Chapter 4: Zhengyang Stake

"This kid."

The man who had been teasing him saw that Zhang Lingshan wasn't playing along at all, and immediately felt it was dull. He turned around and said, "Follow me."

Rounding the screen and entering the courtyard, Zhang Lingshan saw over a dozen figures standing in various spots, holding all sorts of poses. Their breathing was either long or short, and their expressions varied—some looked relaxed, while others appeared quite pained.

"Wait here. I'm going to call the Master."

As the man spoke, he walked through the main hall and shouted, "Master! That kid who was banging his head against the wall is back. His old man didn't follow him this time, but who knows if he'll come to cause trouble later? Should we take him?"

"Take him? Why wouldn't I? The little guy is dead set on learning martial arts; if I don't agree, he might just bash his brains out right in front of me. Wouldn't that ruin my reputation?"

A voice like a booming bell rang out from inside. A burly old man with a thick beard strode out, looked Zhang Lingshan up and down, and said with interest, "I heard you nearly killed yourself last time and spent all the money you had for tuition on your medical bills. How did you come by spare cash again?"

"In reply to Master, my father and I worked at the Red Leaf Temple for half a year. We even drew some of our wages in advance to painstakingly earn these twenty taels."

As he spoke, Zhang Lingshan quickly reached into his robe and presented two banknotes.

The burly old man took them, felt them, and sniffed them. "A bit of a bloody scent. Looks like this money isn't exactly clean."

However, he didn't mind. A banknote passes through many hands; it’s normal for it to be a bit dirty, as long as it could be spent.

He handed them off to a scholarly-looking young man behind him and said, "Go get these changed."

"Yes!"

The scholarly young man immediately took the money and left.

The burly old man continued to look at Zhang Lingshan and said indifferently, "I've taken your money, so you are now a member of my Hong Clan Martial Arts Hall. But don't call me Master; call me Hall Master. Only after you’ve mastered the stance training within three months will you be considered my registered disciple, and only then may you address me, Hong Zhengdao, as Master Hong. Understand?"

"Understand!"

Zhang Lingshan nodded heavily.

"If you haven't mastered the stance after three months, I'll return ten taels to you, and from then on, you will have no connection to my Hong Clan Martial Arts Hall. Do not mention the name of my hall. Understand?"

"Understand!"

"Good. If you understand, that's fine. Little Stone, come teach him the stance work. I'll watch."

Hong Zhengdao gestured casually, and a servant immediately brought over a table and chairs, with tea and snacks placed on the table for Hong Zhengdao to enjoy.

The one called "Little Stone" turned out to be the same man who had just been teasing Zhang Lingshan. He looked burly and thick-necked, so "Stone" was a fitting name, but adding "Little" to it felt rather strange.

"My name is Shi Lei, and I will be teaching you the stance work. Our Hong Clan Martial Arts Hall's stance work is the 'Zhengyang Stance.' It follows the righteous path of the world and cultivates the pure, righteous energy of heaven and earth..."

The man spoke in an incredibly exaggerated manner, rattling on and on as if this Zhengyang Stance were some peerless, unique divine skill.

"Alright, alright, enough with the nonsense. The kid, Little Shan, has a heart of steel for martial arts, having bashed his head against a wall and come specifically for my, Hong Zhengdao's, reputation. Teach him properly and don't try to cut corners, or I won't spare you."

Hong Zhengdao spat his tea onto Shi Lei and snorted.

Shi Lei quickly admitted his mistake, realizing he had tried to butter up the wrong person. He straightened his expression, coughed, and looked at Zhang Lingshan. "Our Zhengyang Stance has eighteen forms. I will now teach you the first form: the 'Summit Sun Form'."

As he spoke, he spread his legs in a wide stance, squatted slightly, and held his hands above his head as if supporting a tray, his eyes looking up toward the empty space above his palms.

"Imagine your hands are supporting a ball of fire. Once you can practice until your hands feel hot, this Summit Sun Form is considered mastered. It is best to practice this under the scorching sun; you'll get twice the result with half the effort."

When he wasn't talking nonsense, Shi Lei was actually a reliable teacher. As he spoke, he reached out to pat Zhang Lingshan's body, correcting the parts of his posture that were wrong.

Hong Zhengdao saw that he was teaching quite well and felt rather gratified. If he cultivated this Little Stone, it would save him a lot of effort in teaching stance work in the future.

But when he saw the posture Zhang Lingshan was holding, Hong Zhengdao’s anger flared. He jumped in front of Zhang Lingshan and scolded, "You aren't using any strength at all! If this is your attitude, I'll return your money and you can get as far away from here as possible!"

*Slap!*

He had a fiery temper, and as he spoke, he slapped him.

Though it looked forceful, the old man had held back his strength. Even so, Zhang Lingshan was knocked to the ground, grimacing in pain.

"What's this? Are you made of paper? You fall at the slightest touch?"

Hong Zhengdao was speechless, but seeing that Zhang Lingshan wasn't faking it, he pulled open his clothes and saw faint red welts all over Zhang Lingshan's body.

After examining him for a long while, Hong Zhengdao frowned. "Who did you offend? Were you tied up and whipped?"

"No, I accidentally offended someone while working at the Red Leaf Temple and was punished. But it's fine now; the construction at the temple is finished, and I don't need to go outside the city to work anymore."

Zhang Lingshan answered immediately, his heart sinking.

Hall Master Hong Zhengdao was a true martial arts expert. With his experience, even he couldn't tell how these red welts on his body were formed. Just what kind of suffering had he endured?

"Fine."

Seeing that Zhang Lingshan was in pain whenever he moved, Hong Zhengdao waved his hand. "Since you're still injured, wait until later to practice. Go back and rest first."

"Hall Master, I still want to practice. I want to learn the Zhengyang Stance first," Zhang Lingshan said hurriedly.

Hong Zhengdao's face darkened. "Hmph, foolish! While stance work can strengthen the body and blood, you are injured. If your body hasn't recovered, practicing will only cause more harm. Come back when you're healed!"

With that, he couldn't be bothered to waste more words on Zhang Lingshan and turned to leave.

Zhang Lingshan felt anxious.

Although he knew Hong Zhengdao was right, he was different from others. He just wanted to get the Zhengyang Stance into his panel as quickly as possible; how could he afford to delay?

Heaven knows what was going on with these red welts. If they never disappeared, was he never going to practice again?

"Brother Shi, the Hall Master has left, but you teach me. I'll pay you."

Zhang Lingshan grabbed Shi Lei and shoved a piece of silver he had taken from Li Hu into his hand.

Shi Lei originally didn't want to bother with him, but seeing the silver, he immediately put on a smiling face. "You kid, you really don't care about money or your life when it comes to martial arts. I've heard that the strong all have an indestructible heart for martial arts, and today I've finally seen it. Come on, since you want to practice, how could I stop you?"

It had to be said that Shi Lei was a man of his word. Although he had no filter and liked to talk nonsense and tease others, he was quite reliable when paid.

So, for the rest of the time, he demonstrated all eighteen forms of the Zhengyang Stance from beginning to end.

He also gave Zhang Lingshan detailed guidance, correcting his mistakes and omissions.

Until Zhang Lingshan had memorized all the postures, Shi Lei said, "I see you're not slow-witted. You've basically got the forms down, but you can't exert force, which makes your movements lack solidity. But that's because of your injury. Once you're healed, practice harder. I don't think it'll be a problem for you to master it within three months."

That was just polite talk.

As for whether Zhang Lingshan could actually do it in three months, it had nothing to do with him.

"Heh."

Seeing Zhang Lingshan enduring the pain to hold the stance, Shi Lei had a sudden idea. He leaned in close to Zhang Lingshan and whispered, "I see you're desperate to practice. I have a medicinal soup that can help you recover faster. It's more affordable than anything outside. I'll charge you three *qian* of silver a bowl. How about it?"

"Deal."

Zhang Lingshan agreed without a second thought.

Because he discovered that there was already a change on his panel.

Name: Zhang Lingshan Martial Arts: Zhengyang Stance (Not yet initiated +) Energy: 0.3

(End of chapter)