Cultivation in Every Movement

Duan Rong came out of the tavern with his face already flushed red.

Although he had sold insurance in his previous life, Duan Rong had been born allergic to alcohol and had not touched a drop all year round.

Since transmigrating, this was the first time he had tasted liquor. At first, he and Yang Zhen had courteously yielded to each other, but when half a jug of Rice Wine remained, they had practically fought over it.

For the last half-bowl of wine, Duan Rong had nearly torn Yang Zhen's clothes apart.

Duan Rong let out a drunken burp, his eyes gleaming as he muttered, "After transmigrating once, I can actually drink now. What an unexpected gain..."

Only after rubbing his round belly did he bid Yang Zhen farewell and head back toward the Yuan Shun Escort Agency.

Swaying as he walked, Duan Rong entered the Horse Stable just as Old Sun was using a rake to fork softened dry fodder into the troughs.

Apparently having exerted himself too hard, Old Sun had wrenched his waist. Coughing, he propped himself up with the rake and thumped his back.

Seeing this, Duan Rong jolted awake and hurried over. He took the rake from Old Sun's hand and said, "Old Sun, you should rest. Leave the rest of the work to me."

Seeing that Shen Hour was nearly upon them and Duan Rong had yet to return, Old Sun had thought the boy had tricked him and would not be coming back today.

He had no choice but to work harder. After feeding the horses, there was still the task of clearing out the manure.

He had taken things easy all morning, so the work had piled up. If he had to do it alone, he would not finish even after nightfall.

In his anxiety, Old Sun had carelessly wrenched his waist. Just then, Duan Rong suddenly darted in and took the rake from his hands.

The moment Old Sun saw Duan Rong, his face darkened. Seeing his flushed face and smelling the liquor on him, his anger surged even higher. He roared, "The Yuan Shun Escort Agency is a place with rules. Even menial workers cannot act however they please."

Duan Rong keenly sensed Old Sun's anger and immediately brought out the apologetic spiel he had used on clients in his previous life.

"Old Sun, I know I was wrong. It will not happen again. Don't worry, I'll get all the remaining work done properly. I'll clean up my own mess and won't cause you any trouble!"

Sure enough, Old Sun's expression softened somewhat. Seeing Duan Rong throw himself into the work, one rakeful enough to fork up fodder for half a trough, Old Sun bent over with a sigh. Pointing toward the eastern stables, he said, "After you clear out the manure, scrub the six date-red horses on the east side. They're supposed to go out on escort duty tomorrow. They've been stuck in the stable for over a month, doing nothing but eating fodder. They've all gotten fat!"

Duan Rong glanced over and said, "Don't worry, I'll scrub them spotless. When they go out tomorrow, they'll definitely bring honor to our escort agency!"

Old Sun smiled, secretly shaking his head as he muttered, "This kid sure has gotten a lot smoother with his words."

Old Sun bent over and left the Horse Stable, intending to go home, rest his waist, apply a medicinal plaster, and take it easy.

Once Duan Rong saw Old Sun leave the stable, he complained, "That old man didn't even finish feeding a bit of fodder all morning. He was just waiting for me to come back and do it. The older the man, the craftier; the older the horse, the slipperier."

Though Duan Rong grumbled, his hands did not dare slow down. After feeding the horses, he still had to clear manure and scrub them down. There was plenty of work waiting for him.

As he worked, Duan Rong unconsciously began to bend his legs, actually taking on the stance of a horse stance.

To his astonishment, he realized that the way he exerted force had changed as well.

It was as though he instantly understood what it meant for waist and stance to move as one.

When he forked fodder before, he had simply swung his arms, with the force reaching no farther than his shoulders.

But now, he felt strength rising from the soles of his feet, passing through his hips and waist, over his shoulders, and then into his arms.

His arms seemed to be borrowing that force instead, naturally lifting the fodder with the rake.

"This..." Duan Rong had been slightly puzzled at first, but then everything became clear.

After all, he already possessed introductory experience in the Five Tigers Herd Sheep Saber. Though that morning had been his first practice session, he had quickly formed muscle memory.

Now that he focused on working, he had unconsciously woven stance training and saber techniques into it.

"Looks like once Martial Arts are on the right track, every movement is cultivation." Duan Rong immediately grew excited.

In truth, only after one entered the ranks of Martial Skill could one be considered a true martial artist. Once Accumulated Skill was achieved, every movement became cultivation, immediately setting one apart from ordinary people.

Yet on the path of martial arts, that first threshold alone could trap ninety percent of ordinary men to death.

At that moment, a strange scene unfolded inside the Horse Stable. Duan Rong stood in a horse stance as he forked fodder.

After finishing one trough and moving toward another, Duan Rong still maintained his stance training.

As he walked, he looked even more as though he were truly riding a horse, swaying and hopping from side to side, his legs bent and his waist lowered as if he were sitting on an invisible stool.

After working like this for only a short while, Duan Rong was drenched in sweat, with heat steaming from his head.

After feeding the horses, Duan Rong began clearing manure in another strange posture.

Two hours later, every muscle in Duan Rong's body had begun to ache faintly.

Almost instinctively, as though he had learned it without a teacher, Duan Rong mastered the art of alternating his center of gravity between his left and right legs.

He had accidentally comprehended this new method while moving back and forth through the Horse Stable in his horse-running steps.

By shifting his center of gravity between his left and right legs, he could let the muscles throughout his body rest in turns.

It neither delayed the strengthening gained from stance training nor strained his muscles—a single stroke that served two purposes.

Only when the sky had begun to darken did Duan Rong finally finish cleaning the entire Horse Stable.

Duan Rong straightened up and exhaled a great plume of white vapor.

Only then did he realize that his cloth shoes were already soaked with sweat. When he walked, it was like stepping through a swamp, making soft squelching sounds.

Duan Rong simply kicked off both shoes and went barefoot on the ground.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, he guessed that dinner had already been served. But he still had six date-red horses to scrub.

Duan Rong's eyes shifted as he calculated that Old Sun would certainly come inspect his work.

Besides, he had eaten his fill at noon, and the chicken, duck, fish, and meat in his belly had not even finished digesting. He had no desire for the two Steamed Buns at dinner.

Duan Rong fetched two buckets of clean water, picked up a brush, and went to the eastern stables to scrub the horses.

As he brushed them, he muttered, "Look at that, what bright, glossy coats! You eat the finest fodder, and people even bathe you... You really live like masters..."

"What are you muttering about?" At some unknown point, Old Sun had already come up behind him.

Hearing that, Duan Rong turned around and put on an honest, simple smile.

Old Sun saw that Duan Rong had cleaned the Horse Stable until it was spotless. The boy had not even eaten dinner, yet he was still here scrubbing the horses. Seeing Duan Rong drenched in sweat and still smiling foolishly, the anger in Old Sun's heart immediately vanished like smoke, and his fondness for Duan Rong returned.

Old Sun stuffed two Steamed Buns into Duan Rong's hands and said, "Dinner time has passed. I saved two Steamed Buns for you. Eat them, then go back and rest early."

"Rest?" Duan Rong looked puzzled. Of the six date-red horses, he had only scrubbed two. Four still remained.

Old Sun glanced at Duan Rong and said, "No need to wash them. Tomorrow's escort run has been canceled."

"Canceled?" Duan Rong stared in astonishment, holding the two Steamed Buns.

Old Sun said nothing more and turned to leave the Horse Stable.

Watching Old Sun's retreating back, Duan Rong suddenly understood.

"That old man was messing with me!"

There was no escort run tomorrow at all. He saw that I came back late after taking leave, so he deliberately made trouble for me.

"Looks like that old man is petty. I'll have to watch out for him from now on."

Biting into a Steamed Bun, Duan Rong walked gloomily toward the menial disciples' dormitory in the Servant Yard.