Chapter 4 A Small Test of Skill

  Elderly predecessors often say: "If the principle is not clear, the skill will not be refined." If the principles of boxing, Taoism, medicine, etc. are not understood, it will be impossible to achieve a sense of number in one's heart, and without a sense of number in one's heart, it will be difficult to produce correct intentions. Without correct intentions guiding them, the body will produce blind movements, resulting in incorrect external manifestations such as palm strikes and fist throws being too high or too low, too long or too short, and hand angles being incorrect. If learners only learn boxing without seeking the underlying principles, only emphasizing strength without emphasizing intention, only pursuing quantity and speed without seeking precision, only practicing boxing without understanding the principles of boxing, not knowing how to apply them, not understanding the rhythm and power, not understanding the inner meaning, inner energy, meridians, and blood vessels, and not knowing the sequence of movements, it will be very difficult to achieve perfection. Moreover, many problems are likely to arise, often resulting in shallow benefits but deep harm.

  Yan Qing Quan is a martial art that has taken legwork to the extreme. "When one's skills are perfected, their hands strike in six directions and their feet kick in eight." The old man relied on his iron legs to earn the reputation of 'Iron Leg Flying Swallow', having devoted himself to legwork for many years, deeply understanding the subtleties within.

  Zhang Peng is currently practicing 'Yan Qing Shi Ba Fan' which is based on eighteen leg methods, imitating the shapes of dragon, tiger, monkey, horse, crane, chicken, bear, swallow, camel, leopard, eagle, sparrow hawk, and snake. It is divided into three plates: upper, middle, and lower, with the left and right legs linked together in a continuous motion. On the field, punches are thrown in all directions, very lively and particularly prominent in rolling body, absorbing waist, shoulder striking, and hip bumping methods, which are also extremely powerful.

  Zhang Peng has already practiced this frame for a long time and looks like he has a good grasp of it, but he feels very 'tired'. He always feels that his strength is sufficient, but he can't bring it out. The old man sees this and knows that Zhang Peng has encountered a bottleneck. Although Zhang Peng's basic skills are practiced very solidly, after all, he is young and inexperienced, and there are some things he still can't understand. It's like someone guarding a pile of gold and silver treasures but not knowing how to use them.

  Now it's not possible to practice anymore, or else he will become 'stupid'. Coincidentally, it's the slack season for farming, so every day the old man takes him to the forest, by the river, and in the deep mountains to roam around. He tells him some strange stories from the Jianghu world, some anecdotes about the Wulin world, his own understanding of boxing methods, and the experience he gained from practicing. They watch animals playing and hunting in the mountains, observe clouds gathering and dispersing in the sky, listen to the sound of wind blowing through the forest, and the chirping of insects in the grass...

  Autumn harvest and autumn planting, harvesting this year's fruits and sowing next year's hopes, is the most important time in rural areas, and also the busiest time. Adults get up early before dawn, Zhang Peng can't sleep either, gets out of bed and comes to the backyard to practice his skills.

  The flag drums rise with mighty force, the white ape retreats and flashes to the right front; the immortal flings his clothes and walks around, wielding his fist to challenge the mountain; the finger wipes the face and strikes the print hall, three arrows flash under the elbow like lightning; the fierce horse shakes its head and spits out a letter, embracing and retreating in clever succession; the white ape retreats and shrinks back and forth, until it is wrapped up in one move; Iron Li sends medicine with a curved step, Taibai swings his boots and turns his body; the magpie kicks the branch and flies diagonally, Liu Lang charges forward with his spear; shrinking hand wipes and strikes, ghosts and spirits are afraid, picking leaves and stealing peaches through the ear; turning around to offer the knife style, flapping arms like a mantis shrimp left and right; two fists in succession, tiger crouching style, kneeling down to search for opportunities like a snake playing with a frog; Tan Creek jumps on horseback with Xuande's bravery, Wu Gang chops down osmanthus and walks with his companion; two successive punches, coiled dragon frame, fisherman casting nets standing alone on the shore; double dragons playing with pearls, kicking the mountain momentum, solitary wild goose rushing forward; top elbow counterattacks, three real punches below, three piercings and pushes to seal the rib fist; black bear swings its arm with great force, turning around to behead the general and hanging his legs; the king of hegemony draws his bow, three armies are shocked, the green dragon hibernates waiting for next year; lifting knees and waving hammers in succession, inserting steps and chopping with wonderful inclusion; strange python flips over and opens the mountain axe, counterattacking and falling down to explore the dragon pond; beautiful woman looks into the mirror and wraps her head around, wild horse crashes into the slot and releases the middle punch. Hands and feet also change their moves along with the song's rhythm, Zhang Peng starts slowly, feeling the meaning of the fist in the song while punching. After a few rounds, he suddenly enters a chaotic world, sometimes like a tiger pouncing on a rabbit in the mountains, an eagle catching a bird; sometimes like a black bear crashing into a tree, a fierce horse breaking free from its reins... The punches get faster and faster, like a dragon swimming in the sky, unbridled and unrestrained, the punches and kicks produce crisp cracking sounds, one round of punches is clean and neat, fluttering naturally, the force is already freely released. At this time, the sun has broken free from its restraints and risen up, shining brightly over the landscape with a golden glow, Zhang Peng stops his fists, his mind clear and bright, his eyes shining, his body's sensations becoming sharp, completely eliminating that blocked and awkward feeling, reaching the state of responding to every touch, releasing with every feeling, the force fully penetrating into every pore of his body.

  Spring Festival has arrived, and this year the commune's small power station was completed. Every village is now connected to electricity, and each household has installed electric lights. The production team also purchased a flour mill, so women and children no longer need to queue up to push the grinding stone. The happiest person is still the team leader, who can get things done by just making an announcement over the loudspeaker without having to shout along the street.

  Yanjiacun Village is a rich village, located next to the Yu Dai River, with all its land being irrigated fields that guarantee a good harvest whether it's dry or wet. The mountain has fruit trees, and apples, hawthorns, and walnuts are sold for a good price every year. This year, each worker can earn one yuan, and the grain allocation is also generous, so they can eat fine grains for half a year. On the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, the team slaughtered a pig to celebrate the Spring Festival, and each person received five catties of meat.

  Today is the 30th of the lunar year, and at home, Grandma and Auntie are busy frying dough fritters, kneading dough, and chopping fillings to prepare dumplings. Even little sister is helping with cooking. Zhang Peng can't find a way to help, listening to the firecrackers outside, his heart itches, Grandma noticed and took out 40 cents, saying: "Our family should also make some noise, go buy two strings of firecrackers!"

  Zhang Peng took the money and went to the village's small grocery store to buy firecrackers. He walked back home excitedly. Just as he was about to arrive, a firecracker suddenly flew over his head, making two loud "popping" sounds, which scared Zhang Peng into jumping aside. "Hahaha..." Er Gou, Chou Dan, Li Shu, and Yan Hui, four little rascals, appeared from behind the trees.

  The two dogs are already twelve years old, and they have grown quite sturdy. They are the children of the village head in the east, and the other three are his little followers, who spend their days teasing cats and dogs in the village, annoying people.

  "In the city, does your cannon sound or not? Let me fire a couple of shots to help you try it out?" Er Gou said domineeringly.

  Zhang Peng didn't say a word, looked at them and thought of going around them.

  "Still want to run? Hand it over to me!" The stinky egg is quite sturdy, but he's not smart. Among the few of them, he's the strongest, and when doing bad things, he always takes the lead.

  Zhang Peng was furious. You guys always bully me, even on New Year's Day you won't let me off. He saw Chou Dan rushing over and stretched out his hand to grab the firecracker in his hand. With his right hand grasping Chou Dan's left wrist, he pulled him forward and with a kick of his right foot, he tripped Chou Dan and sent him tumbling to the ground. "Damn it, are you here to pay your respects?" The few kids behind thought Chou Dan had tripped himself and cursed as they said this. Although it was winter and they were wearing thick clothes, the frozen ground still hurt a lot when Chou Dan fell on it. He got up, his face red with anger, and threw another firecracker at Zhang Peng. Zhang Peng ducked down and dodged under Chou Dan's arm, then came up behind him and slapped his butt with a loud "thwack". "Ahh!" Chou Dan cried out in pain, rubbing his sore bottom with both hands.

  "Quickly up!" Er Gou this time saw clearly, was Chòu Dàn got hit, waving 'turtle fist' rushed up first.

  Zhang Peng saw Er Gou rush over, lifted his leg and kicked him on the shoulder, kicking him back, then his leg swung out in a circular motion, also kicking Li Shu who was closely following behind Er Gou, the two of them rolling around on the ground. Yan Hua saw Zhang Peng quickly knock Er Gou and the others to the ground, frightened, he hastily stopped his feet, waving his hands wildly saying: "Uncle... uncle (according to village kinship terms, he called Zhang Peng uncle), stop hitting us, we were just playing with you!"

  "Hey, hey! We're just joking with you, don't get annoyed!" Er Gou also got up, smiling and saying.

  "Why didn't you say so earlier? I thought you were going to arrest me and beat me up again!" He said, throwing a whip at Er Gou, "If you wanted to fire the cannon, just say so, no need for us to fight."

  Er Gou reluctantly accepted the cannon, "Zhang Peng, from now on we're friends. If anyone bullies you in the future, just find me..." Er Gou said, feeling embarrassed, as he himself had been beaten by several people, how could he stand up for Zhang Peng?

  "Alright, it's noon, let's all go home for lunch!" The old man came out after hearing the commotion, saw that they had finished fighting and made up, and hastily mediated.

  "This kid in the city has become so fierce when did he get so tough... don't mess with him from now on..." Er Gou and a few kids said as they walked away.

  "It's said on the rivers and lakes that 'when encountering things, one should leave three points of face, so as to meet again in the future'. This kid is not bad, he fights with some measure, knowing when to stop before causing serious harm. He knows how to make his opponent feel pain without making him lose face completely. It's reasonable and fair, this kid has a bright future!" The old man thought to himself as he walked away, feeling very pleased with his grandson's performance.

  Martial artists are often misunderstood. The old man returned home and scolded Zhang Peng again, summarizing the key points: Practicing martial arts is for protecting one's family and country, strengthening one's body, not for showing off or being aggressive; One must learn to endure and not reveal their skills unless necessary, and never engage in physical altercations with others, except against bad people; One should have a heroic heart, helping those in need, and not kick someone when they're down; The last point, also the most important one, is: If you can't win, run away, a good person doesn't take unnecessary losses.

  Zhang Peng has been at his grandparents' house for five years, but except for the monthly remittances and letters, no one from home has come to visit him. It seems that his family has already forgotten about him. He has also forgotten about his family members; if it weren't for those few photos of them, he wouldn't even remember what they look like. Without the monthly remittance slips, he would have even forgotten about that home. Originally, Zhang Peng's parents had planned to take him back last year, but the old man had ulterior motives - his own skills hadn't been fully taught yet, how could he let him go? But Zhang Peng didn't know any of this and was happily playing with his second uncle's siblings.

  In a two-story small building with gray bricks and red tiles in a distant military dependents' courtyard, Yan Xiufang was busy preparing the New Year's Eve dinner while thinking about her worries. When she was young, she and her husband (then boyfriend) were both students, influenced by the party's progressive ideology, and rushed to the revolutionary holy land of Yan'an at that time. After studying, her husband joined a combat unit and went to the enemy's rear to open up an anti-Japanese base, while she stayed in the hospital in Yan'an. It wasn't until the victory of the war that they were transferred together and got married. With the army moving north and south, they almost traveled all over China, and before liberation, they gave birth to their eldest son Zhang Lian. After liberation, just a few days after stability was restored, they had their second child Zhang Kun, and her husband went to Korea to fight in the war. Later, they also had three more children: Zhang Qin, Zhang Zhen, and Zhang Peng. They followed their father's deployments, moving east and west. This year, her husband became the chief of staff of Army A, and the whole family moved here again. She was assigned to be the deputy director of the military hospital, and her eldest daughter also did a great job this year, getting accepted into Peking University. Finally, they were able to settle down. They had planned to bring their youngest son Zhang Peng back home, but his grandparents wrote back saying that they were still in good health and could take care of him for now, so they would wait another two years. However, she couldn't help but think about her child, wondering what Zhang Peng was doing now, and tears flowed down her face without realizing it.