Chapter Twenty-Five Preparing to Descend the Mountain

  After lunch, Zhao Fei followed Zhao Yun and Xiahou Lan to the training ground. Zhao Yun and Xiahou Lan started a new round of martial arts practice, while Zhao Fei sat idly by. Time passed minute by minute, but Tong Yuan was still nowhere to be seen. Bored out of his mind, Zhao Fei couldn't help but ask: "Yun Ge, where did Master Tong go? Why hasn't he come out yet?"

  "I don't know either. The teacher didn't tell me." Zhao Fei's question also left Zhao Yun perplexed. During practice, Tong Yuan had never been late for so long. He was a very responsible teacher, always watching by their side during practice and patiently guiding them to correct their mistakes and shortcomings.

  Then I'll go take a look at Master Tong. Zhao Fei stood up, patted the dirt off his clothes, and turned to walk towards the thatched hut. When he arrived outside Tong's house, he found the door tightly closed. Knock knock knock! He knocked on the door and asked, "Master, are you inside?" After a while, there was no sound from within. Helplessly, Zhao Fei knocked again with more force and raised his voice. "Master, are you in there?" But there was still no response from inside. "Could it be that Master is not at home?" Zhao Fei whispered to himself, he didn't dare confirm whether Tong was inside or not because he hadn't seen him leave the house. Moreover, Tong had said earlier that he would continue teaching him Wu Xing Quan in the afternoon. He waited a bit longer at the door, but there was still no sound from within. Zhao Fei could only shake his head helplessly. "Looks like Master really went out, forget it, I'll just go back and practice my Bear Fist first." Just as he turned to leave, he heard the sound of the door opening behind him.

  "Oh? Xiao Fei, what are you doing here?" Tong Yuan asked, seeing Zhao Fei who was preparing to leave.

  Zhao Fei turned his head and found that Tong Yuan had already walked out of the door. He hastily turned around to pay his respects. "So, Master was inside all along. I've been waiting here for a long time."

  "Oh? What are you waiting for me?" Tong Yuan asked with some confusion.

  "The master said to call me with other boxing methods in the afternoon, but I waited for a long time and didn't see the master arrive. So I came to find the master, I just called out to the master several times, but the master didn't hear it?" Zhao Fei was also puzzled, knowing that his knocking sound was very loud, how could a martial arts master not hear such a big sound?

  Looking at Zhao Fei's bewildered expression, Tong Yuan glanced at the time and chuckled. "Hehe, it seems I was too engrossed in thinking about the question you mentioned that I forgot about the time. And every day I hear your knock on the door."

  Tong Yuan said so, and Zhao Fei suddenly understood. It turned out that he had entered a meditative state, no wonder he hadn't heard the knock on the door. "From Master Guan's expression, it must be that the matter has already been resolved."

  Only Tong Yuan burst out laughing. "Haha, of course! It's already settled. Let's go see Xiao Yun and the others." After finishing speaking, he didn't even bother to acknowledge Zhao Fei and strode ahead, leaving Zhao Yun and the others behind. Zhao Fei knew better than to try to keep up with Tong Yuan and could only follow behind, grumbling silently in his heart.

  Arriving at the training ground, he found Tong Yuan following Zhao Yun, with Xia Houlan saying something. When Zhao Fei arrived, he wanted to go over and listen, but then thought again, this was a matter between master and disciple, what business did an outsider like himself have to intervene? He thought for a moment, then found a place to practice his bear fist instead. It's not clear what Tong Yuan said to the two of them, but soon after, Zhao Yun and Xia Houlan picked up their spears. Meanwhile, Tong Yuan seemed to have forgotten that Zhao Fei was there, constantly nodding at Zhao Yun. After practicing for a while longer, he found that Tong Yuan still hadn't come over, so Zhao Fei couldn't help himself anymore. He stood up and walked over to Tong Yuan.

  "Master, when are you planning to teach me the rest of the fist techniques?" Zhao Fei asked respectfully as he walked up to Tong Yuan.

  Upon hearing Zhao Fei's words, Tong Yuan was taken aback and suddenly thought of someone else. He gave an awkward smile. "I'll go teach you right away. Don't rush into things, I just want you to get more familiar with the boxing techniques I taught you this morning."

  When Zhao Fei heard Tong Yuan say that, he couldn't help but scold him in his heart. I see you're having a great time teaching here, why do you have to come and teach me? Shameless! However, these words could only be muttered by Zhao Fei in his heart. On the surface, Zhao Fei could only respectfully say: "Master, I've almost finished practicing my fist technique this morning, I should be able to continue learning the next part of the fist technique."

  "Alright, then follow me and I'll teach you the fist technique later." Then he turned his head to Zhao Yun and said: "You two just stay here with your short guns. Within two hours, no one can put them down." Zhao Fei listened and felt a headache, two hours was equivalent to four hours! He looked at the two of them and showed a sympathetic expression.

  Tong Yuan stood still as Zhao Fei came to his side and began a new explanation. "This morning, I taught you the Bear Fist and Crane Fist. This afternoon, try your best to learn the Tiger Fist, Deer Fist, and Ape Fist - these three middle-level fist techniques. The Tiger Fist must be performed with piercing eyes, shaking head and tail, pouncing and turning, displaying a powerful and majestic demeanor, being both strong and gentle, with a balance of hardness and softness. Because you have personally experienced it, you may find it easier to understand. The tiger is the king of all beasts, its demeanor is majestic and unyielding. The Tiger Fist mainly nourishes the spirit and strengthens the waist and kidneys." With every move Tong Yuan made, Zhao Fei could feel the surging energy coming at him.

  Time flies second by second, Tong Yuan has taught Zhao Fei all the fist methods of Wu Xing Quan.

  "Alright, so I've taught you all the fist methods. You sit down first and rest for a while, I'll explain to you the key points of training, listen carefully." Tong Yuan Chao Zhao Fei waved his hand, indicating that Zhao Fei should sit down. And Zhao Fei also sat down very obediently.

  "Remember, when practicing boxing, the whole body should be relaxed, requiring relaxation with tension, softness with firmness, and absolutely not using stiff force. Relaxed movements will only produce soft and hard movements, making the actions smooth and continuous, without stiffness. Also, you must guard your Dantian, eliminate distractions, imagine the lower abdomen, which helps to form abdominal breathing, achieve upper emptiness and lower fullness, make breathing deeper, enhance internal organ function, and make blood circulation more vigorous.

  Before practicing, take a few deep breaths to even out your breathing. During practice, breathing should be natural and stable, best using nasal breathing, or mouth and nose together. But do not open your mouth to pant, instead, slowly inhale and exhale softly, which will naturally form abdominal breathing, increase the amplitude of movement, and make the abdominal muscles contract forcefully, benefiting internal organs.

  Finally, remember that when practicing the Five Animals Play, the movements should be shaped like the animals. For example, when practicing the Tiger Fist, you should display a powerful and majestic attitude, with bright eyes, shaking head and tail, pouncing and fighting, which helps to strengthen physical strength. When practicing the Deer Fist, you should imitate the deer's calm and relaxed state, with a comfortable posture, and express the deer's movements such as stretching, looking up, shrinking neck, running, and turning back."

  After Zong Yuan finished speaking, Zhao Fei hastily got up and thanked him. "Thank you, Master, for your teachings. I will definitely remember them."

  Tong Yuan rushed towards Zhao Fei and waved his hand, "Master led you in to learn the skills, it's up to you personally. Whatever I'm supposed to teach you, I've already taught you. How much you can comprehend depends on yourself."

  "Don't worry, Master, I won't disappoint your good intentions." Zhao Fei bowed again to Tong Yuan.

  "I'm relieved if you think so, okay, if you can still practice then keep practicing, otherwise take a rest." Tong Yuan said and left. Zhao Fei also continued to exercise.

  Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, Zhao Fei has been on the mountain for over a month. In that month, Zhao Fei practiced Wu Xing Quan every day, almost from dawn till dusk. However, Zhao Fei's growth was also very noticeable. Seeing his own progress, Zhao Fei was delighted. But more than a month had passed, and it was time to go down the mountain.