Golden Horse-Head Technique

"Came back pretty fast?" Su Yuan ignored him and took a detour toward the horse farm.

About a quarter of an hour later, a wide, clamorous expanse came into view—Yuanguan Horse Farm.

The Liang People prized martial skill, riding, and archery. Several horse farms had been established throughout the city; besides racing and training horses, the open grounds here were often used by the Liang People as arenas for contests and martial bouts.

The outer boundary was fenced with rammed earth. Inside, dust swirled through the air, horses neighed and men shouted, while the smell of fodder and manure rushed straight at him.

He paid thirty copper coins for admission. His gaze swept over the hired hands brushing horses and chopping fodder before quickly settling on the tall figure beside the stables.

"Tie Niu!"

The man turned around. He had thick brows, large eyes, a broad frame, and stood nearly six foot three.

Seeing Su Yuan, a smile immediately spread across his honest face. "Brother Yuan! What brought you here?"

"I brought you breakfast." Su Yuan took out four donkey-meat flatbreads wrapped in oiled paper.

He knew Tie Niu loved them most, but usually he was too busy to get away.

Tie Niu's eyes lit up. He took them and bit down hard, his cheeks immediately puffing out as he mumbled, "Mm, delicious! Brother Yuan, have you eaten?"

"I have. Slow down." Watching him wolf them down like a hungry wolf devouring a tiger, Su Yuan felt the tightly drawn string in his heart loosen slightly.

Only after Tie Niu had finished eating did he say, "Come ride horses with me for a while. Loosen up."

"Sure!" Tie Niu wiped his mouth and briskly led a docile jujube-red horse out from the stable under his care.

Su Yuan paid another forty copper coins for a quarter hour of riding.

He swung himself onto the horse. With the reins in hand, the familiar rocking sensation returned.

He lightly pressed his heels to the horse's belly, and the jujube-red horse began to trot. Wind swept past his ears, temporarily blowing away his worries.

[Riding: 478/1000 (Mastery)]

A quarter hour later, Su Yuan dismounted.

Tie Niu frowned and leaned closer. "Brother Yuan, you don't look well. Did something happen?"

"Nothing."

But Tie Niu shook his head and pulled a cloth bundle from his person, stuffing it into Su Yuan's hands. "Brother Yuan, I know the Martial Registry costs money. Take this. I eat and sleep at the farm, so I have no use for it."

Tie Niu had originally been a street orphan. During the bitter winter when he was six, he had nearly frozen to death outside the Su Family's door.

Su Yuan had taken pity on him and pleaded on his behalf, and only then had the family taken him in.

From then on, he had followed Su Yuan like a shadow. During their flight from hardship, countless people had urged Su Yuan to abandon this burden, but Su Yuan had never listened.

In name, they had long ceased to be master and servant, yet Tie Niu's loyalty and dependence had never changed.

Su Yuan had always wanted him to stay by his side, but Tie Niu had not wanted to become a burden. Later, he found work tending horses himself.

Su Yuan did not take it. "I'll handle the Martial Registry myself. When the time comes, we'll practice martial arts together. That build of yours can't go to waste."

Tie Niu pressed his lips together. "Brother Yuan, take it. For all these years, I've eaten your food and used your things. It's time I repaid you."

He opened the bundle. Inside were more than six taels of silver.

Su Yuan froze. Tie Niu had only worked here for half a year.

"This money of yours..."

Tie Niu scratched his head and grinned. "The horses I raise do well. These are all rewards from the young masters of the Liang People."

Su Yuan was not surprised. Many Liang People came here, and he was happy for Tie Niu as well. He patted his chest. "Not bad, kid. You really have a knack for raising horses. That horse I rode just now was smooth as could be."

Tie Niu chuckled foolishly, but a trace of evasiveness lay hidden in his eyes.

With Tie Niu insisting, Su Yuan could only accept the silver. Feeling somewhat lighter, he left the horse farm. Next, it was time to return and study martial arts.

When he returned to the front of Su Iron Woodworking Shop, Wang Er was still squatting by the base of the wall across the street.

Knowing he could not avoid him, Su Yuan walked over. "Brother Wang, what is it?"

Wang Er sprang up, thumping his legs as he put on a fake smile. "Little Su, I've been waiting for you forever! Where'd you go?"

"Just finished riding. If you have something to say, say it." Su Yuan had no interest in dancing around the matter.

"Riding?" Wang Er narrowed his eyes as he looked him over. His gaze paused on the dark circles beneath Su Yuan's eyes, and he suddenly revealed a lewd, knowing expression. "You remember what happened yesterday, right? Lend me five taels. I'll pay you back later."

Su Yuan tightened his grip on the handle of the wooden case, looking troubled. "Brother Wang, I'm strapped lately too."

Wang Er's face darkened, and his fake smile vanished. Pointing at Su Yuan's nose, he spat, "Who are you fooling? You've got money to ride mares, but you cry poverty in front of me? Kid, take some advice. With that frail body of yours, you think you can practice martial arts? Invest your money with me, and I'll take you riding something fiercer someday!"

Su Yuan's face darkened. And you had the nerve to say that?

He glanced at the other man's even more unsteady legs. "Brother Wang, you misunder—"

"Cut the crap!" Wang Er rudely interrupted, his voice vicious. "You really think I don't know? In the Shan Estate's woodshed yesterday—"

Su Yuan's heart tightened. Had he noticed something?

He clenched the carving knife hidden in his sleeve, gathering himself to strike.

But then Wang Er continued, "You hid good lumber! Stealing the possessions of Great Liang's masters is a grave crime! If I report this, you—and your little brother Su Tieniu—will all be dragged off to the Mine. Don't even dream of coming out alive!"

Hearing that it was about the lumber, Su Yuan relaxed.

He had indeed taken a few extra pieces.

But Wang Er actually dared to threaten both him and Tie Niu. Su Yuan would not yield.

Unhurriedly, he said, "Brother Wang, don't speak nonsense. Lord Han permitted me to bring the lumber back. It all has to be carved and delivered to him. Don't believe me? Let's go find Lord Han and confront him right now."

"You!" Panic flashed through Wang Er's eyes. He had not expected Su Yuan to remain so calm. Humiliated into rage, he directly reached for Su Yuan's collar.

Su Yuan's gaze turned ice-cold, and his left hand suddenly shot out.

His five fingers clamped around Wang Er's wrist like iron pincers. He viciously twisted downward at an angle, while his feet pivoted beneath him, and he slipped in a staggered step to Wang Er's side and rear.

"Ah!" Wang Er shrieked. His entire arm was forcibly twisted and raised, the agony making him bend over involuntarily with his back facing Su Yuan.

Without pausing, Su Yuan used the man's forward-leaning momentum to wrench his arm behind his back. His other hand followed at once, locking firmly onto Wang Er's wrist joint and pinning it fast.

"I've been a carpenter for years, so I have a bit of strength. Brother Wang, tell me—can I practice martial arts?" Su Yuan sneered.

"Yes, yes, yes! Let go first! It hurts like hell!" Tears and snot streamed down Wang Er's face, yet his mouth remained foul. "Su Yuan! You fourth-class Lowly Citizen, how dare you offend your superior? I'm Lord Han's man!"

"Offend my superior?" Su Yuan scoffed. "Lord Han said yesterday that if I handled the job well, he'd reward me with third-class registration. Between the two of us now, who's lower?"

Before his words had even faded, his left hand fished three pieces of broken silver from Wang Er's person. With a flick of his wrist—

Smack! Smack! Smack!

The silver struck Wang Er's face viciously, leaving red marks behind.

"These three taels are tribute for Lord Han. Take them back exactly as they are. If even a fraction is missing, I'll tell Lord Han that you used his name to extort money and even tried to pocket it yourself." Su Yuan released him, his tone icy.

Wang Er staggered backward, covering his face as he picked up the money. When he looked up again, his eyes were filled with shock, fury, and venomous hatred. "Su Yuan! You—"

"Me what?" Su Yuan smiled and took a step forward.

"You're formidable!" Wang Er forced out a smile uglier than tears, then quickly turned and fled.

Su Yuan was taken aback. He had thought Wang Er would fight desperately.

He did not pursue him. The risk of killing someone in broad daylight was too great.

He did not care if Wang Er went to complain to Han Gui.

The reason was simple: Wang Er had come alone and acted furtively. More likely than not, he had been trying to skim a little profit behind Han Gui's back.

And Su Yuan was now Han Gui's man as well. The value he could create was clearly far greater than Wang Er's.

Moreover, the Liang People loved martial prowess and fighting. Among people of equal standing, the stronger fighter held the higher status.

Still, to guard against Wang Er using underhanded tricks, he needed to continue growing stronger.

Su Yuan returned to his room and opened the Jing-Liang Lexicon alongside the Golden Horse-Head Technique, studying them carefully against each other.

[Literacy: 947/1000 (Mastery)]

"The horse is a fierce beast of heaven and earth; its movement is like the wind, its will like fire.

"When a herd of horses gallops, there must be one head among them, standing proudly alone, with ten thousand horses following its lead.

"Observing Raging Horse Neighing Wind and the wrathful-eyed vajra, I first comprehended this technique.

"Those who cultivate this technique must first establish their head. When the head stands firm, qi becomes upright; when qi becomes upright, force is born.

"Force rises from the dantian, courses through the baihui, and spreads to the four limbs. From head to toe, there is not one place that is not led by the head.

"Thus it is said: follow the horse's head.

"When cultivated to the utmost, the human body becomes the horse's body, the spine becomes the horse's spine, and every punch and kick bears the momentum of ten thousand galloping horses.

"This is called the Golden Vajra Horse-Head."

[Literacy: 103/2000 (Perfection)]

After Su Yuan finished reading the general outline, what followed were the cultivation steps.

"Begin with the Horse-Head Skyward Stance, which is divided into the Head-Raised Posture, Charging Posture, and Circling Posture..."

Su Yuan spread his feet shoulder-width apart, slightly tucked his chin, and lifted the baihui acupoint atop his head upward, as though a thread hung down from the heavens and pulled at his crown. He felt his spine stretch open, vertebra by vertebra.

"This stance technique isn't even still—it needs movement! Hah-ah, hah-ah!"

Su Yuan suddenly charged forward, like a horse lifting its head and crashing ahead. At the same time, he exhaled "hah-ah," then twisted his waist and hips, driving both arms in circles.

After completing one round, Su Yuan only felt his neck turn sore and stiff, as if he were about to develop cervical spondylosis.

[Golden Horse-Head Technique: 1/500 (First Layer)]