Chapter 27: Kung Fu Practice
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Gu Shenwei stayed behind and started to learn Kung Fu from Mama Xue the same day.
Although their relationship could not be called friendship, nor was it as simple as teacher and student, one intently taught Kung Fu and the other diligently learned it.
Gu Shenwei knew that Mama Xue and Miss Luo did not only desire to provide a killer apprentice for Golden Roc Fort. They helped him keep the secret for other reasons. However, he would be temporarily safe until they made their final demand.
This was such a strange team. Using the alias Yang Huan, the target of Gu Shenwei's revenge was very likely to be the Eighth Young Master, Shangguan Nu, while the Eighth Young Mistress, Luo Ningcha, did not even care about it, and neither did Mama Xue. She also readily believed his words. As for Gu Shenwei, the young man with killing intent, he now had to ensure his safety with the help of two calculating women.
There was another thing that Gu Shenwei did not expect—he was not the only person learning Kung Fu from Mama Xue.
The method of naming maidservants in Golden Roc Fort was similar to that of naming male slaves. People picked up one word from the Thousand Character Classic as a part of their nicknames, and the only difference was that they added "maid" before their names.
It was Maid Lotus who practiced Kung Fu with Gu Shenwei. She was one of the 10 slave girls bought by Bighead Kingpin.
Maid Lotus was a girl of few words. If she was not so overly serious, one might even call her beautiful. She always seemed to be meditating upon something, and she was alert to everything around her. She paid special attention to every word Mama Xue said and observed every movement Mama Xue made.
In Mama Xue's opinion, Maid Lotus was an excellent apprentice.
Gu Shenwei had never heard Mama Xue mention her before.
The pointy-faced teenager, who had talked so much about the slave girls, had neglected to mention Maid Lotus as well. This was very strange for such a talkative cutup.
Mama Xue's way of teaching Kung Fu was completely different from the Gu family's. On the first day, she did not demonstrate any Kung Fu movements. Mama Xue only asked the two "apprentices" to fight with each other. It was not a simple Kung Fu training but a real fight.
Gu Shenwei was kicked down by the first strike and he realized that Maid Lotus was taking this seriously. At that time, he also realized why Slave Yao had often been wounded.
Although Maid Lotus did not have any Kung Fu foundation, with her good understanding of Kung Fu and great courage, she had managed to master some boxing skills taught by Mama Xue over dozens of daily lessons.
In the beginning, Gu Shenwei wanted to hide his real strength, but he soon realized he would have to spare no effort to beat her and he even used the power of the first level of Yin and Yang Strength. Even so, his fight with Maid Lotus ended in a draw.
Maid Lotus had never practiced Internal Strength before, but she had much more fighting experience than Gu Shenwei.
Just fighting for less than half an hour, Gu Shenwei was sweating profusely. He felt his breath becoming turbulent in his Dantian and found it nearly unendurable.
Mama Xue often guided Maid Lotus on how to move while watching their fight from the side. As for the new trainee, Slave Huan, she gave some advice or ordered him around only after the fight had ended.
"Forget the stupid movements you've learned and practice your Internal Strength. If you want to enter East Castle and become a killer, you should practice Kung Fu anew."
That afternoon, Mama Xue went to serve Miss Luo, so she asked Maid Lotus to teach Slave Huan Tiger-taming Fist.
Gu Shenwei already felt disgraced for being beaten by a girl of the same age. Now he was even more embarrassed as he had to learn Tiger-taming Fist from her, who treated him indifferently. She did not say anything else unless she was explaining Kung Fu movements to him, seeming very reluctant to teach him.
However, Gu Shenwei had a totally different experience when he went back to Firewood Yard.
The newly appointed overseer took the initiative to speak to Slave Huan for the first time. Furthermore, he encouraged him and told him that he did not need to look after the injured in the yard.
The other five young slaves also awkwardly smiled at him and welcomed their "sworn brother" back. Slave Lei even helped him brush the dust off his clothes. Their change in their attitudes was quick and obvious, which was difficult for Gu Shenwei to adapt to immediately.
Nevertheless, his focus was still on Slave Qian.
Slave Qian behaved himself as usual. Although he also showed his kindness to Slave Huan like the others, he did not talk too much. In an awkward silence, Slave Qian would start to speak. It seemed that he was the leader of this small group.
Gu Shenwei decided to temporarily put the white handkerchief issue away. He had to be devoted to Kung Fu practice in order to become a killer apprentice in East Castle and also to deal with the two women.
Golden Roc Fort was like a huge and indestructible mountain when people saw it at a distance. But there were noticeable small cracks when observing it closely. Luckily, Gu Shen had already found a few cracks. However, it was not enough for his revenge. He needed to continue to observe and find the junction of all cracks.
Gu Shenwei could practice Kung Fu aboveboard now. He spent all his time practicing Kung Fu, except for eating and sleeping. After he got back from Mama Xue's place, Gu Shenwei still went to Ghost Cliff to practice Yin and Yang Strength. He wanted to make up for the time that he had wasted over the last 10 years.
Mama Xue hoped the two teenagers she had recommended would become outstanding in East Castle. Therefore, she strictly supervised them as they practiced Kung Fu and even intervened in Slave Huan's Internal Strength training, out of fear that he would lose his life due to Qigong Deviation like Slave Yao.
Mama Xue used a forceful method to help Slave Huan improve his Internal Strength, unlike his father Gu Lun, who had taught Internal Strength step by step.
Gu Shenwei needed to practice Yin and Yang Strength in front of Mama Xue every day. While he was practicing, she sometimes poked him with her iron fingers on different acupoints. And each time, she passed the inner force into his body to help him break through his meridians.
This would benefit his Internal Strength practice a lot, but it meant that Gu Shenwei would suffer great pain. He became black and blue all over and could not even find a comfortable posture to sleep at night.
The daily Kung Fu practice with Maid Lotus increased his agony. The silent young maid had been inexplicably jealous of him from the very beginning. Later on, she regarded him as an enemy since Mama Xue was privately helping him improve Internal Strength.
Gu Shenwei had never been hated so much by anyone.
He had no idea about how to deal with it. Angry and ashamed, he eagerly wanted to surpass Maid Lotus in Kung Fu practice.
It was not an easy goal to achieve when studying Tiger-taming Fist. On one hand, he was not good at boxing; on the other hand, he had practiced it two months longer than Maid Lotus. However, the situation changed 10 days later when Mama Xue started to teach them how to move the saber.
The date of new killer-apprentices' admission was approaching. In order to speed up the training, Mama Xue needed to teach as many Kung Fu movements as possible in a short time.
Mama Xue reminded Slave Huan and Maid Lotus often, saying, "A Kung Fu practitioner needs to build their foundation with boxing training, which makes their movements quick and agile. Hence, you'll feel more comfortable when learning how to use other weapons later on. However, don't rely on boxing when fighting with people because it's just a basic skill. No matter how skilled you are at boxing, holding a sharp dagger makes you stronger. If someone with bare hands defeats an armed man, it must be due to an enormous difference between the two sides' Kung Fu strength. In other words, it doesn't prove that fists and feet are better than weapons. Remember, once you become a killer and live by killing, your boss will choose the opponents for you, not yourself. Therefore, never dream of beating armed people with your bare fists. You should use a saber to beat both armed and bare-handed men."
Mama Xue herself practiced Iron Finger. Obviously, she did not match her deeds to her words. But, Mama Xue was not a killer. Moreover, it was unnecessary for her to practice swordsmanship, as she had served Miss Luo for a long time and worked in the back yard.
Although he had carefully memorized his family's swordsmanship, Gu Shenwei needed to conceal the truth because he lied to Mama Xue, saying that he had not learned it very well.
Fortunately, Mama Xue did not care. She taught them the swordsmanship for real fighting, including 18 basic saber movements and no fixed action combinations. Each basic movement was very simple, for example, cutting, stabbing, or piercing, which were very similar. But once they could practice each with proficiency, Mama Xue asked them to randomly combine the 18 basic saber movements, so they could create other numerous movements.
Mama Xue said that the series of saber movements was Iron Mountain Knife Form, one of the martial arts that helped Iron Mountain Gang dominate the desert area.
Gu Shenwei felt that Iron Mountain Knife Form was not as skillful as the Gu family's swordsmanship. However, it was easy to understand and flexible. When performing the 18 basic saber movements, he could occasionally add one or two moves from his family's swordsmanship. Gu Shenwei found the connection between the movements was also very smooth, which sometimes brought unexpected effects.
However, it was an obstacle for Maid Lotus. Before the training, she had never touched a real saber. It took a few days for her to learn how to control her strength and hold it. Therefore, during fighting, she often fell behind. Sometimes, the gap between their power was so wide that Mama Xue replaced Maid Lotus and fought with Slave Huan herself.
Consequently, Maid Lotus became more silent and gloomy. Every time Gu Shenwei arrived at the yard, he saw Maid Lotus practicing the sword movements. After he left, she continued her training.
Gu Shenwei also made rapid progress on Yin and Yang Strength. Within a month, he separately arrived at the second level of Yin Strength and Yang Strength.
It was the first time Gu Shenwei had felt very good since he entered Golden Roc Fort. The improvement of Kung Fu also boosted his confidence in taking revenge. Although there was a long way to go, slowly but surely, he was walking toward the finish line.
He wanted to become the most powerful killer and then retaliate on the killers.
When Bighead Kingpin's daughter felt bored, she would go to watch Mama Xue teach them Kung Fu. Of course, Miss Luo still sat behind the folding screen. She had been forced to quit a lot of habits since she married the Eighth Young Master. But she insisted on one habit more firmly—she would not allow males to see her face except for her husband, and females could not see her real face, either.
It was said that Miss Luo wore several veils when greeting her mother-in-law every morning. This was quite understandable however, as the tension between them was palpable.
When Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus practiced Iron Mountain Knife Form, Miss Luo sometimes commented on their performance. Simultaneously, her four maidservants would seize the opportunity to recall the happy days in the past with Miss Luo.
From their chatting, Gu Shenwei learned that Miss Luo did not know Kung Fu at all. Besides, Iron Mountain was not a real place and it referred to the site where the bandit gang camped. They also talked about Mama Xue, who was not actually Miss's wet nurse. She had joined the bandit gang after Miss Luo was born a few years later.
It was the beginning of autumn in the lunar calendar when people in East Castle began to recruit killer apprentices. Although the sky was gloomy, the air at the peaks was fresh due to the first frost the night before.
Mama Xue brought Slave Huan and Maid Lotus to East Castle.
There were so many buildings in East Castle. Walking through the countless alleys and lanes felt like navigating a maze. If not led by someone familiar with the layout, outsiders could easily lose their way. Even though Mama Xue had not been in Golden Roc Fort for a long time, she knew the complicated paths in East Castle well, which was no surprise to Gu Shenwei.
Just like West Castle, there were numerous yards located in East Castle. Mama Xue guided them into a small one, which looked a little shabby, like other places in Golden Roc Fort after more 100 years of wind and rain. However, the registrar, sitting behind the long table in the wing-room, was very serious and respectable. It seemed that Golden Roc Fort manifested its real strength through its people, not its magnificent buildings.
The registrar glanced at the first group of visitors who wanted to sign up. He had not written anything down yet.
"Which yard?"
"The Eighth Young Master's."
"What's her name?"
"Maid Lotus."
...
The registrar began to ask lots of questions, for example, what kind of Kung Fu they had learned and so on. He recorded the answers verbatim. Mama Xue offered detailed answers for Slave Huan and Mama Xue, who just stood aside and listened.
Everything went well and Maid Lotus became the first recorded killer apprentice that year.
At this time, two or three groups of apprentices arrived. The small courtyard seemed a bit crowded.
Next, it was Gu Shenwei's turn. At first, everything went well also. The registrar had written Slave Huan's name down, and he would quickly finish the inquiry after the last few questions. But, when the registrar asked Gu Shenwei's Kung Fu foundation, a problem arose.
"He has learned Internal Strength?"
"Em... Just a little." It was still Mama Xue who answered, and she frowned.
The registrar lowered his head and crossed out the name "Slave Huan".
He looked up and said, "This slave can't enter East Castle."