Chapter 82

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Chapter 82: Disappointment

However, after waiting for a long time, He Tianshu didn’t see Zhang Xiaohua assume the next form. Puzzled, he asked: “What’s wrong, Zhang Xiaohua? Continue with the moves.”

Zhang Xiaohua turned back and said awkwardly: “Captain He, I’m sorry, I forgot.”

He Tianshu laughed and said: “It’s alright. The Six Harmonies Fist is a very complicated technique. It’s normal if you can’t remember it. Just consider that you haven’t seen it before. Today, I’ll teach you a simple set of Arhat Fist. Watch me first.”

[TL_Note Arhat Fist = Luohan Fist. In Buddhism, an Arhat is someone who has attained enlightenment and is free from the cycle of birth and rebirth. The term “罗汉” (luó hàn) is the Chinese transliteration of the Sanskrit word “Arhat.”]

After saying that, he got into position and performed the entire set of Arhat Fist with vigorous and powerful movements. Then he asked Zhang Xiaohua: “Did you understand that?”

Zhang Xiaohua shook his head and said: “You performed it too fast. I couldn’t see clearly.”

He Tianshu smiled and performed the set slowly, demonstrating each move of the simple Arhat Fist. After finishing, he asked Zhang Xiaohua: “Did you see it clearly this time?”

Zhang Xiaohua nodded: “I saw it clearly.”

He Tianshu asked, “Can you perform it for me?”

Zhang Xiaohua shook his head again: “I didn’t remember it.”

He Tianshu nodded and said: “Alright, I’ll go through it again, and you follow along with me.”

He Tianshu didn’t wait for Zhang Xiaohua to agree and immediately started the form again, slowly demonstrating each move. Zhang Xiaohua stood beside him, carefully imitating each action. When He Tianshu finished and drew back his fists, Zhang Xiaohua had just about managed to follow through the whole set.

He Tianshu asked: “How is it? Do you remember it now?”

Zhang Xiaohua closed his eyes, thinking, and said: “Captain He, can I follow you one more time?”

He Tianshu agreed: “Alright.”

He then performed the set even slower than before, and Zhang Xiaohua followed along meticulously.

After Zhang Xiaohua finished, He Tianshu said: “Zhang Xiaohua, perform the set by yourself so I can see.”

Zhang Xiaohua closed his eyes again, recalling the movements, then started with the opening stance, replicating each move he had just learned. However, halfway through, he stumbled and stopped, admitting sheepishly: “Captain He, I forgot again. Can you show me one more time?”

He Tianshu frowned slightly but remained patient. He demonstrated the set even more slowly, and Zhang Xiaohua carefully followed along again. However, when it was Zhang Xiaohua’s turn to perform on his own, he only managed a few more moves than before before getting stuck again. Reluctantly, he asked: “Captain He, I forgot again. Can you show me one more time?”

This time, He Tianshu’s frown deepened. Instead of starting from the beginning, he picked up where Zhang Xiaohua had forgotten, guiding him through each move one by one until Zhang Xiaohua finally managed to perform the entire set from start to finish. The effort left He Tianshu drenched in sweat, more exhausted than he had been after sparring with others.

Believing that Zhang Xiaohua had finally learned the whole set, He Tianshu asked him to perform it again from the beginning. However, halfway through, Zhang Xiaohua stopped again, scratching his head sheepishly. Before Zhang Xiaohua could speak, He Tianshu interjected: “Did you forget again? Do you want me to show you one more time?”

Zhang Xiaohua blushed and admitted: “Yes.”

He Tianshu sighed: “This is the last time.” He then resumed teaching from the point where Zhang Xiaohua had forgotten, guiding him through the rest of the set. When they finished, He Tianshu asked: “Did you get it this time?”

Zhang Xiaohua nodded vigorously. He Tianshu said, “Alright, start from the beginning.”

Zhang Xiaohua began the set with the initial stance of Arhat Fist and flowed through the moves. When he reached the point where he had previously forgotten, Zhang Xiaohua continued without pause. However, after a few more moves, Zhang Xiaohua stopped again, glancing at He Tianshu hesitantly. Before Zhang Xiaohua could speak, poor He Tianshu was driven crazy and said: “Did you forget again and you want me to show you one more time?”

Zhang Xiaohua nodded eagerly.

He Tianshu, almost at his wit’s end, pointed at Zhang Xiaohua and said: “Zhang Xiaohua, Zhang Xiaohua, are you a genius or a fool? This Arhat Fist has only eighteen moves. It’s the simplest introductory form. A genius learns it in one go, a smart person might need two attempts, and an average person three. Even when my master called me as dumb as an ox, I only needed four tries to complete the entire Arhat Fist. And you…you, this is your fifth try, how come you only remember eleven moves?”

Zhang Xiaohua cautiously said: “Captain He, you made a mistake. You’ve done it six times already.”

He Tianshu ignored him and continued: “For others learning martial arts, the hardest part is usually mastering the horse stance. You don’t need to practice it at all, and you’re already better at it than I am now. When I was your age, I had to endure a lot of hardship with the horse stance. It takes great perseverance to hold it as steadily as a rock as you do. Your passing this stage so easily truly makes you a genius. But why is learning the fist technique so difficult for you? Alright, enough talking. I’ll do it a sixth time, but this is the last time.”

Zhang Xiaohua corrected him again: “Captain He, if you do it again, it will be the seventh time.”

He Tianshu waved his hand dismissively and said: “Whether it’s the seventh or eighth time, this is the last one.”

With that, He Tianshu performed the form at the slowest speed he could manage, moving like a snail through each movement. When he finally finished, he looked at Zhang Xiaohua with a long, weary sigh. Zhang Xiaohua closed his eyes and thought for a long time before assuming the stance again. But once more, he didn’t bring good news to He Tianshu. When Zhang Xiaohua reached the thirteenth move, he stopped again, unable to continue. He looked at He Tianshu, and opened his mouth to speak, but ultimately couldn’t say anything.

He Tianshu saw Zhang Xiaohua’s dejected expression and felt a mix of frustration and helplessness, but he didn’t know how to start. He stomped his foot and walked away. The old saying rang true, the greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment.

He Tianshu had pinned his hopes on Zhang Xiaohua’s future success, and seeing Zhang Xiaohua’s martial arts aptitude was like this, he really couldn’t help but blame himself for being blind.

As night fell, He Tianshu waved goodbye, leaving Zhang Xiaohua behind. Zhang Xiaohua stood there, gazing at He Tianshu’s departing figure, biting his lip. He didn’t follow but instead stood in deep thought. Then, he assumed the horse stance and began practicing the Arhat Fist again. But soon, he forgot the moves and had to stop several times. If He Tianshu was watching, his nose would certainly be crooked. Zhang Xiaohua made it to the thirteenth form the first time, the eleventh form the second time, and the ninth form the third time. Anyway, the more he practiced, the more he forgot. In the end, he could only perform the first six moves without forgetting.

Such aptitude made not only He Tianshu sigh but even Elder Yu, who watched from a distance, shook his head slightly. With such talent, even if he had a thousand jin of strength in one arm, what was the use?

The observing Elder Yu sighed in his heart, then silently returned to his room.

Only Zhang Xiaohua remained, practicing the six moves of the Arhat Fist over and over, fearing he might forget a single move.

When the night grew late and he could no longer sustain himself, he finally packed up and went back to his room to sleep. The room was still filled with an overwhelming stench. Shaking his head, Zhang Xiaohua, opened the window as usual.

It was quite strange, despite it being May and already quite stuffy at night if the window wasn’t open, Ma Jing would actually always close the window tightly every day. This left Zhang Xiaohua puzzled.

Lying on the kang, Zhang Xiaohua’s mind was still filled with the moves, repeatedly thinking about the six moves of the Arhat Fist again and again until he slowly fell asleep.

At midnight, the twinkling in his dreamscape arrived as expected, yet Zhang Xiaohua in his dream seemed unaware. His limbs trembled ever so slightly in sync with the flickers, but it was imperceptible to the naked eye.

The next morning, Zhang Xiaohua was, as always, the first to arrive at the practice ground. He naturally took his stance and performed a set of the Arhat Fist, or rather, the first six moves of the Arhat Fist. Zhang Xiaohua felt quite satisfied with himself, this time, he didn’t forget a single move, not bad.

However, when He Tianshu arrived at the practice ground, in the eyes of Captain He, Zhang Xiaohua’s performance was far less favorable.

Captain He eyes were red, clearly indicating a poor night’s sleep. He must have spent a long time worrying and overthinking. It seems that not only excitement can cause insomnia, but extreme disappointment can also lead to sleepless nights.

Seeing Zhang Xiaohua repeatedly practicing six moves over and over again, no, I’m wrong, five and a half moves, He Tianshu felt a strong urge to kick Zhang Xiaohua’s butt. When he left last night, Zhang Xiaohua had managed to learn thirteen moves, how come there are only five and a half moves now? The fifth move should have involved turning to the left, raising the left arm, and striking forward with a fist from under the right armpit. However, Zhang Xiaohua was pressing his left arm downward and striking upward with his right fist like a firework. Alas, this could only be counted as half a move.

He Tianshu was speechless. Last night, he had taught him six times, no, seven times, and he… He actually only had five and a half moves left after one night, and even the five moves looked similar but not, all had changed. This talent was one in a hundred, ah!

He Tianshu shook his head and was about to move aside to practice on his own. However, seeing Zhang Xiaohua’s furtive glances and his earnest practice, He Tianshu still felt a little soft-hearted. Forget it, Miss Ou had instructed him to teach Zhang Xiaohua martial arts, but she didn’t say to teach him personally. Pointing to a disciple who had just come out of the yard, he said: “You, go teach Zhang Xiaohua the Arhat Fist.”

The disciple was taken aback, glanced at Zhang Xiaohua’s repeated five-and-a-half moves, and couldn’t help but chuckle. Seeing He Tianshu’s stern look, he quickly restrained his laughter, ran over to Zhang Xiaohua, and started teaching him the Arhat Fist from the beginning.

He Tianshu, meanwhile, practiced his own moves but occasionally glanced over, but soon, he stopped paying attention to Zhang Xiaohua and focused on his own practice, as Zhang Xiaohua’s practice was just a repetition of what he had taught the previous night.

By the time breakfast came around, Zhang Xiaohua had only managed to learn ten moves. This was thanks to the disciple’s patience and repetitive teaching. Seeing the disciple drenched in sweat, Zhang Xiaohua felt embarrassed and said: “Thank you, sorry for the trouble.”

The disciple smiled bitterly and replied: “You’re welcome. Just think of it as me reliving the old days.”

However, he secretly complained in his heart: “If I continue to teach Zhang Xiaohua for a few more days, the Arhat Fist will become my specialty. There probably won’t be another disciple in the Piaomiao Sect more familiar with the Arhat Fist than me.”