Internal Breathing

"Close your eyes. Feel the rhythm, and try to breathe along with it."

Liang Song said.

Lin Zheyu closed his eyes at his words. As he calmed his mind and focused, the surrounding clamor faded away, while his Master's breathing grew louder and louder beside his ear.

He followed the rhythm as he breathed, but his breathing was somewhat disordered. It was his first attempt at abdominal breathing, and he was far from used to it.

"Don't rush. The first attempt at the Internal Breathing Exercise is somewhat difficult."

"Calm your mind and focus all your attention on the rhythm and cadence of my breathing."

Liang Song said.

He extended his palm and pressed it against Lin Zheyu's abdomen. His hand gently pressed in time with his breathing rhythm, his fingertips making minute movements as they subtly adjusted Lin Zheyu's muscle movements.

As time passed, more than two hours went by.

Lin Zheyu's expression grew increasingly serene, and a sense of rhythm gradually entered the rise and fall of his chest.

Guided by Liang Song, his breathing also took on a special rhythm and cadence. A wondrous sensation rippled through Lin Zheyu's heart.

"Very good. That's the feeling."

"Remember this feeling. Once you adapt to it, coordinating the breathing exercise with your fist training will let you achieve twice the result with half the effort!"

Liang Song said softly.

Lin Zheyu learned quickly. With Liang Song's help, he had grasped the basics in just over two hours.

"To master the basic breathing exercise in just over two hours—your comprehension is truly astonishing."

Liang Song praised as he watched Lin Zheyu's breathing gradually enter a fine state.

He had not expected to encounter such a promising seedling in Songyi City.

By the time Lin Zheyu left Liang Song's home, it was nearly time for lunch.

Lin Zheyu wanted to treat his Master to a meal outside, but Liang Song declined.

On his way back, when he was still about half a kilometer from his small courtyard, Lin Zheyu sensed that something was off.

"Someone's following me?"

Lin Zheyu frowned slightly.

After his Wild Bull Fist had risen to the proficient level, his senses had also improved enormously. He was exceedingly sensitive to every movement around him.

Just now, he had felt a gaze constantly resting on him. There was a furtive fellow following behind him.

After his steps paused slightly, Lin Zheyu continued onward as though nothing had happened.

"Who's following me, and what do they want?"

Thoughts surged through Lin Zheyu's mind as all sorts of possibilities flashed through his head.

Yet no matter how he thought about it, he could not figure out who had set their sights on him.

Ever since arriving in the Inner City, he had kept an extremely low profile and had never clashed with anyone.

Lin Zheyu turned a corner onto another road and headed toward the bustling market.

At the market, Lin Zheyu wandered about, touching and inspecting things and haggling over prices. Keeping a careful watch, he finally discovered the fellow tailing him.

"It's him!"

"Even after moving into the city, they still cling on like a lingering ghost!"

Lin Zheyu was speechless.

Though that furtive fellow was dressed somewhat differently than before, Lin Zheyu recognized him at a glance.

Back when he had lived in Bai Shan District, a group of thugs had robbed him of his food supplies. This man had been one of the four.

Lin Zheyu had not expected that even after he had moved into the Inner City, they would still cling to him like lingering ghosts.

Did they really think he was so easy to bully?

Back then, his strength had been lacking, his body weak, and he had been malnourished. Whenever he encountered them, he could only take a detour.

Now that his Wild Bull Fist had reached the proficient level, his strength had undergone a tremendous leap. He no longer regarded a few street thugs like them as worthy of notice.

Against fellows who had never practiced martial arts and only knew how to swagger and brawl, Lin Zheyu was not boasting—he could take on ten of them.

"There are thieves for a thousand days, but no guards for a thousand days. I'll find a chance to investigate and see what this fellow wants."

Lin Zheyu said to himself.

After finishing his storytelling, it was another day of bountiful earnings.

Lin Zheyu received nearly three hundred copper coins in tips that day.

On his way back, he discovered that he was being followed again.

He returned home without giving anything away, quickly changed into a set of plain clothes, and quietly followed after the other party.

With his current strength, although his tracking skills were not particularly good, keeping far behind was enough to ensure the other party would never notice him.

"They've switched people tailing me. He's another one from their group."

Lin Zheyu followed from a distance.

They arrived at Bai Shan District.

It was nowhere near as prosperous as the Inner City. Many places were silent and deserted; it was common for a murder to occur and remain undiscovered for more than ten days.

The man threaded through the narrow lanes of Bai Shan District, turning this way and that before arriving at an ordinary house.

He knocked on the door. Someone inside opened it, and after he entered, it shut again.

"Strange. They're being so secretive—could they be planning something big?"

Lin Zheyu muttered, quickly following after him.

Those fellows who usually squatted at street corners chatting and shooting the breeze were now sneaking around and hiding indoors to discuss matters. Lin Zheyu felt that something was not right.

Since the matter involved him, he paid it close attention.

Lin Zheyu was not an evil man, but neither was he any kind of good man. Good people had a hard time surviving among the refugees.

The sky grew dim.

Carefully approaching the window, Lin Zheyu took out a piece of black cloth and covered his face.

He pressed his ear against the window and eavesdropped on the conversation inside, wanting to find out what they were plotting against him.

After his strength improved, Lin Zheyu's hearing had become exceptionally sharp.

Even though the people inside spoke quietly, their conversation still came through clearly through the unsoundproof window.

"Wen Biao, how did it go today?"

Gao Yu asked the man who had just entered.

"Same as always. That brat does nothing every day except tell stories or stay home. Even when he goes out to wander around, he only visits busy places."

"Besides, once night falls, we've never seen him leave home. He probably got scared after fleeing here. Now he values his life dearly," Yanling added.

They had been following Lin Zheyu for more than ten days, hoping to figure out his daily routine and find an opportunity to secretly strike at him, avenge Skinny Monkey, and rob him of some silver at the same time.

From their observations over the past ten-plus days, the brat was quite wealthy.

He received at least two hundred copper coins in tips every day. Together with his wages, his daily income exceeded three hundred copper coins, leaving the group green with envy.

A down-and-out scholar who had fled here had managed to do so well in such a short time.

"These bastards have been following me for so long!"

A chill ran through Lin Zheyu's heart.

From their conversation, he learned that these people had been tailing him for quite some time.

Had his improved strength not sharpened his senses enough for him to detect them, he might have been ambushed without ever knowing why.

Fortunately, he had been exceedingly cautious lately. He never went out at night and never took secluded paths.

A man might have no intent to harm a tiger, but the tiger might harbor the heart to harm a man.

To be targeted for no reason at all left Lin Zheyu extremely displeased, and a flicker of ruthlessness flashed through his eyes.

When one possessed a sharp weapon, the urge to kill arose on its own.

As his strength improved, so too did his courage.

"Oh, right, Brother Yu. I discovered that he somehow learned martial arts. Every day, the sound of fists striking wooden posts comes from his courtyard."

Wen Biao said somewhat hesitantly, "Are we really going to make a move? Against someone who's practiced martial arts?"

He did not really advocate taking action. Though he and Skinny Monkey called each other brothers, they were merely drinking companions. Wen Biao was somewhat unwilling to risk himself for Skinny Monkey.

But learning that this fellow was a fat sheep, alone and without anyone to rely on, stirred Wen Biao's greed.

"What are you afraid of? Even if he started practicing martial arts the moment he arrived in Songyi City, it's only been a little over two months."

"Two months is barely enough to build a foundation. What tricks could he possibly have learned?" Gao Yu said disdainfully.

Yanling curled his lip and echoed with a smile, "Exactly. Wen Biao, you're too timid."

"Since there's no chance to strike, we'll sneak in at night."

"Yanling, go buy several sticks of Bewitching Incense—strong ones. We'll use them to knock out the dog he keeps in his courtyard."

"Wen Biao, get the things we'll need to climb over the wall."

"We'll make our move in another ten days or so. Let that brat earn some more silver first, heh heh."

"..."