This was the first thing they said to me since we met, and it was the one who seemed kinder, with a smile on his face, who said it.
Without saying much, I walked out of the cabin. There was a cellar next to it, built on the left side of the cabin. I opened the sliding door on the ground, and the dust made me cough for a while. Then I stood outside for a while, waiting for the air to circulate, before casually picking up a flashlight hanging on the cellar door and going downstairs.
Canned food...canned food...canned food...and more canned food!
The cellar was filled with all sorts of canned goods: sardines, tuna, salmon...
Damn, it's all fish!
I can understand; after all, this is not far from the west coast of Canada, where the fishing industry is thriving. However, seeing so many fish everywhere is still a bit disheartening. I carried some up, then went to the kitchen next door to start a fire.
On this day, I felt as if I had become a farmer, a typical farmer in a mountain village!
I even had to chop some firewood to start a fire! Then I carried a wooden bucket to the well to draw water and heat it up...
I busied myself cleaning, wiping the dust off the floor, boiling water, and the three of us washed our faces briefly before turning the cabin into three rooms.
Finally, the three of us sat around the table and ate the canned food with boiled water, which made do with dinner.
I tried to talk to them, but they were indifferent and showed no interest in speaking.
These two people were strange; their expressions and eyes were filled with a peculiar quality. It was a kind of indifference towards everything… I've only ever seen this kind of aura in one other person in my entire life, and that's Jinhe, who's always been by Huan Ge's side!
I also noticed that their hands were very thick. Their knuckles were large. The calluses on their palms were thick and strong. However, I only observed them for a short while before they noticed me immediately, and then shot me cold stares. I immediately looked away.
To be honest, being around these two people is incredibly suffocating! Their silence leaves me speechless... I can't exactly talk to myself, can I?
I'm not someone who can't stand being wronged. Nor am I unwilling to be a waiter... I did work as a waiter in a nightclub back in the day, so I'm not afraid of hard work. But hanging out with these two dullards is really depressing.
After finishing their food, they immediately tossed aside the empty cans in front of them and stood up simultaneously. This time, it was the guy who didn't like to smile who spoke.
"It's late, let's get some rest."
This is the second thing I heard them say today. After saying this, they each went back to their rooms to rest.
I stood there, stunned, and suddenly felt a surge of anger.
"What the hell is this?!" I said to myself angrily. "Don't you understand? You came here to be bossed around!"
...
The next morning—or rather, early morning—I was still asleep, covered by the blanket from the cabin, which had a musty smell that I wasn't used to. Last night I'd made a silent vow to wash all the blankets during the day, otherwise, I was afraid I'd be suffocated by the smell!
But in my dazed state, I suddenly felt a chill run through my body! With a thought, I abruptly sat up in bed and saw that taciturn guy with a cold smile always staring at me from beside my bed.
"Hmm, not bad, not bad at all." He said coldly, "However, I've been standing next to you for a minute now. In that minute, if I were the enemy, you would have died a hundred times over!"
After saying that, he turned and left, leaving behind the words: "I'll give you five minutes to get ready. I'll be waiting for you outside."
A chill ran through me, and I felt a layer of cold sweat on my back. I quickly got up, dressed, and rushed out of the room.
The sky was just beginning to lighten; the sun hadn't even risen yet, and only a pale, fish-belly white could be seen on the horizon. The two taciturn gentlemen were already outside, neatly dressed. The cooler one had pulled up a chair and was lounging there, fiddling with a long, metallic object in his hand. As I approached, I realized it was a triangular military dagger!
The man who woke me up, with a sneer, stood to the side with his arms crossed.
On one side of the wooden house, there was a large tree, its trunk already withered. He then gestured for me to go into the cellar and bring up a sandbag.
It was the same kind of punching bag as the one in Eighth Master's gym, with a leather outer layer. At his instruction, I hung the punching bag on the tree and adjusted its height.
“Listen up, kid.” The sneering man looked at me, his tone cold, even unfriendly: “I don’t know what your relationship is with Fang Laoba. My brother and I were originally planning to hide here for a few days before boarding a ship and leaving, but he asked us to stay and teach you. We agreed out of respect for him. I haven’t figured out what kind of person you are yet, but Fang Laoba said you’re pretty good at kung fu, and that you can punch a sandbag. Heh heh! Young man, you do have some skill. Now I’ll test you out. Show me your kung fu.”
He pointed at the sandbag: "Show me how you hit it, hit it with all your might."
"Okay!" Without further ado, I stretched a bit, walked to the sandbag, assumed a fighting stance, and took a deep breath...
Bang!
A few seconds later, I used the killing move my master taught me, just like that time in Master Ba's gym, and punched the leather of the sandbag. The leather burst off with a sound.
I withdrew my fist, glanced at the punching bag in front of me with satisfaction, and then looked at the sneering man, my eyes containing a hint of malice directed at him.
But he smiled, though there was a hint of disappointment in his eyes.
The man with the sneer turned and glanced at the guy sitting in the chair, raising his eyelids slightly: "How about it?"
"Not very good." That guy said this in a disgusting way, then simply crossed his legs, closed his eyes, and said, "You can handle the fighting, I don't care."
Then he casually picked up a tattered cowboy hat that he had somehow found somewhere in the cabin and covered his face with it, as if he had no interest in looking any further!
"Are you feeling resentful, thinking you've already done a great job?" The man with the sneer looked at me with a mocking expression.
"Yes." I didn't hide my emotions and met his gaze. "I think I've practiced quite well."
"Not bad." He shrugged, but the mockery in his smile deepened, and his tone was sharp as needles: "If you went into professional boxing or Sanda (Chinese kickboxing) and trained properly, you might win a championship. You're skilled; you have a foundation in martial arts. But..."
He made a "tsk tsk tsk" sound, then slowly asked in return, "Tell me, before you threw that punch, you were standing there taking deep breaths, exhaling, and suddenly yelling. What were you doing?"
“…It’s preparation.” I frowned, unable to help but explain, “Before throwing a punch, I need to concentrate, and then I need to coordinate the movements of my whole body to bring all the power into…”
He waved his hands repeatedly, interrupting me: "I'm not asking about the principles of this punch. Speaking of martial arts, I know a little bit, and I understand the principles. I just want to ask you, is it true that with this kind of punch... you have to adjust your body first before you can throw a punch?"
“…Yes.” I vaguely understood what he was about to say.
“You took three or four steps to adjust, and waited at least five seconds before throwing a punch…” He shook his head, looking at me with a hint of amusement: “If I were your enemy, do you think I would give you five seconds to adjust? Would I stand in front of you, without dodging or retaliating, just stand here and wait for you to adjust and then attack me?”
"...No." I felt a bitter taste in my mouth.
"Your punches are beautifully executed, but impractical."
"No, that's not it," I couldn't help but retort. "It's just that my training isn't up to par! If it were my master making a move, he wouldn't need to adjust at all before he attacks!"
“I know.” The man with the sneer did not refute me. He simply said, “I know better than you how powerful martial arts can be when it reaches a truly profound level! But to reach that level, you can’t do it without twenty or thirty years of hard work… By the time you reach that level, you’ll probably be over forty.”
I didn't say anything, though I was still unconvinced. But then he sighed and stared at me: "You practice Pi Gua Quan, right? There are many powerful killing moves in Pi Gua Quan, but yours is a bit flashy and impractical. Didn't your master teach you anything else? There are many truly lethal killing moves, do you know them?"
"No." I said, somewhat dejectedly, "My master never taught me."
He nodded, then smiled—this time not sarcastically, but sincerely: "Your master loves you very much."
"What?"
"Hey!" He chuckled. "You can kill someone who knows how to fight, and drown someone who knows how to swim! Haven't you heard that saying? Your master didn't teach you those real killing moves because he was afraid you'd cause trouble! He hopes you'll avoid trouble in the future, which is for your own good."
I paused for a moment, then thought back to when I was learning martial arts. My master was indeed reluctant to teach me his killer moves. He only taught me this one because he couldn't refuse my request. I never imagined he'd held back; the move he gave me seems powerful and lethal, but it's actually quite impractical!
With my current skill level, to throw such a punch, I need to adjust first! In a fight, who will stand in front of you and wait for you to adjust before striking? In the past, when I fought with others, partly because my master warned me not to use killing moves lightly, and partly because I hadn't encountered any masters and hadn't had the opportunity to use them.
But they never considered that this trick was actually not very useful.
If my skills become advanced enough, and I want to use this move as freely as my master, it will probably be like what the sneer-man said, I'll have to wait until I'm over forty... But after a person turns forty, they mature in all aspects of their mind and become more stable. By then, I will no longer be young or impulsive, and even if I can use a killing move, I won't easily cause trouble.
This must be the master's intention!
"What else can you do?" Seeing my dejected expression, the sneer softened his tone slightly: "Show me a set of boxing moves."
"good."
This time, I dared not be arrogant at all. I seriously assumed a stance and performed a set of Pi Gua Fist. I didn't deliberately show off; instead, the set of punches flowed smoothly. I fought steadily, demonstrating my footwork and punches one by one. Finally, a look of satisfaction appeared on the sneer man's face.
After I finished my punches, he finally showed a genuine smile: "Not bad, not bad. You have a good foundation, and I can tell you've put in a lot of hard work. Your strength and speed are quite impressive. Hmm, like I said, with your foundation, if you train a bit and participate in Sanda or kickboxing competitions, you would be a very good professional fighter. However..." He sighed and didn't say anything more.
I understand what he means; it seems he thinks I'm not good enough yet.
He then thought for a moment and smiled, "Alright, actually you're quite good. At least among Fang Laoba's boys, you're the best I've ever seen. I can tell you're a smart man too... You have a foundation, so I won't teach you any physical training methods. You have strength, speed, and a good physique. So I'll only teach you some methods for proper application! Firstly, I don't have time to systematically teach you the whole set of things; secondly, the conditions here don't allow it; and thirdly, I don't have that much time."
I nodded, my expression very respectful.
The man with the cold smile… no, at this moment I already felt a bit of respect for him, and I dared not harbor any more ill will towards him. He slowly walked over and looked at me: “I think you should be able to see something… what I know is not something outsiders should learn… to be honest, what I know might not be of any benefit to you if you learn it. I won’t teach you anything else, like kung fu or anything like that, I won’t teach you those fancy moves… what I’ll teach you is the art of killing. Do you understand?”
My heart skipped a beat!
"The techniques of killing. The most direct, most effective, and simplest techniques of killing!" He looked at me coldly: "I ask you, have you ever studied human anatomy?"
“…No.” I smiled wryly. “I only went to middle school. I learned some basic things in biology class, but I’ve forgotten them all.”
“Alright, to learn the skills of killing, the first step is to understand the structure of the human body! Understand what fatal flaws the human body has, and which places are the vital points!” He looked at me, then pointed to the wooden house: “Go to my room and carry out a wooden stake.”
I was a little confused, but I did as instructed anyway.
A moment later, I carried out a wooden stake taller than a person from his room. Or rather, it was simply a wooden doll!
I looked at the knife marks; they were clearly very old. A sense of doubt crept into my mind, and I glanced at him.
"I made this for fun when I stayed here last time. I used it as a target for practicing throwing knives, I never thought it would come in handy for you today." Seeing my puzzled expression, he laughed and scolded, "Alright! Let me tell you, I've been to this place twice. Basically, I'm doing things for Fang Laoba, and every time I finish, I have to stay here for a while to avoid trouble. This godforsaken place is so stifling, I always need to find something to do..." Then he glared at me: "There will be plenty of time to hear stories later! Now, concentrate!"
When he spoke, he naturally possessed a strange aura! It made me involuntarily shudder! I immediately stood up straight!
"Look at those little words on this piece of wood. I wrote them all last night. Your task today is to hold it and look at it! Then memorize all the parts I marked, and all those words! Memorize them word for word! And you have to memorize them by heart!!"
I looked at the wooden figure, and sure enough, it was covered with tiny characters written in pen on every part of it! Some places were even marked with circles!
"The ear, with its auricular nerve close to the brain, can be damaged by striking the arteries in the meninges, resulting in anything from mild ear bleeding to death... The armpit contains nerves; a blow there can cause severe pain or temporary localized paralysis... The right rib area, below which lies the liver, is a vulnerable bone area; a blow there can cause severe liver damage, potentially leading to death... The spine, located 7-9 centimeters above the belt. A blow there can result in paralysis or death..."
The entire wooden figure was almost densely covered with similar standard text, with circles marking all the parts it referred to, and the content was extremely detailed! It even specified the effects of striking each of the one hundred bones in the human limbs, and how to apply the correct striking technique to cause dislocations, fractures, or ligament tears...
I was stunned and couldn't help but look up at him.
That's when I noticed that although he looked very energetic, his eyes were a little red and swollen, obviously he had written all night! This discovery immediately made me feel a little grateful to him, and even the strange smile on his face didn't seem so annoying anymore.
For the next two days, besides continuing to boil water, chop wood, clean, and do my job as a serviceman, I spent almost all my other time studying the puppet!
Like a madman, I spent almost all my time every day scrutinizing a wooden figure. From head to toe, from toe to head, and then memorizing it all.
You must memorize it!
I have kept this requirement firmly in mind.
Memorizing something isn't difficult, but truly internalizing it is! His requirement is that when you're fighting with someone, these things must come to mind reflexively without you having to consciously think about them!
I need to internalize all these things, these skills, making them a part of my mind! Just like opening my mouth to eat, like breathing—it's a natural human habit!
Achieving this level is no easy feat!
I memorized it for two days and thought I had it all, but after he checked it briefly, I was immediately in trouble.
His examination process was very simple. I stood next to the wooden figure, while he held a dagger and played with it while randomly naming any part of the body. I had to find and say everything about that part within a second!
I only managed to name seven or eight parts before I couldn't keep up with the pace.
Conditioned reflex!
But how difficult it is to truly achieve those four words!
Just as he was talking about the eighth part, I thought for a second and then I heard a whoosh!
A beam of white light shot over, hooray!
The dagger was embedded in the wooden figure, precisely in the spot he had just asked me about! Not a fraction off!