Chinese martial arts: From being shot and killed by the armed police during a mountain search to bec

After the caravan passed Shili Pavilion, the official road gradually widened.

Liu Kun rode his horse beside Chen Hongwu, his gaze sweeping over the hills on both sides of the road.

"Young Master, who taught you your kung fu?" Liu Kun suddenly asked.

"Those martial arts instructors from the county's martial arts school," Chen Hongwu said.

Liu Kun nodded and said with emotion, "When I was young, I also learned some martial arts for a while, Hung Kuen, and practiced for three years. Back then, I was young and arrogant, and I thought I was invincible because I had kung fu skills."

He paused, then patted the gun at his waist: "Later I discovered that no matter how high your martial arts skills are, one spear thrust is enough to take you down. Three years of boxing training is not as good as three months of spear training. From then on, I never touched a fist or foot again."

Chen Hongwu did not respond.

Liu Kun continued, "Young Master, let me add something. Times have changed. With the arrival of foreign guns and cannons, martial arts skills are worthless. Even Sun Lutang, who was known as the Martial Saint, would only die if a gun was pointed at him. Practicing martial arts to strengthen your body is fine, but don't become too obsessed with it."

Chen Hongwu glanced at him: "Uncle Liu, have you met Sun Lutang?"

"No," Liu Kun shook his head, "but the logic is there. No matter how fast, it can't outrun a bullet. No matter how tough, it can't outrun a gun barrel."

Chen Hongwu neither confirmed nor denied the statement.

He recalled the words of his senior in prison: "The rise of firearms and the decline of martial arts is the general trend. But under the general trend, there will always be people who will walk their own path. Not to compete with guns and cannons, but for the path itself."

After traveling for a while, the terrain ahead became increasingly treacherous. The official road narrowed, and on both sides were hills and dense forests, their branches and leaves blocking out the sun.

As Chen Hongwu rode on his horse, his gaze inadvertently swept across the hillside to his left.

Suddenly, his pupils contracted slightly.

Deep in the dense forest, there was a patch of shrubs with an unusual color, as if someone had parted the branches to reveal it.

More importantly, the color was shifting slightly.

Chen Hongwu didn't make a sound, but just turned his head and glanced at Liu Kun.

Who is Liu Kun? He has been living a life of danger for over twenty years, and a single glance from him is enough.

He followed Chen Hongwu's gaze, his eyes narrowed, and his expression changed instantly.

He waved his hand.

The guards, numbering over twenty, saw the gesture almost simultaneously.

That was the Chen family's old code signal—an ambush was ahead, prepare for battle.

No one shouted or panicked. The guards calmly adjusted their posture, placed their hands on their rifle grips, and quietly turned their guns toward the left hillside.

The whole process was as quiet as a silent dance.

Liu Kun slowly raised his hand, then suddenly brought it down.

"beat!"

More than twenty guns opened fire simultaneously.

"Da da da da!"

Bullets rained down on the dense forest on the left, snapping branches, shattering leaves, and sending dirt flying.

A piercing scream echoed from the dense forest.

"ah--!"

"They've spotted us!"

"Run! Run!"

One scream after another echoed from the forest, accompanied by the sound of branches snapping and hurried footsteps.

Someone rushed out of the woods, covered in blood, stumbling and running uphill. The guards' guns followed their retreating figures; a burst of fire followed, and the man fell to the ground, never to rise again.

The gunfire lasted less than two minutes.

The dense forest fell silent.

Only the smell of gunpowder lingered in the air, occasionally punctuated by a dying groan, which quickly faded away.

Liu Kun raised his hand, and the gunfire stopped.

"A-Fu, go up and take a look." Liu Kun gestured with his chin toward a young guard.

The guard named Afu dismounted, grabbed his gun, ran up the hillside, and disappeared into the dense forest. A moment later, he returned, his expression unchanged.

"Master Liu, all twenty-three bandits are dead. They had guns and knives; they looked like remnants of bandits we hadn't wiped out before." Afu paused. "We also found several flags, markings of bandits from the Meiguan area."

Liu Kun nodded: "Were there any survivors?"

"No, they're all dead."

"That's good." Liu Kun turned and waved to the team. "Let's continue on our way."

The guards put away their guns, and the caravan resumed its journey. The carriage wheels rolled across the road, everything as usual, as if the massacre had never happened.

Liu Kun rode up to Chen Hongwu's side and said calmly, "Young Master, did you see that? This is the power of firearms."

He pointed to the dense forest on the hillside: "More than twenty ruthless bandits, armed with guns, are lying in ambush waiting for us. If they were skilled in martial arts, no matter how good their skills were, they would die if they went into that forest. But we are fifty paces away, so we can strike first, fire a volley, and wipe them all out."

Chen Hongwu looked at the corpses lying haphazardly on the hillside without saying a word.

Liu Kun continued, "No matter how skilled a martial arts master is, even if they can see in all directions and hear in all directions to detect an ambush in advance, what happens after they detect it? They have to rush in and take them out one by one. If the enemy has a gun, they might get shot before they even get close."

He patted the pistol at his waist: "With this, there's no need to rush. Just fire a burst from a distance, and it's done."

Chen Hongwu finally spoke up: "Uncle Liu is right."

Liu Kun thought he had taken his words to heart and was about to say a few more when Chen Hongwu turned to look at the road ahead and said nothing more.

Liu Kun shook his head and didn't try to persuade him further.

Young people practicing martial arts always have a burst of enthusiasm. Once that enthusiasm fades, they'll naturally understand.

---

The caravan traveled for a day.

As evening fell, Liu Kun chose a grove of trees to set up camp.

The forest wasn't large, but the terrain was flat and it was well-concealed on all sides, making it difficult to be spotted. The guards skillfully set up tents, lit a campfire, and took out dry rations and water bottles.

The campfire crackled and popped, its light illuminating the dark faces of the people on the fire.

Chen Hongwu sat by the campfire, holding a dry biscuit in his hand, chewing slowly.

After arranging the patrol tasks, Liu Kun walked over and sat down next to him. He took out a wine flask from his pocket, took a sip, and handed it to Chen Hongwu.

"Have some drinks to warm yourself up."

Chen Hongwu took it and sipped it. The strong liquor went down his throat like a burning thread.

"Young Master, you deserve some credit for today's success," Liu Kun said. "If you hadn't discovered it first, we would have suffered a loss even if we hadn't fallen into the ambush."

Chen Hongwu handed the wine pot back: "It was a coincidence."

Liu Kun smiled and didn't say anything more.

The campfire was burning brightly, and the firewood made a soft crackling sound.

The guards gathered in twos and threes; some were cleaning their guns, some were dozing off, and some were chatting quietly.

"I heard that those bandits today were remnants of the Meiguan gang. Last month, Master Liu led his men to wipe out their stronghold, killing more than thirty of them. The remaining ones who escaped have been looking for a chance to take revenge."

"Revenge? We've wiped them all out today, let them go to the underworld to seek their revenge."

"Speaking of which, if the young master hadn't discovered it first, things might have been very different. Those people were very well hidden."

"The young master practices martial arts; he has sharp eyesight."

"What's the use of practicing martial arts? Is it any better than a gun?"

"That's true..."

Chen Hongwu listened to the whispers without changing his expression, chewing on a dry biscuit.

The firelight cast flickering shadows on his face.

Night deepened.

The guards took turns on night watch, and most of them went into their tents to sleep. Liu Kun personally took the first shift, a gun tucked into his waistband, and slowly walked around the camp.

Chen Hongwu did not sleep; he leaned against a large tree and closed his eyes to rest.

He was practicing his martial arts.

It's not about practicing boxing, it's about practicing "listening." Listening to the wind, listening to the trees, listening to the chirping of insects.

As the elders have said, before mastering internal strength, a martial arts expert must first train "sharp eyes and keen hearing." The eyes must be able to capture the slightest movement, and the ears must be able to distinguish the faintest sound.

He discovered the ambush on the mountain using this during the day.

The oddly colored grove of trees was spotted by his eyes. The rustling sounds the bandits made as they moved through the woods were discerned by his ears.

At the upper level of Ming Jin (manifest strength), the integrated strength has been achieved. The next step is to move towards An Jin (hidden strength).

The foundation of hidden strength lies in the harmony of mind and intention, intention and qi, and qi and force.

When the campfire was burning brightest, suddenly a spark burst out with a "pop" and flew into the darkness.

Chen Hongwu's gaze unconsciously followed the spark, landing in the darkness at the edge of the camp.

In that instant, he saw a dark shadow.

It vanished in a flash.

It was so fast it felt like an illusion.

Chen Hongwu sat up abruptly, his eyes fixed on the darkness.

There's nothing left.

The tree was still a tree, the shadow was still a shadow; nothing seemed amiss.

But he was certain he had seen it.

It wasn't human; its movements were too fast, unlike anything a human could do. Nor was it a wild animal; wild animals don't walk upright.

The silhouette of that dark figure reminded him of something.

Mandrill.

Chen Hongwu placed his hand on the Browning waistband and slowly stood up.

Liu Kun was patrolling on the other side of the camp and did not notice anything unusual on this side.

Chen Hongwu did not call out to him.

He wasn't sure if he was seeing things.

But he did not let his guard down, his eyes scanning the darkness around the camp and his ears listening for every subtle sound.

The campfire continued to burn.

The insects continued to chirp.

Business as usual.

Chen Hongwu stood there for a long time, but he did not see the dark figure again.

He slowly sat back down, but his hand did not leave the gun handle.