Under the fist

Chapter 15 Descending the Mountain, the Village, Old Medicine
"It's so hot!"

When Lian Youming regained consciousness, he felt as if he had been stuffed into a furnace, so hot that he could hardly breathe.

"Finally awake!"

Yang Dapao's voice reached my ears.

Lian Youming forced himself to open his eyes and found himself completely naked, covered with countless layers of thick quilts. Beside him stood a familiar figure: Qin Yuhu.

Qin Yuhu slightly opened his one eye and said in a deep voice, "How do you feel?"

Lian Youming pursed his lips and subconsciously replied, "Hot, thirsty."

Upon hearing him speak, the two of them immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

After Lian Youming was helped up, he drank two large bowls of brown sugar water, and his consciousness became much clearer.

Following the daylight outside, he discovered two figures dressed in green military uniforms, carrying Type 56 assault rifles, guarding the outside. Judging from the noise outside, there seemed to be quite a few people, at least a group of thirty or forty, almost as many as a reinforced platoon.

"Uncle Qin, how long have I been asleep?"

Qin Yuhu's expression was solemn, but his tone was calm as he said, "One day and two nights. Nothing serious, just two broken ribs and some minor injuries."

Before Lian Youming could reply, Qin Yuhu lit a cigarette and asked, "Tell me, what happened before you fainted?"

Lian Youming felt uneasy under the stare. As his gaze wandered around, he realized that the other people in the dormitory were gone. Not only were they gone, but their bedding and luggage had also been taken away.

Qin Yuhu, smoking a cigarette, said, "Don't look anymore, they've all moved down the mountain. You'll have to go down later too, and come back up after winter."

But Lian Youming knew what those words meant: the forest farm had been taken over.

After a moment's thought, he said, half-truthfully, "I don't know either. I felt a little off after eating the pancakes, so I quickly washed my face with cold water. When I turned around, I found that everyone else had passed out."

Qin Yuhu frowned slightly, his single eye gleaming. "And then?"

Lian Youming lowered his head and whispered, "Then I got scared, so I lay on the kang and pretended to be asleep. Then Xie Laosan sneaked in. I also heard him say that he was from the White Lotus Sect and that he wanted to kill me to silence me since I wasn't asleep. He also said that he was after the old man behind the dining hall."

"White Lotus Sect?"

Qin Yuhu and Platoon Leader Yang exchanged a glance.

Platoon Leader Yang sighed, "It was my dereliction of duty, I apologize."

Qin Yuhu waved his hand, "It's not your fault. These people have strange methods that are hard to guard against, and they are not people that ordinary people can deal with."

After saying that, Qin Yuhu looked at Lian Youming and said meaningfully, "You're really lucky, kid. It seems that old man Yang's methods are not simple either."

Lian Youming asked curiously, "Uncle Qin, have you met that old man?"

Qin Yuhu said solemnly, "No. That person and that girl named Yang Shuang have both disappeared, but we found five bodies in the forest, and... Why are you asking these questions? This is none of your business. Go down the mountain and take good care of your injuries. I'll have your Aunt Shen cook some bone broth for you to nourish yourself."

"Gone?"

Despite having many questions in his mind, Lian Youming held back his words when he saw the scene outside.

The old man guarding the mountain and Yang Shuang had strange origins and unknown identities, and now they had left without a trace, clearly indicating that they didn't want to deal with these military personnel.

Qin Yuhu glanced at him. "After Xie Laosan went down the mountain, he fled north and was discovered by our people. I happened to be planning to bring you some things, so I came up with you."

Upon hearing this, Lian Youming's spirits lifted. "You've captured them?"

Qin Yuhu shook his head, "It seems like the Russians had someone to help him escape."

Seeing that Lian Youming was distracted, Qin Yuhu's eyes were dark as he reminded him, "Let's leave this matter here. After we get down the mountain, if anyone asks you, just say you don't know. Luckily, nothing went wrong. Anyway, those who died weren't good people, so whatever you say goes."

Lian Youming's eyelids twitched. Seeing that Qin Yuhu didn't ask too many questions about this matter, he could only smile wryly and say, "Uncle, please don't wrong me."

Qin Yuhu didn't waste any words, turned around and walked out, "Put your clothes on and go downstairs. Some things can only be done once. If you dare to do it again, I'll teach you a lesson on behalf of your father."

Finally, with a half-smile, he tossed over a bloodstained triangular bayonet.

Upon seeing this thing, Lian Youming's expression froze, as if he had been caught doing something wrong. He immediately became obedient and looked extremely well-behaved.

"Good Le!"

After watching Lian Youming get dressed and, with the help of several militiamen, board the carriage to go down the mountain, Qin Yuhu strode over to the earthen houses.

The snow has stopped, and the wind has died down.

Many figures dressed in green military uniforms and carrying Type 56 pistols patrolled the area.

Qin Yuhu, smoking a cigarette, squatted down and looked down. On the black earth covered with remnants of snow, five corpses were laid out in a row.

Platoon Leader Yang followed, and the more he looked, the more alarmed he became. "Director Qin, the injuries on these people are a bit strange."

How could it not be bizarre? The fist-sized hole in the dwarf's back alone was horrifying enough. Especially the shepherd with the goatee, whose bones looked like a dismembered snake; his death was utterly grotesque.

……

Lian Youming was naturally unaware of the situation on the mountain.

He lay on the donkey cart, wrapped in a cotton quilt, his mind already wandering far away.

Given the old man's terrible injuries, he is most likely not going to survive.

This departure might truly be the last time we meet.

As for the secrets on the mountain, they must have been taken away as well.

From now on, the one guarding this secret will likely be that girl named Yang Shuang.

What exactly is the secret?

Suddenly, as if remembering something, Lian Youming quickly touched his pockets, especially the inner lining.

Only when he realized that the two pieces of brocade were still there did he secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

Speechless all the way.

They only said that the donkey cart swayed and wobbled back to Kaoshantun.

Under the leadership of the village party secretary, Lian Youming was temporarily placed in the home of an old village doctor to recuperate.

But little did I know that this one lie down would last for more than a month.

It's often said that it takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone, and that's absolutely true.

Since waking up, whether it was because he was injured by Xie Laosan or because he forcibly activated the "Toad Fishing Technique", his body was really weak. He couldn't even leave the courtyard. Just a gust of cold wind would make him lose all his color and his hands and feet would tremble uncontrollably.

His originally strong and robust physique shrank considerably in less than half a month.

Fortunately, now that they've moved down the mountain, Shen Qinghong has Qin Yuhu bring over some cooked meals every few days.

But what Lian Youming couldn't stand the most was the old village doctor who was his partner. The man had a decent temper, but the herbs he brewed were just too damn bitter. Nine doses a day, three in the morning, three at noon, and three at night, were so bitter that everything Lian Youming ate tasted the same, and even drinking water made his throat taste bitter. It was so bitter that he felt like he had no will to live.

The dreary convalescent period continued until the first month of the lunar calendar.

That noon, Lian Youming sat in the courtyard, brewing his own herbal medicine while identifying the various medicinal herbs that the old village doctor was drying.

The old village doctor, surnamed Liu, had a bald head and often stuttered when he spoke. He carried a medicine gourd on his waist and wore glasses. In addition to treating human ailments, he was also the one who treated all kinds of livestock in the village, including pigs, dogs, cattle, and sheep, whenever they had any problems.

To put it bluntly, he's just a country bumpkin doctor who knows a little bit about everything but isn't an expert in anything.

"Little...Little Ming, do you know...do you know what kind of soup I made for you today?" The village doctor sat in the sun, airing out his moldy medical books.

Lian Youming rolled his eyes. "It's just Da Chai Hu Tang."

The village doctor chuckled, "You...you're really clever. Why don't you...just get better and then...help me out here from now on? I'll...I'll talk to the Party Secretary and...I'll give you work points too."

These words almost made Lian Youming so anxious that his old injury flared up and he coughed up blood.

But he did have some ideas about this proposal.

Since the incident at the forest farm, these educated youths were reassigned to various villages and scattered. Besides Lian Youming, four other educated youths returned to Kaoshantun, but Wu Kui and Liu Dabiao were relocated.

Of the four people, only Lian Youming, a female educated youth, was somewhat familiar to him; the other three were completely unknown to him. Moreover, their work was all tedious and boring, either looking after the mules and horses in the village or squatting with a broken gong to guard the cattle and sheep and prevent wild animals from coming down the mountain.

Furthermore, it would be another two or three months before he returned to the forest farm in the spring, and Lian Youming didn't want to endure that kind of tedious and boring time.

He's been lying in bed for over a month, and if he stays in bed any longer, he feels like he'll become completely useless.

Furthermore, he has many questions about the regulation of Qi in the body and the meridians in the human body.

This is a great learning opportunity; I was just worried about not having anyone to answer my questions.

"Okay, whatever you say."

As Lian Youming responded, he poured the medicine, which was almost ready, into the bowl.

After letting it cool for only a short while, he tilted his head back and drank it all in one gulp.

Just then, the roar of an engine came from outside the courtyard wall.

As the roaring sound drew closer, Qin Yuhu had already stopped his sidecar motorcycle at the door. Besides a large mailbag, a young woman with a ponytail was sitting on the motorcycle.

Upon seeing Qin Yuhu, Lian Youming's face lit up with joy, and he was about to greet him when his gaze swept over the woman, at which point his expression changed.

He's someone who's seen a lot in his life.

Lian Youming's eyes flashed, and he saw that the woman's breathing was calm and long, almost imperceptible, as if she was not breathing at all, which was completely different from Qin Yuhu's breath turning into frost.

"Uncle Qin, what brings you here?"

Qin Yuhu brought the package in. "These are things your parents sent you. Besides a few clothes, there's some food. Also, Xiuxiu is coming back for the holidays tomorrow, and your Aunt Shen wants you to come over for dinner."

As he spoke, Qin Yuhu looked at the woman beside him and said, "This is Miss Gong from the capital."

After a pause, Qin Yuhu added, "He is a successor of the 'Bagua School'."

"Bagua Sect?"

Lian Youming was startled, but remained outwardly calm.

He remembered that before the shepherd died, the old man guarding the mountain seemed to have mentioned that the other party was a member of the Bagua School.

The young woman wore a high ponytail, a brown stand-up collar sweater underneath, and a gray-white cotton coat on top. This outfit might be warm enough in Beijing, but it was rather thin in Tahe. Moreover, she didn't have any warm clothing on her head, yet she looked perfectly normal, as if she didn't feel cold at all.

Lian Youming still remembers how he almost froze to death on that motorcycle.

This person's internal martial arts skills have probably reached an extremely profound level.

The woman's features were delicate and ethereal, her slender hands hanging naturally at her sides. She said softly, "My name is Gong Wu'er. If it's convenient, may I ask you some questions?"

Gong Wuer?
What a strange name.

Lian Youming glanced at Qin Yuhu, then at the woman in front of him, and nodded, saying, "What do you want to ask?"

Gong Wuer remained calm and said softly, "Do you know the old man guarding the mountain's name?"

Upon hearing this, Lian Youming's heart stirred slightly. Could this person be seeking revenge against the old man guarding the mountain? Or was he here to investigate the forest farm?

Before he could react, the woman in front of him suddenly took out a small blue-and-white porcelain bottle. “You were injured by internal energy. You not only need medicine to treat the injury, but also external medicine. Here are three 60-year-old pills. Just dissolve them in strong liquor, take some with your palm every night, and massage the injured area for half an hour. After three to five days, the bruises left by the internal energy will disappear.”

Lian Youming's eyes flickered, and after a moment's thought, he asked instead of answering, "Who is Marquis Yang Ban?"

Gong Wuer raised an eyebrow, her face seemingly holding a cold blade, her eyes gleaming, but her tone remained calm, "Are you sure that person's name is Yang Banhou?"

Lian Youming shook his head. "I just happened to see that the old man's house had a memorial tablet for Yang Banhou."

Gong Wuer nodded slightly and handed the medicine bottle to Lian Youming.

"Thank you!"

After saying that, he turned and left, as if he had traveled a long way just to ask that one question.

Lian Youming weighed the medicine bottle in his hand, then called out to the woman's retreating figure, "You still haven't said who Yang Banhou is?"

But as soon as he said that, Qin Yuhu slapped him on the head and scolded him irritably, "You brat, who told you to spout nonsense? I specially asked my former boss to bring this person here, just to treat your injury."

These days, Lian Youming has been eating lavish meals and taking all sorts of tonics, but he still looks sickly and his complexion hasn't improved at all, which has worried Qin Yuhu and his wife to no end.

Gong Wuer looked thoughtfully at the boy in the courtyard and said gently, "It's not exactly a secret. That Yang Banhou is the second son of Yang Luchan, the Tai Chi master. He was once invincible in the capital."

After saying that, the man looked at Qin Yuhu again and said, "Mr. Qin, I would like to go up the mountain to take a look."

Qin Yuhu glared at Lian Youming again, "You brat, you better study properly and stop thinking about nonsense."

A short while later, watching Qin Yuhu drive Gong Wuer away, Lian Youming looked at the bottle of medicine in his hand.

Liu Da Nao suddenly leaned over and said impatiently, "Let me take a look. This 60-year-old medicine is a good thing. It is made from the secret prescriptions passed down by the martial arts sects. After being sealed with wax, the longer it is stored, the more amazing its effects become. Sixty years, a cycle of sixty years. Even the great pharmacies in Beijing that have been passed down for two or three hundred years may not have it."

Lian Youming asked suspiciously, "Is it really that mysterious?"

The village doctor grabbed his hand and hurriedly led him into the house, saying, "Whether it's miraculous or not, we'll know once we try."

As Lian Youming walked, he kept turning his head to look in the direction Qin Yuhu and the others had left, and couldn't help but sigh.

"Ugh!"

I had just started dreaming of the martial arts world when I suddenly woke up.

(End of this chapter)