Learning Martial Arts

After bidding farewell to Zhao Datou, Meng Yuan brought Tie Niu to Prince Xin's Royal Residence. He presented the letter of recommendation and was received by an old man.

"Follow me," the old man led the way, muttering incessantly about the hardship of leading the way, how country bumpkins were ignorant, and didn't know how to show filial respect, and so on.

Meng Yuan pretended not to understand, while Tie Niu simply didn't understand at all.

They didn't go deep into the Royal Residence, just circled around to the south side of the residence, where they saw a long wall.

He knocked on the door, pushed it open, and found it was a training ground.

In the center was a martial arts arena, with archery targets and butts on both sides, weapon racks, various stone rollers and stone locks, wooden dummies and plum blossom piles erected, no trees around, only high walls.

In the open space of the training ground, more than twenty people were practicing horse stance and punching. There were both boys and girls, all teenagers around fifteen or sixteen, all wearing the same tight-fitting short training clothes.

A man in his forties walked back and forth with his hands behind his back, occasionally shouting curses.

The old man led Meng Yuan and Tie Niu forward and said to the middle-aged man, "Teacher Nie, these are the new children."

"Why are they only coming now? Look, the kids here have already had their second batch of children!" Teacher Nie exaggerated greatly.

"There's nothing I can do, it was ordered by Miss Xun Mei," the old man said helplessly.

"We have to give Xun Mei face. Training one is training, training ten is also training, it's not like they're eating my family's rice anyway," Teacher Nie smiled.

After exchanging a few polite words, the old man leisurely left.

Teacher Nie beckoned to the two of them, and Meng Yuan and Tie Niu quickly stepped forward.

"Such a handsome young man, why practice martial arts instead of hanging out in the gardens?" Teacher Nie grabbed Meng Yuan's wrist, glanced at the calluses, then squeezed his shoulders and waist, saying, "He's indeed a good prospect for martial arts. If he had started practicing from a young age, he might have some ability by now."

He made a brief evaluation, then asked, "Have you slept with a woman?"

"No," Meng Yuan replied.

"You can't sleep with one now. Study hard and gain some ability. Once you succeed, I'll ask the Princess Consort to find you a beautiful one!" Teacher Nie laughed heartily, then grabbed Tie Niu's wrist to look.

"This child is strong, also a good prospect," Teacher Nie gave his evaluation and asked, "Have you slept with a woman?"

"Yes," Tie Niu replied.

"Oh ho!" Teacher Nie laughed, then sized up Tie Niu again and asked, "How many have you slept with?"

"Two," Tie Niu replied honestly.

All the teenagers also looked at Tie Niu in surprise, some with envy, some with disdain.

"Tsk tsk tsk, which garden are they from?" Teacher Nie asked curiously.

Tie Niu was surprised and said, "They're from my own family, my mother and my grandmother."

"Good, good, what a clever and good child!" Teacher Nie couldn't help but laugh. Seeing that Meng Yuan and Tie Niu were still carrying their bundles, he called over a young man and instructed, "You take them to get some clothes, arrange a place for them to stay, and get some water for them to wash up. They smell of donkey dung."

The young man accepted the order and immediately led Meng Yuan and Tie Niu outside. As they walked, he whispered, "My name is Wu Changsheng, what are your names?"

Meng Yuan and Tie Niu reported their names.

Chatting as they went, the two received two sets of thin clothes, which were for daily training. Wu Changsheng said that these were provided by the Princess Consort, showing her generosity.

Their living quarters were also within the training ground, a row of single-story houses with blue tiles against the wall.

Upon arriving at the dormitory, they saw it was a large communal bed, enough for ten or so people to sleep side by side. There were no cabinets or anything to store clothes, it was very simple.

They put down their bundles, fetched water from the well outside, and washed themselves directly in the room.

This Wu Changsheng was very talkative. Without Meng Yuan having to ask specifically, he spilled everything he knew.

It turned out that Teacher Nie's full name was Nie Yannian. He was an old retainer who had come with the Princess Consort when she married. He had always been trusted by the Princess Consort and held a respectable position in the Royal Residence. All the teenagers called him Teacher Nie.

"How's the food here?" Meng Yuan was most concerned about this question, as it related to the growth of Essence Flame.

As the old saying goes, "Poor scholars, rich martial artists."

Another old saying goes, "The poor practice the saber, the rich practice the sword, and those with no money go carry manure."

Practicing martial arts was not something ordinary families could afford, not to mention the training grounds, social connections, and apprenticeship. Just the food alone was a considerable expense, and the teenagers were at an age where they could eat a lot. Without some financial backing, it was truly difficult to support them.

Meng Yuan was afraid that someone might be withholding their food.

"We have steamed buns every day until we're full, and there's even meat! The Princess Consort is the kindest person in the world, would she let us go hungry?" Wu Changsheng was also from a refugee background, and he genuinely loved and respected the Princess Consort.

Meng Yuan felt much more at ease.

After carefully washing himself, Meng Yuan sniffed his tiger's mouth vigorously, unable to smell any foul odor.

I wonder if that old lady will be able to find me when she wants to introduce me to business, Meng Yuan muttered to himself.

Having changed into clean short training clothes, Wu Changsheng led Meng Yuan and Tie Niu back to the training ground.

Teacher Nie Yannian didn't waste any words, he just said, "There aren't many rules here, just one: you are not allowed to leave the training ground without my permission. Wu Changsheng will show you what to do and what to practice every day."

Meng Yuan and Tie Niu agreed.

"Go on, follow along and practice, let me see your patience," Nie Yannian said.

Meng Yuan and Tie Niu quickly went behind the others, found a spot to stand, followed the movements of the others, assumed the horse stance, and then followed along with the punching.

"This is Horse Stance Punch!" Nie Yannian watched for a while, then came over to give instructions, saying, "Separate your feet slightly wider than your shoulders, bend your knees and lower down. Your thighs should be parallel to the ground, and your knees should not go past your toes. This is the correct horse stance!"

After teaching the stance, Nie Yannian continued, "Clench your fists, palms facing upwards, and place them on either side of your waist. Punch forward with your right fist, your arm must be straight, and your palm should be facing downwards! Alternate between the two fists! Remember to twist your waist and push with your shoulder for powerful strikes!"

After Nie Yannian finished his brief explanation, he personally demonstrated the moves. He casually told them to learn well and, without waiting to see if Meng Yuan and Tie Niu had learned, quickly left the training ground.

It was clear that this Teacher Nie wasn't teaching this group of youths as disciples; he was clearly just going through the motions.

Seeing that no one was supervising them, the youths didn't dare to stop. They continued practicing the Horse Stance Punch but started chatting.

Some asked Meng Yuan's name, some talked about which family's flower cakes were delicious, and others called out that they needed to pee urgently.

Meng Yuan didn't bother chatting with them and focused on learning seriously.

The Horse Stance Punch was a simple method to train the lower body and develop strength. It wasn't difficult to learn, just monotonous.

Moreover, it didn't feel like much when first practicing, but the more they practiced, the more their legs ached, their arms swelled, and their whole body felt heavy.

Meng Yuan seriously followed Wu Changsheng and practiced a few times, quickly grasping the knack.

After a quarter of an hour, Wu Changsheng told everyone to stop and rest.

After resting, they began practicing front kicks and side kicks, followed by throwing and lifting stone locks to train their arm strength.

By the time dusk fell, Wu Changsheng blew the signal to dismiss. The youths were already starving and rushed towards the training ground's mess hall.

The meal was tofu stewed with cabbage and radish, with oil floating on top.

Lining up, Meng Yuan first filled a large bowl for Tie Niu, then filled one for himself. He grabbed a few steamed buns, and the two sat side by side, eating heartily.

The food here was much better than at Pasture Manor, especially the white steamed buns, which were infinitely more fragrant than the egg-shaped ones. Meng Yuan felt incredibly happy.

"Brother, there's meat!" Tie Niu was eating happily when he found a piece of meat in his bowl. He immediately became overjoyed and forgot himself.

Meng Yuan didn't say anything, just ate his rice in large mouthfuls, a sense of hope for the future rising in his heart.