blueteamnovel Chapter 71 Stay behind and become an instructor!
Chapter 71 Stay behind and become an instructor!
A person's name, a tree's shadow.
In the past few days, Lu Cheng's name has become a household name in the Tianqiao area.
Although Old Su was a wanderer, he had heard of this man's reputation.
Those are truly divine beings!
"Thump."
Without saying a word, Old Suo knelt down on the ground.
"Old man Suoqi, you're blind."
"Since you want to learn it, that's the good fortune of this lowly skill, it's like my ancestors' graves are emitting auspicious smoke."
"I'll teach, I'll teach everything."
"Even if I had to dismantle this body for you to see, I would never hold back."
……
That afternoon, Old Suo followed Lu Cheng back to Lu's residence on Qianmen Street.
Upon entering the magnificent backyard and seeing the wolf cubs practicing martial arts with lots of meat and fish, Old Suo's tears welled up.
He'd spent his whole life struggling in the mire of the underworld; he'd never seen such a blessed place before.
Lu Cheng asked Shunzi to arrange a clean room for Old Suotou and also asked the kitchen to specially stew some snow pear syrup to nourish his lungs.
"Please rest for a couple of days first, there's no rush to teach."
"No, I'm in a hurry!"
Old Suo drank a bowl of hot pear syrup, and his chivalrous spirit as a江湖人 (jianghu person, a person of the martial arts world) returned.
"Master Lu, I have no way to repay your great kindness."
"I see you want to master this bone-shrinking technique in a short period of time?"
"That's right." Lu Cheng nodded. "I need it urgently."
"That's easy."
Old Suo stood up. Although he was thin, he exuded the confidence of an expert.
"Master Lu, you have an excellent foundation, with strong muscles and bones. This is both a good thing and a bad thing."
"The good thing is that you don't have to suffer like I did, the bad thing is that you're too rigid and don't easily 'loosen'."
"If you want quick results, you have to use 'strong medicine'."
"A strong medicine?"
"Yes, it has to be steamed with vinegar!"
Old Suo gestured to indicate his name.
"Prepare a large vat, fill it with aged vinegar, and heat it up."
"You soak inside, and I'll 'disassemble' your bones from the outside."
"I will use my unique technique to disassemble your joints one by one, and then, in conjunction with your internal strength, in that extreme state, to comprehend the 'illusory strength' that exists where bones and flesh are separated yet connected by fascia."
"But this method... hurts."
"That's the pain of having your skin peeled off and your tendons pulled out."
"No ordinary person could bear it; they would probably die from the pain."
Upon hearing this, Lu Cheng not only wasn't afraid, but instead laughed.
He laughed freely.
"pain?"
"I, Lu Cheng, have been afraid of everything along the way, except pain."
"bring it on."
……
The next three days.
In the backyard of the Lu residence, besides the smell of Chinese medicine, there was also a strong smell of vinegar.
Steam was rising from the large vat.
Lu Cheng was naked, soaking in boiling vinegar water.
His skin was scalded red, and the acetic acid seeped into his pores, softening his muscles and bones.
Old Suotou stood by the vat, his head covered in sweat.
His hands, like eagle claws, moved over Lu Cheng's joints.
"I held back."
"Snap!"
A crisp sound.
Lu Cheng's left shoulder joint was forcibly dislocated by Old Suo.
The pain was so intense that it could make someone faint.
But Lu Cheng didn't even flinch.
He closed his eyes, his entire mind focused on his body.
【Sharp Eyes】Fully open internal vision.
He clearly saw how the fascia stretched, how the muscles compensated, and how the blood and qi found new pathways in the broken channels at the moment of joint dislocation.
"I see……"
"Bone shrinking is not about breaking bones, it's about 'hiding' them."
"Hide the bones in the flesh, and the flesh in the air."
"Coo-quack-quack"
The golden toad inside the body was roaring.
Lu Cheng controlled that hidden force, no longer the fierce scouring of before, but becoming like mercury, enveloping the dislocated joint and nourishing the strained ligaments.
They were dismantling and repairing at the same time.
Destruction and reconstruction go hand in hand.
Through this almost self-torturing training, Lu Cheng's control over his body reached an unprecedented level.
three days later.
late at night.
Lu Cheng stood up from the large vat.
His entire body was bright red, and he was emitting white steam.
"Did it work?"
Old Su asked nervously from the side.
Lu Cheng remained silent.
He looked at the iron cage next to him that was used for practicing martial arts.
That iron cage with only a palm-width gap.
"call……"
Lu Cheng exhaled a breath of stale air.
His body suddenly emitted a series of rapid crackling sounds.
It's like frying beans.
Followed by.
Under the horrified gazes of Old Suo and Shunzi.
Lu Cheng's once robust and tall body now resembled a deflated balloon or a melted candle.
She's noticeably shorter and thinner.
The broad shoulders slumped inward, the chest contracted, and the whole person became slender and supple.
"Whoosh!"
His body swayed.
It's like a slippery, big fish.
With a "whoosh" sound.
They passed through the gap in the iron cage without any hindrance.
They've crawled inside!
Moreover, it happened while the person was standing, and they passed through it instantly.
"My God..."
Old Suo sat down heavily on the ground, looking at Lu Cheng, who had returned to his original state in the cage, his joints cracking, and muttered to himself.
"This...this is the ultimate form of bone shrinking technique!"
"I trained my whole life, turning myself into a cripple, before I got to this point."
"Master Lu...three days?"
"Is this even human? This is a monster!"
Lu Cheng stood in the cage and clenched his fist.
That feeling was so wonderful.
The body is no longer a constraint, but a tool that can be manipulated at will.
It is as firm as a stone tablet, and as soft as water, formless.
"Shi Qian Steals the Armor..."
Lu Cheng smiled slightly.
"Now, we can really steal the armor."
Old Suo slumped to the ground, his old face, as white as dried orange peel, showing both shock and desolation.
What was astonishing was Lu Cheng's talent.
The sad thing is that this skill, which he had endured a lifetime of hardship and suffering to acquire, was learned by others in just three days.
This made him feel like he had lived most of his life as a joke.
"Master Lu, it's done."
Old Suo shakily got up from the ground, not even bothering to brush the dirt off his backside, and turned to reach for the patched blue cloth bundle in the corner.
That was all his possessions: a broken gong, two old clothes, and the bamboo basket he used to hold snakes.
As for "Tiger and Leopard Thunder Sound", Lu Cheng had copied it a day ago and had Xiao Shunzi give it to him.
"Now that you've learned it, this old man's job is done."
Old Suo slung his bundle over his shoulder, his back becoming even more hunched, and his voice carried a desolation that only those who had wandered the world could understand.
"These past few days' pear syrup have been sweeter than anything I've ever tasted in my life. But I'm just the kind of person who's destined for luxury; I can't handle such things. This grand mansion may be nice, but it's not a place for a monkey trainer like me."
"The green hills remain unchanged, the clear waters flow on forever. See you later, Master Lu."
After saying that, he cupped his hands in a respectful gesture to Lu Cheng, then turned and walked out of the dark courtyard gate.
That figure looked as lonely as an abandoned old dog.
"stop."
Lu Cheng's voice came from behind.
Old Suo paused, but didn't turn around: "Sir, any other orders?"
"Where to?"
"The world of martial arts is vast," Old Suo said with a wry smile. "Under the overpass, in front of the City God Temple, there's always a place to sleep. As long as you don't die, you can always make a living."
"Just trying to make a living?"
Lu Cheng walked out of the iron cage, casually draped a silk robe over his shoulders, covering his newly recovered, strong muscles.
He walked up to Old Suo and blocked his way.
"Old Suo, your bone-shrinking technique is truly amazing."
"But under the overpass, he was just a puppet, a laughingstock. Onlookers would toss a couple of coins, just to see him make himself look like a monster, for the thrill and amusement."
Lu Cheng's words pierced Old Suo's heart like needles.
Old Su's eyes reddened, and his neck stiffened.
"Sir, what you're saying is harsh, but it's the truth. Aren't we lowlifes just here to entertain men? Face-changing performers, sword swallowers, cowards—aren't we all risking our lives to make a living? That's just fate."
"Before, it was fate; once you enter this door, your fate changes."
Lu Cheng reached out and pressed his hand down on Old Suo's tattered bundle.
"Stay."
"I don't want anything else from you, I just want the stuff in your belly that hasn't been completely empty yet."
Lu Cheng pointed to the wooden stakes used for practicing martial arts in the courtyard.
"My apprentices, especially the one called Xiaodouzi, are light-boned and have the potential to learn this trade. But I can't teach these unorthodox skills."
"You stay and become an instructor."
"I'm not letting you eat and drink for free; I'm letting you pass on your skills in a respectable way."