Chapter 165 Training
Chen Chuan put down his hand that was on the door handle and looked at the man.
This man is probably under 30 years old. The first impression is that he is quite thin and wearing tight clothes. He looks like a stick with big eyes. The most distinctive feature of this man is actually his nose, which takes up almost half of his face from top to bottom, which makes people unable to help but be attracted to it.
The man was stared at like that, and suddenly said in annoyance: "Hey, have you seen enough? It's very rude of you to look at me like that."
Chen Chuan glanced at the open window next to him and said, "I'm afraid it's impolite of you to suddenly come into someone else's room."
The man pretended to be nonchalant, folded his arms and said, "If Uncle He hadn't asked me to pick him up, I wouldn't have bothered to make the trip. I just wanted to see what kind of student Uncle He was going to pick up. Now it seems there's nothing special."
Chen Chuan also guessed that the other party should be the one called by He Xiaoxing, because this person did not have any hostility. When he turned around, his expression was one of showing off and boasting.
He said, "Does it have to be special to study with Teacher He?"
"Why not?" The man became excited and sat up straight for a moment. Then he thought of something and sat back down angrily, muttering, "Uncle He rarely teaches people."
Chen Chuan asked, "What's your name?"
The man puffed out his chest proudly and said, "Chang Ba!"
Chen Chuan thought silently in his heart, this name must not have been given by your father.
Chang Ba saw that he was silent, thinking that he was shocked by his name, hummed a few times, stood up and said, "Let's go, Uncle He is waiting for you."
Chen Chuan said: "I got the things."
He had previously estimated that he wouldn't stay here for long, as it was crowded and noisy, not a place suitable for cultivation. So after arriving, he didn't move much of his belongings. He just grabbed his suitcase, put on his Xuejun Sword, and followed Chang Ba.
The two of them arrived downstairs and got into an old off-road vehicle. After the vehicle started, they turned onto a flat road and drove in a certain direction. They could see a wide view, with blue sky and white clouds above and the outline of a gray mountain range at the end of the horizon.
Chen Chuan asked, "Mr. Chang, are you familiar with Teacher He?"
Chang Ba boasted, "Of course. My father and Uncle He are old friends. Uncle He lives in the lakeside hotel my family owns. We're going there now. Since you want to study with Uncle He, you should stay together." He glanced at Chen Chuan and said, "Uncle He taught me a lot in the past."
Chen Chuan seemed not to have heard his last words. He looked at the road, where cars passed from time to time, and said, "Are these all people going to Luoya Ancient City?"
Chang Ba curled his lips and said, "This is only July. In spring and autumn, there are more people. Camels can be lined up in endless queues. Don't tell me, half of our family's business depends on these people."
Chen Chuan asked, "Mr. Chang is a local, so he must have been to Luoya Ancient City?"
"There..."
Chang Ba shook his head and said, "Before I came of age, my elders wouldn't let me go there. It used to be famous for the lost children, but after it became famous, it started to get adults. Later, I learned martial arts, and I lost interest in it." He snorted, "It's just some winding tunnels. What's so interesting about them? How can they compare to martial arts, right?"
Chen Chuan said, "I heard there's a treasure there. Mr. Chang, are you not interested in it?"
"Treasure?" Chang Ba chuckled. "Others hope the treasure can be dug out soon, but I don't, because our family has always made money from treasure."
Chen Chuan also smiled and said that what he said was true. Since this family runs a hotel, it is precisely because of the reputation of the treasure that they can attract so many tourists.
After driving for a while, Chang Ba finally couldn't help but turn around and ask, "Don't you want to ask how I got into your room just now?"
Chen Chuan smiled. He could see that Chang Ba was very proud of this and kept bringing the topic back to this topic. However, he refused to ask and just talked about other things. He could see that this man was feeling very uncomfortable. He was quite grateful that this man had come all the way to pick him up, so he decided to play along and said, "What is that?"
Hearing that he was finally willing to ask, Chang Ba felt relieved. He chuckled a few times and said with great joy, "I'll tell you, that's the technique Uncle He taught me. It's called the Snake and Sparrow Stance. I fly nimbly and move silently. Once I master it, no terrain in the city can limit me."
Chen Chuan thought about it and thought that there might be more to it than just that. Judging from the silent situation just now, this is also a skill of hiding. However, this can probably only be practiced by someone with a physique like Chang Ba. He Xiaoxing's physique is not like this, so is this a skill tailor-made for Chang Ba?
This is possible, Cheng Zitong said, a good teacher can teach students in accordance with their aptitude and create different combat systems based on the different characteristics of the students. He Xiaoxing should be such a teacher. He is looking forward to the upcoming intensive training.
After about two hours, the car arrived at a large red lake. The sky was boundless and very clear and clean. There were large buildings facing the lake, extending all the way to a small hill opposite.
Chang Ba said, "We're here."
When the car drove into the town, Chen Chuan found that the buildings with the Chang's Hotel sign hanging on them occupied at least one-third of the town. He asked Chang Ba, and sure enough, in addition to these buildings in the town, the land under their feet and the mountain opposite also belonged to their family. You wouldn't have thought that this guy was such a rich man.
The car then turned and drove straight to the top of the mountain. A few minutes later, it stopped in front of a building that looked like a training hall.
At this time, Chen Chuan saw a strong figure standing on the flat ground in front of the museum, with hair like a lion's mane draped over his shoulders, as if waiting for their arrival.
As soon as the car stopped, Chang Ba quickly pulled out the key, jumped out of the car, and said, "Uncle He, I brought someone to you."
After Chen Chuan came down, he walked over, saluted He Xiaoxing, and said, "Teacher He."
He Xiaoxing glanced at him and walked towards the training hall, "Come with me."
Chen Chuan followed him in. The place was very spacious, with various daily training equipment and several cushions in between. He Xiaoxing went over and sat cross-legged, motioning him to sit down as well.
After Chen Chuan sat down on the cushions next to him, He Xiaoxing said, "Lao Cheng told me about your situation, but what I taught you only involved force. Force can solve some problems, but to deal with the Mutual Aid Association, you need to consider far more than just force. You must understand this."
Chen Chuan said: "Teacher He, I understand."
He Xiaoxing said, "Since you understand, I won't say anything more. Next, I will give you intensive training. How much you learn and how long you can last depends on whether you can keep up with my training progress."
Chen Chuan nodded and said, "I understand. Then, Teacher He, when do we start?"
He Xiaoxing said, "Did you bring enough medicine for training?"
Chen Chuanshuo said: "Teacher Cheng asked me to bring enough for two months."
It was said to be two months, but he felt that one month might not be enough, because the amount he used was always calculated as multiples of that of an ordinary person. But fortunately, the influence of the mountain ghost on him has not disappeared yet, so he should not need it these days.
He Xiaoxing said, "It's getting late today. You should go find a place to settle down with Xiao Chang first. Come to me at five o'clock tomorrow morning. Remember to bring your daily necessities. We are going to go into the wild this time."
Chen Chuan said: "Okay, Teacher He, I will take my leave first." He stood up, clasped his fists to He Xiaoxing, and walked out of the training hall.
Chang Ba, who was waiting outside, saw him come out and said, "Come on, I'll take you to find a place to stay. There are plenty of vacant houses in this season, so you can take your pick."
After Chen Chuan got in the car, he followed him to the foot of the mountain. After walking around a few times, he found a spacious two-story house with a wide view, good lighting and ventilation. He could live upstairs, and the downstairs was enough for him to exercise.
Because it was not the peak season and he was still here to study with He Xiaoxing, Chang Ba only charged him a symbolic fee and gave him a phone number, telling him to just contact this person if he needed help.
Chen Chuan waited for Chang Ba to leave, put down his suitcase, took out his things, and tidied up the room a little. Although it was already past four in the afternoon, he put his things in place and did not waste any time. He returned to the first floor to make up for the daily training he had missed today.
There are many people in this small town, but there is a sense of tranquility away from the world, which makes it easy to immerse yourself in the state. This is probably the reason why He Xiaoxing chose to practice here.
At six o'clock, the hotel staff came to ask him if he wanted to order food, and told him that there would be a bonfire party in the evening and everyone could attend. They also gave him a small gift, saying that all first-time guests would have this gift.
Chen Chuan took it and looked at it. It was a bracelet made of small colored stones, strung together with a thin rope. He thought about it and simply untied the thin rope and put the strand of flying-head monster's hair on it. This way it would not look out of place.
After nightfall, we saw a bonfire lit on the lakeside and a dozen barbecue grills set up. About a hundred people were singing and dancing together, and it was quite lively.
After finishing his training and showering, he went to the window, looked out at the sky in the cool night breeze for a while, and went to bed after nine o'clock.
At four o'clock the next day, he got up, washed, and had a simple breakfast. Then he put on a package and carried the Xuejun Knife. When he went up the mountain alone, he found that He Xiaoxing was already waiting there. The tall figure stood on the top of the mountain, as if he had stepped on everything around him.
He reached the top of the mountain, put down the things behind him and in his hands, clasped his hands together and said, "Teacher He, the students are here."
He Xiaoxing nodded and said, "Lao Cheng has explained your specific situation to me. He didn't teach you any special skills before. That's good. You don't need any of these things. Even if you have learned some of them through other channels, I have forgotten them all now."
Chen Chuan nodded seriously, "I understand."
He Xiaoxing said in a deep voice: "After you entered the second limit, you should have known that this stage was called 'guarding the important destiny' in the old times, with the word 'guard' being emphasized.
This is true, because this limit is a critical period that connects the past and the future, just like the middle section of a wooden beam. It cannot be too thick or too thin, so we need to be extremely careful.
But the key of "guarding" is only limited to the old times. At that time, it was very difficult to collect medicines, whether used to stimulate alienated tissues or to nourish oneself. It often took the elders in the sect a lifetime to collect and accumulate them, leaving them for future generations to use, and then passing them on from generation to generation.
Due to drug limitations, they could only use the most conservative approach, which proved to be effective and reliable at the time.
However, each era has its own practices. Apart from one's own efforts, people are more restricted by the environment. This requires everyone to work together to bring about change.
Now that medication is no longer a problem, there's no need to be so conservative. The key to this stage is to 'activate the six bowels and regenerate the five internal organs.' The next step is to find a way to 'revitalize' your alienated internal organs."
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(End of this chapter)
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