Gou Zai Xianwu Wenjing Search for Opportunities

I trained until my legs cramped up, and that was on the first morning.

Lin Yuan couldn't imagine how he would live in the future, but his leg cramps were too severe right now, so he couldn't go on living like this.

Wu Yong ignored him and continued practicing. Zhao Sheng came over to help him stretch his legs, but it didn't work; the kicks were too strong.

Just then, Coach Hong arrived gracefully and lashed Zhao Sheng's buttocks with his long whip, causing him to immediately dodge in pain. At the same time, Coach Hong lashed Lin Yuan's legs twice more.

Strangely enough, the cramps in my legs stopped immediately.

Lin Yuan was in pain from the whipping, but fortunately, after the pain subsided, his legs returned to normal and the throbbing pain subsided.

My legs seem to have returned to normal. Should I continue training, or...?

Lin Yuan was now in an awkward position!

Just as he hesitated, Instructor Hong suddenly lashed out with his whip, creating a deafening roar that shook the martial arts arena. At the same time, he announced in a clear voice, "Rest for two quarters of an hour!"

The teenagers relaxed, lying down on the ground, each one like a protagonist in a parkour game who had just escaped from the jaws of a demon, letting out long sighs and exclamations.

"Oh my goodness!"

"Finally, I can rest!"

"Don't press down on me, let me lie here quietly for a while!"

"..."

Lin Yuan was finally able to rest with the others. Zhao Sheng squeezed next to him and asked, "Uncle, are you alright?"

"It's alright! Instructor Hong knew his limits, it's just that my butt still hurts a little." Lin Yuan sat to the side, because Instructor Hong only spanked his butt, making it impossible for him to sit still.

"It's alright, I have some liniment at home, I'll get you some later."

"Hmm." Lin Yuan didn't have the energy to be polite with him. He touched his back and found that his clothes were soaked with sweat.

He never expected that he could practice standing in the stance for so long from scratch in just one morning.

In his past life, he practiced by watching videos, which took him at most a few minutes.

During a break, Hu Cai jogged over and saw Wu Yong still diligently practicing martial arts. He smiled and praised him, "Senior Brother is truly hardworking; we can't match him!"

Wu Yong glanced at him, a slight smirk playing on his lips, but ignored him. He glanced at Coach Hong out of the corner of his eye, and seeing that the other man wasn't looking in their direction, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

Seeing that this scion of a powerful family looked down on him, the son of a merchant, Hu Cai didn't mind. He smiled and squeezed next to Lin Yuan: "Junior Brother Lin, you were so good at arithmetic in school, why are you learning martial arts now?"

The two were only acquaintances, but their family backgrounds were different, so they didn't get along well. Whether it was studying or practicing martial arts, Hu Cai had entered school earlier than him, so it was understandable that he considered himself the senior brother.

Lin Yuan had a fairly good impression of him. Although Hu Cai didn't like studying, he was generous and often treated his classmates to meals and entertainment. Even Lin Yuan occasionally benefited from his generosity.

"I've almost finished studying the scriptures. My mentor told me to come out and find a job to gain experience. But I couldn't find a good job, so I came here to take a look."

"Hey, finding a job is easy! Would you like to work at my shop?" Hu Cai immediately offered his help.

He had been at the Li family's martial arts academy for some time, but he couldn't get along with the young men from the powerful families here. He had never been able to integrate into their circle and was all alone. Now that he saw his former classmate coming over, he felt as if he had seen a fellow villager and immediately felt close to him.

"That would be great! If I fail to learn martial arts, I will definitely go and seek refuge with Senior Brother Hu." Lin Yuan didn't take his words seriously.

Small shops usually have the shopkeeper also serving as the accountant, while only large shops hire a separate accountant. Hu's Coffin Shop is quite famous in Taoli Township, but it's not considered very big. Even if I joined, I would at most be a half-accountant and half-employee.

Lin Yuan looked down on this kind of job, as it was too low-class, but it could leave him a way out.

"Junior Brother Lin, then it's a deal!" Hu Cai laughed heartily, putting his arm around Lin Cai's shoulder, their relationship instantly becoming much closer. "While I may not be as good as you in academics, you're definitely not as good as me in martial arts. Don't disbelieve me, my elder brother is a martial artist who has reached the peak of Body Tempering, and I've been training with him since I was a child..."

Lin Yuan only realized upon hearing this that even a merchant family like the Hu family couldn't afford to support every son to learn martial arts. Only the eldest son could learn martial arts, the second son could learn carpentry and become a shop assistant, and the other sons could study and make a living on their own.

Hu Cai had always wanted to learn martial arts, but his father couldn't afford it and only allowed him to study. So he fought against his father. Later, his elder brother gave up the path of a martial arts master and bought a job as a constable in the county government, but his father still didn't agree to let him learn martial arts.

It wasn't until he was expelled from the school that his elder brother, unable to bear seeing him waste his life, persuaded his father, who then agreed to let him train for two more years.

Zhao Sheng recognized Hu Cai's father and looked down on the coffin shop business. He was also slightly displeased to see that Hu Cai had only been in the outer martial arts hall for a few days but dared to speak so arrogantly and boast.

Lin Yuan didn't care that he was boasting. When he was learning arithmetic, he had humbly asked his classmates and senior brothers for help and borrowed their notes and notes. That's how he managed to overtake them.

I've just started learning martial arts at the Outer Martial Arts Hall, and there's so much I don't understand. Wu Yong looks down on me and teaches me perfunctorily. Zhao Sheng can only do it but can't teach it. Maybe I should give Hu Cai a try.

Lin Yuan immediately asked humbly, "Senior Brother Hu is a prodigy with extraordinary talent in martial arts; he will surely become a martial arts master! Please teach me, as a beginner in martial arts, how can I improve quickly?"

"What's so difficult about that!" Hu Cai immediately looked Lin Yuan up and down and shared his personal martial arts experience. "You're new to martial arts and so thin. You should focus on diet therapy. Practice static stances and routines regularly to nourish your qi and blood... Once you've built up your body, you can start taking medicinal diets. This way, you'll not only improve faster, but you can also save money on medicinal diets."

Lin Yuan listened and took notes, planning to verify later: "How should this skill be practiced?"

After saying that, Lin Yuan immediately demonstrated his static stance, hoping that Lin Yuan could give him some pointers.

"This static stance isn't difficult, as long as you master the posture, the technique of generating power..." Hu Cai said as he gave instructions, correcting his stance by adjusting his feet, back, and knees. "You also need to generate power from your feet..."

After giving some pointers, Lin Yuan was so tired that he sat down to rest. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his buttocks, and immediately rolled over onto his stomach. He then said to Hu Cai, "Thank you, Senior Brother Hu. That's all for today. Let me digest a bit."

"It's alright, static stance isn't difficult, it just requires practice. You'll get the hang of it if you practice more." Hu Cai didn't seem to care at all.

"How can I quickly memorize these postures and power techniques?" Lin Yuan asked again.

Hu Cai pondered for a moment, but couldn't think of a good solution. Finally, a brilliant idea struck him: "Perhaps letting Instructor Hong whip him a few times will make him remember!"

"Me? You!" Lin Yuan was speechless with anger.

"Hehe... It hurts a lot, but it really works!" Hu Cai scratched his head and chuckled.

At this moment, Coach Hong suddenly swung his whip in mid-air, and with a loud bang, the dozen or so boys quickly got up and continued practicing their boxing.

"After you finish practicing, I'll take you to see Doctor Meng!" Hu Cai hurriedly said this and ran off to practice his boxing.

Lin Yuan was puzzled and decided to ask him at noon.

After the morning martial arts practice, three out of the dozen or so boys were missing.

Fortunately, Coach Hong only teaches for half a day in the morning, and students can practice on their own in the afternoon, although they can also practice in the martial arts arena.

Seeing that Coach Hong had left, Wu Yong ignored Zhao Sheng and Lin Yuan and immediately followed him away.

Lin Yuan was glad he persevered, but his muscles had been severely damaged by the high intensity, and now he was walking a little unsteadily.

Hu Cai ran over: "Come on, let's go find Doctor Meng."

"Doctor Meng?" Lin Yuan asked, puzzled.

"He's the one who prepares our medicinal meals."

"Aren't medicinal cuisines standardized? Didn't you say you'd buy them once you'd recovered?" Lin Yuan countered.

Hu Cai continued, “Junior Brother Lin, you don’t know. The low-grade medicinal diets sold in those martial arts schools are indeed all the same, one serving to whoever comes. But the high-grade medicinal diets are all individual prescriptions, adjusted according to each person’s physical strength. Doctor Meng is an expert, let him take a look and see how you should supplement your diet… It’s not too late to start taking the medicinal diet when it’s time, so that you can catch up with your martial arts progress faster.”

At this moment, Zhao Sheng suddenly interjected, whispering to Lin Yuan, "My uncle also asked me to find him to take a look, but he charges five taels of silver for each consultation!"

Lin Yuan instantly understood. No wonder Li Shi and Zhao Sheng hadn't mentioned it to him; it turned out this would cost money.

Five taels of silver is no small sum, and they probably fear they can't afford it.

Well, after all, he was the one who introduced me to the field, so I can't expect too much from him.

Hu Cai, who knew more, explained, "Five taels of silver is a bit expensive, but Doctor Meng charges once and covers a month's supply. If you go to see him again at the end of the month, you won't have to pay again, and he can even prepare a special medicinal diet just for you. After you've been taking the medicinal diet for a few months, if you want to change it, you can go to see him again."

"I just came in a hurry today and didn't bring that much money with me," Lin Yuan said helplessly.

"It's alright, I brought some silver with me. I'll lend it to Junior Brother Lin this time. You can pay me back when you have the money." Hu Cai liked to invite friends over and was usually generous. He wanted to win over Lin Yuan and wanted to have another partner to practice martial arts with, hoping that he would catch up with him as soon as possible.

"Thank you very much, Senior Brother Hu." Lin Yuan didn't stand on ceremony. He could afford five taels of silver now, so he turned to Zhao Sheng and asked, "Brother Zhao, what about you...?"

"I brought it," Zhao Sheng said sheepishly.

"Okay, let's go then."

Doctor Meng was a top retainer of the Li family, possessing superb medical skills, and lived in a small courtyard by himself in the mansion.

The three arrived at the courtyard gate, where the gatekeeper led them to the medical hall. Doctor Meng was taking pulses, and a long queue was forming outside the hall.

After waiting in line for half an hour, it was the turn of the three of them.

Hu Cai pointed at Lin Yuan: "Doctor Meng, I am Hu Cai, and this is my junior brother who just came to learn martial arts. He wants to improve his health, so please take a look at him..."

Lin Yuan sat down at the table, but his buttocks hurt, so he had to squat down.

Seeing his expression, and knowing he was a fellow student of Hu Cai, Doctor Meng asked with a smile, "Was it Instructor Hong who did it?"

Lin Yuan nodded.

"That's alright. She used subtle and skillful techniques, so she won't hurt your bones or break your skin. The swelling will go down in a couple of days."

Doctor Meng took his pulse, examined his face and tongue, and asked him about his age, family background, and lifestyle. Finally, he said:

"The path of martial arts is also called body refinement. The first stage of a martial artist is body tempering, also known as body forging, which refines the tendons, bones, skin, and flesh, but the foundation lies in the qi and blood. Strong qi and blood result in strong skin and flesh, and strong skin and flesh result in strong strength. Right now, your qi and blood are insufficient. If you don't replenish your qi and blood and just practice martial arts blindly, it will only harm your body..."