Crouching and Rising, Body Like a Galloping Horse (1)

No. 33 Jin Dong Street.

This was a large courtyard, more than twice the size of the place Lin Zheyu rented.

From the outside, the house looked exquisitely built and was probably expensive. He just did not know whether Master Liang rented it or owned it.

Knock, knock.

Knock knock knock.

Lin Zheyu knocked in a steady rhythm.

Before long, the door creaked open.

Liang Song hobbled over to open it, then turned and went back to watering the flowers.

The courtyard was filled with purple flowers, and a refreshing fragrance lingered in the air, pleasant to the nose.

The plants' leaves were lush and emerald green. Their blossoms were large and strange, like colorful butterflies dancing in flight, with a rich variety of hues.

"Don't touch anything. Find yourself a place to sit."

Just as Lin Zheyu eagerly moved forward to help water the flowers, Liang Song stopped him.

He treasured these flowers and did not want Lin Zheyu, who knew nothing about flowers, to harm them.

Lin Zheyu silently sat beside the stone table in the courtyard.

Master Liang spent more than half an hour watering the flowers before finally walking over and sitting across from Lin Zheyu in satisfaction.

He limped as he walked, looking like a scruffy old man without the slightest bearing of a martial arts master.

"No need to be so restrained. Relax."

"You even brought meat. That was thoughtful."

"We don't do formal apprenticeship rites here. Besides, I haven't decided to accept you as a disciple yet."

Liang Song glanced at the things Lin Zheyu had brought to the table and spoke with a smile.

He had merely acted on a whim, intending to teach him some basic martial arts. How much Lin Zheyu could learn would depend on his comprehension.

Lin Zheyu smiled but said nothing. He picked up the brewed tea on the table and obediently poured Liang Song a cup.

"Learning martial arts depends on comprehension, perseverance, and resources."

"Your physical foundation is too poor. You need time to nurse your body back to health."

Liang Song accepted the tea Lin Zheyu offered him and ate the pastries Lin Zheyu had brought, speaking with great interest.

He liked the stories Lin Zheyu told. They were quite interesting, and many of the characters in them suited his taste.

The only problem was that they reeked too much of scholar's sentiment. The protagonists were all scholars—indecisive and tiresome to listen to.

If it were up to him, Yan Chixia should be the protagonist. That would be the proper way of it.

"Mm-hm. I've earned some money recently, and I've already started nursing my body back to health," Lin Zheyu said with a nod.

"Not enough. Nursing your body requires both eating and training."

Liang Song said blandly, "Your foundation is terrible. You've never practiced martial arts, and you barely exercise. Your waist, legs, and feet are all weak and loose."

"A towering building rises from level ground. If you want to master martial arts, you must start with the most basic Stance Training."

Liang Song walked to the center of the courtyard.

He swung his arms free, bent his knees slightly, pushed both hands forward, and let his body sway and rise and fall, like ripples stirred by a gentle breeze.

"Follow me."

"This is one of the basic Stance Training methods: the Horse Stance."

Lin Zheyu walked over and copied Liang Song's posture. He half-squatted, stretched out his arms, held his body as if riding a horse, and rose and fell.

"Your movements are wrong."

"As its name suggests, the Horse Stance is Stance Training derived from riding a horse. Even when standing still, you must rise and fall as one, as if standing a horse out of thin air."

"You must imagine yourself riding a horse, galloping at full speed. Let your feet become the galloping steed rising and falling beneath you, and merge the horse into your waist and legs."

Liang Song spoke softly.

His body rose and fell, and between each high and low movement, he truly seemed to be mounted on a fine steed, spurring it into a gallop.

After demonstrating for a while, he walked over to Lin Zheyu's side and began instructing him. "Grip the ground with all five toes. Keep your knees naturally raised..."

"As your body rises and falls, continuously shift your center of gravity..."

Following Liang Song's guidance, Lin Zheyu gradually got onto the right track.

Whenever one of his postures was wrong, Liang Song would flick out a small pebble, striking the part where he was applying force incorrectly.

Before long, Lin Zheyu had learned how to hold the Horse Stance.

The moment he started, he could not last even ten minutes before his whole body trembled and he dropped onto the ground on his backside.

"Go back and practice."

"Come find me again when you can hold the Horse Stance for one shichen."

"If you can't manage it within a month, then there's no need to come back."

Liang Song waved his hand, dismissing Lin Zheyu.

He did not teach just anyone. He found Lin Zheyu pleasing to the eye, so he had given him an opportunity.

But whether he would teach him or not depended on Lin Zheyu himself.

If he did not even have the perseverance to practice Stance Training until he could hold it for one shichen, then there was no point in teaching him.

"Yes, Master."

Lin Zheyu rose to his feet on trembling legs.

His body was too weak. He had held the Horse Stance for less than ten minutes before he could no longer endure it.

Lin Zheyu did not leave immediately. Instead, he respectfully asked, "Master, do you have any medicinal soup recipes or medicinal bath formulas that can help the body recover quickly?"

Learning the Horse Stance to the point where he could hold it for one shichen within a month would be difficult.

One shichen was equivalent to two hours. Right now, he would struggle to run for even thirty minutes.

Moreover, Lin Zheyu's physical foundation was too poor. Without the aid of medicinal baths or medicinal soups, it would be far too difficult.

"I do, but such prescriptions are expensive. One batch of medicine costs more than one tael of silver, and that's only for the most basic formula."

"I'll give you a prescription for replenishing qi and strengthening the blood. Just take it to a pharmacy and have them prepare it according to the list."

"This prescription should cost a little over one tael of silver. Don't let them overcharge you."

Liang Song said.

He had Lin Zheyu fetch pen and paper from inside, then began writing in strokes that flew like dragons and danced like phoenixes.

Liang Song's handwriting was like the man himself—wild and unrestrained, with a touch of sloppiness amid that abandon. And within that sloppiness... well, he could not keep praising it.

Liang Song's handwriting was terrible.

Who said a master's handwriting had to look good?

Lin Zheyu stared at Liang Song's writing and spent quite some effort figuring out what it said.

"Thank you, Master!"

Lin Zheyu respectfully accepted the prescription.

After bidding Liang Song farewell, he headed straight for the pharmacy.

"Truly, the poor study literature while the rich practice martial arts. One prescription alone costs a tael of silver."

Lin Zheyu sighed.

Only because his storytelling had gained some fame was it easier for him to earn money.

For ordinary people, earning about one tael of silver a month was enough only to buy a single medicinal soup prescription.

Adding the more than three hundred copper coins he had earned today, Lin Zheyu had saved up over eighteen hundred copper coins.

At current rates, a little over fifteen hundred copper coins could be exchanged for one tael of silver. The money on Lin Zheyu's person was only enough to buy one batch of medicine.

Passing a pharmacy, Lin Zheyu went inside and bought a batch of medicinal ingredients.

This basic qi-replenishing, blood-nourishing prescription could be filled at almost any pharmacy.

Just as Master Liang had said, one batch of ingredients cost him one tael of silver plus one hundred and twenty copper coins.

The shopkeeper had initially demanded one tael of silver plus five hundred copper coins. After some bargaining, Lin Zheyu got it reduced by more than three hundred copper coins.

That was equivalent to more than a day's income for him.

After returning home, he cleaned the medicine pot he had just bought, added water and the medicinal ingredients, then simmered them over a low flame.

Brewing medicinal soup was not as difficult as he had imagined. As long as he controlled the heat properly, all he had to do was wait patiently.

One batch of qi-replenishing, blood-nourishing ingredients could be brewed three times. After each brewing, the remaining medicinal potency would rapidly diminish.

Brewing the medicinal soup took a long time. Taking advantage of the interval, he went into the courtyard and assumed the Horse Stance.

His toes gripped the ground as his body rose and fell like he was riding a horse, his gaze fixed on the distance.

His body was weak, and for now he could only hold the stance for three or four minutes at a time.

Whenever Lin Zheyu persisted until his legs turned weak and he could not help sitting down, he would stretch his muscles and bones and rest for a while.

Once he had recovered some strength, he continued practicing the stance.