Health Cultivation Technique

"Master, you're already fifty years old. Why not enjoy a few easy days? Why are you still practicing martial arts? What if you throw out your back? Wouldn't that be disastrous?"

A gray-robed young man surrounded by the shop assistants spoke with half concern and half teasing, rousing a chorus of jeers.

He was Xie An's eldest disciple, Zhang Bing, and he had mastered the skill of appraising and pricing artifacts to a considerable degree.

While Xie An was recuperating, Zhang Bing handled most of the pawnshop's appraisal work. No mishaps occurred during that time, and the pawnshop's business proceeded smoothly.

Quite a few people privately speculated that once Old Xie kicked the bucket, the position of Appraisal Master would most likely go to Zhang Bing.

Xie An was displeased by Zhang Bing's teasing, but showed no sign of it. He merely said to Chen Yuan, "I'm just looking for a Health Cultivation Technique to loosen up my body."

Seeing the seriousness on Xie An's face, Chen Yuan pulled a worn ancient book with a black cover from his robes and handed it over. "Old Xie, I've practiced this half-copy of the Five Animal Play for several years, but it wasn't much use. Take it easy, and don't actually twist your back."

Though he was kindly offering a warning, there was a trace of regret in his words.

A Health Cultivation Technique required years of persistent practice to make one's body somewhat stronger. If Xie An had started practicing ten years ago, it might still have helped—but how many days did he have left now?

Xie An accepted the Health Cultivation Technique, thanked him, and turned to leave.

The moment Xie An left, Zhang Bing sidled up to the counter and muttered, "Shopkeeper, Master is already this old. If something happens to him because he practiced the Health Cultivation Technique you gave him, you'll inevitably be dragged into it..."

Chen Yuan shot Zhang Bing a sideways glance. "What? You don't want your master to live a few more years?"

A barely perceptible trace of panic flashed across Zhang Bing's face. "Naturally, I hope the old master enjoys good fortune and a long life. I'm just worried he'll injure his back practicing."

Chen Yuan lowered his head and continued pitting his cricket against another, muttering, "Then what are you still going on about? Get back to work."

"I'm going."

Zhang Bing left dispiritedly, displeasure churning in his heart.

He had only kindly reminded the shopkeeper, hoping to curry favor. Instead, he had been turned around and lectured.

But then he remembered how Xie An had walked just now, trembling from head to toe. Clearly, the old man didn't have many days left.

That thought soothed him.

Once he became the Appraisal Master, the shopkeeper wouldn't dare order him around like this anymore.

When Xie An left the pawnshop, he happened to see Zhang Bing leaning close to Chen Yuan's ear, whispering with a fawning expression.

No wonder he didn't come to visit his master. He was too busy currying favor with the shopkeeper over my head...

Did he really think he'd learned true expertise and could leapfrog me to become the Appraisal Master?

In the thirty years since transmigrating, Xie An had achieved little in other areas, but he had honed an extraordinary skill in appraising artifacts and distinguishing treasures.

He had never taught this unique skill to his disciples.

He would absolutely never let the "master starve to death after teaching the apprentice" saying come true in his own case.

In fact, Xie An had studied artifact appraisal out of helplessness.

When he had first transmigrated, he was already an indentured servant working as a lowly assistant for the Li Manor. He had no money to practice martial arts and could only devote himself to learning artifact appraisal from the old Appraisal Master.

By the time Xie An had saved enough money, he was already past the age for practicing martial arts. Moreover, because Master Li of the Li Manor admired Xie An's superb skills, he had firmly refused to release him from his contract.

"Forget it. The most urgent thing is to increase my lifespan. I don't want to simply grow old and die like this..."

After returning to the small room in the rear courtyard, Xie An locked the door from inside, sat down, and flipped through the Five Animal Play.

The Five Animal Play was not a proper martial arts manual, but a set of medical exercises for preserving health. It could be bought at the black market outside Wuqiao Town. The only reason Xie An had gone to Chen Yuan despite enduring a round of teasing was to save five taels of silver.

This world was nothing like his previous one; making money was exceedingly difficult.

An ordinary farming household could toil in the fields for an entire year and harvest only a dozen or so taels of silver. After deducting costs and labor, that was barely enough to keep body and soul together.

A pawnshop odd-job assistant earned roughly four or five taels of silver a year. An Appraisal apprentice earned around seven or eight, enough only to scrape by.

As an Appraisal Master, Xie An earned a little more—about twenty taels a year. That sounded like quite a lot, but the old had many ailments, and money was needed everywhere. He had little left over, so he had to save wherever he could.

People said that when young, one traded one's life for money, and when old, one traded money for one's life. It was no exaggeration at all.

"'The immortals of old practiced guiding and stretching exercises: the bear stretched its neck, the owl turned its gaze, they extended and drew in their waists and bodies, moved every joint, and sought to avoid aging. I possess an art called the Five Animal Play. The first is the tiger, the second the deer, the third the bear, the fourth the ape, and the fifth the bird...'"

The very first sentence made Xie An's eyes light up.

The immortals of old... This sounds incredibly powerful.

After reading through it once, Xie An's expression dimmed considerably.

It was said that many authors loved to use gimmicks at the beginning, slapping on an outrageously exaggerated title to trick readers into opening the book, only to start feeding them garbage afterward...

The author of this Five Animal Play was a master of gimmicks as well.

It opened with immortals, but the contents that followed had nothing whatsoever to do with immortals.

To put it plainly, it merely unblocked the meridians, harmonized qi and blood, exercised the sinews and bones, and lubricated the joints—in other words, it improved physical fitness and strengthened resistance to illness.

No wonder Shopkeeper Chen had said that practicing it for several years had produced little effect.

But Xie An had no better method at present and could only place his hopes in the Lifelong Legacy.

Xie An got up, moved the dining table aside, cleared a space, and began practicing in position.

The Five Animal Play was a technique of external movement and internal stillness, seeking stillness amid motion. It had five classic movements: the tiger hunting for food, the deer running long distances, the bear shaking and turning, the ape plucking fruit, and the crane spreading its wings.

When practicing, one had to imitate them realistically—not merely in form, but in spirit as well: the tiger's mighty pouncing, the deer's outstretched neck and backward glance, the ape's clever agility, the bear's profound steadiness, and the bird's wing-spreading and upright stance.

These movements looked simple, but imitating both their form and spirit was extremely difficult. One had to begin by practicing stance work and first achieve bodily coordination.

Xie An was in no rush to succeed. After all, he had already made it through thirty years.

He spread his legs, lowered his shoulders and elbows, rounded his chest, and straightened his back. He imagined himself as a wooden stake, striving for bodily coordination while keeping his lower body utterly motionless.

The movements looked simple, much like standing in a horse stance in his previous life, but the actual standards were far higher.

After only a few moves, Xie An was drenched in sweat, with the muscles in his hands and feet twitching.

Before a quarter of an hour had passed, Xie An collapsed onto the floor and panted heavily, feeling as though his old bones were about to fall apart.

"I thought only martial arts required stance work. I didn't expect this Health Cultivation Technique to be any different."

Without this golden finger, Xie An truly would not have wanted to suffer for nothing.

Now that he had hope of extending his lifespan and escaping death, he had to fight for it no matter how bitter or exhausting it was.

"Again."

He practiced until noon, when a knock sounded on the door.

"Master, it's time for lunch."

It was still He Chunli who had brought his meal.

Xie An opened the door and couldn't help looking He Chunli over a few more times. "Where's Zhang Bing?"

He Chunli hung his head. "Brother Zhang went to the Li Manor. He said he had something important to report to Master Li."

He had failed to curry favor with the shopkeeper over his master's head, so now he was leaping two levels to curry favor with Master Li?

In this world, becoming someone's disciple required straightening one's hat and robes, a ritual washing, kowtowing, presenting tuition gifts, offering tea to the master, and observing filial conduct.

Disciples were expected to provide for their masters in old age and see them through to the grave.

The saying "Once a teacher, forever a father" was not thrown around casually.

Otherwise, why would a master risk starving to death after teaching the apprentice and pass on his craft?

Although Xie An was still registered as a slave, it was not unusual in this world for servants to become skilled craftsmen. When he had accepted his three disciples, the rites had been simple, but there had still been a discipleship ceremony.

When Zhang Bing and the others had first become his disciples, they had repeatedly promised to provide for Xie An in old age and see him through to the grave.

Now that he was clearly on his last legs, Zhang Bing was not only neglectful and cold-hearted but also impatient to replace him.

This undoubtedly crossed Xie An's bottom line.

"I understand. You can get back to work."

Xie An took the tray and returned to his room.

There was a bowl of white rice and a bowl of tofu soup.

Though there was no meat, Xie An had been ravenous after a whole morning of stance training. He wolfed down the meal, then continued practicing.

By dusk, Xie An once again collapsed onto the floor in total exhaustion.

He could clearly feel a warm current circulating through his lower abdomen, slowly flowing through his limbs and bones. Even the aches in his lower back and the soreness throughout his body had eased slightly.

The next moment, two lines of small text appeared before his eyes:

Current Health Cultivation Technique: Five Animal Play (Initial Glimpse: 1/100)

Hint: Once Initial Glimpse is completed, lifespan will increase by six years