The God of the Human Realm!

Chapter 16, Miscellaneous Notes from the Wilderness

Hong Yuan was also a carefree person and was not saddened by the departure of Yang Lie and Wu Duxiong.

The afternoon flew by as I practiced standing in the Tiger-Taming Stance, trained in guiding exercises, and practiced the "Seven Slashes of Bolang".

He possesses exceptional natural talent and high comprehension, and can feel his progress with every practice session. Perhaps it may not be obvious at first, but little by little, like grains of sand forming a tower, it will eventually bear sweet and abundant fruit.

Moreover, Hong Yuan's diligent training will in turn promote his physical constitution and improve his comprehension.

It truly is a case of stepping on the right foot with the left, spiraling upwards.

Although Hong Yuan told his apprentices that they could come to him for advice if they encountered difficulties, the apprentices were still afraid of him and no one bothered them.

After being "instructed" by Hong Yuan, the three men—the young man with protruding ears and the short, stocky one—saw the situation come to their senses. Unable to bear the mocking gazes of the crowd, they timidly asked Hong Yuan for two days off and slunk away from the martial arts school.

Only Meng Yue remained calm and, after applying medicine to his wounds, trained even harder.

Before long, the sun began to set and it was afternoon.

In the backyard of the martial arts school, Yang Erhu stood with his hands behind his back, looking at Hong Yuan: "Yesterday I taught you stance training and guiding techniques. Today I will teach you the Tiger Subduing Fist and the 'Tiger Roar Breathing Method'!"

"First, the Tiger-Taming Fist!"

Yang Erhu stood in the Tiger-Taming Stance, slowly assuming a stance, like a fierce tiger perched high on a mountain cliff, suddenly unleashing a fierce gust of wind as he pounced, his fists whistling through the air.

"The Tiger-Taming Fist, though called a fist, can actually be used with fists, palms, claws, and even fake weapons!"

"A hungry tiger pounces on its prey!"

"The black tiger takes out the heart!"

"Tiger's Tail Cutting!"

"Tiger Claw Probing the Clouds!"

Yang Erhu moved with incredible speed and agility, as if he had transformed into a giant worm. His fists, palms, and claws whistled through the air, each move fierce and sharp, accompanied by a howling wind.

Finally, with a leap like a tiger across the mountain stream, he darted to the weapon rack two zhang away, slapped it with one hand and lifted it up, and a long spear flew into his palm.

Whoosh whoosh!
The spear seemed to come alive in Yang Erhu's hand, moving as fast as a storm and as swift as a dancing snake. Amidst the pervasive killing intent, silver light flashed, and it pierced straight through the thigh-thick jujube wood stake, the spearhead disappearing into it.

The jujube wood stake trembled violently.

Yang Erhu had already stopped his attack, exhaling a puff of white breath, and looked at Hong Yuan: "How was it?"

"I've roughly noted it down!"

"Excellent!" Yang Erhu had already witnessed Hong Yuan's exaggerated speed of learning martial arts, so he was not surprised. However, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart that it was good to have a disciple with outstanding talent. If it were someone with dull talent, it would probably take ten days or half a month to even get started with a simple stance.

He took out an old book from his pocket, its black linen cover worn and faded, and solemnly handed it to Hong Yuan.

"This book contains the Tiger-Taming Fist and the Tiger Roar Breathing Technique, which are secrets of our school and must not be passed on to others without permission."

Hong Yuan nodded, then asked in surprise, "The teacher actually carries this booklet on his person. What if he loses it?"

"I only brought it with me today because I need to teach you. I have a place to store it normally." Yang Erhu waved his hand and pointed to his head. "Besides, I already know the contents of the book by heart. It doesn't matter if I lose it."

"Hehe!" Yang Erhu grinned maliciously. "If anyone picks up this booklet, or kills me and steals it thinking they can find something out, they're sorely mistaken. Open it and take a look!"

Hong Yuan opened it as instructed. The diagrams of the Tiger Subduing Fist were not problematic at first, but when he turned to the breathing techniques at the back, he frowned repeatedly.

What the hell is all this stuff?

He was completely baffled by things like "three ounces and seven mace of sesame seeds", "half a catty of tiger bone", "three pulls of the bellows", and "seven poundings of the pestle and mortar".

"This is a code word, the so-called 'three pulls of the bellows,' which refers to three quick inhales followed by three slow exhales. In the martial arts world, any school with a bit of foundation has many code words in its secret teachings, which are obscure and difficult to understand. As for those novels where you can pick up a martial arts manual and immediately become a master, that's just the ramblings of pedantic scholars." Yang Erhu smiled sneer.

"The Tiger-Taming Fist is nothing special. The important thing is the breathing method. Without the breathing method, the Tiger-Taming Fist is just a little bit of fist and footwork. Only by using the breathing method to control the Tiger-Taming Fist can you cultivate the Tiger-Taming Strength!" Yang Erhu added.

Next, Yang Erhu explained the hidden meanings to Hong Yuan one by one. After confirming that Hong Yuan had memorized them all, he retreated to a recliner and leisurely watched Hong Yuan practice his fist techniques and breathing methods.

After about half an hour, an apprentice suddenly called out: "Master, a Mr. Qin has come to visit, saying he has something to discuss with you."

The apprentice dared not enter the inner courtyard, but spoke loudly in the corridor.

"His surname is Qin...Master Qin?!"

Yang Erhu leaped up and darted out of the corridor. A moment later, Hong Yuan spotted the figure of Master Qin.

Compared to when he first left the 'Azure Phoenix Wonderland', he looked much older, with obvious wrinkles on his face, strands of white hair on his head, and even his figure appeared somewhat stooped.

He may have had a premonition about Qin Ziyue's fate when Qin Ziyue disappeared, but he still harbored some unrealistic expectations.

Now that hope has been dashed, all remaining spirit has been completely dissipated, and he has died!

When the heart dies, the spirit perishes.

When Hong Yuan saw Master Qin now, the words "walking corpse" immediately came to mind.

Yang Erhu led Master Qin into the main room for a chat, and Qin himself seemed dazed, following along like a puppet.

Hong Yuanxiu focused on his breathing exercises, concentrating his mind and spirit, and did not eavesdrop on the two's conversation.

After only a short while, Master Qin came out of the room, declined Yang Erhu's offer to see him off, and slowly walked out of the martial arts school.

Fearing something might happen to him, Yang Erhu sent an apprentice to follow behind and keep an eye on Master Qin as he returned home, while he himself sighed and went back to the backyard.

He held an oilcloth bundle in his right hand and, before Hong Yuan could ask, said, "Master Qin has come to say goodbye. He said he is going back to his hometown to build a cenotaph for Ziyue next to his wife's grave. He will not be coming back from now on."

Yang Erhu and Master Qin had been acquaintances for twenty years. When Yang Lie saw Wu Duxiong off in the morning, he did not feel any sorrow of parting, but now he could not help but feel a little sentimental.

Unable to empathize, Hong Yuan changed the subject, pointing to the oilcloth bundle and asking, "Teacher, what is this?"

"I don't know either. This was given to me by Master Qin before he left." Yang Erhu shook his head, then weighed the book in his hand. "It must be some kind of book, right? Doesn't Master Qin know that I get a headache whenever I read a book?"

The edges of the oilcloth were very worn and dirty, clearly indicating its age. Although Yang Erhu looked troubled, he still carefully lifted it up and waved to Hong Yuan: "Come and take a look with me!"

Soon, the tarpaulin was lifted, revealing a thread-bound book inside. The paper was yellowed, and there were even some insect damage marks on the edges. The cover of the book was worn out, and only a few blurry ink characters could be vaguely seen.

Yang Erhu stared at the book for a long time but still couldn't recognize the characters. He had no choice but to toss the book to Hong Yuan and say, "You have good eyesight, come and see what this says?"

Hong Yuan didn't stand on ceremony. He took it, his eyes narrowing slightly, and read aloud, "Baihai...Baihai Zazu?"

Miscellaneous dishes?!
A collection of strange and unusual tales or miscellaneous records?
But why would Master Qin give such a book to Yang Erhu?
Hong Yuan felt that things were not so simple, so he immediately turned the pages and saw that the handwriting inside was not neat and there were many messy parts. It turned out to be a handwritten book.

Many pages were damaged and incomplete, but there were still legible characters. Hong Yuan saw a passage that recorded a strange event that happened in a place called 'Yonghe County'.

"Over a hundred people in the county suddenly fell ill with anemia, their faces turning ashen, coughing up sawdust-like snot... It was said that a fox spirit was claiming their lives, or that ghostly soldiers were passing through and devouring their life essence."

Is this really a collection of strange tales?!

Hong Yuan frowned as he turned the pages one by one. When he reached the last few pages, his fingers suddenly paused.

'Blood Pact Talisman: The holder of this talisman can sense the location of blood relatives within a radius of over twenty feet! The method of preparation is as follows… Select an elm tree over ten years old, using the inner bark of the sunny side or a thin parchment as the base… Take fresh deer heart blood, a small amount of cinnabar powder, and one ounce of rootless water…'

(End of this chapter)