Chapter 28. Learning Martial Arts (3)

I waved my hand in greeting to her, whom I hadn't seen in a long time. Seeing my disheveled appearance, drenched in sweat and panting on the open ground, she asked, “Meeting you like this is quite a coincidence. What are you doing?”

“I am practicing martial arts right now.”

“Martial arts?”

“Yes.”

Wang Xi looked me up and down, then nodded her head. “Now that I think about it, you are a bodyguard, right?”

“Yes. I am quite diligent, so I practice every day. By the way, how have you been?”

“Yeah, just fine.”

“You’re not running away again, are you?”

“No, I’m not.”

I thought she might have a tendency to run away like last time, but it turned out she was just on her way back from buying painting materials and brushes.

I had heard that after her previous escape, the Manjin Bookstore was keeping a close eye on her.

“You shouldn’t run away from painting again like last time.”

“But there were circumstances that time...”

At that moment, a fake cough was heard. I looked over to see Wei Jiyan looking embarrassed.

Oh, my, what a slip of the mind. I hadn’t even introduced her to the person in front of me... I clapped my hands lightly to draw attention.

“Good, this is a matter of fate. Let me introduce you. Miss Wei, this is Miss Wang. We met a while ago, and she is a painter—”

“Wang Xi! I am!”

Wang Xi suddenly introduced herself with a burst of enthusiasm, cutting me off. I cleared my throat and tried to continue the introduction.

“—a painter—”

“Pleased to meet you!”

“...”

I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my foot and closed my mouth. Looking down, I saw Wang Xi stepping on my foot.

How rude, stepping on someone’s foot while they are introducing them.

“...Could you move your foot?”

“Oh, sorry. I made a mistake.”

Wang Xi moved her foot, and Wei Jiyan politely bowed and greeted her.

“Pleased to meet you. I am Wei Jiyan.”

“Is that so? Are you a martial artist like Mr. Cheng?”

“Yes. I am currently a guest at the Baiyun Escort Agency. Mr. Cheng asked me to help him with his training, so I came here for a while.”

Wang Xi glanced at me and nodded, as if recalling my fight with Yang Jinpo. What’s up? I fought really well back then.

“By the way, you’re a painter...?”

“I’m not a famous painter. I just make a living by drawing ink paintings.”

I interjected, “Actually, you are quite well-known. And it’s not just ink paintings—”

Before I could finish, I was kicked. This time, it was a kick to the Achilles tendon. It was so fast I couldn’t even see it. I took off my shoe and quickly rubbed my foot. It really hurts.

“By the way, how do you know Mr. Cheng?”

“Well, last time I got into a bit of trouble with the Jiejian Sect, and Mr. Cheng helped me out.”

Wei Jiyan’s gaze seemed to be asking if that really happened. I shrugged. It seems I’ve been involved with more women since coming to the martial world.

“By the way, Mr. Cheng, could you help me with something later?”

“What kind of help?”

“I need some help from a man.”

Need help from a man? Maybe she wants me to model for her or something?

It shouldn’t be too difficult.

“Sure, if you pay me.”

“...Alright. I’m staying at the Longmen Inn. Come find me tomorrow. Just mention my name to the waiter, and he’ll show you the way.”

“Really, the Longmen Inn? I’m staying there too.”

“Is that so?”

We chatted briefly about the Longmen Inn, mostly about the menu and how much to tip the waiters. After finishing the conversation, Wang Xi bowed to us.

“I’ll go in now. Mr. Cheng, keep up your training. See you tomorrow.”

“Sure. Take care.”

After seeing Wang Xi off, I smiled briefly at Wei Jiyan and said, “Wow, that was a long conversation. I’m all cooled off now.”

“...Do you often help women?”

“...? Not really.”

“Is that so?”

Let’s see...

I had helped Senior Zou Junping, Wang Xi, and maybe Pang Gui. Technically, I had also performed CPR on Wei Jiyan, so that counts as helping.

“No, thinking about it, I’ve helped a lot of women.”

“...”

“Let’s move on to the next part. Was it sword techniques?”

Wei Jiyan shook her head. “No.”

“Is it something like...?”

“The next is Xiong Bu (Bear Step).”

Xiong Bu involves walking on all fours in a bear-like posture. It’s an excellent exercise for the core, specifically the erector spinae muscles, but it’s incredibly tiring.

However, the problem wasn’t the difficulty.

“...Here?”

“Yes.”

I was in an open field near the Longmen Inn, not some secret training ground. People could see me.

“But people will see...”

“It’s fine.”

The teacher was very firm.

I tried to argue that it was too embarrassing to do something else, but it was no use. I had to start crawling on all fours in the open field.

“Oh, look at that.”

“Hahaha”

“Looks like he’s being punished.”

“Poor guy.”

People made comments as they passed by. My face, which had lost all dignity, turned as red as a heated iron.

After completing ten laps and standing up, Wei Jiyan mentioned the next training.

“The next is Hu Bu (Tiger Step).”

“Are you some kind of animal lover?”

Otherwise, why would you have so many animal-themed exercises?

I decided to challenge her.

“I don’t know Hu Bu. Show me once.”

Hu Bu involves walking in a crouched position, like a tiger about to pounce on its prey.

Naturally, it’s a very embarrassing posture to take in front of people, especially for an unmarried woman.

Would she show me despite the embarrassment?

“I’ll help you get into position if you lie down.”

“Can you show me once?”

“Lie down flat.”

The teacher wouldn’t budge.

After 20 laps of Hu Bu, my entire body was trembling from muscle cramps. She then said,

“The next is Ya Bu (Duck Step).”

***

“Let’s end it here for today.”

“...Take care.”

After the training, I lay on the ground and saw Wei Jiyan off. The sun was almost setting.

After a day of Xiong Bu, Hu Bu, and Ya Bu, which resembles walking lunges, and even a crab walk called Wu Gong Bu, my body felt like a beaten rag, and I couldn’t get up.

Wei Jiyan had told me while I was doing Wu Gong Bu, which is similar to Hindu push-ups,

“These five exercises must be done every day without fail.”

“Why?”

“Because they are the foundation.”

According to Wei Jiyan, my current state is that the foundation of my martial arts, i.e., my physical condition, is very weak.

It’s not that I lack muscles, but that my muscle balance is off.

“If I start serious martial arts training in this state, my muscles will become stiff and even more twisted. That’s why we need to balance the body with these animal steps.”

“Is there any other way?”

“You could undergo a complete transformation.”

Since there was no other way, what could I do?

“Is this some personal vendetta?”

“There is no personal vendetta.”

That’s what she said.

After seeing Wei Jiyan off, I washed my sweat and mud-covered body at the well behind the inn. I had been lying on the ground for a long time, so my clothes were almost black with dirt.

“I’ll have to pay to get these cleaned,”

Fortunately, in the martial world, you can get almost anything done with money. I gave a few coins to the waiter, who took the dirty clothes with a smile.

Thinking about getting some new training clothes, I put on a new outfit and was about to leave when I heard a knock on the door.

*Knock knock*

“Who is it?”

Thinking it might be Wang Xi, I opened the door to find an unexpected person.

“Miss Wei? Did you forget something?”

It was Wei Jiyan, who had knocked. I wondered why she had come back after saying goodbye, so I stared at her. She explained,

“No, I’m staying in the room next to yours from today, so I came to let you know.”

“Next door?”

Looking at her, I saw she had a bundle of luggage.

“You’re staying next door?”

“Yes. I promised to teach you martial arts.”

“But...”

“It takes a long time to travel back and forth from the escort agency, and it’s better to be here in case I find any issues. So, I’ll be staying next door.”

For reference, the Longmen Inn is about a five-minute walk from the escort agency. Maybe she found the five-minute walk too troublesome?

Well, I had a friend who wouldn’t walk more than three steps without taking a taxi, so I could understand. I nodded.

“Does it cost a lot to stay here?”

“It’s fine. The money I received from Mr. Cheng is enough.”

Indeed, five taels of silver would cover a month’s rent. It’s a reasonable amount.

“...Alright, I understand. I’ll go to bed—”

“Wait a moment.”

Blocking me from closing the door, Wei Jiyan said,

“I haven’t taught you the Tianwang Houxin Gong yet.”

“Do I have to learn it today?”

I’m not usually like this, but my muscles are as stiff as dried squid right now. I was so exhausted that I worried about getting rhabdomyolysis.

“I’m really tired right now... I don’t know if I can get up tomorrow.”

“That’s why you need to practice Tianwang Houxin Gong today.”

“Why?”

“You need to perform Yunqi Liaoshang.”

Yunqi Liaoshang means using internal energy to heal injuries.

In martial arts novels, when martial artists are injured, they often start with Yunqi Liaoshang. That’s exactly what it means.

“Will it make the muscle pain go away?”

“Yes. After intense training, you must perform Yunqi Liaoshang to heal your body and restore your energy.”

“I see.”

When you perform Yunqi Liaoshang, your internal energy circulates through your body, stimulating natural regeneration and healing injuries, toxins, and minor internal injuries.

I didn’t know it could also help with muscle pain. I had never performed Yunqi Liaoshang after training before.

The reason I hadn’t done it was that different mental techniques have different effects.

The Sancai Xinfa I had learned had a minimal effect and wasn’t useful for healing injuries.

Resting deeply was more helpful.

“But it’s possible with Tianwang Houxin Gong.”

“Yes. I only know Sancai Xinfa, so I wouldn’t know. Sancai Xinfa’s energy circulation isn’t as effective as advanced martial arts, so it can’t properly heal injuries.”

“I understand. But I haven’t properly learned Tianwang Houxin Gong. Can I learn it now and perform Yunqi Liaoshang today?”

She nodded, saying it was fine.

“I can help you.”

“Alright, come in.”

After entering the room, Wei Jiyan asked for the manual of Tianwang Houxin Gong. She read it several times and then said,

“Now, take off your shirt.”

“My shirt?”

“Yes. I’ll teach you the energy meridians.”

I obediently took off my shirt, feeling quite embarrassed but having no choice. If I faced tomorrow with this muscle pain, I might really die.

After taking off my shirt and sitting cross-legged, she placed her palms on my back.

“Now, I’ll send you my energy. Focus on it.”

“Alright.”

I ignored the soft sensation on my back and focused on the energy she was sending. A warm and gentle energy slowly flowed through my body along the meridians.

“Try not to open your mouth.”

Following her advice, I closed my mouth and focused on the energy flow. Soon, the energy completed a full cycle.

“Do you remember? This is the basic method of practicing Tianwang Houxin Gong.”

“Hmm... I need to practice a few more times to remember.”

“Alright, I’ll teach you again.”

So, I continued practicing Tianwang Houxin Gong until late at night.