Chapter 4: Mother and Son Separated, Learning Martial Arts in a Mountain Temple (Part 2) Flying Kung Fu Net

  Lin Ao Feng tilted his head, with one finger propping up his chin, and asked in a very cute tone: "Old bean (old dad), are you going to abandon me?! Are you planning to leave me at the temple?!"

  Cheng Xue Mei heard her son's words, and the tears that had just been held back flowed out again like a waterfall. She covered her face with both hands and ran out of the Zen room. Lin Guo Dong held back his own tears and forced a smile, saying: "Baby, how could Mom and Dad not want you?! Mom and Dad really have something to do, but don't worry, every year at this time Mom and Dad will come to see you, at most four years. Four years later, Mom and Dad will definitely come to pick you up!" Then Lin Guo Dong looked at Master Hui Neng for a moment, handed his son over to him, and said: "Master Hui Neng, I'm entrusting my son to you today."

  "Amitabha! Don't worry, Lin donor! I assure you that your son will be safe in this temple. You and your wife can rest assured! In four years, I'll return a lively and healthy child to you!"

  Lin Guodong looked at his son in his arms, and although he was reluctant to part with him, for the child's safety, he gritted his teeth and handed Lin Aofeng over to Master Hui Neng, saying: "Master, I'm leaving the child with you!" With that, Lin Guodong choked back tears and ran out of the Zen room.

  "Dad......" Lin Aofeng, who had once again tasted the feeling of being an "orphan", yelled hysterically in Master Hui Neng's arms as he looked at his father's disappearing back.

  Lin Guodong, who had run out of the Zen room, heard his son's cry and paused for a moment. He turned his head to look back at the Zen room, then lowered his head and quickly walked towards the outside of the temple.

  Arriving at the temple gate, Lin Guodong saw his wife sitting on the stone steps and crying. He sighed and walked over to sit down beside her, stretching out his hand to pull Cheng Xue Mei into his arms, saying: "Xue Mei, don't cry! If you keep crying my heart will break."

  Lin Guodong didn't say anything, but as soon as he did, Cheng Xuemei cried even harder. After about an hour or so, perhaps Cheng Xuemei was tired from crying; perhaps she had become "stupid".... The sound of Cheng Xuemei's crying stopped, and with a reluctant snuggle, she leaned into her husband's arms.

  The sun sets in the west, and the heartbroken person is at the end of the world. At this moment, Cheng Xue Mei, who was separated from her son, deeply understood the meaning of these words, and foolishly looked at the red sun slowly disappearing below the horizon, saying: "Zi Liang, let's go back!"

  "Alright!" Lin Guodong responded with a single word, rubbing his temples as he slowly walked down the mountain with his wife who was taking three steps back for every one step forward.

  When Lin Guodong and Cheng Xuemei, the couple, came down from the mountain, Master Hui Neng had just calmed down Lin Ao Feng. An old monk with a kind face knocked on the door and walked into the master's Zen room, putting his hands together in greeting and said: "Master brother!" Master Hui Neng nodded towards the old monk and smiled: "Master Huidi, is this child the disciple you've chosen?"

  Huì Dé took a measure of Lín ào Fēng standing in front of Huì Néng, nodded his head in satisfaction and said: "Thank you, elder brother. I'll take this child away for now!"

  "Slow down, young brother!" Hui De was taken aback and asked: "Is there anything else, older brother?"

  Huineng hesitated for a moment, then said: "I promised his parents to let him stay in the temple for four years and meet with them once a year on this day." Before Huineng had finished speaking, Huidi smiled and said: "Elder brother worries too much! The child and I only have three years of master-disciple relationship. As for the matter of the child meeting his parents, I hope elder brother will send someone to remind them at that time."

  "Amitabha!" Hui Neng recited a Buddha's name and said, "Master brother, this child has too much evil energy. Do you really plan to teach him martial arts?!"

  Huī Dé nodded and said, "Although he has a heavy aura of evil on him, his eyebrows and eyes are filled with righteous energy. Our Buddhist martial arts emphasize the unity of Zen and Wu, I believe that through practicing martial arts, he can dissolve this evil aura."

  "Hey! What are you two talking about?! I'm just temporarily staying in the temple, and after a while my mom will come to pick me up." Just as Hui Neng and Hui De were discussing whether or not to pass on Lin Ao Feng's martial arts, Lin Ao Feng's voice rang out. Hui De came back to his senses, smiled, and reached out to pinch several spots on Lin Ao Feng's joints, asking: "Are you willing to be my disciple?!"

  Lin Aofeng looked at Huidi with a puzzled face and asked: "What's the benefit of being your disciple?!"

  Huì Dé smiled and said: "I can pass on my martial arts skills to you. Let you become a great hero in the world."

  Lin Ao Feng pouted and said, "Great hero, I think the big bear is still okay. No matter how high your martial arts are, no matter how good your skills are, can you be faster than bullets?!"

  Hui De replied: "Although it can't outrun bullets, at least martial arts can save your life in critical moments."

  "Thud!" Lin Ao Feng suddenly knelt down on the ground: "Master is above, please accept your disciple's three bows!"

  "What a clever kid!" Master Hui Neng couldn't help but praise. Master Hui De smiled and nodded slightly, supporting Lin Ao Feng up, saying: "Elder brother, please rest assured! I will definitely do my best to cultivate this child."

  "Amitabha! Well done, well done!" Master Hui Neng said with a single hand in a clasped manner: "My disciples, since you have made up your minds, I won't say anything more. You may leave!"

  "Yes! Master!" Hui De led Lin Ao Feng to bow to Master Hui Neng, then left the Zen room. When they were out of sight, Hui De picked up Lin Ao Feng and used his lightness skill to jump over the wall and leave the temple. Looking at the moonlight along the way, Lin Ao Feng looked at Hui De with curiosity, asking: "Master, where are you taking me?! Aren't monks supposed to live in temples?!"

  Huidi ran and laughed, saying: "It can be said that monks live in temples, but it can also be said that they don't. My master doesn't like to stay in the temple and be restricted. You'd better take a look at the night view, when you arrive at the place, you'll know."

  "Oh!" Lin Ao Feng responded ambiguously, while muttering to himself: "This is the first time I've seen a monk who doesn't want to strike the bell and chant scriptures in the temple. And what's even more pathetic is that this monk is my master!..."

  After about an hour, Huide led Lin Aofeng into a small mountain valley that was not eye-catching. Looking at the three thatched cottages near at hand, Lin Aofeng asked with his head tilted, "Master! Are we going to live here from now on?!"

  "Yes!" Huide took a deep breath and led Lin Aofeng into the middle hut, lit the candle on the table, pulled out two steamed buns from his pocket and handed them to Lin Aofeng, saying: "Eat! After you finish eating, go to bed early. Tomorrow morning, I will start teaching you the Southern Shaolin martial arts."

  "Southern Shaolin?!" Lin Ao Feng muttered to himself, looking at Hui De with a puzzled expression. Hui De understood what Lin Ao Feng meant and briefly told him about his experiences. After listening to Hui De's introduction, Lin Ao Feng asked: "If I learn your martial arts, do I have to become a monk?!"

  Huì Dé heard Lín ào Fēng's words and couldn't help but laugh loudly: "You kid, you're really interesting! What's the difference between being a monk and a layperson?! Being a monk is just like being at home, and being at home is also like being a monk. You can cultivate anywhere." Then Huì Dé changed his tone and said: "You're not suitable for becoming a monk, but you must promise me that in the future, you'll definitely pass on the martial arts!"

  Lin Ao Feng nodded heavily and replied: "Master, you can rest assured!"...

  One night without sleep, the next morning at dawn, just after the rooster's first crow. Lin Ao Feng, who had been too excited to sleep all night because he knew he was going to learn Shaolin martial arts, was woken up by Hui De after only a short nap. He got dressed in a daze, walked out of the thatched hut, and stumbled over to Hui De's side, asking: "Master! Why did you get up so early?!"

  Huì Dé Bǎn's face sank as he said, "Today is the first day, I won't blame you! From now on, every day at this time get out of bed, fill up the water jug and then eat. After eating, chop firewood. When you've chopped two bundles of firewood, that's when you start practicing martial arts. Time is running late, go do your chores!"

  "Ah!" Lin Aofeng responded, running to the edge of the water tank and picking up an empty bucket to go fetch water from a nearby stream. Just then, Huidi called out to Lin Aofeng, "Two buckets, no slacking off!"

  Lin Aofeng pouted and turned around to grab another bucket, quickly leaving. Watching Lin Aofeng's receding back, Huide let out a sigh.

  If it were before the soul traversal, these physical and arm strength trainings would be a piece of cake for Lin Ao Feng. However, for the current four-year-old Lin Ao Feng, they are like two small mountains pressing on his body. After being busy for a whole day, near noon, Lin Ao Feng carried an axe, dragged two bundles of firewood back to the thatched cottage, and sat down on the ground with a thud, muttering: "Grandma's bear, I'm exhausted!"

  After catching his breath, Lin Ao Feng put away the firewood and axe, then walked into the thatched hut and said to Hui De: "Master, the water vat is full! The firewood has also been chopped!"

  Huidi sat cross-legged on the bed and opened his eyes, saying: "You go eat! Come find me after you finish eating!"

  "Oh!" Lin Aofeng responded and exited Huidi's room. After dinner, Lin Aofeng lingered in front of Huidi's door for a while, then knocked on the door: "Master, I've finished eating!"

  "Come in!" Hearing Huidi's voice, Lin Aofeng pushed the door and walked into Huidi's room. Huidi began to teach Lin Aofeng martial arts... Lin Aofeng practiced hard during the day, took a medicinal bath at night, and then received a full-body massage from Huidi. Just like this, one day followed another, and before he knew it, half a year had passed.

  On this day at noon, the clear sky suddenly danced with snowflakes. Lin Ao Feng stood in the empty space, watching the dancing snowflakes, slowly closing his eyes, and recalling his past life visiting the Thousand Buddha Hall of Shaolin Temple on Mount Song. The colorful murals "Five Hundred Arhats Paying Homage to Vairocana" were painted on the walls inside the hall. The painting used mountains, water, clouds, and air as its background, dividing the five hundred arhats into three layers: upper, middle, and lower. The arhats in the painting were vivid and lifelike, with different postures and expressions. There were also eighteen arhat forms, including Fuhu (Taming the Tiger), Xiulong (Subduing the Dragon), Boshou (Waving Sleeves), Changmei (Long Eyebrows), Dexing (Walking on the Ground), Chuyun (Piercing Clouds), Duibi (Single Arm), Quegui (Crippled Leg), Tieguai (Iron Crutch), Wen (Literary), Wu (Martial), Chidai (Foolish), Fengmo (Mad), Sha (Dumb), Cha (Tea), Zui (Drunk), Dian (Toppled), and Kuang (Crazy). Lin Ao Feng's fist speed and body movements changed from slow to fast, then from fast to slow, before entering a steady state. His punches were not large in scope, with both long and short hands used, footwork varied, internal and external balance maintained, hardness and softness combined, steps nimble, and postures sometimes fierce, sometimes gentle. He broke through grabs with his fists, controlled punches with his grabs, emphasized the coordination of hands and feet, and especially stabilized his lower body. Every punch he threw gave people a sense of thickness and solidity, as if he were a master who had practiced Arhat Fist for decades. After about two hours, Lin Ao Feng ended his practice, standing quietly in the original position, savoring the feeling just now.