Chapter 69: The Dragon Subduing Eighteen Palms (Part 2)

  Ling Mu Yun carefully comprehended it for a while, seemingly gaining something, and immediately started practicing again. Hong Qi Gong occasionally gave pointers from the side, and Ling Mu Yun felt that his understanding of the move "Kang Long You Hui" became increasingly profound. As he practiced later on, his mind and spirit merged, and he gradually applied it with pure mastery, his palm strikes and withdrawals becoming more and more effortless and natural.

  Hong Qigong saw that Linghu Chong had already grasped the trick, and what remained was just a matter of mastering its application. He stopped observing from the side and offering timely pointers, instead finding a large tree to lean against, where he dozed off.

  Ling Muyun practiced alone for a while, and felt that the key to this move was almost mastered. He moved his heart again, came to a pine tree, bent his left leg slightly, curved his right arm inward, and drew a circle in the air with his right palm. With a "huh" sound, he made a move called "Kanglong Youhui", and his powerful palm force slammed onto the pine tree. The pine tree responded to the sound and fell, breaking in two. Although the broken surface was still somewhat uneven, it was much better than before.

  "Great! Brother Yun you're so awesome!"

  Suddenly, a cheer came from afar, Ling Yun cloud followed the sound and looked over, only to see Huang Rong holding a food box, jumping and walking towards him. Originally leaning against the tree with his eyes closed, Hong Qigong's nose suddenly sniffed and smelled the fragrance of food, shouting: "So fragrant, so fragrant!"

  He suddenly jumped up from the ground, and with three leaps and two bounds, he arrived in front of Huang Rong. He stretched out his hand to grab the food box, opened it, and saw that inside was a bowl of smoked chicken legs, an eight-treasures fat duck, and a pile of snow-white silver thread rolls. Hong Qigong loudly cheered, with both hands moving left up right down, right up left down, grabbing food and sending it into his mouth in a flowing manner. He was chewing loudly while praising the food, but because of the food on his lips, teeth, tongue, and throat, he couldn't hear clearly what was being said.

  After eating, the frog legs and eight-treasure duck had no skin or meat left, only some silver thread rolls were left. The belly was already full and swollen, and it suddenly occurred to me that Ling Muyun hadn't eaten yet, feeling a bit embarrassed, scratched his head, and beckoned to Ling Muyun: "Ling little friend, come, come, this silver thread roll tastes not bad."

  It seems that even saying this much is a bit embarrassing, so I'll add another sentence: "It's simply more delicious than duck."

  Huang Rong let out a "heh" and smiled, saying: "Seventh Uncle, these are just two dishes I whipped up casually. You haven't even tasted my signature dish yet."

  Hong Qigong was both shocked and delighted, hastily asking: "What dish? What dish?"

  "It's hard to say all at once, for example, stir-fried cabbage, steamed tofu, braised eggs, boiled pork... and so on, there are many."

  Hong Qigong savored the delicacy, a rarity in this world. He knew that a true culinary master could make even the most ordinary dishes extraordinary. This principle was similar to martial arts - only when one could display remarkable skill in the midst of simplicity could they be considered a grandmaster. Upon hearing her say this, he couldn't help but feel surprised and delighted, his face filled with a flattering and pleading expression. "Good, good! I said you were a great girl," he said. "I'll buy you some bok choy and tofu, how's that?"

  "Huang Rong smiled and said: 'That's not necessary, what you bought doesn't suit my taste either.'"

  Hong Qigong smiled and said: "Right, right, how can someone else's purchase be suitable? It's better to buy your own, it will feel more comfortable in your hands."

  Ling Yun saw this scene and couldn't help but secretly laugh in his heart. This Hong Qigong was really not an ordinary glutton. To say that he, as one of the Five Greats under Heaven and the leader of the Beggar Gang, held a prestigious position in the martial arts world! But now, for the sake of just food, he was trying to curry favor with this little girl Huang Rong. If his subordinates in the Beggar Gang saw their leader in this state, wouldn't they be shocked to the point where their eyeballs would pop out?

  Seeing Hong Qigong's awkward expression, trying to please Huang Rong but not knowing how, Ling Yun suddenly had an idea and walked over, saying: "Seventh Uncle, Rong'er knows many martial arts, but because she is distracted and takes care of too many things, her martial arts skills are difficult to specialize in. Moreover, both of us have been traveling on the rivers and lakes for a short time, and our experience is shallow. If we encounter any sinister or vicious moves, we might be at a disadvantage. You, Seventh Uncle, have high-level martial arts skills and have traveled extensively on the rivers and lakes, whether it's martial arts or experience, you are top-notch in the Jianghu. It would be a waste to just idle around, why not teach her some ways to adapt to emergencies, and methods to save herself in times of crisis?"

  "Good, such a good girl, beautiful and skilled in cooking, it's indeed easy to attract attention when traveling the world. She should really learn more self-defense skills." Just as Hong Qigong was worried about finding a way to repay Huang Rong's kindness, he nodded vigorously upon hearing this and said: "This is exactly where old beggar excels, so I'll teach the girl well, lest she suffer losses in her future travels."

  At this time, the three of them all became busy. Ling Yun began to hastily eat his lunch and then continued practicing the Dragon Subduing Eighteen Palms. Hong Qigong called Huang Rong over to one side and started teaching her about experiences in Jianghu, practical combat skills, ways to adapt to changing situations during battle, as well as methods for preserving one's life in times of crisis...Huang Rong also knew that these were things she truly lacked, so she studied them with great diligence. Because she was naturally intelligent, not only did she learn quickly, but she could also apply what she learned flexibly and make connections between different ideas.

  This couldn't help but make Hong Qigong secretly admire, Ling Yun and Huang Rong were indeed a perfect match. Previously, Ling Yun's speed in learning martial arts had already made people involuntarily praise him, but this Huang Rong learned things even faster than Ling Yun. Either of them was a rare talent that could be found only after searching for thousands of miles, yet now they had met and become a pair, which couldn't help but make one sigh with emotion.

  Three people taught, learned and practiced together. The teacher was dedicated, the learner was serious, and the practitioner was devoted. Before they knew it, time had passed, and it wasn't until sunset that the three returned to the inn together. That evening, Huang Rong indeed stir-fried a plate of cabbage with chicken oil and duck palm, and steamed a dish of tofu for Hong Qigong to eat. The cabbage was just picked from the heart, and it was okay to stir-fry with chicken oil and duck palm. But the tofu was extraordinary, first cutting open a ham, digging 24 round holes, cutting the tofu into 24 small balls and putting them in the holes, tying up the ham and steaming it. After steaming, the freshness of the ham had all gone into the tofu, but the ham was discarded and not eaten.

  Hong Qigong was amazed by the dish. The steamed tofu had a poetic name, "Twenty-four Bridges under the Moonlight". If Huang Rong didn't have her family's secret technique of "Orchid Finger Touch", with fingers as nimble and gentle as if they were not using any strength, the delicate tofu would crumble at touch, how could it be cut into twenty-four small balls? The intricacy of this skill was no less than carving characters on a grain of rice or hollowing out a kernel to make a boat. But cutting them into square blocks would be easy, only then there wouldn't be any moon-shaped tofu in the world. The poetic meaning would be completely lost.

  Ling Muyun couldn't help but secretly admire her, Huang Rong's culinary skills had already reached the level of "technique approaching the Tao", this was no longer just cooking, it was clearly creating art, and it was a masterful technique at that. What she made was no longer simple dishes, but exquisite and elegant works of art! After admiring her, he also felt secretly pleased in his heart, having such a culinary master as his lover, he would have endless delicious food to enjoy from now on!

  After dinner, the three of them returned to their rooms to rest. Hong Qigong saw that Ling Yun and Huang Rong were sleeping in separate rooms and asked curiously: "What's going on? Aren't you two a young couple? Why aren't you sleeping in the same room?"

  Huang Rong had been playfully teasing him, but upon hearing this, she couldn't help but feel deeply embarrassed. Under the candlelight, her cheeks flushed red as she scolded: "Seventh Uncle, if you say anything more outrageous, I won't cook for you tomorrow!"

  Originally, Ling Yun and Huang Rong would share a room with two beds when they stayed in inns or borrowed rooms from others. If there were no double rooms available, they would each occupy their own room. This time, with the presence of Hong Qigong, Huang Rong felt embarrassed to ask for a double room again, so she and Ling Yun each opened a separate room.

  "What? Did I say something wrong?" Hong Qigong asked in surprise, but immediately came to his senses and laughed: "I'm old and confused. You're clearly a maiden, not a young wife. You two are secretly married, without your parents' knowledge or matchmaker's words, you haven't even worshiped heaven and earth together. But don't worry about that, I'll be the one to act as your matchmaker. If your father doesn't agree, I'll fight him for seven days and seven nights, until he agrees."

  Ling Muyun smiled and nodded his head, saying: "Then I'll just thank Seventh Grandfather here. Seventh Grandfather being the matchmaker for us two is already a great kindness, as for competing with my future father-in-law Old Taishan, it's completely unnecessary. As long as I work hard, I will eventually gain his recognition. I'm sure he won't shut me out."

  Hong Qigong nodded: "Ling Xiaoyou is right, Huang Laoxie's temper may be a bit eccentric and arrogant, but he's not someone who doesn't distinguish between good and bad. With Ling Xiaoyou's character and martial arts skills, it's unlikely to find another one like him among the younger generation. Such an excellent son-in-law that can't even be found with a lantern, Huang Laoxie probably won't refuse."

  Huang Rong was also secretly worried about this matter, fearing that her father would not accept Ling Miao Yun. It wasn't that Ling Miao Yun wasn't excellent enough, but rather she feared that her private arrangement with Ling Miao Yun would displease Huang Yaoshi, who would then vent his anger on Ling Miao Yun. As Huang Yaoshi's daughter, Huang Rong was most familiar with her father's temperament. If Huang Yaoshi were to suddenly become displeased and refuse to agree, it would be a huge obstacle for both her and Ling Miao Yun. So when she heard that Hong Qigong had agreed to help mediate, she immediately felt overjoyed and happily returned to her room.