novel-bin Chapter 61 is complete.
Chapter 61 is complete.
Half a month passed quietly.
In the past, at dawn and dusk, the martial arts hall was filled with the sounds of fists and shouts. Now, only a few scattered figures remain, exuding an air of desolation.
Jiang Lan arrived at the martial arts school as usual in the early morning. When she walked to the wooden stake where Xiao He usually stood, she immediately noticed something was wrong.
The weapon rack next to it looked even more empty, with one of its commonly used long swords missing, its lonely scabbard stuck in its place.
Li Yan has not shown his face for three consecutive days.
No one knew where he had gone, and no one bothered to look for him. The martial arts school was in disarray; everyone was preoccupied with their own problems, and no one had the energy to care about the whereabouts of someone else.
Jiang Lan stood in front of the wooden stake, his expression calm, his aura subdued, about to sink his shoulders and drop his elbows to begin practicing his fist techniques.
Light footsteps came from the backyard, and Liu Yun slowly walked out.
She has noticeably lost weight recently. Her clothes, which used to fit her well, are now slightly loose, and the outline of her shoulder blades can be clearly seen through the fabric. Her brows reveal an unyielding worry and exhaustion.
She clutched two small, coarse cloth pouches tightly in her palms, their openings tied with red rope. The pouches were bulging, clearly containing something inside.
Liu Yun walked straight to the center of the courtyard, stopped in front of Jiang Lan and Sun Gengsan, and handed over the cloth bag in her hand.
"Nourishing Vitality Grass".
"This allowance was originally reserved for Zhao Heng, but now that he's long gone, it's a waste to keep it."
Liu Yun stuffed a cloth bag directly into Sun Gengsan's arms, and then took out another identical cloth bag from her wide sleeve and handed it to Jiang Lan.
"Take this." Her gaze swept over the two of them, her tone becoming more serious. "The battle for the Golden Scales Society is imminent. Our Guangchang Martial Arts School can choose not to actively get involved in the conflicts between various forces, but we cannot afford to neglect our own cultivation and foundation. In this chaotic world, only one's own strength is the only thing to rely on."
Jiang Lan reached out and took the cloth bag, gently squeezing it between her fingertips. The bag was very light and soft, and through the thick fabric, a faint, bitter medicinal fragrance wafted into her nostrils and permeated her lungs.
"Thank you, Senior Sister Yun." He said in a calm and composed tone, neither humble nor arrogant.
Liu Yun nodded slightly, said no more idle talk, and turned to walk towards the backyard.
Sun Geng carefully tucked the cloth bag into his clothes, let out a heavy sigh, and spoke with a sense of helplessness.
"Xiao He was forced to go back by her family."
"His father sent a message through someone, saying that poor children simply cannot afford the long road of martial arts training. Without the support of a powerful backer or the supply of resources, they would likely end up with nothing. It would be better to turn back early, go home and seek a stable livelihood, rather than waste their years."
After a brief pause, a hint of sadness flashed across Sun Gengsan's eyes, and his tone grew even lower: "I know in my heart that if I still can't break through my current cultivation barrier in the coming period, I will have no choice but to follow their example and leave in despair next month."
The path of martial arts is difficult, and the path of a poor martial artist is even more difficult, like climbing to the heavens.
……
Two weeks ago, at the private banquet held at Tingtao Pavilion in Wangjiang Tower, Huo Yuanlong was incredibly sincere, offering such generous terms that it was hard to refuse.
But he ultimately declined.
Once you step into the Canal Gang and take up the position of deputy leader, you will be bound to the gang's fate, and you will never be able to remain unaffected.
Jiang Lan cleared his mind of distractions, stood firmly in front of the wooden stake, lowered his shoulders, dropped his elbows, tucked his chest, straightened his back, and slowly began to practice his fist techniques.
The fist technique is restrained and unassuming, without any arrogance. The power flows slowly through the meridians of the body, tempering the muscles and bones and refining the blood and qi day after day.
During the day, he practiced martial arts at the gym, and life flowed by uneventfully, but the undercurrents never stopped.
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
That night, the night was deep and all was quiet.
The light in Liu Changqing's study remained on for a long time.
He sat alone at his desk, holding the tip of a wolf-hair brush, slowly writing on the plain white letter paper, making a soft rustling sound.
The characters he wrote tonight were a few inches larger than usual.
The wife carried a bowl of warm tea into the study and quietly placed the teacup on the corner of the table.
After a moment of silence, she asked softly, "It's late and the dew is heavy, are you still writing a letter? Who is it to?"
"Yongchang Escort Agency, Zhang Shitong."
Liu Changqing's gaze remained fixed on the letter. "Guangchang Martial Arts School is currently in dire straits, Cangsong Martial Arts School is eyeing us covetously, and various forces within the Golden Scale Society are stirring up trouble. I am writing this letter in advance to give my disciples a way out."
Upon hearing this, the woman's heart sank slightly. After a long silence, she slowly spoke: "Sun Gengsan is calm and experienced, and acts with thoroughness and composure. If he were to join the Yongchang Escort Agency, he could be a stable and secure manager, enough to make a living."
Liu Changqing's pen paused abruptly, hovering over the paper. After a moment of silence, he slowly said, "As for Jiang Lan... this young man is calm and composed, with extraordinary comprehension. His martial arts talent is one in a hundred years, and he values loyalty and righteousness above all else. He is by no means a heartless or ungrateful person."
"If he is willing to join the escort agency in the future, with his skills and character, Yongchang Escort Agency will definitely treat him well and entrust him with important responsibilities."
Every word and phrase is a secret calculation, revealing the final considerations and concerns of a teacher in a chaotic world.
After finishing writing the letter, he carefully folded the paper, put it in an envelope, took the sealing wax, solemnly dripped it onto the seal, slowly pressed the mark, and placed the letter on the corner of the table.
"Tomorrow morning, I will ask a reliable person to send the letter to Yongchang Escort Agency by fast horse."
The woman silently picked up the now slightly cool teacup, and quietly left the study without saying another word. Human hearts are fickle, and life is unpredictable; some plans need not be spoken aloud, it's enough that they are understood in one's heart.
As dusk settled completely, night enveloped the entire small town.
Jiang Lan finished her daytime training and returned to her residence alone.
He gently placed the cloth bag of nourishing herbs that he had taken from Liu Yun on the table, and then took out the nourishing pills wrapped in layers of oil paper from the depths of the drawer and placed them aside.
The jade fish I ate half a month ago has a powerful and lasting medicinal effect, and it is still deep in my body's meridians.
A warm, moist current, like a serpentine snake, stealthily and ceaselessly collides with the two crucial acupoints, Yongquan and Mingmen.
The two critical points, Yongquan and Mingmen, were constantly trembling, gathering strength to break through, only lacking the final opportunity.
Before long, Cheng Erniang brought the steaming hot food to the table. Two dishes of home-style cooking, a bowl of thick porridge, and two bowls of white rice—simple yet warm and delicious.
After finishing his meal, he put down his chopsticks, stood up, and said to Cheng Erniang, who was busy by the stove, "You don't need to wait for me to rest tonight; you can go to sleep on your own."
Cheng Erniang glanced back at him, a hint of understanding flashing in her eyes. Without asking any further questions, she simply nodded.
Jiang Lan turned and walked out of the house into the courtyard.
He slowly closed his eyes, focused his mind, and began to regulate his breathing to enter a meditative state.
Within the dantian, the energy surged endlessly, and several powerful streams of energy converged from all directions of the meridians, constantly squeezing, colliding, and grinding towards several key acupoints throughout the body.
He calmed his mind and guided the internal energy to slowly descend, instantly spreading to the soles of his feet. His feet suddenly became hot, and his Yongquan acupoints felt as if they were being burned by fire, with waves of soreness and stinging sensations.
Then he redirected his energy, slowly moving it around his waist. The Mingmen acupoint felt numb and swollen, as if an invisible foreign object was trying to break free from the depths of his bones.
Heaven rewards diligence; no effort is ever wasted.
[Mastery of the Mountain-Crushing Stance Technique (1999/2000)]
The last bit of progress has now been completely made up!
Break through the acupoint, now is the time!
The medicinal power of the jade fish, which had been dormant within his body for half a month, was fully unleashed, and a domineering, warm current swept over his entire body.
At the same time, the energy from the nourishing herbs he had just taken also flowed into his meridians, and the two pure energies instantly intertwined and merged, surging and surging.
next moment.
Suddenly, a surge of heat exploded from the Yongquan acupoint on the sole of my foot!
The warm, powerful energy traveled up the leg bone, past the knee, across the hip bone, and with the force of thunder, struck the Mingmen acupoint in the waist.
Jiang Lan focused his mind to the extreme, pouring all the energy he had accumulated into it.
A subtle, crackling sound quietly arose from within.
The long-suppressed constraints shattered instantly; the Mingmen acupoint was broken!
In an instant, a series of dense crackling sounds erupted from all the joints of his body, a strange phenomenon indicating that all the meridians and acupoints in his body had returned to their proper positions and were fully opened.
He slowly opened his eyes, a fleeting glint of light flashing in them before returning to his calm and indifferent state.
A withered leaf was swept up by the night wind and swirled down from the sky, landing just half an inch away from his shoulder.
The withered leaves hung suspended in mid-air, as if firmly blocked by an invisible and intangible air wall, trembling slightly, and no matter how the wind blew, they could not fall even a fraction of an inch.
Jiang Lan raised her hand and gently waved it. A soft and restrained force spread out silently, gently pushing the withered leaf up and making it float three feet away before quietly landing on the ground.
Not a fly can land, not even a feather can be added...
The powerful force flows through the limbs and bones like blood, penetrating every nook and cranny, perfectly integrated and harmonious.
All nine acupoints are now connected!