Under the fist

Chapter 9 Tai Chi Toad Fishing Technique

The strange thing is that even though Lian Youming was already so full he couldn't eat anymore, the terrifying hunger only lessened slightly and didn't completely disappear. In fact, it kept stimulating his nerves, forcing him to continue eating.

It's like eating air instead of food; it doesn't satisfy your hunger at all.

But Lian Youming knew he couldn't eat anymore. If he ate any more, not to mention whether he would be full, his stomach definitely wouldn't be able to handle it. After all, it was almost up to his throat, and he couldn't possibly die from overeating.

Ignoring the horrified looks from others, he laboriously made his way back to the dormitory with his round belly, then returned to his bed, pulled the covers over his head, and unknowingly fell asleep amidst the torment and pain.

As soon as he closed his eyes, Lian Youming felt hot and cold, and his mind was filled with strange dreams, all of which were about food.

I don't know how long I slept.

"Brother Lian, are you alright? Wake up! Wake up quickly!"

"What's wrong? What happened?"

Hearing the shouts in his ear, Lian Youming opened his eyes blankly, and unconsciously smacked his lips twice.

But when I opened my eyes, I saw that there were quite a few people gathered in the dormitory.

Platoon Leader Yang, who had escorted Liu Dabiao down the mountain, also returned, and everyone was looking at him with concern.

Xie Laosan was also standing nearby, holding a pipe of tobacco and taking a few puffs here and there. His eyes gleamed with an obscure and inexplicable light under the lamp. Then he said casually, "It's nothing. He probably ate something stupid during the day."

Lian Youming suddenly came to his senses and realized that the night outside the window was already deep and it was late.

What's wrong with me?

Platoon Leader Yang said irritably, "What's wrong? You've been sleeping for over ten hours, your stomach is bloated like a ball, I couldn't wake you up no matter what I did, I thought you were going to die. Didn't I tell you not to do anything reckless and to rest properly? What's wrong with you now? What did you eat?"

Upon hearing the mention of his stomach, Lian Youming's expression suddenly changed, and he jumped up from the bed.

But Platoon Leader Yang pressed down on his shoulders and said sternly, "I haven't finished speaking yet. You should rest now. You don't need to do anything at the forest farm for now. What's wrong with you?"

The group of people saw Lian Youming's face suddenly turn pale, then bluish, and then visibly flushed red, and they all became tense.

This queue-jumping thing has only just begun, and it's already taken so many twists and turns.

Lian Youming's expression was tense as he took a deep breath. "Quick, don't press me down, let me out first."

Platoon Leader Yang was a true Northeasterner, honest and responsible. Seeing that Lian Youming was already in such a state, yet still wanted to go out, he solemnly pressed her back onto the bed.

"You're not allowed to go anywhere, you're just going to..."

Lian Youming's face now showed a look of torment and ferocity. "I can't hold it in any longer."

Platoon Leader Yang was taken aback. "Can't hold it in anymore?"

The next second, an indescribable fart came out from under Lian Youming's buttocks.

"puff!"

"Oh my gosh."

The crowd that had been tightly packed together suddenly surged towards the outside.

Lian Youming shoved Yang's hand away, and without saying a word, he grabbed his buttocks and rushed to the toilet.

He ate too much during the day, especially all sorts of random things in the dorm. But the worst part was the two bags of roasted soybeans that Wu Kui had brought. He chewed them all up without thinking, and now his stomach was pounding like a drum.

It's really killing me.

Lian Youming spent more than half an hour in the toilet before finally emerging, his face ashen.

But he was not surprised; on the contrary, he was delighted.

Although it was a bit of a hassle, it also shows that the previous attempts were not useless; perhaps there was something wrong with my method.

According to those martial arts novels, one must first lay a solid foundation before practicing martial arts. Since this Qi-absorbing method mobilizes the five elements, one must naturally replenish one's own essence first.

Why am I still hungry even though I ate so much during the day? Could it be that I didn't eat enough?
Thinking back to those recipes for nutritional supplements, he gradually realized what was going on.

Perhaps the food wasn't good.

The recipes listed meat from various wild animals or rare medicinal herbs, but before that, they had only eaten coarse grains.

It seems we'll have to find an opportunity to verify this.

He pondered this for a moment, then returned to his dormitory.

Looking at Lian Youming's deflated belly, Platoon Leader Yang first breathed a sigh of relief, then gave a few more instructions before leaving.

Xie Laosan, however, looked at Lian Youming with amusement and said with a smile, "You should rest well. I'll come and wake you up tomorrow morning."

Lian Youming felt uneasy under the old man's gaze, but he responded calmly on the surface.

Now that he knew the other party's background, he wasn't afraid at all.

After most of the people had left, Lian Youming asked Wu Kui and the others, "How is Liu Dabiao?"

"Platoon Leader Yang said it's nothing serious, he'll be back in a couple of days."

Wu Kui sat on the bed, soaking his smelly feet, holding an old, unknown book in his hands, reading it with great interest.

Yu Wen and Yu Wu set up a chessboard by the window and talked about the female educated youth they met during the day while playing. They mentioned that one of them had single eyelids and the other had double eyelids, and they even remembered how many moles were on their faces.

Lian Youming felt a bit uncomfortable; his stomach was empty, and that hunger pang was coming back, making him feel restless and anxious.

He lay on the bed and began to ponder the things on the brocade again before falling into a deep sleep.

Another night has passed in the blink of an eye.

Lian Youming didn't rush to practice with the old man guarding the mountain. This man was eccentric and unpredictable; who knew whether what he taught was good or bad? What if he secretly did something bad and caused something terrible to happen? He wouldn't even know how he died.

But he couldn't not go either. Before that, he wanted to learn as much as possible about the contents of the brocade to avoid being tricked.

After eating some thin porridge at the canteen, Lian Youming took his rifle and went for a stroll in the woods.

It was as if Xie Laosan had been waiting for him all along.

Looking at the old man's hunched back, Lian Youming suppressed the urge to shoot him in the back.

The fact that the other party has hesitated to make a move shows that they are experienced and shrewd, and they probably won't choose to expose themselves until they have a sure chance of victory.

Lian Youming's mind raced. He slung his gun over his shoulder, climbed an old tree, and while he was gathering pine nuts, he said mysteriously, "Uncle Xie, I have a question for you."

Xie Laosan, who was dealing with a roe deer, looked over with some confusion upon hearing this, "What's wrong?"

Lian Youming whispered, "Is that old man behind the dining hall guarding some kind of treasure?"

Xie Laosan's face was expressionless, but upon hearing this, his pupils trembled as if he had something to say, but realizing his loss of composure, he lowered his head and said, "Nonsense."

Seeing that the other party was still pretending, Lian Youming sneered inwardly and put on an even more enthusiastic performance. "That person is clearly hiding his true abilities, yet he has been willing to stay here for decades. In my opinion, there is most likely some treasure buried here. Besides, where is this? This is the place where the Qing Dynasty rose to power. Perhaps there is still a treasure buried here."

He had thought of those words last night. Given the nature of those martial arts novels, the chances of him guarding the treasure in this situation are very high.

Xie Laosan scoffed, "Nonsense. We've been poor our whole lives, we've never heard of any treasure. Don't talk nonsense, kid."

Lian Youming peeled a few pine nuts and tossed them into his mouth, saying nonchalantly, "Uncle, you're ignorant. Do you know about tomb raiding? Those tomb raiders can tell where there's a big tomb just by looking at it and analyzing the feng shui. Coincidentally, I'm an expert in feng shui and locating burial sites. Look at these mountains, undulating and winding, like a giant dragon coiling around; they might be hiding a tomb."

The more he talked, the more outlandish and serious he became, spouting nonsense with an air of righteous indignation.

What was said in jest was taken seriously by the listener. Xie Laosan's right hand, which was dissecting the roe deer, suddenly paused, as if frozen in place. Lian Youming, of course, wouldn't miss this scene; his pupils contracted sharply, and his heart was filled with turmoil.

Could it be that his wild guess came true?
Is there a tomb hidden in these mountains? Are these people after the treasure inside?

What treasure could possibly make these extraordinary individuals willing to sacrifice their entire lives to guard this place?

Just as Xie Laosan looked up, Lian Youming suddenly changed his tone, "Uncle Xie, do you know kung fu?"

Xie Laosan's eyes flickered, and after a long while he said, "I used to practice a few moves with the old hunters in the village."

Lian Youming seemed to have taken an interest, and said with a serious expression, "I have seen those great masters before. When they breathe in and out, it's as if they are swallowing a small dragon. Tsk tsk tsk, it's several inches long. It's incredibly powerful and strange."

Xie Laosan's expression changed drastically, his messy eyebrows furrowing. "Where have you seen this before?"

Lian Youming nodded, "I saw him on the train that came to the countryside. It seems he also came to the Northeast."

He decided to speak out about this in order to provoke the person.

Since none of these things are good, the more muddy the water becomes, the better.

Xie Laosan's expression indeed shifted between light and dark, but he eventually suppressed his emotions and walked away without saying a word.

For five consecutive days, Lian Youming bumped into Xie Laosan every time he went hunting in the mountains. Besides earning extra money for the educated youth in the forest farm, Xie Laosan also tried various tricks to get information out of them, especially about things they didn't understand during their training. They would then study the brocade at night and figure it out on their own. Over time, they made some progress.

On the night of the sixth day, after the dormitory lights were turned off and everyone was snoring, Lian Youming had just closed his eyes when he suddenly felt a chill and his collar tightened. By the time he realized what was happening, he had been pulled out of bed.

The wind howled in my ears, and the moon and stars were few and far between overhead. The pale moonlight fell on the forest as if covered with a layer of frost.

The howling north wind blew in our faces, making it impossible to open our eyes.

Under the moonlight, a gaunt figure moved swiftly, rising and falling silently, carrying a person in his hand.

When they stopped, Lian Youming had been pressed against a thick tree stump.

The old man guarding the mountain stared at him with a gloomy face. "Boy, I hate two-faced people the most in my life."

Lian Youming was dressed in thin clothes, just a sweater and cotton pants. He shivered from the cold wind, his teeth chattering. "Who...who is two-faced? I've been a little weak these past few days. Can't I rest for a bit?"

The old man guarding the mountain was dressed in black, with sunken cheeks, slightly bulging eyes, and a head full of white hair flying everywhere. Bathed in the moonlight, he looked just like an old ghost from a grave, making Lian Youming's scalp tingle.

The old man and the young man looked at each other, but the old man guarding the mountain remained silent for a long time before saying in a hoarse voice, "I sense an invisible killing intent gathering at the foot of the mountain. Once the heavy snow closes the mountain, those people will probably make their move."

Lian Youming huddled up in a ball, his face turning pale. "You can sense this? Do you think you're a god?"

The old man guarding the mountain didn't say much. He simply placed his hands on his knees, looked up at the moon, and opened and closed his mouth. With the rise and fall of his chest and abdomen, a few extremely clear toad-like chirps were produced from his throat.

The toad's croak seemed to possess a strange penetrating power, soothing Lian Youming's restless thoughts, and even the chill on his body seemed to subside considerably.

Lian Youming stared in disbelief, his eyes widening. "What's the trick to this?"

But the old man guarding the mountain suddenly changed his expression, his white eyebrows raised, and his eyes were full of surprise. "I haven't seen you for a few days. Why do you look so weak and exhausted? Have you been doing some kind of handicrafts behind the scenes?"

Lian Youming rolled his eyes. "I'm still a virgin, I don't care about those things. A peerless genius like me is destined to become the number one in the world, how could I be burdened by romantic feelings?"

The old man guarding the mountain seemed to have figured out the carefree nature of the young man in front of him. He narrowed his eyes and sneered, "You are only just beginning to learn martial arts and have just begun to understand the way of martial arts. It's like a mayfly looking up at the blue sky, yet you dare to talk about being the best in the world."

Lian Youming was freezing and had no time to argue with this person. He impatiently urged, "Are you going to teach me a couple of your special skills? Then hurry up and do it."

The old man guarding the mountain twitched his face twice, then suddenly stretched out a hand, "Hold it."

Lian Youming didn't waste any words and did as he was told.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he grasped the old man's right hand, he was startled to feel a strange force sweeping over him. In a daze, he felt as if he were trapped in a whirlpool of mud, lost his balance, and fell to the ground as if he were drunk.

Lian Youming fell hard and was about to curse when he realized the wonder of it and his eyes lit up. "Hey, this is interesting."

The old man called out, "Get up, what did you feel?"

Lian Youming got up from the ground and said without thinking, "Strength."

The old man nodded. “That’s right, it’s about internal strength, and it’s also the method of attack and defense in internal martial arts. Your Eagle Claw Kung Fu may have some similarity in form, but you don’t understand the key to generating internal strength at all. It’s just a child’s game.”

Lian Youming's eyes were burning as he held the old man's right hand, feeling the strange strength within it.

This force also contained a certain rhythm, like coiling silk or flowing eddies. Once you got involved, you were driven around like a spinning top.

Looking at the boy's face, filled with surprise and joy, and his sincere enthusiasm, almost immersed in the mystery of internal energy, the old man couldn't help but recall a hint of reminiscence in his eyes, "Do you know why this internal energy is generated?"

If you had practiced Youming before, you probably wouldn't have been able to answer this question, but now you know perfectly well.

But he said, "I don't know."

The old man said to himself, "It's a breathing technique."

The old man guarding the mountain slowly raised his head, gazing at the bright moon in the sky, which, despite the vicissitudes of life and the changing times, remained unchanged throughout the ages. His voice was deep and resonant as he said, "The human body holds countless secrets, and these secrets are manifested in every breath, which is also the foundation of martial arts. It encompasses the principles of Yin and Yang, the power of creation, the transformations of the Five Elements, and the mysteries of life and death. On the path of exploring the truth of martial arts, countless geniuses have fallen, and the lofty aspirations of many have been buried."

Hearing the deep voice in front of him, the old man tightened his right hand, gripping Lian Youming's wrist tightly. Then, an indescribable aura emanated from that withered and aged body, like water and fire, like thunder and lightning, like a raging storm, surging and sweeping over in an instant.

Lian Youming suddenly felt his limbs trembling, as if he were sinking into a quagmire. Just as he was about to struggle, he heard the old man guarding the mountain continue, "Concentrate, calm your mind."

As soon as he finished speaking, the old man raised his hand and flicked Lian Youming's 1.8-meter-tall body, which was immediately lifted into the air as if it had no weight at all, and his arms and legs swung like a spinning top.

Startled, Lian Youming quickly composed himself.

Then the aged voice rang in my ears again, “Remember the length of my breath when I exhale and exhale, this is the ‘Tai Chi Toad Fishing Skill’.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Lian Youming felt a strange rhythm coming from where their hands touched. It was like a resonance. Starting from his left arm, the muscles in his body tightened and trembled, slowly extending to his limbs and bones, as if twisting into a whole.

Even his bones emitted a crisp, strange sound in this bizarre and mystical rhythm.

"Concentrate and listen to my breath."

As the old man guarding the mountain finished speaking, his breathing became long and deep, sometimes long, sometimes short, rising and falling. His cheeks swelled up like a toad spitting out a croak, and his belly bulged slightly. In an instant, a series of clear toad croaks rose from under the moon.

As Lian Youming listened to the toads croaking, his temples throbbed uncontrollably, and his muscles trembled all over.

uncomfortable.

pain.

But as he changed his breathing to match the rhythm of the old man guarding the mountain, the pain from his twisting muscles gradually disappeared. It was as if he had turned from passive to active, and without the other person's prompting, each breath he took could cause changes within himself.

When their breathing matched and the frequency of their muscle tremors became synchronized, Lian Youming was surprised to find that he seemed to have warmed up considerably.

The breath swallowed into the throat was initially cool, but after several swallows and exhalations, it became warm. Once inside the stomach, it was like a round pill, solidified and not dissolved, emitting a wisp of warm breath that spread throughout the body and dispelled the cold.

"This 'Toad Fishing Technique' is a method for practicing at night. From now on, remember to come and practice every night. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me."

Upon hearing this, Lian Youming feigned delight, but a hint of coldness rose in his eyes.

That old devil wasn't up to any good either.

If he had practiced Youming before, he might have believed this person, but fortunately, he had figured out many things in the past few days. Although this breathing technique is precious, it ultimately involves mobilizing one's own vital energy, which is deadly for someone without any foundation. Perhaps there are no signs at first, but over time, it will deplete the body's vitality.

"Won't Xie Laosan find out if we do this?"

The old man guarding the mountain sneered, "With me here to keep things under control, he's the one who should be afraid. Do you think I'm a pushover?"

(End of this chapter)