Chapter 30: Finally Leaving Gushan

Wu Chengyu carefully studied the introductions to these two techniques on the bamboo slips; both were basic techniques used to lay foundations and build up one's reserves.

The Ox-Horse Stance, as the name suggests, imitates oxen and horses.

The ox's characteristic is great strength and strong tendons and bones; practicing the Ox-Horse Stance can strengthen one's foundation and increase strength. In ancient times, the strength of one ox was roughly around 500 catties, though some say 1,000 catties, which is basically reasonable. Some fantasy novels say one ox's strength is 12,000 catties, which is a bit excessive—I doubt the oxen would agree.

In Jin Daxia's novel world, the supreme art for tempering strength is the Dragon Elephant Prajna Art, divided into thirteen layers; each layer adds 100 catties of strength, and by the tenth layer, a single strike possesses 1,000 catties of force, immediately making one a supreme master.

However, the drawback of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Art is that it takes too long. Jin Lun Fa Wang, hailed as a peerless genius of the Esoteric Sect, also took forty or fifty years to reach the tenth layer; this speed was already hailed as second in a thousand years, while ordinary people might not even reach the fifth layer even if they practiced until death.

The Ox-Horse Stance certainly cannot match the power of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Art. According to Wu Chengyu's estimate, after mastering it, one could increase strength by 500 to 800 catties, which is already the limit. But the problem is that practicing the Ox-Horse Stance, as long as the method is correct and one practices diligently without slackening, one can achieve Great Accomplishment in five years. In terms of cost-effectiveness, it far surpasses the Dragon Elephant Prajna Art.

What Wu Chengyu valued most was its effect on strengthening tendons and bones, increasing bone strength, expanding the meridians, and increasing flexibility. Wu Mianfeng's physical aptitude was truly mediocre; after practicing the Ox-Horse Stance, he could slowly and effectively improve his aptitude, and by the day of mastery, his physical talent would at least not be inferior to that of his several senior brothers.

As for the horse, its characteristics are strong endurance and fast speed, which can improve Wu Chengyu's agility and flexibility; this also falls under the category of physical aptitude.

Ox and horse combined effectively solved Wu Chengyu's fundamental problem of insufficient aptitude and slow progress in martial arts. From this perspective, the reward given by the bamboo slips was extremely targeted. Thinking of this, Wu Chengyu felt slightly relieved about the broken name "Ox-Horse Stance."

But the next second, Wu Chengyu was unhappy again, because the name of the first form of the Ox-Horse Stance was extremely vivid: "Acting as an Ox and Horse."

Wu Chengyu, enduring his displeasure with veins bulging, turned his gaze to the other technique: the Turtle-Grandson Method.

This technique is actually a variant of the Turtle Breath Art; it requires the practitioner, according to the method in the technique, to maintain the breathing method of the Turtle-Grandson Method in daily life and make it a habit, completely becoming a bodily instinct.

This method is equivalent to practicing cultivation while idling twenty-four hours a day. The effect is not as immediate as circulating the Heavenly Circuit with the Biling Heart Technique, but it wins in the long duration of idling. Slow and enduring, over time, the cultivation effect obtained will definitely be astonishing.

This is somewhat similar to the Quanquan Heart Technique. The Quanquan Heart Technique emphasizes maintaining a practice state while walking, sitting, or lying down. This is the greatest characteristic that makes the Quanquan Heart Technique superior to other basic heart techniques.

In addition, the point where the Turtle-Grandson Method differs from the Turtle Breath Art is that it is mainly a sleeping method—maintaining a cultivation state during sleep. Most importantly, it can slowly expel the waste qi and impurities absorbed into the body during the day while sleeping, repairing the body's condition, somewhat similar to a computer's refresh function.

Judging solely by the characteristics and effects of these two techniques, they are undoubtedly supreme treasures for martial artists to lay foundations, if one does not consider those tooth-aching names.

Wu Chengyu strongly protested against the bamboo slips and proposed the idea of changing the names. Unfortunately, the bamboo slips were accustomed to pretending to be deaf and dumb and completely ignored him.

Wu Chengyu turned his attention to the second reward and then sucked in a breath of cold air. Although the two techniques of the first reward had teasing names, at least they were legitimate cultivation techniques. Who would have thought that the second reward, from name to content, was entirely illegitimate?

Wu Chengyu thought back: the first reward should have been for Wu Mianfeng, and the second reward was for him. Was it just because he persistently turned back many times from the entrance of the brothel every day, constantly passing by?

Wu Chengyu felt a bit wronged. The brothel was clearly on the necessary path from his small courtyard to Hongyun Restaurant. Even if he passed by quite a few times, he had never gone inside, after all, what could a ten-year-old child do inside?

Wu Chengyu secretly took a breath and decided to hide the second reward, telling no one, and study it slowly by himself.

Since his leg was healed, his connection with Gushan County had come to an end.

Lunch was the fried sauce noodles Wu Chengyu had developed. In this era, noodles were called tangbing, mostly noodle soup; mixed noodles like fried sauce noodles were not common. Unfortunately, many ingredients were missing, so this fried sauce was not authentic. If placed in the capital of later generations, it would definitely be mocked by old Beijingers.

Fortunately, Wu Chengyu's cooking skills greatly made up for this. Anyway, A Ku loved to eat it; she wanted it every other day, and on the other days she wanted meat buns. The little girl always thought buns were the most delicious food in the world; as long as there were buns, she would be very happy.

Wu Chengyu took out a handkerchief to wipe A Ku's little face, which was covered in sauce. A Ku responded with a sweet smile.

"A Ku, Brother's leg is healed. We're leaving Gushan soon and returning to Brother's hometown in Gusu. Are you willing?"

A Ku was a bit at a loss. She had long known they would leave here. She was actually not very willing to leave the familiar environment, but she was even more unwilling to leave Wu Chengyu.

"Brother, can I say goodbye to Miss Zhao Jia first?"

"Of course. Take the candied hawthorn you just made and give it to her."

A Ku had noodles in her mouth, nodded "yes yes," and shook her head and swayed her body.

To Wu Chengyu, that gold coin was considered repaying Yuan Yuan Lian's kindness. Yuan Yuan Lian had not sold herself to the Zhao family; she was just working. Wu Chengyu did not intend to save anyone's life.

But A Ku really liked Yuan Yuan Lian. Now that she no longer begged for food, she never forgot to send good food to Yuan Yuan Lian. She truly couldn't bear to part with this Miss.

"Speaking of Wu Song returning to his hometown, he drank eighteen bowls of the strong wine of 'three bowls and not over the pass' in one breath, ignoring the waiter's advice, and insisted on going up Jing Yang Gang. He simply didn't believe there was a tiger on Jing Yang Gang. But after all, he had drunk too much. After going up Jing Yang Gang, he fell drunk and slept on a large rock.

Sleeping soundly at midnight, Wu Song heard the roar of a wild beast getting closer and closer. The small trees around kept shaking. The saying goes, 'Dragons follow clouds, tigers follow wind.' When a tiger goes out, mountain winds rise, and this woke Wu Song. He opened his eyes and saw—a big tiger with white markings on its forehead and hooked eyes.

Wu Song suddenly stood up. The mountain wind blew, and the wine's strength hit him. Wow, all the wine he had just drunk was vomited out, just happening to douse the tiger's head. The tiger had never drunk alcohol before; instantly it became drunk and muddled. That Second Brother Wu, indeed a resounding hero, seized this opportunity and performed a Hua Shuan.

"Ladies and gentlemen, want to know what Hua Shuan is? This is a special move Wu Song practiced specifically to fight the tiger. Let me demonstrate it for everyone.

…………."

Wu Chengyu never told stories seriously. Fortunately, the audience here didn't seem like serious story listeners. After finishing today's story, Wu Chengyu stood up and performed a round of salutes.

"I am the junior Wu Chengyu. A few months ago, I fell into misfortune and came to Gushan. Thanks to the care of the shopkeeper here and all the esteemed neighbors, I was able to have a meal to eat.

Now that my leg injury has healed and I am eager to return home, it is finally time for me to leave Gushan.

Today is my last time telling a story. As the saying goes, there is no feast that does not end. Mountains long and waters far, esteemed neighbors, take care."

This chapter is finished; the protagonist's plot in Gushan County comes to a segment. Next time I return, it might be to find trouble with Huang Yaoshi. Of course, I don't know which year or month, or how to find trouble—I've thought of many possibilities but haven't decided yet.

After leaving Gushan, I've arranged a big play for the subsequent plot, broadening the worldview of this book. Everyone can guess which world I've merged in. However, I can guarantee that the merged world will definitely not affect the main plot of The Legend of the Condor Heroes; it's just adding some characters.

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(Chapter End)