[Seeing you rise early to train, expelling the stale and drawing in the fresh, "Turtle-Snake Stance" was spurred on once more!] [Continuing to guide the breath, grasp the Qi Sensation, and circulate it through the heavenly circuit...]
"This little turtle insists on waiting for me to work hard before it puts in any effort."
Once his breathing exercises and morning training were over, Lu Sui sat back against the bed.
He carefully sensed the "training" process of "Turtle-Snake Stance."
"Compared to me fumbling around on my own, the little turtle is clearly smoother, more precise, and more efficient."
Lu Sui frowned. According to Uncle Wen, gradually familiarizing the body with the breathing exercises was a matter of patient grinding.
Even reaching the threshold in eight or nine days would be considered fast.
Human breathing was innate, after all, and quite difficult to change.
It had to be corrected bit by bit, practiced diligently, and made into a habit.
Yet when "Turtle-Snake Stance" guided the breath and circulated it through the heavenly circuit, it was utterly natural, as though deeply branded into the body. Not a single flaw could be found in its passage and circulation.
Lu Sui's spirits rose.
The little turtle and I are one. If it trains well, that means I train well!
I'm still a one-in-ten-thousand martial arts prodigy!
Seeing that Lu Sui was awake, Xiaohuan hurriedly had someone fetch hot water and helped him wash his face and freshen up.
"You look much better today, Young Master."
The little maid studied his fair, clean face, which had a touch more rosy color than before.
How did Young Master seem more than halfway recovered after a night's sleep?
Lu Sui smiled.
"I have Uncle Wen's Turtle-Breathing Tuna to thank. Its effects were immediate."
He reckoned that as long as "Turtle-Snake Stance" kept striving tirelessly, he might be able to throw away his crutch in three to five days.
Then he could ask Dou Xiaowen for another set of moving exercises to strengthen his muscles and bones and replenish what he lacked.
That way, he could slowly nurse this sickly body into a sturdy one.
"How long have you even been learning, Young Master? It hasn't been a day, and it's already working?"
Xiaohuan's eyes widened. Her young master was someone who had nearly hanged himself just to avoid training.
Had he actually learned the martial arts Chief Steward Dou taught him this quickly?
"I told you, your young master is a one-in-ten-thousand martial arts prodigy."
Lu Sui spouted nonsense with a perfectly straight face.
"I simply didn't want to learn before and never put my mind to it. Otherwise, I'd have become the top martial artist in Changle County long ago."
Xiaohuan was skeptical, but as she massaged Lu Sui's legs, she did feel more strength in them than yesterday.
Young Master has studied books, so his mind is sharp. He's good at everything he learns.
The little maid thought to herself.
Take the opera troupe's excerpts, for instance. There were dozens of lengthy scripts, yet Lu Sui could sing them after watching them once without getting a single word wrong, leaving even the troupe's star performers marveling.
Perhaps this experience had changed Young Master's temperament. Instead of enjoying singing opera and listening to songs, he had become obsessed with martial arts.
"Xiaohuan, you can press harder. Your young master can take it."
As more sensation returned to his legs, the torment of aching, swelling, and itching grew increasingly distinct. Yet Lu Sui savored it like sweet syrup, seeming to enjoy it immensely.
The clearer the sensations, the faster he was recovering.
He gave an instruction.
"Oh, and have Second Concubine's people prepare some nourishing stews and supplements for me. Meat would be best."
Though Turtle-Breathing Tuna was a stillness exercise, it was not without expenditure.
Guiding the breath throughout his body was like completing several hours of aerobic exercise.
Every seven or eight repetitions left his stomach growling and his head swimming with hunger.
Besides, Uncle Wen had also explained that the heart of health-nurturing exercises was "three parts training, seven parts eating."
Without sufficiently refined meals, it was difficult to see results.
Thus, health-nurturing exercises were also called "wealth-and-honor exercises."
It meant that only wealthy households could afford supplements and medicinal meals to nourish the body and lay a solid foundation.
"All right."
Xiaohuan agreed sweetly, looking forward to her young master's early recovery.
The outer courtyard.
Dou Xiaowen lay in a wicker chair, puffing away at his tobacco pipe. Occasionally, he looked up at the seven or eight men wrestling in pairs and offered a few pointers.
"If you want a steady stance, your legs need to sink into the ground like tree roots!"
"Hold that breath in your chest! Swing your arms out and strike with crisp force!"
"Li Dahu, Deng Shuanzi, all that food was wasted on you two! You're as weak as women. Hold your stances for another four hours!"
Compared to his patient, meticulous instruction of Lu Sui, Dou Xiaowen now wore a stern expression on his aged face and showed no mercy.
A dark-skinned young man stood beside him, holding a teapot in one hand and a bowl in the other, his body slightly bowed.
"Master Dou, please calm down and have some tea."
Dou Xiaowen put down his tobacco pipe, and a bowl of hot tea was delivered to his hand.
Supporting the bottom of the bowl, he asked,
"Heiwa, how is your Subduing Tiger Stance coming along?"
"I've mastered seventy or eighty percent of it. I can grasp the Qi Sensation, and I'm close to minor mastery."
The young man called Heiwa replied.
Dou Xiaowen nodded. Of the seven or eight men in the courtyard, Heiwa was the cleverest, and he progressed quickly in stance training.
After a few more years of observation, if he served well and satisfied Dou Xiaowen, he might be accepted as a disciple and taught the true art of hanging the curtain.
Heiwa bent at the waist and found a topic of conversation.
"Master Dou, I haven't seen Eldest Young Master here for days. Didn't he say he wanted to learn martial arts from you?"
Dou Xiaowen glanced sidelong at him and said flatly,
"How could 'Turtle-Snake Stance' be that easy to learn? You've practiced Subduing Tiger Stance for two months and have only just managed to grasp that wisp of Qi Sensation."
Heiwa gave an awkward smile.
"I'm an uncultured fellow with a thick skull. How could I compare to Young Master?"
Dou Xiaowen narrowed his eyes and sneered.
"Subduing Tiger Stance has rises and falls, steps and leaps, drawing out strength. Even a fool could get a feel for it after practicing for six months or a year.
"'Turtle-Snake Stance' is a stillness exercise. You seek the breath as you breathe, guiding the Qi Sensation with each exhalation and inhalation. It depends heavily on talent.
"The more formidable the martial art, the more talent it requires. With wooden heads like yours, even if I taught you more profound skills, you might not manage to cross the threshold."
Heiwa immediately lowered his head.
"You're right to admonish me, Master Dou."
Though he said that, he was not quite convinced inwardly.
If he could not learn "Turtle-Snake Stance," Young Master Lu had even less chance of crossing the threshold and grasping the Qi Sensation.
A sickly invalid wanted to master martial arts too?
Heiwa muttered inwardly.
With the state Eldest Young Master was in, he'd be better off continuing to learn opera.
Dou Xiaowen sipped the coarse, astringent tea, feeling some regret himself.
Five days had passed since Eldest Young Master learned "Turtle-Snake Stance," and there had been no sign of him.
He had probably found training dull and beaten the retreat again, just as before.
Training is like a donkey turning a millstone. Skill has to be squeezed out bit by bit.
Dou Xiaowen sighed inwardly.
Eldest Young Master lacks patience and can't settle himself. No matter how formidable the martial arts he's given, they're useless...
Among the children of wealthy households, those willing to endure hardship were ultimately few.
Dou Xiaowen closed his eyes and took intermittent puffs from his tobacco pipe.
Suddenly, he heard Heiwa's voice trembling, as though he had seen a ghost in broad daylight.
"Master Dou..."
"What is it?"
Dou Xiaowen asked impatiently.
"Eldest Young Master is here."
Heiwa stared toward the courtyard entrance, his eyes round.
"Eldest Young Master isn't using a crutch. His legs have recovered!"
What?
Dou Xiaowen abruptly sat upright. A figure stepped nimbly through the courtyard gate, his long silk robe fluttering as he strode briskly over.
"Uncle Wen, the 'Turtle-Snake Stance' you taught me truly is miraculous. Just a few days of practice have produced extraordinary results, surpassing a hundred days of massage."
A smile played at Lu Sui's lips, his face utterly relaxed.
Thanks to the little turtle's diligent training, he had finally freed himself from that crutch.
Inside the ancient temple, the stick of white incense in the shrine belonging to "Turtle-Snake Stance" had burned down by a third.
That showed just how hard he had worked over these five days!
"Eldest Young Master, you've crossed the threshold?"
Dou Xiaowen sprang to his feet, surprise flashing through his eyes.
He observed Lu Sui's strong breathing and steady steps, with none of his previous sickliness remaining.
Such an enormous change in just five short days!
"Thanks to your careful instruction, Uncle Wen, I gained quite an understanding and grasped the Qi Sensation after returning to my room."
Lu Sui lifted his chin, a smile at the corners of his mouth.
As the household's young master, there was no need to keep hiding his abilities. Revealing them in moderation would better earn the servants' awe and respect.
"I spent a few days studying it behind closed doors, never slacking day or night. At last, I nurtured that wisp of Qi until it was two fingers thick, 'curing' my legs in the process."
A breath of Qi two fingers thick?
That was nearly minor mastery!
Dou Xiaowen's astonishment showed without concealment.
Back when he practiced "Turtle-Snake Stance" and learned Turtle-Breathing Tuna, it had taken him a full half month of arduous effort just to figure out the route of the breath's circulation!
Could Eldest Young Master truly be a one-in-ten-thousand martial arts prodigy?