forget."
Thinking Daddy had remembered, Da Bao's eyes lit up, and he eagerly waited for Daddy to return his beloved wooden sword. However, the final outcome proved his wishful thinking was just that.
"You will practice for another half an hour, and let Er Bao supervise you!"
Da Bao's bright little face immediately drooped. The smile that had been on his lips vanished without a trace.
"Daddy…"
"Say one more word, and it's another half an hour of practice."
This statement made Da Bao swallow the words back into his throat. He stared at Ling Mo Han with a mournful little gaze.
"What are you still standing there for? Get back to practicing!"
Under Ling Mo Han's stern gaze, Da Bao reluctantly resumed his horse stance.
"Er Bao, you supervise him, make sure he doesn't slack off."
"Yes, Daddy."
Er Bao was very willing to do this. He was a living replica of Ling Mo Han, his face still youthful but filled with sternness.
Glancing at Er Bao, who was practicing with proper form, Ling Mo Han couldn't help but smile. This child was truly like him.
His appearance, temper, and disposition were cast from the same mold, identical. With Er Bao supervising, he had nothing to worry about. After a couple of brief instructions, he walked away.
After practicing for a while, Da Bao was already quite tired, and sweat began to appear on his forehead.
"Er Bao, is it time yet?"
Er Bao glanced at the incense burner, which was only half burned, and said slowly, "Not yet, only half has passed. Keep going for a bit longer."
Da Bao was on the verge of despair. Daddy had left, but why did he leave such a supervisor? This was clearly an attempt to wear him out.
"Er Bao, Daddy is gone, can't you be a bit lenient?"
"No, Daddy said to practice for a full half an hour. Only half has passed. Besides, this is all for your own good. If your foundation is unstable, practicing more advanced martial arts will be full of holes!"
Daddy had said that practicing the horse stance was about building a strong foundation. Only with a solid foundation would practicing other skills be twice as effective. If the foundation was weak, it would just be a show, looking good but useless.
Moreover, Da Bao's foundation was indeed very poor. Practicing a little more now would be nothing but beneficial. This was all for his own good.
Da Bao wished he could make Er Bao disappear from his sight and stop tormenting him.
Daddy was gone, and he thought he could rest. He never expected to find a "Daddy Number Two" here, who was even stricter than Daddy.
This half an hour felt like a year. It wasn't until the last bit of incense on the burner burned out that Da Bao finally breathed a sigh of relief. He instantly felt like his bones had turned to jelly, collapsing onto the ground, gasping for air. Large drops of sweat rolled down his face uncontrollably.
"Time's up. Quickly get up and stretch your muscles, otherwise your whole body will ache later."
It was because they were lazy and didn't stretch after practicing the horse stance that they had ached for a long time, which was very uncomfortable.
Now Da Bao was still sitting on the ground, lacking any memory of the past. Did he want to ache all over again?
Annoyed by Er Bao's nagging, his ears were about to grow calluses. Da Bao reluctantly stood up, dragging his sore legs that felt like they were about to break, and slowly moved.
"Keep stretching. I'm going back to my room to catch up on sleep."
Er Bao yawned. He was really sleepy. If it weren't for Da Bao holding him back, he would have already gone back to his room for a second sleep.
Seeing that Er Bao was also returning to his room, Da Bao decided to stop stretching as well. "I'll go back with you."
Da Bao shouted after Er Bao's retreating back. His legs didn't hurt as much now. He quickly picked up his pace, catching up to Er Bao in no time.
"Running so fast, doesn't your leg ache at all?"
Looking at Er Bao, who was still walking with ease, Da Bao felt they were from different worlds. They had gone through the same experience, yet Er Bao seemed completely unfazed and even looked relaxed. What was going on?
"I'm already used to it."
Practicing every day, day in and day out. From the initial discomfort and soreness to the current habit, he was already accustomed to it.