Chapter 7: Standing Meditation On The Edge Of Life And Death
Chen Wujun did not return home until after dinner.
The entire afternoon was fruitless, but Chen Wujun was not disappointed; he hadn’t expected to find his goal in just one day.
“Where did you go all afternoon?” Huang Meizhen asked, coming out with dishes from the kitchen and seeing him.
“I went to find Big Brother,” Chen Wujun replied honestly.
“What are you looking for that prodigal son for?” Chen Hanliang’s anger flared up as soon as he heard his eldest son.
“To ask him how much money he owes and why there are so many loan sharks,” Chen Wujun said.
Chen Hanliang snorted upon hearing this.
“Did you find him?” Huang Meizhen asked with some concern, as she hadn’t seen her eldest son for several days.
“No. Dad, which casino does Big Brother usually go to? I checked several and couldn’t find him!” Chen Wujun asked.
“I don’t know! You shouldn’t go to those shady places either! I will find a way to solve the money problem,” Chen Hanliang said.
However, when money was mentioned, his face showed a hesitant and conflicted expression.
To gather 30,000 yuan, they could only get a loan against their house or the dentistry shop.
Don’t underestimate the Walled City; with tens of thousands of people living in such a small area, it was truly a piece of gold.
Ten square meters could fit eight beds, with each bunk costing 200, or even 300 a month.
“Mom, why is your face so pale?” Chen Wujun noticed his mother’s pale complexion and that her movements were slower than usual.
“It’s nothing, I just don’t feel well today, I’ll be better tomorrow,” Huang Meizhen said casually.
Chen Wujun didn’t know what had happened, but since his mother wouldn’t say, he secretly kept it in mind.
Now the whole family was worried about the tens of thousands in loan shark debt, and Chen Wujun couldn’t help.
He couldn’t just tell his parents: “Don’t worry, as long as the creditor is dead, the debt doesn’t need to be repaid.”
After dinner, Chen Wujun sat on the sofa, watching police news for half an hour, then returned to his room to practice the Golden Rooster Stance.
He had spent the afternoon at various casinos, wasting his standing meditation time, so he had to make up for it tonight.
Back in his room, he closed the door and immediately felt stifled, unable to breathe.
Chen Wujun simply went to the rooftop to practice his stance.
The rooftops of all the buildings in the Walled City were connected, with varying heights and scattered with large amounts of debris and drying clothes.
In addition, some people had no homes and built makeshift sheds out of tin sheets on the rooftops.
Chen Wujun carefully navigated through the debris with his flashlight, avoiding the makeshift sheds on the rooftop. He looked into the distance from a corner, where he could see the brilliantly lit tall buildings.
That was the city center of East District 9, inhabited by the rich and elite.
Chen Wujun’s greatest wish was to buy a luxury house there, and then a luxury car.
Never to return to this smelly Walled City.
The Walled City constantly exuded a foul odor, and its inhabitants were stained with this smell, which they could not wash off.
Because of this, when they were in school, students from the residential areas would call them “smelly pit worms,” wishing they could avoid them.
For this reason, he had fought over a dozen fights.
Later, those students from the residential areas no longer dared to openly call them “smelly pit worms,” instead calling them “Walled City boys” and “Walled City girls.”
Chen Wujun leaned on the guard wall for a moment, gazing at the brilliantly lit tall buildings in the distance. Then he shone his flashlight around nearby, looking for discarded nails or anything similar, before finding a flat spot. He took off his shoes, placed them neatly aside, and began his standing meditation.
A gentle breeze constantly blew across the rooftop, not only making it not stuffy but also greatly diluting the pervasive smell of the Walled City.
While practicing the Golden Rooster Stance, Chen Wujun looked at the guard wall, about half a person’s height in front of him, and a sudden idea struck him: this guard wall, about 30 centimeters thick, was just wide enough for someone to stand on.
He had often sat on it before, staring into the distance.
If he practiced his stance on it, one slip and he would fall.
Would this make him more focused and improve faster?
Once this idea popped into his mind, it grew like wild grass, and though he suppressed it, it resurfaced moments later.
After a moment, madness flashed in Chen Wujun’s eyes.
Chen Wujun was already very courageous, and after assessing the danger, he felt a degree of confidence.
After all, his standing meditation practice in recent days had not been in vain; as long as Senior Brother Li didn’t suddenly kick him, he could stand steadily.
If he could stand on level ground, why couldn’t he stand on the guard wall of the rooftop?
Chen Wujun resumed his normal stance, leaning against the guard wall to rest. At the same time, he felt along the wall with his hands, checking for any loose parts.
After resting for a moment, Chen Wujun gritted his teeth, pushed himself up with his hands, and sat on the guard wall.
The height here was thirteen stories.
Looking down, the lights of the signs below were as tiny as ants.
After sitting for a while, Chen Wujun bent one leg, slowly stood up, and stood on it with both legs.
At this moment, Chen Wujun also felt a sense of fear.
“If I can’t even do this, what else can I do?”
“There are tens of thousands of people in the Walled City; who isn’t courageous? Who can’t fight? If you want to make a name for yourself, you have to be even more ruthless than others!”
“Be ruthless not only to others, but also to yourself!”
Chen Wujun kept encouraging himself.
In front of him seemed to be a bottomless abyss, with only the lights below and in the distance flickering, as small as if they were at the edge of the world.
Behind him was the rooftop.
Chen Wujun moved his feet inch by inch, then adopted a Charge Stance, so that if he encountered danger, he could fall backward onto the rooftop.
Practicing on the guard wall gave him an unprecedented experience.
His attention was focused as never before, as if he had entered a state of “on the verge of a great enemy,” but he knew clearly that he hadn’t.
His world seemed to have been simplified, leaving only the bottomless abyss in front and three inches of ground beneath his feet.
The coldness and roughness of the guard wall’s surface beneath him, and his greatest enemy – the wind.
On level ground, this wind would not have bothered him at all.
But now, he felt the wind repeatedly slapping against his skin through his vest; the wind felt like countless hands pushing him.
His hair stood on end, not because he had entered the “on the verge of a great enemy” state, but because it was the most instinctive reaction of his body when facing a deadly crisis.
His hearing also became extremely acute; he could even hear the clamor and noise from the street and the cries of children from the makeshift sheds in the distance.
Chen Wujun’s toes dug into the guard wall with all their might, as if he were nailed there by countless nails.
Every subtle adjustment of his center of gravity caused his heartbeat to accelerate violently.
He only lasted five minutes, but it felt like five hours.
When he began to feel a little dizzy, he knew he had reached his limit, and he carefully jumped back to the rooftop.
The moment his feet touched the ground of the rooftop, his heart roared violently, and he gasped for breath, feeling utterly exhausted.
“Haha, hahahaha!” Chen Wujun held onto the wall with one hand, bent over, and laughed, an inexpressible joy surging from the depths of his heart.
He did it!
Although it was only the Charge Stance.
He felt an experience completely different from his usual standing meditation.
Incredible focus, incredibly subtle sensations; every part of his body, every drop of sweat trickling down his brow, even the flow of blood within him could be felt.
Dancing on the edge of death, followed by immense exhilaration after the danger.
And he knew that his previous idea was correct.
Practicing on the edge of the rooftop, a single mistake could lead to death, and the gains were by no means comparable to practicing on level ground.
After resting for half an hour, Chen Wujun climbed back onto the guard wall.
…
The next morning, Chen Wujun’s mental state was exceptionally good.
Originally, he had been worried about the loan shark issue, but after a walk around the edge of the rooftop, his entire mindset had undergone a massive change.
Although the loan shark problem was still imminent, it no longer weighed him down with as much pressure.
His spirit and energy felt more abundant than before, and his eyes were brighter.
“Senior Brother Li!” Chen Wujun greeted Senior Brother Li.
While practicing the Charge Stance, Chen Wujun’s senses were sharp and clear, perceiving everything around him distinctly.
“Huh?” Senior Brother Li watched Chen Wujun practice, feeling that something about Chen Wujun was different from before, yet he couldn’t pinpoint what it was.
He saw Chen Wujun standing there, feet rooted to the ground, his body subtly undulating, his upper body erect, his spirit and energy better than yesterday.
Senior Brother Li walked behind Chen Wujun and pushed him. Chen Wujun’s upper body swayed slightly but sprang back, his feet remaining unmoving.
“Roots planted firmly, truly rapid progress!” Senior Brother Li thought to himself, jealous of Chen Wujun’s talent.
“How long did it take me to reach this level?”
Yesterday, when he had dinner with the Master, he mentioned that the new student’s progress was extremely fast. The Master had merely nodded slightly, indicating he had heard.
He hadn’t said much more.
After he practices for a while longer and his progress in other areas is observed, if it remains remarkably fast, he will be taken to see the Master.
At the Zhou Qing Martial Arts School, the owner, Zhou Qing, rarely appeared. Chen Wujun had been at the school for ten days and still hadn’t met him.
Senior Brother Li usually managed things.
There were only a few students, a handful in total.
After all, one needs money to practice martial arts; struggling to survive was hard enough.
Those with money went directly to learn New Techniques.
New Techniques did not require standing meditation; instead, they involved continuously excavating one’s own potential and using external means to gradually strengthen one’s magnetic field and improve one’s physical condition.
Therefore, New Techniques produced results more quickly.
After practicing the Charge Stance for half an hour, Chen Wujun did not feel tired at all.
He then switched to the Golden Rooster Stance.
One leg supported his body, while the other leg was raised at the knee like a shield, with his hands protecting his upper body.
Although he had only practiced the Charge Stance on the rooftop yesterday, it had given him a new understanding of body control and balance, which also improved his performance in the Golden Rooster Stance.
Standing there, he was as if nailed in place, his body swaying slightly left and right, but his center of gravity remained stable.
However, he could not withstand external force.
Senior Brother Li reached out and pushed… Although it was just a light push for him, it directly caused Chen Wujun to stumble, taking two steps before regaining his balance.
