One-Armed Constable: Horse Stance, Pile Stance, Passing the Test, and Receiving the Heavenly River Saber Technique!

One-Armed Constable: Horse Stance, Pile Stance, Passing the Test, and Receiving the Heavenly River Saber Technique!

The next day.

Ji Xiu rose early, counted out a string of one hundred copper coins, and put on his freshly washed, bleached-brown clothes.

He brought Ji Wei several flatbreads, then hurried first to the Lin Residence, where he fed the horses and took them for a round.

Next, he went to a butcher beside Firewood Market at the eastern end of the county, bought two jin of pork and two fresh, lively black carp that thrashed about in his hands. Then he felt the money pouch tucked against his chest, making sure nothing could go wrong.

Only then did he knock on the gates of a place called "Duan Residence," hidden in an old alley behind the Fire Kiln, its streets blackened with soot.

In terms of grandeur,

it naturally could not compare with wealthy merchant households like the Anning Lin Residence, one of the county's foremost families.

Still, it was rather spacious, clearly not the home of someone short on money.

"Come in."

"The gate isn't bolted."

A vigorous voice rang out.

As Ji Xiu pushed the gate open and entered,

he saw a saber-wielding martial man standing in the wide courtyard of packed yellow earth. His left sleeve hung empty, his hair was streaked gray, and he wore a Purple Silk Robe. He had planted his saber tip-first in the sandy soil and turned his head at the sound.

With that single glance,

Ji Xiu's breath caught. It was as if, from that instant onward, some tiger or lion had fixed him in its deadly gaze. Any slight movement, and he would be separated from head and body.

Thoughts flashed like lightning, pressure weighed like a prison!

Just several zhang away, and he can make lifting my foot feel like wading through a swamp?

This... is a martial man!

Ji Xiu's heart pounded wildly, his eyes flickering.

Yet he did not retreat or feel fear. Instead, his gaze grew increasingly fervent.

The more so,

the more delighted he became.

This proved he had come to the right place!

The One-Armed Constable Qin Biao from the Lin Residence had spoken of truly was somebody.

At the very least, from Ji Xiu's perspective, when he looked at this "Duantou Duan,"

his impression had risen from the level of merely "martial arts" that Qin Biao inspired to that of the "Black Tortoise"!

At his peak, a martial man like this must have Entered the Ranks, as Qin Biao described!

I just wonder how far above that he stood.

Ji Xiu did not know what the divisions of martial arts or the ranks of martial men looked like.

And Qin Biao himself had only been a dabbler. He could not explain terms like "sinews, bones, skin, and flesh" or "Qi Refining Expert" in any real detail.

Still, now that he had arrived, Ji Xiu was already seventy percent certain.

If he could fortunately learn a move or two under such a person, then use that to "draw in advance" a little more—

everything before him would be like clouds parting to reveal the sun!

"Oh?"

Duantou Duan, holding his saber one-handed, wore only a thin Purple Silk Robe in the early autumn chill. Yet he stood straight as a pine, his eyes bright as torches. When he saw that Ji Xiu had not been cowed back by his gaze and instead revealed a fiery look in his eyes, he raised a brow.

He noticed the pork and black carp in Ji Xiu's hands.

Then he looked over his lean body and threadbare clothes.

"Here to learn martial arts?"

The indifferent words fell.

Ji Xiu respectfully crossed the threshold, lowered his head and eyes, and spoke with every courtesy observed.

"This disciple is Ji Xiu. I heard that Master Duan had opened a school and accepted students, so I came especially to cultivate under you!"

After speaking, he kept his head bowed and glanced around, intending to hand the tuition gifts in his hands to a servant or disciple of Duantou Duan's household.

Yet the surroundings were cold and empty. There was not a single person in sight, and he could not help feeling puzzled.

With martial skill like this, shouldn't the hall be filled with disciples, with people everywhere serving tea and attending him?

Why is it...

Before he could finish the thought—

"My skills are not taught to mediocrities."

"If you want to pay to learn martial arts, first set your stance, then pass the Pile Stance test. Let me feel out your foundation. If you aren't qualified and fail to meet the standard, then go back where you came from."

Duantou Duan pulled his saber from the yellow sand, sheathed it one-handed, exhaled a puff of white breath, and spoke calmly.

Just as expected—his temperament was solitary and cold, and he cared little for money.

Ji Xiu's heart tightened at those words.

"Before coming here, Ji Xiu had already prepared himself. I ask Master Duan—"

But before he could finish,

a polite voice came from behind him.

"Young man, please make way."

A tall young man in neat, fitted martial attire passed Ji Xiu and stepped inside.

The moment he entered, he saw the things in Ji Xiu's hands and Duantou Duan leaning on his saber, then smiled.

"Early in the morning, and someone's come to become a disciple again."

"Good luck, little brother."

"My surname is Lu, Lu Yu. I suppose I count as one of Master Duan's Registered Disciples. If you can pass too, then it'll just be the two of us, and we can be considered fellow disciples in name from now on."

Seeing that Ji Xiu's hands were full, Lu Yu kindly took the items from him and temporarily set them in the kitchen.

From his unhurried movements and long, steady breathing, it was clear that he too was a practiced martial artist who had trained for years. His family circumstances were likely quite good.

There's only one Registered Disciple under him—not even a single true disciple? Just how harsh are Duantou Duan's trials?

As he pondered this, Duantou Duan took two strides forward. Before Ji Xiu could react, a heavy palm shot out and seized his arm.

So fast!

Like a black panther pouncing on its prey, Duantou Duan closed in with only a streak of afterimage.

In the next instant, Ji Xiu felt him pat and poke every joint in his body—from his arm to his chest, waist, abdomen, and lower legs!

In only a few breaths,

Ji Xiu felt as though his sinews and bones had been loosened, his blood and qi released.

As a wave of soreness and comfort surged through him,

Ji Xiu saw Duantou Duan withdraw his hand. After looking him over from head to toe once more, his face darkened with faint disdain.

"Skin and bones, unopened major sinews, depleted blood and qi."

"With a body like yours, what martial arts can you train?"

"Give you a saber, and I'd be afraid of training you into ruin. Much less someone as weak as you—wouldn't setting your stance and practicing Pile Stance work exhaust you to death?"

Ji Xiu looked somewhat awkward. It was not as though he wanted this.

The problem was, he had only been here a few days and had barely managed to sneak a few bites of the horses' feed.

Chewing hard flatbread every day until his nose ran and tears streamed—if that could make him broad-shouldered and thick-backed, then ghosts must be real.

"Uh..."

"Master Duan, how about letting this little brother give it a try first?"

Although Lu Yu inwardly thought the same, he still tried to smooth things over.

He did not think this little brother before him could pass the trial.

If he truly could—

then after all this time, there would not be only one disciple here.

Duantou Duan seemed somewhat uninterested.

But seeing Ji Xiu standing with lowered head and eyes, following every rule without taking even half a step back, he still waved a hand.

"Fine."

"Then I'll let you try."

After saying that, he pointed toward a Plum Blossom Formation beside the empty horse troughs on the western side. It was formed from dozens of Plum Blossom Stakes of varying heights and lengths driven into the yellow sand.

"Unopened sinews and bones can be trained."

"A weak body can be nourished."

"But if you want to become a martial man, whether through fists and kicks, saber techniques, or refining force to Enter the Ranks, lower-body work is the top priority."

"If you can achieve Waist-Horse Unity, you are excellent material for martial training and will get twice the result with half the effort!"

"But that aptitude and foundation require years upon years of accumulated training."

"This is not a place that teaches you martial arts hand in hand."

"If you have the qualifications, I'll lend you a hand or two. If not, there's nothing to be done. It only means you and I lack fate."

"Now—"

"Jump onto those Plum Blossom Stakes. First, set your stance for a quarter-hour on two stakes of different heights. Then wade back and forth across them twice. You must step on every stake. Let me see your foundation."

Horse stance, walking the stakes?

This... was the so-called trial?

Ji Xiu's heart shook.

Then he remembered that only two days ago, after training horses for so long and finally mastering his horse work, he had comprehended a trait called "Waist-Horse Unity."

It unexpectedly coincided perfectly with what Duantou Duan had just said.

The slight unease in his heart abruptly eased.

Ji Xiu cleared his mind and drew a deep breath.

"Yes!"

If that was the case,

then perhaps he really had a chance!

Half a quarter-hour later!

Duantou Duan and Lu Yu stood side by side.

The former narrowed his eyes as he watched the figure setting his stance and walking the stakes.

"I may have misjudged him."

Following his gaze,

they saw Ji Xiu standing atop the Plum Blossom Stakes, fine beads of sweat constantly forming on his forehead, the skin of his face twitching. His arms were bent, fists held horizontally at his waist, his body slightly crouched.

Yet despite standing for so long, despite the soreness and numbness in his legs,

his body remained utterly motionless. Like an old tree whose roots coiled deep into the earth, he had nearly become one with the Plum Blossom Stakes!

All these years,

since these stakes had been planted here,

the boy named Ji Xiu was the second person who could set his stance and walk the stakes to such a degree.

As for the first,

it had been himself.

Setting one's stance and walking the stakes did not depend on how long one could stand. That had no meaning.

What mattered was whether one's waist and hips, shoulders and legs could twist together into a single force, forming a seamless whole!

This was the key to pursuing the path of a martial man and tempering external martial arts afterward!

It was hard to imagine how someone with such a frail body could achieve this.

"The steadier the lower body, the faster and fiercer one can train the saber. Likewise, as long as the food keeps up, one can better open the sinews and bones and temper the body."

"Ji Xiu's background is clearly ordinary. It is already rare and precious for him to reach this level."

"He didn't avoid Master Duan's gaze, his temperament is resilient, his lower body is extremely stable, and he has long legs, broad shoulders, and excellent proportions. With further tempering, once he grows into himself, he should be good material."

"At the very least, he's far better than those spoiled young masters from before, or those poor children who came clutching money to make one desperate gamble, only to find they could do nothing at all."

"With a body like his, being able to endure half a quarter-hour through sheer will and leave his legs feeling like lead and mercury is already very impressive. If he walks two more rounds, something might happen. Master Duan, how about teaching him—?"

Lu Yu could not help but admire him.

If he had never practiced martial arts,

he absolutely could not have done this.

Feeling some pity for talent, he turned to speak to Duantou Duan, but—

Tap tap tap!

Before he could finish, the sound of feet striking wooden stakes rang out!

"Hm?"

The two of them looked toward the source at once.

They saw—

When the quarter-hour was up, Ji Xiu did not tremble unsteadily, on the verge of falling.

Instead, he fully followed Duantou Duan's test. In an instant, he shifted from stillness to motion, striding as swiftly as if he could fly.

As his sinews and bones stretched, his steps shifted, and his blood and qi surged,

the boy—

not only did not fall from the stakes, but skimmed across them like a dragonfly touching water, "treading water without wetting his knees." He passed through the dozens of Plum Blossom Stakes like a forest, completing two full rounds!

Then he leaped down in one fluid motion!

That entire sequence of movements, refined to perfection,

made a subtle change appear in Duantou Duan's eyes.

From initial disdain and utter lack of interest,

to growing intrigued, even

slightly astonished.

"Horse stance, stake walking."

"The former is simple; you can't see much from it. But this next part..."

"I've trained for so many years, and I'm only about this good."

"But this kid definitely didn't acquire it through later practice."

"Born with Waist-Horse Unity?"

"This proves his bodily coordination is exceptionally outstanding. Sinews, bones, and skin are all internal matters. Perhaps mastering them will be as easy for him as making his waist and abdomen, shoulders and legs exert force as one."

"Lu Yu has a point. He really is promising material!"

For one brief moment,

he actually wanted to take this boy in as his disciple and nurture him with care. Given enough time, perhaps...

"Heh, it's far too early for that. I'm overthinking it."

"We'll talk after he enters the ranks."

Watching Ji Xiu leap down from the Plum Blossom Stakes, his eyes brimming with expectation as he looked at him,

Duantou Duan's expression softened, and he gave a slight nod.

"Judging people by appearances truly is wrong."

"You've taught me a lesson."

"Ji Xiu."

He pondered for a moment, deliberating for quite some time before pulling a saber manual from his robes. Printed on it were the words "Heaven River Saber"!

Three simple words,

yet the sore, aching Ji Xiu caught sight of them from a distance and

could not help but start breathing heavily!

This...

wasn't this the very thing he had racked his brains and gone to every length to obtain!?