Chinese martial arts: From human punching bags to martial arts mastery

As dawn broke, Fan Gua Lane was still shrouded in the lingering morning mist. The bluish-gray fog swirled and clung to the damp chill of the shantytown, and even the moss in the corners of the walls was covered with fine dewdrops.

Chen Feng was awakened by a slight noise coming from next door.

He pushed open the door and saw Xiao Aqiao carrying a blue cloth bundle on her back, her eyes filled with a mixture of excitement and trepidation.

"I made an appointment with the dance hall; I'm going to redeem myself this morning!"

Xiao Aqiao's voice was extremely low, almost blending into the morning mist. The scar on her wrist was hidden by her sleeve, only a faint, pale pink mark was revealed when the cuff moved: "If you're busy, I can go by myself, after all..."

"I'll stay with you!"

Chen Feng interrupted her and turned to go inside.

When he emerged a moment later, he was carrying a heavy cloth bag. The weight of fifty silver dollars made his clothes droop slightly, a testament to Chen Feng's determination to succeed: "Those people at the dance hall are never law-abiding. I'm worried about you going alone!"

After leaving Swallow Nest, the two walked along the path on the embankment towards Fourth Road. The moss on the corner of the wall was covered with dew, making it slightly slippery underfoot. The chill from last night had not yet dissipated and crept up their trouser legs.

It was unusual for Fan Gua Lane to be so quiet in the morning. There were only a few vendors carrying loads on their shoulders, calling out in low voices. Their calls didn't travel far in the mist before quickly dissipating into the damp air.

Xiao Aqiao clutched the cloth bag in her arms, her knuckles turning white from the force, her fingertips rubbing the cold silver coins: "The madam who works at the dance hall is surnamed Zhou, known as Zhou the Skinflint, she's the most insatiable. I secretly saved up a silver dollar, intending to make twenty before redeeming myself, but I didn't expect you..."

"I'll make up the difference if you don't have enough money!"

Chen Feng spoke calmly, but his eyes swept warily over the shacks on both sides—although the water rats were temporarily lying low, this shantytown was a melting pot of all sorts of people, and no one could say for sure how many ruthless characters were hiding there, so there was no room for complacency.

After walking for about half an hour, the scenery ahead suddenly changed completely.

As the morning mist gradually dissipated, the Fourth Road was awakening. Horse-drawn carriages rumbled along the bluestone road, the sound of wheels rolling over the surface mingling with the creaking of shops opening their doors, creating a lively scene.

The colorful banners of the silk shops and the gilded signs of the jewelry stores gleamed in the morning light, while the most eye-catching entrance on the entire street was the Black Swan Ballroom, whose lights never went out all night—belonging to the Sanxin Company, and whose boss was the famous Green Gang boss, Mr. Du!

But behind the prosperity lies a different story.

Deep within the alleys of Fourth Road, brothels and prostitutes lined the streets. The strong scent of cosmetics mixed with the pungent smell of cheap alcohol permeated the morning air, lingering there.

This place is a den of iniquity that everyone yearns for, but it is also a living hell for countless women. Many respectable wives and daughters were sold here because of war, tax arrears, or coercion by evil forces, and from then on became playthings to be trampled on, never to return to their former lives.

As Xiao Aqiao walked, her steps grew heavier and heavier, as if filled with lead. Her wrists clenched more tightly involuntarily, and the scars under her sleeves seemed to be burning. Her eyes were filled with fear of that glass door, and even her breathing became rapid.

Chen Feng noticed her slight trembling, and his warm hand suddenly grasped Xiao A's hand, conveying a reassuring strength: "Don't be afraid, I'm here!"

The moment the doors to the Black Swan Ballroom were pushed open, the noise ceased abruptly.

The dancers, dressed in revealing clothes, gathered in twos and threes in the hall, smoking and laughing. When they saw Chen Feng and Xiao Aqiao enter, they all cast curious yet contemptuous glances at them.

A heavily made-up brothel madam swayed over, her triangular eyes narrowed into slits, sizing up Chen Feng.

Seeing his tattered coat, a sneer immediately appeared on her lips, her voice shrill and grating: "Oh, isn't this our little Ah Qiao? What, you think you can redeem yourself by finding a poor boy?"

"Mom, I've come to redeem myself from this life. Here are twenty silver dollars!"

Xiao Aqiao mustered her courage and took out some silver coins that Chen Feng had given her earlier. The silver coins gleamed coldly under the light, and she clutched them tightly.

"puff--!"

The madam glanced at the silver dollar and sneered, "Twenty dollars? Ah Qiao, Ah Qiao, do you think Black Swan is a charity? With your physique, when you were sold here by your family, you contracted a terrible disease on your very first day, ruining so much business for us. The dance hall is already being generous by not making you lose money, and you still want to buy your freedom?"

These words were spoken.

The surrounding dancers immediately joined in the laughter.

The sounds of laughter rose and fell, like tiny needles pricking people uncomfortably.

"Exactly! Covered in filth and trying to buy her freedom, who would want her?"

"I think this kid's gone crazy with greed, thinking he can buy a woman for twenty bucks?"

"I doubt they know how Ah Qiao got that scar on her wrist. Maybe it's a remnant of a festering disease!"

One sarcastic remark after another rose and fell, each word like a knife stabbing into Xiao A's heart. Her face turned pale, her head was lowered further and lower, her shoulders trembled slightly, and tears welled up in her eyes, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall.

"Shut up—!"

Chen Feng's face instantly darkened, and his aura suddenly turned cold.

He stepped forward, shielding Xiao Aqiao tightly behind him, his dark eyes flashing like lightning as he stared intently at the madam: "Just name your price for her ransom. You shouldn't have slandered her!"

"Stain?"

The madam, hands on her hips, grew increasingly arrogant, her triangular eyes filled with savagery: "I said it's a rotten disease, and it's a rotten disease! Don't even think about paying your ransom today—a hundred silver dollars less! Otherwise, you poor lad will leave lying down!"

The voice just fell.

Suddenly, a group of fierce-looking thugs rushed out of the back door of the dance hall. They were all burly and strong, and although they were not as vicious as Water Rat, they were no weaker than Big Gold Tooth.

"Aunt Zhou is right!"

Their voices were hoarse, their eyes sinister, like a pack of lurking wild beasts: "This little Ah Qiao has contracted a nasty disease, which is a loss for the dance hall. One hundred silver dollars, not a penny less!"

Chen Feng's eyebrows furrowed sharply, and he suddenly looked up, his eyes blazing with fury: "Little A Qiao doesn't have any disease! Shut up!"

"Whether it is or not, it's not up to you to say!"

The madam suddenly waved her hand: "Beat him! Let this arrogant brat know who made the rules at Black Swan!"

"snort--!"

The thugs immediately pounced on him, their fists and feet whistling through the air as they aimed straight for Chen Feng's vitals.

"Hey--!"

Chen Feng subconsciously lowered his body, took a lunge stance, and opened and closed his hands in a measured manner, instantly unfolding a set of hard qigong postures.

"Bang bang bang—!"

A thug punched him hard in the chest. Chen Feng groaned, his chest heaving, but he suppressed the metallic taste in his throat and only swayed slightly.

[Struck hard, Hard Qigong beginner level +1 (7/500)]

Another thug delivered a vicious kick to the inside of his knee, the force of which was heavy and powerful. Chen Feng used the momentum to sink down, his legs rooted to the ground like an old tree, remaining completely still.

[Struck hard, Hard Qigong beginner level +1 (8/500)]

The thugs outnumbered him and rained down on him with dull thuds.

Although my shoulders, chest, abdomen, and arms quickly became red and swollen.

But Chen Feng endured all the blows, always protecting Xiao Aqiao behind him, his back straight, like an unyielding wall!

[Struck hard, Hard Qigong beginner level +1 (19/500)]

[Struck hard, Hard Qigong beginner level +1 (20/500)]

Even as blood trickled from the corner of his mouth and slid down his jawline, even as the pain in his body intensified, he never retreated a single step, and the determination in his dark eyes remained undiminished.

At first, the dancers watched the spectacle with amusement, whispering among themselves, thinking that Chen Feng was overestimating himself and that Xiao Aqiao had chosen a useless man.

But as they watched Chen Feng being knocked to the ground time and time again, only to grit his teeth and get back up each time, his broad chest always protecting the people behind him, the smiles on their faces gradually disappeared, and their eyes became more complicated.

"He...he clearly couldn't win, so why did he insist on fighting?" a dancer murmured to herself, her eyes filled with disbelief and her voice trembling slightly.

"Because he wanted to protect Ah Qiao..." Another dancer's eyes reddened, her voice choked, and her fingers unconsciously clenched the hem of her dress.

"If someone had protected us like this back then, would we be in this situation today?" Someone wiped away tears first, and then more and more dancers began to sob.

"Waaaaahh ...

They recalled the grievances they suffered when they were sold here, the humiliation and torment they endured, and their longing for freedom in the dead of night.

Chen Feng's current appearance is exactly the salvation they dreamed of back then—a man who was willing to risk his life to protect them.

"stop!"

A simply dressed dancer suddenly rushed out, stood in front of Chen Feng, opened her arms, and said firmly, "Stop fighting!"

"Yes! We can't fight anymore!"

More and more dancers surrounded Chen Feng and Xiao Aqiao, forming a human wall around them, their eyes filled with determination.

"We'll help Ah Qiao raise the money for her ransom!"

"I have three silver dollars here!"

"I saved up four dollars, you can have them all!"

"I still have a few pearl jewelry pieces here, gifts from guests; they can be pawned for some money!"

The dancers pulled out their savings—silver dollars, copper coins, even pearls and jade fragments wrapped in handkerchiefs—and stuffed them into Chen Feng's hands, their eyes filled with tears and hope: "Take this! Quickly redeem A-Qiao and let her go, go as far away as possible!"

Chen Feng was stunned. Looking at the heavy sum of money in his hand and the dancers surrounding him with tears streaming down their faces, his throat tightened.

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, then solemnly clasped his hands in a fist salute to the crowd: "Thank you!"

The thugs turned pale upon seeing this, but the dancers held them back and they were unable to advance.

"You...you've rebelled!" The madam trembled with rage, pointing at the dancers, unable to utter a complete sentence for a long time.

"We just want Ah Qiao to be free!" a dancer shouted, her voice filled with years of suppressed accusation. "You can't keep treating us like tools to make money!"

In the end, Chen Feng had fifty silver dollars on him, plus the money the dancers pooled together, and finally he had enough for a hundred dollars to redeem himself.

The madam's face turned pale and then red, and she reluctantly accepted the money, finally writing the redemption document against her will.

Xiao Aqiao took the document, her fingertips trembling, and tears, which she could no longer hold back, rolled down her cheeks.

She walked up to the dancers and bowed deeply: "Thank you, sisters. I will always remember your kindness!"

Chen Feng, supporting Xiao Aqiao, turned and walked out of the dance hall.

Sunlight streamed through the door, bathing them in warmth and brightness, dispelling the gloom and chill of the dance hall.

Behind him, the dancers waved and offered their blessings, their voices choked with emotion.

"Ah Qiao, you must live well!"

"Find a safe place and never come back!"

Chen Feng glanced back; the dancers' figures gradually blurred in the doorway, but their blessings echoed clearly in his ears.

He gripped Xiao Aqiao's hand tightly, the warmth of his palm conveying strength, his tone firm and powerful.

"One day, I will destroy this black swan!"