On Martial Arts

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Wang Anfeng's right fist was intercepted. At the same time, a fair palm shot up like lightning and braced against his neck, forcing him to calm down. He let out a soft breath and said:

"I lost."

"We agreed that this was only a sparring match in Fist techniques. How could there be a victor or loser?"

The youth opposite him also withdrew his technique and stood there, smiling as he looked at him. By now, Wang Anfeng was drenched in sweat, while the youth still had a face as fair as jade and an elegant bearing. Though young, he already possessed a touch of carefree grace. Wang Anfeng had never seen anyone of his generation with such poise and bearing beneath Great Liang Mountain. He had already felt some goodwill toward him, and he also quite approved of the youth's conduct at the tea stall and just now, so he did not hide his thoughts. Looking at him with a smile, he said:

"A victory is a victory, and a defeat is a defeat. It was only the outcome of one moment. As for who will win or lose between us in the future, that remains unknown."

The youth was slightly taken aback. Then he saw that Wang Anfeng's eyes were clear and pure, containing nothing but frankness. Realizing that Wang Anfeng was not being polite or merely putting up a brave front, he laughed and said:

"Very good, very good. That is exactly how it should be. When the teacher annotated the Book of Changes, he once said, 'Let the heart be still as unmoving water, and the will firm as a rock; thus it is said that Heaven moves with vigor, and the gentleman should strive unceasingly.' I already thought you were interesting, little brother. Now it seems you are indeed far more interesting than everyone else."

Wang Anfeng shook his head. "I cannot be called a gentleman."

The youth laughed. "But you are not a petty man, either."

Wang Anfeng was rendered speechless, hesitation appearing on his face. The youth was naturally clever and skilled at reading expressions; from Wang Anfeng's look, he guessed most of what was on his mind. Smiling, he said, "Little brother, were you wondering why I was able to break your moves just now?"

Wang Anfeng paused. Since his thoughts had been seen through, he simply stopped hiding them and nodded. "Indeed... My master said this style of boxing had been honed to perfection. You also said that it was 'unbreakable martial arts,' so I found it difficult to understand..."

The youth listened to his question with a smile. A hint of the desire to test and instruct him suddenly arose in his heart. Instead of answering, he asked:

"Do you have an answer of your own?"

Wang Anfeng thought for a moment before replying, "I think the problem lies with me."

"What makes you say that?"

"When I fought with others before, my mind became completely blank, and I relied entirely on the instincts from my previous training when making my moves. I was as rigid as a tree or a stone. When I strike a piece of wood, I never feel threatened by it. So, to those who know martial arts, are my moves just like a piece of wood?"

The youth's eyes lit up slightly at his words. He looked Wang Anfeng up and down, then slapped his palm and sighed:

"Insightful. What a good idea."

"However, trees and stones cannot move, much less think like this."

Wang Anfeng saw the faint teasing at the corner of his mouth but was not annoyed. He merely said:

"Perhaps they can move, only slowly. The span of a human life is simply too short for us to notice."

The youth was slightly startled. "What do you mean?"

Wang Anfeng scratched his head and smiled. "I was just thinking nonsense. Have you not heard of the sea drying up, stones rotting away, and mountains and rivers rising from the earth? Stones rotting away means withering and perishing, while mountains and rivers rising from the earth is not rather like residents moving elsewhere? The things recorded in the histories—could they truly be seen within the span of one or two generations?"

The youth was left speechless. He prided himself on his intelligence, yet now he could not argue against Wang Anfeng's words. He simply changed the subject and returned to martial arts, saying with a smile, "Indeed, interesting. Just as interesting as the thoughts you expressed earlier."

"I have an uncle who holds a view similar to yours. There may be unbreakable martial arts in this world, but there are no unbreakable people and no unbreakable moves. Any move, so long as it is wielded by a mortal, must contain a flaw. By the same token, every expert must have flaws as well. The question is whether you can seize that flaw and deliver a killing blow!"

Wang Anfeng's eyes lit up at his words, and he instinctively asked:

"Then how can one seize the flaw?"

The youth glanced at him. Wang Anfeng's question touched upon the fundamental principles of martial arts and already overstepped the bounds considerably. He ought to have refused and sternly rebuked him. However, he had developed quite a favorable impression of this simply dressed youth who occasionally uttered astonishing words, so he did not hold anything back. In a few concise words, he said, "Water."

"Water?"

The youth nodded. "Have you not heard the Daoist Canon say, 'Nothing under Heaven is softer than water, yet nothing can surpass it in attacking the hard and strong'? The God of War also said in the Art of War, 'The shape of an army resembles water. Water's shape avoids the high and flows toward the low; an army's shape avoids the solid and strikes the empty. Water follows the land in forming its flow; an army follows its enemy in achieving victory. Thus an army has no fixed configuration, just as water has no constant form.' According to my uncle, if one can use the softness of water to attack what is hard, and use water's spirit to avoid the solid and strike the empty, then one has already attained minor success in martial arts."

Wang Anfeng seemed to understand something, but when he tried to ponder it carefully, he still felt nothing definite. He stared fixedly at the rushing river before him, bent down to pick up a stone, and tossed it casually across the water, sending up several splashes as he sank into thought. Suddenly, he felt a scorching gaze land on him. Turning his head slightly, he saw the youth staring at him with a pair of dark, glistening eyes, faint light seeming to sparkle within them.

"What was that just now...?"

"What was what?"

Wang Anfeng froze for a moment, then realized what he meant. He asked curiously, "Skipping stones... You've never played before?"

"Mhm, no, never."

The youth answered with his mouth, but shook his head repeatedly. The calm elegance he had shown while sparring, the carefree grace he had displayed while discussing principles and martial arts, and the boldness he had shown in dealing with people had all vanished without a trace. All that remained was the innocence of a carefree child. His eyes were fixed blankly on Wang Anfeng. Wang Anfeng let out a laugh, only now feeling that this youth was truly about his own age. Otherwise, with that extraordinary composure, he hardly seemed like a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old boy. He picked up two thin pieces from the ground, handed one over, and said with a smile:

"Have you never even had standing water? Were you raised on a mountaintop? Come, I'll teach you. To skip stones, use a thin stone like this and skim it obliquely across the surface of the water, like this."

As he spoke, he tossed it diagonally. The thin stone struck the river's surface five or six times before leaping straight to the opposite bank. Excitement appeared in the youth's eyes. He raised his arm and hurled his stone with all his might. It entered the water at an angle and crashed down with a loud splash, sending up a huge spray. Wang Anfeng nearly laughed aloud, but barely managed to hold it back as he said:

"You need to use finesse. Watch me. Like this..."

"No, no, you have to watch me do it like this... Come on, toss it diagonally..."

"Pfft... You—you should try again."

Once again came the sound of a heavy object plunging into the water. Seeing the youth before him staring wide-eyed, looking thoroughly exasperated, Wang Anfeng finally could not hold back any longer and burst into laughter. Beside him, the youth gritted his teeth and hurled another stone, but it did even worse than the last one. He turned and glared furiously at the laughing Wang Anfeng. Though clearly angry, he could not help laughing as well.