Under the fist

Chapter 10 Yin Yang Entangling Silk Hand

In the stillness of the night, the transmission of power was complete.

From the woods behind the old man guarding the mountain, a young girl emerged silently, carrying a hunting rifle and a hunting knife at her waist; it was Shuang'er.

"Master, his foundation isn't established yet, so why is he practicing breathing exercises first? Is that...?"

Although this person looked only fourteen or fifteen years old, his breathing was long and steady, and his steps were light and silent, indicating that he had already mastered martial arts. His bright eyes were looking in the direction where Lian Youming had left.

The old man guarding the mountain had a calm look in his eyes and an expressionless face. “Don’t be fooled by this kid. He may seem naive, but he’s actually full of cunning. He probably never trusted me at all. It’s a pity you’re not a man. You can’t learn the true teachings by hearing and seeing. Although we are grandfather and grandson, we are separated by an ocean. The rules must never be broken.”

Shuang'er blinked and whispered, "Will he help us?"

The old man guarding the mountain said coldly, "He's just an unlucky fellow caught up in this turmoil. He's struggling to protect himself, let alone help us. Martial arts heroes die in the martial arts world, and the martial arts world is right in front of me. Since he's barged in, his life and death are in the hands of fate. If it weren't for his desire to save people, would I have taught him a true skill? As for whether he lives or dies after practicing it, that's all up to fate."

After a pause, the old man seemed to have given it much thought. "My time is coming to an end, and those people down the mountain are eyeing me covetously. I must clear all obstacles for you in this battle. If he's lucky, I can still help him out after this battle. If he's unlucky, he'll just have to accept his fate."

Shuang'er's face was tense, her cheeks bearing the ochre color left by years of wind and sun. Upon hearing this, she did not continue to discuss the matter, but said in a deep voice, "Master, news has come from the city that a terrible traitor has emerged from the Xingyi Sect. He has declared that he will exterminate all the members of the Xingyi Sect, and he has already come to our side."

The old man guarding the mountain raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

The girl whispered, "Xue Hen."

"Xue Hen?" The old man was taken aback at first, then smiled strangely. "This name is interesting. Could it be that person's disciple or grand-disciple? That person went astray back then, which led to his being punished by heaven and earth and dying without a burial place. Now, another traitor has emerged. It really is a lineage."

As they were talking, the old man guarding the mountain suddenly narrowed his eyes and said, "So that's why Xie Laosan acted ahead of time. It turns out it was because of this person."

The girl came quickly and left even faster, seemingly only to say those few words, leaving the old man alone sitting under the moon.

The old man looked up at the moon.

He has been watching such nights for over seventy years without realizing it, and those more than 25,000 nights now seem like a long and distant dream when he looks back on them.

Back then, it seemed to be the Republic of China era. Some unparalleled masters emerged out of nowhere, some dominated the world and were revered by the three religions, and some roamed the martial arts world in the north and south, commanding both the righteous and the evil, and were invincible under heaven...

Gazing at the moon, the old man suddenly murmured:
"The sunlight shines brightly over the heavens and the earth."

The earth's veins crisscross, protecting its roots.

Righteousness endures forever, shining like the sun and moon.
"Our doors are open to talents from all corners of the world."

After a long while, the old man looked at the four desolate graves again and sighed, "It's fate...it's been passed down..."

……

Meanwhile, down the mountain.

In the lonely wooden house, a glowing fire illuminated several faces.

Xie Laosan sat cross-legged on the kang mat, holding a pipe in his hand and puffing out smoke.

Several other people were sitting in front of him, each dressed differently. There was a teacher wearing glasses and a Zhongshan suit, an elderly man dressed as a villager, a burly village woman, and a short, thin dwarf.

The village woman, with her hands in her sleeves, asked, "What should we do now? The weather is getting cold so quickly; in a few days, the mountains will probably be blocked by heavy snow. It'll be a good time to kill that old man."

The dwarf, with his dry, yellowish, and messy hair and bulging eyes, yelled, "It would be best to kill all those people on the mountain, and everyone in this village too. I want to leave no one alive."

"Kill my ass!" The village woman was extremely dissatisfied and couldn't help but scold, "You worthless bastard, do you think this is the late Qing Dynasty or the early Republic of China? That Xue guy was the best in the martial arts world, but he still got taken down by guns and cannons... If you want to die, don't drag us down with you."

The dwarf sneered, "Why are you so cowardly now, woman? You've been hiding for so many years, and you really think you're a virtuous wife and loving mother? Heh heh, which of us isn't a piece of trash who's been cut into a thousand pieces, with blood on our hands? No matter how you change, you can't wash it off."

"Stop arguing, all of you." Xie Laosan frowned, put down his pipe, and slammed it on the table with a loud "bang." "We haven't even gotten the job done yet, and you're already fighting amongst yourselves. Listen to Laowu on this matter. When the time comes, slip some drugs into their food and knock them all out before you make your move."

The teacher, dressed in a Zhongshan suit, suddenly spoke slowly, "Judging by the time, that Mr. Yang is probably about to lose his power."

Xie Laosan sighed with deep emotion, "Yes. It is precisely at times like these that danger lurks. If we do nothing, all is well; but if we do something, every step is fraught with danger."

Another villager-style old man with a goatee chimed in, "He must have been here during the year of Jiwei."

A single sentence seems to contain a myriad of emotions.

Xie Laosan remained expressionless, continuing to tap his copper pipe, and replied, "The eighth year of the Republic of China."

The old man with the goatee suddenly laughed, seemingly insane, but his eyes were filled with murderous intent. Though he was laughing, there were also murky tears in the corners of his eyes. "Heh heh, that old bastard actually survived until the Great Tribulation of Dissipating Power, dragging us down with him for our entire lives. He's really something else."

Xie Laosan's eyelids twitched. He reached out and picked up a peanut from the table, crushed the shell with his fingertip, blew off the red skin, and put it in his mouth. As he chewed, he said, "No more, no less, exactly sixty years."

As he uttered those few words, his cheeks were taut and his teeth were clenched, as if he had used up all his strength.

Xie Laosan's wandering eyes hardened, and he said in a deep voice, "This is our last chance. If we catch those educated youths coming up the mountain, we might be able to distract Yang Laogui. Although he was a member of the Taiji Sect back then and did shady things, he is still Yang Luchan's grand-disciple. He can't be cold-blooded and ruthless, can he?"

The dwarf old man said, "That's not necessarily true. When his apprentice was killed by the tiger you drove, he didn't even come down the mountain. Even though he eventually got his revenge, he was clearly heartless."

Listening to the howling wind outside the window, Xie Laosan said sadly after a long while, "Cold-blooded or heartless, it's time to settle this grudge."

the next day.

"Chirp chirp..."

Smelling the cold, chilly air, chewing on a piece of grass, Lian Youming, carrying a hunting rifle, wearing a dog-skin hat and the military overcoat given to him by Platoon Leader Yang, lay prone in a pile of rotting leaves that smelled of decay. Looking into the distance, he saw two pheasants pecking at a pile of broken rice on the ground.

Hazel grouse with a spotted tail.

What a good thing.

You should know that in a few years this thing won't be edible anymore.

Lian Youming took out his slingshot, pulled back the four leather tubes, and wrapped two mud balls he had made himself inside. He glanced with his left eye, and with a flick of his right hand, the two mud balls shot out silently.

Without the slightest sound, two clumps of feathers scattered with a "poof," indicating that the two pheasants had been shot.

"Haha, I won!"

Lian Youming scrambled to his feet, spat out the grass stalks from his mouth, and ran over excitedly.

"Still jumping around, huh? I'll stew you two in a bit... Uncle Xie, we'll each have one."

Looking at the boy grinning foolishly while carrying the pheasant, Xie Laosan laughed and said, "Niwan? Good lad, you've actually mastered the art of using a slingshot."

Lian Youming wore an innocent smile. "It was all just my own wild guesses."

Xie Laosan sighed, "Don't underestimate the slingshot these days, reduced to a child's toy. There's a lot to it. Different objects produce different effects. Back in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, there were some skilled slingshot users. They could handle pebbles, mud balls, iron balls, lead balls—they were incredibly versatile. They could even fill them with poison smoke or gunpowder. It's a pity they were eventually replaced by guns and cannons." Lian Youming stuffed two prey items into the leather pouch at his back and said thoughtfully, "Uncle Xie, could those martial arts masters win against guns and cannons?"

Xie Laosan shook his head, "It's hard to say."

"What's so hard to say? If you ask me, even if you practice kung fu to the extreme, you're still just flesh and blood. You can still get a hole in your body if you're slashed by a knife or sword," Lian Youming muttered. "It's all just a bunch of tricks and deceptions."

Hearing Lian Youming belittle kung fu, Xie Laosan didn't bother to waste his breath. After spending time with the boy, he felt he had figured out his temperament. He was a playful, boastful kid who always had a frivolous smile and was unreliable in every way.

Seeing that the other party did not respond, Lian Youming became wary. Over the course of the night, this person had developed an inexplicable aura, like a taut string.

"Are they preparing to make a move?"

After saying this, the two wandered around the forest twice more. Lian Youming deliberately ran towards the foot of the mountain, all the way to a river at the edge of the forest.

Xie Laosan appeared unmoved, but his steps did not falter.

The winding river almost cuts the vast forest in two, stretching to the horizon, its destination unknown.

Feeling the gaze behind him, Lian Youming felt extremely uncomfortable. Moreover, he could vaguely sense an indescribable killing intent that sent chills down his spine.

Lian Youming stopped in his tracks, stiffened his neck and turned around to look, only to see Xie Laosan looking at the sky, the chilling murderous aura that had been there was nowhere to be seen.

"Uncle Xie, what are you looking at?"

Xie Laosan said with a forced smile, "It's going to snow."

The walk from the foot of the mountain to the top takes more than forty minutes, and the two of them returned just in time for lunch.

With a bowl of cabbage and radish soup, Lian Youming ate seven or eight cornbreads, leaving the female educated youths dumbfounded.

In the afternoon, he and others carried logs for several hours.

Even after work, a group of male educated youths couldn't wait to squeeze into their dormitory after having eaten.

Liu Dabiao, returning from the clinic, spoke in a thick Tianjin accent, pulled out a clapper from his waist, and started performing with a flick of his wrist.

The sound of reciting poetry came from the female educated youth's side.

"Saying Goodbye to Cambridge..."

Lian Youming sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), eating pine nuts, too lazy to go out.

As he listened, he suddenly heard a few toad croaks coming from the howling north wind outside the window. He immediately raised his eyebrows, made an excuse to go to the toilet, and slipped out of the dormitory.

As soon as he came out, Lian Youming saw the old man guarding the mountain's emaciated body from afar.

This person probably can't wait any longer.

Thinking back to the scene that day when I saw the other person exhaling gray smoke and reeking of decay, he was probably on the verge of death.

The man didn't speak, and his figure vanished in the twilight.

Lian Youming quickly followed, until they entered the open space where the old man was.

Seeing the other party's ashen face, Lian Youming said impatiently, "It seems they are about to make their move."

The old man guarding the mountain had a gloomy look in his eyes. "I know. Now a great master has appeared in the county. If these people want to be absolutely sure, they can only make one last gamble this winter. Once they miss it, there will be no more chances."

"Then why did you call me here?" Lian Youming asked, somewhat puzzled.

The old man guarding the mountain said calmly, "I called you here today because I wanted to teach you another unique skill. Do you want to learn it?"

Lian Youming felt that this person's tone of voice was very much like that of an ancient person, which made him particularly uncomfortable, but he would not let go of such an opportunity and nodded hastily.

"Come with me." The old man guarding the mountain said as he walked toward another earthen house.

Lian Youming appeared happy, but was somewhat uneasy inside. Could it be that this person was being so generous because he felt sorry for him and thought his chances of survival were slim?

The old man guarding the mountain opened the door and lit the lamp.

As a light came on, a huge stone ball was seen inside the earthen house, and in the center of the house was a large water vat about half a person's height.

The old man rolled up his sleeves and slowly put his right hand into the water vat.

"Okay."

Lian Youming stared intently and saw that although the old man was not moving, the water in the vat was slowly rippling, and then gradually forming a vortex, as if an invisible hand was stirring it.

"I taught you the breathing method before, and today I will teach you another one, the 'Silk Reeling Force'. This 'Silk Reeling Force' is an extremely advanced method in the 'Transforming Force' training. The force moves in a spiral and is applied to both hands, which is the 'Yin Yang Silk Reeling Hand'. If you can master it completely, then external force applied to your body will be like a mud ox entering the sea."

Lian Youming seemed to remember something, "Was it that strange force that knocked me down that night?"

The old man guarding the mountain nodded. "That's right."

Lian Youming looked at the old man by the light and saw that although he seemed not to be moving, there were actually grooves spreading under his black cotton coat. In particular, the two sleeves of his coat were visibly bulging and bulging, sometimes tight and sometimes loose, as if there were huge waves surging inside the clothes.

Lian Youming was secretly surprised; this looked somewhat similar to the breathing sounds of the person on the train.

He couldn't help but ask, "Besides the Transformation of Internal Energy, are there any other training methods?"

The old man guarding the mountain said, "These things can't be explained in a few words. You just need to figure out the intricacies of them for now. If there's an opportunity, I'll tell you."

As they were talking, the old man suddenly ripped off his black coat, revealing his bare upper body.

To Lian Youming's astonishment, the man's originally emaciated body suddenly swelled up, and his dull skin seemed to gain luster in an instant, like a wriggling dough.

"This...what is this?"

Lian Youming's eyes widened in astonishment, and he instinctively took a half-step back. But when the man turned around, countless muscles on his back undulated and trembled, appearing in the dim light like fish swimming around his spine—mysterious, divine, and astonishing.

The old man guarding the mountain's voice drifted over, "This is the movement of muscles and the secret to generating power."

As he spoke, the old man lifted one arm.

In an instant, the clear water in the vat swirled rapidly, transforming into a huge whirlpool, with torrents of water spiraling upwards as if about to break free of the vat...

　I felt some of the details in the beginning were written a bit too hastily, so I revised them starting from Chapter 5...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)