blueteamnovel Chapter 82 Bathhouse Staircase, One Finger Invites You to Rise
Chapter 82 Bathhouse Staircase, One Finger Invites You to Rise
Chapter 83 The Bathhouse Path, One Point Invites You to Rise
"Good wine."
Before anyone could get close, the "mountain of flesh" lying by the pool twitched its nose.
Just like a hibernating bear smelling honey, Tong Sanjin's eyes, almost completely squeezed by fat, revealed a hint of craving.
"Twenty-year-old Shaoxing rice wine, made using traditional Shaoxing methods and sealed in jars. The meat is also excellent, Tianfuhao's braised pork hock, tender and juicy right out of the pot—"
He muttered to himself, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. His pale, muscular body rose and fell slightly with his breath, but he didn't even turn his head. He remained facing away from Lu Cheng and the others, fiddling with the empty cricket gourd in his hand.
"When you offer a gift, you must have something in mind."
Tong Sanjin's voice was muffled.
"Look at you guys, your bodies are as stiff as iron bars, you walk with a gust of wind, your heels barely touching the ground. You're practicing Xingyi, aren't you? Or that kind of stupid, brute-force style that just knows how to 'hit and charge'?"
"What's up? Want to learn some wrestling moves from 'Nabuku,' or are you just itching for a match and want to test your skills against me?"
Before Lu Cheng could speak, he snorted again, his tone extremely disdainful.
"If you want to learn boxing, turn left when you go out, that's a proper martial arts school, I only handle rubbing mud here."
"If you want to discuss this matter—"
Tong Sanjin held the exquisite gourd above his head, examined it against the light, and spoke in a tone that was both sorrowful and comical.
"I don't have time for that. My old 'iron general' passed away today, and I'm holding a funeral for it right now. Even the most important things can wait until this funeral is over."
Upon hearing this, Lu Feng's eyebrows furrowed, and he was about to lash out when Lu Cheng grabbed his shoulder.
Lu Cheng wasn't annoyed. Instead, he sat down casually by the wet pool.
"Snapped!"
He reached out and broke the clay seal on a jar of Shaoxing wine.
In that instant, the rich, mellow aroma of the wine, imbued with the patina of time, captivated the souls of every drunkard in the bathhouse.
Lu Cheng pushed the wine jar toward Tong Sanjin, and the wine sloshed around in the jar, making that kind of agonizing sound.
"Neither."
Lu Cheng looked at that broad, wall-like back and said calmly.
"I'm a Peking Opera singer."
"I've come today to invite Master Tong to listen to a play."
"A Peking Opera performer?"
Tong Sanjin finally made a move.
The mountain of flesh slowly turned halfway around, and with a splash of water, it revealed a large face full of fat, yet exuding a shrewdness.
He glanced at Lu Cheng from head to toe.
"Oh—I remember now. You're Lu Cheng, the one who's been causing quite a stir on the overpass lately?"
"That guy who killed the charioteer with a single shot and is known as a martial arts master?"
"It is indeed me, Lu." Lu Cheng nodded.
"Oh."
Tong Sanjin chuckled, his fat body jiggling wildly, causing ripples in the pool.
"I thought he was some kind of deity, but he's just a nobody."
"Kid, don't think you're something special just because you picked a dead trolley and ruined a few useless snacks from Fengtian."
"In my eyes, your skills are too rigid and too fragile."
"It's like a piece of porcelain that hasn't been fired properly; it looks bright and shiny, but inside it's full of fire. If you touch anything hard, it'll shatter with a 'crack.'"
These words were extremely blunt, directly exposing Lu Cheng's current weaknesses.
Lu Feng gritted his teeth, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked, wishing he could rush up and punch the fat man.
Lu Cheng smiled.
He laughed openly, even with a hint of admiration.
"Master Tong is indeed an expert; his eyes are incredibly sharp."
Lu Cheng tore a plump, juicy roasted chicken leg out of the lotus leaf package and handed it over.
"It's precisely because it's too hard, too brittle, and easily broken that I brought these apprentices to ask Master Tong for the method of 'softening'."
"My new play, 'Yandang Mountain,' is a life-threatening job, involving climbing down a three-zhang-high city wall."
"My apprentices are all about strength and power, but lack flexibility. If they were to fall hard, they'd be crippled."
"I want to ask Master Tong to come out of retirement and straighten out these wolf cubs."
"Teach them how to transform their tough exterior into a flexible one."
Tong Sanjin stared at the chicken leg that was being offered right in front of him.
He looked at Lu Cheng again.
This young man had clear, bright eyes. Although his skills were unfathomable, he remained neither arrogant nor servile in front of the bathhouse attendant. He neither put on airs of a master nor engaged in any hypocritical politeness.
This is a form of respect for "craftsmen".
"If you eat my flesh, you have to work for me."
Tong Sanjin sighed, and his chubby hand suddenly reached out, as fast as lightning, and grabbed the wine jar from Lu Cheng's hand.
"Glug! Glug!"
He tilted his head back and downed half a jar of wine in one go.
"Ha! That felt great!"
He wiped the wine stains from his lips, the languid look in his eyes disappeared, replaced by a playful glint.
"OK."
"For the sake of this fine wine, I'll give you a chance."
Tong Sanjin pointed to the incredibly slippery tile floor beneath his buttocks, which was perpetually covered in soap scum and body oils.
"This body of mine is like a 300-pound weight."
"In this bathhouse, I, Tong Sanjin, am the iron ox that has taken root in the river."
"Since you've come seeking 'soft' methods, let's lend a hand."
"I don't need you to beat me up, just make sure my ass gets off the edge of this pool, even by an inch."
"I'll eat the food and drink, and I'll go with you."
"If you can't touch me—"
Tong Sanjin sneered, threw the chicken leg he had just taken a bite of back into the lotus leaf bag, splattering a few drops of oil.
"Then leave your things behind and get out of here."
"Don't bother me again. I still have to keep vigil for the General!"
This is an extremely tricky, even shameless, examination.
The floor of the bathhouse was so slippery it was as if it had been greased.
Do you want to push a 300-pound expert who understands "unloading force" and "thousand-pound drop" on this?
That's just wishful thinking.
The harder you push, the greater the reaction force will be. Before you even touch the other person, you'll slip and fall flat on your face.
The onlookers who were soaking in the baths had already gathered around, all shirtless, watching the spectacle with schadenfreude.
"Hey, another reckless fool has come to challenge Master Tong."
"Remember that big guy who practiced Chaquan last time? He pushed around for ages, twisted his hip, and Master Tong didn't even lift an eyelid!"
"Although Boss Lu is famous, this is a bathhouse, not a stage. That pulley is inanimate, going straight ahead, but Master Tong's body is alive; it's like pushing a ball in the water," meaning there's nowhere to put leverage!
Lu Feng, who was listening nearby, got so angry that the veins on his neck bulged out.
"Sir, I'll do it! I refuse to believe I can't lift this 300-pound piece of fat!"
This silly boy, he wants to use brute force.
"Step back."
Lu Cheng calmly stopped him.
He stood up, took off his wooden clogs, and stepped barefoot onto the slippery tiles.
A cool and slippery sensation came from the soles of my feet.
Lu Cheng didn't put on any airs, nor did he use his extremely powerful "Toad-Fishing Strength." He appeared very relaxed and unhurried.
It's like a person who has just taken a bath and whose bones feel completely relaxed.
"Master Tong, you are a senior."
Lu Cheng smiled.
"Since you want to play, then this junior will play with you."
"However, pushing people is a clumsy method; it's brute force, something only oxen can do."
"Let's try something clever."
Lu Cheng walked up to Tong Sanjin and slowly extended a long, slender, fair finger.
index finger.
"I'll use this one finger."
I won't push you.
"I ask you—to get up yourself."
"Hahaha, how arrogant!"
Tong Sanjin laughed loudly, his fat body churning like waves, causing the water in the pool to overflow.
"One finger? Are you trying to tickle me?"
"Come, come, I'll sit right here. If you can make me stand up with a single finger, I'll not only teach you apprentices, I'll even become your disciple!"
His words were met with laughter from the entire audience.
Who believes it?
Can you lift 300 pounds with just one finger? And on such slippery ground?
Is it the magic of turning stones into gold from mythology, or telekinesis?
Lu Cheng said no more.
His finger slowly extended.
The movements were very slow, as slow as if plucking a flower, or as if testing the water temperature.
They didn't press any pressure points on Tong Sanjin, nor did they try to undress him.
Instead, it gently, very gently, placed its hand on Tong Sanjin's fat hand, which was resting on his knee.
At the very moment of contact.
A golden light flashed in Lu Cheng's eyes.
【Sharp Eyes】!
In his view, the fat man in front of him was no longer a pile of fat.
Instead, it was a huge, liquid-filled sac.
The fat man appeared to be sitting as steadily as a mountain, but he was actually maintaining his balance by using a "sinking force" and the friction under his buttocks.
But this balance is dynamic.
Humans are alive, so they need to breathe.
With each breath Tong Sanjin took, and with the lingering tremors of his fat body caused by his earlier laughter, his seemingly unbreakable center of gravity was actually swaying slightly.
Like a seemingly stable roly-poly toy, once you find that critical point—
"call-
'
Tong Sanjin finished laughing and was taking a breath.
Because of his large size, when he inhales, his ribcage expands slightly and his stomach contracts, giving him a very subtle "floating" tendency.
It's now!
In that instant, there was only a gap of about 0.1 seconds.
Lu Cheng's finger moved.
It's neither pushing nor pulling.
Instead, it's a spiraling motion—"rubbing".
It's like rolling a ball of mud in your hand.
A penetrating, spiraling force, unique to [hidden strength], instantly seeped into Tong Sanjin's skin along his fingers.
The force didn't injure any flesh.
Instead, it traveled along the sensitive veins on the back of his hand, like an electric current, instantly conducting into the vein.
"Buzz!"
This force traveled along the tendons, past the elbows, through the shoulders, and finally straight up Tong Sanjin's spine!
The feeling was like being suddenly and hard scratched in the most ticklish and sensitive spot on your lower back.
It was like a surge of high-voltage electricity, instantly clearing the meridians throughout the body.
That's a physiological reaction, completely beyond the control of the brain.
"Ouch."
Tong Sanjin shuddered, and his fat body instinctively shrank.
This shrinking back has caused trouble.
His "thousand-pound drop" technique, which allowed him to maintain his balance, vanished in that instant. His energy dissipated!
at the same time.
Lu Cheng flicked his finger upwards.
This is like the last straw that broke the camel's back, or the only fulcrum that moved the massive boulder.
Using minimal force to achieve maximum effect!
"Take off!"
Under the horrified gazes of everyone.
Tong Sanjin's massive 300-pound body was actually lifted up by Lu Cheng's subtle "listening force" with a single finger, as if there were springs under his buttocks.
Because of the slippery ground, he lost his footing and tumbled forward.
Just as he was about to fall flat on his face, Lu Cheng swayed and appeared behind him like a ghost, gently supporting him on the back with one hand.
As stable as Mount Tai.
Tong Sanjin stopped.
But his chubby face had turned a deep liver color, a result of surging blood and a foul odor.
The audience was silent.
Only the gourd that had been playing dead remained, drifting forlornly on the water's surface with the ripples.
"I'm impressed."
Tong Sanjin, panting heavily, plopped back down on the edge of the pool, but this time, he was neither arrogant nor lazy.
He grabbed the greasy pork knuckle, took a big bite, and ate it with his mouth full of oil, as if trying to suppress the shock in his heart.
>