Clear Heart Art

A Fei performed the entire set of punches and kicks three full times, reciting the names of the moves and the formulas for executing them each time. Yi Shuyuan watched to the very end without so much as blinking.

"Whew..."

A Fei let out a long breath of stale air, moving his arms as he regulated his breathing and brought his practice to a close. Then he looked at Yi Shuyuan.

"Senior, I'm finished!"

Yi Shuyuan stared blankly at A Fei. This was what it meant to be bad at martial arts? Then what would someone good at them look like?

When that strange snake had attacked earlier, those villains had scattered and fled for their lives. Even their leader had shown Yi Shuyuan nothing particularly impressive beyond his lightness skills. Looking back now, Yi Shuyuan realized he had been a frog at the bottom of a well.

"Senior?"

A Fei called out again before Yi Shuyuan came back to his senses. Looking at the young man, he had no idea how to assess his performance, so he changed the subject first.

"Were the words you recited just now the inner cultivation method for your martial arts?"

A Fei looked a little embarrassed. He certainly did not dare exaggerate anything in front of Yi Shuyuan.

"Senior, our Mai Family Fist hardly counts as a superior martial art. How could it have an inner cultivation method? Those were just a few formulas for applying force with the moves. Only diligent practice, built up day after day, can develop Internal Energy."

"It's already very impressive!"

Yi Shuyuan offered this praise sincerely, while A Fei scratched his head again, assuming the senior was simply trying not to hurt his pride. Then he immediately asked with anticipation.

"Senior, do you have any pointers for my martial arts?"

Pointers? Yi Shuyuan froze for a moment, embarrassment rising within him. A Fei really did take him for some accomplished senior.

"I have no pointers to offer."

Seeing the disappointment in A Fei's eyes, Yi Shuyuan could not help adding another remark, guided only by his impressions.

"But I noticed that your breathing wasn't actually steady while you practiced. It was like last night, when the moment you panicked, your breath scattered. Perhaps things would improve a great deal if you could settle your mind."

After all, this concerned the foundations of the young man's martial training. Yi Shuyuan could hardly spout nonsense and risk harming him. He could only offer comforting advice that could not possibly be wrong.

Hearing those words, A Fei felt even more dejected. Of course. Even Father thinks nothing of me, let alone this senior.

The atmosphere abruptly fell silent and awkward.

After resting for a while, the two set off again. This time, however, Yi Shuyuan was too embarrassed to let A Fei carry him the whole way. Only where the terrain was difficult for him to cross did he have A Fei carry him over using his lightness skills. Now they needed to find somewhere to spend the night.

A Fei grew quiet and withdrawn, remaining that way until evening.

In a snowy mountain hollow, they found a recess that extended two or three meters inward. They lit a campfire outside, and the interior soon grew pleasantly warm.

A Fei had actually wanted to keep fleeing through the night, but Yi Shuyuan simply could not take any more. It took a great deal of persuasion, mingling bluff with reassurance as he declared that he "could smell demonic qi" and would give them time to react if anything really happened, before he finally convinced A Fei.

The chill had long since been driven away. Before the campfire, A Fei silently toasted their steamed buns. He also collected some ice in the bamboo container he carried and set it aside to melt naturally.

Yi Shuyuan was pinching his beard, which was nearly half a finger long. There was nothing he could do about it for now. He felt his face as well, wondering what he looked like now. Did he resemble his former self at all, or was he an entirely different person?

Turning to one side, Yi Shuyuan saw A Fei sitting there in low spirits and immediately felt troubled.

This silly lad has a good heart, but his state of mind goes awry so easily. He's just like my younger cousin used to be. How am I supposed to talk him out of this? I really don't know martial arts!

Then inspiration suddenly flashed through Yi Shuyuan's mind. I've got it!

I really don't understand martial arts, but methods for calming the mind, soothing the spirit, and nurturing one's vitality? I'm not completely ignorant of those!

What Yi Shuyuan had thought of was seated meditation-not the martial cultivation practiced in this world, but the kind used in his previous life to calm the mind and cultivate one's disposition. Strictly speaking, it could be considered a Daoist inner practice, and in his understanding, it was much like meditation.

It had been of some use when Yi Shuyuan mentally rehearsed storytelling and vocal mimicry. He had also used it many times in the past to ease his mood when he felt troubled. It might not do anything spectacular, but at least it could bring some peace to the mind.

"A Fei, I don't have any peerless martial arts to pass on to you, but I do know a few methods for keeping the mind calm and clear. Would you like to learn?"

At that moment, A Fei, who had been staring blankly into the fire, froze. He slowly turned his head, his expression shifting from simple surprise to disbelief. Once he understood, a glimmer of tears even appeared in his eyes. Then, overcome with joy, he nodded like a pestle pounding garlic.

"Yes! I want to learn! Senior, I want to learn!"

Watching this, Yi Shuyuan inwardly exclaimed, Holy shit! If this proved useless, wouldn't the boy's whole state of mind collapse?

At that moment, Yi Shuyuan was already considering how to bluff his way through comforting A Fei afterward!

With someone who practically had the word "anticipation" written across his face staring at him with a gaze so intense it almost hurt, Yi Shuyuan could only try to doctor a dead horse as though it were still alive.

He quietly took a few deep breaths, cleared his throat, and adjusted his breathing. Then he spoke in a clear, firm voice that was not particularly loud.

"This method regulates your state of mind, and mastering it likewise depends on your state of mind. I'll guide you with my voice. Come here and sit cross-legged."

Speaking was really a form of psychological suggestion. Yi Shuyuan did have some confidence in his voice, and since A Fei considered him a senior, he ought to trust his words. That, too, would help the suggestion take hold.

A Fei hurriedly put down the stick he had been using to tend the fire, instinctively wiped his hands on his clothes, and quickly sat cross-legged beside Yi Shuyuan. After a moment's thought, he hastily got up again and sat facing him instead.

The corner of Yi Shuyuan's mouth twitched slightly. Ignoring everything else, he did his best to keep his own mind at peace.

"Straighten your back. Rest your hands naturally on your legs. Let your eyes close gently, and press your tongue against the roof of your mouth. Regulate your breathing-let it come naturally first, then slow it. Quiet your breath, gather your thoughts, focus your spirit."

Yi Shuyuan had not closed his own eyes. Seeing A Fei's eyelids twitch, he naturally understood that the boy had many distracting thoughts. He immediately raised his voice a little, offering guidance in a tone that mingled gentleness with gravity.

"Do not use your eyes to peer into the darkness. Forget sight and forget breath, until there is neither breath nor thought. If your thoughts will not dissolve, sift the many and follow one. Pursue it without pause; when you have thought it through, it will cease of itself!"

Put simply, when there were truly too many distracting thoughts, one should not aim directly for a thoughtless state. Instead, one should pursue a single stray thought, continually considering one matter until it was thoroughly understood or the thought itself became uninteresting. At that point, the cessation of thought would become the absence of thought.

A Fei had, in fact, been unable to fully enter the proper state. Yet the senior's voice seemed to press straight into his heart, echoing through the darkness of his mind. He stopped focusing on his sight and followed that voice into his inner awareness, and everything around him suddenly felt empty and ethereal.

Only when he saw A Fei's eyelids stop twitching and his breathing become long and even did Yi Shuyuan relax a little. He gently closed his own eyes as well, though to his slight surprise, he entered the meditative state far faster than he ever had before.

After his mind had remained tranquil for a while, Yi Shuyuan spoke again.

"Expand your awareness to behold the cosmos. Visualize your own spiritual consciousness, mingle with the qi of wind and cloud, feel the radiance of sun and moon illuminating your inner realm, and gather the primordial qi of heaven and earth!"

At that moment, Yi Shuyuan felt as though his spirit had left his body and ridden the wind upward. Even his body felt weightless, as though wind and clouds were truly gathering to illuminate his inner landscape. The sensation was wonderfully pleasant.

Within his mind, A Fei could no longer feel his body, or even his breathing. As the senior's voice drifted down from beyond the heavens, wind and clouds gradually took shape within that vast, quiet darkness, and it began to brighten.

To A Fei, this sensation was truly wondrous, enough to make his very spirit tremble. But immediately afterward, he discovered that the Internal Energy in his body had begun moving of its own accord.

Oh no, I just lost control of my mind! What do I do? A Fei grew frantic. He tried to guide his Internal Energy back to his dantian, but it was like pushing down a gourd only to have a ladle bob up elsewhere. His panic threw his Internal Energy into even greater disorder, and his meridians began to ache.

"Senior, I can feel my internal qi moving! The more I try to control it with my thoughts, the more chaotic it becomes, and the worse it feels!"

A Fei could no longer worry about anything else. He could only anxiously ask the senior for help.

Alarm shot through Yi Shuyuan's heart, pulling him out of that sensation. He did not know whether A Fei meant the sensation of qi as he understood it or the boy's actual internal power. Still, the two situations were very similar, so he immediately spoke again, raising his voice further.

"Hold firm to your mind and gather your scattered thoughts. Let the heart follow, but not the will; let the heart observe, but not thought. Through stillness, perceive movement; through movement, reveal stillness. Guard your own heaven and earth, and let the mountains and waters roam freely!"

It was difficult to make someone completely ignore the sensation of qi. Aside from all those mystical explanations, Yi Shuyuan understood it as a combined response of thought and physiology. But observing it without controlling it-someone who knew miraculous martial arts should be able to manage that, right?

Sure enough, as A Fei kept silently repeating Yi Shuyuan's words, his breathing gradually settled and his expression grew peaceful. His breaths became longer and longer, until each one brought a strange sensation like water pouring over him from head to toe. It also felt as though his inner realm had brightened, allowing him to behold mountains and rivers.

Yi Shuyuan finally relaxed. To him, A Fei's problem resembled that of many people in his previous life: perhaps the main issue lay in his mindset. Even if his talent truly was limited, Yi Shuyuan believed that keeping his outlook from becoming warped would help enormously. He might yet be a great vessel that took time to mature.

Then Yi Shuyuan looked toward the campfire. After a brief pause, he hurriedly tiptoed over and moved the two buns skewered on branches away from the flames. One side had already blackened, but they smelled rather good.

Somewhat unexpectedly, it took a very long time for A Fei to come around. After thinking it over, however, Yi Shuyuan found it understandable. Although ordinary beginners could not usually keep going for long, A Fei was a martial artist, after all. The martial arts of this world probably involved seated meditation and breathing exercises, so it was normal for him to last longer.

When A Fei opened his eyes, he even felt a little dazed. His eyes were open, yet he had not fully emerged from that state. Examining himself inwardly, he found that the Internal Energy which had been in turmoil was now resting quietly in his dantian. No, it was not entirely still—it was rotating faintly.

Through stillness, perceive movement; through movement, reveal stillness?

Something dawned on A Fei. He turned to one side, where Yi Shuyuan was tearing pieces off a bun and eating them.

"You're awake?"

Yi Shuyuan asked this with a smile. After all, sometimes it really did resemble sleep. It was quite good for restoring one's energy after staying up late and becoming mentally exhausted.

But A Fei's next action gave Yi Shuyuan a fright.

A Fei rose straight to his feet, then dropped to his knees facing Yi Shuyuan and repeatedly knocked his forehead against the ground.

"Thank you, Senior! Thank you, Senior! I had eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai. I even suspected you of harboring ill intentions! I'm a fool. Please take me as your disciple, Senior! Please take me as your disciple!"

Holy shit, you're taking this that fucking far? While Yi Shuyuan stood stunned, A Fei had already kowtowed who knew how many times. Once he recovered, he hurriedly stood up to help A Fei to his feet, but the boy used brute strength to insist on continuing.

Now Yi Shuyuan was getting a little angry. Never mind that I really don't know any powerful martial arts-even if I were some senior of the martial world, would you still try to force this deal on me?

"Enough!"

It was only a single word, but with Yi Shuyuan's changed mood, the edge of severity in his voice seemed to jolt A Fei awake. He realized he had gone too far, and his kowtowing naturally stopped.

Filled with regret, A Fei remained frozen in place, torn between hope and fear. Yi Shuyuan found the sight amusing and held out the other branch with the scorched bun skewered on it.

"Don't just sit there. Eat."

"Yes!"

Only then did A Fei feel a weight lift from his shoulders. He hurried over to take the bun. After a few bites, his thoughts drifted away again. A good while later, he looked at Yi Shuyuan and cautiously asked a question.

"Senior, does the inner cultivation method you just taught me have a name?"

Inner cultivation method? Yi Shuyuan was about to say something, but then his thoughts took a turn. In a measured voice, he offered a name that sounded somewhat impressive and was reasonably fitting.

"You can call it the Clear Heart Art."

"The Clear Heart Art!"

A Fei repeated it silently, excitement surging through him. How could he fail to realize that this was an unsurpassed inner cultivation method? He would be too excited to sleep tonight!