Chapter 2: Unknown Technique Mei Cheng'an was stunned when he saw Wang Qinian and Xie Bian, who looked much younger than him. What kind of charter is this? Why are the second prince's followers here? Have they not been recruited yet? Also, you, Wang Qinian, are omnipresent, right? You go wherever there is money, right? Complaints aside, it is indeed friendly. Mei Cheng'an chatted with the two for a few words, agreed to start formal teaching tomorrow, and then asked them to go to the accommodation arranged for them in the mansion. After the two left, Mei Cheng'an opened the seven or eight volumes of mental skills in front of him and read them with great interest. The names of these exercises are varied, and the content contains both words and pictures. The words are the mantras of the mental method, and the pictures are the maps of the exercise routes. Mei Cheng'an couldn't tell the pros and cons of these techniques. He scratched his head and flipped through the books one by one until he opened the last one. This book is a little special. There is no name on the cover. Although the book is a little worn, the special pattern on it looks quite good.
When I opened it, I found the same mnemonics and energy-exercise route maps. The difference from the previous books was that the mnemonics in this book were much simpler, but the energy-exercise routes were several times more complicated. Plus, he doesn't even have a name, which makes Mei Cheng'an feel unfathomable. Thinking that Fan Xian's domineering Qigong technique in the play also had no name, Mei Cheng'an's heart moved. This is not Domineering Qi? Then he thought it was impossible, because the domineering qi was brought out from the temple by Ye Qingmei, and only two people practiced it, one was Emperor Qing and the other was Fan Xian. Now this technique should be in Fan Xian's hands. There's no way it could be here. Mei Chengan smiled bitterly and shook his head. However, this unnamed martial arts book does seem to be much more advanced than those books. This is obvious just by looking at the much more complicated practice route map. Okay, let’s just practice this one. He put away the rest of the books, picked up the nameless martial arts technique, walked to the bed, and sat down cross-legged. Mei Cheng'an really couldn't understand the formula of the exercise, so he could only recite it silently. After reading it several times, he tried to strike the corresponding posture according to the first picture. It took me several tries to get the correct posture. At this moment, a sharp pain came from the lower back. Mei Chengan was in so much pain that he could no longer maintain his posture. Strangely enough, as the posture became no longer standard, the stinging pain disappeared. It's impossible to deal with Mei Chengan now. Is this the right way to practice or the wrong way to practice? To confirm, he struck the same pose again, and the familiar tingling sensation came over him again. This time, Mei Cheng'an only persisted for about two or three minutes before he couldn't bear the pain anymore. His movements became deformed and he naturally failed.
Mei Chengan gritted his teeth and said, "Hey, I'm going to argue with you today." He immediately made the corresponding movements again, and the stinging pain came as expected. This time it lasted one minute longer than the last time. Come again. As he continued to writhe in pain and persevere, his tolerance for pain improved significantly and he could persist longer and longer. An hour and a half passed. The pain was no longer as intense as the first time, but it still made him sweat profusely. In order to divert his attention, he had to silently recite the incomprehensible mantra of the mental method. This time, Mei Cheng'an gritted his teeth and persevered for a full half hour. Suddenly, a warm current appeared in the painful area of his lower back, and the pain was greatly reduced. Mei Cheng'an could no longer hold on and fell on the bed, gasping for breath, his whole body soaked with sweat. But the strange thing was that Mei Chengan had a smile on his face, and it even became more and more intense until he laughed out loud. "My young master, I have done it!" Although Mei Cheng'an felt that he was full of heroic spirit and high spirits, he forgot that he was only eight years old. His so-called laughter sounded not heroic but childish and quite strange to the ears of the servants outside the door. The servants looked at each other. Is the young master crazy? Mei Cheng'an was indeed a little too excited, because that warm current gave him unlimited confidence and hope. He, an unexpected visitor, could actually practice the martial arts of this world. The excitement he felt was beyond words. While he was excited, he couldn't help but sigh. If there was no one to guide this unnamed martial art, it would be difficult for anyone to know that one needs to endure the pain for half an hour before one can get started. It was only because of a modern man like him, a modern man's infinite enthusiasm for internal power that made him inexplicably persist and enter the door by accident. If it were an ordinary person, he would have given up long ago. After being happy for a long time, Mei Chengan didn't even bother to wash up. He sat up and assumed the same posture again. The heat flow appeared again, it was not his illusion. Keeping his mind focused, he recited the formula silently and began to try to guide the heat flow to move along the route shown in the diagram. This step was much more difficult than I had imagined. After trying for a long time, the heat flow only moved a little. Mei Cheng'an was not discouraged. He thought that as long as he got moving, it at least proved that there was no major problem with his training. Another half an hour later, the route in the first picture was finally completed. Mei Chengan opened his eyes. Feel it. He didn't feel any difference, except that when he was in that posture, he couldn't feel any so-called true energy. Mei Chengan scratched his head. Didn’t practice correctly? Open the exercises and study them. Could it be that one has to practice all these diagrams and form a complete roadmap before one can generate true Qi? Come to think of it, it's very possible. Then keep practicing. Turn to the second picture, which shows a completely different posture.
Mei Cheng'an had the experience of the first picture, so he posed in the corresponding posture as usual. The familiar tingling sensation came again. Recite the corresponding formula silently until heat flow is generated, and then guide the heat flow to move according to the route map. The second image is much faster than the first one. Next is the third picture. But Mei Cheng'an stopped. Because it's time to eat. After taking a bath with the help of the maid, she rushed to the dining room on the side of the main hall to have dinner with her parents and sister. After paying his respects to his parents, Mei Cheng'an got rid of his sister's entanglement and quickly returned to his own courtyard. "What's wrong with An'er? Why does he seem so anxious?" The beautiful middle-aged woman sitting next to Mei Zhili asked in surprise. Mei Zhili naturally knew what was going on. He had just given him a few martial arts manuals. The child was obsessed with martial arts and was probably anxious to practice. "It's okay, let's continue eating." Seeing that the master knew what was going on, the beautiful woman stopped asking questions. Mei Cheng'an returned to his room and naturally couldn't wait to practice the third picture. Different postures, same process. This training lasted until late at night. He also finished practicing the twelfth picture. The thirteenth picture starts to look different again. It is no longer a strange posture, but an ordinary meditation picture. Looking at the exercise route map above, Mei Chengan suddenly understood. It turned out that the energy movement routes in the first twelve pictures were connected together to form a complete cycle. Mei Cheng'an sat cross-legged according to the picture, with his hands on his knees and his five hearts facing the sky. Recite the formula silently, and a warm current will be generated in the abdomen, guiding the heat current to make a circle along all the routes you have traveled. After one circle, the heat flow in the abdomen seemed to grow stronger. Mei Chengan's eyes lit up. There's hope. Let's continue. The heat flow went around three times and became stronger and stronger. Suddenly, Mei Chengan felt his brain was in a trance and entered a meditative state. The heat in his abdomen started to flow on its own after he stopped guiding it. A night passed quietly, and when Mei Chengan opened his eyes again, he found that he had been sitting cross-legged all night. I didn't feel my legs were numb, I just felt stinky and sticky. Mei Chengan was delighted. Could this be the legendary marrow cleansing? To remove impurities?
What he didn't know was that if it were someone else, the effect might not be so exaggerated. In fact, he had taken too many medicines over the years, and a lot of residual toxins had accumulated in his body, which were expelled at once this time. But it was really smelly, so I quickly called Xiaomei to prepare the bath water. After flushing it three times and applying soap twice, Mei Chengan finally felt that the stench was gone. Xiaomei: "My dear, did you fall into a manure pit? It stunk so badly!" Mei Cheng'an let her wipe his body and was in a good mood. "You just fell into the toilet. Young Master, I have mastered the art of removing impurities. You know nothing." Xiaomei wrinkled her nose. "Yes, yes, young master is awesome! Can you please let Xiaolan give you a bath next time you master your skills?" "That won't work. Sister Xiaolan's hands are made for embroidery. How can she do such rough work?" Xiaomei paused when she heard this and her eyebrows raised. When Mei Cheng'an saw that Xiaomei was about to get angry, he hurried to comfort her. "I'm just teasing you, Sister Xiaomei. I like Sister Xiaomei the most. She's beautiful, kind-hearted, and elegant." Xiaomei smiled immediately when she heard that. When Mei Cheng'an first came here, he was taken care of by four maids, Mei, Orchid, Bamboo and Chrysanthemum. Although they were master and servants, the four maids really felt sorry for this thin young master and took care of him in every detail as if he were their own brother. Mei Chengan saw it clearly. From time to time, I joked with them and told them some wisecracks. The relationship between the master and the servant has become much closer, but the concept of hierarchy has long been deeply rooted. Among the four people, only Xiaomei occasionally dares to complain to him. Mei Chengan felt that he was extremely precious and couldn't let himself be angered and run away. After taking a bath, Xiaolan and Xiaoju came in to help him put on clothes, while Xiaomei and Xiaozhu went to pour the bath water. Among the necessities of life, the thing Mei Chengan is most unaccustomed to is clothes. A complete set of clothes requires wearing several layers, including underwear, middle clothes and outer clothes. The so-called socks do not stick to the feet at all, but fortunately they are put inside the boots. After getting dressed, I went to greet my parents and then had breakfast. Mei Zhili is now the prefect of Kyoto. His family has many properties and farms and is quite wealthy. The breakfast is also very rich. The table was filled with steamed buns, steamed buns, exquisite side dishes, and porridge. Mei Cheng'an felt hungry when he was taking a shower, and now facing the table full of food, his saliva was watering. Even so, he couldn't eat it directly.
There are many rules when eating with elders. The younger generations are not allowed to start eating until the elders start. When eating, you cannot make any noise or turn over the dishes. You can only pick up the dishes in front of you and cannot get up to pick up dishes far away. If you really want to eat, you can ask the maid serving you to help you put a piece of food into your bowl with chopsticks. Men are better off, but women have to cover their mouths and teeth when eating, as that is not elegant. Of course, the Mei family is not a big family, so the rules are not strictly enforced. Besides, my younger sister is still young and doesn’t need to follow those rules. But the most basic rule that the elders should start eating first should still be followed. As Mei Zhili uttered the words "Let's eat", he picked up the first piece of food with chopsticks. Mei Chengan moved. I first ate two steamed buns with leek and egg filling, then three small steamed buns, and drank two bowls of porridge with some side dishes. Only then did I feel full. Mei Cheng'an didn't feel anything, but Mei Zhili and the beautiful middle-aged woman were stunned. The couple looked at each other and saw surprise in each other's eyes. This child, how can such a small stomach hold so much food? "An'er, do you feel any discomfort?" The beautiful woman asked with concern on her face. Mei Chengan looked up blankly and felt it. He was full and didn't feel any discomfort. Then he realized that he seemed to have eaten too much and scared his mother. "Mom, I'm going to start practicing martial arts today. I heard that practicing martial arts is very physically demanding, so I ate more and didn't feel uncomfortable." I have to give me a heads up first. I might eat more after I formally practice martial arts. Mei Zhili didn't feel anything was wrong. Being able to eat was a good thing. In the past, the child only ate a little, almost like a kitten. How could he stay healthy? "Dad, Mom, I'm done eating. I'm going to practice martial arts now." Mei Zhili nodded: "Go!" (End of this chapter)