Dao Qi Wu Zang Guan Guan: I became a Daoist Master in the 1990s

Chapter 43 Mutual Teaching of Boxing Techniques
The wheels rolled over the rails, the monotonous clanging sound becoming the background noise.

The vast mountain scenery of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau flows outside the window.

The green train chugged along, crawling northward toward the capital.

It takes almost two days to travel from Yunnan Province to Beijing!
The two days passed in this cramped soft sleeper compartment, stretching out endlessly and reluctantly.

Qi Yun, wearing a navy blue polyester jacket, and Zhao Yue, wearing faded work clothes, leaned against each other on the opposite beds.

They chatted casually for a while.

At first, the conversation drifted like duckweed on the water, floating east and west.

Zhao Yue was tight-lipped. Qi Yun's matter concerned 749, and no amount of truth could be obtained from him. The two words Zhao Yue said most often were "secret"!

Qi Yun was glib-tongued, and the details of Shenxian Mountain were always brushed aside with "I can't remember" or "I forgot".

The carriage often fell silent, with only the panting of the wheels remaining.

The conversation eventually turned to martial arts skills.

It's like the safest ferry between two men.

"How many years has Brother Zhao been practicing Xingyi?"

Qi Yun looked at the roof of the car and asked casually.

Zhao Yue grinned, revealing his white teeth: "My family found me a master when I was young, and I formally became his disciple."

He trained relentlessly through the coldest days of winter and the hottest days of summer, enduring more beatings than he'd eaten salt.

He subconsciously moved his wrist, and his knuckles made a slight cracking sound, the marks left over from years of practice.

"It's something you learn from childhood, through years of hard work."

"So... how many can we take on now?" Qi Yun turned his head and asked the question that was of most concern to everyone, including himself.

"If we're fighting bare-handed," Zhao Yue scoffed, with the arrogance inherent in martial arts practitioners, "I'll take down as many untrained people as come."

One punch after another, they kept hitting me until I couldn't lift my arm anymore.

He glanced at Qi Yun, recalling his previous humiliation, and emphasized, "Last time, the space was too cramped, and I couldn't move around freely!"

“Now that we have a gun,” Qi Yun pointed to the faint bulge on his side, “why are we still practicing with it?”

"Guns are inanimate objects, but people are alive." Zhao Yue's expression became more serious. "A three-year-old holding a gun is not the same as an old man holding a gun."
Guns are an extension; the root cause lies in people.

Kung Fu paired with a gun—that's like adding wings to a tiger.

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Qi Yun, before changing the subject, "Your 'Five Organs Fist' sounds like it deals with the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys."

"What a coincidence! My Xingyi Five Elements Fist—splitting, collapsing, drilling, cannoning, and horizontal strikes—also corresponds to the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys. Perhaps there's a connection between them?"

He sat up straight, his eyes becoming eager: "We're just going to be stuck here anyway, so why don't we... stop hiding things from each other?"
The key to kung fu is to share and exchange knowledge. If you share it, everyone gets a share, and no one loses out.

This is a new society now, and everyone is young. There's no need to care about those outdated traditions.
I'll teach you the true essence of Xingyi Quan, and you'll pass on the Five Internal Organs Fist to me, how about it?"

Qi Yun did not respond immediately.

His fingers tapped unconsciously on the artificial leather armrest.

He quickly calculated in his mind that the old Taoist Xuanjizi had said that if he failed the test, this fist would be his gift, his means of survival, and it would be worth it for Qi Yun to have called him master for half a year.

For him now, as long as he doesn't reveal the Crimson Hunt Fire and the Jade Slip, it doesn't matter if he passes them on.

Moreover, Xingyiquan, as one of the three major internal martial arts, is also very famous and renowned.

My current skills are all in dealing with ghosts, so I do need a set of boxing techniques for self-defense!
"Done!" Qi Yun nodded and uttered a single word.

Zhao Yue's eyes lit up, and he grinned: "Great idea! I won't take advantage of you, I'll go first."

He cleared his throat, sprang up from the bunk, and stood in the small space in the middle of the private room, his breathing becoming deep.

"Xingyi (形意) draws inspiration from the fierce beasts pouncing and killing, trains the muscles and bones for strength, and seeks the unity of the whole body."

Zhao Yue's voice was not loud, but each word was clear and carried a deep, resonant rhythm.

"The stance is the root. Once you stand firmly in the Three-Body Stance, your spine will be like a great dragon. Your shoulders will sink and your elbows will drop. Your chest will be slightly concave and your back straight. Your feet will be firmly rooted. Power originates from the ground, is generated in your legs, is controlled by your waist, and manifests in your fingers."

It's not the strength of the arms, but the unified strength of the whole body twisted into one.

He spoke and moved simultaneously.

In the cramped space, he turned slightly and landed firmly on the floor in a three-body pose, making the entire private room seem to sink.

Then he began to demonstrate.

There were no grand, sweeping moves; it was all about short, sharp strikes.

The chopping punch is like an axe chopping wood, stopping abruptly less than half an inch from the door of the private room; the slamming punch is like an arrow leaving the bowstring, the forearm flicks, and the air makes a crisp "snap" sound.

The drilling fist is cunning and follows closely to the ribs, like a venomous snake emerging from its hole; the cannon fist is fierce and powerful, with a twist of the waist and hips, the fist follows the body's turn, the force is like a thunderclap; the horizontal fist is like blocking and wrapping, sealing off the door and closing the gate, turning and moving as you please.

The Five Elements Fist came alive in him.

The small private room did not hinder Zhao Yue's performance in the slightest.

With each breath, white steam shot out from his mouth and nose like arrows; with each exertion of force, his muscles and bones creaked, and the floor beneath his feet seemed to groan.

The movements were concise and simple, yet incredibly powerful, and within that small space, they were controlled with ease, without touching anything.

After completing a round of punches, Zhao Yue stopped and stood still, a little sweat on his forehead, but his eyes were bright and intimidating as he looked at Qi Yun: "It's your turn."

Qi Yun felt a warmth in his heart as he read this.

He stood up and also stood in that narrow space. "The Five Internal Organs Fist seeks internal strength."

"Externally move the muscles and bones, use form to guide qi, and use qi to nourish the internal organs. Harmonize the five elements, strengthen the foundation and cultivate the source." He spoke calmly and began to demonstrate the ancient and simple boxing form taught by Xuanjizi.

The "Holding the Elixir Posture" involves placing both hands lightly on the dantian (lower abdomen), as if holding an invisible pearl, to open the gates of the internal organs. The movement is slow, yet it possesses a profound and dignified energy flow.

"Azure Dragon Probes with Claws," focusing the mind on the Zhangmen point, the left arm thrusts diagonally like a whip, stretching the tendons and bones, subtly affecting the Qi mechanism in the liver area.

"White Tiger Presses Down on Clouds" - Press both palms down on the center of the chest, drawing the lung metal to sink down, allowing the chest cavity to open and close naturally.

"The Vermilion Bird spreads its wings," its arms outstretched like wings, causing the heart fire to rise and fall.

"Yellow Dragon Swings its Tail" describes the spine twisting like a dragon, channeling energy into the earth to nourish the spleen and stomach.

His boxing style is completely different from Zhao Yue's Xingyi style.

There is no fierce, aggressive intent, only a profound, introspective rhythm.

The movements were graceful and slow, like an ancient tree stretching its branches, or an old tortoise inhaling and exhaling clouds.

As the muscles and bones stretch and twist, they emit a soft "crackling" sound, and blood and qi surge through the body with each breath, as if one can hear the slight resonance of the internal organs.

After finishing his set of punches, Qi Yun's breathing was deep and his complexion was gentle, as if he had been nurturing a fine elixir.

For the next two days, the private room became a training ground for martial arts.

Zhao Yue imparted all his knowledge of Xingyi Quan training methods, from stance training and mental techniques to the transformation of power in the Five Elements Fist, explaining them in detail.

Qi Yun listened intently, as if his body was born with the ability to understand these things.

After Zhao Yue demonstrated it once, he could imitate it after a little thought.

At first, the movements were still a bit clumsy, and the muscles and bones were not fully coordinated, but after a few repetitions, the stance became stable, and the beginnings of that calm and integrated strength were faintly revealed.

Especially when he stands in the Three-Body Stance, his spine naturally adjusts its curvature, his shoulder blades sink, and his feet feel rooted, he even faintly has the flavor of the "root strength" that Zhao Yue has been practicing for many years.

In contrast, Zhao Yuexue's Five Internal Organs Fist appeared sluggish and awkward.

His physique was already set, and he was used to the powerful and explosive style of Xingyi Quan. He was extremely unaccustomed to this kind of slow, internal cultivation style that involved the internal organs and the flow of Qi.

Although I can imitate the movements, they always feel awkward, my muscles and bones feel stiff, and my breath can hardly penetrate deep into my internal organs.

After practicing a few times, apart from feeling slightly warm, I didn't experience the "abundant energy and spirit, cleansing away impurities" feeling that Qi Yun described.

(End of this chapter)