Beat Them First, Then Feed Them Meat

Qiao Zhi chuckled helplessly. "Only the Demon Suppression Bureau or the Heavenly Master Sect have Hundred-Refined Ointment. The Demon Suppression Bureau is already notorious as the Palace of the King of Hell, and the Heavenly Master Sect is even less to be trifled with. If you want their medicine, buying it is your only option. A single portion costs at least thirty taels of silver, and it only lasts for one use." Chu Qiguang said, "Since this Hundred-Refined Ointment works so well, yet the Heavenly Master Sect is willing to sell it, I imagine it's not even their best medicine?" "Naturally," Qiao Zhi replied. "The finest medicines, such as the Ten-Perfection Qi-Replenishing Pill, the Lion-Tiger Bone-Transforming Ointment, and the Myriad Beasts Tendon-Growing Ointment, are virtually impossible to acquire even for ten thousand gold. That is why you must figure out ways to earn more silver in the future. Cultivating the Dao through daily meditation is one thing, but practicing martial arts is a bottomless money pit. Every dietary supplement and medicinal tonic costs silver. "Those scions of wealthy families in the county use several portions of Hundred-Refined Ointment every month, tossing away hundreds of taels of silver just like that." Chu Qiguang stroked his chin and murmured, "Thirty taels for a single portion of ointment..." When he heard the price, Chu Qiguang had been slightly astonished as well. Ergou's entire household could not even earn ten taels of silver in a whole year. Selling his younger sister would bring in less than two taels at most. Selling Ergou himself as an able-bodied laborer would fetch a bit more, but three or four taels at best. Thirty taels of silver was an astronomical sum to the common folk of Wang Family Village—it would require selling ten Ergous or fifteen of Ergou's younger sisters to make that much. Yet when converted into Hundred-Refined Ointment for martial cultivation, it was only enough for a single use. Meanwhile, the Heavenly Master Sect had enough of such ointment to sell it off, and the prominent families in the county could spend hundreds of taels every month on their descendants' martial arts training. Peering at a leopard through a tube to glimpse the whole beast, Chu Qiguang could envision just how severe the wealth divide had become across the Great Han realm. Qiao Zhi said, "That is why the saying goes: the poor study civil arts, while the rich practice martial arts. Disciples from humble origins can only take the civil examinations, whereas the martial path is something only wealthy households can even consider." Afterward, Qiao Zhi urged Chu Qiguang to continue training. Only after more than two hours did they stop. Qiao Zhi stretched languidly and continued, "Next, I will teach you the most important lesson in martial arts. "Remember this: martial arts isn't just about slaughter and resolve. It's also something that can be integrated into daily life to prolong your lifespan and improve your working efficiency. "Fighting and killing are the pursuits of only a tiny fraction of people under heaven. For the remaining ninety-nine percent, tilling the fields and farming are what truly matter most. Martial arts is a discipline that can blend into daily life and labor, increasing one's stamina and making tasks like farming far more efficient. "A peasant who cultivates martial arts is at least twenty percent more efficient at farmwork than someone who doesn't. They fall ill less easily and live longer lives. Compared to bloody combat, this is the true, grand wisdom the ancients concealed within martial arts out of their compassion for the world. "It is a pity that martial arts manuals are now controlled by the gentry, officials, and royal nobility, making it impossible for everyone under heaven to practice martial arts." Qiao Zhi concluded, "When you cultivate martial arts, you must remember not to treat it merely as a skill for killing. You must view it as the very craft by which you earn your livelihood. Just like walking, sitting, and lying down, drill martial arts into your very bones. That is the true shortcut to superior martial arts. What you are training in is the martial way, not merely martial techniques." Chu Qiguang nodded. "If martial cultivation can be integrated into walking, sitting, lying down, eating, and drinking, then naturally one would be practicing martial arts every single moment." Qiao Zhi's whiskers twitched with delight. "Precisely. But it doesn't stop there. The physical body is both formidable and fragile; it must be cared for and protected at every moment. "Yet practicing martial arts is an arduous chore to begin with. Maintaining the martial mindset at all times is twice as bitter. Even if ordinary people know it is good for them, their willpower can hardly sustain it. "To hear the Way yet struggle to practice it diligently, lacking self-discipline—this is the sorrow of ordinary folk. It isn't that they don't want to, but that they truly cannot bring themselves to do it. But with me supervising your cultivation, you will have to do it whether you want to or not. "Starting today, I will stay with you at all times and constantly push you to cultivate martial arts. Walking, sitting, or lying down—everything will have its proper form. It will be both cultivation and preservation of the physical body." Thereupon, Qiao Zhi taught Chu Qiguang an entire set of precise postures for walking, running, sitting, lying down, and even working in the fields, requiring him to maintain a state of martial cultivation at every moment. If Chu Qiguang's movements were the slightest bit off, Qiao Zhi would swat him as a reminder. Taken altogether, this was the complete martial way. ... After Qiao Zhi finished adjusting Chu Qiguang's postures, it was time for the literacy lesson. Before calling it a day, however, Chu Qiguang discussed the matters regarding the Wang family and the county with Qiao Zhi, learning more intelligence from the cat once again. Qiao Zhi said blithely, "It's just a petty Wang family. Do you want me to step in and wipe them out for you directly?" Chu Qiguang smiled. "Master Qiao has matchless skills, so wiping out a mere Wang family would naturally be as easy as turning over your paw. But if you did, I fear the county yamen and the Daoist temple would send people to investigate. Making such a huge scene would do us no favors." At the mention of the Daoist temple sending people, Qiao Zhi instinctively tucked in his tail. The state religion of the Great Han Dynasty was the Heavenly Master Sect. Their Daoist temples were scattered across the Central Plains, with at least one in almost every county. Aside from handling ordinary folk affairs such as weddings, funerals, and scripture recitations, they were also dedicated to slaying demons and purging evil. Ordinary monsters were loath to provoke them above all else. Suddenly, Qiao Zhi smacked Chu Qiguang with a paw pad, the vibrating force directly correcting the posture of his spine. Chu Qiguang hastily straightened his posture again, while Qiao Zhi asked, "Then what do you plan to do?" Chu Qiguang said, "Nothing more than establishing authority and winning them over—the carrot and the stick. I never thought about overthrowing the Wang family, nor is there any need to. We can fully use the Wang family's power to assist us." Qiao Zhi sighed. "I know. Beat them first, then feed them meat. That's how cats are trained." Noticing Chu Qiguang's strange look, Qiao Zhi covered up, "I mean that's how I train cats, not that I was ever trained like that!" Then he suddenly wrapped his paws around Chu Qiguang and said, "Remember this: you must never train a cat like that in the future, and you must never resort to violence against a cat! "And you can't make cats do chores, much less make cats farm! Other things like building houses, logging timber, dyeing cloth, scrubbing backs, scooping manure, composting... absolutely none of these can be given to cats! You can make dogs or foxes or whatever do them, but keep this well in mind!" Amused, Chu Qiguang asked, "Why would anyone make a cat do those things?" Qiao Zhi looked at him and gave a cold chuckle. "In any case, you must remember this. If you do, then my teaching you won't have been in vain." Chu Qiguang naturally agreed without hesitation, and that evening, he took Qiao Zhi back home with him.