Chapter 6: The Martial Arts School Identity Comes In Handy
Today the martial arts school was short one student, but Senior Brother Li didn’t care at all.
All morning, his thoughts were on Chen Wujun.
In just one day, Chen Wujun had learned to use breathing to control his state, keeping himself on the verge of a great enemy, always able to enter but not quite entering that state.
Although he would still occasionally cross the line into on the verge of a great enemy, with time, he would soon be able to control it well.
And with Golden Rooster Stance, Chen Wujun’s progress was also fast.
Yesterday when he stood it, he was still wobbly, but today he was already standing very steadily.
The toes of the supporting foot gripped the ground tightly like rebar, the other leg lifted past the knee like a shield blocking in front of the body, and the hands protected the upper body.
His gaze was full of focus and a bit of ferocity.
“Not bad, talented and hardworking!” Senior Brother Li nodded slightly to himself from the side.
But he didn’t say much, lest Chen Wujun’s tail stick up to the sky.
Then he lifted his leg and swept it at the leg Chen Wujun had raised as a shield.
Although Senior Brother Li didn’t use much force, Chen Wujun immediately lost his balance, his body staggered back, and then he fell to the ground.
“Get up, again!” Senior Brother Li said expressionlessly.
Chen Wujun gritted his teeth, got up from the ground and continued to lift his knee into Golden Rooster Stance, pondering in his mind how to keep his balance when external force came. While thinking, Senior Brother Li pushed his waist, and he immediately pitched forward.
He quickly took a stumbling step to steady himself.
“Keep standing!” Senior Brother Li said from the side.
Lin Zetao and a few other students watched from not far away, exchanging glances, thinking to themselves how lucky they were not to have this treatment when they first stood Golden Rooster Stance.
They at least had to stand for ten days before Senior Brother Li would apply external force.
And when Chen Wujun had just stumbled on landing, he suddenly realized he could transition from Golden Rooster Stance to Charge Stance with the momentum.
When standing again, he mulled over this idea in his mind, feeling more and more that it was right.
After all, you can’t chase people standing on one leg.
Golden Rooster Stance was only for maintaining balance in the instant of striking in combat, and whether advancing or retreating, you had to switch to Charge Stance.
So he planned in his mind that if Senior Brother Li used external force again, he would switch to Charge Stance.
After a moment, Chen Wujun suddenly felt a force from behind, his whole body’s center of gravity pitching forward, but he had already planned for it in his mind. He stepped forward with the leg raised as a shield and smoothly transitioned to Charge Stance, ready to turn into a fierce charge at any time.
After the body transitioned, his upper body just swayed a bit and immediately steadied.
Senior Brother Li, seeing his movement from behind, was slightly stunned. Transitioning from Golden Rooster Stance to Charge Stance was indeed a normal change.
He hadn’t expected the kid to think of it so quickly on his own.
But he scolded aloud: “Is your supporting leg just for show? Can’t even stand steady, how are you going to fight? Others don’t even need to fight, one push and you’re down!”
Although Chen Wujun was scolded, he hadn’t fallen this time, which gave him a bit of joy in his heart.
But not even ten minutes later, Senior Brother Li kicked him in the ankle, and he fell straight down.
After getting up again, Chen Wujun’s mind settled a lot. Senior Brother Li was right; he still needed to master Golden Rooster Stance first.
Yesterday he had seen Senior Brother Li demonstrate; when Senior Brother Li stood Golden Rooster Stance, he didn’t move at all, and anyone pushing him would be bounced back by his force, truly like having roots under his feet.
And not far away, two students who had been training longer were standing Golden Rooster Stance in front of wooden stakes wrapped with hemp rope, occasionally lifting their knees to smash the stakes with their kneecaps, making “bang bang” sounds.
This made Chen Wujun envious in his heart.
But he had to master Golden Rooster Stance first before practicing the next step: standing meditation while attacking.
Those two students had trained at the martial arts school for over two months before starting to learn attacks.
“The knee is your best weapon, a hammer, a cannon, smashing everything in front… Are you going soft like you didn’t eat?” Senior Brother Li’s scolding of the two students kept drilling into his ears.
……
In the afternoon, Chen Wujun was chased back from the dentistry again. He didn’t go home but kept walking deeper along Long Jin Road.
Long Jin Road was one of the few main roads in the Walled City, connecting through it. Though narrow, dirty, and chaotic, it was extremely bustling and lively.
This road could only fit three or four people abreast, with plaques hanging from the occasional gaps on both sides and above.
Overhead were street hydrants and dense electrical wires completely blocking the sky, relying entirely on those flashing neon light plaques to light the street.
Along the street were convenience stores, tailor shops, incense and candle shops, injury clinics, electrical repair shops, and all sorts of small stalls.
Selling vegetables, meat, and poultry; selling cooked food; selling fish balls and egg waffles.
The aroma of food mixed with the stench of chicken and duck manure, plus the Walled City’s constant rot, fishy, and musty smells.
Converging into a lively market full of twisted vitality.
Chen Wujun slowly walked past a few second-hand stalls, his gaze sweeping over the watches, radios, clothes, etc., on them. These were rat stalls, selling goods of unknown origin.
He stopped and picked up a pair of sunglasses to look at.
“This is Dragon’s, big brand, at least 600 outside! 100 bucks and it’s yours.” The stall owner immediately said.
Chen Wujun casually tossed it back onto the stall.
These rat stalls had lots of stolen goods and fakes, and in the Walled City where you couldn’t even see the road clearly, wearing sunglasses was no different from being blind.
“You break it, you pay!” The stall owner immediately said irritably.
“I placed it so lightly, if it broke it’s poor quality. You’re selling fakes and trying to scam me?” Chen Wujun shot back.
Then he walked a few steps and squatted in front of an old magazine stall, pulling out a pornographic magazine and looking at it with great interest. It was full of nude pictures of beautiful women.
“Stimulating, right? 5 bucks!” The boss chuckled.
“Stimulating, very stimulating!” Chen Wujun nodded in deep agreement, then flipped through a few more pages before reluctantly putting it back.
Just looking was fine; any longer and walking would be inconvenient.
Turning his head, he saw a skinny youth, as he passed by a young woman, smoothly pull the wallet out of her shoulder bag.
That pickpocket was in his twenties, looking skinny and small, with dark circles under his eyes and bluish lips—one look and he was clearly a fellow Daoist.
Chen Wujun’s eyes turned, but he didn’t say anything.
He watched the pickpocket leave and quickly followed.
After following for dozens of meters, he stepped forward and grabbed the pickpocket’s hand, angrily saying: “You dare steal from my friend? Are you looking for death?”
“What did you say, brat? What are you babbling about?” The pickpocket turned and saw it was a teenager, immediately showing fierce light in his eyes and cursing.
“I’m from Zhou Qing Martial Arts School. You blind bastard, who did you have to steal from but my senior brother’s friend? Believe it or not, my senior brother will come break your hands so you can’t beg on this street anymore?”
Hearing this, the youth shrank by half, but still didn’t admit it.
“You just stole from that woman back there! That’s my senior brother’s friend. Hand over the wallet and we’re done! Otherwise…”
The youth couldn’t break free from Chen Wujun’s hand; though the other was young, his strength was much greater.
He could only curse his bad luck inwardly, threw the just-stolen wallet on the ground, broke free from Chen Wujun, and darted into an alley.
Chen Wujun didn’t chase him. After picking up the wallet, he immediately slipped into the crowd, walked dozens of meters, then turned into an alley, opened the wallet to look: over 230 bucks inside, and two condoms.
He pocketed the money, then tossed the wallet into a corner.
“The martial arts school identity is still useful!”
Chen Wujun hadn’t found a way to get money in recent days; just now was a spur-of-the-moment idea to scare that fellow Daoist.
He hadn’t expected his martial arts school tuition to come back just like that… come back…
1500 divided by 236…?
Chen Wujun fell deep into thought.
Anyway, do it a few more times and the martial arts school tuition would all come back.
But he also knew doing it occasionally was fine; a few more times and he’d definitely be remembered and retaliated against.
Moments later, Chen Wujun entered a convenience store again and glanced at the cigarette rack behind the counter:
“Give me a pack of Liangyou!”
Chen Wujun knew this smoke; his dad smoked it.
“8 bucks!”
“And a lighter!”
After buying the stuff, Chen Wujun plunged headfirst into a gambling den in an alley.
Inside it was smoky like fog, a group of people crowded around a table shouting loudly.
“Heaven six! Heaven six! Heaven six!”
“Open!”
A few youths keeping watch stood to the side.
One of them saw Chen Wujun come in and immediately said: “Haven’t even grown your hair full and you’re coming to the gambling den?”
Chen Wujun pulled out the cigarettes and handed one to the youth: “Big bro, seen Lan Du Hong?”
“Who here isn’t a gambler? Find him yourself!” The youth took the cigarette, smiled, and ignored him.
Chen Wujun stood to the side, his gaze constantly scanning. Of course he wasn’t looking for his big brother, but for traces of those loan shark collectors from yesterday.
The Walled City had at least a hundred gambling dens, but not many places that would lend his gambler big brother tens of thousands in loan shark money—fewer than 30.
Chen Wujun didn’t plan to draw too much attention or ask around; he used a dumb method, going into each one by one to search.
Ten a day, three days for a full circle.
Nine days for three circles.
