Martial Graduate Dan's Guidance

Several days later.

Wei Tu's worries came true.

When Deng An saw Wei Tu persistently practicing the Health Cultivation Technique every night and earning the master's favor through his diligence and capability, his expression grew increasingly unpleasant.

Their relationship was no longer what it had been.

So, relying on the fact that he had worked for the Shan Family for many years and had once been the head long-term laborer, Deng An began ordering Wei Tu about imperiously during the day's work.

Yet, to Deng An's surprise, upon hearing his orders, Wei Tu neither argued nor quarreled. He simply turned around and completed every task Deng An assigned him cleanly and efficiently.

Whether sweeping the courtyard and cleaning the latrines, feeding horses and chopping fodder, or cutting wheat and storing grain, Wei Tu handled everything with effortless skill and meticulous care.

Madam Shan and Martial Graduate Dan both praised Wei Tu for being clever and capable, while incidentally rebuking Deng An a few times for loafing and cutting corners.

This left Deng An completely without temper. On the third day of the wheat harvest, he went into town to buy a jug of wine and several seasonal cold dishes. That evening, while the long-term laborers and tenant farmers cooled off beneath the elm tree in the village, he apologized to Wei Tu.

"I was wrong. I shouldn't have been jealous of you, Wei..." Deng An said, sincerity showing on his face.

After several cups of weak wine, Deng An also explained why he had been excluding Wei Tu.

"Wei, you're too hardworking, too full of spirit. If you stay with the Shan Family, they'll probably dismiss me next year and hire only you."

"A person like you gets hated wherever he goes. Before, I thought you wanted to drive me away. I never expected you to truly be this hardworking..."

Deng An sighed.

After more than ten days of rushing about, cutting wheat from one side of the river to the other, even a man forged from iron could not bear it. Yet Wei Tu had endured it, remaining full of vigor every day and even having the spare energy to practice at night.

This completely dispelled Deng An's former suspicions, and he no longer targeted Wei Tu.

At the end of the day, he did not dare commit crimes like murder and arson. Since the usual tricks of long-term laborers could not force Wei Tu away, he could only make peace.

"If the Shan Family dismisses me next year, I'll just find work with another household," Deng An added.

"You're joking, Brother Deng." Wei Tu shook his head and picked up several bites of food with his chopsticks.

He still did not tell Deng An why he had come to the Shan Family.

If he passed Martial Graduate Dan's "test," it would not be long before Martial Graduate Dan taught him Martial Arts Techniques. By then, Deng An would naturally be reassured.

Even if he did not pass the "test," he would leave the Shan Family next February and head to the county seat to take the martial examination...

Wei Tu did not know whether Martial Graduate Dan was testing him, nor what the test entailed. But he knew that people of steady temperament who could keep matters hidden were the easiest to win others' favor.

Besides, the reason he had not talked back to Deng An while working during the day was not because he was kindhearted. It was because, after mastering the Health Cultivation Technique, his energy truly far surpassed that of ordinary people.

The exhausting, grueling work Deng An imagined was not particularly hard for him to accept.

Lastly, Deng An was merely the head long-term laborer. There was little point in arguing with him.

Seeing that Wei Tu was still not much of a talker, Deng An silently sighed and did not ask further.

Five days later.

The wheat harvest in Danjia Village finally ended.

As Wei Tu spread out the final sack of new grain from the residence on the threshing ground to dry, Martial Graduate Dan rode over on his Yellow Dappled Horse. A trace of admiration appeared in his eyes as he said, "After I take my horse for a turn, I'll teach you archery."

As soon as the words fell.

Martial Graduate Dan had already ridden the Yellow Dappled Horse away in a cloud of dust, vanishing onto the plateau.

It was not until dusk that Martial Graduate Dan led his horse back to the gate.

"There are three archery-related portions in the martial examination: Drawing a Heavy Bow, mounted archery, and foot archery."

"It can be said that if you wish to earn distinction in the martial examination, your archery must be good."

Martial Graduate Dan clapped his hands.

Very soon, a maid from the residence came over carrying a lacquered wooden tray.

On the lacquered wooden tray lay three bows of differing styles: a short bow for mounted archery, a long bow for foot archery, and a heavy bow for testing strength.

"This is a Five-stone Heavy Bow!" Martial Graduate Dan removed the heavy bow and stared at the straw target in the corner of the courtyard. In that instant, his aura abruptly turned sharp and fierce.

Twanged! Twanged! Twanged!

With three sounds of the bowstring, the three feathered arrows Martial Graduate Dan had nocked flew from his hand, tore through the air, and embedded themselves directly in the bullseye of the straw target.

"One Stone is one hundred jin. This Five-stone Heavy Bow requires five hundred jin of strength."

"As long as you can draw this Five-stone Heavy Bow, when you take the martial examination, you can at least contend for the top grade in the Drawing a Heavy Bow portion."

Martial Graduate Dan took several breaths and placed the heavy bow back onto the lacquered wooden tray.

Drawing the Five-stone Heavy Bow just now had also been a tremendous drain on his body.

At this time, another waiting maid poured a cup of cool tea from a kettle and offered it to Martial Graduate Dan.

Martial Graduate Dan first drank a small cup. Still unsatisfied, he directly lifted the kettle and poured it into his mouth.

As tea spilled from the gaps between his lips, fine beads of sweat seeped from his forehead, cheeks, and neck.

"Drawing a bow requires the Archer's Stance. I'll demonstrate it a few times. Remember it."

Martial Graduate Dan did not hurry to have Wei Tu try the bow. Instead, he planted his feet and shifted his steps, assuming the posture of the Archer's Stance.

The moment he moved, his legs seemed to take root in the courtyard's blue bricks, while his body stood straight as a pine, immovable as a mountain.

"Once you set the Archer's Stance properly, it will not only benefit your archery. When you practice Saber Techniques and fist techniques in the future, you will achieve twice the result with half the effort."

"The Archer's Stance trains the lower body. Once it is firmly rooted, your legs become as if cast from bronze and forged from iron. With a stable base, when others strike you, it will be like a clear breeze brushing a mountain ridge..."

Martial Graduate Dan spoke slowly.

After finishing, Martial Graduate Dan withdrew his stance, took a towel from the maid, wiped away his sweat, and gestured for Wei Tu to begin practicing his movements.

Wei Tu nodded. Following the way Martial Graduate Dan had just set his stance, he steadied himself, shifted his feet, and assumed the Archer's Stance.

Having practiced the Health Cultivation Technique for over two years, Wei Tu was no stranger to Stance Training. The Archer's Stance Martial Graduate Dan had demonstrated was also among the thirty-two diagrams of Stance Training in the "Turtle Breath Qi Cultivation Technique."

Only some of the finer details differed slightly.

Before long, Wei Tu adjusted his body and reproduced seventy to eighty percent of Martial Graduate Dan's Archer's Stance.

"This stance..."

"It is actually comparable to mine when I was young?"

Martial Graduate Dan, who had been planning to find Wei Tu's errors, raised his brows slightly after watching Wei Tu finish the Archer's Stance, astonished beyond measure.

He still remembered that, more than half a month ago, Wei Tu had said he had practiced only a Health Cultivation Technique.

"That's right! That Turtle Breath Qi Cultivation Technique also contains Stance Training. It isn't strange that he knows the Archer's Stance."

Martial Graduate Dan consoled himself.

But soon, he shook his head and overturned his previous thoughts.

The Stance Training in Health Cultivation Techniques was often exceedingly shallow, regarded by martial masters as mere children's drawings. Though it could be practiced, it was difficult to put to great use.

Relying solely on a Health Cultivation Technique, one could not develop such an impressive stance.

"Wei Tu, have you practiced any other Martial Arts Techniques before? Speak truthfully, otherwise..."

Martial Graduate Dan looked at Wei Tu, and his expression abruptly turned cold.

Secretly learning another school's martial arts was a grave taboo.

At best, one's martial arts would be crippled.

At worst, one would be killed.

Besides.

How could he, a dignified Martial Arts Master, allow himself to be fooled?

Wei Tu had said he came to work for him as a long-term laborer, but after entering the Shan Family, he counted as half his disciple.

Otherwise, when Wei Tu had first entered, he would not have required him to offer seasonal gifts in filial respect every year after achieving success and fame.