On the way back, Chen Zhe couldn't help but ask Xie Yuhan about the legend of the bandits.
The Zhang sisters, Xin'ai and Zhang Xie, were also very curious.
Was there really a bandit's den here before?
Zhang Xinrui asked.
Xie Yuhan smiled; "It seems so. I heard from my grandfather that there were indeed many bandits here decades ago. Back then, this place wasn't called Qingyun Mountain, but Tulang Mountain. Tulang Mountain was much bigger than it is now. Now, due to road construction, much of the mountain has been cut off. Back then, Tulang Mountain was much more desolate than it is now, and there were many bandit dens scattered on the mountain. I heard from my grandfather that there seemed to be many places. They had a unified mountain king who used to be a scholar, but later, for some reason, he became a bandit..."
"Huh? A scholar? He studies and then becomes a bandit? Were people's thinking so advanced back then?"
Zhang Xinrui smiled.
"Haha, I don't know either. That's what my grandpa told me."
"Then, is that burial pit real?"
Zhang Xinai asked.
"A mass grave?"
Xie Yuhan scratched her head.
"I'm not too sure about that, but I think there's a legend about it."
"I feel it's real!"
Zhang Xin'ai spoke with absolute certainty, her eyes gleaming brightly, as if the spirit of gods and demons was already burning fiercely within her.
"You have no idea how dangerous it was just now! We arrived here and soon after, a thick fog suddenly rolled in. The fog was so thick that you couldn't see anyone more than 3 meters away. I could vaguely hear ghostly wails and howls. I'm sure those sounds were coming from those things!"
These words startled Zhang Xinrui, and even Xie Yuhan felt a chill run down her spine.
"Really? Why didn't you come back sooner? Aren't you afraid?"
Zhang Xinai felt a little smug after seeing that she had scared both of them.
She patted her chest, pretending not to care.
"You may not know this, but I'm a bit of an explorer. I've been to haunted houses, abandoned graves, and desolate wilderness. I'm naturally brave, and this little bit of eeriness can't scare me. These are just a small part of my many experiences."
Zhang Xinrui immediately chimed in, "My sister is indeed very brave."
Chen Zhe raised an eyebrow. Zhang Xin'ai was exaggerating a bit. There was indeed fog, but he didn't hear any ghostly wails. He only heard the sounds Zhang Xin'ai was playing on her phone. He was about to correct her.
But Zhang Xin'ai spoke up first: "Chen Zhe is no good. You guys don't know, he was so scared just now that he was singing loudly. He looked so pathetic, so pathetic, haha. And he's a man, hehe."
Zhang Xin'ai's disdainful tone was unbearable for Chen Zhe. He had just kindly helped her fix her foot, and this woman turned around and stepped on his foot. This was too unfair.
When Chen Zhe's singing was mentioned, Xie Yuhan and Zhang Xinrui burst into laughter.
Because they both heard it, the sound travels very far in the empty valley, and even though they were hundreds of meters apart, they could clearly hear that it was Chen Zhe's voice.
Seeing the three women laughing at him, Chen Zhe blushed and walked away quickly, feeling somewhat annoyed.
He hadn't gone far when he heard the girls behind him laughing at him again.
"How embarrassing! I should have known better than to sing!"
Chen Zhe is now filled with regret. If only time could turn back, he would definitely have acted more like a man.
Even if you're singing, you can just sing in your heart.
However, when he thought of the gold and silver in the underground city of the cave, he became excited again. He touched the book in his arms, which he had brought out from there: a martial arts manual.
Tsk tsk, this is worth studying carefully.
Back in his room, he took out the so-called martial arts manual and looked at it over and over.
I couldn't understand a single word.
"What is essence? What is qi? What is strength? What is all this? I recognize each word, but I don't understand it when they're put together!"
Chen Zhe lay on the bed, tossing and turning, holding the martial arts manual.
[Hun Yuan Ba Quan?]
"The name sounds impressive, but why isn't there even a picture? Aren't martial arts manuals usually covered in little illustrations?"
The book was covered with densely packed words, all in handwritten script. There were some words that Chen Zhe couldn't even recognize. He was a college student, but there were still some unfamiliar words that he had to look up on his phone, and some words that he couldn't even find on his phone.
I watched it for almost an hour.
Chen Zhe finally gave up. Looking at the old book, he couldn't help but complain.
"Don't novels say that you can become a master just by getting a martial arts manual? That doesn't seem to work. I'm the kind of person who needs to practice calisthenics twice to get it right. Can I really learn this?"
Chen Zhe began to doubt his own body.
He sighed softly; "Never mind, I'll ask the Taoist priest tomorrow."
He couldn't figure out what was written inside, no matter how hard he tried. It was impossible for him to practice it on his own, so Chen Zhe decided to ask Master Xie first.
...
After breakfast, Chen Zhe searched everywhere but couldn't find Xie Laodao.
Xie Yuhan was chatting with Zhang Xinrui and her sister about other things, so he didn't want to go over and ask directly. Instead, he went into the courtyard and found a young Taoist priest.
The young Taoist priest, who was sweeping the floor, stopped what he was doing when he heard Chen Zhe's question.
"Oh, you mean Master? He only eats one meal a day, he doesn't eat breakfast. He should be practicing his skills on the back mountain right now."
"Practicing martial arts?"
Upon hearing these two words, Chen Zhe's eyes lit up. He had been somewhat skeptical when Zhang said that Master Xie was skilled and that he wanted to become Master Xie's disciple. But now, hearing the young Taoist say that his master was practicing martial arts, this double evidence proved that Master Xie did indeed know kung fu.
He couldn't help but become curious; "Little Taoist priest, how skilled is your master in martial arts?"
The young Taoist priest stroked his chin and hesitated.
"I'd say that's high."
"Huh? What do you mean by 'calculate'?"
Chen Zhe asked.
"I think my master's boxing is better than that of the old men in the park."
Chen Zhe's lips twitched when he heard his description.
"This... is he only a little taller than the old man in the park?"
The young Taoist priest laughed heartily.
“My master said it’s enough. He said if it were any higher, it would be the best in the world.”
Hearing this, Chen Zhe was both amused and exasperated.
[Number one in the world? This old man's really bragging. Any random Sanda or boxer could beat him half to death, right? Never mind, I'll go check it out first.]
Following the young Taoist's guidance, Chen Zhe arrived at the bamboo forest behind the Taoist temple. The bamboo forest behind the temple was very large, with towering bamboo trees reaching tens of meters in height. They were lush and verdant. When the wind blew, the bamboo swayed and rustled, making a pattering sound. Chen Zhe suddenly felt refreshed and invigorated.
These sounds from nature are hard to hear in the city. When you live in the city, all you hear when you wake up is the sound of car horns or vendors hawking their wares. As soon as you open your eyes, brush your teeth and wash your face, all you can think about is going to work.
Chen Zhe suddenly exclaimed, "No wonder people in the mountains live so long. In this kind of environment, they don't even want to go to work when they wake up in the morning, or rather, they don't even have the thought of going to work."
Chen Zhe found Xie Laodao in a relatively flat open space.
Master Xie was dressed in a gray training uniform, holding a Tai Chi sword in his hand, and slowly wielding it.
Chen Zhe was a little confused. Could this sword technique really kill people? Or was it simply a sword art created for health preservation?
"Good morning, Taoist priest!"
Chen Zhe walked towards Xie Laodao with a grin.
Master Xie glanced at him indifferently, without stopping what he was doing.
What are you doing here?
“I noticed you hadn’t eaten breakfast. They said you were practicing your skills here instead of eating breakfast, so I came to check it out.”
What's so interesting about it?
Old Master Xie retorted without any politeness.
Chen Zhe touched his nose somewhat awkwardly. It seemed that Xie Laodao had never really liked him, and it was always a bit difficult to get a word in edgewise when talking to him.
"Master, your sword dance is quite good. If I wanted to learn it, do you think I could master it?"
Master Xie didn't even lift his eyes.
His tone was quite arrogant.
"You? You? Heh..."
Xie Laodao's "hehe" made Chen Zhe feel a little unconvinced.
"Master, do you think I could possibly not learn it?"
"It's not a possibility, it's an absolute certainty."
"No way? Even old ladies and men in the park can learn this Tai Chi swordplay. How come I, young and strong, can't learn it?"
“You may be young, but that doesn’t mean you’re strong. Your cheeks are sunken, your eyes are lifeless, and you’re not able to control your essence. There’s a 14-year-old kid here who’s stronger than you. How can you say you’re strong?”
"Master, I don't like hearing that. I may not be as strong as those athletes, but do you think I can be better than a 14-year-old?"
"Heh, you really have that kind of confidence?"
Master Xie stopped what he was doing and asked with a smile.
Chen Zhe puffed out his chest; "Of course! If I can't even beat a child, wouldn't that be shameful? Shameful for all adults!"
"Hehe, alright, here, take this sword!"
Master Xie handed the Tai Chi sword to Chen Zhe, who took the sword with some confusion.
"What's wrong?"
"Go, cut that bamboo in half. Remember, cut it in one stroke!"
Chen Zhe weighed the longsword in his hand and looked at Xie Laodao with some disbelief.
"Master, are you making things difficult for me? That bamboo is as thick as a bowl; it would take several cuts even with a woodcutter's axe. How can you possibly cut it in one stroke with your thin longsword?"
Xie Laodao remained silent, picked up his longsword again, and walked towards the bamboo. He simply swung it casually, making what appeared to be a very light stroke.
It actually managed to cut a bamboo stalk the size of a bowl in half with a single stroke.
Moreover, it was cut off from the bottom.
Chen Zhe was stunned. You know, the bottom of bamboo is much stronger than the middle part. How much strength must he have used to cut bamboo in half with his sword?
Master Xie handed the sword back to him.
"Isn't it broken now? Go ahead. In your mind, this old man is probably about as strong as a 14-year-old child. If I can cut it, I believe you, an adult, can too."
Chen Zhe swallowed hard, picked up his sword, and walked over.
Taking a deep breath, he swung his sword at a bamboo stalk, using all his strength. However, he only managed to cut into the bamboo about one-third of the way through. Instead of cutting the bamboo in half, he jammed his sword inside. His hand was sore from the impact, and his fingers were numb.
Old Xie went over and drew his sword.
"How about it? Do you still feel young and energetic?"
Chen Zhe laughed awkwardly.
"It might be a technique issue. I'll try a few more times, and I'm sure I can do it!"
...
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