Under the fist

Chapter 73 Training Strength in Water, Huo's Wrestling Method

"Are you from the Tai Chi School?"

Once everything had quieted down, Song Xiehu walked out, somewhat incredulously.

Lian Youming, intrigued, didn't answer but instead asked, "Is there some hidden meaning behind this?"

Song Xiehu shook his head, his face almost bloodless, and sighed deeply, "If not, then you're in big trouble. You've committed two of the most taboo things in the martial arts world. One is making a mortal enemy of a sect, and the other is stealing someone else's true skills and using them to incur bloodshed."

Seeing that Lian Youming seemed to be deep in thought, Song Xiehu explained further: "Let's not talk about the first one, anyway, those people deserved to die. But the second one, if you use Tai Chi to make enemies in the martial arts world, the Tai Chi sect will definitely have to step in. If you are a disciple of the orthodox lineage, you may be safe, but if you steal the teachings, you will be a mortal enemy as well."

Lian Youming raised a thick eyebrow. "Is it that serious?"

Song Xiehu rolled his eyes, slowed his speech, and began to explain, "The leakage of true teachings is no small matter. Do you know what true teachings are? They are passed down to only two or three people per generation, and these few people are very different from other disciples. Outside, they are there to carry the banner for the sect; inside, they are there to suppress their fellow disciples. Furthermore, if an enemy were to obtain this true teaching, it would be a catastrophe for the sect. At best, it would cost a few lives; at worst, it would wipe out the entire sect."

Lian Youming thought about it carefully and realized that it made sense. However, the old man guarding the mountain should be considered a true Tai Chi master, so why should he have a memorial tablet for Yang Banhou?

Song Xiehu added, "Besides the Eagle Claw Sect and the Tai Chi Sect, you also need to be careful of other people on this trip."

Lian Youming asked, "Who is it?"

Song Xiehu said seriously, "If the news leaks out, someone might covet your true skills. Although the martial arts world values ​​reputation and rules, there are some people who like to use underhanded tricks. Be careful not to fall into their trap."

Lian Youming sneered repeatedly, saying dismissively, "It's fine if they don't follow the rules; I can make them die without them even knowing how. By the way, is the Bajiquan sect powerful?"

As he spoke, he took out a large yellow croaker.

Upon seeing the gold bars, Song Xiehu turned around and took out a wooden box from the house. He then took out a small scale, checked the weight—a little over 310 grams—and immediately asked while counting the money, "Bajiquan? That's no simple matter. To master any of the three major internal martial arts, one must immerse oneself in years of arduous training. But Bajiquan can be mastered in just one year, making it the most popular right now... Why are you asking about this?"

Lian Youming thought for a moment and said softly, "I also killed a member of the Bajiquan sect on the train."

"Fuck me!"

Song Xiehu paused in counting the money, looked up in surprise, then quickly continued counting, rounding it up to 12,000.

"The extra hundred or so yuan is just for your pig leg... But the people of Bajiquan are different from those of Yingzhaoquan. They are mostly righteous and hate evil. If they find out, they might not make things difficult for you, and might even help you out."

Lian Youming was holding a thick wad of money and was about to say something when Song Xiehu patted him on the shoulder and said solemnly, "Brother, I can't help you with anything else, but I can help you get off to a good start and rise to greater heights."

Lian Youming smiled without saying a word, waved his hand, took the money, and turned to leave.

After the boy had gone far away, Song Xiehu picked up the box, put away the gold bars, and, seemingly no longer caring about the courtyard, turned and left with his henchmen.

"Tai Chi School, Eagle Claw School, Baji School, my goodness! No wonder they sent me here to find someone. They sent me out to take the fall. Nobody can afford to mess with us... The black market is closed for a while. Let's go to the mountains to hide for a bit."

……

When he got home, Lian Youming greeted his parents, who were butchering a pig and cutting meat, and then went inside.

With all the medicinal herbs ready, the tiger bone wine could naturally be brewed. Perhaps fearing he would waste the ingredients, the ragpicker simply took the tiger bones with him, saying he would bring them back a month later when they were ready.

After hiding the money he brought home, Lian Youming lay calmly on the bed, fully clothed, and assumed a pose based on the diagrams and images in the "Sleeping Elixir Kung Fu" manual before quietly falling asleep.

With a major battle imminent, it would be a lie to say I'm not nervous.

Ultimately, it all comes down to strength.

He slept until the early hours of the morning, listening to the wind outside the window, and after resting up, Lian Youming opened his eyes again. He stretched his limbs lightly, lifted the covers, and pushed the door open silently like an old cat tiptoeing out.

A greasy aroma filled the air, and two plates of still-warm pork cracklings sat on the table, presumably leftovers from the younger siblings.

Lian Youming took a piece, tossed it into his mouth, and walked out while eating.

The cold night was silent, and the cold moon hung alone. His eyes darted around, and with a light breath, he quickly walked out of the street and ran alone to the Ba River.

A gust of wind swept across the riverbank, suddenly whipping up a white expanse—not snow, but reeds, flourishing by the water, pure white as snow.

After quickly stripping off his clothes, leaving only a pair of shorts, Lian Youming plunged into the icy river water, rising and falling with the current to hone his fist and foot strength.

When he was calming down earlier, a small fish slipped through his fingers in the water. This was because he was not yet able to control his strength properly, so he wanted to use this opportunity to make up for his weakness.

However, the current was swift, and the harder you tried, the greater the force you felt. Once the undercurrent passed, most of the power in your fists and feet was immediately worn away. You had to constantly stabilize your center of gravity and change your moves, and your originally sharp fists and feet immediately became clumsy and slow.

After two days of this ordeal, Lian Youming still hadn't made any progress.

Three nights later, when he arrived at the riverbank where he practiced his martial arts, he saw a large vat among the reeds, with a note pressed down inside.

"Put this large vat back into the water as is, without using any external objects, and stabilize it using the least effort possible."

Lian Youming found it amusing; it seemed the old man had finally lost his temper and was subtly instructing him.

Looking around, Lian Youming picked up the large vat and placed it in the river.

However, when the empty tank is put into water, it immediately floats a bit, and because the opening of the tank is too high, it is not stable and will tip over as soon as you let go.

"Hehe, this is too easy. Do you think I'm stupid?"

Lian Youming reacted quickly, holding the large vat and pushing it forcefully against the vat's side with both hands. The vat, which had been floating with the current, immediately stabilized on the water's surface, instead of remaining still, it spun rapidly.

But as he looked at the water vat on the river, the smile on his face faded, and his eyes flickered, as if he had seen something different. He stayed in the river all night, circling the large vat. When he returned the next day, the vat was a third fuller.

Lian Youming understood immediately and continued to carry the large vat into the river and spin it around.

This time it was much more difficult than before. Although the center of gravity was stable, the weight was too heavy. If I exerted too much force, the cylinder almost sank into the water. If it was too light, I couldn't turn it. I could only keep trying between the two. By the time I found the balance point, it was almost dawn.

After two nights of searching, Lian Youming was finally able to keep the tank stable in the water to his liking.

But the next day, the water in the tank had increased by another third.

This time, the large vat sank immediately when placed in the river, with the water surface only a finger's width away from the rim.

Lian Youming simply used the Toad Fishing Technique, focusing his energy in his dantian, exerting force with both hands, and pressing down on the rim of the vat, preparing to give it a hard push. But as soon as he touched it, the vat sank.

It's harder to control than before.

Lian Youming had no choice but to pick up the large vat again, leaving two-thirds of the water, and continue to spin it with the silk-reeling force.

After all that back and forth, he was almost exhausted by the end of the night. His fingers ached, his arms were stiff and numb, and he was practically soaked in water.

This time, it took seven nights of practice to finally stabilize the large vat in the river. He kept turning and swirling it with the current, his control over his strength becoming increasingly precise and meticulous. But the price was that he was exhausted.

Looking at the stabilized vat, the boy danced around on the shore, feeling both pain and joy. "Haha, I don't believe you can fill this vat with water, old man."

The following night, Lian Youming was dumbfounded when he saw the large hole at the bottom of the jar.

"How can it stay stable when it's leaking?"

The large tank sank to the bottom immediately upon being placed in water.

Lian Youming was not about to give up easily. With his thick brows furrowed, he simply grabbed the broken jar, found a deep spot, held his breath, and sank down.

In the reed marshes, the ragpicker was watching quietly from the shadows. He had been observing Lian Youming's performance these past few days. The boy was both insightful and persevering; he was indeed quite talented.

But seeing that Lian Youming had been holding the large vat and submerged it for a long time without making a sound, the old man's lips twitched, and he also had some doubts in his heart, "Could this silly boy have drowned in there?"

After waiting a while longer, seeing that the river was quiet, the ragpicker couldn't help but say, "This idiot, how can he be so stubborn?"

Fortunately, a figure suddenly dragged a large vat ashore.

Lian Youming seemed to have choked on something, as he lay on the shore coughing incessantly, but quickly sat up again.

I almost drowned.

He didn't go back into the water. Lian Youming dressed and just sat on the shore. He put the broken vat in the water again, but every time he let go, the vat would sink to the bottom. How could he keep it steady?

He thought about it all day at home and by the river at night, without asking the ragpicker. He stared at the water all day, constantly sorting through his thoughts, and before he knew it, eight or nine days had passed.

Lian Youming understood perfectly well what the ragpicker had been trying to do these past few days. The other party was using this large vat to hone his finger strength, arm strength, lower body strength, and the power variations of Tai Chi.

Tai Chi Chuan is outwardly soft but inwardly strong. Softness is the momentum, and strength is the power. Momentum is like flowing clouds in the sky, and power is like the sea collapsing and mountains crumbling.

He, however, had strength but no power.

Although the force is invisible, it can be felt. It is the wind, the water, and the softness. Now, this broken jar is placed in the water and is not in control of its own body. It is forced by the force of the water. The hard force dissolves as soon as it enters the water, but what about the soft force? He doesn't understand.

"Strength and gentleness... Gentleness is not weakness... Gentleness..."

When he went to Changbai Mountain, Li Da told him that being too rigid is easy to break, and that he should always be restrained, which was also a way of speaking.

"Softness is about gathering and transforming, taking the opponent's momentum and turning it into your own... using momentum to borrow momentum..."

That evening, Lian Youming muttered to himself, staring blankly at the large vat in the river.

"But how can we borrow the water's force? The old man guarding the mountain seems to combine strength and gentleness; his moves appear light and weak, but his punches are as heavy as a hammer."

He suddenly recalled the scene when the old man guarding the mountain taught him the art of silk reeling. Instead of holding the jar, he subconsciously stirred the water in the jar, his eyes gradually brightening as he watched the whirlpool he created, lost in thought.

"If I can't borrow it, then I'll create the hype myself."

Lian Youming then placed his hands inside the vat and gently turned it, as if sealing it off, not with force or dominance, but slowly and deliberately. After several attempts, as the water in the vat swirled, it became even higher than the river surface outside the vat.

As soon as Lian Youming slowly withdrew his hands, the shaky broken jar stood up on its own, as if it were on the bottom of a great river, spinning gently and continuously, like a top floating to the center of the river, and finally sinking into the water.

After a long pause, the boy seemed to still not believe that he could do it, then turned his head and laughed.

"Haha, old man, I'm not stupid, am I?"

He knew perfectly well that the ragpicker was hiding in the shadows, peeking at him. When he ran over to him with a show of bravado, he saw no one in the vast white reeds, but there was an old book with a blackened cover lying on a rock.

"The Huo Family Wrestling Techniques, handwritten by Huo Yuanjia in Jinghai in the Gengzi year..."

Upon seeing these words, Lian Youming's lips trembled, and his pupils quivered. "Huo Clan Yuanjia?"

(End of this chapter)