Rich and Martial

Senior Brother Zhou is quite the glutton.

And a much bigger glutton than he is.

When Qin Fang had eaten his fill, he watched as Senior Brother Zhou continued to feast. At least seven or eight pounds of meat had already entered his belly, yet he seemed completely unaware of what it meant to be full.

The Master's wife, standing to the side, appeared accustomed to this, a gentle smile on her face: "Eat slowly, eat slowly, there is more."

Qin Fang watched, dumbfounded... this was already four or five times his own food intake.

...He had bought over ten pounds of pork belly when he arrived in the morning, and the Master's wife had clearly cooked it all in one go. He and the Master's wife hadn't eaten much; the majority had gone into Zhou Xing's mouth. Finally, not only did he finish the table full of dishes, but he also stuffed two or three large steamed buns down before letting out a satisfied sigh.

"Master's wife, your cooking is peerless!"

He exclaimed.

The Master's wife scolded him with a laugh, saying he only knew how to sweet-talk her.

Then he looked at Qin Fang and smiled: "Junior Brother Qin, your appetite won't do. For a martial artist, the most important thing is eating. Only by eating enough can strength be cultivated. You have already mastered the stance, now what you lack is a foundation... Only when the foundation is thick enough can you improve rapidly, reach the Bright Force, or even go a step further."

"How do you thicken the foundation? You have to eat."

Zhou Xing's words made Qin Fang click his tongue in secret...

Are all martial artists this capable of eating?

Qin Fang nodded: "Yes, Master has told me as well..."

"Mm... as long as you know. Come, now that we're fed and watered, let's go practice."

Zhou Xing patted his belly.

Hearing that it was time to practice, Qin Fang's eyes lit up, and he quickly replied: "Alright."

The two returned to the courtyard.

Then, Zhou Xing began to earnestly teach Qin Fang the Ox Demon Mountain-Opening Fist, and Qin Fang learned with equal seriousness.

Before they knew it, an hour had passed.

Zhou Xing stopped and said with a smile: "Your comprehension is truly remarkable... You have memorized the moves, remember the key points I told you. The spine is the bow, the fists and feet are the arrows... The techniques of the Bright Force stage are basically all centered on these points."

Qin Fang noted them down carefully.

...The panel hadn't recorded it yet.

It seems it requires him to ponder it seriously himself before it will appear.

"It's getting late, I have matters at the yamen, so I'll be heading off."

Zhou Xing said.

Qin Fang quickly replied: "Alright, thank you, Senior Brother."

"No matter, come visit the Master's wife more often when you have time; I come by occasionally as well. If you have any questions regarding your cultivation, you can come find me when Master is unavailable. I live at..."

He recited his home address.

Qin Fang noted it down carefully.

"I have remembered it, Senior Brother."

"Mm."

Zhou Xing nodded, smiled and bid farewell to the Master's wife, then left.

Qin Fang walked him all the way to the door, and only after watching him walk far away did he let out a soft breath.

His eyes flickered slightly...

Senior Brother Zhou's reaction was different from what he had imagined.

He should have already deduced that he was the culprit who killed Wang Long and the others.

But he didn't seem to intend to pursue it in his capacity as a yamen official.

He even taught him a fist technique...

After thinking for a while, he exhaled, turned around, and returned to the Master's wife's house.

The Master hadn't returned for lunch either, so after Qin Fang moved the chopped firewood into the kitchen, he also said his goodbyes and left.

...Senior Brother Zhou appeared to have accepted him.

But to be fair...

Call Qin Fang suspicious or whatever else.

After all, this was only his first meeting with his Senior Brother... Qin Fang couldn't bring himself to trust him completely.

...He trusted his Master because everything his Master had shown from beginning to end had convinced him.

But this Senior Brother... because it was their first meeting and because of his status, it was difficult for him to trust him fully.

Yet, he had no other options right now.

The only thing Qin Fang could think of and do... was to improve his cultivation as quickly as possible.

That way, no matter what situation he faced later, he would at least not be completely without the ability to parry.

Back home, Qin Fang gritted his teeth and swallowed another Blood-Qi Pill.

After standing in his stance for another session, he began to earnestly study the Ox Demon Mountain-Opening Fist passed down to him by Zhou Xing.

The spine is the bow...

The limbs are the arrows...

Wide open, wide closing...

Force must not be rigid...

Qin Fang pondered.

Unknowingly, the sky darkened.

At one particular moment, he suddenly threw a punch, and Qin Fang felt an indescribable sense of clarity as a faint whistling sound of wind breaking emanated from his fist.

Qin Fang's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly looked at the panel...

"Ox Demon Mountain-Opening Fist (Low-grade Fist Technique) (Entry): 1/500"

The panel had recorded it!

Qin Fang revealed a smile and let out a long breath, his heart finally easing.

...It was finally recorded by the panel.

But as soon as he relaxed, Qin Fang felt pain everywhere in his body.

His whole body felt weak and sore, and fatigue washed over him like a tide.

Qin Fang froze, his footsteps staggering subconsciously.

Then, he furrowed his brows.

"It seems I can't take too many Blood-Qi Pills in one day... Although the Blood-Qi Pill provides extra energy to the body, my body is too weak and my endurance is too poor. Taking too many not only diminishes the effects but might even overdraw my body..."

He felt the various sensations throughout his body.

He glanced at the panel again.

The first Blood-Qi Pill this morning had increased his proficiency by 16 points.

However, this afternoon's pill had only increased it by 11 points.

The effect had clearly diminished.

It was evident that the state of the body during stance training was also crucial.

Twenty-seven points of proficiency in one day...

It seemed like a decent gain?

But this had cost him two Blood-Qi Pills!

He had only nine Blood-Qi Pills in total, and now only seven remained...

These Blood-Qi Pills cost ten taels of silver each.

Even if he used all his remaining one hundred and twenty-some taels of silver to buy more, he could only afford twelve.

"Literary pursuits are for the poor, martial arts for the rich... I finally understand..."

Qin Fang's teeth felt a bit sour.

His master had said that he would understand the meaning of "literary pursuits for the poor, martial arts for the rich" once he truly began his cultivation.

Now...

He truly felt it.

Shaking his head, Qin Fang exhaled lightly, feeling that he wasn't too hungry, likely due to the Blood-Qi Pill he had just consumed.

Seeing that the sky had already turned dark, he decided to skip dinner and head straight to his room to rest.

Continuing to train would be of little use; his body was already overdrawn for the day.

He needed to train with a plan starting tomorrow.

Otherwise, the efficiency would be very low.

It wasn't just about the stance and fist techniques.

There were also the throwing darts... he was just a little bit away from entering the next stage.

He had to reach the next stage as soon as possible.

He thought to himself.

While Qin Fang went to his room to rest.

Elder Wu also returned home.

He worked at Spring Return Hall and saw many patients every day, so he usually arrived home quite late.

His wife had already prepared dinner, and while they ate, she brought up the events of the day.

Elder Wu, who had been drinking, paused at these words.

"Qin Fang came today?"

His wife nodded with a smile. "He did, specifically to shovel snow and chop firewood for me... You didn't misjudge that boy; he is a child who values loyalty and friendship."

She was clearly very satisfied with Qin Fang.

Who doesn't like a child who knows how to be grateful?

Hearing this, Elder Wu's brow relaxed slightly.

Then he heard his wife continue, "Zhou Xing also stopped by today."

"Zhou Xing came too?" The brow Elder Wu had just smoothed out immediately furrowed.

He had not forgotten about the matter concerning Wang Long.

He had held off on introducing Zhou Xing and Qin Fang precisely because he hadn't yet decided how to handle that situation.

He hadn't expected both of them to show up at his house today.

And that they had run into each other?

"Yes, those two boys actually hit it off quite well; they even practiced together today... Zhou Xing taught Qin Fang a set of fist techniques."

His wife said with a smile.

Elder Wu had initially looked surprised, but upon hearing this, his brow knit together.

"Zhou Xing... taught Qin Fang a set of fist techniques?"

Elder Wu hadn't taught Qin Fang any fist techniques yet because it wasn't the right time for him to start.

At the very least, he had to master the stance training; only then would practicing fist techniques have any meaning.

Otherwise, the more he practiced, the more mistakes he would make.

...Once a method of exerting force becomes a habit, correcting it requires even greater effort; that is twice the work for half the result.

But once the stance training is mastered and the technique is ingrained in the body, there won't be any major flaws in how force is exerted, and practicing fist techniques afterward will yield twice the result with half the effort.

Zhou Xing taught Qin Fang fist techniques?

How many days has Qin Fang even been doing stance training?

Isn't this just reckless?

Elder Wu frowned deeply.

His wife continued to chatter on, "Yes, though I didn't really understand what they were saying. Zhou Xing even said that Qin Fang has high comprehension and that he has already mastered the technique or something..."

"What?"

Before she could finish, she was interrupted by Elder Wu.

He stared at her, eyes wide. "What did Zhou Xing say about him?"