Hu Yu walked away arrogantly as he laughed loudly. He returned to his part of the field to continue with his training.
Zheng Xia looked at Yang Baoshu who was aching all over and then shook his head. “So, was that supposed to be the true essence of the Agile Monkey Fist?”
Zheng Xia passed him a bandage to press against his bleeding forehead.
Yang Baoshu tilted his head upward to stop his nosebleed. He growled angrily. “I haven’t mastered it yet, but the technique is there. Didn’t you see how many of his strikes I initially blocked?”
Zheng Xia sighed. “It didn’t look very impressive from where I stood. It really didn’t look very effective.”
“I’ll continue training; I’ll practice and take my revenge next time!” Yang Baoshu snapped.
Zheng Xia sighed at his friend’s determination. “Where did you learn about this true essence anyway?” He asked.
“An expert taught me.” Yang Baoshu replied.
Zheng Xia chuckled.
Yang Baoshu said, “What’s the matter, you don’t believe me?”
Zheng Xia quickly nodded. “I believe you, I believe you. Let’s go over there so you can rest; wash your wounds. I’ll apply some medicine for you, or you’ll suffer another round of beating from your mother when you return home.”
Yang Baoshu took quite a number of punches, but they were not obvious at that moment. However, bruises would appear later on.
“Sigh…” Yang Baoshu sighed helplessly.
The bruises were not fully gone even by the time he returned home in the evening.
Upon seeing Yang Baoshu’s miserable face, Zhou Shi scolded him harshly. “Are you satisfied? Is this the Spirit Monkey that you were talking about? Spirit my ass, you’re beaten up like hell. What Spirit Monkey are you talking about? All I see is a dead monkey!”
“Mother, it’s because I haven’t mastered it. I’ll certainly take my revenge after practicing for a few more days!” Yang Baoshu quickly said.
“What are you training for!”
“I fought better than I did before, and it enraged Hu. That’s why he was so merciless.” Yang Baoshu continued, “I’ll definitely improve and surpass him!”
“Really?” Zhou Shi asked dubiously.
Yang Baoshu said, “Mother, I’d like to train at home for a few days! I’ll practice isolated cultivation to train hard!”
“… Alright, but if you still can’t beat Hu after training for a few days, then I won’t allow you to train like that anymore!” Zhou Shi scoffed.
“Alright, alright!” Yang Baoshu hastily promised. He was glad that his mother was giving him a chance.
Over the following days, Yang Baoshu did not leave his house. He kept practicing his fist technique and only took breaks when he felt too exhausted to move.
Once in a while, he would secretly spy on his neighbor over the wall. However, all he saw was Chu Li who was completely motionless. Chu Li would be sitting cross-legged on the stone table. He was possibly meditating. Yang Baoshu was starting to get even more fascinated by this strange man – surely, he had to be an expert if he was even training his inner energy.
——
Five days later, in the early morning at the martial arts field in the Swan Goose Association, Yang Baoshu and Hu Yu stood across from each other. Zheng Xia looked on from the sidelines.
Yang Baoshu was tall and built, whereas Hu Yu was short, skinny and had dark skin. The two of them were almost half a head’s height apart.
Hu Yu laughed. “I heard you’ve been doing isolated cultivation to train? Very well, I’m curious to see how much skill you’ve gained!”
“Hu, you better watch out, I’m going to beat you up!” Yang Baoshu taunted.
Yang Baoshu was super confident as he felt that he became better at the Agile Monkey Fist. He could feel himself getting more adept and nimble with each passing training session.
“Watch my fist!” Hu Yu laughed before shooting a punch at him.
Yang Baoshu leaped with flexibility and dodged Hu Yu’s dark fist.
“Let’s see how long you can keep it up!” Hu Yu chased after Yang Baoshu whilst laughing oddly. It seemed like he was underestimating him.
Yang Baoshu ran and leaped all over the place. He was as ingenious as a monkey and managed to dodge all of Hu Yu’s strikes; in the blink of an eye, he had dodged twenty attacks.
Hu Yu chased after Yang Baoshu. He shouted awkwardly, “Come, Baoshu, why don’t you beat me up? What are you running away for?”
Yang Baoshu ignored Hu Yu whilst avoided his hits. He leaped everywhere.
Previously, Yang Baoshu could not even run away if he wanted to. He had clearly improved, and had become more affluent to the ways of the Agile Monkey Fist. Yang Baoshu now had more flexible movements.
“Baoshu, this isn’t the Agile Monkey Fist, it’s the Stray Dog Fist, you just keep running!” Hu Yu continued chasing after Yang Baoshu. He was starting to get frustrated. “Your Stray Dog Fist is quite powerful though, you can dodge my attacks quite well!”
“You’re the one looking for a fight!” Yang Baoshu shouted then lunged toward Hu Yu ferociously.
“Bam!” Hu Yu was caught off guard, and his tiny dark face was struck by Yang Baoshu’s fist.
“Yang Baoshu!” Hu Yu was enraged as he swung his fist toward Yang Baoshu in a frenzied manner; his movements were erratic and his punches looked wild.
Yang Baoshu dodged a few times before losing focus, instantly, his body took quite a number of punches.
Zheng Xia immediately pulled Hu Yu back as he suffered two fists from Hu Yu himself.
Hu Yu was outraged as he touched his injured face. He stared at Yang Baoshu before saying, “I’ll spare your life this time, for Zheng Xia’s sake!”
Yang Baoshu rubbed his nose and growled back at him. “I’ll beat you up next time!”
“You——!” Hu Yu was so mad that he almost tried to punch him again.
Zheng Xia immediately stood in front of Yang Baoshu to block him. “Hu Yu, don’t go overboard!”
Hu Yu glared at Yang Baoshu hatefully as he walked away. “I’ll settle you next time!”
As Zheng Xia was applying some ointment on Yang Baoshu’s face, he asked worriedly, “Baoshu, are you sure that you’re practicing the Agile Monkey Fist right? This isn’t working!”
Yang Baoshu said excitedly, “Didn’t you realize that I managed to punch him once? Have I improved? … Hehe, I feel quite good after punching him!”
“That…” Zheng Xia thought about it for a while. “Hu Yu was right, your fist technique will come in handy if you want to escape!”
Yang Baoshu glared at him.
He felt that Mister Chu’s tip was spot on and that the Agile Monkey Fist should indeed be practiced that way.
It was not that he was practicing it incorrectly, it’s just that he did not practice it enough!
——
Yang Baoshu waited until evening before returning home unwillingly. He slowed down as he approached the avenue. Zheng Xia’s ointment was quite good; since his uncle was a commander in the Keen Metal Clan, and he had stolen the ointment from him.
However, no matter how useful the ointment was, it could not completely hide the bruise on Yang Baoshu’s face.
When he returned home, he would not be able to escape his mother’s beating!
Suddenly, Yang Baoshu’s eyes shone as he saw Chu Li who was carrying a basket of fruits. Chu Li’s white robe fluttered in the wind as he paced towards Yang Baoshu.
“Mister!” Yang Baoshu cupped his fist and then bowed.
Chu Li glanced at him but did not say a word. He continued walking leisurely as if they were strangers. However, Yang Baoshu was used to it, he knew that Chu Li would ignore him if they were outside.
Therefore, he quickened his pace and returned home. As expected, he suffered a round of beatings when he arrived; Zhou Shi also gave him strict orders not to simply train anymore and to go back to training the traditional way.
Since Yang Baoshu was unable to argue with his mother, he could only practice half-heartedly, becoming awkward whilst doing so.
However, the moment he left home and arrived at the martial arts field in the Swan Goose Association, he followed his own ideologies and trained to be flexible and agile.
—–
The sun was starting to set in the evening when Chu Li was practicing with his sword.
Yang Baoshu leaned a ladder against a wall and then climbed to the top. He was holding a plate of dumplings when he happily shifted the ladder. Yang Baoshu then landed gently before placing the dumplings on the stone table. He ran over to hand Chu Li a pair of chopsticks. “Mister, give this a try.”
Chu Li placed his sword down, and he took the chopsticks. “Didn’t your mother say that she wouldn’t be making any more dumplings for me anymore?”
Yang Baoshu said with a big smile on his face, “Sigh, my mother has a sharp tongue, but she means well. She’s concerned that a man like you might not know how to make meals. Mister, thank you for your advice, I’m much better now.”
“Mhmm.” Chu Li was focused on eating the dumplings.
“Mister, what is the sword technique that you’re training now?”
“What do you think about it?”
“It must be very profound.”
“It’s just a common Health Technique.”
Yang Baoshu nodded in agreement with this statement.
It certainly did not look like a sword technique that was used to kill. It looked more like a technique to improve physical fitness. Moreover, his treasure sword was quite heavy, so it would definitely be useful for fitness purposes.
Chu Li finished the dumplings and then used his handkerchief to clean his mouth. “Alright then, how about you show me your Agile Monkey Fist.”