Chapter 79

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW

Chapter 79: Horse Stance

He Tianshu took Zhang Xiaohua to an open space and asked: “Xiaohua, I heard you’ve never learned martial arts before.”

Zhang Xiaohua nodded and said: “That’s right, I’ve never learned.”

He Tianshu continued: “You’re quite strong, aren’t you?”

Zhang Xiaohua nodded again: “Yes, I didn’t realize it before, but since the New Year, I’ve felt my strength growing stronger and stronger. A while back at the Lotus Escort Agency, I lifted a stone lock that people said weighed five hundred jin.”

He Tianshu said: “Alright, then try to hit me with all your strength.”

Zhang Xiaohua thought for a moment and asked: “Use all my body’s strength?”

He Tianshu replied: “Yes, don’t worry about hurting me, just hit with all your might.”

Zhang Xiaohua said: “Okay then, please be careful.”

With that, Zhang Xiaohua took a deep breath, gathered all his body’s strength, and threw a right punch towards He Tianshu. He Tianshu watched the fist coming and raised his right palm in response, but only exerted about twenty percent of his strength, thinking it would be more than enough.

As the fists and palms collided, He Tianshu realized his mistake. He immediately increased his strength to thirty percent just in time to withstand Zhang Xiaohua’s punch. His body swayed slightly, and his right arm tingled with numbness. He thought to himself: “This Xiaohua indeed has the strength of five hundred jin. Such innate divine strength!”

Zhang Xiaohua was even more astonished. He thought: “Goodness gracious, Captain He is so formidable. My punch barely affected him, and he only swayed slightly. The disparity in knowing martial arts and not is immense. No, I must learn martial arts properly.”

Feeling a bit numb in his right arm and unable to lift it comfortably, He Tianshu wanted to rub it with his left hand but hesitated under Zhang Xiaohua’s admiring gaze. He frowned slightly and praised Zhang Xiaohua: “Well done, Xiaohua. You’ve got quite some strength.”

Then, he patted Zhang Xiaohua’s shoulder and subtly moved his own shoulder to ease the discomfort. He continued: “Now, I’ll officially start teaching you martial arts.”

Zhang Xiaohua nodded eagerly and said: “Thank you, Captain He.”

He Tianshu smiled and then assumed a horse stance. He said: “Watch my posture closely. Follow me. This is called the horse stance. Come on, you try it too.”

Zhang Xiaohua carefully observed He Tianshu’s posture and mimicked the horse stance accordingly. When He Tianshu stood up, he pointed out several mistakes in Zhang Xiaohua’s stance and said: “Good, not bad. Stay in this position. From now on, practice the horse stance for one hour every morning and evening. Today, you stay here and hold it. I’ll come check on you later.”

With that, he patted his backside and walked away.

Zhang Xiaohua was utterly confused and kept shouting in his heart. Practicing martial arts, practicing martial arts, I want to learn martial arts, I want to practice fist techniques, why did he leave me standing in this posture?”

Meanwhile, He Tianshu walked calmly through the outer gate, glanced back at Zhang Xiaohua in the distance holding the horse stance, and swiftly darted into the shadows by the wall. He vigorously shook his arm and sucked in cold air, thinking to himself: “Where did this kid get such immense strength? That punch seemed to pack more than five hundred jin of force. Ah, carelessness, carelessness. I almost made a fool of myself. As the ancients said, ‘Even in a narrow ditch, a boat can capsize’. Those are truly wise words. Next time, I must be cautious beyond caution. Oh, what caution? Next time, I won’t give him such an opportunity. I need to find a way to teach this kid a lesson. For now, let him stand there until his waist and legs ache, and see how impressive he thinks he is.”

With a lingering sense of trepidation, he peeked his head out to check on Zhang Xiaohua before shaking off his nerves and briskly returning to his own quarters.

Under the lamplight, as He Tianshu examined the bruise on the palm of his hand, he couldn’t help but feel astonished. He gently rubbed it with some medicinal wine while pondering. To be honest, when Miss Ou mentioned it to him, he didn’t take it seriously at all. I’ve seen Zhang Xiaohua since his first day here. He’s a simple and good-natured boy, who had never seen the world and was teased by the servants in the villa. He felt some sympathy in his heart, naturally, but that’s just human nature. Besides, he’s just a servant here and had nothing to do with him. A bit of sympathy was fine, but he’s not one to meddle in others’ affairs. Although there was no precedent in Huanxi Villa to teach a servant martial arts, the villa owner said he could just do it casually. Who wouldn’t know some superficial martial arts? Pointing out a few moves makes anyone feel like a great teacher. It’s not a big deal. But Ou Yan seemed to have seen through his thoughts without saying anything. She just mentioned that Zhang Xiaohua has the strength of five hundred jin in one arm. Reflecting on his dismissive attitude at the time, he can’t help but feel ashamed of his arrogance. He Tianshu couldn’t help but feel a little ashamed of his arrogance. Although it was wrong to listen to hearsay, it was not advisable to make assumptions like a frog in a well.

Therefore, after careful consideration, He Tianshu abandoned the idea of teaching Zhang Xiaohua techniques directly. Instead, he had him practice the horse stance first to lay a solid foundation for learning martial arts. He believed this must have been Villa Owner Ou’s true intention. Otherwise, why would he personally get involved instead of assigning someone else?

Checking the time, He Tianshu prepared to get up and go see how pitiful Zhang Xiaohua looked. He remembered his own awkward experience when he first practiced the horse stance, and now he felt some lingering apprehension. Just as he was about to get up, he hesitated, sat back down, rubbed his hands that were already fine, and chuckled to himself. Let Zhang Xiaohua continue with the horse stance a bit longer. How could he let himself be embarrassed like this? How could he be his master if he didn’t express his anger?

Yet, he didn’t consider who had made the kid use all his strength. He had even been overconfident, using only twenty percent of his strength.

After a small amount of time passed, He Tianshu felt a bit ashamed. Forget it, he thought, let’s go quickly. It was the kid’s first time learning martial arts. If Zhang Xiaohua didn’t learn well, he wouldn’t be able to explain it to Miss Ou.

As He Tianshu hurried to where Zhang Xiaohua was practicing the horse stance, he was greatly surprised by what he saw. Zhang Xiaohua wasn’t in the sorry state he had imagined, lying on the ground like a muddy puddle or standing pitifully waiting for him to come to the rescue.

Zhang Xiaohua’s horse stance was steady, just as when he had left.

He Tianshu couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly. This kid, why was he so lazy, not even feeling a bit sore or tired after practicing for so long? How could he not save some face for himself and act a little tired?

But thinking back to his own first time, and then to his master, He Tianshu didn’t explicitly mention Zhang Xiaohua’s laziness.

When Zhang Xiaohua heard He Tianshu return, he turned around with concern and asked: “Captain He, why did you take so long? Did something go wrong with dinner tonight? Did it upset your stomach?”

Then, he continued to talk to himself: “This Huaxi Mountain Villa is good in every aspect, but there are too few outhouses. We have to line up every day to use them. I’ll have to ask Elder Yu to give the Villa Owner some reasonable suggestions and improve our living environment. It can also increase our enthusiasm for work.”

Then, Zhang Xiaohua seemed to recall something and mysteriously said to He Tianshu: “By the way, Captain He, if you encounter this problem next time, just go to the fields to solve it. Don’t stupidly wait in line. That’s how I used to do it at home. It’s so dark, no one can see, and besides, it’s good for the crops, right? Doing this is also contributing to the villa.”

With a loud ‘Bang’, He Tianshu fell to the ground. Zhang Xiaohua quickly asked: “Captain He, Captain He, what’s wrong?”

Zhang Xiaohua looked eager to help him up, but without He Tianshu’s order, he remained in the horse stance, not daring to get up.

He Tianshu sprang up from the ground like a carp and said irritably: “Nothing, just stepped in dog shit.”

Zhang Xiaohua nodded understandingly: “Oh, I see. That darn dog, why didn’t it just do its business in the fields? Then people wouldn’t have to pick it up. By the way, Captain He, that posture you just did was so cool. When can you teach me that?”

He Tianshu chuckled and said: “No problem, that’s called a carp leap. I’ll teach you one day.”

Zhang Xiaohua looked puzzled: “I meant the posture you fell in just now. Is that also called a carp leap? The names are really strange.”

He Tianshu was also taken aback.

He Tianshu walked up to Zhang Xiaohua, carefully inspecting him from head to toe, then chuckled and said: “Xiaohua, your memory isn’t bad at all. After lazing around for so long, the stance you reformed into is exactly like the one I demonstrated. Not bad at all, a born talent indeed. Alright, let’s call it a day here. We’ll continue tomorrow morning.”

With that, without waiting for Zhang Xiaohua to respond, he turned and walked away, yawning as he went.

Zhang Xiaohua quickly stood up, feeling wronged, and said: “Captain He, wasn’t slacking off, I really didn’t.”

In his mind, He Tianshu thought, this kid’s reply is just as charming as mine was back then. What a talent. Without turning around, he asked: “Are your legs sore? Can you still walk?”

He quickened his pace and disappeared into his cabin, thinking to himself: ”Teaching someone feels quite satisfying. Was my master laughing to himself like this, too? I’d shuffle back to my room, red-faced, after being caught slacking off and I’d only relax once I got back. Now that I think about it, my master had probably already noticed. He just didn’t punish me, which spurred me on to work harder and succeed. Yes, today’s approach was right. Tomorrow morning, Zhang Xiaohua will surely be as diligent and hardworking as I was, no longer slacking off.

However, He Tianshu didn’t hear Zhang Xiaohua’s response, different from his own in the past: “Sore legs? Mine aren’t sore at all, Captain He. I’m not tired one bit, I can definitely still walk. Hey, Captain He, don’t run off! Didn’t you say you’d teach me martial arts? Hurry up and let me practice fist stances. I’m really not tired, I can still do it.”

Unfortunately, He Tianshu didn’t hear any of this. While Zhang Xiaohua was marveling about “how cool the lightness technique was”, he slipped back into his room, leaving Zhang Xiaohua puzzled as he returned to continue his battle against the stench of stinky feet that night.