Fanatic!

Chapter 29 Step by Step Mother
In the following days, Chen Wujun did not go to the martial arts school again, but instead practiced sword and shield techniques with Senior Brother Li in the warehouse every day.

Master Zhou Qing came once, saw him practicing with sword and shield, but didn't teach him anything else. He just gave him a few tips on sword and shield techniques and then strolled away.

boom!boom!
Inside the warehouse, Senior Brother Li's white waxwood staff was like a venomous snake emerging from its hole, sometimes striking Chen Wujun's shield, sometimes being knocked away by the shield.

Sometimes, if Chen Wujun were to be accidentally touched, the affected area would immediately swell up and turn blue or purple.

Chen Wujun was also tough and didn't cry out in pain, focusing all his attention on Senior Brother Li.

"Don't look at the white waxwood staff, look at my shoulder, look at my hand!" Senior Brother Li suddenly thrust out the white waxwood staff. Chen Wujun only felt a blur before his eyes, and immediately turned halfway around. The shield immediately deflected to the side, and the white waxwood staff flew out, grazing the edge of the shield.

"Alright, that's enough for now!" Senior Brother Li tossed the white waxwood stick aside.

"Originally, I was going to teach you footwork and the Four Gates and Eight Locks first, but now that you're practicing sword and shield, you can learn the Four Gates and Eight Locks later."

"Next, we need to add footwork training."

Chen Wujun immediately focused his attention; he could finally practice his footwork.

The Four Gates and Eight Locks include techniques such as grabbing, entangling, locking, buckling, twisting, folding, hugging, and pressing, which are specifically used for close-range grappling and tearing.

But now that Chen Wujun has caused trouble, Senior Brother Li has put sword and shield and footwork first.

"Steps are the foundation of fists; if the steps are unsteady, the fists will be chaotic; if the steps are slow, the fists will be slow."

"Wolf Fist is a close-quarters combat style. It requires closing the distance as quickly as possible with minimal cost, but it doesn't mean you should recklessly charge straight in. Instead, you should be cunning and unpredictable, making it difficult for your opponent to figure out your direction, and quickly cut to the side."

"Therefore, the footwork should be like that of an old python, and the movement should be like that of a venomous snake."

As Li Shixiong spoke, his feet moved, and his body direction changed unpredictably. He was in front of Chen Wujun, but when he moved to the left, he was on the right.

Then, with unsteady steps, he circled around Chen Wujun.

"You need to keep your opponent guessing."

"Steps and punches arrive in unison, delivering power at close range. Deceive your opponent with your footwork, and you'll be the one to take their life!"

"understand?"

"I understand a little!" Chen Wujun nodded, feeling amazed. Just now, his vision blurred, and he thought that Senior Brother Li was going to cut him on the left, but he ended up in another direction.

When fighting, one can directly cut into the opponent's opening and launch a fierce attack.

Indeed, all boxing techniques require footwork.

I've beaten up a few thugs before, but they were all ordinary people, so I just had to keep hitting them.

But it doesn't work against skilled opponents.

Learning footwork is necessary not only for unarmed combat but also for using weapons.

"Learning the snake step mainly involves the trembling step, the triangle step, and the kneeling step."

"The 'striking step' is a sudden burst of power to rush forward, the 'triangle step' is a lateral movement, and the 'kneeling step' is to lower the center of gravity to the extreme. These are the foundations of the serpentine footwork."

While explaining, Senior Brother Li demonstrated the three different footwork techniques.

Chen Wujun only needed to study it briefly to become familiar with these three footwork techniques.

After all, the key points of these three footwork techniques are not complicated, and Chen Wujun's comprehension makes them easy to learn.

Then Senior Brother Li drew an equilateral triangle on the ground.

"First, you take a sprint forward, then use a triangle step to move between these three vertices, and then use a kneeling step!"

After practicing for an afternoon, Chen Wujun mastered the small combinations of these three footwork techniques.

Chen Wujun nodded. After leaving the warehouse, he first bought two pairs of pants. Then, as he carried the items back to the village, he saw several burly men standing under the signboard of Lian An Ji Dim Sum and Grocery Store at the alley entrance, smoking and occasionally glancing around as if searching for someone.

"Looking for me?"

Chen Wujun had been on high alert these days, and he spotted the group from afar.

After thinking for a moment, I took a detour and went into a familiar hole-in-the-wall restaurant. After going through the back door, I went up to the third floor, turned a few corners, and returned to my residence.

The roads inside the fortified village were like a maze; the enemy only guarded the main intersections, so it was still easy to get around them.

Shark Nine had already given him a heads-up, but he wasn't planning to run into those people too soon.

He wasn't worried about the first group, but after suffering a loss the first time, the second group wouldn't be so easy to deal with.

If you find yourself in the eye of the storm and lack the strength, it's not impossible that you could be ambushed and killed in an alley.

After putting my things down, I went home for dinner.

The house is still filled with the warm, homey atmosphere of cooking – Chen Wujun has always believed that this atmosphere is the aroma of food cooked at home.

With a splint on his thigh, he idly watched TV with his father.

This is what Chen Wujun saw when he returned.

He felt that this was fine.

The eldest son always stays at home to recover from his injuries, doesn't go out to gamble, and his parents are always accompanied.

Lovely.

When the eldest brother, Chen Wuhong, saw Chen Wujun return, he immediately put on a fawning smile: "Ajun is back!"

Chen Wujun nodded.

"How's it going at the martial arts school lately?" Old Man Chen Hanliang asked.

"Not bad, everyone says I'm improving quickly!" Chen Wujun said.

"We've almost paid off the money at home, and then we can pay the tuition for the martial arts school," Chen Hanliang said after a moment's thought. "Then you can focus on your studies without having to work and learn martial arts at the same time."

Chen Wujun glanced at his boss with some surprise. This guy had his leg broken and had been staying at home recently. Finally, he was willing to take out the money.

After thinking for a moment, he said:
“I can learn martial arts while working at the martial arts school, and I only do cleaning; the rest of the time I train.”

“It’s your senior brother who’s taking care of you, so it’s not right to keep bothering him,” Chen Hanliang said. The family had a lot of debt before, so they had no choice but to send his second son to work.

I've been paying back the money for the past few months, and with the money my eldest brother received, I've now paid back most of it.

The remaining money, including interest, wasn't much, so the second son didn't need to continue working at the martial arts school. Because of this, he didn't say anything, but he always felt somewhat indebted to his second son.

“Senior brother also needs someone to clean the martial arts hall, let’s leave it at that for now!” Chen Wujun said.

After all, he used the excuse of cleaning and practicing martial arts at the martial arts gym to rent a place to live outside.

The eldest brother, Chen Wuhong, listened to their conversation and had a lot to say.

He has no idea what the second brother is doing. He only knows that the second brother is very familiar with the people at the dance hall and has some status. The dance hall is backed by Hetu.

Given the ferocity of the second brother's previous actions, he felt that the second brother was now involved in a gang.

He just didn't dare say it aloud.

"Come and bring the dishes over!" Huang Meizhen called out from the kitchen.

"They're here!" Chen Wujun went to the kitchen to help serve the dishes.

During the meal, Chen Hanliang, the father, said, "It's time to send out winter clothes in a few days. Your aunt and uncle will also be going. My leg is broken and I can't do anything. Come back early this afternoon and come with me."

On the first day of the tenth lunar month, people send winter clothes to the elderly.

We will need to visit the graves and buy some winter clothes to burn for our ancestors; this is a very important matter.

"Okay!" Chen Wujun nodded.

After finishing his meal, Chen Wujun neither went to Sha Jiu's place nor to the dance hall.

Instead, he went to the rooftop and drew an equilateral triangle, practicing his footwork continuously.

……

The next morning, when Chen Wujun returned to the warehouse, Senior Brother Li was already waiting for him.

Upon seeing him arrive, Senior Brother Li said, "Yesterday's was very simple, wasn't it?"

“However, you only have the form. Starting today, you will practice here!” Senior Brother Li pointed to a pool next to him, which was filled with thick, dry fine sand.

"Flat ground is just for you to get familiar with; wading through mud is the real training method."

"Muddy Steps?" Chen Wujun had seen this pool before and even tested it with a wooden stick. The pool was about 60 centimeters deep.

Only then did I realize that it was used to practice footwork.

Chen Wujun took off his shoes and stepped into the sand, where he immediately sank up to his knees.

To take a single step here, your feet have to contend with the resistance of countless grains of sand around you, and it takes effort to pull your feet out, let alone wade through them.

'What a muddy path! This is knee-deep mud; every step requires tremendous effort, every step is a struggle against resistance,' Chen Wujun thought to himself.

"Once you've mastered the skills here, you'll naturally be swift and agile on flat ground!"

Chen Wujun's feet were stuck in the sand, and he instinctively tried to pull them out.

"It's not about pulling, it's about wading. Remember, when practicing this mud-wading step, your roots should be like an old python, and your form like a venomous snake, not like an old ox wading across the ground!"

"If you feel your feet are stuck in the sand, don't struggle. Use your waist and hips to move your legs, like wringing out a towel, to 'bring' your feet out. It's your hip bones that are leading your legs through the sand. Keep your feet firmly on the ground and feel the sand moving!"

"Only when you can move here as peacefully as on the ground will your footwork be considered complete."

Senior Brother Li taught Chen Wujun all the key points at once, then pulled up a chair and went to drink tea.

He left Chen Wujun to ponder it alone.

Teaching Chen Wujun is pointless.

Occasionally, when he suddenly remembered something, he would turn around and say, "Wolf Fist trains whole-body power. When you kick, it's your leg that's exerting force, but you use your waist and hips to drive your leg. That's true unity of waist and stance."

Chen Wujun was in the sandpit, the sand covering his ankles and calves, reaching all the way down to his knees.

Chen Wujun's feet trembled at first, but his body was not as strong as usual when he rushed out. His strength was absorbed by the sand, and he could only take half a step forward with difficulty.

Chen Wujun was not impatient. He calmed down and slowly twisted his hips, feeling his hips drive his legs to rotate slightly. He could immediately feel the sand flowing. It took Chen Wujun a lot of effort to take a step forward in a "spreading" posture.

However, after only seven or eight steps, he felt his legs getting a little sore.

"Walking through the mud is indeed extremely difficult. And this is just walking forward; it would be even more difficult if we walked sideways," Chen Wujun thought to himself.

After resting there for a while, he focused his attention on his waist and hips, trying to feel the force of the rotation and twisting.

This sandpit was like an alchemical furnace, melting all the energy in Chen Wujun's body together.

How to use force to propel the legs, and how to move with minimal resistance...

It wasn't until evening that Senior Brother Li left. Chen Wujun went outside and ordered two servings of Four Treasures Rice. After eating, he plunged back into the warehouse. First, he stood like an old bear hugging a tree, and then, wearing shorts, stepped into the sandpit.

As he explored the path step by step, Chen Wujun gradually discovered a wonderful feeling of "smooth flow".

He used a slight rotation of his waist and hips to propel each step in the sandpit. Although it still required a lot of effort, each step felt less tiring.

"I understand!" Chen Wujun's bare upper body revealed clearly defined muscles, which were now covered in sweat that kept rolling down his body.

However, his face was full of joy at this moment.

The next day, Senior Brother Li arrived at the warehouse at six o'clock, only to find that Chen Wujun had not yet arrived.

"I guess she was tired! She left even later than me yesterday."

Senior Brother Li had a hint of schadenfreude on his face, as he had practiced this step for a long time.

Even if Chen Wujun is talented, it will take him at least a few days to get into the swing of things.

Chen Wujun didn't arrive until eight o'clock in the morning.

Senior Brother Li didn't say much, watching Chen Wujun take off his coat, put on his shorts, and step into the sandpit.

The next second, Senior Brother Li's eyes froze.

Only one sentence is on my mind.

"What the hell!"

(End of this chapter)