Chinese martial arts: From being shot and killed by the armed police during a mountain search to bec

Another day has passed, and tomorrow will be the eighth day of the lunar new year.

After the rain stopped, the streets became lively again.

The peddler carrying his load on a shoulder pole took over the alleyway again, the fried dough sticks sizzled in the iron pot, and several children in open-crotch pants splashed around in the puddles, getting covered in mud.

The bluestone path in front of the inn had been soaked by rain for a day and a night, and the moss in the cracks glistened with an oily sheen.

Little Mudskipper was still kneeling in front of the inn. He hadn't eaten for a day and two nights and had been soaking in the rain for so long. His face was as pale as paper, his eye sockets were deeply sunken, and he looked like a bamboo pole that could be broken by the wind at any moment.

My knees had long since lost all feeling, but my back was still straight and supporting me.

Passersby are used to it, but occasionally someone will glance at it as they pass by, mutter "What's that kid up to?", and then shake their head and walk away.

Little Mudskipper suffered hardship from a young age, enduring beatings and abuse from Liu San for over a decade. He was always hungry and cold, and in the dead of winter, he would sneak around the docks wearing only a tattered shirt, with no one caring for him even when he had a high fever.

These hardships have tempered him into a thin yet resilient steel wire, capable of bending without breaking.

But his eyelids grew heavier and heavier, his vision began to blur, and a hazy fog shrouded his eyes.

Just then, a tall, dark shadow loomed over him.

"Little brat, you've got quite a stubborn streak," a deep voice said.

He instinctively looked up, only to see a blurry outline. He tried to say something, his lips moved slightly, then everything went black, and he collapsed limply to the ground.

Li Yi put an arm around Xiao Niqiu's shoulder, lifted him up from the ground, and turned to enter the inn.

Chen Hongwen came out from the lobby to greet them. Upon seeing the situation, he went to the kitchen without saying a word and instructed the cook to boil water.

Chen Hongwu had just come downstairs when he saw Li Yi carrying the little mudfish in. He glanced at Li Yi's face and said, "He got caught in the rain and is now cold and damp. Put him on my bed in my room first."

Li Yi nodded, then carried the person upstairs.

The little mudskipper was laid flat on Chen Hongwu's bed, his clothes still wet and clinging to his body. His forehead was burning hot to the touch, but his lips were frozen purple.

Traditional Chinese medicine says that "cold causes contraction and stagnation." When cold and dampness invade the skin, muscles, bones, and tendons, the blood and qi in the whole body will stagnate and become obstructed. If the cold is not expelled in time, a serious illness will surely occur the next day, and it may even turn into pneumonia.

Chen Hongwu told Li Yi to take off his wet clothes, then turned him over and made him lie face down on the bed.

Chen Hongwu stood in front of the bed, rubbing his hands together to warm them. A slight tremor ran through his internal organs, and his blood and qi surged from his dantian to his limbs. The temperature of his palms rose rapidly, like two heated stone slabs.

He spread his five fingers slightly, with his palm slightly hollow, and placed his right palm on the Dazhui acupoint on the back of the little loach.

The Dazhui point is the meeting point of all Yang meridians. The Du meridian and the three Yang meridians of the hands and feet converge here. Yang energy enters from here and can dispel cold and dampness from the meridians throughout the body.

The subtle force penetrates the skin from the palm, seeps into the fascia, and pushes down along the bladder meridian, gradually expelling the cold energy scattered in the meridians from the skin and flesh.

Sweat began to bead on the back of the little loach. The beads of sweat were small and even, seeping out from the pores of its skin. At first, they were cold and sticky, carrying a chill, but gradually they turned warm.

The bladder meridian is the body's largest detoxification and cold-expelling channel. As the Jiaji acupoints on the back are pushed open, a subtle force seeps into the gaps between the muscles, loosening the tightly locked fascia layer by layer.

After pushing past the Shenshu acupoint, this is the location of the foundation of innate essence. The kidneys govern bones and produce marrow, and store essence and qi.

The little loach was often hungry, resulting in kidney deficiency and insufficient bone marrow, which is why he was so thin and weak.

Chen Hongwu's internal force lingered longer at the Shenshu acupoint. Using his palm as a guide, the internal force seeped in like a trickle, continuously sending the heat from the dantian into the palm.

After massaging for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Chen Hongwu withdrew his hand.

The little loach's back was already slightly red, and a fine layer of hot sweat was on its skin, indicating that the cold air had been forced out.

Dark energy is very physically demanding and should not be used lightly. Unless one reaches the stage of marrow transformation, the heart will fail very quickly, and the body will collapse within a few years.

It was only because he met Chen Hongwu that Little Mudskipper received such good treatment; otherwise, he wouldn't have gotten such good treatment.

By this time, Chen Hongwen had already gone upstairs and stood in the room for a while.

"Hongwen, go and get another new guest room," Chen Hongwu ordered without turning his head.

"While you're at it, have the waiter cook a bowl of plain porridge and bring it up."

"good!"

Chen Hongwen responded, quickly left the room, and went downstairs.

Li Yi carried the little loach into the newly opened guest room, placed it on the clean bed, covered it with a blanket, then closed the door and left.

In the afternoon, the little loach slowly woke up.

When he opened his eyes, his mind was still a little foggy.

He lay on a wooden bed with clean sheets, and was covered with a thick cotton quilt.

The air was filled with a faint scent of soapberry. A clean gray short jacket was folded on the stool by the bed, and a bowl of white porridge was placed next to it, still steaming.

He paused for a moment, then the hunger in his stomach roared like a wild beast awakened.

He grabbed the bowl, brought it to his lips, and gulped it down.

The porridge was warm, the rice grains were cooked until very soft, and as it slid down my throat, it warmed my whole stomach.

He finished the porridge in a few gulps, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and then picked up the clean clothes and examined them carefully.

There were no patches or holes; the fabric was rough but starched and crisp.

His nose stung with tears, and he quickly wiped his eyes with his sleeve, then hugged his clothes to his chest.

"Squeak—"

The door was pushed open from the outside, and Chen Hongwu walked in.

When the little mudfish saw him, it slammed its knees on the floor and then its forehead against the ground, saying, "Thank you, benefactor! I will be eternally grateful for your great kindness!"

"Get up," Chen Hongwu interrupted him. "You've been kneeling for two days, and your knees aren't healed yet. If you keep kneeling, they'll be ruined."

From now on, you don't need to kneel down; I don't do that. From today onward, you'll work for me.

"What's your name?" Chen Hongwu asked.

The little mudfish knelt on the ground, its head bowed, and said in a soft voice, "I don't have a name. I've always been called Little Mudfish."

Chen Hongwu glanced at him; this kid wasn't just thin, he'd suffered too much.

They suffered from hunger, beatings, and cold for many years, leaving them as weak as paper.

He pondered for a moment and said, "Then you will take my surname, Chen, and your given name will be Shi, the Shi of honesty."

"Solidity means honesty, trustworthiness, and being down-to-earth," Chen Hongwu said. "There's a saying in boxing: 'Practice solidity first.'"

A solid stance in the Three-Body Stance, with toes gripping the ground and the soles of the feet slightly hollowed out, and the center of gravity sinking to the coccyx, is the foundation. Without a solid foundation, even the most elaborate boxing form is just a castle in the air.

Even in the Bagua Mud-Treading Step, one must walk firmly, with the soles of the feet touching the ground, like a plow treading through mud, each step rooted to the ground. Life is like practicing martial arts; one must be grounded, not superficial.

From now on, your name will be Chen Shi.

Little Mudskipper, no, Chen Shi knelt on the ground, his lips trembling, tears welling up in his eyes and streaming down his cheeks, mingling with snot and dripping onto the floor.

He wiped his face hard with his sleeve, his voice hoarse as he desperately tried to suppress a sob: "Chen Shi, Chen Shi... I have a name now, I have a name..."

He murmured it twice.

Chen Hongwu waved his hand, turned around and left the room.

He didn't say he formally accepted Chen Shi as his disciple; accepting followers is one thing, accepting apprentices is another.

This child has good potential and a resilient character, but he's not in a hurry to take on a disciple.

Keep it close at hand for now, and slowly work out its temperament and build a solid foundation from scratch.

Whether he can succeed depends on his own destiny.

After the door closed, Chen Shi sat alone on the bed, holding the clean clothes in his arms.

With his head down, tears fell drop by drop onto the folded fabric as he repeatedly murmured those two words.

"Chen Shi".