Dao Qi Wu Zang Guan Guan: I became a Daoist Master in the 1990s

Chapter 48 Practicing Boxing
The dormitory for student number 749 is very small.

To the right of the entrance, against the wall, is a narrow iron-framed wooden bed with a stiffened blue and white striped sheet and a thin army green cotton quilt folded into a neat square.

Directly opposite the door is a wooden-framed window with peeling paint and old newspapers pasted on it to block the wind. The windowpane is covered with years of moisture and grease, filtering the heavy twilight of the capital city outside into a hazy gray-yellow.

On the left, against the wall, stands a dark yellow wooden cabinet with peeling paint. The cabinet door doesn't close properly, revealing a dark crack.

In the corner stood a faded enamel washstand, on which sat a white enamel basin, also covered in dents. Water stains remained at the bottom of the basin, and a worn gray towel hung beside it.

The air was stagnant, carrying a lingering musty smell and a faint smell of lime powder.

The 15-watt incandescent light bulb hanging overhead cast a dim, yellowish light, trying to dispel the shadows in the corners, but only making the whole space feel more oppressive and desolate.

Li Jianguo stood at the door, not coming in, but simply placed the bulging snakeskin bag that Qi Yun was carrying on the ground inside the doorway.

"Comrade Qi Yun, this is it. The conditions are simple, please bear with it for now."

His voice sounded a little muffled in the small space, "Someone from the cafeteria will bring the food over in a little while."

After eating, take a break and don't think about anything else.

Tomorrow morning, I'll take you to complete the formalities, collect your documents, and receive your rations.

Qi Yun nodded: "Understood, thank you for your hard work, Comrade Li."

Li Jianguo said nothing more and turned to leave.

The footsteps echoed a few times in the empty corridor before quickly fading away.

Qi Yun walked to the bedside and sat down, the hard wooden board digging into his thighs.

He recalled the fleeting glint of silver in the director's eyes in the underground archives earlier, and the chilling question that pierced his very soul.

This was to be expected.

If Bureau 749 really believed you after just asking a few questions and having you sign a document, that would be a huge joke.

There's a saying from an ancient time: the world is just a giant makeshift stage.

But after he came into contact with 749, Zhong Weiguo and Zhao Yue.
The word "professional" is Qi Yun's deepest impression of this huge organization.

"Well, I've joined, so I'll just have to be careful from now on. On the bright side, my job situation is sorted out, but it's just an unofficial position. Even Master Xuanji takes half a year to examine me, let alone here?"

Just then, a few restrained knocks on the door interrupted his thoughts.

Qi Yun got up and opened the door.

Standing outside the door was a woman in her fifties, wearing a faded blue apron, her hair neatly tied in a bun at the back of her head, her face expressionless.

She was carrying an enamel tray with a large bowl on it. The bowl was piled high with glistening, hand-pulled noodles, and the dark brown sauce coated evenly diced meat, giving off a rich aroma of sauce and meat.

On the side, a small dish is arranged bright green cucumber shreds and blanched soybean sprouts, along with a small dish of chili oil and a small dish of finely chopped Laba garlic.

The other small bowl contained noodle soup with a few chopped scallions floating on top.

The woman handed the tray forward without even lifting her eyelids or saying a word.

Qi Yun quickly accepted it, saying, "Thank you."

The woman remained silent, slightly stepping aside to move aside from the doorway, but did not leave. She stood there in the dim light outside the door, like a lifeless stone statue, waiting to collect the bowls.

Qi Yun placed the tray on the only small, chipped square table in the room and sat down.

The noodles were chewy, the sauce was savory and slightly sweet, and the diced meat was a perfect balance of lean and fatty, bursting with flavor with every bite. The refreshing cucumber strips and bean sprouts provided just the right amount of crispness to cut through the richness.

He ate quickly, devouring the food in a flash, not even caring that some sauce got on the corners of his mouth. His stomach was filled with hot food.

After finishing his meal, he put the empty bowls and plates back on the tray and carried them to the door.

The middle-aged woman outside the door silently took it, turned around and left, her steps as light as a cat's, quickly disappearing into the shadows around the corner of the stairwell.

There wasn't a single word from beginning to end.

Qi Yun closed the door and took a deep breath.

"Those units with classified information really are different!"

The room fell completely silent.

Qi Yun took off the ill-fitting polyester jacket and began to move his hands and feet in the cramped space.

First, the muscles and bones are stretched slowly, and the joints make a slight "crackling" sound.

Then, he adopted the Xingyi San Ti stance.

The spine is like a dragon lying on the ground, chest tucked in and back straight, feet firmly planted.

With a thought, the Five Elements Fist techniques that Zhao Yue had taught him on the train over the past two days flowed out like a stream.

The chopping fist is like an axe, accompanied by a short, sharp whistling sound as it tears through the air; the collapsing fist is like an arrow, its tip suddenly stopping an inch from the wall, its power contained but not released; the drilling fist is cunning, grazing the ribs like a venomous snake spitting its tongue; the cannon fist is fierce and powerful, the waist and hips twisting like thunder; the horizontal fist is round and circular, its intent to seal and capture flowing endlessly.

The small room became an invisible battlefield, where he moved swiftly and ruthlessly, each breath long and deep.

After a few rounds of punches, I was slightly sweaty, my shirt clung to my back, but my limbs and bones felt warm and full of explosive power.

Despite being drenched in sweat, my spirits are growing stronger.

Qi Yun slowly withdrew his stance, his eyes shining with an astonishing light.

Without pausing, he naturally transitioned into the stance of the Five Internal Organs Fist.

Begin with the "Holding the Elixir" posture, holding the dantian with both hands, letting the breath sink into the lower abdomen, as if holding an invisible golden elixir, and the gates of the whole body quietly open.

The heart fire burns quietly in the acupoints, the lung metal qi is sharp as a needle, the spleen earth is thick and stagnant, and the kidney water is cool and moist.

Four distinct yet harmonious streams of "dirty energy" flowed slowly through his meridians, like four surging streams of water. Guided by his will, they followed the cycle of the five elements and converged into a single stream.

The heart fire blazes, forging the lung metal, making the metal energy even purer and sharper, condensing into drops of cool golden liquid; the golden liquid settles, like sweet rain falling, nourishing the heavy spleen earth; the spleen earth, moistened by the metal and water, flourishes with vitality, transforming into even purer and more robust earth elemental energy; this energy then sinks again, flowing into the sea of ​​kidney water, causing the dormant essence of Gui water deep within the two kidneys to gush forth, the water force even stronger!
The cool and gentle water energy, like a mighty river thawing in early spring, surges upwards along the spine and the Du meridian!
This time, the surging torrent of water vapor was no longer content with nourishing the existing four internal organs.

Their target is crystal clear: that last tightly closed door, which belongs to the element of wood, stores blood and governs tendons, and is the place where life sprouts: the liver orifice!

"Azure Dragon Probes with Claws!" Qi Yun's mind was activated, and his left arm extended like a dragon, focusing his attention on the Zhangmen acupoint on his right rib.

The movements were slow and graceful, stretching the muscles and bones to their limit. The surging torrent within the body, as if guided by an invisible force, rushed fiercely towards the area deep within the ribs, where green mist swirled and life lurked!

"Buzz!"

Qi Yun trembled violently, his ears ringing! It felt as if a furnace was forging him inside his body, and the four streams of filth twisted into an indestructible drill, fiercely hammering at that tightly closed "door"!
Once! Twice! Three times!
He kept moving, his shirt already soaked with sweat, which dripped down his forehead and temples, leaving a small dark patch of water at his feet.

Each "Azure Dragon Probes with its Claw" is accompanied by an even more intense impact within the body.

The "door" trembled violently, emitting a muffled, thunderous roar that only he could "hear"!

The "rust" on the door peeled off piece by piece under the tremendous impact, and wisps of extremely pure and vibrant green air began to seep out from the cracks!

As the fourth punch was about to end, his left arm stretched to its limit, his fingertips seemingly about to pierce through the void!

(End of this chapter)