Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 864 - 862_1

Chapter 864: Chapter 862_1

Surfing is an extreme sport. Battling wave after wave soaring atop the sea can bring a thrill and sense of accomplishment that make all worries vanish.

In her previous life, Xiao’er’s elder brother would take her surfing once a year. Xiao’er lacked mastery in surfing, but she was definitely familiar with it.

Shangguan Xuanyi did not know how to surf – Xiao’er had to teach him.

Xiao’er directed the ship to a place where the waves were suitable and they stopped.

Both of them changed into tight black suits, took their surfboards, and jumped into the sea directly from the ship, then started swimming away.

As General Di watched them swim relentlessly into the middle of the sea, he felt his age. He couldn’t keep up with the young folk anymore.

"We don’t understand how this is done!"

The other soldiers and generals also expressed confusion.

Only the personal guards who were tasked with ensuring their safety stared intently at the two, ready to intervene if anything went wrong.

A surfer needs high skills and balance and must be adept at long-distance swimming in rough seas.

Xiao’er naturally had these abilities, and Shangguan Xuanyi was a good swimmer with quick comprehension, so it was only a matter of time before he learned.

At this moment, appropriate waves had not yet come, and both of them sat on their surfboards, waiting.

Xiao’er softly explained to Shangguan Xuanyi what he should do:

"... Not every wave is suitable for surfing. The height of the wave should be around 1 meter, not minor than 30 cm. Of course, the higher the wave, the further you’ll glide. Let’s start with waves of low height to warm up. When the wave gradually approaches, adjust the direction of the board’s nose. This is the nose." As she spoke, Xiao’er patted the surfboard’s nose.

"Is it like this?" Shangguan Xuanyi followed Xiao’er’s action.

"Correct." Xiao’er nodded. "Then lie on the surfboard, row in the direction of the wave. Your rowing speed should be fast, keeping the surfboard ahead of the wave. When you feel the wave pushing the surfboard forward, we must stand up and maintain a natural standing posture with the one-leg-forward-one-leg-backward stance, with the knees slightly bent and the body in a half-crouch position. Yes, just like that." Xiao’er observed Shangguan Xuanyi’s movements and affirmed his efforts.

"Then use the body’s center of gravity, shoulders, and rear leg to control the direction of the surfboard... I will show you when the waves come." Xiao’er was demonstrating the movements as she explained.

Shangguan Xuanyi watched Xiao’er and imitated her.

"That’s right. Let’s sit and wait for a big wave. The wind and waves today aren’t too strong, it’s very suitable for learning." As Xiao’er’s words just fell, she saw a wave about one meter high from afar, rolling forward relentlessly.

"Here it comes! Get ready! Adjust the nose of the board quickly and lie down!" Xiao’er was simultaneously speaking and demonstrating the actions.

Shangguan Xuanyi imitated her movements.

"Start rowing now, quickly!" Xiao’er’s hands started rowing rapidly, propelling the surfboard forwards.

Seeing her, Shangguan Xuanyi started rowing at almost the same speed as Xiao’er.

The wave came and began pushing the surfboard forward.

"Stand up, bend your knees, steady yourself!"

Shangguan Xuanyi watched Xiao’er and tried to imitate her movements.

"Right shoulder forward, lean a little bit, half-turn..." Xiao’er kept instructing while she was carried to the peak of the wave and then slipped down.

Wave after wave tried to overtake and engulf her, but she managed to stay atop the surfboard, gracefully and firmly controlling her movements...

That is until a two-meter-high wave swallowed her.

Everyone on board was anxiously watching.

Once the wave subsided, they spotted Xiao’er, still firmly standing on her surfboard.

As for Shangguan Xuanyi, he was already toppled the moment he reached the peak of his wave.

The soldiers on the ship broke out into enthusiastic cheers: "Good!"

"Princess Rui is incredible!"

"How did she even do that? Incredible!"

...

At this moment, Xiao’er and Shangguan Xuanyi were in the sea, swimming towards each other.

General Di stroked his long beard. It was so thrilling! Why did he feel like he wanted to join in? He wasn’t that old after all!

"Prince Rui was terrible, he fell immediately! If I was there, I would definitely not fall off!"

"All you know is how to talk, I bet you wouldn’t even be able to stand on the surfboard!"

"You don’t believe me? I’ll show you! Miss Yang, do you have another surfboard?"

Zhao Yong was equally curious. He turned to Yang Mei, "Miss Yang, do you have another of that board thing? I want to go down and give it a try."

The other soldiers turned to look at Yang Mei. "Miss Yang, do you have another one? I want to try too, it seems fun!"

"Yes, it seems thrilling! I want to try too!"

"I want to try too! It looks so thrilling!"

"I can’t believe I never thought of playing this way before, it looks loads of fun!"

...

"I have a few more, not many. I’m going to fetch them for you. Discuss amongst yourselves who gets to go first!"

"Do we need to discuss this? Obviously, those who are good swimmers go first! Those who aren’t good at swimming should first learn how to swim!" The fastest swimmer spoke.

"Go aside, everyone here knows how to swim! And besides, surfing isn’t about racing in swimming. As long as you can swim, it’s fine! Let’s play the finger-guessing game - Rock, Paper, Scissors. Whoever wins, goes first!" The soldiers trained on the water almost every day, so they were all excellent swimmers.

"Alright, quickly! I can’t wait!"

And so, hundreds of them began to play the finger-guessing game. Those who lost demanded best two out of three, while the winners disagreed, making the ship as lively as a marketplace!

Out on the sea, Xiao’er started to coach Shangguan Xuanyi on his technique again, told him everything he needed to know, and then left him to understand and reflect on his own experiences.

Any sport just needs practice to get the hang of it. She had already shared the techniques, experiences needed to be learned by oneself!

Xiao’er was having a blast in the waves, while Shangguan Xuanyi was having fun in his own way.

...

Soon more soldiers joined them in the sea, the more they stumbled, the more they saw Xiao’er standing steady, inspiring them to keep going.

Even though they were disoriented by the sea, they were filled with determination, and the more they stumbled, the braver they got.

They slowly got the hang of it and started to cope with the not very large, not very urgent waves.

They carried on with this routine for two to three days and Shangguan Xuanyi finally got the hang of it and began to surf like a pro with Xiao’er, turning the soldiers who were still "stumbling" green with envy.