Master's Guidance

Xie An followed the armed man up the steps, passed the two enormous stone lions outside the entrance, and entered the martial arts school.

After circling the screen wall carved with dragons and tigers, a vast training ground opened before his eyes.

Dozens of young, bare-chested apprentices were practicing punches with grunts and shouts. Others, under their instructors' guidance, were drilling with great sabers and spears, the weapons clashing with sharp metallic clangs.

Xie An could not help stopping in his tracks, staring dumbfounded.

A blazing sensation of youth and youthful passion surged toward him, making Xie An's heartbeat quicken.

This is what youth and fervor taste like!

"What are you looking at? This is where they practice martial arts. The Health Cultivation Technique isn't taught here."

The armed man frowned as he reminded him.

Only then did Xie An come back to himself and hurry after him.

After winding through a corridor with countless twists and turns, they finally arrived at a secluded courtyard. Ivy covered the stone walls, while a gray wooden plaque hung above the simple entrance. Three large characters were written on it: Hundred Herbs Garden.

From Hundred Herbs Garden to the Three-Flavors Study?

"This is the place." The armed man pointed inside. "Master Tang is the hall master's friend, and more importantly, a master well versed in health cultivation methods. He's visiting the martial arts school and taking the opportunity to promote the Health Cultivation Technique. For the next month, you can bring this plaque to Hundred Herbs Garden to attend the lessons. On the way there and back, avoid making a racket."

Xie An thanked him, then took the wooden plaque and entered Hundred Herbs Garden.

Compared with the grand training ground out front, this courtyard was much smaller, perhaps four hundred square meters. A total of seven apprentices stood crookedly in the middle of the courtyard, while beneath the eaves in front sat a middle-aged man with a crew cut in a grand armchair.

He wore a gray scholar's robe. Though advanced in years, he was sturdy and upright, carrying an air of refined restraint that set him far above the ordinary.

After Xie An arrived, no one else came.

The crew-cut man glanced at the sundial. The sun was already high in the sky, and he could not help frowning as he muttered, "Why are there so few people? Is the price of two ounces of silver too steep?"

These were chaotic times, and the common people struggled to survive. Anyone with the means went to practice martial arts.

The Health Cultivation Technique was too useless, and few people practiced it... The crew-cut man had been mentally prepared for that. But Qingwu County had more than twenty thousand people, and only eight had come to practice the Health Cultivation Technique... That was far too few.

Collecting his thoughts, the crew-cut man said, "My surname is Tang. My name is Qingfeng, and my courtesy name is Wenyuan. I used to teach at the Martial Arts Hall in Qingwu County. Now that I'm old, I've retired and am helping my teacher promote some health cultivation methods. That way, the people of Qingwu County can grow strong and healthy, withstand cold and heat, and extend their lifespans. You may call me Master Tang."

Everyone found the crew-cut man amiable and approachable, so they began calling him Master Tang one after another.

Xie An, however, felt that Tang Qingfeng spoke with such elegance that he was clearly a learned man.

"During the height of the previous dynasty, the Health Cultivation Technique was once immensely popular. From princes and ministers down to common folk, everyone practiced it to some extent. Now that the world is in turmoil, people have lost interest in it instead. But as long as you practice diligently, it will greatly benefit your bodies."

Master Tang continued in an unhurried, measured manner. "There are many varieties of health cultivation methods. The most basic are Five Animal Play, Eight Brocades, and Fetal Breathing Technique. At a higher level, there are Guidance Technique, breathing methods, and Meditation Technique. Above those are Tai Chi and Yi Jin Jing..."

Xie An listened, inwardly clicking his tongue in amazement.

Eight Brocades and Fetal Breathing Technique... Those were easy enough to understand.

But Tai Chi and Yi Jin Jing no longer belonged to health cultivation, did they? They were top-tier martial arts that also encompassed killing and combat.

Could it be... that if the Health Cultivation Technique was practiced to the utmost, one could master killing arts as well?

But after thinking about it, Xie An felt relieved.

They said medicine and martial arts were inseparable. The Health Cultivation Technique had been a martial art from the start.

If martial arts were refined to the extreme, how could one fail to understand killing and combat?

"Today, I'll mainly explain Eight Brocades and Five Animal Play to you..."

Xie An listened with complete concentration.

Especially when Tang Qingfeng began explaining Five Animal Play, an unusual light shone in Xie An's eyes. As Tang Qingfeng demonstrated the movements, Xie An compared them with his own practice and discovered that he truly had been doing it wrong.

He immediately imitated Tang Qingfeng's movements, copying them as best he could and correcting each mistaken posture and exertion technique.

Sure enough, the effect was much better. His body also felt far more coordinated and comfortable.

Two hours later.

Heat rose through his muscles and bones, and his hands and feet loosened.

Five Animal Play: Integration of Movement and Stillness (14/100)

Professionals really were professionals.

Although Xie An had his cheat and could raise his progress simply by working himself to the bone, mastering the correct techniques and absorbing the successful experience of those who came before him would undoubtedly accelerate his progress.

"That will be all for today. For the next month, I'll be giving lessons here every morning." Seeing that noon had passed, Tang Qingfeng dismissed everyone to return home and rest.

Most of them left listlessly, clearly finding the lessons pointless and feeling as though they had wasted two ounces of silver. A few had even been deliberately recruited by the hall master to support Master Tang, so the gathering would not look too pathetic.

Xie An, on the other hand, left in high spirits, as though he had found a priceless treasure.

"What is your name? How old are you this year?"

Just as Xie An reached the entrance, he heard Tang Qingfeng's voice behind him. He hurriedly turned around and clasped his hands. "My name is Xie An. I just turned fifty."

Tang Qingfeng gave a slight nod. "To remain so vigorous after turning fifty—that is the benefit of practicing the Health Cultivation Technique. Have you practiced Five Animal Play before?"

During the morning's practice, Xie An alone had trained with such seriousness and focus. Moreover, his Five Animal Play had reached a considerable level, and Tang Qingfeng had naturally noticed. At first, he had assumed the old man was someone Chen Lei had found to make up the numbers. Later, he realized that this old man was no simple character...

Xie An did not hide it. "I have."

"Which health cultivation master in Qingwu County did you study under?" Tang Qingfeng instinctively assumed that Xie An had formally apprenticed himself to someone.

Xie An did not want Master Tang to think he was unusually gifted, so he came up with an excuse. "I once met a kind old master while working away from home. He taught me a couple of moves."

Tang Qingfeng wore an expression of I knew it, then offered some encouragement. "The world's understanding of the Health Cultivation Technique is far too shallow. They think health cultivation is nothing more than flashy routines like Five Animal Play and Eight Brocades. They don't realize how formidable the Guidance Technique and breathing methods are. Heaven rewards diligence. Although you are old, as long as you persevere, you will surely achieve something."

Xie An wanted to ask about the secrets of the Guidance Technique and breathing methods, but since he was not familiar with Tang Qingfeng, he decided not to press the matter. After thanking him, he turned and left.

The following morning, two fewer people came to Hundred Herbs Garden to study the Health Cultivation Technique. Only six remained.

An irrepressible look of disappointment appeared on Tang Qingfeng's face.

Xie An, meanwhile, was always the first to arrive each day. He listened attentively and took the initiative to ask Tang Qingfeng whenever he encountered something difficult.

Tang Qingfeng's original intention had been to nurture several talented young people. If any of them performed exceptionally well, he might even recommend them to his teacher, allowing them to enter the master's school and bring glory to its lineage. Unfortunately, young people had no interest in the Health Cultivation Technique. Instead, Xie An, a fifty-year-old man, gave him an unexpected delight.

Whenever Xie An came to ask questions, he explained everything in detail.

Before they knew it, a month had passed. Of those who still persisted in coming to Hundred Herbs Garden to study the Health Cultivation Technique, only two remained.

One was Xie An, who had persevered from the beginning. The other was Chen He, who had joined midway through. As for the few people Chen Lei had found to make up the numbers, their attitudes were so poor that Tang Qingfeng flew into a rage and drove them away...

At first, Chen He had not taken the Health Cultivation Technique seriously either. But every time Xie An went to the medicine shop to fill a prescription, his vitality and spirit improved greatly.

Chen He, who was over forty-nine years old, could not withstand such provocation.

He simply joined in.

And as it turned out, after more than half a month of guidance from a renowned master, Chen He clearly felt his body improving. It was just that compared with Xie An, the difference in effect was enormous... leaving Chen He green with envy.

At noon that day, after Tang Qingfeng finished teaching, he studied Xie An for a long while. At last, seeming to have made some decision, he said, "Come with me to the room."