Crouching and Rising, Body Like a Galloping Horse (2)

Huff

Huff, huff

Rustle, rustle, rustle

The moon shone bright, and the stars were sparse.

The autumn breeze blew, making the leaves in the courtyard rustle.

A faint medicinal scent drifted through the air.

Lin Zheyu leaned against the wall and sat on the ground, panting, his legs trembling uncontrollably.

He had already trained for over an hour, and his feet felt as though they no longer belonged to him.

"The Horse Stance doesn't work. It hasn't appeared in the skill list."

Lin Zheyu looked at the data within his consciousness. There was no information about the Horse Stance in the skill list.

But he was not disappointed.

The Horse Stance was not a complete martial art, merely a foundational training technique.

The first batch of medicinal decoction had finished brewing. After resting for a while, Lin Zheyu drank it down and felt warmth spread through his stomach.

"I'll boil some hot water and soak for a while. Tomorrow, I'll get up and keep training."

Lin Zheyu prepared to rest.

If he continued training, he would reach his physical limit and need several days to recuperate.

During that time, he would be unable to continue training.

After soaking in hot water for half an hour, Lin Zheyu felt much more comfortable.

Having trained for several hours, he fell into a deep sleep that night.

Early morning.

Once again, he was awakened by a rooster with a voice like a broken gong.

"Eh!"

Lin Zheyu sat up in bed with a startled cry.

When he woke in the morning, his legs and waist barely felt sore at all.

"Did the Qi-Nourishing Blood-Boosting Decoction take effect?" Lin Zheyu pondered.

Storytelling did not begin until the afternoon, so he had no other work to do in the morning.

After breakfast, Lin Zheyu continued practicing the Horse Stance.

This time, he lasted over ten minutes before he felt he could no longer hold on.

After resting for a while, he got back up and assumed the stance again.

If he could not train the Horse Stance until he could hold it for an hour within a month, Liang Song would not teach him martial arts.

Time slowly passed.

The Inner City was orderly, unlike the chaotic Bai Shan District in the Outer City.

After moving into the Inner City, Lin Zheyu's life returned to tranquility.

The days passed one by one. Aside from storytelling each day, he spent all his remaining time practicing the Horse Stance.

In addition to the Horse Stance, Lin Zheyu added push-ups to his training.

The Replenishing Qi and Nourishing Blood prescription Liang Song had given him worked very well.

Expensive things had their advantages.

One batch of medicine could be brewed over three days. Drinking one bowl each day left him refreshed when he woke the next morning, his fatigue swept away.

In the blink of an eye, more than twenty days passed.

With intense training and nourishment from plenty of fish and meat, Lin Zheyu's body had become much sturdier.

Beneath his skin, smooth muscle lines could faintly be seen.

In the courtyard.

Lin Zheyu crouched with his legs bent, his body rising and falling like a galloping steed.

Over these twenty-odd days, he had diligently cultivated without faltering, gritting his teeth and training until his legs ached and trembled.

Gradually, he became addicted to practicing the Horse Stance.

While eating, while storytelling—whenever he had a spare moment, he would stand in it for a few minutes or half an hour.

Even while walking, he incorporated the Horse Stance into his movements, making his posture look rather strange.

The time he could hold the stance grew longer and longer, from less than ten minutes at first to half an hour.

Now, he had already been standing in the courtyard for nearly an hour.

Sweat soaked through his clothes.

Lin Zheyu breathed out steadily, his chest rising and falling.

His legs had begun trembling uncontrollably, and beads of sweat the size of soybeans slid down from his forehead.

"Hold on!"

"Time's almost up."

Lin Zheyu encouraged himself inwardly.

His eyes were fixed on the water clock in the courtyard, a tool used for keeping time.

It showed that there were less than ten minutes left before he had held the Horse Stance for one hour.

Rustle, rustle, rustle.

The cold wind blew, and the weather had turned somewhat chilly.

As Lin Zheyu rose and fell, the trembling of his body grew more pronounced. He was about to lose his hold.

"Come on. Hold on for a few more minutes, and break through my physical limit while I'm at it to earn one unit of Source Power."

Lin Zheyu kept encouraging himself.

Over these twenty-odd days, he had kept himself in check, not daring to train too fiercely or break through his physical limit for fear of affecting his subsequent training.

But today, with the Horse Stance nearly reaching one hour, Lin Zheyu simply gritted his teeth and persevered, planning to break through his physical limit while he was at it.

Time slowly passed, and another twenty minutes went by.

Lin Zheyu had already held the Horse Stance for one hour, but he did not stop.

He was not far from breaking through his physical limit.

His face had gone somewhat pale, his body trembled more violently, and his legs shook like sieves.

"Hiss—"

Lin Zheyu's face twisted, making him look somewhat ferocious.

He held on for a few more minutes.

Finally.

He felt as though he had broken through some barrier within his body. His Essence, Qi, and Spirit seemed to sublimate and twist into a single strand.

Within his consciousness, Source Power increased by one unit.

Heaven Rewards Diligence

Name: Lin Zheyu

Source Power: 2

Skills:

At the instant he broke through his limit, Lin Zheyu let out the breath he had been holding and collapsed limply to the ground.

He looked up at the sky, a blissful smile spreading across his face.

"Finally, I did it!"

Lin Zheyu was overjoyed.

Within one month, he had successfully trained the Horse Stance to the point where he could hold it for an hour. He could now learn martial arts from Liang Song.

After resting for over ten minutes, once the muscles throughout his body had stopped trembling, Lin Zheyu rolled over and climbed to his feet, beginning to stretch his muscles and tendons.

After stretching, he rested for another thirty-odd minutes, then immersed himself in a tub of hot water, feeling comfort spread through his entire body.

Afternoon.

Lin Zheyu made his way to the Tea House, trembling unsteadily.

"Are you all right?"

Seeing Lin Zheyu walk strangely, Steward Wu asked with concern.

Over the past month or so, their relationship had grown much closer.

Thanks to Lin Zheyu, Bi Dan Teahouse had become increasingly popular and was rapidly catching up to Yi Xiang Teahouse. Before long, it would likely surpass it.

Yi Xiang Teahouse was the most famous Tea House in Songyi City. Steward Wu had never dared imagine that they could catch up to it.

"I'm fine. I overdid my training this morning," Lin Zheyu said with a smile.

Compared to a month ago, his body had become much more robust, and he was brimming with Essence, Qi, and Spirit. There was no trace of the Refugee he had once been.

"Can you hold the Horse Stance for an hour now?" Steward Wu asked curiously.

He knew about this as well; Lin Zheyu had told him.

"Almost. Once I recover over the next few days, I'll have reached it."

"Then congratulations," Steward Wu said with a smile, happy for Lin Zheyu.

Storytelling time soon arrived.

Amid the enthusiastic calls of the customers, Lin Zheyu stepped up.

Smack.

With a strike of the storyteller's block, the tale began. "Last time, we spoke of..."

Time passed, and another five days went by.

His body recovered from the tearing sensation in his muscles after breaking through his limit.

"Good thing the customers have been generous. The tips are substantial; otherwise, I couldn't afford any of this."

Lin Zheyu sighed inwardly.

Over this past month, money had flowed out like water.

As his popularity rose, Steward Wu had raised his wages to two hundred copper coins a day.

Including the daily tips, he earned nearly five hundred copper coins a day.

Even so, he had little money left over. Most of it had gone toward buying eggs, meat, and medicinal ingredients for Replenishing Qi and Nourishing Blood.

Knock, knock.

Knock, knock, knock.

Early in the morning, Lin Zheyu knocked on Liang Song's door.

The courtyard gate opened, and Liang Song was not surprised.

"Go stand in the courtyard. Let me see how well you've trained," Liang Song said.

"Yes."

Lin Zheyu nodded and walked to the center of the courtyard.

His legs spread slightly as he crouched down, his arms extended flat, his gaze fixed ahead.

Lin Zheyu's body began to rise and fall slightly, as if riding a galloping steed. The muscles in his waist and legs quivered and exerted force, while his center of gravity shifted with each rise and fall.

Liang Song watched for a while, then nodded in satisfaction.

His posture was very standard.

He did not continue watching Lin Zheyu practice the Horse Stance. Instead, he picked up a watering can and began watering the flowers and plants in the courtyard.