Chapter 22: Fist Techniques and Breakfast

  Zhang Lingsheng has been in charge of the Mirror Lake Village Guest House for ten years and is very clear about one thing: among those naive children who walk into the courtyard, there may be a future Pongshan prodigy, so he tries to treat everyone with warmth, unless someone does something too excessive or this person is destined to be a waste.

  "I won't let Mei Chuan come here, it doesn't mean you can go to his house."

  "Mei Chuanan just died, his only wish was to see a fellow disciple." Xiao Qiu explained, thinking it wasn't a big deal.

  "What's so special about that? He's a demon-possessed person who should have died years ago. Besides, what do you count as 'fellow disciples'? Zhang Ling Sheng's hidden sarcasm revealed its true face, and he became more and more convinced that the group of young people in Ye Lin Town were all mediocre, not worth his courtesy. "Dao robe, Dao hairpin, transmission half ring, none of you have it, but dare to call yourself Pan Shan disciple and show off everywhere? Wanting to make friends is a bit too early, and your vision is really poor, don't tell me you believe that Mei Chuan An has really grasped the new magic?"

  "He muttered an incantation before his death, mis..."

  "Shut up!" Zhang Lingsheng suddenly burst into rage, his face turning purple with indignation, as if he had suffered the greatest insult and provocation. "How dare you... how dare you cast a spell on me?"

  Xia Qiu was completely bewildered by this sudden anger, "It's just a few words, they're useless."

  "How can you believe the nonsense of a demon-possessed person?" Zhang Lingsheng was furious, and the last bit of his immortal aura disappeared without a trace. "It seems that you are not too foolish, but... the demonic energy in your body has not been completely eliminated!"

  Zhang Lingsheng suddenly enlightened, finally understanding the problem with these children. "The Taoist roots in your bodies are fake, disguised as demonic breeds, no wonder! So you're not worried about the demonic breed at all, and you still associate with Mei Chuanan. The masters and heads of the mountain are busy with a million things, momentarily careless, so they were deceived by you, but I can see the truth."

  "Pointing to his own eyes, 'Don't think I'm useless, my cultivation is slow because I'm the most vigilant against demonic possession. Nothing related to demons can escape these eyes of mine. You're all just a bunch of little demon spawn.'"

  Xiao Qiu was increasingly shocked and also a little angry. "The Demon Clan took away the Wild Forest Town, we hate it to the bone."

  Zhang Lingshen took a few steps back, stretched out his hand in front of him, and made a stopping motion. "This can't go on like this anymore. I have to set some rules for you: First, from today onwards, none of you are allowed to take one step outside the mansion; Second, neither of you two are allowed to come within five steps of me until you forget Mei Chuan'an's crazy words, nor are you allowed to chant to me or anyone else; Third... thirdly, I need to report to the First Seat and re-examine you before anything can proceed."

  Xiao Qiu's face also turned red, from young to old he had been scolded many times, but never had anyone like Zhang Lingsheng, whose words were full of contempt and disgust, as if the boys in Ye Lin Town had touched something dirty, a group of cursed people.

  Xiao Qiu's mind was buzzing, and she looked up at Zhang Lingsheng, who was a whole head taller than her. He was a true disciple of the Pong Mountain sect, although his skills were not refined, after opening seven apertures he had made no further progress, but he was still much stronger than an ordinary person. Xiao Qiu would not back down because of this, and instead took a step forward, disregarding the rules that had just been announced.

  No more words were needed, the situation was already clear. Zhang Lingshen slowly took a deep breath, and if this little brat dared to take another step closer, he would exercise his disciplinary power. Even if this matter was reported to the sect master later, no one could say he had done anything wrong.

  Pangshan Dao Tong is not a mountain gate wild faction, everything here must be done in accordance with the rules. Zhang Lingsheng is not a genius at cultivating Taoism, but he understands the rules, abides by the rules, and is more willing to enforce the rules. This is his greatest contribution to Pangshan.

  One big and one small, two people stared at each other in anger, one wanting to maintain the order of the museum, the other fighting with all his might.

  Xiao Qiu's second step couldn't go out, he was pulled back by Fang Fang.

  Fang didn't say a word, but her eyes were full of pleading.

  Xiao Qiu's chest rose and fell three times, then took a step back, returning to her original position.

  Zhang Lingsheng snorted disdainfully, "Get back to your rooms and go to sleep immediately. Don't let me find out that you've secretly left the residence again, otherwise, you won't have a chance to wear the Pangshan Taoist robes."

  Xiao Qiu lay on the kang, still fuming and unable to fall asleep for half a day.

  "Xiao Qiuge, are you alright?" Erliang Shen asked softly from the other end of the kang.

  In the Wild Forest Town, nine young men occupied three houses in the gallery. Fangfang had one room to herself, and the other four boys shared a room, which was quite spacious.

  "It's nothing," said Xia Qiu.

  "What does it mean that we are not considered 'fellow disciples' of Mount Pong?" Da Liang Shen Xiu Ming asked anxiously, this was what he feared the most, thinking of the miserable scene of having nowhere to settle down made him tremble with fear. "Aren't we registered in the records?"

  "We've come too early, we have to wait until November when everyone is here for the mountain entry ceremony." Xia Qiu comforted.

  No one spoke, and the companions' snores gradually rose. Xia Qiu still couldn't sleep, silently mouthing the incantation that Mei Chuan An had spoken before his death, using it as a counterattack against Zhang Lingsheng - "Wrong or weak, don't fall". In the end, even her tongue was almost tied in knots, but it didn't produce any effect.

  The next day, Zhang Ling got up a little earlier than usual. Since he wanted to establish discipline, he couldn't spoil these children anymore.

  "Get up! Get up! It's time to practice, do you understand the principle of the slow bird flying first? The Dao Gen is not much help to you, so you have to work harder and suffer more...the disciples of Mount Pong don't have the habit of sleeping in..."

  The young men rubbed their sleepy eyes and got dressed, standing on the training ground when it was still dark.

  Zhang Lingsheng practiced a set of Bone Tempering Fist on his own, then sat down directly on the stone bench under the tree and said coldly: "Demonstrate one by one for me. Those who are unqualified - are not allowed to have breakfast."

  Shen Hao was the first to take the stage, his moves were smooth and natural. Although he hadn't yet reached a state of complete calmness, in Zhang Ling's eyes, it was already passable. "Mm, you can go have breakfast."

  The next two boys were a bit worse off, Zhang Ling was severely criticized for a few words, but also allowed them to have breakfast.

  Shen Xiuming and Shen Xiuwei, the two brothers, were unlucky. As soon as they went on stage together, they made a mistake with their first move. Zhang Lingsheng scolded them, saying "Fool!" From then on, they became flustered and disorganized, their boxing moves becoming more and more chaotic. In the end, they were both judged unqualified and wouldn't be able to eat breakfast today.

  The sixth and seventh young men also failed to pass, Zhang Lingsheng's temper became worse and worse. He ridiculed Ding Dian for his mistakes, and after seeing half of it, he ordered the two to stop, "Are you raised by eating rice or are you raised by eating grass? Why are you as stupid as a cow?"

  The two of them retreated to the edge of the court in embarrassment, casting a dissatisfied glance at Xiao Qiu, feeling that all the bad treatment they had received was his fault.

  Xiao Qiu and Fang Fang were the last two people. Zhang Ling said coldly, "You two go up together, save time."

  The morning light was faintly visible on the horizon, and the companions stood around with worried faces. Xia Qiu and Fang Fang walked into the arena together, he looked at her with concern because Fang Fang had been reading books all day yesterday and hadn't practiced martial arts much. Fang Fang responded with a reassuring smile, but her eyelashes trembled slightly, revealing a hint of nervousness.

  "I hope you two have spent some time practicing boxing besides traveling around, let's start."

  Zhang Lingsheng had made his preparations, and yesterday morning when he was teaching the boxing method, he had already seen that these two children were learning a bit faster than others, but only by a little, mistakes still many, he wanted to point out each one, then ridiculed them greatly, until the confidence of both people was completely lost.

  Rules are established like this, Zhang Lingsheng's heart gave birth to a kind of expectation, compared to the good gentleman before, he likes his current appearance more.

  The first move was flawless, and Zhang Lingsheng felt a little disappointed, his mouth agape as he hummed a response.

  The second move, the third move... The first section of the Bone Tempering Fist ended with eight moves. The two young men didn't make a single mistake, and they really achieved "a still mind", seeing without seeing, hearing without hearing, completely immersed in the fist technique, every move and style was natural, without any artificial traces.

  Zhang Lingsheng's mouth opened even wider, and he scrutinized the two of them with his most critical gaze, still unable to find any fault.

  The surrounding boys were no longer so disappointed, but became surprised and excited, looking at each other, exchanging silently, and even Shen Youwei showed a smile.

  The eight sections and sixty-four moves of the Bone Forging Fist were completed, the sun had just risen, two young men stood still, Xia Qiu felt the effect of the fist method for the first time, not only did he not feel tired, but he was refreshed and full of energy all over his body, except that his stomach was very hungry, he felt that he could eat at least three times more breakfast.

  Zhang Lingsheng's jaw was about to drop, he had prepared a bellyful of cold ridicule and hot sarcasm, but didn't even have the chance to say one sentence, this feeling was extremely uncomfortable, the refreshing feeling brought by practicing boxing in the morning was all gone.

  Fang lowered her gaze, unintentionally provoking Zhang Lingsheng, but Xiao Qiu couldn't help it, "How about it? Can we have breakfast?"

  Zhang Lingsheng came to his senses from the shock, stood up abruptly, with an uncertain expression on his face. After some deliberation, he said: "The five of you can stay, but the other four are not allowed." He then strode away, turning back after a few steps to glance at them with a mixture of puzzlement and wariness, as if he had seen something inexplicable that defied common sense.

  Xiao Qiu shared his breakfast with Shen Xiuming and Shen Xiuwei, although none of them were full, the three were in high spirits, and Da Liang kept asking Xiao Qiu how he practiced his boxing skills.

  Fang Fang also divided her own breakfast, and the two boys accepted it, thanked hastily, and ran to the other side to eat.

  This morning, the only thing that surprised Xiao Qiu was that Grandma Mei didn't come to deliver lunch, and instead was replaced by that garrulous middle-aged woman with high cheekbones.

  "Where's Grandma Mei?" Xia Qiu asked after dinner.

  The woman with high cheekbones seemed to have been waiting for someone to ask, and while putting away the bowls and chopsticks, she excitedly whispered: "Old Lady Mei has also gone crazy, this morning she went out early saying that she was going to walk up the mountain to meet the Master and the First Seat, to plead for her son, she said that Mei Chuan'an had not been possessed by a demon, but really understood a new magical technique."

  The woman's eyes sparkled as she stared at Xiao Qiu, hoping to get some inside information from him. "Is it true? Did Mei Chuanan tell you two a five-word spell? Tsk tsk, don't be fooled by that nonsense. It's either the ravings of a madman or a sinister plot."

  (Collection needed, recommendation needed)