Promise!

Chapter 10, Encounter

At 1:00 p.m., Ping Yongfeng arrived on time and taught the martial artists about meridians, acupoints, and the first of the twelve meridians, the Hand Yangming Meridian. He then led them in practicing the Black Evil Posture twice, and then told them to practice on their own before leaving.

Zhuang Jin also understood. After the last incident where the martial arts student recruitment to teach martial arts was cancelled, the martial arts teacher would not hide anything this time. But as Xiong Lei said, it was just to do his duty, but don't expect more, you still have to rely on yourself!

Time passes during boring practice.

By the time of Youshi (5 p.m.), Zhuang Jin noticed that some of the martial artists who had eaten free meals at noon looked pale and could not continue practicing, while those who had eaten meals at their own expense felt slightly better.

However, there are also many people who do not look tired. These people have not done the standing meditation well, so it has basically no effect, so naturally they will not feel tired.

Zhuang Jin had a deep understanding of this. If the Black Evil Posture was done correctly, one could feel the flow of Qi and blood in the body. After doing it once, it felt like running one or two miles and sweating slightly. If the Posture was done correctly, after practicing it to this point, the body would definitely ache, as if a frog had jumped several miles.

At the edge of the training ground, more and more martial artists sat down to rest and chat. Only a few, like Zhuang Jin, were still insisting on practicing.

……

After dinner, Zhuang Jin felt a little relieved from his fatigue and continued to practice in the martial arts training ground. At this time, there were three or five other martial artists in the training ground, each practicing without talking.

As for the other martial artists, they returned to the dormitory. It was understandable. After all, after a whole day of training, everyone would be tired. It takes perseverance to practice more.

After practicing for half an hour, the three or five martial artists left one after another. The martial arts arena was about to lock up, and Zhuang Jin was about to return to the dormitory. On the way, he ran into Miss Yun, who was holding a stack of booklets. She nodded and greeted him just as he saw Xiong Lei appear on the side of the road. He scratched his head and grinned, "Hey, what a coincidence! Sister Yun, can I help you?"

When Zhuang Jin saw Xiong Lei's poor acting, the corner of his eye twitched: What a coincidence, I couldn't bear to expose it.

Then, he thought of something else and looked strange: "No wonder he didn't come to practice with me after dinner. It turns out he was planning to meet me by chance. I think the time after lunch was also... This kid is quite active."

However, Zhuang Jin did not comment on what Xiong Lei did. For them, practicing martial arts was the most important thing now. If they couldn't stay after a month, it would be useless to try to please him. After all, the son of a butcher and a first-class maid in the outer courtyard of the Shen family had huge differences in status. There was no possibility at all.

Chen Yun politely declined Xiong Lei's help, walked with the two of them for a short distance, and then left.

Zhuang Jin then said, "Brother Xiong, practicing martial arts is the most important thing right now."

"Ahem!" Xiong Lei coughed twice, his face a little embarrassed, and changed the subject: "Jinzi, do you know? Many people still haven't mastered the standing practice, and they pay other martial artists to teach them!"

Seeing Xiong Lei didn't care and didn't take his words to heart, Zhuang Jin shook his head slightly and let it go. A reminder was already a favor, and saying more might hurt feelings. There was no need to forcibly intervene in other people's cause and effect. Just respect other people's fate, and then he cooperated and continued, "Really? Did anyone look for you?"

Xiong Lei nodded: "Two martial artists approached me, but I didn't agree. This kind of thing doesn't pay much and is troublesome, so I won't do it."

"That's the truth. If you take money and teach others but they don't see any results, won't they suspect you of hiding something? And if they don't become a true warrior and stay, they might even hold a grudge against you, and the blame would be too great."

Zhuang Jin and Xiong Lei were talking when they returned to the dormitory. The other martial artists had already washed up and were chatting.

As soon as the two entered the door, a man came up to them and said, "My name is Wang Rui. What are your names, brothers?"

"Zhuang Jin."

"Xiong Lei."

"I wonder how you two are doing with your practice today. How are you feeling? Do you have any idea how to control your Qi and blood?"

Zhuang Jin felt a little strange when he heard this question. Why did it sound so much like checking answers after a test in his past life? Then he was puzzled. Did he know this person? Why was he asking so many questions so casually?

But there were thousands of people, all of different kinds, and he didn't want to offend anyone for no reason, so he just said vaguely, "I don't have any clue yet."

Xiong Lei's eyes turned and he said in the same tone: "Yeah, I don't feel anything. It's too difficult." "Really? It's the same for me. It's difficult!" When Wang Rui heard the two people's answers, he suddenly felt as if he had a sense of sympathy. He sighed and left.

This had no beginning or end, which left the two of them confused.

But after thinking about it, Zhuang Jin understood a little. This person probably saw that he and Xiong Lei had been instructed on the stage during the day and had become famous, so he wanted to find out about the progress of these two "celebrities". However, he still didn't understand the other party's behavior. What was the point of asking this?
When you hear that others are fast, you can't help but feel envious and jealous, which makes you uncomfortable and disrupts your own rhythm; when you hear that others are slow, at most you will feel complacent and get some psychological comfort, but can you really control your qi and blood and refine your internal energy in one step?
Wang Rui asked the two of them, and also asked other martial artists in the same dormitory one by one. These martial artists all said that they didn't feel anything and sighed until it was Bi Kai's turn.

Bi Kai, the martial artist who paid for two meals at noon and each ate two, said, "I have a feeling that I can control my Qi and blood and refine the first trace of internal energy within ten days."

Hearing this, others were naturally envious and jealous, and many even flattered and fawned over him.

Zhuang Jin looked at the martial artists surrounding Bi Kai, shook his head slightly, and did not go closer. He was even too lazy to remember the names of the other martial artists.

After one month, more than 90% of these martial artists will be eliminated. In his mind, he and these martial artists are just like living in the same big bunk bed. Instead of caring about others, he might as well review the acupoints and meridians he learned in the afternoon.

……

In the outer courtyard of the Shen family, there is another third-class maid's room.

Third-class maids were assigned to a room of four, and Song Lan was one of them. They were all girls around sixteen or seventeen years old. After a busy day, the maids took a break and chatted about gossip.

Song Lan told the story of how Qian Wende wanted to eat more and take more during the day, and even tried to grab the spoon. After hearing the whole story, the other girls denounced Qian Wende and then went off topic.

"Lanlan, how are the two warriors helping you doing?"

"Hmm." Song Lan thought for a moment and said, "One is a bit strong, like an ox; the other is good-looking, like the scholars in the storybooks, with curved eyebrows and bright eyes..."

"Is it really that beautiful? I don't believe it, unless you are willing to switch with me tomorrow and let me see it for myself." A maid said deliberately.

There was also a little maid who giggled: "Lanlan is thinking about love!"

"You're the one who's thinking about love! You're the one who's thinking about love!" Song Lan's face puffed up with anger, but a girl next to her tapped her cheek and she burst out laughing: "Even if I'm thinking about love, I think... How can I be worthy of her? If you say the most beautiful maid in our outer courtyard is Sister Yun..."

As Song Lan was speaking, she noticed that the other girls screamed, widened their eyes, and suddenly fell silent. She immediately realized something and turned around stiffly. The person behind her was Chen Yun, the one who came to inspect the room. Who else could it be?

"Sister Yun." Song Lan groaned, but was not afraid. As everyone knew, among the first-class maids in the outer courtyard, Chen Yun was recognized as having a good temper and was very gentle. She would never get angry even if she was joked. For example, at this moment, if other first-class maids in the outer courtyard came to make rounds and caught them still awake and laughing at this time, they would definitely scold them. But Sister Yun never did that.

As expected, Chen Yun looked at Song Lan with a gentle yet helpless smile on her face. Like an older sister looking at a naughty little sister at home, she pinched her shoulder and said, "Why are you wearing so little? The weather has turned cold recently. You've washed up and didn't get into bed early. Why are you talking here?"

She was fine before he said it, but after he said it, Song Lan suddenly felt a little cold and sneezed subconsciously. Some snot bubbles came out, and as the sneeze grew bigger, they burst with a "pop". However, she seemed to have not reacted for a while, and her face was blank.

The other three maids were all amused when they saw this scene.

"You!" Chen Yun also smiled and shook her head, took out her handkerchief to wipe Song Lan, and then supervised the four little girls to get into bed.

"It's getting late, we should go to bed. We have to get up early tomorrow!" She went to the window and helped the four little girls blow out the lights before leaving the room.

……

The night was quiet, and the outer courtyard of the Shen family, which had been noisy all day, became silent. Only the endless stars of the Milky Way in the sky were twinkling, scattering dots of starlight, reflecting a figure lying in bed in front of a small window, still awake and reviewing silently.

……

(End of this chapter)