Gou Zai Xianwu Wenjing Search for Opportunities

Chapter 92: Gathering the Strengths of Various Snake Fist Schools

The mirror-like surface swirled with mist, a scene reminiscent of Zhao Wujiu teaching Wang Anren the "Black Snake Swimming Dragon Palm": "Yue'er, this 'Black Snake Swimming Dragon Palm' was created by your master after observing the snake fist techniques of the three Southern Schools, namely 'Zhao Family Snake Fist,' 'Snake Intent Fist,' and 'Southern Snake Crossing the Mountain Palm'—taking the shape of a snake, and extending it to the shape of a swimming snake, like a black snake hiding in the mountains and forests, moving swiftly and unseen, concealing its weapon, waiting for the right moment to strike, just like a swimming dragon returning to the sea—"

"Both the Black Serpent Swimming Dragon Palm footwork and the Serpent Intent Fist have thirty-six steps, and the palm techniques also have seventy-two moves—I will pass on the secret formula to you."

After Zhao Wujiu finished teaching the incantation, he taught the Thirty-Six Steps of the Snake again, and then continued to teach the specific palm techniques, teaching thirty-six moves.

The scene in the mirror abruptly ended.

Lin Yuan sighed. This time was not bad. He learned dozens more moves than last time. Zhao Wujiu was indeed an expert. He taught faster than Liu Xu.

The Thirty-Six Steps of the Snake are very similar to the footwork of Snake Intent Fist and Gao's Snake Fist, with only one-third of them being different.

The three types of snake fist techniques are similar, but their styles are quite different.

Snake Intent Fist takes the form of a venomous snake, Gao's Snake Fist takes the form of a python, while Black Snake Swimming Dragon Palm combines two forms: the form of a swimming snake and the form of a black dragon, which is somewhere between a snake and a dragon.

The form of a snake emphasizes its undulating and twisting movements, while the form of a black dragon emphasizes its majestic momentum.

The more Lin Yuan studies the art of snake forms, the deeper his understanding becomes. He feels that this palm technique should be more accurately called the Black Dragon Swimming Snake Palm.

He suddenly had the idea of ​​learning from his predecessors and creating his own snake form.

The way to learn martial arts begins with practicing the basics, then imitating predecessors, then combining the strengths of various schools, and finally developing one's own style of martial arts.

However, the path to pioneering is bound to be difficult, and he is not in a hurry; he can accumulate experience slowly.

There are a hundred styles of boxing, but one cannot bite off more than one can chew. Lin Yuan intends to delve deeply into the snake form, going all the way down this path to create his own snake form.

At this moment, Lin Yuan opened his eyes, returned to the dining hall, and waited for a while. The cook prepared the dishes for him, packed them in a food box, and also brought him a pot of peach blossom wine.

Lin Yuan carried it back to the small courtyard.

Liu Jingtian had already woken up, but his head was still foggy and he felt weak. He leaned against the couch, squinting his eyes, and sighed from time to time. He had escaped with his life and cleared his name, so he couldn't help but feel lingering fear.

"Brother Lin is back!" Zheng Xingzhou greeted Lin Yuan as he returned.

Upon hearing this, Liu Jingtian quickly stood up and kowtowed in gratitude: "Thank you so much, Brother Lin, for saving my life!"

After saying this, tears streamed down his face.

"Brother Liu, you're too kind. Please get up." Lin Yuan quickly stepped forward to help him up and placed the food box on the low table. "Come, come, there's not much food and wine, let's just have a simple drink."

"It's alright, once Brother Liu is better, we'll go out and have some fun." Zheng Xingzhou set out wine cups and poured wine for the two men. "Come on, let's drink."

The three of them drank three cups of wine together before eating and chatting.

Liu Jingtian raised his cup to toast the two men again, then took out a stack of silver notes from a hidden compartment beside the couch: "Brother Zheng, I won't say much more. This is what I've saved over the years. Take it, don't think it's too little."

Zheng Xingzhou didn't stand on ceremony, stuffing the money into his pocket and chuckling, "Brother Liu, you're going to lose it anyway. I'm planning to get an official position, and when I'm successful, I'll definitely remember your help."

Liu Jingtian cupped his hands in greeting to him.

Everyone laughed.

Liu Jingtian raised another cup of wine to Lin Yuan: "Brother Lin, when I first taught you the Gao Family Snake Fist, I was a few moves short. Now I'll pass on the rest to you—"

Lin Yuan quickly pressed him back onto the bed, laughing loudly, "No need to rush, let's wait until you've recovered. Let's drink!"

The three of them relaxed and sat down to drink, becoming quite tipsy and enthusiastic.

In the afternoon, the three chatted over tea. Liu Jingtian's mind cleared and his body regained its strength. He immediately went to the courtyard and personally taught Lin Yuan the remaining footwork and moves of the Gao family snake fist, as well as all the incantations.

Zheng Xingzhou didn't stand by and watch; he took the silver notes and left happily.

There weren't many footwork techniques and moves left. Lin Yuan had a solid foundation in Snake Fist, and Liu Jingtian only taught him for an hour before Lin Yuan had almost mastered them.

evening.

Wu Yong returned to the courtyard and saw Lin Yuan practicing snake boxing, while Liu Jingtian sat on a small stool and gave him pointers.

Despite hearing from people on the road that Liu Jingtian wasn't the murderer, he still couldn't be bothered to talk to this unlucky guy.

Liu Jingtian's mindset has changed drastically. He no longer feels awkward, but rather feels a sense of warmth, and keeps grinning foolishly.

Lin Yuan bowed to Liu Jingtian in farewell, then followed Wu Yong into the east wing. He told him about Old Li sending people to search the house, and sure enough, the servants had also stolen silver notes from Wu Yong's house.

Wu Yong didn't care about the money. He poured himself some tea and found that the teapot was empty.

Lin Yuan led him to the west wing for tea, and he briefly recounted Liu Jingtian's story again, finally asking about the Juyin Pond.

Wu Yong took a sip of tea, pulled out a stool, and sat down: "Li Shiliu came this afternoon. He told us to change the maid's coffin and bury her in the Li family's servants' graveyard."

I don't know what they're up to, deliberately making things difficult for us.

I reckon Old Li definitely thinks there are bad guys among us, and deliberately moved us away to keep us under surveillance. If I had known this, I would never have stood in the last row. Now everyone outside is saying Wang Anren is the murderer, but I don't know if it's true or not—”

Lin Yuan nodded, agreeing with Wu Yong's words. He also noticed that Elder Li was suspicious of those retainers who stayed behind. In both operations, Elder Li arranged for the active retainers to take the lead, while the retreating ones could only fight on the periphery.

Among the retainers who remained hidden in the shadows during both operations, the former included the murderer Wang Anren, and the latter included Zheng Xingzhou, who almost let Liu Jingtian escape due to brotherly loyalty.

It seems this old man is also worldly-wise and knows how to treat people.

The Master was right when he named himself. When he rises to prominence, he should be as if standing on the edge of an abyss, as if walking on thin ice, and be cautious and prudent every day.

Lin Yuan summarized it in ten words: "When it's time to play it safe, play it safe; only make a move when it's crucial."

That night.

Liu Jingtian regained some strength and held a banquet in Yanliu Lane, inviting Lin Yuan, Zheng Xingzhou, and several other close brothers to drink.

Wu Yong was originally invited, but he refused to go. Lin Yuan had just learned someone else's secret technique and was too embarrassed to refuse, so he went to the banquet alone. Liu Jingtian arranged for each person to be accompanied by a young girl.

After a few rounds of drinks, the girl started rubbing against him, and he suddenly became aroused. He couldn't stand it and made a hasty escape to pee.

Just kidding. There are unspoken rules in the selection of disciples for the Immortal Temple, such as choosing promising talents, entering the inner circle, registering names, and serving. Before entering the Immortal Temple, men must be virgins and women must be virgins.

It is said that boys and virgins can cultivate more Taoist techniques, and more importantly, Taoist sects like to recruit such disciples.

Although this rule is now merely a formality and not strictly enforced, my chance to compete in the autumn is hard-won, and there is no need to break the rule at this time.

The next morning.

Liu Jingtian and Zheng Xingzhou did not return home all night.

Lin Yuan and Wu Yong arrived at the Red Instructor's courtyard early.

Today, Instructor Hong is on night duty, which gives him some free time to instruct the two of them in martial arts.

With her around, Lin Yuan could use extreme methods to train his physical body.

He used the ultimate method to consume all the Bone Forging Pills, temper his skin, flesh, and bones, and then began practicing the new footwork and moves of the "Gao Family Snake Fist" and the "Black Snake Swimming Dragon Palm".

With Lin Yuan's current understanding of martial arts, he could master both sets of Snake Fist on his own, even without Instructor Hong.

But with her guidance, Lin Yuan was able to greatly shorten this learning time.

He also wanted to make a final push before the autumn competition, and Wu Yong thought the same way.

Wu Yong had never learned Snake Fist and couldn't tell the difference between the fist and foot techniques Lin Yuan practiced, while Instructor Hong never asked questions, so Lin Yuan could finally practice with peace of mind.

in the afternoon.

Lin Yuan and Wu Yong were sparring in the courtyard when Liu Jingtian returned, bringing with him some news.

Liu Jingtian resigned, and Zheng Xingzhou left with him. Having experienced life-and-death crises, he had become indifferent to fame and fortune and planned to leave Linyuan for another place.

"Brother Lin, once I've settled in, I'll write you a letter. If you have time, please come and meet me."

"Of course. Then I wish Brother Liu all the best for the future!" Lin Yuan didn't try to persuade him; everyone has their own ambitions.

"Brother Lin, we'll meet again in the martial world!"

"Take care of yourself!"

"Take care of yourself!"

After Liu Jingtian left, no one moved into the courtyard anymore, and another batch of retainers left one after another, leaving behind mostly honest and law-abiding people.

The mansion fell silent immediately.

Lin Yuan's life returned to a routine of going back and forth between two points: in the morning, he would accelerate his martial arts training under the guidance of Instructor Hong, and in the afternoon, he would spar with Wu Yong and occasionally discuss his insights on martial arts with Liang Yingxiao.

Li Qilang's attitude towards him remained unchanged; he was neither affectionate nor reprimanding, just indifferent.

Lin Yuan was immersed in martial arts practice and sparring, and before he knew it, more than half a month had passed, and August had arrived.

During this period, Lin Yuan not only mastered the "Gao Family Snake Fist" but also made some progress in the "Black Snake Swimming Dragon Palm," mastering the form of the snake. However, he was still lacking in the form of the black dragon.

During this period, Wu Yong broke through to the early stage of the Bone Forging Realm.

Li Ye introduced the two to other members of the Li family who were also participating in the Autumn Competition, allowing everyone to get to know each other.

Although getting acquainted doesn't guarantee usefulness, we'll just have to take a shot and see what happens.

Lin Yuan compared his own skills and found that among these disciples, his martial arts level and fist techniques were among the strongest.

Clearly, not everyone works as hard as he and Wu Yong for Qiu Bi.

Meanwhile, a major change occurred in the Li family. Li Qilang was preparing to set off for the Xian Temple in Wushan County to report for duty. Accompanying him were Li Ye's eldest son, Li Ran, as well as Li Lao, Li Shiliu, and Li Shiqi.

At the same time, Qilang dismissed all the retainers he had recruited over the years. Before leaving, he introduced them to the other members of the Li family and gave each of them a generous farewell gift.

Lin Yuan received the most farewell silver, five hundred taels of silver notes from the Lizhou Merchants Bank, with no worries about redemption.

His purse was replenished again, instantly rising to six or seven hundred taels of silver.

Learning martial arts costs money quickly, but it also makes money quickly.

Wu Yong benefited from his success and also received four hundred taels of silver, while the Red Instructor, like the other retainers, only received two or three hundred taels.

No wonder these retainers refused to leave; they were waiting for compensation.

Most of the retainers switched to the other disciples of the Li family and continued to associate with them, but only Instructor Hong declined.

She insisted on returning to the Li family's ancestral home to continue working as an instructor, even though the income from being an instructor was less than what Lin Yuan earned from taking on private jobs, but she was still happy to do it.

Several days after the White Dew solar term, dew condenses in the mornings and evenings, and the weather becomes cooler.

Lin Yuan left the Li family mansion and returned to the Li family ancestral home with Wu Yong and Instructor Hong. He continued to work as a leisurely retainer, practicing martial arts every day without fail, waiting for the autumn competition to arrive.