I can return to the age of mysterious

Chapter 27: 027 Obsession Antiques_1 Chapter 27: 027 Obsession Antiques_1 He took a glance ahead. Tifa, who was currently throwing punches, didn’t seem unusual. The obsession-driven antiquities should have nothing to do with her.

Casio took a few steps to his right, and quickly scanned the outside. He immediately spotted Phil and Milo standing not far from the entrance to the hall. “Could it be them?”

It seemed like Phil and Milo noticed Casio’s gaze, they turned their heads, pretending to watch a student pummeling a sandbag.

“Coach, are my movements up to standard?” Tifa’s voice came from next door, crisp but slightly hoarse.

Casio turned his head and said, “Not bad, but you could make your movements a bit more exaggerated to fully utilise your strength.”

“Is that so?” Tifa demonstrated once again.

“Hmm, not bad. Keep practicing like this, I have to go to the restroom. And don’t slack off.” Casio advised her and then left.

On the left side of the partition, Tifa was left alone practicing her punches.

Barely out of the partition, Casio felt an increasing bitter taste in his mouth. If compared to the sensation from the Wind Elephant Ivory Pendant in the relics, the bitterness now was about one-tenth.

But it was already clear enough to be noticed.

As he took a few steps towards the door, the bitterness became even stronger. Casio was certain that these two boys in front of him were carrying obsession-driven antiquities.

In the hallway, Phil and Milo looked a little flustered. Coach Li was heading straight for them. He must have caught them sneaking a look.

Phil was scratching the back of his neck, about to say something.

Unexpectedly, Casio, who had walked briskly towards them, spoke first.

“Are you here at the Grey Stamp Martial Arts Hall to learn boxing?”

“Huh?” Phil was taken aback for a moment before he nodded. “Yes, Coach Li. I’m here to learn martial arts. I saw you and Coach Corsia sparring earlier, so I booked a session for tomorrow at six in the afternoon at the front desk. You’re currently teaching our school fight club’s senior sister, Tifa. So, I came over to watch…”

“I see,” Casio stood still. “Since you’re all my students, why not take the opportunity to familiarise yourselves with Tifa’s combat skills?”

Hearing those words, Phil agreed readily. Next to him, Milo nudged him slightly and whispered.

“Phil, I didn’t make a reservation. Maybe I should wait outside, or just head home?” Milo turned his head away.

“No problem, I’ll help you make a reservation at the front desk later, and I’ll extend my own a couple of days longer. Come and accompany me then, it’s kind of awkward being all alone,” Phil replied quietly while following behind Casio.

“Why do I, a Kendo practitioner, need to study combat?” Milo grimaced, “You’re using me as a shield, I should…”

“Dinner for a month.”

“How well you know me!” Milo exclaimed joyfully, reaching out his right hand to shake Phil’s: “Deal!”

“So, these two kids are here to pick up girls…”

Casio, who was walking in front, had sharp hearing. Although Phil and Milo were whispering, he managed to catch most of it.

After ten minutes, they were on the left side of the hall.

The setting sun was casting blocks of yellow light onto the floor through the square windowpanes. Two shadows, one taller, one shorter, were gradually elongating. Two boys were sitting cross-legged in the corner.

“I told you yesterday. Don’t step out of bounds during regulation combat. You’re here to strengthen your foundation, not to simply learn some short-term tricks like others. As long as your foundation is strong, it’ll naturally progress,” Casio glanced out of the window.

Having crammed a lot of modern combat knowledge in the past ten days, coupled with the double-edged training memories in his mind. Teaching an amateur student was no problem for him.

“However, I can do a demonstration of explosive techniques for you.”

Looking at Tifa across from him, he said, “Come at me.”

“Yes.” Tifa instantly adopted a basic combat stance, with one foot in front of the other for optimum propulsion.

She took a deep breath and charged.

She twisted her waist and shoulder and aimed a punch straight at Casio’s right shoulder. The punch was quite fast; at least Phil and Milo didn’t see it clearly.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a shadow flashed in mid-air.

“Ah!”

Tifa cried out in pain, her eyebrows knitted. She fell backward and had to take four or five steps back to regain her balance, right hand quickly pressing onto her left shoulder.

She experienced a series of sharp pains from her joint to her head.

She looked up across to see Coach Li standing in his original spot, one arm stretched out in the air, his fingers forming a cone.

Those were the fingers that had just jabbed her in the shoulder joint.

“When did Coach Li launch his attack?” Tifa replayed the scene in her head. There were no signs of an impending punch.

“This is amazing…” Phil, sitting in the corner, swept his gaze around and inhaled sharply. He remembered why he came to the Grey Stamp Martial Arts Hall: to learn explosive skills and improve his fighting abilities.

For the rest of the time, Casio was teaching, Tifa was learning, and Phil and Milo were observing. Outside, the sky was gradually dimming.

Snowflake Middle School finished at half-past three, giving students ample time for club activities. It was now past five in the afternoon, the reddened clouds signalling the sun was setting towards the horizon.

“Huff… Huff… Huff…”

Tifa was panting heavily, her chest rising and falling rapidly. Combat training was considerably draining.

“Alright, we’ll stop there for today,” Casio opened the window and turned to look at Phil and Milo, who were engrossed in the corner, before asking: “Have you guys had dinner yet?”

“No,” Tifa responded, wiping away the sweat that had pooled around her white collar.

“Nope,” Phil, who was sitting in the corner, replied instantly after raising his head.

“Then what did we just eat?” Milo widened his eyes, turned to look at Phil, who also turned to look at him. Milo coughed lightly, “No.”

“Good, then I’ll treat you, let’s go.”

After dinner, Casio had obtained some information about Milo and Phil, and their relationships were a lot more familiar. Mainly because Tifa was present, Phil seemed particularly open. Any question posed by Casio led to Phil talking extensively.

Through this, Casio confirmed that the one carrying the aura of the obsession-driven antique was Phil. His brother Matthew had recently collected a batch of antiques and even gave a purple wooden cane to Phil as a toy.

This was the only antique Phil had been in contact with recently.

Whether out of boasting or generosity, Casio wasn’t sure.

When Casio expressed his interest in antiques, and tactfully suggested “Could I have a look at the cane?”, Phil readily agreed to bring the cane to him tomorrow and asked to book a month’s worth of lessons.

Was it to impress Tifa? Or was it because Casio’s combat skills had genuinely attracted him, and he wanted to show his sincerity in becoming a disciple?

Casio had no way of knowing.

But with people willingly bringing obsession-driven antiquities to his door, he was more than willing to accept, regardless of their intentions.

“Alright, I’ll appreciate your help then, Phil.”