What do you mean I'm a ghost story?

Chapter 32 Basic Gun Techniques
"Your marksmanship is already quite advanced, as you can stab quickly and accurately."

After hearing Xia Qing's explanation, the Eight Great Masters' expression improved and they calmed down before continuing their instruction: "The next step is to practice shaking, making the tip of your spear shake within a small range so that people can't see it clearly or estimate its exact landing point."

"Hey!"

As he spoke, the old man took the spear from Xia Qing's hand, exhaled, and with a flick and twist of his wrist, he thrust it forward. The spear seemed to come alive, its tip circling and leaving afterimages before finally piercing the suspended bottle cap with pinpoint accuracy.

"The phoenix nods, the serpent probes seven times, and a hundred birds pay homage to the phoenix. These are described in mysterious ways in the stories, but in essence, they all come down to one move: a shake!"

The old man, full of energy, fired the gun repeatedly. The gun whistled as it swayed, the tip wobbling as if it were striking, yet the final shot remained precise, hitting the bottle caps one after another.

After the demonstration, he threw the large gun at Xia Qing and said, "You do it."

Xia Qing took it and, without saying a word, immediately began practicing, mimicking the movements of the cat.

The first attempt failed because the key to success was not grasped.

The gun did shake, but it was only by brute force; the tip of the gun was wobbling irregularly and unpredictably, and the user couldn't control where it would pierce.

This convinced Grandpa Baji that Xia Qing wasn't lying to him; she really didn't seem to have practiced marksmanship.

But it was precisely because of this that he felt like he was having a heart attack the next moment.

It's important to know that techniques like spiraling and shaking to generate power are signature moves of Tai Chi.

The so-called "master level" is actually just a beginner level of Tai Chi. It is unknown how much it is truly worthy of the name, but these basic techniques have long become instinctive.

After a little practice, and with the simple and straightforward explanations given by Master Baji, Xia Qing was able to wield the spear quite skillfully after only a couple of repetitions.

"Alright, you've mastered it. Other techniques are irrelevant; figure them out on your own or learn them online."

After observing for a moment, seeing that Xia Qing's power in such a short time was much stronger than his own, the Eight Extremes Grandmaster couldn't help but reflect: Had he taught her too superficially?
Although the saying "teaching a disciple can lead to the master's starvation" is no longer prevalent nowadays, it's still a matter of losing face!

"Thank you sir."

Xia Qing was immersed in the martial arts she had just learned, her hands never stopping, but she still politely expressed her gratitude.

"I have to go."

The old man had a dark expression.

"You walk slowly."

Xia Qing finally stopped and politely saw him off.

"What I mean is... I've already taught you for free, you don't expect me to give up my big gun, do you?"

The Eight Extremes Grandfather pointed quietly at the Eight Extremes Spear in Xia Qing's hand.

"Uh, cough cough, I forgot, I forgot."

Xia Qing then realized what was happening, coughed and chuckled awkwardly, returned the spear to the old man, and said, "By the way, sir, I am grateful for your instruction. After all, we are teacher and student. May I ask your surname?"

"Your surname is Wu. No need to be so formal. I only taught you some theory. You already have a foundation, so it has little to do with me."

Grandpa Wu waved his hand, picked up his gun, and left.

His back view inexplicably gave off a disheveled and pathetic vibe.

On their way, they passed by Old Man Li, who had hit a tree. The two seemed to know each other, and Old Man Li had also finished his work, so they walked away together.

As he left, he couldn't resist teasing and joking: "Haha, everyone said your fancy moves were all empty talk, but they've already been learned by others. It's my real skill, which comes from hard work. Let's see if he can learn it now."

"I don't know who was worried that the guy would steal the old lady's attention just a couple of days ago, and stupidly got into a fight with someone."

"Hey, what nonsense are you talking about? You want to have a go at me?"

"..."

Neither would give in, and they drifted further and further apart.

"Well, we've lost our guns. We can't practice now."

Having just learned a new skill and full of enthusiasm, Xia Qing looked at his empty hands, sighed, and had no choice but to start practicing Iron Head Kung Fu again.

This big gun can't be replaced by just any wooden stick.

It seems I'll have to find someone to custom-make a big gun.

This kind of thing has no real use in modern times; it can only be described as a craft or a toy.

But the more expensive it is, the more expensive it becomes.

My pockets are empty; I really want to but don't have the money. "Ever since I met you, you money-loser, I feel like I've never had a penny to my name."

Xia Qing couldn't help but condemn the Money Dart Technique once again.

If this guy hadn't taken 7,000 of my money, I would have had plenty left over.

Everything costs money.

They act like they're obsessed with money.

If anything unethical happens in the future, it will definitely be this guy's fault.

"Your [Golden Dart Technique] has detected a rather strong, unfamiliar nightmare aura."

"Your Tai Chi technique has detected a rather strong, unfamiliar nightmare aura."

"Your [Basic Marksmanship] sensed the presence of the nightmare and suddenly awoke."

suddenly.

A series of notifications appeared.

Xia Qing was startled and, without even glancing at the newly awakened [Basic Spear Technique], quickly looked around.

"Good alertness, a promising talent."

Accompanied by a deep voice, a middle-aged man wearing a windbreaker with his hands in his pockets came into view.

"You are……?"

Xia Qing looked wary.

According to the feedback from the Money Darts, the intense nightmare aura originated from this person.

However, just like with Grandpa Zhang last time, it wasn't a nightmare in person, but rather a remnant of contact that had occurred in a short period of time.

Furthermore, given the intensity of this aura, it was likely not just a casual encounter, but rather the killing or short-term contact with the essence of a dead nightmare.

"Didn't you already guess? You made such a big fuss yesterday, and you didn't hide anything at all. You must have already guessed, or you were waiting for me to come to you, right?"

The middle-aged man in the windbreaker smiled slightly and tilted his head gently, indicating, "Shall we chat?"

"can."

Xia Qing nodded and followed the man to a secluded spot.

"Let me formally introduce myself. My codename is Viper, and I belong to the relevant department... well, let's just call it the relevant department."

Once they reached a secluded spot, the middle-aged man introduced himself and extended his hand.

"Xia Qing".

Xia Qing nodded as she introduced them, and shook hands with them at the same time.

"I'm very sorry about what happened yesterday. We are severely short-handed. The short-term threat of that ghost story is not particularly high, so we were monitoring and assessing it secretly. But we didn't expect that the assessment personnel would be misled."

The viper sighed and apologized.

"It's nothing, you were looking for me..."

This was the first time in Xia Qing's life that she had dealt with government officials, so she was very cautious.

"As I mentioned before, we are severely understaffed, and the reason we've come is to invite you to join us."

Viper Path.

"I……"

Xia Qing was about to speak when Viper raised his hand to interrupt her: "You can take your time to consider this. Just give me an answer within a week. However, there's more than one strange tale around here recently. We have an operation tomorrow and we really need combat personnel. I hope you can participate."

"Strange tales? Actions?"

Xia Qing's mind stirred.

"Strange tales," is that probably the official term for nightmares?

As for the action...

If the nightmares weren't so rampant that there were several in every single place, then it's very likely the one in Grandpa Zhang's house.

(End of this chapter)