Dead Dragon's Combat Manual

Chapter 14: Earth Step

"You were trained by a master martial artist?" After leaving through the gates of Blazing Sun City, Fang Yun decided to tell Lou Meng the most reasonable lie he could think of. His quick-witted servant still wasn't fooled by this obvious lie but nodded his head anyway to show that he understood. As the person who had practically been the Fang Yun's bodyguard in case things were to end up going south, he was sure his young master didn't have enough free time to train martial arts.

Right of this moment, he was even willing to believe that his young master was possessed by a master martial artist instead. Which was a pretty accurate guess considering what truly transpired was pretty similar to that.

"Of course, do you have a better explanation?" Fang Yun rhetorically asked as he was sure Lou Meng would believe him since there was no other way to explain his combat prowess.

"Am I wrong to think you got possessed by a martial artist somehow?" Lou Meng asked straightforwardly in response as he wasn't the type to beat around the bush. Fang Yun's mouth widened after hearing Lou Meng's ridiculous question that had just abruptly arisen out of nowhere. He wasn't sure on how to answer Lou Meng's question as he didn't wasn't to keep on lying to him forever. Well, it was now or never if he wanted to tell him the truth. He was sure Lou Meng will believe his absurd explanation.

"At the time we were seriously wounded by Old Qing, I was able to somehow recollect memories of my past life." Fang Yun told Lou Meng the truth as they were riding along the path paved by Cultivators of the Mercenary Union. To arrive at Azure Flame City, a few checkpoints needed to be personally passed despite the dangers of encountering Demonic Beasts. Many more well-off merchants would rather intrust their merchandise to other people due to dangers of travelling.

"...Seriously?" Although Lou Meng suspected as such, having Fang Yun affirm his speculations still caused him to be at a loss for words. He stopped the carriage once again to turn around and look at the man sitting behind him.

"Awesome, isn't it?" Fang Yun asked with an voice full of interest. As Lou Meng saw the casual expression on his young master's face after he shared such a personal secret, he felt like the foreign traits Fang Yun exhibited all this time was just a cover for the surface. Underneath all that facade was still the fun-loving friend he served for all these years at the Fang Clan.

"It is, it really is. I'm jealous, if only I also 'awakened' memories of being an expert in my past life as well." Lou Meng showed a regretful expression on his face before turning to continue on the path once more. The both of them then started to laugh as they started to talk about many topics regarding Fang Yun's past life on the way to the checkpoint they were going to get to in a few hours. Although Fang Yun's past life was dark and gritty, he was still able to talk about the world he once lived in with nostalgia. The scenes from when he travelled the world while mastering martial arts and the disciples he took were fond memories he had always kept deeply hidden in his heart.

The more Lou Meng heard of Fang Yun's previous life as the genius martial artist named Alex Stuman, the more he realised the reason his young master wasn't willing to share his experiences with him when he first awakened from unconsciousness after being almost murdered by Old Qing. It wasn't that his young master didn't trust him, but the life Fang Yun's previous incarnation lived was beyond his imagination. He was especially surprised when his young master told him about Earth's advanced technology that could be operated by mortals...

They took brakes along the way to give their horses rest once in a while. The horses may be Animalistic Beasts with physical strength more powerful than ones of Earth, but they were still living creatures that needed to eat and sleep.

In the time it took to travel to the checkpoint, Fang Yun didn't hold back as he leisurely took his time to teach everything he knew so Lou Meng had something to defend himself with.