A long breath circulated through his chest, gradually dispersing among his internal organs and bringing a faint, warm sensation of comfort.
"Phew. Ape Fist really suits me best after all."
Liang Qu wiped the fine beads of sweat from his brow.
After all these days, he had mastered all the refining methods, and the sensation of qi in his chest was now about as thick as half a chopstick. His progress had been extraordinarily swift, giving him a deeper understanding of martial "methods."
With many things, unless one experienced them firsthand, it was difficult to discover the tricks of the trade.
Having practiced the Three Fists Method for so long, Liang Qu had deduced some of the functions of bone structure and aptitude. Simply put, every martial art technique possessed one or more ideal sets of bodily proportions—what he termed "compatibility."
For instance, his ape-like arms, wasp waist, and mantis legs were exceptionally compatible with the Ape Fist of the Three Fists Method. Practicing it was like taking an exam with the answer key in front of him; he scored full marks every time, so his progress was naturally rapid.
The other two styles, Tiger Fist and Crane Fist, were not as compatible. Every time he finished practicing them, he felt as if he had only scored an eighty or a sixty. Over time, that difference would become glaringly obvious.
Take Li Libo: his Ape Fist scored around eighty-five.
Chen Jiechang, on the other hand, was well-suited to Tiger Fist, but only at a level around ninety.
However, the stance work within a martial art could be modified. With guidance from someone of sufficient skill, adjustments could be made to improve compatibility.
As the saying went: if the mountain does not come to me, I shall go to the mountain.
Unfortunately, Senior Brother Hu Qi couldn't do it, not to mention Lu Shaohui—even if Lu Shaohui knew how, he probably wouldn't bother to say a word. In the entire Yang Family Martial Hall, it was said only Master Yang was capable of boosting scores like that, and during the final five days of every month, the hall's apprentices came specifically to seek guidance on these matters.
A good teacher was paramount.
Of course, besides the visible exam score of bodily compatibility, the exam paper of martial arts also had hidden marks; all of them combined made up a person's total aptitude.
Most typically, even if your bodily proportions were off, you might be naturally blessed with vigorous qi and blood, or possess extraordinary comprehension to alter techniques yourself, guiding qi to temper the body. None of these could be determined through bone reading alone, or at least not completely.
In that case, one could still achieve twice the results with half the effort during cultivation, racking up an extraordinary score that exceeded one hundred!
This was why Hu Qi had said that poor bodily proportions did not matter entirely and did not represent one's full aptitude; someone might have terrible proportions yet still leave everyone else in the dust when practicing, advancing faster than anyone.
Liang Qu marveled inwardly at the diversity among people, knowing that only by redoubling his efforts could he create miracles.
Unfortunately, after studying for three days, the hundred-plus wen he had earned last time had been spent down to nothing. If he didn't work soon, he wouldn't even have food to eat.
Had he not heard from Senior Brother Xiang upon arriving today that Master Yang might come by this afternoon or evening, Liang Qu, having just finished learning Crane Fist, would have already headed out to take his boat on the water. Now he could only wait until Master Yang arrived before leaving.
He really envied the rich guys.
Liang Qu glanced over at the dozens of apprentices on the other side. Only after entering the martial hall had he realized that among all the students, only the few poor devils like them had paid seven taels. Everyone else had paid at least ten taels of silver, studying martial arts full-time without having to go off every few days to earn money, making their efficiency several times higher.
"Speaking of which, I haven't seen Scabby-Head Zhang in quite a while."
"Yeah, come to think of it. I didn't see him when we paid our taxes the other day. Could he have fled to avoid the register?"
"Surely not. He extorts people everywhere he goes every single day, and nobody dares cross him. Would he really be worried about not being able to pay his taxes?"
Nearby, Li Libo and Chen Jiechang were resting on the edge of a flower bed, shooting the breeze. For some reason, their conversation had drifted to Scabby-Head Zhang.
Catching the key phrase, Liang Qu pricked up his ears.
Chen Jiechang grumbled displeasedly, "Who cares about him? Isn't it better not to see him? It's not like he was a good person anyway."
"True enough." Li Libo didn't dwell on it. Glancing around, his eyes widened. "Hey, hey, look over there! There are actually a few girls! Whew, the one leading them is quite dashing!"
"Don't stare around so recklessly. Who knows what kind of lofty status they might have? Be careful."
"Just looking, that's all..."
Seeing the topic change, Liang Qu relaxed and resumed practicing Ape Fist.
He was not even halfway through the form, however, when the spiritual link in his mind suddenly began to pulse wildly.
Fat Catfish and Cannot Move were frantically sending him messages!
The treasure plant lotus roots in the water were under attack!
And by a big one?
Liang Qu's expression changed instantly.
The treasure plant lotus roots—his very first pot of gold!
Although only twenty-odd sections could yield essence of the waters, the entire patch of lotus roots spanned several dozen meters. The remaining hundreds of lotus roots, while incapable of providing essence of the waters, still had considerable healing properties and were treasured by him. Normally, he had Cannot Move guard them diligently.
When Fat Catfish had nothing else to do, it was also required to stay nearby to help keep watch.
Any small fish or shrimp that came to cause trouble were killed and eaten by the two beasts.
Just what kind of creature could prove too much for a crocodile and a six-whisker catfish combined, forcing them to send frantic emergency messages?
At that thought, Liang Qu could no longer sit still. Hastily bidding farewell to Li Libo and Chen Jiechang, he gathered his belongings to leave.
The two were astonished and asked in a hurry, "Why are you leaving now? Master Yang might be arriving any minute. Aren't you going to stay and get some pointers from him?"
Liang Qu hesitated for a moment. "I have something urgent to handle. Once it's sorted out, I should be able to make it back in time."
It was still morning; if he hurried back and then returned, he might still catch him.
Seeing how truly anxious Liang Qu seemed, Li Libo and Chen Jiechang didn't press the matter further, only telling him to take care on the road.
Watching Liang Qu's receding back, Li Libo scratched his head. "How strange. It was like this last time too."
"Last time?"
"Yeah." Li Libo nodded. "Last time, Ah Shui also rushed off halfway through learning from Martial Master Hu, and no one had come to notify him about anything then either."
"Why overthink it? Maybe Ah Shui had prior arrangements."
"True."
Fallen leaves drifted down one after another, piling in layers upon the muddy ground to turn into dark-brown humus.
Leaving the martial hall, Liang Qu conserved his stamina and jogged the entire way. The dozen or so li from Pingyang Town to Yixing took him less than half a shichen.
Upon arriving at the wharf, Liang Qu caught his breath. Once he had composed himself, he untied his boat as though nothing were amiss and rowed out. Once out of sight of any onlookers, he quickly rowed to the vicinity of the lotus root waters and tapped on the surface of the water.
A moment later, a Sow Dragon and a six-whisker catfish surfaced.
Liang Qu patted their heads and had them roll over. After inspecting them all over and finding no injuries, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He had previously ordered the two beasts to assess whether they could handle any intruders coming to steal the lotus roots: fight if they could, and retreat if they couldn't, rather than engaging in a fight to the death.
Keep the land and lose the men, and both land and men are lost; keep the men and lose the land, and both men and land are saved.
Though the lotus roots were precious, they still could not compare to the two water beasts Liang Qu was raising.
Having fed on treasure fish, the two beasts had undergone a secondary growth spurt and grown increasingly formidable. Cannot Move now exceeded 2.2 meters in length, while Fat Catfish reached a full 2.4 meters!
Both had grown several sizes larger overall, and the essence of the waters required for their respective evolutions had each dropped by more than four points.
Growing larger was certainly a good thing; the fiercer his subordinates, the better.
Yet this only made Liang Qu more curious: just what kind of creature could force Cannot Move and Fat Catfish combined to beat a hasty retreat?
As he pondered, Fat Catfish suddenly tilted upward in the water and poked its head into the boat. Opening its gaping maw, it regurgitated five sections of lotus root, which landed against the wooden deck with dull thumps.
Liang Qu picked one up to examine and said in surprise, "These are the lotus roots that contain essence of the waters? You carried them away before the monster arrived?"
Fat Catfish and the Sow Dragon flicked their tails, splashing water over Liang Qu. He didn't mind in the slightest; if anything, he felt touched.
Earlier, he had kept several lotus roots containing essence of the waters as a reserve for emergencies, instructing the two beasts to keep an especially close eye on them. He hadn't expected them to be clever enough to relocate the most vital assets.
They had really come into their own; raising them hadn't been in vain.
Liang Qu turned and picked up his wooden spear. The muscles along his jaw tightened unconsciously into sharp contours, and his eyes narrowed.
"Very good. Let's head down and see who dares steal my lotus roots."
Chapter 24