Spirit Crane Body

"Uncle, isn't my father your only brother?"

Hearing his nephew's question, Instructor Xu's pitch-black old face could not help flushing red. Then, embarrassed into anger, he pointed at the incense burner before him. "You little wretch! 'Fast friends at first sight,' was it? Squatting at the doorway and dragging someone into sworn brotherhood—you've ruined the Xu Family's household discipline!"

His nephew looked at the incense table behind him, his tone plainly puzzled. "The Xu Family's... household discipline?"

"You!"

"Exactly! Take a look at whose nephew I am, and whose disciple I was taught to be..."

"Ah, enough, enough. The child is still young and doesn't know better." Zheng Fa stepped in front of the Xu Family's good nephew, who was at least five years older than himself, and earnestly advised Instructor Xu, "Talk it out properly, teach him properly—don't hit him!"

Instructor Xu looked at Zheng Fa, and his face became even more awkward. The raised palm dropped sheepishly as he murmured, "I've made a fool of myself before you..."

Zheng Fa knew that if he did not offer a few comforting words now, Instructor Xu would probably never want to see him again for the rest of his life.

Looking into Instructor Xu's eyes, he said, "Not to mention that you, Instructor Xu, taught me before—I heard Young Master say earlier that you had even wanted to take me as your disciple. I have always kept that kindness of yours in my heart."

Hearing this, Instructor Xu hastily waved his hands, though his expression became much more natural.

"You were uncut jade to begin with. Without me..."

"Without Instructor Xu's favor, I might not even have had the chance to remain by Seventh Young Master's side as a bookboy. How could I have what I do today?"

Although both uncle and nephew of the Xu Family knew Zheng Fa meant mostly to comfort him, the sincerity in his voice still made the atmosphere less awkward.

"As for today..." Instructor Xu sighed, his voice carrying a trace of bitterness. "It was because of this Spirit Crane Body that I lost my usual composure."

"Spirit Crane Body?" Hearing that today's incident had arisen because of the martial arts manuals before Instructor Xu, Zheng Fa could not help looking curiously at those books.

"Madam ordered me to pass these on to you. They are one of Zhao Residence's secrets never passed beyond its walls. Remember: if you learn them, then without Madam's permission, you must never teach them to anyone!" At this point, Instructor Xu's formerly gentle face took on a stern cast.

Zheng Fa nodded, though he still did not understand. "Is the Spirit Crane Body martial art really that serious?"

"It is very serious!" Instructor Xu was about to say more when he suddenly noticed his nephew beside them, ears perked as he eavesdropped. Pointing to the door, he said, "You, get out first!"

"Huh?"

"Out!"

Seeing Instructor Xu's dark face, his nephew reluctantly walked out the door, looking back every three steps.

Instructor Xu stood and shut the door tightly.

Outside was his youngest disciple—and also his nephew—yet he was still so guarded.

Clearly, he was truly extremely cautious about anything related to the Spirit Crane Body.

"Do you know why, when I taught you the Pine Crane Stance before, I looked down on the martial arts schools outside?"

"Because the martial arts of Zhao Residence came down from an immortal sect. For example, mastering the Pine Crane Stance can extend one's lifespan." Zheng Fa recalled what Instructor Xu had said before.

"The inheritance is real, and the life extension is real." Instructor Xu lowered his voice again. "But the most important reason is that only martial arts like those of Zhao Residence, inherited from immortal sects, can allow one to enter the Dao through martial arts after mastering them!"

"Enter the Dao through martial arts?" Zheng Fa's gaze could not help falling upon the Spirit Crane Body.

"What exactly it means to enter the Dao through martial arts, I do not know either. But this has always been a legend in the martial world. The legend says that entering the Dao through martial arts allows one to enter an immortal sect. More importantly, Zhao Residence came from an immortal sect, and we have this saying as well!" He turned to look at the Spirit Crane Body. "When Madam gave this to me, she personally told me that this was a martial art for entering the Dao through martial arts."

"At the time, I thought that perhaps if I mastered it, I too could enter an immortal sect!"

Zheng Fa nodded, understanding both the preciousness of the Spirit Crane Body and Instructor Xu's caution.

"But... Instructor Xu, haven't you practiced it? Why then..."

Zheng Fa did not finish. It would hardly be proper to say: why had he still schemed so carefully to lick... ahem, curry favor with him?

Instructor Xu seemed to understand what he meant. His face grew a little awkward again, but after a while, he laughed self-mockingly. "I thought I had let it go."

"Hm?" Zheng Fa vaguely guessed what he meant.

"Zheng Fa, do you know how long I have been with the Zhao Family?"

"I do not."

"Like you, I was born a servant of the Zhao Family. I grew up in the Zhao Family, and it has been fifty-five years now. But I was luckier than you. I was in Zhao Residence from childhood, earned favor, and began learning martial arts at ten."

Instructor Xu looked like a middle-aged man, yet he was already over fifty. Clearly, he had achieved success in martial arts.

A trace of reminiscence appeared on his face as he continued, "My aptitude was not bad. In ten years, I stood out among the courtyard guards and was promoted to instructor. After twenty years, I had become a first-rate expert of the martial world. I thought the world was vast, and I could go anywhere beneath heaven!"

Zheng Fa said nothing. He waited for Instructor Xu to continue.

"At that time, Madam saw that my talent was good and rewarded me with this Spirit Crane Body." Instructor Xu's fingers gripped the edge of the desk tightly, veins bulging one after another across his hand. "Back then, my heart was higher than the sky. Hearing that mastering this martial art could allow one to enter an immortal sect, I was naturally beside myself with joy. I resolved that I would master the Spirit Crane Body, transcend the mortal world, and ascend to immortality in a single step!"

As he said this, his fingers slowly relaxed, and a bitter smile rose at the corner of his mouth.

"You can probably guess what happened afterward. I failed to master it."

Zheng Fa nodded, but Instructor Xu's next words still surprised him somewhat.

"Do you know how long I squandered trying to practice the Spirit Crane Body?"

"Twenty years!"

Instructor Xu's voice overflowed with bitterness. "A full twenty years! Every day, I studied this Spirit Crane Body. These books never left my side, whether I ate or slept. I was like a madman, yet gained nothing at all."

Zheng Fa had not expected the Spirit Crane Body to be so difficult to practice, according to Instructor Xu.

At this moment, Instructor Xu looked nothing like the rough, bold man Zheng Fa had known before. His expression was full of the weariness of years. "When I finally woke up, I discovered that time was a thief, and I had already frittered away twenty years."

"No wife, no children, no achievement. My grand ambitions scattered to the winds. Only then did I finally resolve to let go of the Spirit Crane Body and return the books to Madam."

Inside the room, neither spoke. Only Instructor Xu's inexpressible regret echoed through it.

After a long while, Instructor Xu himself shook his head, breaking the silence with a complicated smile. "I heard Madam was going to teach the Spirit Crane Body to you. I thought that your talent was better than mine, and perhaps you might master this martial art."

Zheng Fa knew clearly that by Instructor Xu's account, his own talent might not necessarily be better than Instructor Xu's.

"So I gave rise to selfish thoughts. I thought I would first forge a good connection with you. If one day you said you had mastered it, I could ask you for some guidance, and perhaps still have hope of mastering the Spirit Crane Body. I said I had let it go, but my heart was still full of delusions." As he spoke, he cupped his hands to Zheng Fa. "Who would have thought I would let you see such a joke?"

Zheng Fa did not think Instructor Xu's delusions were particularly grave. If someone had wasted half his life on the Spirit Crane Body, it would be difficult indeed not to breed inner demons.

"Enough. Take this Spirit Crane Body back. Madam told me to teach you, but to be honest, there is nothing I can teach. The little I have comprehended might even lead you astray."

Zheng Fa picked up the books. Just as he stood, he heard Instructor Xu say, "Zheng Fa, I have one more presumptuous request..."

"Hm?"

"The Spirit Crane Body is difficult to practice. I do not know how many years it will take you to succeed. But if you ever make something of it, then even if I am dead, you must come tell me before my grave." Instructor Xu turned away without looking at Zheng Fa, his tone heavy. "Let me know that this saying of entering the Dao through martial arts is not empty fantasy—that the first half of my life... was not a joke!"

"Forget it. If you cannot master it within a few years, then do not practice it anymore." Zheng Fa nodded. As he turned to leave, he heard Instructor Xu's somewhat low voice again:

"Do not become like me."