Shooting the Eagle: Starting from Iron Palm Peak

On the evening Guo Jing finished learning the fifteenth move, "Dragon Fights in the Wild," Hong Qigong, unusually, did not go to bed early.

He sat by the fire, clutching his gourd of wine, sipping it slowly, squinting at the sunset. Huang Rong squatted nearby, roasting two pheasants, the fat dripping and sizzling on the fire. Guo Jing sat opposite Hong Qigong, his hands on his knees, looking honest and simple. Mu Nianci sat next to Lin Qi, her iron spear leaning against a tree trunk, its tip flashing in the firelight.

Lynch leaned against a big tree, his eyes closed, seemingly resting, but his ears were perked up.

"Seventh Master," Huang Rong said with a grin, turning the pheasant over, "shouldn't you be teaching me the sixteenth palm tomorrow?"

Hong Qigong glanced at her and snorted, "Little girl, since when did this old beggar start lecturing on the sixteenth palm technique?"

Huang Rong was taken aback: "You've already taught me fifteen moves, what's three more?"

"No good." Hong Qigong took a swig of wine. "The old beggar taught your brother Jing martial arts because you cooked for him. One chicken and one palm, a fair trade, no one owes anyone anything."

Huang Rong pouted, "But you ate more than fifteen chickens! Beggar's chicken, roast duck, braised pork, steamed sea bass, Hao Qiu soup... You do the math, how many meals have you had?"

Hong Qigong was amused by her: "You silly girl, you're starting to settle scores with this old beggar." He shook his head, "This old beggar said one palm strike, and that's it. I won't teach you a single more. As for the remaining three palm strikes, we'll talk about them when your brother Jing has mastered them enough."

Guo Jing quickly said, "Seventh Master, Rong'er was just joking with you. It's already an immense blessing that you taught me fifteen moves. I dare not ask for more."

Hong Qigong glanced at him, his gaze softening slightly: "Silly boy, you're an honest man. This old beggar doesn't like greedy people, but you're different; you never ask for more than you need."

Huang Rong rolled her eyes, tore off a leg from the roasted pheasant, and respectfully handed it to Hong Qigong: "Qigong, it's fine if you don't teach me the palm technique, but why don't you stay a few more days? I'll cook delicious food for you every day."

Hong Qigong took the chicken leg, took a bite, and said indistinctly, "This old beggar didn't say he was leaving right away. Your cooking is so good, this old beggar hasn't had enough yet."

Huang Rong jumped up with joy: "Then you can stay for a month, and I'll make you something different every day."

Hong Qigong snorted but didn't reply. He finished the chicken leg in a few bites, threw the bone into the fire, wiped his mouth, and suddenly looked at Guo Jing: "Silly boy, come here."

Guo Jing quickly moved in front of him. Hong Qigong looked him up and down, then suddenly reached out and patted him on the shoulder. The pat seemed light, but Guo Jing felt a surge of force, his body swayed, and he almost fell. He quickly straightened his back and steadied himself.

Hong Qigong nodded: "Not bad, your lower body is more stable now. However—when you strike, you only focus on striking forward and never pay attention to your back. This old beggar asks you, what would you do if someone circled behind you while you were striking?"

Guo Jing was taken aback, then scratched his head: "I...I hadn't thought of that."

"Never thought about it?" Hong Qigong snorted. "If you hadn't thought about it, you would have died a hundred times over. The Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms is a powerful and forceful palm technique. When you strike, all your energy is concentrated in the front palm, leaving your back wide open. If you don't learn to hold back your strength and have a backup plan, when you encounter a true master, one strike will be your own death."

Guo Jing listened, breaking out in a cold sweat, and nodded repeatedly.

Hong Qigong stood up, walked to the center of the open space, and beckoned to Guo Jing: "Come on, hit me."

Guo Jing hesitated for a moment, then stood up, walked to Hong Qigong, bent his right arm inward, drew a circle with his right palm, and with a whoosh, pushed it outward. He had practiced this move thousands of times and knew it by heart.

Hong Qigong didn't meet the palm strike. Instead, he shifted to the side and gracefully moved behind Guo Jing. Guo Jing's palm missed its mark, and he couldn't stop in time, causing him to stumble forward. Hong Qigong reached out and patted him on the back, causing Guo Jing to stagger several steps and almost fall to the ground.

"See that?" Hong Qigong stood with his hands behind his back. "You used too much force in that palm strike; you couldn't retract it. If you encountered a master, they would be behind you before your palm even hit them."

Guo Jing blushed and lowered his head, saying, "This junior has remembered."

Hong Qigong said, "Let's go again. This time, you fight with half your strength and hold back half."

Guo Jing thrust out another palm, this time holding back three-tenths of his strength, and the palm strike was indeed slower. Hong Qigong turned around again, and this time Guo Jing was prepared, hurriedly withdrawing his palm and turning around, but the turning movement was too slow, and Hong Qigong's finger had already touched his back.

"Still too slow." Hong Qigong shook his head. "Turning around isn't done with your shoulders, it's done with your waist. The waist is the center of the whole body; if your waist is flexible, your whole body is flexible."

He had Guo Jing stand aside, then assumed a fighting stance and slowly thrust out a palm. The strike was slow, but his waist moved like a snake, twisting slightly and rotating his entire body. With the first palm strike, he turned, his second palm already poised to strike.

"This is called 'leaving room for maneuver'," Hong Qigong said, withdrawing his palm. "You strike with ten parts force, but retain twelve parts of it within your body. This way, you can change your moves at any time, turn around at any time, and deal with attacks from any direction."

Guo Jing's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed, "This junior understands!"

"You know nothing," Hong Qigong cursed. "You may understand, but whether you can actually do it is another matter. Come on, practice again."

Guo Jing resumed his practice, palm strike after palm strike, holding back three-tenths of his strength with each strike and paying attention to the rotation of his waist. He wasn't afraid of the monotony; if one strike wasn't enough, he would do it ten times, and if ten times wasn't enough, he would do it a hundred times.

Huang Rong squatted by the fire, watching Guo Jing practice his palm techniques, a smile playing on her lips. She knew that although Hong Qigong said he wouldn't teach anymore, he was still teaching. He wasn't just teaching palm techniques, but also the principles of adapting to combat and self-defense.

Lin Qi sat under the tree, listening intently to every word Hong Qigong said. He recalled Qiu Qianren's words when he taught him "power precedes the palm": "You can't use all your strength, and you can't overextend your palm. If you use it all, you can't take it back; if you overextend your palm, you can't change your moves." What Hong Qigong said today was essentially the same principle as Qiu Qianren's—leaving room for maneuver is the key to having a backup plan. These two top masters of the era, one from the north and one from the south, had different paths, but their fundamental principles of martial arts were interconnected.

He silently channeled his inner strength, trying to transfer the power of his Iron Palm technique from his shoulders to his waist, following Hong Qigong's saying that "the waist is the center of the body." He struck out with his palm, and although he didn't use his full strength, the palm wind was more concentrated and more agile than before.

Hong Qigong glanced at him, said nothing, but the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

Mu Nianci sat beside Lin Qi, listening attentively. Although her Free and Easy Wandering technique emphasized lightness and grace, the principles of adapting to combat remained the same. She had gradually come to understand Hong Qigong's saying, "You can't only look ahead and ignore what's behind," while practicing her own skills, but she had never understood it as clearly as she did today.

Guo Jing practiced for half an hour before Hong Qigong called a halt.

"Alright, your brain is already full for today, any more practice will be a waste of time." Hong Qigong sat back down by the fire, took another piece of chicken from Huang Rong, and ate it heartily.

Taking the opportunity, Huang Rong asked, "Seventh Master, what you just said wasn't just for dealing with one person, was it? What if several people attacked together?"

Hong Qigong chewed on some chicken and mumbled, "The same principle applies when several people attack together. You can't just focus on one person; you have to be aware of everything around you. When you strike, you have to think about how to retract; when you retreat, you have to think about how to advance. The Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms isn't something you do standing still; it's something you do while moving."

He put down the chicken bones, stood up, and took a few steps in the open space. His steps seemed casual, but each step was perfectly placed, and there was a subtle connection between each step.

"This is called 'footwork'," Hong Qigong said. "The old beggar didn't specifically teach you footwork, but after practicing for so many days, you should have grasped some of the tricks. Boxing isn't about standing still; it's about fighting while moving. Your feet must coordinate with your palms; wherever your palms go, your feet go; wherever your feet go, your palms go."

Guo Jing nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

Hong Qigong sighed, "Forget it, you won't remember anything no matter how much I tell you. I'll stay a few more days, old beggar. I won't teach you any new palm techniques, just these things. How much you learn depends on your own fate."

Huang Rong jumped for joy, grabbing Guo Jing's arm and laughing, "Brother Jing, Seventh Master isn't leaving again!"

Guo Jing smiled憨厚ly.

In the following days, Hong Qigong indeed did not teach any new palm techniques. Instead, he instructed Guo Jing on how to apply the fifteen palms in actual combat. He had Guo Jing spar with Huang Rong, and with Mu Nianci. Sometimes, he even personally stepped into the fray, using a tree branch to parry Guo Jing's moves.

"Your palm strike had enough power, but it was too high. If you were facing an opponent shorter than you, it would have gone right over their head."

"When you're hitting someone, don't just focus on their head. You can hit their body, shoulders, arms, legs, anywhere. The Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms isn't just for frontal attacks; each strike can change direction."

"Before you make a move, you need to see with your eyes and listen with your ears. Where your opponent's eyes glance and where his shoulders move can tell you what he's going to do next."

Guo Jing remembered them all.

Lin Qi listened along every day. Some of what Hong Qigong said, Qiu Qianren had taught him, and some he hadn't. The Iron Palm technique emphasizes "power preceding the palm," which is the same principle as Hong Qigong's saying "read the opponent's eyes and shoulders"—to judge the opponent's intentions before they make a move, so as to gain the upper hand.

But he also discovered that the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms and the Iron Palm Kung Fu were ultimately different. The Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms was a direct assault, while the Iron Palm Kung Fu was a side-attack. One was about power, the other about skill. He silently memorized these insights, and when the night was still, he went alone to the hillside and practiced all thirteen postures of the Iron Palm Kung Fu from beginning to end. This time, he paid special attention to the rotation of his waist and the coordination of his steps, leaving room for maneuver with each strike, no longer using all his strength as before.

After finishing, he stood on the hillside, gazing at the dark mountains in the distance, and let out a long breath.

Mu Nianci had followed him at some point and was standing behind him.

"Brother Lin, are you done practicing?" she asked softly.

"Hmm." Lin Qi turned around. "You're following me again."

Mu Nianci lowered her head: "I'm afraid you'll be alone."

Lin Qi felt a warmth in his heart and said nothing more. The two stood side by side on the hillside, the moonlight casting long shadows on them.