Throwing Technique

Throwing Technique

Throughout July, Chen Chuan trained methodically. As his mastery of Great Unrestrained Hands deepened, he became increasingly adept at using its various techniques.

Even without using Second Self or wearing any protective gear, he could now keep Lu Ke pinned down in a fight.

This was also because the advantages of the Breathing Method were indeed enormous. It improved one's physical qualities across the board; otherwise, Yu Gang would not have called it a shortcut.

Even compared with trainees who had trained since childhood, they would not have been his match. That was only natural. Without Second Self, this was an advantage bought with his own lifespan and the sacrifice of his future potential.

And under normal circumstances, such an exchange would not be equal. Once those trainees also mastered the Breathing Method, that advantage would cease to exist, and the gap would instead widen once more.

In late July, Chen Chuan received a notice from Wu Yi University and made another trip there.

This time, he did not enter the campus. He merely picked up a booklet at the entrance containing matters incoming students needed to know, along with the registration process for the retest.

Besides his own training, he also began preparing for enrollment and returned home a little earlier each day.

That day, he ran home from Fist Home. As he passed a shack, several men stood behind an open window on the third floor of a small building by the roadside, smoking cigarettes and watching his departing figure with unfriendly eyes.

One of them, a short man in an open-collared plaid shirt and a gold watch, pointed with one hand. "Brother Qi, that's the kid."

Brother Qi was a twenty-seven- or twenty-eight-year-old man with a brush cut and a bracelet around one thick arm. Looking down below, he asked, "You sure? It's him?"

"No mistake, Brother Qi. He went to Wu University a few days ago. We identified him then. He's the one who humiliated Brother Dan!"

Brother Qi asked, "Found the location?"

The man in the floral shirt leaned out and pointed toward the intersection ahead. "That alley up ahead. When the time comes, we block both ends. No way he gets away."

"He'll definitely go through there? Don't screw this up for me."

"Don't worry, Brother. We've watched him for five or six days. This kid passes through here every morning and evening, right on schedule. Brother, shall we do it tomorrow? How should we teach him a lesson?"

Brother Qi sneered. "Tomorrow? Wouldn't that be letting him off easy? Isn't he going to Wu University at the start of August? We'll do it on the last day of the month. Since he used his leg to kick Old Three in the face, breaking both his legs isn't too much, right?"

The man in the floral shirt hurriedly said, "Not too much! Not too much at all!"

Brother Qi said, "Then I'll leave it to you."

"Rest easy, Brother. I'll handle it properly."

Time soon reached the last day of July. Yu Gang seemed to have something to do and left after lunch. Because of what was happening tomorrow, Chen Chuan did not continue training that afternoon either, instead helping Lu Ke sort and pack up some things.

After they finished, Lu Ke took Chen Chuan up to the rooftop. There was a table, reclining chairs, and a sunshade there, while the drink crate beside them held several bottles of Shazhen Soda.

Lu Ke walked over, picked up two bottles of soda, opened them with a bottle opener, and handed one to Chen Chuan. "Those of us who practice fighting should drink less alcohol, so I'll make do with soda. You're going to Wu University tomorrow. Here's a toast to you."

Chen Chuan clinked his soda bottle against his and took a sip before the two sat down. Lu Ke let out a breath and looked at the drifting white clouds overhead. "Little Brother Chen, when you first came here, I was always targeting you. You must have really disliked me, right?"

Chen Chuan said, "Not really. Everyone has their own reasons for what they do. But I'll say this: as long as you don't regret it yourself, what others think isn't all that important."

Lu Ke's hand paused. Then he raised the soda bottle to his mouth and gulped down several mouthfuls. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, set the bottle on the table, and pointed northeast. "See over there? Jiao Mountain."

Chen Chuan looked over. In the distance was a huge gray, ring-shaped shadow. That was Jiao Mountain. It was said to be a relic from the previous era, though it had now become a garbage dump stretching as far as the eye could see.

Staring in that direction, Lu Ke said absently, "I was born in the Jiao Mountain district. I can't compare with you city people. We didn't have the qualifications to study in the city. The people where I came from could only survive by scavenging in the mountains."

Chen Chuan looked at him. "I heard that most people living in Jiao Mountain get an incurable lung disease?"

"You're right," Lu Ke said quietly. "I have it too. Almost everyone around me, including my family, has it. My father disappeared when I was very young, and my mother has been bedridden and paralyzed for years. I often coughed even when I was only three or four. Only my older sister was lucky enough not to get sick. She's more than ten years older than me. Ever since I could remember, my sister was the one taking care of the whole family.

"Then six years ago, the village supposedly found something important to some powerful figure. Someone wanted to keep it and sell it for a high price. There was no choice—the village was simply too poor. But why would those gangs negotiate a price with us? That night, they rushed into the village to search and loot, clashing with the villagers. My sister had just returned from scavenging and was innocently caught up in it. She was left crippled."

As he spoke, he wiped his eyes with his arm. "Later, I followed Master and trained in boxing with him. I just wanted to make money someday, bring them both out of there, and let them live good lives."

He took another gulp of soda. "That day, I lost to Ding Shuo not just because I hadn't taken the medicine. It was because I was afraid. I was afraid of getting hurt. My sister and mother depend on me now, so I absolutely can't let anything happen to me! That day, Master had me try practicing the Breathing Method, but I stopped halfway because I got scared..."

He turned to look at Chen Chuan, his expression complicated. "I really envy you. You can study in the city. You don't have to bear all this. You can take the Wu University exams. Whenever I see you, I think, why can't I have a life like that? Why can't I be the one accepted into Wu University..."

"Chen Chuan!"

His voice suddenly rose. He wiped his face hard, raised his bottle high, and his eyes reddened slightly. "Here's to you. I hope you make your stand at Wu University. You can't turn out worse than me!"

Chen Chuan silently raised his bottle, clinked it hard against Lu Ke's, and took a drink.

Lu Ke drained the entire bottle in one go, then raised his hand as if he wanted to smash it and vent the emotions in his chest. But after thinking that he could still sell it for a little money after recycling it, he lowered his hand and carefully set it on the table.

After venting, he seemed to recover somewhat. A while later, he said, "You improved so quickly after practicing the Breathing Method. Looks like it really works. I have to master it too. But unlike you, I don't dare to go all out like that. I can only take it slowly."

Chen Chuan said, "Slow is fine too. No matter what, you're Half-Step Breathing now."

"Cough, cough." Lu Ke coughed twice, then laughed as well. Rising from the ground, he said, "Come on. I'll teach you something."

Seeing him walk over to the rooftop railing, Chen Chuan got up and followed. Lu Ke pointed. "See that?"

Chen Chuan looked over and saw two sparrows perched on an electrical pole, about fourteen or fifteen meters away by his estimate. Lu Ke flicked his wrist, and one of the birds suddenly fell while the other shot away in fright.

Chen Chuan could not help but be surprised. "That was...?"

Lu Ke opened his palm. Pinched between his fingers were two tiny pebbles, each about the size of a fingertip pad and polished smooth and round.

Chen Chuan's heart skipped slightly when he saw them.

"Throwing Method."

Lu Ke made a throwing motion. "From ten or twenty meters away, you can use simply polished stones to kill or injure an opponent. Master told me that because of certain restrictions, Wu University won't teach this course, but it's very useful. If you practice it well enough, even someone much stronger than you can lose their ability to fight from a distance."

Chen Chuan nodded involuntarily. He understood that deeply. The previous owner of this body had been killed by a single pebble. The distance had been hard to judge, but it had seemed to be over a hundred meters—perhaps even farther.

Lu Ke tossed a pebble into the air. "I can teach you. The main thing is the trick of exerting force. Since you've learned the Breathing Method, you should pick it up easily."

Chen Chuan asked, "Mr. Yu taught you this, right? Can you teach it to someone else?"

Lu Ke said unconcernedly, "This is only the most basic Throwing Method. I haven't mastered anything more advanced. Even if I wanted to teach it, I couldn't."

Chen Chuan looked at him. "Are there many people who know this Throwing Method?"

Lu Ke thought about it. "Master never mentioned that. But as long as ordinary people are willing to put in the effort and practice hard, it's not actually difficult to learn. Reaching a profound level is another matter entirely. Come on, I'll tell you how to throw."

Seeing how enthusiastic he was, Chen Chuan did not stand on ceremony and learned from him. It was always good to have another skill, and he truly had reason to understand it.

This Throwing Method was indeed not particularly difficult. It mainly involved the posture of the throw and the trick of exerting force, so it was easy to get started. But to become accurate and fast required constant refinement.

Another key factor was the stones themselves. They were best if polished, neither too light nor too heavy. According to Lu Ke, Zhang Mountain had plenty of this kind of stone, since it was originally a place known for producing fine stone materials.

Hearing this, Chen Chuan's thoughts stirred. He suspected that the pebble might have been Zhang Mountain stone. If so, he needed to find time to go there and take a look. Perhaps he could use that to find clues about the person behind the death of this body's previous owner.

After practicing with Lu Ke for a while longer, Chen Chuan said goodbye and left. Tomorrow was both enrollment day and the day to register for the retest. Before leaving, he also asked for two pebbles and tucked them into his pocket.

He still kept to his usual habit and ran home.

In the long alley he passed through every day, Brother Qi and the man in the floral shirt waited in a temporarily rented room on the third floor.

Brother Qi asked, "Have all the people been arranged?"

"Brother Qi, everything's ready."

Brother Qi looked into the distance. At the street corner stood a man leaning against a wall, wearing a sleeveless shirt and work pants. His face was unfamiliar. Brother Qi asked, "Who's that?"

The man in the floral shirt said, "Brother Qi, we paid to hire a capable outsider with no criminal record. I figured that since the kid got into Wu University, he must know a little something. Having someone like that makes things safer."

"Bullshit."

Brother Qi said disdainfully, "He's not one of those rich kids from up top. What skills could he have before enrollment? Still, since he's here, forget it. We'll see whether he's worth it."

He pulled out a cigarette. The man in the floral shirt understood immediately and took out a lighter to light it for him. Brother Qi took a drag and blew out a smoke ring. "Once this is over, call the brothers keeping watch. We'll all go have a good meal at Chunfu Restaurant."

"Sure, sure. I'll thank Brother Qi on behalf of the brothers." He checked his watch, then looked into the distance again and said excitedly, "Brother Qi, he's here. A little early today."

Following his usual route, Chen Chuan ran into the long alley. This stretch was relatively flat, so he usually picked up his pace slightly.

But just as he reached the middle, he suddenly sensed that something was wrong. At the alley entrance ahead, five or six men carrying water pipes approached him with ill intent, their faces wearing mocking, vicious smiles.

The moment he saw them, he stopped. Seemingly sensing something, he glanced behind him and found that the way he had come was also blocked by numerous figures.

The people on both sides slowly closed in on him, scraping and banging their water pipes against the walls as they advanced, producing piercing sounds as if to increase the pressure on him.

At the same time, on top of a building somewhere, that young man was doing handstand push-ups. He saw the scene too. "Huh? Did this little brother piss someone off?"

Brother Qi held a cigarette between his lips and looked down disdainfully. From where he stood, he could clearly see the people on both sides slowly closing in.

Chen Chuan looked upward. The walls lining both sides of the alley were old and covered in shards of broken glass. Climbing over them would not be easy, and entering the residential homes would only bring trouble to others.

Since he could not leave, then he would not leave.

He undid the buttons at his chest, revealing the white shirt beneath, then took off his outer coat and flung it far to the side.

While the clothes were still in midair, he stomped down. Second Self instantly overlapped with him as one. Dust billowed from the ground, and he shot forward!...