Chapter 163

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Zhang Xiaohua gratefully said: “Sister Qiu Tong, for such a small matter, you could just wait until you have time to see me or ask others to send a message. Why go through the trouble of coming here yourself?”

Qiu Tong pursed her lips and smiled: “That’s what I initially thought as well. But your little grass hut has become quite famous in the villa these past few days, so I made a special trip to check it out. Who knows, I might even set up one in the courtyard myself, just to get the young miss to notice me too.”

Zhang Xiaohua blushed, scratched his head, and said: “Sister Qiu Tong, you’re teasing me. I only put up the hut to practice my internal martial arts. Who could have known it would cause such a stir and lead to so many misunderstandings?”

Qiu Tong nodded and said: “I’ve already asked the young lady about your intentions, so I know the truth. But others don’t. You’re doing something quite unconventional, so naturally, you’re drawing attention, especially now that you’ve made such a name for yourself here at the villa. People who don’t understand the situation are bound to pay even more attention to you.”

Zhang Xiaohua was shocked and said: “No way! Sister Qiu Tong, building a small hut has caused all this? Maybe I should just take it down.”

Qiu Tong waved her hand and said: “No need. You’re only using it until the Martial Arts Tournament begins, right? It’s already up, and it’s just a few more days. Why bother? Besides, the young lady has already scolded the servants in charge of the warehouse for you. If you tear it down now, it would make the young lady lose face.”

Qiu Tong glanced around at the small straw shed and smiled, asking: “Did you build this straw shed yourself?”

Talking about his hut, Zhang Xiaohua immediately perked up. Puffing out his chest proudly, he said: “Yes, Big Sister Qiu Tong, I built it with my own hands.”

Qiu Tong praised: “It’s very well made. I didn’t know you were so skilled.”

After hearing this, Zhang Xiaohua felt a bit embarrassed and said: “It’s nothing. Back at Guo Village, I often helped my father and brother build huts. They’re the real experts.”

Qiu Tong chuckled and then asked: “How’s your inner cultivation coming along? Have you sensed your qi yet?”

Zhang Xiaohua thought for a moment and said: “More or less. Staying here at night, it’s really quiet, which helps a lot with my practice. I think I’ll have a breakthrough by the time the Martial Arts Tournament starts.”

Qiu Tong nodded and advised: “Diligence in martial arts is a good thing, and Sister won’t stop you. But you must know when to take it easy. Don’t overdo it just because you want to participate in the martial arts tournament. It could backfire.”

Zhang Xiaohua nodded seriously and said; “I understand, Sister Qiu Tong. Actually, you know, even if I wanted to train all the time, I wouldn’t be able to.”

Qiu Tong was momentarily stunned but quickly understood his meaning, covering her mouth as she chuckled.

The two continued chatting casually for a while longer before Qiu Tong finally bid farewell and returned to the inner courtyard.

Zhang Xiaohua watched her leave and then returned to his work in the fields. However, he hadn’t watered much before he heard someone outside calling: “Zhang Xiaohua, Zhang Xiaohua, where are you?”

Zhang Xiaohua was puzzled. What kind of day was this? Normally, the medicine field was deserted, with hardly anyone around, especially recently. Yet today, two people had already come looking for him in such a short span of time. Who could it be this time?

When he straightened up and looked carefully, it turned out to be his cheap master, He Tianshu.

Zhang Xiaohua found it odd again. He was incredibly familiar with He Tianshu’s voice, but just now it had sounded quite unfamiliar.

Walking over to the edge of the field, Zhang Xiaohua smiled and said: “Captain He, was it you calling me?”

He Tianshu, with a hoarse voice, replied: “Of course it was me. Is there anyone else nearby?”

Zhang Xiaohua asked: “What happened to your voice?”

He Tianshu frowned and said: “Who knows? I was fine yesterday, but early this morning, I woke up like this.”

Zhang Xiaohua noticed the large dark circles under He Tianshu’s eyes and asked: “Did you not sleep last night?”

He Tianshu scratched his head and said: “I did sleep. I nodded off while reading, but I don’t know exactly when I fell asleep.”

Zhang Xiaohua didn’t ask why He Tianshu had come to find him. Instead, he first pulled out the two pages of the secret manual from his sleeve and handed them back, saying; “Captain He, I’ll return this to you first.”

He Tianshu, as if expecting this, reached out and took them, saying: “What’s this? Just after one night, you’re already returning them? Now you see how difficult it is. Don’t make careless remarks in the future. Practicing martial arts requires a grounded, steady approach. Empty talk will get you nowhere.”

Zhang Xiaohua opened his mouth, wanting to refute something, but He Tianshu wasn’t wrong. The techniques in the manual were indeed difficult, and without inner energy, it was impossible for him to practice them. He wanted to argue, but didn’t know what to say, so he just kept quiet like a sealed jar.

Seeing Zhang Xiaohua’s humble attitude, not saying a word in rebuttal, He Tianshu was pleased and said: “So you really did build a straw hut here. I thought you were joking. By the way, have you sensed any qi from practicing the <Wild Ox Strength> yet?”

Zhang Xiaohua shook his head. He Tianshu’s face filled with sympathy as he patted Zhang Xiaohua on the shoulder and said: “Don’t worry, <Wild Ox Strength> is the simplest technique. If you contemplate it more during the stillness of the night, you’ll eventually have a breakthrough.”

Then, He Tianshu pulled out another page from his coat and said: “After toiling endlessly yesterday, to the point my throat became hoarse, I managed to gain further insight into some footwork. I went to your room earlier but didn’t know you’d set up home in the medicine field. Looks like you’re determined to participate in the Martial Arts Tournament. Come, let’s head to the woods, and I’ll teach you what I’ve figured out. Hopefully, within a month, you’ll make some progress.”

Hearing this, Zhang Xiaohua silently grumbled to himself: “Straining your throat while studying footwork—only you could pull off something like that.”

When He Tianshu suggested going to the woods, he tried to persuade him: “Captain He, how about we just practice here in the medicine field? The woods are quite a ways off.”

He Tianshu, upon hearing this, put on a serious face and said; “The sect master strictly instructed that this <Piaomiao Step> should only be practiced by the two of us. The surroundings here in the medicine field are too open, and if someone secretly learns it, we’d be in trouble and face punishment under the sect’s rules. We can’t be careless.”

Left with no choice, Zhang Xiaohua followed him to the woods.

In the woods, He Tianshu demonstrated the footwork he had understood from the previous night and had Zhang Xiaohua follow along. Based on how quickly Zhang Xiaohua had learned last time, He Tianshu expected it to be smooth sailing again. But to his surprise, Zhang Xiaohua stumbled halfway through. Despite the simplicity of the steps, Zhang Xiaohua couldn’t execute them properly. Even when he barely managed to place his foot in the right position, his posture would shift, making it impossible to proceed to the next move.

He Tianshu was frustrated. It seemed his good days were coming to an end.

So, with great patience, He Tianshu slowed down and taught Zhang Xiaohua step by step. However, no matter how much he explained or corrected him, Zhang Xiaohua just couldn’t follow the footwork as instructed.

He Tianshu, now growing anxious, demonstrated the moves step by step in front of Zhang Xiaohua and asked: “Zhang Xiaohua, do you understand what you’re seeing?”

Zhang Xiaohua, equally exasperated, replied: “I understand, Captain He.”

“Then why can’t you place your foot here?” He Tianshu asked, pointing at his own foot’s position.

“I know I’m supposed to place it there, but I just can’t do it. It’s like there’s some kind of force pushing me, and my feet simply won’t follow my thoughts and land in the spot you mentioned.” Zhang Xiaohua said, looking completely innocent. Indeed, although he clearly knew where he should place it, as pointed out by He Tianshu, his whole body seemed to act against his will. It was truly strange.

He Tianshu wanted to scold Zhang Xiaohua again, but then he recalled how Zhang Xiaohua had struggled when learning fist techniques. With a sigh, he realized that Zhang Xiaohua’s aptitude wasn’t great. When teaching him fist techniques, He Tianshu could leave the task to Nie Xiao’er and others while he brushed it off. However, with the <Piaomiao Step>, He Tianshu had personally benefited from Zhang Xiaohua’s opportunity, and this time, he couldn’t afford to be as negligent as before.

After thinking for a moment, He Tianshu waved his hand and said: “Alright, why don’t you practice what you’ve learned so far? I’ll go back and rest for a bit. Once I’ve regained my energy tomorrow, I’ll teach you more carefully.”

His words carried his determination, as if he wouldn’t stop until he successfully taught Zhang Xiaohua.

Zhang Xiaohua agreed, and as He Tianshu was about to leave the woods, Zhang Xiaohua’s timid voice called out from behind: “Uh, Captain He, since you’re going to rest, can I take a look at the second level of the footwork?”

He Tianshu stopped at the sound, thought for a moment, and then pulled out a few pages from his coat. Turning back, he handed them to Zhang Xiaohua, saying: “Study them closely. Hopefully, you’ll discover something. Either way, I’m done for today. I’m off to rest now. Maybe when I wake up, I’ll see a brand new Zhang Xiaohua.”

“Brand new?” Zhang Xiaohua was puzzled and asked: “Are my clothes old and dirty?”

He Tianshu laughed heartily, his voice still hoarse: “A Zhang Xiaohua who isn’t so clumsy.”

With that, he laughed hoarsely as he left the woods, as if he’d encountered something incredibly amusing.

Listening to his cheap master’s laughter, Zhang Xiaohua muttered under his breath: “I never said I wasn’t clumsy! What’s so funny? You laugh like a broken gong—what’s there to be proud of?”

Once He Tianshu had disappeared from sight, Zhang Xiaohua turned his attention to the manual in his hands. The thin pages contained the entirety of the second level of the <Piaomiao Step> including parts that Zhang Xiaohua had already learned.

He picked out the section he had just been practicing and studied it carefully. After reading through it, he found nothing unusual—it matched exactly what He Tianshu had taught. What could be the problem? Zhang Xiaohua scratched his head in confusion.

After thinking for a while, Zhang Xiaohua came up with an idea. He took the page with the footwork he had already learned and the new page he had just been practicing, and he began to compare them, trying to connect the steps in sequence.

As he reviewed the notes and footwork from the manual, an image of a figure gradually formed in his mind. The figure moved step by step according to the instructions in the Piaomiao Step manual. When it reached the part where Zhang Xiaohua had been struggling today, the figure didn’t step in the same position that Instructor He Tianshu had taught. Instead, it moved naturally to a different spot, following the flow of inertia. Zhang Xiaohua’s eyes lit up—wasn’t that the step following the tricky one?

Could it be that there was an extra step inserted here?

Filled with questions, Zhang Xiaohua continued to think through the movements. As the figure in his mind moved according to Zhang Xiaohua’s interpretation, it skipped over the troublesome step and directly moved to the next one. However, the following one didn’t match the instructions in the manual. Instead, it led back to the step that Zhang Xiaohua had been struggling with, as if the movement was naturally guiding him to that difficult position again.

Zhang Xiaohua suddenly had a realization—could it be that the two steps in the manual were reversed? He quickly scanned the tiny annotations next to the steps and, sure enough, the descriptions of these two steps were very brief, glossed over without much detail. Even though they were reversed, the vague explanation would still seem reasonable.

With a smile creeping onto his face, Zhang Xiaohua began to practice the steps in the clearing of the forest. As it turned out, Zhang Xiaohua’s guess was spot on. By reversing the two steps, he was able to execute the footwork smoothly. In that moment, Zhang Xiaohua mentally switched the order of the two steps.

Reversing these steps sounded simple enough, but it was much harder in practice. If He Tianshu were here, he would never have dared to attempt such a change. It’s not that Zhang Xiaohua was exceptionally brilliant, nor was He Tianshu overly rigid in his thinking. Rather, the difference lay in their backgrounds. Zhang Xiaohua, from the very start of his martial arts journey, had to figure everything out on his own, making decisions based on his own intuition. The only formal martial technique he knew, the Big Dipper Divine Fist was something he had pieced together himself. From the beginning, Zhang Xiaohua had developed a habit of questioning everything and breaking conventions. Whatever move felt right for him, he would modify and adapt. He was daring enough to alter fist techniques that others had spent years perfecting, so why not adjust this footwork too?

On the other hand, He Tianshu had been raised within the structured environment of the Piaomiao Sect, receiving formal martial arts education from a young age. His thinking was conditioned by the strict methodologies of traditional training. The three great divine martial techniques of the Piaomiao Sect had achieved near-legendary status in his mind, to the point where they seemed infallible. When learning the Piaomiao Step, he approached it with reverence, faithfully mimicking the steps without ever questioning their correctness. Even if something seemed wrong, his instinct was to diligently follow the flawed instructions rather than question their authority.

This was, in a sense, a tragic flaw in his education.

Having made this discovery, Zhang Xiaohua decided to be less modest. He recalled several discrepancies from He Tianshu’s teachings and corrected them. Since it was still early, he chose not to return to the medicine fields but to take advantage of the quietness in the forest and delve deeper into the remaining techniques of the second level of the Piaomiao Step.

Of course, he didn’t dare to expect that he could master the techniques of the Piaomiao Step that He Tianshu had struggled with for days in just a short afternoon.

To Zhang Xiaohua’s surprise, however, drawing on his experience from studying various martial arts and his initial insights into the second layer of the Piaomiao Step, he found that he was able to grasp the remaining techniques more easily than anticipated. Though there were many steps to learn, Zhang Xiaohua’s sharp memory and mental visualization allowed him to piece together the entire second layer of footwork within a single afternoon. He created a smooth outline of the movements in his mind. Yet, he understood that theory and practice often diverged; knowing how to practice didn’t necessarily mean Zhang Xiaohua could execute them step by step without difficulty.

Zhang Xiaohua was immensely satisfied with this outcome. After all, the <Piaomiao Step> was one of the three divine techniques of the Piaomiao Sect. Although the first three levels focused on foundational movements, they were incredibly intricate. Even He Tianshu found them challenging, yet here he was, able to comprehend them in such a short time. What more could he ask for? With the footwork now firmly established in his mind, he felt confident that he could gradually master it.

Just as Zhang Xiaohua was about to practice again, a distant rumble of thunder echoed, followed by a cool gust of wind. Raindrops began to fall from the sky, and the forest was soon filled with the sound of “pitter-patter”.

It was raining.

Zhang Xiaohua quickly abandoned his intention of striking while the iron was hot and sprinted toward the small courtyard. Halfway there, he remembered the books in his straw hut and reluctantly turned back toward the medicine field.

By the time he reached the straw hut, it was raining heavily. Zhang Xiaohua did a quick inspection and was relieved to find that his makeshift shelter was holding up well; it wasn’t a shoddy construction at all, and not a drop of rainwater had seeped inside.

Standing in the hut, Zhang Xiaohua looked out at the pouring rain and abandoned any thoughts of returning to the main house. Lighting a small oil lamp, he settled in to read his books.

The raindrops hit the roof of the straw hut with a rhythmic “pitter-patter”, and in the distance, thunder rumbled continuously, punctuated by occasional flashes of lightning. With the rain drumming above and the soft light of the lamp illuminating the pages, Zhang Xiaohua felt that even without a beautiful companion to bring tea and offer warmth, it was still a unique experience.

Although the cold wind that seeped in was more than what most could tolerate.

As the night deepened, the rain showed no signs of letting up. The sound of the rain intensified, and the distant thunder grew louder, seemingly drawing closer. Zhang Xiaohua closed his book and carefully tucked it into his clothes. He then extinguished the lamp, settled into a cross-legged position, and began his daily practice of guiding Qi into his body.

Once Zhang Xiaohua entered a meditative state, he cautiously sensed the ambient Yuan Qi outside. To his delight, he discovered that the Yuan Qi today on this rainy day was more abundant than usual, and each strand felt lively, as if infused with extra vitality. A thought sprang to Zhang Xiaohua’s mind: this heaven and earth Yuan Qi felt remarkably invigorating.

However, it was this fresh and lively Yuan Qi that caused some difficulties for Zhang Xiaohua to draw Qi.

Unlike the usual downward flow of Yuan Qi he was accustomed to, today they seemed to dart around like playful fish, making it challenging for Zhang Xiaohua to easily draw them into his body. Consequently, he had to amplify his perception, casting out his awareness like a fishing net to capture the erratic currents.

As the ancients said, hard work pays off. After a patient effort, Zhang Xiaohua successfully drew a strand of this fresh Yuan Qi into his body. This Yuan Qi felt distinctly different from what he had experienced before. Although Zhang Xiaohua couldn’t fully perceive its form within him, he could faintly sense its liveliness, aware of its presence in a specific part of his body.

Successfully guiding this first strand of Yuan Qi seemed to create a bridge between Zhang Xiaohua and the outside world, prompting more lively Yuan Qi to flood toward him like moths drawn to a flame, continuously drawn into his body.

Just as Zhang Xiaohua joyfully drew the energy into his body, feeling it invigorate him, his concentration became even easier. He silently recited the method of the Heart Sutra, allowing this lively sensation to flow through the meridians he had previously envisioned. Soon, he completed a full cycle, and even more Yuan Qi was drawn in, merging into this barely perceptible stream.

But at this time, an accident happened. A sudden and loud crash echoed—a bolt of lightning struck directly above Zhang Xiaohua’s sturdy straw hut.

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