From that day on, Wang Cailiang felt his constitution improving bit by bit each day. A single day of training now yielded better results than an entire month had in the past.
After more than ten days of cultivation—three days after the Heavenly Demon Foundation Establishment Method had been thoroughly completed—Wang Cailiang threw a punch that snapped the air with an explosive crack. At that moment, he finally confirmed one thing.
"Could it be that I'm actually a martial arts prodigy?"
He shook his head a moment later. "No, it's Brother Zhou's methods that are too extraordinary. He actually helped me break straight through to the first stage of martial arts.
"But Brother Zhou said the three hundred taels' worth of Naobaijin is already gone..."
At that thought, a flicker of reluctance welled up in Wang Cailiang's heart. He wanted to keep taking the medicine and building his constitution. He wanted to keep lying back and advancing every day, ideally breaking through to the third stage in one continuous push so he could test for wusheng directly.
With that in mind, he ran off to find his father, Wang Chengwang.
"Father! Give me another three hundred taels! This year, I'll give you a wusheng for a son!"
Hearing this, Wang Chengwang grew so enraged he wanted nothing more than to slap this unruly son to death. But before he could, he saw Wang Cailiang throw a pair of punches, the air cracking in sharp bursts.
Wang Chengwang shot to his feet, wide-eyed with shock. "You broke through to the first stage of martial arts?"
Wang Cailiang immediately recounted everything, finishing with an eager, pleading look. "Father! Whether your son can pass the exam and become a wusheng all depends on whether you give me the silver!"
Wang Chengwang sank into thought. "I thought I had already placed enough importance on Zhou Ergou and his master, but it seems I still underestimated them. To help you break through to the first stage of martial arts so quickly, that master of Zhou Ergou's must be extraordinarily capable."
Knowing that Zhou Ergou had reached the first stage of martial arts himself made Wang Chengwang view the villager's future prospects in an even more favorable light.
Turning back to Wang Cailiang, Wang Chengwang instructed, "In any case, take advantage of your treatments to draw closer to Zhou Ergou. Best if you can find out where his master hails from."
Wang Cailiang said breezily, "Don't worry, Father. Brother Zhou and I get along splendidly. We're birds of a feather, and we talk about everything under the sun. But right now, the only thing keeping your son from becoming a wusheng is those three hundred taels of silver."
Wang Chengwang felt a sharp pang in his chest at the words. The string of mishaps this year had truly brought frost to the snow of his already not-so-wealthy landlord household.
Once he had sent his precious son away, Wang Chengwang summoned Housekeeper Wang. "Did you find the feng shui master I told you to look for?"
"Our luck hasn't been great this year... I need to rearrange the house's feng shui positions and rebuild our screen wall."
In the Great Han Dynasty, nearly every household paid attention to feng shui, and prominent families took it even more seriously. For example, the feud between the Hao family and the Wang family in the county had arisen over competing for a prime feng shui plot to build an ancestral tomb.
Understanding Wang Chengwang's intent, Housekeeper Wang replied smoothly, "Zhang Da has already gone to invite the grandmaster to come have a look..."
***
Up on the back mountain, Chu Qiguang's muscles twisted as he performed a series of bizarre, baffling movements, his joints seemingly rotating backward and his body twisting like a manipulated puppet.
As his flesh contorted, a faint grimace of pain crept across his face, his bones and sinews popping from time to time.
Standing to the side, Qiao Zhi said, "This is a fist technique specially developed by the imperial military for martial artists of the second stage, called the Yaksha King Fist. Its principle is to use the most brutal, agonizing, and unnatural postures to temper every inch of flesh and blood throughout the entire body. It is the fastest, most efficient way to push past the limits of the human body in the second stage.
"If you want to break through to the third stage of martial arts within five months, this Yaksha King Fist is the best fit."
Qiao Zhi corrected Chu Qiguang's form from time to time, calling a halt only after roughly half a shichen. Even then, Chu Qiguang did not dare lie down immediately. Drenched in sweat, his sinews and muscles aching terribly, he forced himself to keep moving his joints to nurse and sustain his exhausted flesh.
Over the past ten or so days, Chu Qiguang had trained daily. Not only did the lesser demons hunt live game for him to roast, but he had also spent every bit of his remaining silver on Hundred-Refined Ointment to apply to his body.
His progress had been astonishingly rapid. Spurred by medicinal power, rich nourishment, the Yaksha King Fist, and Chu Qiguang's own extraordinary aptitude, he could feel his physical strength surging day by day. The outlines of his muscles grew increasingly defined, his coordination, flexibility, strength, and explosive power steadily climbing until his entire frame appeared leaner, sharper, and tougher.
Where he had once been able to deliver only twenty or so punches that produced sonic cracks in sequence, he had now pushed his limit to more than fifty consecutive strikes in a single breath, each blast ringing out like rolling thunder.
"Once you can punch three hundred times in a row with audible cracks, you will have reached the body's limit and stepped into the second stage of martial arts.
"A few hundred years ago in ancient times, if you possessed this sort of skill, the ignorant commoners of mountain hamlets would have taken you for an immortal and believed you could summon the wind and rain and call down lightning." Qiao Zhi let out a sigh. "Ah, what a pity the Hundred-Refined Ointment is all used up. The Yaksha King Fist is too destructive to the body. Without the ointment to aid you, you won't be able to practice this technique."
"No need to rush. Someone will be sending silver our way soon."
Suddenly, Chu Qiguang's gaze hardened. A surge of malevolent hostility flooded his body—his condition was flaring up again.
Lately, every time the illness took hold, he felt that hostility growing more intense. It seemed that as his physical strength rose, the malevolent rage grew alongside it, giving him a nastier temper whenever an episode struck.
He glanced at Qiao Zhi. "Where is he?"
A moment later, he took a step forward and shot down the mountain like an arrow loosed from a bowstring.
***
Over the past ten or so days, Chen Gang had been having a miserable time.
At first, he had wanted to get revenge on Zhou Ergou.
He still remembered that bright, sunny morning three days after Zhou Ergou had dropped him with a single punch. Having rested for a day, Chen Gang had rounded up his second and third brothers and headed to the Zhou family gate, intending to corner Zhou Ergou.
Lifting a stone, he had told them, "When we run into him, don't waste time talking. Just bash him on the head with a rock and knock him cold."
With that, he had handed two stones to his brothers.
The second brother had hesitated. "Big Brother, what if we bash... bash him to death?"
Chen Gang had shot him a contemptuous glare. "So you're saying your big brother got beaten for nothing? If you're too scared, aim for his legs and break them."
The third brother had chimed in, "Didn't Zhang Da tell us not to mess with Ergou?"
Chen Gang had snapped, "We're trying to make a living as hired muscle! If we take a beating and don't hit back, how are we supposed to make our way in the world?"
Seeing his second brother about to speak up again, Chen Gang had smacked him across the head. "Look at the pair of you cowards! No wonder you can't find wives. Today I'll teach you what it means to take pride in your trade!"
Right then, a voice had sounded from behind them.
"Looking for me?"
Chen Gang had spun around to see Zhou Ergou returning from outside, watching the three of them at his door.
Chen Gang had swallowed hard, swung his arm with all his might, and hurled the stone straight at Zhou Ergou's head.
*Smack!*
Zhou Ergou had glanced down at the collapsed Chen Gang, then turned to the other two brothers. "Are you two looking for me as well?"
Both brothers had shaken their heads in unison.
Zhou Ergou had said, "Then don't block the way. And carry him back; don't leave him lying here cluttering up my door."
After being dragged home, Chen Gang had slowly come to. Looking at his brothers, he had asked, "Did Ergou knock me out?"
The second brother had nodded. "He didn't waste any time. He walked right up, slapped you once, and knocked you cold."
The third brother had ventured, "Brother, do you reckon what we did is called asking for our own destruction?"
Chen Gang had smacked him across the head with a sharp crack. "Rattling off clever sayings—what, are you trying to pass the imperial exam as top scholar?"
Chen Gang had felt a hot ball of anger bottled up inside him. He refused to believe he was inferior to an Ergou he had bullied since childhood. Yet after being slapped unconscious twice in a row, feeling his swollen, throbbing cheek, he also knew he was no match for Zhou Ergou as he was now. His only thought was that he would learn martial arts in the future and settle the score once he had.
"I just have to endure it for now."
Two days later, Chen Gang was at home eating flatbread when the front door burst open with a loud bang, and a familiar figure strolled in.
"Nothing personal. I just happened to cross paths with you on the way."
With a face full of misery, Chen Gang said, "Brother Gou, can't you go after the Wang family or the village head? They bullied your family back then too."
Chu Qiguang replied flatly, "The Wang family and I have already come to terms. As for the village head... he's nothing more than a dog for the Wangs."
Chen Gang blurted out, "I can come to terms too! I can be your dog!"
Chapter 30