Chapter 81

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Chapter 81: Expectations

After spending more time with the other blue-robed servants, Zhang Xiaohua naturally understood their mindset. Some were born as servants of Huanxi Villa, while others were children from nearby Pingyang City sent here to earn money for their families. Life at the villa was indeed leisurely but also tedious, leading to a sense of emptiness over time. The villa’s rules were strict, and these people wouldn’t dare commit major offenses. However, they engaged in petty schemes and secret liaisons.

Ma Jing was likely one of those who felt empty inside. Often bullied by others, now that he saw a newcomer, Zhang Xiaohua, how could he let him go? Naturally, he tried every means to bully him for fun, but Zhang Xiaohua was focused on learning martial arts and didn’t take their petty tricks to heart. He laughed inwardly and mumbled to himself, how can sparrows understand the ambition of a swan? Unconsciously, Zhang Xiaohua had started to see through the minds of these people, even looking down on them.

Zhang Xiaohua didn’t realize his own transformation. Personal changes are usually noticed by others, not oneself. Reflecting on oneself three times a day is the work of sages, and Zhang Xiaohua only knew he disdained playing these petty games with Ma Jing.

Despite the gloomy weather, Zhang Xiaohua had a fulfilling day, busy with various tasks. The excitement from the previous day had settled. Although only a night had passed, his great expectations had turned into disappointment. He never thought that learning martial arts would start with holding the horse stance. He guessed the process but not the beginning. However, the horse stance was too easy, how could it be called martial arts practice?

However, since Zhang Xiaohua had already seen the shadow of martial arts, he decided to let go of his worries and wait for He Tianshu’s arrangements.

In contrast to Zhang Xiaohua’s relaxed mood, He Tianshu was quite uneasy. The previous day, He Tianshu didn’t consider Zhang Xiaohua’s martial arts training a significant matter, thinking it was just a fleeting moment in life. But after seeing Zhang Xiaohua’s horse stance that morning, He Tianshu’s mind was in turmoil.

Despite the blue-robed servants’ envy of He Tianshu’s treatment and admiration for his lifestyle, He Tianshu himself harbored a lot of unspoken grievances and didn’t know how to vent them. Where there are people, there are conflicts, and where there are conflicts, there is scheming. The intrigues among the disciples of the Piaomiao Sect were not fundamentally different from those among the servants, and He Tianshu seemed to be a victim of these struggles.

The situation is straightforward. There’s no need to talk about the top figures of the Piaomiao Sect, but there are plenty of lower-level disciples like He Tianshu, who appear well-dressed and impressive to outsiders. These disciples form countless private factions based on personal preferences, character clashes, and other reasons. In such factions, the most crucial asset is martial prowess. With top-notch martial skills, one doesn’t need to cling to others’ thighs, instead, others will cling to you. Without martial prowess, one must rely on personal connections. Don’t think that people in the martial world are nobler than ordinary people, relationships are just as valuable in the martial world as they are in everyday life. Once formed, relationships have their worth whether in the martial world, sects, or the mundane world.

He Tianshu’s martial skills were ordinary, and his personality was equally unremarkable. He had nothing impressive to offer, and his ability to network was even worse. He couldn’t flatter, scheme, or guess what his superiors wanted. Thus, he only had a few drinking buddies in the sect who were good for chatting but otherwise useless. When Huanxi Villa needed someone to tend to the medicinal fields, who else would they send? Naturally, it was someone like He Tianshu, who had no powerful backers. Although the task was presented as an important task in the sect, requiring elite members to handle it, it was essentially just farming work with a prestigious title.

The medicinal fields had been planted for several months without Zhang Chengyue or others coming to inspect, how could it said to be important? The truly important elites were off fighting the Luo River Gang with real spears and swords! Thinking of others wielding swords and sabers to rebuke Heaven and Earth while looking at his own finely crafted little medicine shovel gave He Tianshu a feeling of suffocation.

However, Zhang Xiaohua’s appearance seemed to offer He Tianshu a glimmer of hope. What does martial arts prodigy mean? It not only meant the potential to create miracles but also implied a rise in status within the sect. It meant that he could eventually leave behind the mundane task of working as a farmer in the small medicinal field. It was common sense that a father is honored by his son and the same is true for a master’s prestige rising along with a talented disciple. Thinking about it now, He Tianshu somewhat regretted allowing Zhang Xiaohua to call him “Captain He.” If he had asked to be called “Master” from the start, the prodigious disciple wouldn’t be able to escape his grasp.

Yet, seeing Zhang Xiaohua’s naive demeanor, He Tianshu believed he probably didn’t harbor any ulterior motives.

However, when it came to teaching Zhang Xiaohua martial arts, He Tianshu was at a loss. Martial arts naturally consisted of internal and external training. As the saying goes, “Internal practice involves cultivating one’s inner energy, while external practice focuses on strengthening one’s muscles, bones, and skin”. Regardless of the type of training, specific conditions were necessary.

Take internal training, for instance. It required internal energy formulas and cultivation methods. Not to mention that He Tianshu’s own internal skills were mediocre, and the techniques he practiced were among the most basic in the Piaomiao Sect. Even so, these techniques were reserved for sect members and could not be taught to outsiders like Zhang Xiaohua. If he were to privately teach him, before Zhang Xiaohua the genius could master his inner energy, the elders of the Law Enforcement Hall would take back Zhang Xiaohua’s skills and He Tianshu would face severe punishment, likely ending up in worse conditions than he currently had in Huanxi Villa, where at least he enjoyed decent meals.

In such a scenario, he would be reduced to eating the most basic fare. Additionally, internal energy training typically started at a young age when the body’s meridians were not fully formed. Early training stabilized the meridians and laid the foundation for deeper cultivation. At Zhang Xiaohua’s age, his meridians were already set, making it difficult to achieve significant progress in internal energy training.

So, He Tianshu temporarily ruled out internal martial arts, leaving only external martial arts. When external martial arts are trained to a certain degree, they can achieve effects from the outside to the inside, and they wouldn’t necessarily lose to internal martial arts experts. For instance, the Piaomiao Sect’s external martial arts expert Shi Niu, who is younger than He Tianshu, has achievements far beyond his. However, training in external martial arts also requires conditions. When Shi Niu was young, he was tall and strong with well-developed muscles, how could Zhang Xiaohua have such capital?

Moreover, the most critical point is that training in external martial arts requires the support of medicinal herbs. Think about it, don’t those who practice external martial arts use external forces to stimulate their bodies and strengthen them? After being stimulated, the body not only needs medicinal herbs to nourish it but also to heal it. This cycle of nourishment and healing is essential to effectively improve one’s martial prowess. Without medicinal support, relying solely on external stimulation would lead to death or severe injury, with no chance of entering the martial arts world.

Don’t look down on Shi Niu’s strength, it’s all built upon piles of medicinal herbs. Otherwise, how could there be the saying, ‘The poor study literature, and the wealthy practice martial arts’? There is also this truth.

Thinking about this gave He Tianshu a headache. While the Huanxi Villa has heaps of medicinal herbs, they all belong to the Piaomiao Sect, not to himself. He didn’t have the courage to take them. Besides, even if a pile of medicinal herbs could be useful, it wouldn’t be just one or two piles that would make a difference. He couldn’t possibly sneak around stealing herbs every day.

With so many worries and so many gains and losses, how could He Tianshu calm down?

Even after dinner, when He Tianshu went to their usual spot, he still hadn’t figured out what to do.

However, he still had time to think because Zhang Xiaohua wasn’t waiting for him there. He Tianshu was a bit puzzled. What was up with this kid? Yesterday he was so enthusiastic, and today he’s already slacking off? No, he’s the key to my future good life, I must take this seriously. Just as he was about to go find Zhang Xiaohua, he heard the sound of running. Looking up, he saw it was indeed Zhang Xiaohua.

When Zhang Xiaohua ran up to him, He Tianshu sternly asked: “Zhang Xiaohua, why are you so late today? Do you feel practicing martial arts is too easy or that horse stance practice is too simple?”

Seeing He Tianshu was angry, Zhang Xiaohua quickly explained: “Captain He, it’s not that. I didn’t mean that at all. It’s just that Brother Xi asked me to do something else, which delayed me.”

He Tianshu’s frown eased, and he nodded, saying: “Okay, I understand. In the future, unless it’s something important, try to come earlier. As the saying goes, ‘Time is gold.’ The more time you spend on martial arts, the more progress you’ll make.”

Zhang Xiaohua nodded seriously and said: “I understand, Captain He.”

He Tianshu continued: “Alright, let’s start now. Begin with the horse stance.”

After speaking, He Tianshu took the lead and assumed the horse stance. Zhang Xiaohua didn’t hesitate either, he spread his legs, clasped his fists at his waist, and lowered his body into a stable horse stance.

Seeing Zhang Xiaohua settle into the stance, He Tianshu didn’t waste any time and began explaining the important points of the horse stance and its benefits. After finishing his explanation, he asked: “Do you understand everything? Do you feel stable in your lower body?”

Zhang Xiaohua nodded affirmatively. He Tianshu then asked: “Your waist and legs aren’t sore, are they?”

Zhang Xiaohua replied: “No, they’re not. It feels just like normal.”

He Tianshu secretly nodded to himself. Indeed, this kid is a genius.

He then said: “Alright, you can stand up now.”

Zhang Xiaohua stood up naturally as if he had just risen from a chair, causing He Tianshu to nod approvingly once again.

Then He Tianshu asked: “You haven’t learned any martial arts forms, have you?”

Zhang Xiaohua replied: “No, but I’ve seen others practicing the Six Harmonies Fist at the Lotus Escort Agency.”

He Tianshu nodded and asked: “Do you still remember it? Can you show me?”

Zhang Xiaohua responded: “No problem.”

With that, he assumed the starting posture of the Six Harmonies Fist and prepared to demonstrate.