Chapter 130: The Puzzle

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With a backward roll, both Feng Xiaoyi and Liu Yitiao landed firmly on their feet. Though the strikes appeared fierce, neither had exerted great force; after all, this was a friendly sparring match, not a life-or-death battle. Consequently, neither suffered any serious injury.

"Excellent! Mr. Liu, your martial skill commands my respect!" Feng Xiaoyi steadied himself, clasped his fists, and bowed to Liu Yitiao. Although the match had ended in a draw, Feng Xiaoyi knew in his heart that if either had landed a solid blow, Liu’s punch could have cost him his life.

"Heh, Commander Feng, you flatter me," Liu Yitiao returned the salute. "Your kick just now struck a chord in my heart. Had it landed true, I wouldn’t be standing here. In real combat, I would have lost long ago."

Taking the towel offered by Xiao Suo, Liu wiped the faint sweat from his brow and smiled warmly at Feng Xiaoyi.

"Commander Feng! Commander Feng!" Hearing Liu’s words, Wang Dacheng led the cheers for Feng Xiaoyi.

This was the Left Guard Barracks; Feng Xiaoyi was the commander, and no one wished to see him lose to an obscure newcomer. Yet even Wang Dacheng had clearly seen that Feng was no match for Liu Yitiao.

"Enough! Enough! You lot, finish your noise and get back to your rooms!" Feeling a flush rising to his face, Feng Xiaoyi kicked his men away, sending them scurrying indoors.

"Apologies for the trouble, Mr. Liu." Once everyone had left, Feng bowed sheepishly. "Thank you for sparing me some face in front of so many brothers."

"Nonsense, Commander Feng," Liu stepped forward, warmly clasping Feng’s hands and leading him inside. "What I said just now was all true. Your skill is certainly no less than mine. In life-and-death combat, the outcome is never certain. So please, do not take it to heart."

"Mr. Liu, please don’t flatter me," Feng sat down leisurely, his easygoing nature returning in moments. He smiled, "In martial skill, I am on par with my brother Helan. Since you can best Helan, naturally your skill surpasses mine. Losing to you is no shame."

"But, I’ve noticed your style lacks a fixed form; your offense and defense flow entirely from instinct and your opponent’s moves. It’s elusive, difficult to counter—very clever. May I ask where you learned such art?"

Liu chuckled lightly, "These are simple tricks passed down from my ancestors, hardly worthy of Commander Feng’s praise. But you, your boxing is deep and powerful, balanced in attack and defense. This boxing style was personally taught by Lord Wing Duke, was it not?"

"Mr. Liu has sharp eyes. I studied under my foster father for fifteen years. My skills barely meet his approval except for this Ba Hu Fist style. Truly, I am a disgrace to him." Mentioning Qin Qiong, admiration filled Feng Xiaoyi’s face.

No wonder—even Liu Yitiao held great respect for this future guardian deity. During the late Sui and early Tang dynasty, the famed Five Tiger Generals of the Wagang stronghold wielded their twin maces to fell countless heroes. Even Emperor Li Shimin greeted him warmly as “Lord Qin” or “Old Brother.”

"Mr. Liu! Mr. Liu! Zhi Nu has come to see you!" A youthful voice called from outside, and soon Zhi Nu pushed open the door, followed by a little girl younger than himself.

Feng Xiaoyi quickly rose and bowed to them, "Your humble servant Feng Xiaoyi pays respects to His Highness the Prince of Jin and to Princess Jinyang."

A princess?

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Liu Yitiao took a glance at the little girl—small nose, big eyes, tiny mouth, round face—she looked just like a beautiful doll. Seeing her shyly hide behind Zhi Nu, looking timid, reminded him of how Liu Xiaohui behaved when meeting strangers, seeking refuge in his or Lady Liu’s arms.

"I am Liu Yitiao, greetings to His Highness the Prince of Jin and Princess Jinyang." Liu bowed and then warmly invited them in, "Please, young princes, come inside and sit."

"Mr. Liu, greetings; Commander Feng, greetings." Zhi Nu nodded to both and led Princess Jinyang into Liu’s small chamber. Taking the seat of honor at the square table, Zhi Nu gestured to Liu and Feng, "Please, you both sit as well."

"No, I have official duties awaiting; I cannot stay long and won’t be able to keep you company, Your Highnesses. I take my leave," Feng said, uneasy around children—especially royal ones, who were unpredictable and troublesome. With two arriving here at once, his head grew heavy with worry, and he used official business as an excuse to withdraw.

Seeing Feng’s discreet departure, Zhi Nu was pleased. Once Feng had left, he turned to Liu.

"Mr. Liu, please sit. It’s just the three of us here, no need for formality."

Once seated, Zhi Nu introduced the little princess. "Mr. Liu, this is my sister, called Si Zi, just turned four. Nobody plays with her, so I brought her along. Shall we all play together?"

"Greetings, Mr. Liu! Si Zi salutes you." The little princess bowed, her big eyes sparkling as she looked at Liu, sensing he was a kind person because his stick-tiger-chicken game was fun.

"Si Zi wants to play stick-tiger-chicken with Mr. Liu and Brother Zhi Nu, may we?"

"Your Highness, it is my honor to play with you," Liu responded kindly to the adorable child. "But stick-tiger-chicken isn’t suited for three players, and it gets boring after a while. Perhaps we can try a new game? Hmm, what should it be? Let me think."

"Please wait a moment, Your Highnesses," Liu suddenly brightened as an idea struck. Apologizing to Zhi Nu and Si Zi, he sent Xiao Suo to fetch some items.

Ink brush, inkstone, ink slab, and a square wooden board about a meter wide.

Liu placed the board on the table, nodded to the children, then picked up the brush and began to draw.

His drawing was simple: a small house constructed from triangles, rectangles, diamonds, circles, and other polygons.

Roof, walls, windows, chimney, door, garden, fence—all were present. Though not perfectly neat, the picture was clear enough.

"Please look at this painting, Your Highnesses," Liu said after drying the ink on the board, pointing at the house. "Can you tell what I’ve drawn?"

"Hmm, it looks like a house, but such a strange one. I’ve never seen a house like this before," Zhi Nu frowned, puzzled.

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"Uh, well," Liu wiped a bead of cold sweat from his brow. He hadn’t thought that in drawing the house simply, he had sketched a Western-style building. For a child like Zhi Nu, who had never left the palace, seeing such a thing would be unheard of.

"Si Zi greets you! Si Zi greets you!" The little princess pointed at the drawing with pride. "Brother Zhi Nu, Mr. Liu, I’ve seen a house like this in Father’s study. But that house was much uglier than Mr. Liu’s drawing."

"Oh, I wanted to go too. Father’s study really has such a painting. I heard it was a gift from a foreign monk. But that painting was ugly, I didn’t like it! And that monk never shaved his head; he wore a robe with a red cross on it—I didn’t like that either!"

A foreign monk? A red cross? Christianity?!

Liu’s heart leapt in surprise. Could Christian missionaries have already been in the Tang dynasty?

"Mr. Liu, why did you draw this? Let’s play the game soon!" After waiting a while without a reply, Zhi Nu began urging softly.

"Alright, alright, Your Highnesses, please wait." Liu asked Xiao Suo for a sharp short knife and carefully cut the wooden board into many small squares, each about two centimeters wide—nearly sixty pieces in total.

He then mixed the pieces, scattering them, and smiled at the children.

"Today, we’ll play this—puzzle!"

Picking up one piece, Liu demonstrated, "Like this, you fit the pieces together to re-form the house I drew. You two may try."

"Yes, yes!" Both children eagerly nodded, excited to try this new game they had never seen before.

Liu scattered the joined pieces he’d just made and said, "Alright, begin. If you can’t finish, you can take the pieces home and continue, or ask me for help."

"Yes!" They agreed enthusiastically, gathering around the table to carefully piece the puzzle together.

One picture, over sixty pieces, two children—after an entire afternoon, they only managed to assemble the roof and chimney.

Yet, they did not grow bored. Instead, they enjoyed it immensely. Beyond archery, they had never encountered such an amusing game. So, when Xiao Dezi came again to summon them back, both clamored to take the wooden pieces with them.