The next morning, after finishing his morning exercise, Li Changzhou called Lin De over.
"I saw you were quite skilled last night. What kind of martial arts are you practicing?" He got straight to the point, which was one of the advantages of his status.
"Reporting to Second Master, I learned martial arts at the Beizhou Martial Arts School in the North City, and my foundation is the 'Spirit Snake Diagram'," Liu De replied respectfully.
"The Serpent Painting?"
"Yes." Liu De nodded, "Visualize the form of a spirit snake and possess its agility."
"Can you teach me?" Li Changzhou asked.
"Second Master, I can teach you the ordinary stance, but the visualization method not only requires diagrams, but also requires training your Qi and blood. If your Qi and blood are insufficient, even if you have diagrams, you will not be able to visualize the spirit snake."
This was a bit supernatural, and fearing that Li Changzhou wouldn't believe it, Liu De quickly added:
"I'm not trying to be mysterious. Nowadays, technology and artillery are all the rage, and telephones can transmit sound over long distances. But there are some things about the human body that are equally amazing. Second Master, just think about it, isn't it incredible that humans have thoughts?"
“I believe you.” Li Changzhou nodded. “How about this, if the Serpent Painting won’t work, you can teach me the posture for training qi and blood. Is that alright?”
"No problem!" Liu De patted his chest and agreed. "However, Second Master, learning martial arts is very difficult and cannot be mastered in a year or two. Second Master is also getting old, so it will probably be even more difficult."
"You just teach."
"good!"
The two immediately found a courtyard in the Marshal's Mansion.
This large courtyard has more than a dozen cypress trees planted in the middle, which divide the courtyard into two halves like a fence. One side is similar to a football field, while the other side is full of flowers, which are as beautiful as a flower basket.
"Second Master, this stance of mine is called 'Snake Step,' it's nothing fancy." Liu De took a few steps and slithered out like a snake.
"His movements are as unpredictable as a snake, his attacks as ruthless as a snake, and when he is hit, he is as slippery as a snake."
Its body twisted and turned strangely, like a venomous snake winding its way forward. In the blink of an eye, it arrived in front of a cypress tree and suddenly crashed into it, but the two brushed past each other as if they had been coated with oil.
Liu De coiled himself up the tree, as supple as a snake.
At the same time, he raised his forearm like a snake, flicked his palm, and with a hissing sound, grabbed the cypress tree with lightning speed.
Peng!
Somber and solemn, the cypress tree was brutally attacked, a hole was torn in it, and debris flew everywhere.
Liu De raised his hand; there were no wounds on it.
"If you have the 'Spirit Serpent Painting,' visualize the mouth of a venomous snake when you make your move. The power will be ten times stronger. One bite can pierce through two such cypress trees."
After the demonstration, Liu De taught Li Changzhou the key points of the "Snake Step," which involved no mnemonic devices, but rather the physical postures.
"When you walk in a snake-like gait, your blood and energy will naturally be exercised."
"With the aptitude of an ordinary person, after one year of training, one can take the first step 'out of the cave'; after two years of training, one can take two steps 'wandering'; after three years of training, one can 'coil'; after four years, one can 'dance wildly'; after five years, one can 'lightning flash'; after six years, one can 'wander in all directions'; and after seven years, one can 'shadow a snake'."
"It takes a total of twenty-eight years. The snake takes seven steps, and it is considered complete. You can then visualize the 'Spirit Snake Painting'."
"Twenty-eight years?" Li Changzhou asked subconsciously.
“If you have a high level of talent, this time can certainly be shortened,” Liu De replied.
How long have you been practicing?
"Twenty years." Liu De looked slightly pleased, which was a full eight years shorter than the average person's.
Eight years, and high school is only three years, it's really three years after three years, plus another two years, saving so much time, a true genius.
"When were the Northern Zhou Martial Arts School at its most powerful?" Li Changzhou asked again.
"Half a year, but that's a record from a long time ago. It's hard to tell if it's true or false. It's like the ancestral portraits of many families. They're all grand and dignified, but they're far from reality." Liu De told the truth, but he didn't want the ignorant Master Li to think he was incompetent.
"Okay, go and collect ten thousand silver dollars, just say it's mine."
"Thank you, Second Master!"
“Oh, right,” Li Changzhou called Liu De back, “I’m going to the opera at Liyuan tomorrow night at 8 o’clock. Can you arrange a private box for me?”
"The people from the opera troupe have already sent the tickets. Second Master can go whenever he wants."
"Okay, go ahead and get busy."
Liu De left the backyard and went straight to the accounting office to collect his reward.
Ten thousand yuan was a considerable sum. In the 1920s, even the most outstanding writers—the very best of the best—only earned a little over ten thousand yuan a year.
Now, an ounce of gold only costs 31.3 yuan, a bag of 30-jin American flour only costs 4 silver dollars, and a table of the best bird's nest and shark fin soup at Zhengyanglou only costs 5 silver dollars.
This 10,000 silver dollars can buy more than 400 acres of good land, enough to become a small landlord in the countryside!
Although there was no receipt, the accountant still gave the money to Liu De, only casually asking why.
"Hey, Second Master saw me fight the assassin last night, and this morning he suddenly wanted to learn martial arts. He asked me a couple of questions, but then stopped. I guess he just wanted something new and didn't really want to learn," Liu De said.
"Perhaps the Second Master is using this opportunity to reward you for your performance last night," the accountant said.
"Hey!" Liu De slapped his thigh. "That's really possible! No wonder Second Master only watched me demonstrate once before letting me claim the reward."
"Liu De, you've received a reward, so you can't treat us to dinner tonight!" someone jeered.
"Come on over! Zhengyanglou, the best bird's nest and shark fin feast! After dinner, let's go to Luohua Shuyu to listen to a little opera!" Liu De was also in high spirits.
"No way, no way! Those female staff there would make me serve them. I'd rather find a mistress or a concubine!"
"Changsan" refers to a prostitute of this rank who charges three yuan for drinking and three yuan for tea.
Similarly, the price for tea is one yuan, and the price for drinks is two yuan, hence the name "Yao Er" (幺二).
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