I am about to die of old age, and I have awakened the character of longevity.

Chapter 8 Late Bloomer
Xie An was sharp-eyed and realized that today was Tang Qingfeng's last day of teaching, and he asked him to go at the last minute because he was afraid that he had something to explain.

And...mostly good things.

However, Chen He, who was not named, showed a deep sense of loss on his face.

To avoid embarrassment, Chen He wiped his nose and said, "Brother Xie, why are you in a daze? Master Tang is a well-known health master in Qingwu County. Even my cousin admires him very much. Don't keep Master Tang waiting for too long."

In the past few months, Xie An had helped Chen He identify several items privately, which had helped Chen He earn quite a bit of money. He could easily call him "Brother Xie".

Xie An nodded and turned to go into the room.

The room was small, but luxuriously decorated, all made of the finest sandalwood. In the middle stood an eight-person table with four armchairs, and at the top was an incense table with incense offerings.

Tang Qingfeng took out a prescription and handed it to Xie An. "I will be leaving Chen's Martial Arts School in two days. I will give these two things to you."

Xie An took the prescription curiously and asked, "Master Tang, what is this?"

Tang Qingfeng explained, "This is a unique recipe I've researched and developed, and it can be used in conjunction with health-preserving exercises. Although the herbs above are not cheap, the efficacy is much better than Shengqi Decoction."

"Thank you, Master Tang."

After a month of getting along, Xie An felt that Tang Qingfeng was a refined and kind person. He didn't look down on his age, but instead provided careful guidance. Now, he even gave him a valuable prescription for free, which made Xie An very grateful.

Tang Qingfeng shook his head and sighed, "In today's world, health-preserving exercises are declining, and few are willing to practice them. I also saw that you are diligent and eager to learn, so I thought it was fate. This health-preserving exercise requires years of persistence to achieve its miraculous effects. If you can cultivate the sense of Qi one day, come to Tangjiabao in the county town to find me, and perhaps you will have an opportunity."

Qi feeling?

When Xie An heard this word for the first time, he felt a little confused and awe-inspiring.

Seeing that Tang Qingfeng had no intention of continuing, Xie An did not ask any more questions and bowed and said goodbye.

Two days later, Tang Qingfeng left Wuqiao Town.

Xie An also specially bought some local specialties of Wuqiao Town, plus a jar of Bamboo Leaf Green tea that he had treasured for many years, and went to the town entrance to see Tang Qingfeng off, to express his gratitude to Master Tang for his one month of teaching.

Tang Qingfeng originally wanted to refuse, but he could not resist the old man's kindness. Thinking that his trip to Wuqiao Town to promote health-preserving exercises was finally meaningful, he gladly accepted it.

Looking at Xie An's lonely white-haired back as he left, Tang Qingfeng couldn't help feeling a little touched.

“Old but still strong, great things come late in life!”

……

Xie An's life became peaceful again, and he buried himself in the hut in the backyard, practicing boring health-preserving exercises.

Although it was still the same exercise, the situation was very different from a month ago.

Previously, Xie An had been exploring alone, working recklessly and without understanding the essence of the Yangshenggong. After Tang Qingfeng's guidance, Xie An had mastered the key points of the Yangshenggong. His practice was now smooth and effective, achieving twice the result with half the effort.

"According to Tang Qingfeng, the Five Animal Exercises can strengthen the five internal organs and cultivate internal Qi. What he said about cultivating a sense of Qi should be cultivating internal Qi. But I still don't know what cultivating internal Qi is..."

"Strengthening the five internal organs... The Five Animal Exercises booklet mentions this. Tiger Exercises focus on the liver, replenishing essence and nourishing the marrow; Deer Exercises focus on the kidneys, replenishing qi and nourishing the kidneys; Bear Exercises focus on the spleen, regulating the spleen and stomach; Ape Exercises focus on the heart, opening the mind and improving intelligence; Bird Exercises focus on the lungs, nourishing the lungs and expanding the chest. It sounds impressive, but I'm still a long way from that level. I still need to work harder."

By noon, Xie An was already sweating profusely, but his breathing was even and not hurried, and he did not feel exhausted. Instead, the energy in his body was long and endless.

There is endless power in every gesture.

call!
Xie An let out a long sigh, stopped practicing, and called up the panel in front of him.

【Five Animal Exercises: Combining Movement and Stillness (97/100)】

[Tip: Cultivate a combination of movement and stillness to increase your lifespan by ten years]

[Remaining years: Fifteen years.]

"After a month of hard work, I'm finally almost done with 'Combination of Movement and Stillness'. I have fifteen years left...that's enough to live a long time." Xie An smiled with satisfaction.

Combining movement and stillness is the second stage of the Five Animal Play, and it's extremely difficult to master. If it weren't for Tang Qingfeng's guidance, Xie An estimated it would take him a year or two to reach his current level of progress.

Although the master can only lead you to the door, the practice is still up to you.

But leading people in the door is equally important.

"Today, I am no longer the dying old man I was three months ago."

Xie An walked over to the stone lock and, with a slight effort, lifted the 400-jin stone lock with one hand. For someone who had never practiced martial arts, lifting 400 jin with one hand... was already quite abnormal.

Putting down the stone lock, Xie An punched the bluestone floor again. Suddenly, there was a "bang" sound. Although his fist hurt, the stone brick was also broken.

Xie An touched his scraped skin and began to think. With his current strength, killing a grown man with one punch would be no problem. Even a large water buffalo could be killed with just three or five punches.

There should be few rivals below the level of warriors.

"I just don't know any killing martial arts. If I meet a tough guy who's proficient in martial arts, I'll inevitably look clumsy and easily be defeated. It's time to find a martial art to practice. Besides, I'm only practicing half of the Five Animal Play. I should buy a complete copy at least."

Acquiring martial arts manuals wasn't difficult. Some apprentices and instructors at the Chen Clan's martial arts school, desperate to make money, would secretly copy martial arts manuals and sell them on the black market. Even some gangsters and charlatans would take their collected martial arts manuals and resell them on the black market for a profit.

Xie An took out all his savings from under his bed and counted them carefully.

"Only twenty taels left?"

Over the past three months, Xie An's medical expenses, coupled with the cost of food supplements, have been extremely high. He has no monthly income during his convalescence, and his wallet is quickly empty.

The three major sufferings of the elderly.

The money is still there, but I have no life to spend it.

The people are still there, but the money is gone.

My girlfriend wants it, but she’s not feeling well anymore.

"Don't worry, just wait a little longer. Everything will be there..."

Xie An prepared himself mentally, stuffed his wallet into his inner pocket, and planned to go to the black market tomorrow.

dong dong dong.

There was a rapid knock on the door.

"coming."

After opening the door, he found that it was his maid Chunlan who came to visit him with a bamboo basket containing meat, nourishing soup, and a thick cotton jacket.

"Thank you, Master. The master said..."

Chunlan was stunned when she was halfway through her words, looking at the old man in front of her in disbelief.

Compared to three months ago, Xie An was not only more energetic, but also much stronger and looked younger.

Xie An invited Chunlan in to make tea and asked, "What did Master Li say?"

Chunlan excitedly changed the subject, "Is your rheumatism healed?"

Fenghuan means "stroke," but in this era, stroke mostly refers to internal wind damage and paralysis of the cerebral arteries. Modern stroke, on the other hand, mostly refers to cerebrovascular accidents. The definitions are different.

Simply put, strokes in ancient times were not as serious as strokes in modern times.

If an elderly person suffers a stroke these days, it can be fatal.

Xie An was also unambiguous, "Well, I've been recovering well recently. What were you about to say just now?"

Chunlan was so happy that she stopped talking repeatedly. "The master just asked me to tell you to move out. He's going to let Zhang Bing take over the position of the pawnshop's chief steward. I didn't expect Master Xie to recover so well... I'll go tell the master now."

"By the way, these are the clothes and tonic soup I brought for you. Eat them while they're hot."

After putting down the tonic soup and clothes, Chunlan excitedly ran out of the door.

As soon as Chunlan walked into the pawnshop hall, someone called her.

"Miss Chunlan, is the master willing to move out?"

But it was Zhang Bing, who was sitting behind the counter with the demeanor of a master, who spoke up, "If the master is stubborn and refuses to move, I can help him."

As he spoke, Zhang Bing's expression was full of pride.

"I'm afraid your wish will not be fulfilled. Master Xie has not only recovered, but he is also younger than before. I will go and tell the master right away." Chunlan knew that Zhang Bing had neglected old man Xie, so she had no good impression of Zhang Bing and left after leaving a word.

"Master has recovered... How is this possible!?"

Zhang Bing was stunned.

For more than four months, Zhang Bing had been diligently managing the pawnshop, acting as its chief steward. His only worry was that Xie An would recover and take away everything he had already gained.

He had waited for this day to come, for too long...

(End of this chapter)