Unless he could practice the horse stance to the point of holding it for an entire shichen within a month, Liang Song would not teach him martial arts.
Time slipped quietly by.
Order was kept well in the inner city, unlike the chaotic Baishan District in the outer city.
After moving into the inner city, Lin Zheyu's life settled into an unhurried rhythm.
Day after day passed. Aside from his storytelling, he devoted every spare moment to practicing the horse stance.
In addition to the horse stance, he added push-ups into his regimen.
The qi-nourishing and blood-strengthening formula Liang Song provided proved exceptionally potent.
Expensive as it was, it was well worth the coin.
A single pack of medicinal herbs could be simmered across three days, yielding a bowl each day. After drinking it, he would wake the next morning with every trace of fatigue wiped clean.
...
In the blink of an eye, more than twenty days passed.
Thanks to the high-intensity training coupled with hearty meals of fish and meat, Lin Zheyu's build grew noticeably sturdier.
Beneath his skin, clean, defined lines of muscle began to show.
In the courtyard.
Lin Zheyu sank into a low squat, his body rising and falling in rhythm like a galloping steed.
Over the past twenty-odd days, he had labored unceasingly, gritting his teeth and training until his legs grew sore and trembled uncontrollably.
Gradually, he developed an obsession with the horse stance.
Eating, telling stories—whenever he had a spare moment, he would hold the stance for several minutes or half an hour.
Even when walking, he integrated the stance into his gait, giving him a rather peculiar posture.
The duration he could hold it lengthened steadily, progressing from less than ten minutes at the beginning to half a shichen.
Now, he had been standing in the courtyard for nearly a full shichen.
Sweat soaked through his clothes.
Lin Zheyu breathed steadily, his chest heaving with every rise and fall.
His legs were already shaking uncontrollably, and bean-sized beads of sweat rolled down his brow.
*Hold on!*
*Almost there.*
Lin Zheyu spurred himself on in his mind.
His eyes remained fixed on the water clock in the courtyard, a device used to tell time.
According to its markings, less than ten minutes remained before he reached a full shichen in the horse stance.
*Rustle, rustle, rustle.*
A chill wind blew, bringing a noticeable nip to the air.
As Lin Zheyu rose and dipped, his body began to tremble more violently; he was teetering on the edge of his limits.
*Push through. Just a few more minutes. I can break past my physical limit while I'm at it and earn a unit of Origin Power,* Lin Zheyu urged himself repeatedly.
Throughout these past twenty-odd days, he had carefully measured his exertion, not daring to train too aggressively or break his physical limits for fear of disrupting his subsequent days of practice.
Only today, seeing that he was about to touch the one-shichen mark, did he decide to grit his teeth and push straight through his physical limits as well.
Time crawled onward, and another twenty minutes slipped by.
Lin Zheyu had already held the horse stance for a full shichen, yet he did not stop.
He was tantalizingly close to breaking through his physical limits.
His face had turned pale, his body shook even more severely, and his legs trembled like leaves in a gale.
"Hiss—"
Lin Zheyu's features contorted in a grimace of agony.
He endured for several more minutes.
At last.
He felt as though a barrier within his body had shattered, and his essence, qi, and spirit coalesced as if sublimated into a single strand.
Within his consciousness, his Origin Power increased by one unit.
[Heaven Rewards Diligence]
Name: Lin Zheyu
Origin Power: 2
Skills: None
The moment he breached his limit, the breath held in Lin Zheyu's chest slipped away, and he collapsed limply onto the ground.
Staring up at the sky, a euphoric smile broke across his face.
"At last... I did it!"
Lin Zheyu was overwhelmed with joy.
He had successfully trained his horse stance to the point of holding it for an entire shichen within a month. Now, he could learn martial arts from Liang Song.
After resting for a dozen or so minutes until his muscles ceased trembling, Lin Zheyu rolled over, clambered up, and began stretching his sinews and bones.
Once the stretches were done, he rested for another half hour before sinking into a tub of steaming water, a wave of soothing comfort washing through his entire body.
In the afternoon.
Lin Zheyu made his way to the teahouse with trembling steps.
"Are you all right?" Manager Wu asked with concern upon seeing his peculiar walk.
Over the past month and more, the two had grown quite familiar.
Thanks to Lin Zheyu, Bidan Teahouse's popularity had soared, hot on the heels of Yixiang Teahouse. Before long, it would likely surpass them.
Yixiang Teahouse was the most famous teahouse in all of Songyi City; catching up to them was something Manager Wu had never dared imagine.
"I'm fine. Just overdid my morning workout," Lin Zheyu replied with a smile.
Compared to a month ago, his physique had grown considerably sturdier, his vigor and vitality brimming. Nothing about him betrayed that he had once been a destitute refugee.
"Can you hold the horse stance for a full shichen yet?" Manager Wu inquired curiously.
He knew of the matter because Lin Zheyu had mentioned it to him.
"Almost. Give it a few days to recover, and I'll be there."
"Then congratulations in advance," Manager Wu said with a chuckle, genuinely happy for him.
The time for storytelling arrived shortly after.
Amidst the enthusiastic cheers of the patrons, Lin Zheyu stepped onto the stage.
*Clack!*
Slapping the sounding block down, he began: "Last time, we left off..."
...
Time passed, and five days went by.
His body had completely recovered from the torn, agonizing soreness of breaking past his physical limit.
*Thank goodness the patrons were generous with their tips. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had nearly enough coin,* Lin Zheyu thought with an inward sigh.
Over the past month, money had truly flowed like water.
As the teahouse's popularity surged, Manager Wu had raised his pay to two hundred copper coins a day.
Factoring in daily tips, he took in nearly five hundred coppers each day.
Even so, very little silver remained. Most of it had gone toward eggs, meat, and the medicinal herbs that nourished his qi and blood.
*Knock, knock.*
*Knock, knock, knock.*
Early in the morning, Lin Zheyu knocked on the door of Liang Song's home.
The courtyard gate swung open. Liang Song showed no surprise at his arrival.
"Go stand in the courtyard. Let me see how your training turned out," Liang Song said.
"Yes."
Lin Zheyu nodded and stepped into the center of the courtyard.
With his feet spread slightly, he sank into a squat, raised both hands straight forward, and looked ahead.
His body began to rise and fall in subtle undulations, as though he were astride a galloping steed. The muscles in his waist and legs flexed and shifted in rhythmic tension, his center of gravity flowing with every rise and dip.
Liang Song watched for a moment, then nodded in satisfaction.
His form was textbook.
Without watching Lin Zheyu hold the stance any longer, Liang Song picked up a watering pot and began tending to the grass in his yard.
Chapter 5