Chương 66: Stand Firm, My Baby Continued

Seeing Fang Cheng still had no reaction, Instructor Zhao sighed and shook his head.

"Your form is good, but you have no inner talent. Forget it. Just get in line with the others and hold your stance." Fang Cheng rolled his eyes. He could not be bothered to argue with this mortal. He walked slowly to the back of the line, crouched down, and held the horse stance. Instructor Zhao picked up a teaching stick and came over to Fang Cheng. He tapped Fang Cheng's calf with the stick.

"Turn your toes slightly inward. Apply hidden force in your calves to create a forward twisting motion. Understand?" Fang Cheng grunted in acknowledgment and followed the instructions. Instructor Zhao tapped his calf a few more times to confirm he was applying force properly, then nodded in satisfaction.

"Now, try your hands. Follow me. Raise your hands." Instructor Zhao raised both hands, palms facing inward, elbows jutting outward, fingers curled inward. His arms formed a circle, with the backs of his hands facing upward. Fang Cheng imitated him, raising his hands in the same position. Instructor Zhao continued, "Put force into your elbows. Imagine you are holding the Grand Supreme Elder's alchemy furnace. The fire is blazing hot, very hot. But you need to keep your balance.

Now increase the force in your elbows while pushing forward with your legs..." Fang Cheng followed along, tightening his arms, bending his elbows inward, and applying force to his legs. But something felt off. Instructor Zhao asked, "Do you feel heat spreading from your arms through your whole body?"

"I think... maybe...?" Fang Cheng replied hesitantly. Instructor Zhao nodded with satisfaction.

"Yes. That is the feeling. Now, keep it up. Imagine that alchemy furnace has turned into those big butts at Spring Moon Pavilion. Their furnace is also blazing hot..." Fang Cheng: "..." Instructor Zhao glanced at him and saw he still had no reaction. This time, instead of criticizing, he looked approvingly.

"Excellent. You have the best composure I have ever seen. Keep that composure. No matter what wonderful butts you encounter, hold your stance steady. Unlike that 834 in front of you. A few words from me and he loses it. Hmph!" With that, he swung his teaching stick and struck 834's leg. 834 was a skinny man. The heavy blow made him yelp in pain. His legs gave out, and he collapsed.

"Useless. Get up. Tonight, you will accompany the newbie 865 and hold your stance until the midnight hour of Zi. The rest of you can go rest after two more hours." Fang Cheng glanced at the sky and did some quick math. He would have to stand for another four hours before it was over.

"Hey, do we not follow the principle of harmony with nature here? Training at night?" Instructor Zhao snorted.

"Your job is at night. I train you at night so you can get used to exerting force in the dark." Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. He patted Fang Cheng's shoulder and encouraged him.

"Train well. You have great potential. Your contraction strength is strong. But you lack a wild heart. Once you can get wild and control your contractions, you can go to Summer Sun Pavilion. If you perform well there, you might even get to meet our boss."

"Oh? So our boss lives at Summer Sun Pavilion?" Fang Cheng asked. Instructor Zhao shook his head.

"He does not live there. But he visits around the beginning and end of each month." Fang Cheng nodded slightly. There were only a few days until month's end. He would endure for now. When the time came, he would find a way to infiltrate Summer Sun Pavilion and capture this so-called boss. Instructor Zhao said no more. He ordered the two guards at the gate to keep watch over the group, then went back inside to rest. Time passed slowly. Some in the group could not hold their stances and collapsed.

The guards would walk over, crack their knuckles, beat them, then pull out a piece of paper and recite:"Beating is affection, scolding is love. This is for your future. Think of how others looked down on you outside. Think of the disappointment in your wife's eyes. Come on! Rise up! You are the best!" The guards recited in a halting, emotionless tone. But whenever they did, some of the trainees' eyes would burn with rage.

"Yes! How could I let my wife look down on me! I will rise up! I will make her unable to look down on me ever again!" Gritting their teeth, they held on. Finally, after two hours, the training session ended. The group dispersed to their rooms to wash up and rest. The two guards glanced at 834. He gave them a knowing look. They nodded and left. Only Fang Cheng and 834 remained in the yard. 834 dropped his horse stance, his legs giving out as he collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath. He was clearly exhausted.

Fang Cheng glanced at 834, then at the departing guards. He frowned. There seemed to be some underhanded deal going on. 834 seemed to read Fang Cheng's thoughts but did not explain. Instead, he smiled and asked, "865, you have had some martial arts training before, right?" Fang Cheng grunted.

"A few years. But my family was poor, so I could not afford to continue. I gave it up." 834 nodded knowingly, a hint of envy in his eyes. He glanced at Fang Cheng's crotch with an odd expression.

"865, if you are tired, you do not have to keep going. No one is watching us now." Fang Cheng nodded and stopped holding the stance. He crouched down. He needed to act like an ordinary person, showing appropriate weakness and fatigue to avoid suspicion. 834 continued chatting, "865, why did you come here? Did your wife run off with someone else, or did a Spring Moon Pavilion girl drain your silver?" Fang Cheng thought for a moment and replied, "Neither.

I came from out of town to earn some money so I can go back to my village and get married." 834 scoffed.

"Tch. What is so great about wives? You are so old-fashioned. These days, the trend is walking marriages. Leave the seed, leave the feelings. Fuck and run. That is the way to live freely."

"Uh..." Fang Cheng did not know how to respond.

"You make it sound... kind of right." Seeing Fang Cheng not argue, 834 grew excited and continued, "What use are women? All they do is have children. But men are not bad either. Men can have children too..."

"Oh? Tell me more. How do men have children?" Fang Cheng pressed. Ever since seeing those flyers, he had suspected a connection to the Stabbing Brotherhood. The county Xiaogou had gone to must have been Shuili City.

"Having children is just having children, haha. We will talk about that later." 834 brushed it off and changed the subject. Fang Cheng noticed 834 was cautious and did not press further. They stopped talking. 834 lay on the ground, arms behind his head, staring at the sky with a calculating look. Fang Cheng quietly pulled out his little notebook and recorded all the details of tonight's experience. These were firsthand accounts of the suffering he had endured. They would be solid evidence against Hu Tong.

Time passed quickly. The night watchman's clapper sounded outside the yard, marking the hour of Zi. 834 stood up and led Fang Cheng to a room with a large communal sleeping platform covered in straw mats. A row of men lay sleeping. 834 pointed to a spot in the corner and said, "865, you sleep there tonight. Do not worry. I will be right next to you." He took off his shorts, lay down on the straw mat, and closed his eyes to rest. Fang Cheng looked at 834, recalling Xiaogou's tragic tale.

He did not get on the platform. Instead, he sat cross-legged on the floor and began to meditate. 834 invited him up, but Fang Cheng shook his head, explaining that it was a habit from his martial arts training. He could not sleep lying down. He had to sit upright to fall asleep.

"Well, I will not save you a spot then." There was a hint of disappointment in his voice.