Qiu Zu: From an apprentice in a medicine shop to an immortal ancestor.

At the entrance of Xiangyang Village, a massive stone archway stood tall.

The top of the archway was covered with glazed tiles, with flying eaves and dougong brackets. On the left and right, two ferocious wooden beasts resembling tigers and leopards were perched, their eyes dignified, silently overlooking, blending into the small village behind them with its curling smoke.

"Woof woof ~"

A group of dogs of various colors heard the noise, their barking rising and falling, rushing towards the village entrance.

Seeing that it was an acquaintance, the group of dogs wagged their tails and fawned around Qiu Zhen, then scattered in a burst, and the village returned to peace and tranquility.

The village was built against a hillside, the terrain quite high, with rows of houses and courtyards crisscrossing. The wealthy families had brick and tile houses, tall and sturdy, quite imposing, while ordinary farmers mostly lived in thatched cottages.

The house Qiu Zhen rented was an ordinary thatched cottage, but fortunately, it had its own courtyard and was located in a corner of the village, very quiet and undisturbed by outsiders.

"Brother Zhen, you're off work so early today."

Qiu Zhen pushed the door open and entered. Perhaps he made some noise, and soon a cute little head with pigtails sticking up appeared beside the wall, eyes blinking like the stars in the night sky.

"Missing Xing'er? So I hurried up with my work and came back early."

Xing'er was the daughter of Uncle Li, the neighbor, five or six years old, innocent and lively, with a pretty appearance and sensible manner, very lovable.

"Brother Zhen, you're just flattering me."

Xing'er giggled and said:

"Daddy told me to call you over for dinner. We're having fish today, it's almost ready."

"No, I already ate in town."

Qiu Zhen declined with a smile, and readily took out two candied hawthorns wrapped in oiled paper from the bag behind him, handing them to Xing'er over the wall:

"Here, one for you and one for your brother Dazhuang."

Xing'er was a little tempted, but she didn't reach out.

"I'm Brother Zhen, not a fake brother, take it."

Qiu Zhen stuffed them into the little girl's hand, then stepped into the house.

Soon after, Uncle Li, the neighbor, called out.

"Little Brother Qiu, you bought candied hawthorns for the children again, such a waste. It's not easy making a living outside, you should save your money for marrying a wife in the future."

"Uncle Li, I know."

"Come over for dinner. I caught a fish today, but it was injured and didn't look good, so I couldn't sell it for a good price. Your aunt made fish soup, come over for dinner."

"Uncle Li, I've already eaten."

Qiu Zhen exchanged greetings with Uncle Li, his neighbor and landlord, for a while, politely declining his kindness.

He had a big appetite, one fish wouldn't be enough.

He didn't stay in the house for long, passing through the house and arriving at the backyard.

The thatched courtyard he rented was a single-entrance house, but in addition to the front yard, there was also a backyard.

Because it was built against the mountain, the backyard was recessed into the rock face, sheltered by the mountain, with tall trees providing shade above, and lush bamboo growing all around, providing excellent privacy, a small world belonging only to him.

When he rented the small courtyard, what he was most satisfied with was this backyard.

With this exclusive little world, it was much more convenient for him to practice his Kung Fu.

As the saying goes, before learning boxing, stand in the stance for three years.

Qiu Zhen stood in the stance according to his usual habit.

With both hands embracing in front of the body, a towering tree stands in the wilderness.

The frame is like a fully drawn bow, the overall shape is full and round.

After about an hour, Qiu Zhen's blood and energy flowed smoothly, and his strength was unhindered. His eyes were like those of a fierce tiger, highly vigilant, ready to be triggered, as if he were about to pounce like a tiger at any moment.

"The heat is enough."

Qiu Zhen moved his body slowly, his heels close together, standing upright, his arms hanging down naturally, his eyes looking straight ahead.

Suddenly!

He bent his knees and squatted down, shifting his center of gravity to his right leg, his left foot in a false step, the sole of his foot touching the ground, resting against the inner ankle of his right foot. At the same time, both fists were raised to his waist, palms facing up, looking to the left front.

His left foot took a diagonal step forward to the left front, and his right foot followed half a step, his center of gravity sitting on his right leg, his left foot in a false step, the sole of his foot touching the ground. At the same time, both fists were raised along the chest, palms facing back, raised to the front of the mouth, the two fists facing each other, turning the palms and pressing forward, as high as the chest, palms facing forward, the tiger's mouths of the two palms facing each other, looking at the left hand.

At first glance, he seemed to have transformed into a fierce tiger, pouncing left and right, his eyes bright, shaking his head and wagging his tail, pouncing, pressing, and fighting, fiercely abnormal.

Soon, he seemed to transform into a mountain deer, his posture relaxed, leaping through the mountains and forests.

Sometimes he was as thick and steady as a giant bear.

This was the 《Five Animal Frolics of the Medicine King》 taught by the martial arts master of the Qingmu Medicine Shop in Medicine King Valley, externally training the tendons, skin, bones, and flesh, and internally training one breath, benefiting qi and nourishing the spirit. It was an extremely comprehensive introductory exercise for health preservation.

To learn this skill outside, you would probably have to pay a large sum of money to the martial arts hall, but the pharmacy apprentices were taught for free, which was a kind of hidden benefit.

Although the Five Animal Frolics were an introductory exercise, legend has it that they were passed down by immortals, profound and broad. Even the legendary martial arts grandmasters, martial saints-like figures, many also used the 【Five Animal Frolics】 as an entry point to build their foundation and refine themselves, which was quite remarkable.

It was just that Qiu Zhen's martial arts roots were sparse and ordinary. After three years of hard training, he had made some progress, his body was strong, and he was resistant to diseases.

Health preservation was okay, but there was still a considerable distance from entering the Tao and refining the heat.

This was far from his talent in the way of "pharmaceutical preparation".

People with martial arts talent were rare and precious wherever they were placed.

Not having martial arts roots was a high probability event, and Qiu Zhen had nothing to say.

As the saying goes, the poor study literature, the rich study martial arts.

Without martial arts talent, if one had a wealthy family and plenty of money for supplements, one could also cultivate a reputation and become a martial arts master respected in the surrounding villages.

Unfortunately, he didn't have that either.

He lived in Haitang Township, eighty miles away from Qingmu Town. He had an older brother, Qiu Qing, who was three years older than him and not yet married.

His parents were farmers, making a living by tending a few acres of barren land, and it was quite difficult to raise the two brothers.

Cultivating children to study and practice martial arts was something they didn't even dare to think about.

After understanding his own situation, Qiu Zhen, who had lived two lifetimes, went out to work early, trying to break the predicament of his life.

Three years passed in a flash.

Reality poured a basin of cold water on him.

Even if he frantically competed in the pharmacy, making all the apprentices die of competition and submit, standing out, he still couldn't change the situation.

His salary was a little higher than that of ordinary apprentices.

Ordinary apprentices earned four to five hundred copper coins a month, or seven to eight hundred at most, and the stewards often deducted from their wages.

His salary was one thousand two hundred coins, and he received the full amount every month, with few deductions.

However, it was useless.

One thousand copper coins were roughly equivalent to one tael of silver, less than fifteen taels of silver a year.

This salary was more than enough to support him. If he didn't spend lavishly, he might be able to save money for a business in the future, and there was hope for marrying a wife, but for a martial arts practitioner, it was a drop in the bucket.

Given Qiu Zhen's situation, it would probably take him ten years or so. As his body developed and he entered adulthood, the vigorous energy of his yang blood would be able to refine a little heat.

This was still the most optimistic expectation based on the growth stories of many martial arts masters.

It's hard, hard, hard for the poor to practice martial arts.

Originally, facing the slap in the face from reality, Qiu Zhen couldn't help but feel a little黯然 (àn rán - disheartened/gloomy).

However, the word "fate" is always so mysterious and unexpected.

Just three months ago, opportunity came.

Moreover, this opportunity exceeded his imagination.

It wasn't some heavenly treasure, nor some divine secret manual, but...

Qiu Zhen finished his practice, took a deep breath, his expression solemn, entered the house, and carefully took out a piece of gold silk from his arms, throwing it into a wooden basin filled with water.

The palm-sized gold silk looked ordinary at first glance, with nothing special about it.

But at the moment the gold silk entered the water, the golden light was dazzling, like the surface of a lake under the hot summer sun, shimmering with golden light.

A faint golden light twisted, faintly transforming into four large characters.

Hundred-Day Foundation!