Misty Rain of the Old Times

Chapter 108 Here we go again

A yellow mare was led over. It was a docile mare, probably an old "teaching material". It stood there motionless, as if it didn't care what you two-legged guys did to it.

Even so, some children who had never ridden cows or horses were still a little afraid, after all, the horse's back alone was much taller than them.

There is a saddle and stirrups on the horse's back, probably for the convenience of children riding, and the model is smaller.

With the teaching materials ready, Ren Meng looked at the group of children who had never ridden a cow or horse and encouraged them, "Now let's get a feel for what it's like to ride a horse. This will make it easier for you to learn horse stance later. Who's going first?"

However, as soon as he finished speaking, the children pushed each other, but no one took the initiative to step forward.

Gao Jingming and others on the side were so amused by this scene that they found the timid look of their classmates a little funny, and they couldn't help but start to encourage or provoke them.

"Go ahead, it's very simple. Just get on the horse, shake the reins, and it'll start running."

"That's right, what's there to be afraid of? The master is right here, how could he get hurt?"

"Don't be a coward. If it were me, I would have ridden a lap at lightning speed..."

Those who had never ridden one were already afraid, and their laughter made them even more afraid to go forward.

Ren Meng's face darkened at their noise, and he turned around and scolded, "Shut up, everyone! If anyone keeps talking nonsense, I'll make you clean the toilet after school. If you don't clean it well, I'll make you lick it clean!"

Although these words were meant to scare people, Gao Jingming and the others shut up obediently due to the gentleman's majesty. They were still making faces to show how easy it was to ride a horse. All they needed were their hands.

No one stepped forward first, so Ren Meng simply said, "Anyway, everyone has a role. Since you're unwilling to take the initiative, I'll make the arrangements. He Yuanqing, you go first. Last year's end-of-year exam results were among the best in the entire Class C class. You should be the first to set an example for everyone and don't let your classmates down."

"Well... okay," things had come to this point, and He Yuanqing had no choice but to go ahead. His family was not very wealthy, and it was a bit difficult to support his studies. Naturally, he had never ridden a horse, and he was a little nervous at the moment.

Afterwards, in full view of everyone, Ren Meng helped him onto the horse and asked the groom to lead the horse slowly. At first, He Yuanqing was frightened, but gradually he felt that it was nothing and he was no longer afraid.

After he got used to walking slowly for two laps, the groom, at the instruction of Ren Meng, began to lead the horse for a jog. This scared He Yuanqing a little and he climbed directly on the horse's back, which made Zhou Lin and others laugh, and he was scolded loudly by Ren Meng.

Even so, He Yuanqing did not fall after jogging two laps. After stopping, he even looked eager to try again. He probably liked the somewhat exciting feeling of horse riding.

But there were so many people around, they couldn't just take care of him alone. After he got off, the second one took over. With He Yuanqing setting an example in front, the second one was not so scared anymore. Gradually, he even cheered on horseback. Fortunately, there was a groom leading the horse, and the horse was docile. It was probably used to excited children, so it didn't run wildly, otherwise an accident would easily have happened.

One after another, after half an hour, those who had never ridden a horse went to experience it. Some were still not satisfied, while others were trembling after getting off. The performances varied.

In this way, everyone had experienced the feeling of riding a horse. Next, Ren Meng asked them to go to the toilet first, and then they gathered together to officially start teaching them the horse stance.

At this time, Deng Lingfeng's chins in the class were unconsciously raised a little. Due to family reasons, he had been practicing martial arts for several years. Horse stance was the foundation of the foundation for him. His eyes seemed to look down on everyone. Everyone present was a playboy. Maybe he was the only one like that. It was just a child's competitive spirit, but it was not malicious.

Chen Xuan had already known about horse stance a long time ago, and could even say that he knew it by heart. In the past, when he asked about the basics of martial arts, many guards of the Gao family had given professional explanations, and even Gao Jingming, who occasionally watched from the sidelines, understood it very well.

Although Chen Xuan had learned about it, and even knew it in detail, and had practiced it himself, he had not gone too deep into it. In the past, he still focused on calming the mind and nourishing the body, and spent the rest of his time on learning to enrich himself.

Even so, he still listened carefully and learned seriously when Ren Meng taught him horse stance. After all, different people have different views on the same thing.

Soon Chen Xuan discovered that there was a difference between what Ren Meng said and what Geng Hong and others taught. The core of horse stance is naturally to consolidate the foundation of the lower body over a long period of time, but Ren Meng pays more attention to the students' body shape and posture, mainly to strengthen their body, while Geng Hong and others focus on actual combat, how to stand steadily, and how to attack the enemy conveniently.

It's normal to think about it. After all, a school is not a place that emphasizes fighting and killing. Even though the emphasis is different, the core is the same. It's just that different people express it in different ways.

There's another point that all martial artists likely agree on without needing to discuss: if you master the essentials and grasp the essence of horse stance, you won't feel tired, but rather, you'll find it quite comfortable. Of course, this depends on your individual physique and the length of time you practice. After all, it's still a physically demanding activity, and prolonged practice can still cause damage. Anyway, after Ren Meng's explanation, personal demonstration, and individual corrections, a bunch of youngsters all took up horse stance. But the results were disappointing. Most of them were wobbling and on the verge of collapse, groaning profusely, and a few even burst into tears.

Among them, Deng Lingfeng was naturally the best. He had already mastered the horse stance. Even Ren Meng couldn't help but nod secretly. With him as a role model, looking at the other children, he shook his head in his heart.

But there were also some who impressed him, such as Chen Xuan and Gao Jingming. They were a little confused at the beginning, but they quickly adjusted themselves and became quite capable, so that they stood out from the crowd like a crane among chickens along with Deng Lingfeng and the other two.

But when he thought about the three of them, Ren Meng felt relieved. Deng Lingfeng's family ran a martial arts school, and he had been practicing martial arts since he was a child, so his behavior was normal. And what about Gao Jingming's family background? He must have been taught by professionals long ago, not to mention he had a good master, so it wasn't surprising at all.

As the saying goes, family members know their own business. Chen Xuan learned about it in advance and even practiced horse stance, so he adapted quickly.

Originally there was such a premise. Although he could not become the focus of attention like Deng Lingfeng all of a sudden, after all, the latter had practiced martial arts for many years, this was incomparable, but he would not be as confused as other children at the beginning.

The reason for this is that Chen Xuan combined the experience of Geng Hong and others with Ren Meng's previous explanation. The two sides had different focuses, which led to conflicts in some details in the process, which required him to adjust and adapt himself.

However, when he really focused on doing the horse stance, he always felt that no matter what Geng Hong or Ren Meng said, he felt a little awkward when doing it. He didn't understand where the problem was, so he just followed his own feeling.

You know what, he just followed his instinct and quickly found the feeling, so that not only did he not feel tired, but he felt quite comfortable, just like practicing meditation and health-preserving exercises. That feeling came again, like soaking in a hot spring, his whole body was warm and extremely comfortable.

"That's not difficult. Geng Hong and Mr. Ren Meng all said that if you master the horse stance, you won't feel tired, but comfortable. That's probably it. This level is the best way to hone the foundation of your lower body."

Immersed in the joy of doing horse stance, Chen Xuan thought to himself that he even had the idea that just having hands would be enough.

But when he noticed the performance of other "classmates", he put away such thoughts and realized that it was not because the horse stance was easy, but because of his own reasons. It was like a calming and health-preserving exercise. It was useless for others, but the effect was surprisingly good when he practiced it.

But the Qi-calming and health-preserving exercises are different from the horse stance. The former is only for physical exercise and health preservation, and no matter how others practice it, it will not have any effect. However, the horse stance actually involves the basics of martial arts, which is equivalent to a superficial way of squeezing oneself to temper muscles and bones and polish the body. It may not be easy to get started at once, but there will be gains over time.

Chen Xuan understood that the reason he was able to find the feeling so quickly was definitely because of his own martial arts talent.

But what does this mean? Is it equivalent to achieving what Deng Lingfeng achieved in a few years right from the start? Maybe even surpassing it!

Talent is often so unreasonable...

Looking at Gao Jingming again, Chen Xuan was stunned to find that this boy was actually not bad. His horse stance was quite standard, he looked comfortable, and had a smug smile on his face. In particular, he occasionally glanced at Deng Lingfeng, as if to say, you are just so-so.

Chen Xuan probably understood why he was like this. In addition to Gao Jingming's full understanding of horse stance, the biggest reason was probably the dragon horn pendant he wore, which was constantly nourishing his body. Otherwise, his performance would not be much better than others.

This is equivalent to cheating. Although something as simple as horse stance is nothing, it is cheating once it is cheated. There is no such thing as cheating a little bit.

As the saying goes, one step ahead brings all steps ahead. When you are just starting out, you should walk faster than others, almost like you are running. Over time, it will be difficult for others to catch up.

But this was a class after all, not a punishment for a group of children, so Ren Meng did not force them. He encouraged and guided those who performed poorly, and let them rest if they really couldn't hold on. He did not specifically praise those who performed well, but just encouraged them to keep up the good performance.

After a while, when all the students understood the key points of horse stance, the nearly half-day class was about to end.

Finally, he advised everyone to practice diligently after going down, but too much is as bad as too little, otherwise it will harm the body. It is enough to persist for half an hour every day. There is no need to do it all at once. It depends on how long the individual can persist. It can be done in stages. There is no mandatory requirement to achieve a certain level.

Three days later, during the next archery class, he will check everyone's progress and proceed with the next teaching. Anyway, everyone should focus on learning, so there is no need to be too deliberate in this aspect.

After all, a school is not a martial arts sect. Learning is the main thing, and martial arts is supplementary. More energy should be spent on learning, while martial arts sects are the exact opposite...

(End of this chapter)