Leg Techniques

Gao Manor handled things briskly.

Since it had agreed to escort the shipment, it assembled its men early the next morning.

Leading them was Xu Rusong, an Attendant of Gao Manor known as the "Blue-Robed Sword." He, too, was a warrior at the peak of the Blood-Moving Realm.

Xu Rusong wore blue robes and a sword at his waist. His face was lean, and rather than the rough bearing of an ordinary Jianghu martial artist, he had something of a scholar's quiet composure.

Twenty warriors from Gao Manor followed behind him.

At the sight of them, Wang Qinian finally felt much more at ease.

Several carts were packed full of medicinal herbs, carefully covered with oiled cloth and secured with hemp rope.

Gao Manor's twenty warriors took positions in front, behind, and on either side of the carts, their formation orderly. Xu Rusong held the center, blue-robed and sword-bearing, his expression solemn. No petty bandit would dare pick a fight with a convoy like this.

The journey passed without incident.

A day later, the convoy finally reached Scarlet Cloud County.

When Wang Qinian spotted the county walls in the distance, he let out a long breath.

"We're finally back."

After entering the city, the carts of herbs rolled slowly down the long street toward Wang's Ginseng Shop.

Wang Shouyi stood outside the entrance in person, with Zhao Yiting, several clerks, and guards beside him.

When he saw the convoy arrive, a smile immediately spread across his face, and he hurried forward to meet them.

"Master Ge, Steward Wang, thank you for your efforts."

He glanced first at the herb carts. Seeing that all the herbs had arrived intact, he visibly relaxed.

Then he turned to Xu Rusong, cupped his hands in greeting, and spoke with great earnestness.

"Attendant Xu, sorry for the trouble of escorting them all this way."

Xu Rusong returned the greeting lightly. "Shopkeeper Wang, you're too polite. It was Gao Manor's duty."

The herb carts were wheeled into the rear courtyard one by one. As the hemp ropes were untied and the oiled cloth pulled back, a rich medicinal fragrance filled the air.

Zhao Yiting walked over to Lu Chen and looked him up and down. Spotting the faint bloodstain on Lu Chen's neck, he patted him on the shoulder. "You did well. Senior Qiao made a point of praising you after he returned!"

"He also specifically asked you to visit his courtyard once you got back."

Lu Chen paused. "Understood, Chief Zhao."

He had no idea what important matter Qiao Yuan wanted to discuss, but he hurried over without stopping.

At the courtyard gate, Lu Chen straightened his collar and raised a hand to knock.

"Senior Qiao, Lu Chen requests an audience."

After a short wait, Qiao Yuan's low, calm voice came from inside.

"Come in."

In the courtyard, Qiao Yuan stood like a mountain ape. He looked at Lu Chen, appreciation showing in his eyes.

Lu Chen cupped his hands. "Senior Qiao."

When Lu Chen arrived, Qiao Yuan wasted no words and came straight to the point. "I've seen that your fist technique is well developed—nimble and versatile—and you have some skill in grappling."

"But your leg techniques are a weakness. You lack explosive power and ways to attack with them."

"In a fight between warriors, legs without skill are like a fierce tiger with its claws severed."

"I have two great techniques."

"One is the Great Strength Vajra Palm. The other is the Golden Ape Piercing-the-Forest Leg."

"Today, I'll teach you the Golden Ape Piercing-the-Forest Leg. Do you want to learn it?"

Lu Chen froze for a moment, then delight lit his eyes.

"Senior Qiao, do you mean it?"

"Of course I want to learn!"

Qiao Yuan was a warrior at the peak of the Blood-Moving Realm and an Attendant of Wang's Ginseng Shop. Lu Chen had no reason to refuse when such a man offered to teach him his martial arts.

But after that first rush of joy, questions rose in Lu Chen's mind.

Why had Qiao Yuan suddenly decided to teach him?

Had watching Lu Chen struggle against the man in black that night made Qiao Yuan consider taking him as a disciple?

Or had Qiao Yuan's failed attempt to break through changed his outlook, leaving him wanting someone to inherit his martial arts?

Qiao Yuan smiled faintly then. A desolate hint of old memories crossed his face as he spoke slowly.

"I roamed Jianghu for thirty years. From the age of eighteen, I crossed three mountains and four rivers, and traveled through eighteen counties."

"When I was young, I was full of spirit. I thought the world was vast, and there was nowhere I couldn't go."

"Back then, I had no one to rely on, no master or school. Only these two hands and these two legs."

As he spoke, he raised his broad, heavy hands.

Calluses lay thick across his palms, and his knuckles were hard as iron.

"Deep in the mountains, enemies once hunted me for three days and nights. In a gorge strewn with boulders, I once scaled seven cliff faces on a single breath, then turned back and killed my pursuers..."

"These two techniques kept me alive to this day."

Lu Chen listened in silence.

Those were the youthful years when Qiao Yuan had traveled far and wide, fighting his way through Jianghu.

Qiao Yuan continued, "But time spares no one. I'm old now, no longer as sharp as I once was. After I failed to break through the other day, I understood one thing all the more clearly."

His voice dropped a little.

"A person's strength has its limits."

For a moment, even the wind in the courtyard fell quiet.

Looking at Qiao Yuan, Lu Chen suddenly sensed an indescribable loneliness about this warrior at the peak of the Blood-Moving Realm.

Qiao Yuan turned his gaze back to Lu Chen.

"I don't want to take everything I know into the grave."

"Wang's Ginseng Shop has plenty of guards, but few truly suit my eye."

"You, though—you're a newcomer who made me see you in a new light."

"I have no intention of taking you as a disciple, but teaching you a leg technique and forming a good bond is no bad thing."

"Perhaps one day, you'll pass this technique on."

Warmth surged through Lu Chen's chest, and he bowed solemnly.

"Thank you for thinking so highly of me, Senior Qiao."

Qiao Yuan's expression turned stern. "I'll only teach you once."

"How much you learn, and how far you take it, will depend entirely on your own ability!"

Lu Chen straightened. "I understand."

Qiao Yuan nodded and walked to the center of the courtyard.

"The Golden Ape Piercing-the-Forest Leg takes its meaning from a mountain ape moving through dense woods."

"A mountain ape doesn't take a straight path through the forest."

"It uses trees, rocks, vines, and cliff walls. Every advance and retreat has force behind it; every leap has its roots."

"So this leg technique isn't just about running fast."

"It trains the waist and hips, the ankles, the strength in your legs..."

With that, he bent his knees slightly and sank his weight.

Lu Chen narrowed his eyes.

Qiao Yuan's posture was unlike an ordinary stance exercise.

His feet stood one ahead of the other, his toes gripping the ground lightly. His knees drew inward, his hips sank, and his back arched slightly, while his arms hung naturally before him.

From a distance, he looked like an old ape crouched on a mountain rock, ready to burst forward into the forest at any moment.

Then his feet gave a slight jolt, and he sprang into the air.

Lu Chen's vision blurred. Qiao Yuan had already swept away from where he stood.

Qiao Yuan's strides were not long, but his steps came astonishingly fast.

He wove among several wooden posts in the courtyard, darting left and right, forward and back. Every step landed lightly, yet he moved as fast as a gray shadow.

Stranger still, he did not simply charge straight ahead.

At times, a touch of his toes against the edge of a post sent him springing diagonally away; at others, his heel tapped the flagstones and he wheeled around. One moment he seemed about to rush forward, and the next he was behind a post.

His movement stirred the wind, sending fallen leaves tumbling across the courtyard.

Lu Chen's pupils contracted.

This was no ordinary movement art for running fast.

It was a footwork technique for constantly changing position in close combat.

Just then, Qiao Yuan stopped.

He stood beside a wooden post, his breathing settling slightly.

"Golden Ape Leap."

The instant the words left his mouth, he drove off the ground.

He rose like a mountain ape leaping across a ravine. His toes touched a wooden post, his body shot half a dozen feet sideways, and as he landed, one leg swept out.

Bang!

The wooden post cracked apart, and splinters burst up from the ground.

That kick was fast, fierce, and heavy.

One instant he was an ape's shadow passing through the forest; the next, he was an iron staff sweeping across a mountain.

Lu Chen felt the impact reverberate through his chest.

Qiao Yuan lowered his leg and explained, "The Golden Ape Piercing-the-Forest Leg has three forms. The Mountain Ape Stance builds your foundation, the Forest-Piercing Steps cultivate adaptability, and the Golden Ape Leap trains explosive power."

"Did you see it clearly?"

Lu Chen nodded. A transparent screen quietly appeared before his eyes:

[Golden Ape Piercing-the-Forest Leg: Not Yet Initiated]

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