Chapter Fifty-Nine: Entering the Forest at Midnight

  Chu Ping never thought that in such a remote mountain village, on a quiet night road, he would actually meet Xu Jing!

  Xu Jing's quiet and elegant face, under the starlight, with that subtle calm expression, exudes an otherworldly quality.

  "Do you know each other?" Ruan Qiuhua's face was full of surprise, no matter how she thought about it, she never expected such a coincidental encounter to be between two people who knew each other.

  Chu Ping smiled and said, "We've met before!"

  Xu Jing also revealed a faintly warm and gentle smile, "And it's been a long conversation all along!"

  "Recalling that conversation about Buddhism, Chu Ping suddenly felt a kind of dazed and distant feeling. 'I didn't expect to see you again after parting ways, yet here we are, only two months apart. How did you end up here?'"

  Xu Jing replied, "It's summer vacation, they came here to have fun."

  Chu Ping only then discovered that she was holding a delicate camera in her hand, recording the surrounding mountains and houses one by one. "You didn't come here alone, did you?"

  Xu Jing hurriedly asked, "Is that so? I've always been traveling on my own, and this mountainous area is quiet and remote, just right for one person to quietly experience it. Are you all here to travel too?"

  Chu Ping chuckled, "Ah, yes, that's right. This is my university classmate, Ruan Qiu Hua. There were twelve of us in our class who came together. The others are all resting inside. You're just a young girl, aren't you afraid something will happen?"

  Then he said to Ruan Qiu Hua, "This is Xu Jing, a friend I met on the train."

  Xu and Ruan exchanged greetings, Xu Jing's left hand lightly supported, right hand pressed down, and made a strange pose, as if embracing a ball, smiled at Chu Ping, "I've practiced Tai Chi, more than a dozen people like you can't get close to me, afraid of something happening."

  Chu Ping saw that although she had only set up a framework, she was light and solemn, with both rigidity and softness in harmony, her two hands seemed to have a Tai Chi Fa Lun slowly rotating between them, circulating endlessly, flowing continuously, and surprisingly, she had already grasped the essence of Tai Chi boxing!

  At that time in Tianhai City, he saw Dongfang Yunming demonstrate Tai Chi Fist, using stillness to control movement, and circular movements to overcome linear ones. With just one move of his hand, the aura emanating from it revealed that this was indeed authentic Tai Chi Fist!

  With his current Golden Elixir cultivation realm, he naturally didn't need to spend effort remembering the various fist routes of Tai Chi, but rather just grasped that one yin-yang circulation, the two extremes revolving in the Tai Chi cycle.

  Learning like this is similar to Zhang Wuji learning Tai Chi sword in The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, understanding the intent of the sword while forgetting the moves. After all, his starting point was a cultivator, so he didn't need to go through some moves like Zhang Wuji to understand the intent of the sword.

  "Not bad, not bad! The movement is natural and the yin-yang cycles are smooth. Indeed, it's Tai Chi!" Chu Ping clapped his hands in praise.

  He really didn't expect that Xu Jing, such a quiet girl, could actually grasp the continuous and unbroken boxing meaning of Tai Chi, let alone know that Dongfang Yunming had been immersed in martial arts for thirty years and was not much better than Xu Jing in terms of boxing meaning.

  In today's society where martial arts have declined, although there are many people practicing Tai Chi, most of them only use the movements to keep fit and healthy. Among hundreds of people, it is hard to find one who truly understands its essence. This young girl, compared to many martial arts masters, is not inferior at all!

  Xu Jing's face finally showed a hint of surprise, "I didn't expect you to know Tai Chi too, I'm truly sorry!" By the end, there was already a hint of teasing in his tone.

  Chu Ping chuckled and said, "So-so, having seen a lot, you can also see some doorways, but if you really want to use it, it's far inferior to you."

  This is not false, Chu Ping after all just practiced the boxing intention, even if he used it, it was only with intention to control power, on the road of boxing, he didn't understand a single trick.

  Ruan Qiuhua stood by and listened to the two people talking, feeling quite perplexed, her eyes blinking rapidly, unsure of what to say.

  Xu Jing smiled slightly, and under the starlight, she was as beautiful as a rare orchid in bloom, making the starlight itself seem dull by comparison.

  "How can you come out alone at night, even if you know martial arts, it's not safe to be so reckless, after all, this is a remote mountain village, and it's close to the mountains and forests, who knows what kind of bad people or wild beasts are around." Chu Ping said suddenly, looking at the continuous mountain ridges behind the village.

  "There's nothing much, such a mountain forest, although I'd like to see what it looks like at night, but I also know it's not safe, so I won't go in." As he said this, his eyes rolled slightly, sizing up Chu Ping from head to toe, and a sly smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. "But since we've met, do you have the guts to protect a beauty like me while chatting in the mountain forest at night?"

  Chu Ping burst out laughing, never expecting that the seemingly quiet and elegant Xu Jing would speak in such a tone. He glanced at the dense forest hidden in the darkness and laughed loudly, "As you wish, I dare not invite you."

  Turning around to Ruan Qiu Hua, "Qiu Hua, I'll accompany Xu Jing to take a look at the mountain forest, are you coming with us?"

  "Are you going into the mountain forest tonight?" Ruan Qiuhua's face flashed with a hint of shock, that vast expanse of forest, stretching far and wide, now looked like a ferocious beast lurking there, even in the daytime sunlight only managed to penetrate a few strands, let alone the starlight at night!

  And this boundless darkness is like a beast with its mouth wide open, with a kind of terrifying silence that makes people shudder!

  "But Tang Guangbo said that this forest is not simple, there are fierce beasts coming and going inside, and their village has a strange rule, which is that they cannot enter at night. It's said to be mysterious inside. Let's go in together with a dozen or so people tomorrow!"

  Chu Ping smiled slightly, "Day and night are the two extremes of a day, how can the scenery be the same? Moreover, we have a martial arts master protecting us, so we're guaranteed to be safe! If you don't want to go, then go back first."

  "That's how it is, I'll still go with you guys, just don't go in too deep!"

  Xu Jing smiled and said, "Are there wild beasts around? It's just right to take a look. After seeing the dull animals in the zoo, even the king of beasts can be starved to death, and tiger bone wine is tasteless. The wonders of nature are only visible in these primitive forests!"

  When he heard this, Ruan Chu's forehead was covered in cold sweat, and as he looked at Xu Jing's shining eyes, he couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Women can't be judged by appearance alone!"

  The three of them have entered the mountain forest!

  Turned to the back of the village, along a narrow mountain road, walked for more than ten minutes, and arrived at the edge of the forest!

  The dense tree shadows, like a vast black cloth spread out on the ground, with speckled starlight shining through, forming patches of light the size of fingernails on the ground. The wind stirs the shadows, producing a soft rustling sound from the leaves, and the shadows on the ground also sway back and forth. All around is silent, without any bright lights, only occasionally the sound of mountain birds crying out in the night, their mournful cries sending shivers down one's spine.

  The saying goes: "the greater the skill, the greater the daring!"

  But also said that for the unknown is most feared!

  Chu Ping has never positioned himself in the "high art" category, or rather, he is not used to being classified as a member of the "high art" group. Seeing such a scene, he indeed feels a few strands of hair standing on end!

  Ruan Qiuhua didn't even need to be mentioned, the whole person shrunk beside Chu Ping, not daring to take a step back. On the other hand, Xu Jing had a calm and composed face, leading the way in front with her horse, still holding that camera, taking pictures non-stop.

  "Goodness gracious, this Xu Jing, I don't know if she's incredibly brave or just ignorant of fear!" Chu Ping muttered to himself, but closely followed behind her.

  The edge of the forest is still passable, although there are vines, they are still sparse. As we go deeper, the fallen leaves become thicker and softer to step on, fortunately not sinking our feet, otherwise the three of us would not dare to venture further!

  Walking further into the forest for over ten minutes, penetrating deep into two miles of land, the dense branches and leaves above covered like a huge lid, blocking out the starlight completely, not allowing any to seep in.

  Chu Ping only saw the trees around him, each one was wide and tall, the thickest ones needed four or five people to hold hands to surround them. On the trees, many birds were perched, with their wings folded and heads tucked in, apparently all asleep.

  A tree in a forest is like water in the ocean, either it becomes a pillar or it becomes firewood. However, all that grow up become towering trees that touch the sky!

  Chu Ping and Ruan Qiu Hua went out, both of them were sudden ideas, and they didn't bring any lighting tools with them. On the contrary, Xu Jing was well-prepared and brought a flashlight with her. A beam of light illuminated the way ahead, and the three of them couldn't help but marvel at the natural forest before their eyes.

  Darkness to Chu Ping, with daylight also no difference, does not need to rely on the flashlight's light, all around looking, quiet and deep mountains, everywhere mysterious, fully showing the unique charm of nature.

  Just as the three of them were indulging in it and forgetting about other things, a faint tremor suddenly came from the layer of fallen leaves under their feet!

  This slight tremor, Ruan Qiuhua also noticed that Chu Pingling was so sensitive, although he didn't release his divine sense to explore the surroundings, but with the Golden Body's great completion, his whole body's visual and auditory senses had long surpassed those of ordinary people, and he felt it first!

  While Xu Jing practiced Tai Chi, she grasped its essence. As the saying goes, "listen to the force", every pore and skin on her body had to feel the changes around her. After Chu Ping's awareness, not long after, she also felt this slight tremble!

  "What a thing!"

  The flashlight shone far away, and on the fallen leaves in the distance, a long, winding bulge appeared, like a river stream, rushing towards the three people!

  Xu Jing spoke up, and Ruan Qiu Hua followed the light to look over. The three people's line of sight landed on a bulge that was moving at an extremely fast speed, and in an instant, it was only ten or so meters away from them!