There was an iron guy more than one meter tall standing at his door. Under the black iron helmet were two small round eyes the size of beans. The eyes were emitting the unique deep purple color of burning purple gold. He looked particularly scary, enough to be the protagonist of a late-night ghost story.

The iron guy stared straight ahead, staring dully over Chang Geng's head and behind him. It raised a bowl-sized claw and knocked on his door like a woodpecker, endlessly and without stopping.

Chang Geng's soul was still fluttering in the air, demonstrating what it meant to be infatuated. He didn't have time to wake up. When he saw this scene, the hairs on his body, which had not been able to lie down all night, stood up again.

He gasped, took a quick step back, and snatched the sword from the door.

At this moment, Gu Yun poked his head out from behind the iron thing and asked excitedly, "Is it fun?"

Chang Geng: “…”

It’s fucking fun!

"The family generals and guards dare not use weapons against you. I heard from Uncle Wang that you practice swordplay in the yard every day without anyone to teach you moves. It's boring," Gu Yun said as he flicked the back of the iron guy's neck twice. The scary iron monster calmed down obediently and stood there in a daze. Gu Yun raised his hand and touched its big iron head. He smiled at Chang Geng and said, "How about I give you a 'Sword Puppet' to play with?"

Chang Geng didn't dare to linger on him for too long, so he could only look up at the iron monster that was as still as a mountain.

After a moment, he pointed to his chest woodenly: "Me, play with it?"

Are you really not being played by it?

Gu Yun pushed the iron puppet into the courtyard where Chang Geng lived, and Chang Geng followed weakly behind.

The young man was guilty, and although he managed to keep a calm face, he still only dared to glance at Gu Yun when he turned around. After looking at him a few more times, Chang Geng found that Gu Yun was dressed particularly coolly.

The breath turned to frost in the early winter morning. Gu Yun was only wearing a half-new padded robe. He bent slightly when fiddling with the iron puppet. His waistline seemed to be thinner than Chang Geng imagined.

Soon, Chang Geng realized that he was looking at something he shouldn't be looking at, and quickly turned his head away in embarrassment and asked, "You didn't go out today?"

Gu Yun: "Well, take a break."

Chang Geng was silent for a while, but couldn't help but ask: "Why are you dressed like this? Aren't you cold?"

"Don't be so long-winded, don't learn from Shen Yi, come here quickly." Gu Yun waved at him, straightened the iron monster, patted its hard shoulder and said, "This is a variant of the iron puppet, different from the ordinary guardhouse kind. It is also called the sword servant puppet. Many children from noble families in the capital city learn martial arts and sword from it as their first instructor. I also used it when I was a child. It knows several sets of fixed sword techniques. There are seven acupoints on its body, head, neck, chest, abdomen, shoulder, arm, and leg. If you can stab any of the first four points, it will stop immediately, but if you touch the last three, you have to be careful. Even if you hit the shoulder and arm points, it still has legs that can move and can tease you at any time. If you want to lock it, any acupoint in the shoulder and arm and the leg points must be stabbed with the sword. How about it, try it?"

Gu Yun's explanation was not even a fart long. After a few words, he immediately entered the simple and rough practice phase: "Hold your sword."

Before he finished speaking, the iron golem moved. Its eyes glowed purple. It took a step forward and chopped down with its sword raised.

Chang Geng was not in good condition and hadn't even drawn his sword yet. He hurriedly jumped back a few steps.

The iron golem did not give him any room to breathe. Once it was activated, it immediately began to chase and beat him endlessly, and in a blink of an eye, it had forced him into the corner of the courtyard wall.

Chang Geng had nowhere to hide, so he had to grit his teeth, hold the sword with both hands, and swing it from bottom to top. The two iron swords collided with each other, and Chang Geng's wrist shook violently, and the heavy sword fell directly out of his hand. He just stopped sweating, and then cold sweat came up again. He subconsciously leaned back - the iron golem's sword stopped at a fist level on his forehead.

A ray of cold light condensed on the blade.

The courtyard was completely silent, with only the sound of Chang Geng's heavy breathing and the rumbling power in the iron golem's body.

Gu Yun said nothing, nor did he go forward to give instructions. He sat down at the stone table in the courtyard, took out a small wine glass from his arms, took off the wine pot from his waist, and used Chang Geng, who was being chased around by the iron golem, as a snack.

Chang Geng caught a glimpse of the old man from the corner of his eye, and he felt even worse.

On the one hand, he was like a young peacock who had just grown up. His feathers had not yet fully grown, but he already had the urge to “show him some color”; on the other hand, he was filled with depression and felt a little dizzy when he saw Gu Yun.

The fighting spirit in the boy's chest wavered between igniting and extinguishing the fire, but the iron golem did not understand. White steam gushed out from under its feet, and it slid a few feet away without any sadness or joy. It turned sideways and took a starting stance, pointing its sword at Chang Geng again.

Chang Geng placed the heavy sword on his shoulder and took the initiative to step forward, desperately recalling the move in which Gu Yun used a dagger to deflect his sword at the Yan Hui prefect's residence.

Gu Yun played with the small wine glass in his hand, made a "tsk" sound, and shook his head as he watched.

The edges of the two iron swords rubbed violently, sparks flew, and the hilts felt an unbearable pressure again. Chang Geng's sword was not in place, and his strength was exhausted. The heavy sword slipped out of his hand again and was thrown more than three feet away.

The Sword Servant Puppet was used as a sparring partner and would not hurt anyone. With purple light flashing in its eyes for a few times, it took away the sword hanging above Chang Geng's head, slid out again, and changed its posture.

Chang Geng's forehead was sweating, but he couldn't help but steal a glance at Gu Yun again. He thought in annoyance, "Is he not going to leave today? What's so good about it!"

Gu Yun watched Chang Geng's sword being knocked away again and again, drank a pot of cold wine, and switched his long legs up and down three times. He was very patient, until the iron golem hit Chang Geng hard and he flew out. He finally stood up calmly.

Chang Geng's skin was broken when he bumped into the ground, and it was burning. He reached out and touched it, and there was a little blood, but he didn't bother to wipe it off because Gu Yun walked up to him, clasped his hands in front of his chest, and looked at the tall iron puppet in front of him.

Chang Geng subconsciously lowered his head, too frustrated to look at him.

"You panic in your heart and your feet will drift," Gu Yun said, "If you can't stand steadily, no matter how powerful your sword skills are, they are just like water without a source and a tree without roots."

Chang Geng's heart moved, and he raised his head very seriously.

Gu Yun rarely looked serious, and said calmly: "Get up, I will teach you."

Chang Geng was stunned at first, then his eyes widened. Before he could react, Gu Yun had already picked him up without saying anything, grasped his sword-holding hand from behind, and embraced him.

Chang Geng swallowed hard, his back tensed.

Gu Yun whispered: "Relax, don't look at me, look at your sword."

Before he finished speaking, the iron golem opposite him had purple light in its eyes and came roaring again, its belly rumbling like a floating war drum, and still chopped down on the head with a sword.

Even if there is a certain wildness hidden in Chang Geng's blood, it can only be aroused when he is on the verge of life and death. And this is just sword practice after all.

For a moment, he didn't care about the intimacy that made him uncomfortable, and his first reaction was still to step back. Anyone would have such a reaction when under the overwhelming pressure of such a behemoth.

But Gu Yun would not allow him to retreat. Chang Geng felt that he was pushed up by Gu Yun and rushed towards the iron puppet like a fearless puppet. His wrist was embedded in Gu Yun's iron palm, and he could not help but thrust out the heavy sword in his hand. At the moment of close combat, Chang Geng felt that his sword-holding hand was turned by Gu Yun at a very subtle angle, and the iron puppet's sword was actually "prised" up.

The cold iron brushed past him, almost scratching his temples. Chang Geng closed his eyes instinctively, thinking that he would be hit directly.

Gu Yun sighed inwardly, thinking: "This child lacks some blood and energy, I'm afraid he is not someone who can wield a sword."

The smell of cold iron passed through Chang Geng's nose, and the iron puppet's elbow got stuck slightly. Gu Yun raised his foot and kicked Chang Geng's knee, shouting: "Open your eyes, arm!"

Chang Geng's knees softened and his legs were bounced out by the external force, with his toes landing squarely on the iron golem's arm.

There was a "click" sound on the machine, and the upper arm was locked. Chang Geng had just exhaled half of his breath when the next moment, he was suddenly bent over by Gu Yun.

A sharp wind blew past my ears, and with a buzzing sound—the iron golem's legs swept across the air.

Gu Yun: "Look."

He tightly grasped Chang Geng's hand, dragged the young man and slid in a sharp semicircle on the ground, and the tip of the sword just grazed the ankle of the iron golem.

With another "click" sound, the iron golem was completely nailed down.

It stood still in the same place, standing on one leg. Purple light flashed in its eyes, then gradually died down and dimmed.

Chang Geng's palms were full of sweat, his chest heaving violently, and he didn't even notice when Gu Yun let go of him.

At this moment, he felt the huge gap between himself and his young godfather.

Gu Yun calmly flicked the dust off his body: "It is human nature to retreat. If you are fighting against someone, it is okay to advance and retreat. But remember, if you are facing an iron puppet or a heavy armored one without armor, you must not retreat. Because the feet of these iron guys are burning purple and flowing gold. If you retreat, they will catch up with you. At that time, your mind and body will be backwards, and it will be difficult to gather the strength to counterattack in a short time. Instead, you will fall into the hands of the opponent in a hurry."

Chang Geng pondered for a long time, and suddenly asked: "Foster father, are you saying that if you encounter an enemy that is much stronger than you, you have a better chance of success if you move forward than if you retreat?"

Gu Yun raised his eyebrows and asked in surprise: "Hey? Why are you talking about 'adoptive father' today?"

Chang Geng is good in every way, except that he is always disrespectful in his words, which is really annoying. He always calls him "Sixteen".

Gu Yun was born on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month. The nickname Sixteen was given to him by the princess. Apart from the princess and the late emperor, even the old marquis had never called him that. Although he didn't mind it much, it was still awkward to be called "Sixteen long and Sixteen short" by such a little thing all day long.

Based on his experience, Gu Yun felt that there were only two situations in which he could get the boy to call him "adoptive father". One was that a blind cat encountered a dead mouse and he accidentally made the boy happy. The other was that a blind cat stepped on a dog's tail and he accidentally pissed the boy off.

Chang Geng looked at him deeply for a while, and said with an inexplicably complicated expression: "I was ignorant before, but I won't do that again in the future."

He finally realized how hateful, despicable, immoral and incompetent he was. How could he dare to continue to be so willful?

Sometimes, it only takes one night for a young person to go from thinking he or she has grown up to actually growing up.

Even someone as careless as Gu Yun could suddenly feel that something was different about Chang Geng.