Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-Five: Bearing All Things

"Train yourselves while protecting my mother here. I'm going to the back mountain to train. If anything happens, I'll return as soon as possible," Xu Daoyan instructed the three, then left.

"Yes, sir!" They showed great respect for Xu Daoyan. Although he was very young, he was extraordinary and treated them like brothers.

With them around, Xu Daoyan felt at ease. He ran towards the back mountain, where the combination of man and mountain was the best place for cultivation.

When he arrived at the back mountain, he found the old beggar was there too.

"Greetings, Master!" Xu Daoyan bowed.

"Today is the last time I will teach you. From now on, you must rely on yourself to understand the path. Do you understand?" the old beggar said solemnly.

"Yes, Master. What should I cultivate now? It's the Spring Festival, should I start cultivating my liver again?" Xu Daoyan asked.

"No need. Start cultivating your spleen!" the old beggar said.

"My spleen?" Xu Daoyan was taken aback.

"Indeed. In the human body, the five organs correspond to the five elements. The spleen belongs to earth and is responsible for transformation, just like the earth, which can bear all things," the old beggar explained clearly.

"Any food you eat, after digestion, must be absorbed by the spleen and stomach, and the necessary components are then transported to the other four organs. When your spleen becomes strong, your muscles will also become strong."

The spleen is the foundation of postnatal life and the source of qi and blood production, highlighting its importance.

Once a person's spleen becomes strong, it is reflected in their muscles. The health of the spleen can be seen from the lips. This is an organ that needs to be cultivated all year round!

Xu Daoyan sat cross-legged in the snow, guiding the earth qi into his spleen, nurturing it bit by bit. The spleen is responsible for transformation and can bear all things in the world.

There is a saying that one must be grounded. Without earth qi, a person is like a floating entity, and everything they do will be unstable. To be down-to-earth means to ground the other four organs, making the foundation solid, with the spleen as the central transformer, bearing all things.

At this moment, Xu Daoyan realized that the cycle of the five organs and the five elements within his body had finally begun to form. This was just the beginning of his cultivation.

This year, he was thirteen years old.

The old beggar's teachings deeply inspired Xu Daoyan, and his cultivation progressed faster. In the blink of an eye, twelve days had passed.

When his spleen was refined by the earth qi, the five organs within his body began to form a cycle, a circle, giving Xu Daoyan a sense of completeness.

Clenching his fist, Xu Daoyan felt that every muscle in his body was much stronger than before.

Seeing the right time, the old beggar taught Xu Daoyan the Body Tempering Technique.

Xu Daoyan felt it and opened his eyes, saying, "Body Tempering Technique, haven't I been tempering my body all along?"

"The body you have been tempering is not the true body. The body is external, while the true body is internal. People often say 'external things,' which refers to the surface skin. Have you heard of 'soulless body'? Do you think your soul is attached to this layer of skin? The soul is naturally deeply hidden within the body," the old beggar explained succinctly, always making Xu Daoyan realize something new.

"The Body Tempering Technique, before your spleen becomes flawless, is divided into three stages: Dust Body, Sand Body, and Stone Body."

"Dust Body sounds so insignificant, not strong at all!" Xu Daoyan rolled his eyes at the old beggar.

"Though dust is small, when it凝聚起来，却非常坚固。" 老乞丐抓起一把雪，紧紧握成一团，砸向许道颜，破风声传来。

"哎呀！疼！" 许道颜被打到，疼得龇牙咧嘴，蹦得老高，身上被老乞丐砸得一片乌青，阵阵疼痛。

"这就是尘沙之力，如果你不能成为天地间的一粒微尘，将来如何能够化身为大地，承载万物？" 老乞丐留下这句话，便离开了。

老乞丐的话，振聋发聩！

若当不了天地间的一粒微尘，将来如何能够化身为大地，承载万物！

许道颜顿悟了，即使再渺小的力量，当它们凝聚在一起，也是一股强大的力量。

任何大事，都是由无数小事拼凑而成的。

若承受不了渺小，就更加担当不起伟大。

没有一个人是一步登天的，一个庞大的世家都是经过无数代的传承，累积，沉淀而形成的。

老乞丐离开了，不知道什么时候会再出现，他对这位师父还是有特殊感情的，他相信，总有一天，老乞丐会与他再次相见，到时候，自己要变得更强！

许道颜沉下心来，开始用脾脏中的地气转化为运化之气，开始淬炼自己身上的每一块肌肉。

这次修炼，持续了三天，让许道颜感觉到，自己的身体各个部位连贯起来，自身的力量变得更加强大。

他并没有继续修炼下去，因为接下来就是立春了。

每年开春之后，都会开始招收新兵，他要抓住这个机会，而且吴小白说过，在这一天，要送一件东西给自己。

许道颜心里很好奇：“小白到底会送什么东西给我呢？真不知道他的葫芦里卖的是什么药！”

他回到了家里。

自从许道颜开始修炼之后，吴氏感觉到，他整个人都变了，没有像以前那么毛躁了，更重要的是，眼神变了，气质也发生了翻天覆地的变化，非常沉稳，是寻常孩子没有的。

“明天，你就要离开了吗？”吴氏做了一桌的饭菜，心里很酸，问许道颜道。

“嗯，风骑营留守在村里的精锐，明天就要开拔回石龙城了，到时候我就会跟他们一起去，春天一到，匈族人不会在这个时候来侵犯！”春天万物生发，生机勃勃，在这个时候杀一条性命，到秋天的时候，就会少收获一个果实，如果他们在这个时候动了杀机，前来劫掠的话，导致了村子生机凋敝，那么等到新一年的秋天之时，就没有东西给他们劫掠，到时候饿死的就是他们的子民了。

“你真的已经下定决心了吗？”吴氏忍不住又问了一句。

“嗯，阿娘，你放心我不会有事的，我一定会变强，然后找到爹的下落，如果继续在村子里的话，无所作为，今年的秋天，匈族人再杀来的话，我们又要任由他们的劫掠，杀戮了，我绝对不允许这种事再发生！”许道颜想起当日的情景，心头就极为愤怒，那是一种深深的屈辱，哪怕被杀的不是自己的家人，但都是同村之人。

“可是，你才只是十三岁而已啊，这些又无须你来承担！”吴氏还是想要把许道颜留在自己的身边。

“匈族的少主，三岁开始杀牛羊，五岁就进深山杀虎豹，十二岁就开始征战沙场了，也难怪我们都会被他们欺负，就因为我们都只会躲在娘身边的奶娃娃，永远都长不大！”许道颜看向了吴氏，情绪悲愤，眼神中有一种深深的不甘，当日匈族少主的话，刺入他的内心深处。

“好吧，阿娘不拦着你，去吧！”吴氏在这一刻，已经不抱希望了，自己的儿子一旦决定的事情，就很难再改变了。

在乱世，又有几个父母愿意让年幼的孩子去当兵的？

吴氏突然发现，许道颜好像长大了，并不是那个会跟自己撒娇的儿子，似乎已经能够独挡一面，承担责任。

“阿娘，你放心，我真的不会有事的，我有一个很强的师父，他教我修炼的神通，就是刀枪不入，修复自身，都是以保命为主的，我会很小心，当日你也看到了，平常人受到那么重的伤，必死无疑，我却能够迅速恢复！”许道颜知道吴氏心里难过，当即做出了承诺，希望吴氏能够安心，此言一出，她的确心安了不少。

“那你千万要注意，出门在外，不要太张扬，能躲的事，就躲开，不要招惹是非，知道吗？”吴氏千叮咛，万嘱咐。

“嗯，我知道的。”许道颜吃完之后，就走出了家门，他的心里很沉重，丢下母亲一个人，的确很不应该。

他走到了哑姨家，灵儿不在，只有她一个人在屋内。

许道颜站在房门，看着哑姨，缓缓道：“哑姨，这些年来，你就像是我的第二个娘，明天我就要离开这里了，我不知道你的身份是什么，但是我希望你能够照顾一下我阿娘，有你在，我相信她的安全一定会有所保证的。”

哑姨略微诧异地看了许道颜一眼，点了点头。

许道颜很感激：“多谢哑姨！”

脚下的积雪，已经逐渐化开了，许道颜走向了风骑营的驻扎之地，这百人都是精锐。

他们坐下的战马，都是极其厉害的，每天吃的都比人还好，黄豆、鸡蛋等诸多粮食混杂，只有这样才能够保持战马本身的力量！

这种战马胆气十足，炮声响眼睛都不眨，都是经历过战争的，有的身上还有战争过后所留下来的伤疤。

每一道疤痕都是战绩，是它们从战场上存活下来的证明，是它们永远的骄傲！

他们的首领叫风华，是一名四十岁左右的中年男子，饱经风霜。

“终于可以离开这个鸟不拉屎的地方了，这三个月差点把我的嘴巴都淡出鸟来了，这个地方实在穷得可以，想要去打个山鸡野兔来过过嘴瘾都打不到！”在一团篝火前，有一名近三十岁的战士在抱怨。

“行了，这里的村民也很不好过，保护他们本来就是我们的职责，他们能够熬过这个冬天已经很不容易了！”

“我又没说不保护他们，那些该死的匈族人，就知道欺负我们的百姓，怎么不堂堂正正的跟我们大干一场，每一次都是搞这样的劫掠，来去如风，等我们知道消息，连夜赶来，他们早就没影了！”