Midnight-Noon Heaven and Earth Art

"Daoyin techniques?" Su Ziyang asked, puzzled.

Mr. Mengfei's face darkened as he looked at the astonished Su Ziyang.

"Didn't you say you often read Zhongsheng's books? Zhongsheng is short for Zhang Zhongjing, the Sage of Medicine. If I remember correctly, there's a passage in the first chapter of the Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Cabinet: 'If people can nurture themselves with care and prevent pernicious winds from invading their meridians, or treat them as soon as they enter the meridians, before they spread to the internal organs; if, as soon as their limbs feel heavy and sluggish, they practice daoyin and breathing exercises, use acupuncture and moxibustion, and massage with medicinal ointments, the nine orifices will not become blocked.'"

Classical Chinese came readily to Mr. Mengfei.

When Mr. Mengfei finished, understanding dawned on Su Ziyang.

"I know, I know! I just didn't remember it for a moment!"

A little embarrassed, Su Ziyang hurriedly joked to smooth things over. "Teacher! But as I understand it, daoyin and breathing techniques are things like the Eight Pieces of Brocade, the Five Animal Frolics, and the Muscle-Tendon Changing Classic, right? Aren't they like martial arts and gymnastics, meant to strengthen the body? What do they have to do with this qi?"

Mr. Mengfei shook his head. "Let me put it this way: wherever there is learning, there are higher and lower levels. Health-preserving practices like the Eight Pieces of Brocade, the Muscle-Tendon Changing Classic, and the Five Animal Frolics only serve to preserve health. They can strengthen the body. The ancient sages simplified these practices to make them easy for people to learn and use for health care!"

"But there are other practices that let people mobilize the qi inside their bodies. Practicing them produces an extremely refined substance called Qi!"

Mr. Mengfei paused at this point, then wrote the character "炁" on the ground.

Su Ziyang looked at the character and nodded, half understanding.

"Strengthening the body is only this Qi's most basic function. It has many uses, which can be summed up in two points: kept within, it can prolong life; used externally, it can dispel evil and cure illness!"

Su Ziyang was somewhat stunned to hear this.

But Mr. Mengfei paid no mind to whether Su Ziyang understood and continued explaining. "In ancient times, many physicians famous for acupuncture had to practice certain arts so they could better apply needles and circulate qi, truly making the effect as immediate as a drum answering the mallet! That's the real secret here."

The mention of acupuncture suddenly brought something to Su Ziyang's mind.

When Su Ziyang was an undergraduate, there had been an acupuncture teacher at his school who was very famous for his acupuncture.

He was known for using few needles and achieving quick results.

As a result, many physicians came to learn the teacher's acupuncture methods and needling techniques. After these visiting physicians arrived, they discovered that the teacher used ordinary needling techniques and selected ordinary acupuncture points.

But even when they copied the teacher exactly, their results were nowhere near as good as his.

When anyone asked the teacher why, he would only smile and tell them to keep studying hard.

For a while during his undergraduate years, Su Ziyang had taken it into his head to go running every morning. One day, he got up especially early.

Su Ziyang saw the teacher in a small grove beside the school's sports field. Su Ziyang had just finished his run and saw the teacher from a distance, making some strange movements beneath a tree while letting out low cries.

At the time, Su Ziyang had thought the teacher was practicing some kind of martial art and paid it no mind. But today, putting it together with what Mr. Mengfei had said and recalling the teacher's remarkably effective acupuncture, Su Ziyang suddenly understood everything.

Su Ziyang then told Mr. Mengfei everything that had happened, from beginning to end. Mr. Mengfei nodded after hearing it, indicating that Su Ziyang was right and that was indeed how things were.

Mr. Mengfei pondered for a moment, then continued, "You can't master Chinese medicine through diligence alone. I don't disparage or belittle people who work hard at something, but we have to acknowledge people's natural gifts. Geniuses do exist in this world!"

Looking at the deep gaze in Mr. Mengfei's eyes, Su Ziyang kept nodding to show that he agreed.

Su Ziyang had understood this principle since childhood. From elementary school through university, hardly any of the students who ranked first or second had achieved it through diligence alone. You couldn't deny that they were hardworking, but what mattered most was their minds.

In Su Ziyang's final year of high school, a girl had sat in front of him. She loved to play, reading novels in the dormitory at night and sleeping through classes during the day. Yet none of that stopped her from ranking first in their year.

Su Ziyang therefore agreed wholeheartedly with Mr. Mengfei, but Mr. Mengfei's next words dealt him a heavy cannon punch.

"From what I've observed, your comprehension isn't especially high!"

Su Ziyang jolted as if an electric current had passed through him. He stared at Mr. Mengfei with wide eyes.

Mr. Mengfei paid no attention to Su Ziyang's feelings. "I'm telling the truth, so don't refuse to listen. When I went into your consultation room, I saw the Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Cabinet on your desk. Judging by its frayed edges, you must have read it many times, but it seems your understanding and application of the book aren't very deep. If you had high comprehension, you should have grasped sixty or seventy percent of Zhongsheng's ideas!"

As the saying went, honest advice grated on the ears but aided one's conduct.

Su Ziyang was deeply displeased to hear this. Just as he was about to retort, Mr. Mengfei spoke again.

"You've only seen one patient at this clinic! And in my judgment, the Cough-Stopping Powder you prescribed probably won't have much effect! There's no need to argue. This person should return for a follow-up tomorrow, and then you'll know!"

Mr. Mengfei blocked every word Su Ziyang wanted to say and every path he could take.

A wave of frustration rose in Su Ziyang's heart, as though hot air were billowing inside him. The oppressive feeling made it hard for him to lift his head. He could only bear the pressure and say, "Fine, then let's wait and see the results tomorrow!"

Seeing that Su Ziyang was unhappy, Mr. Mengfei suddenly chuckled. "Haha. Don't be unhappy. Didn't you want to study medicine under me?"

Su Ziyang looked at Mr. Mengfei, who had just dealt him that blow, and thought, I don't want to study under you anymore.

Although he resisted in his heart, his mouth was quite honest. "Teacher, I want to study under you!"

Mr. Mengfei didn't respond to that and seemed to speak to himself. "All right. Since you're studying under me, do as I say and follow the path I've laid out!"

Su Ziyang nodded so hard he was practically a woodpecker. This guy's finally getting to the point!

"To begin with Chinese medicine, you have to start by sensing qi. So first you need to practice an art!" Mr. Mengfei said.

"Practice an art?" Su Ziyang asked. "What should I practice? Can I sense qi with the Muscle-Tendon Changing Classic, Teacher?"

As soon as he asked, Su Ziyang suddenly felt rather brainless. Mr. Mengfei was clearly about to teach him an art, yet his mind had short-circuited and he had asked such a brainless question.

Sure enough!

Mr. Mengfei gave Su Ziyang a sidelong glance. "I knew I wasn't mistaken. Your comprehension really is far too poor!"

Black lines instantly covered Su Ziyang's forehead.

"I'm teaching you, so of course I'll start at the foundation. Why practice the Muscle-Tendon Changing Classic? Naturally, I'll teach you an art. Follow along with what I do! Watch carefully. I'll only demonstrate it once!"

With that said.

Mr. Mengfei stood to Su Ziyang's side, in a position that let Su Ziyang see all his movements from the front, back, left, and right.

Mr. Mengfei first bobbed his body up and down, as though repeatedly squatting and rising, looking completely relaxed.

Su Ziyang hurried to follow, but his movements looked stiff. No matter how he imitated him, he couldn't move as naturally, relaxedly, and nimbly as Mr. Mengfei.

After three minutes, Su Ziyang slowly began to get a feel for it, and his movements became more coordinated.

At that point, Mr. Mengfei said softly, "This is the opening movement of the art. Its purpose is to relax the body."

The first form!

Mr. Mengfei spread his hands to either side of his body and raised them until his arms were held level, while lowering himself into a horse stance. He turned his hands, then flipped his palms upward and brought them to a right angle facing his face. He pressed his palms together, lightly touched the point between his brows with his middle fingers, quickly separated his hands to either side of his body, and pushed them straight forward.

Finally, Mr. Mengfei returned to a standing position.

Su Ziyang followed, movement by movement.

He captured at least three parts of the likeness.

Su Ziyang was fairly good at imitation.

After completing the movement, Mr. Mengfei said softly, "That's the first form."

With that, he began the second form.

Then the third and fourth forms.

All four forms were completed in this manner.

"Good! The art only has four forms!"

The movements were simple, and there were only four forms. Su Ziyang learned seventy or eighty percent of them and memorized nearly all the key points.

As for what the movements meant, Su Ziyang didn't understand a damn thing. All he could tell was that the third form seemed to imitate a bird in flight.

During that one run-through with Mr. Mengfei, he had neither sensed qi nor felt any effect on his body. It wasn't even as good as doing a couple of push-ups.

After leading Su Ziyang through it.

Mr. Mengfei stood still and said, "This art has both training and closing exercises! After every training session, you must perform the closing exercises to ensure your qi doesn't leak out!"

There were eight closing forms in all, also called the Eight Methods of Withdrawing the Talisman.

First, moving the heavenly eyes: rub both palms together until warm, then cover the eyes with them. Massage thirty-six times clockwise, then thirty-six times counterclockwise.

Second, dry face washing: hold the five fingers of each hand together and rub the face, first downward, then upward, as though washing it. Rub until the face feels slightly warm, rubbing lightly thirty-six or one hundred times.

Third, sounding the heavenly drum: the heavenly drum refers to the eardrums. Cover the ear openings with the palms, allowing no Qi to leak out. Place the fingers of both hands against the back of the head, then press the index fingers over the middle fingers and snap them down from the middle fingers against the back of the skull. If the eardrums are undamaged, a thumping sound like a beating drum can be heard. Do this thirty-six times.

Fourth, tapping Luo Qian: Luo Qian is the name of the god of the teeth. Tap the teeth together, starting with the molars and then the front teeth. Tap once at a time, not too quickly, thirty-six times in succession.

Fifth, supporting the central mountain: the central mountain is the nose at the center of the face. Curl the four fingers of each hand into a fist, with the thumbs resting on the index fingers. Using the outer sides of both thumbs, rub from the root of the nose down to the Yingxiang points beside the nostrils, thirty-six times in succession.

Sixth, aiding heavenly one: heavenly one gives birth to water, and water belongs to the kidneys, referring to the lower back and kidneys. Cover the left and right hollows of the lower back with the corresponding palms, and rub them up and down. Ideally, rub until both sides feel warm. Do this thirty-six times in succession.

Seventh, rubbing the dantian: the dantian is the area around the navel. It is the foundation through which a person receives Qi and life. Place one hand over the other, left for men and right for women-that is, men place the left hand over the right, and women the right over the left-and first rub the dantian clockwise. Then reverse the hands, right for men and left for women-that is, men place the right hand over the left, and women the left over the right-and rub the dantian counterclockwise. Do each direction eighteen times.

Eighth, rubbing Yongquan: the Yongquan points are in the soles of the feet. Sit on a stool or bed, rub the right sole with the left palm, then rub the left sole with the right palm, thirty-six times for each foot.

Mr. Mengfei explained as he led Su Ziyang through the exercises.

But at the final step of the closing exercises, Mr. Mengfei said, "In my many years of experience, rubbing Yongquan doesn't have a very noticeable effect. Besides, it's hard to do when practicing outside, so we'll leave it out and pat the shoulder and neck points instead!"

After the eight closing steps were finished, Su Ziyang, who hadn't felt much from practicing the art, actually felt refreshed and invigorated after completing the closing exercises!

Once they were done, Mr. Mengfei continued with his instructions. "You should practice the art somewhere quiet, preferably in pleasant surroundings with plenty of plants! You should also avoid strong winds while practicing!"

Su Ziyang nodded firmly to show that he understood.

Mr. Mengfei continued, "It's best to practice at the four hours of zi, wu, mao, and you. You must practice at least once each at zi and wu; mao and you are up to you."

After listening, Su Ziyang hurriedly cupped his hands. "Thank you, Teacher!"

Mr. Mengfei still didn't acknowledge Su Ziyang's use of "Teacher." He waved a hand at him and continued, "You must practice every day for one hundred days, without pausing or stopping! There's one requirement: during those hundred days, you must not entertain lustful thoughts. Watching videos and destroying yourself must be strictly forbidden! Otherwise, all that practice will have been for nothing!"

The requirement left Su Ziyang stunned!

That last requirement might be a little difficult!

When Mr. Mengfei finished speaking, he turned and walked away, paying Su Ziyang no further attention.

Su Ziyang followed behind him and asked, "Teacher, what's the name of this art of ours?"

Mr. Mengfei paused and said softly, "Midnight-Noon Heaven and Earth Art."