Chapter 4

Translated by Oedon Edited by Phantom0408

“I’ll go!” A small witty man on the side rushed into the inner room, and a short time later, he returned with a wooden grid with many small compartments, each with different snacks in it.

Snacks like chicken feet, guazi, grapes, Chinese chestnuts, wheat sugar, etc. Being able to eat these good things in this time and environment showed how comfortable the old man’s life was. [1]

He picked up the chicken feet and gnawed on them.

“It’s a little salty.”

“Well, let me elaborate on the reason why.” He took his time, then put down the chicken foot and licked his lips. “Well, the reason is…” He looked around at the circle of people waiting eagerly for him to speak.

“What? Is no one going to train? Do you think you can gain strength just by LISTENING? Everyone can do this, RIGHT?!”

“GO, GO, GO! ALL OF YOU GO! You have to work hard day and night so that you won’t regret it later!” He picked up a wicker twig behind the back of his chair and smacked it at several people.

The twig crackled so loudly that the circle of men grimaced and scattered; only Wei He was left behind.

“Okay, now, let’s continue. Just now, where were we?” Old Man Zheng scratched his head.

“Talking about the difference between us and ordinary people,” Wei He quickly picked up.

“Ah, yes, that one.” This old man was so slow it made people want to smack his head.

He took a long breath, and then slowly exhaled. “Why do we learn Martial Arts? Isn’t it just for the sake of being able to beat other people?”

“Yes, yes.” Wei He nodded his head. He was also very curious at this time whether or not this world’s Martial Arts was similar to his original world’s.

In his previous life, Chinese martial arts were constantly weakening because they couldn’t keep up with the times, so much so that they were easily crushed by some amateur MMA fighters.

They were utterly defeated! [2]

It’s absurd to say that Chinese martial arts were always useless whether it was from ancient times to the present day. After all, there has always been an endless stream of experts emerging from all kinds of dynasties and eras. Besides, among the billions of people there would always be the diligent ones, so all of them can’t be garbage.

He guessed that the reason that they couldn’t beat MMA fighters is because of their complacency and the lack of actual combat. So he was curious about the Martial Arts in this world, and what it was really like.

Old Man Zheng dawdled for a while before he finally stopped keeping him in suspense.

“Martial Arts has one purpose, and that is to allow one to beat other people in a fight, therefore we should practice using various methods available, to kill, and win. Only when we can best other people in a fight, will the purpose of Martial Arts be achieved,” he concluded.

“I don’t know what other people think, but anyway, this is the foundation of my Mountain Fist.”

Old Man Zheng stroked his beard. “And to be able to beat others, the most fundamental things depend on who is stronger, who is faster, who hits more accurately, and also who is more durable.”

“Brilliant insight Master! This kind of insight can only be summed up by an old expert like you,

Master,” Wei He hurriedly praised.

Old Man Zheng revealed a smile. “It’s easier said than done. How do you make yourself stronger, faster, more accurate, and more durable? We train in Martial Arts with these purposes, but”—his voice changed—”it’s impossible to be good at everything.” It is said that Old Man Zheng was a scholar when he was young, thus his way of speaking is different from others.

He sighed. “People’s energy and talent are extremely limited, and there is no way to take everything into account. So, to be able to practice in one direction to mastery is already pretty good.”

He looked at Wei He. “My Mountain Fist trains the fist.”

“Rich people can use strong gloves to enhance and protect their fist, but you guys don’t have money,” Old man Zheng said lazily. “So, train, make your fists tough and strong, and then you shall triumph over others.”

He stood up and pointed to a tall man with a dull face. “Zhao Hong, your Junior Brother will be in your care, let him train his strength first.”

“Oh…” The man honestly answered.

Wei He looked at that man, and compared his physique to the others around; and felt that Zhao Hong’s strength might be quite strong.

“Junior Brother, my name is Zhao Hong, I’m the Eldest Senior Brother. I will first teach you how to train your strength, but this strength training requires you to eat a lot of meat, so you have to find a way to make up for the food first.”

“I understand!” Wei He nodded seriously. “By the way, Eldest Senior Brother, have you ever heard of an Internal Arts master?”

“Internal Arts? What is Internal Arts? I don’t know.” Zhao Hong shook his head, one could easily see that he had an honest personality.

With his tall and strong physique and an honest and obedient personality, it is very likely that in this courtyard, he is the one that was asked to do things by others.

“You just joined today, so follow me to train by lifting rocks.”

“Lifting rocks?” Wei He felt scammed. Did he pay so much money, just to be told to lift rocks?

“Yes, but this training also has its own method. When you lift it, be relaxed and slow. I have a verse from the manual here, you have to remember it.” Zhao Hong earnestly led Wei He to a corner where dozens of various-sized rocks were stacked.

“The verse is, ‘Body as a floating willow, light like the wind, feet rooted while moving.'” Zhao Hong recited out.

“…” Wei He was speechless. It seemed a little different from what he imagined.

“Watch me!” Zhao Hong took a rock with the same width as his body, then held it up and down.

A rock weighing at least a hundred catties was gently and easily lifted in his hand. [3]

Wei He seemed to have some understanding, although Zhao Hong’s upper body was moving, his feet were rooted to the ground, not even moving even an inch.

“Is this the strength training?” he asked.

“Yes, just find yourself the right stone,” Zhao Hong explained, “this training is followed by technique practice, desquamation, footwork training, and finally the actual combat practice. You have to train your strength until your Qi and Blood are thick, at this stage you will be able to break wood without feeling pain and ready for the next step.”

“Eldest Senior Brother, are there any signs when my Qi and Blood become thick? How can I know the level of my Qi and Blood?” Wei He asked carefully.

“Our Mountain Fist has several levels. They are, respectively, Ox Skin, Stone Skin, and Iron Skin. It refers to the toughness that your fist can achieve,” Zhao Hong explained, “as long as you reach the Ox Skin your Qi and Blood will become thick enough, you can test your fist toughness later.”

“Understood.” Wei He nodded. “So when can we start?”

“Right now,” Zhao Hong said seriously.

Without saying a word, Wei He stepped forward and with Zhao Hong’s assistance began lifting a rock.

After training for the whole afternoon, he soon felt sore and tired, but at this moment a miracle happened; after drinking some soup that Zhao Hong served, the soreness unexpectedly disappeared the next morning.

Old Man Zheng in addition to teaching also makes special medicine soup, named Myriad Soup. Anyone who was able to pay could get one bowl a day. [4]

He suddenly understood that although this world seemed similar to his previous life, it had its unique traits.

Old Man Zheng relied only on teaching people to make a living, yet was able to become famous and charge expensive fees for his tuition, so he must be exceptional.

After all, just a year of tuition fees was roughly equal to a family of three’s expenses for a year.

Right now the world’s condition was not very good, silver was not as valuable as it used to be, and prices were soaring; yet, Old Man Zheng was still living very well, one can easily see his talent to make money.

From that day on, Wei He practiced hard with Zhao Hong every day while taking a break once every three days. During the breaks from training, he continued to do those young masters’ and young miss’ homework while secretly learning knowledge in the process.

In this way, there was a balance between his income and expenses.

His second sister Wei Ying lived simply in a house near Old Man Zheng’s. The house was owned by Old Man Zheng but for the repayment of Wei Ying’s free labor, he allowed her to live there for free.

Although it was a bit broken, it was still better than being harassed by Chen Biao and his two underlings.

Everything was settled temporarily, and Wei He devoted himself to training.

In a short time, he didn’t have the strength to solve the problem of Chen Biao, but it did not matter. The future is long. [5]

……

As the days pass by.

Wei He also earnestly began to train hard day by day. Every day before dawn, he would get up and toughen up his muscles and bones.

Although Old Man Zheng did provide meals, he still prepared some extra meat for himself to eat after he exercised. While not much, this still ensured that the needs of his body were fulfilled, and also supplied additional energy for the Pojing Bead.

A large amount of money was spent, and as time changed, Wei He’s bones became more and more robust.

The Pojing Bead on his chest was also slowly darkening, though still not at the level of pure black. That is when its usefulness will truly come to light.

Chen Biao was also slightly more restrained after he saw him staying in Zheng’s courtyard, but every time he met Wei He and his second sister at home, you could always see Chen Biao’s sneaky and malicious intent from his eyes

In the blink of an eye, more than three months have passed.

Before dawn.

Hooo…

Wei He wrapped his hands around a rock and summoned all of his body’s strength, then lifted it up and down constantly.

Around him were the rest of the Mountain Fist’s men, they were sparring against each other.

After correcting his posture and giving him tips for a while, Zhao Hong stopped caring and moved on to teach another newcomer.

Wei He trained his strength every day, although boring, but the feeling of getting stronger day by day gave him inner peace.

“Junior Brother, how are you today? Are you able to lift a hundred catties yet?”

In the space on the right, Cheng Shaojiu, his Third Senior Brother took off his outer robe which revealed a casual shirt; he then lifted a rock from the corner and also began to train.

In the past few months, Cheng Shaojiu got closer to Wei He, at first, he only did this with the ulterior motive of getting closer to Wei He’s second sister, but after some time, he found that Wei He, while reticent on the surface was tenacious and committed, with brilliant insights to boot.

So Cheng Shaojiu after a long time became interested in befriending Wei He, and Wei He also didn’t have any ill feelings toward this weird Third Senior Brother.

The two quickly became close friends.

“One hundred catties is still not possible for me, the span of my strength training is just too short.” Wei He shook his head, gently put down the seventy catties of stone in his hand, and moved his joints.

“No need to hurry, I heard that there will be an orchestra in a town to the south of the city this afternoon, the people there seem to like pipa so they should be able to play it exceptionally well. I’m going there, are you coming?” [6]

Cheng Shaojiu treated Wei He differently from others. He had always liked the elegant, literate, and insightful people; because of that, he acknowledged Wei He as his friend.

So usually when there is such an event, he will be the first to notify Wei He.

Although Wei He has never been there, he understood the reason why Cheng Shaojiu liked it; it was probably more for faint bragging rights.

After all, these days, those who can still afford to waste their time listening to music will not be some insignificant people.

“I’m not going, Third Senior Brother, I entrusted you to help me inquire about some matters, is there any news?” Wei He took a break, then picked up a rock again and continued to train.

1. Chicken feet: https://bit.ly/3rhGGj0 Guazi: https://bit.ly/2MuqIDh Chinese chestnuts: https://bit.ly/39GamQQ

2. Chinese idiom 溃不成军 (kuì bù chéng jūn) which means being defeated so badly that morale is at an all-time low.

3. Catties or Jin (斤) is equal to 500 grams (1.10231 pounds) in mainland China and roughly equal to 600 grams (1.32277 pounds) in other Asian countries (Japan, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, etc.) Source: https://bit.ly/3ttfKhY

4. Myriad Soup, 小万汤 (Xiǎo Wàn Tāng) which translates as Little (Xiǎo) Myriad (Wàn) Soup (Tāng).

5. The future is long (idiom); there will be ample time for that later.

6. The pipa, pípá, or p’i-p’a (Chinese: 琵琶) is a four-stringed Chinese musical instrument, belonging to the plucked category of instruments. Source: https://bit.ly/3ru5TXn

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