PCJ – Chapter 199 Six Steps of Meishan Martial Arts

In the evening, it had been a long time since Zhang Jiaohua had dreamed of his Taoist master. Once again, he met his master in a dream.

“The horse stance is the fundamental skill in Meishan Martial Arts, and you’ve already mastered it to a basic level. Next, I’ll teach you several other basic skills of Meishan Martial Arts. The bow stance, also known as the arrow stance, involves turning your left foot inward and your right heel outward, forming a left bow stance. Your left fist is positioned straight with the elbow level with your ear, and your right fist is placed in front of your nose. Reverse this for a right bow stance. The requirements for standing in this stance are the same as for the horse stance.”

However, this time, the Taoist master didn’t just teach one type of Martial Arts. He taught several types: the empty stance (Ding Zhuang), the high empty stance (Han Ji Shi), the rest stance, and the pouncing stance. From then on, Zhang Jiaohua practiced all these basic skills daily instead of focusing on just one.

The core of the six Martial Arts skills is the method of circulating qi (energy). These basic movements encompass various methods of qi circulation. Having achieved a basic mastery of the horse stance, Zhang Jiaohua found it easy to master the other five stances quickly.

Previously, Zhang Jiaohua had reached a bottleneck with his horse stance but continued to practice diligently, which solidified his foundation. With the new techniques, his progress was rapid. However, there were no new techniques for his lightness skill practice. Every day, Zhang Jiaohua climbed various tall trees using his body’s agility and speed.

In the morning, Zhang Jiaohua woke up and practiced all these stances for over two hours. He went to bed before nine at night and woke up at five in the morning. After completing his practice, it was already 7:30 AM. He quickly took a cold shower, changed clothes, and got ready for school.

That day, for some reason, Zhang Jiaohua, who usually wasn’t forgetful, left without his backpack. When he reached the village entrance, he hurried back home and saw his dogs walking in a line toward the back mountain.

Curious, Zhang Jiaohua decided to follow them secretly instead of going to school. The puppies were naturally going to meet the hunting dogs, probably thinking the adult hunting dogs excluded Zhang Jiaohua.

If it were an ordinary person, they would have been discovered by the lead male dog. But Zhang Jiaohua had also achieved a basic mastery of lightness skill, making his footsteps almost inaudible, so the lead male dog didn’t notice him.

Zhang Jiaohua silently climbed a large tree in the woods and saw something surprising. He hadn’t expected the hunting dogs from the police dog squad to be there. He didn’t wonder how they escaped but remembered hearing from Zhu Kaixun that the dogs were to be retired. He was puzzled about how they found their way there without his notice. If he hadn’t forgotten his backpack that day, he wouldn’t have seen this scene.

Zhang Jiaohua saw the lazy, squatting Zuan Shanbao, who had been hiding this from him.

“Zuan Shanbao!” Zhang Jiaohua jumped down from the tree, landing softly and effortlessly absorbing the impact.

Seeing Zhang Jiaohua, Zuan Shanbao immediately drooped its head. The hunting dogs stopped playing with the puppies and stood still. The puppies, scared by Zhang Jiaohua’s sudden shout, hid behind their mother.

Zuan Shanbao walked over to Zhang Jiaohua with its head down, trying to look pitiful, but Zhang Jiaohua was unmoved. “How dare you hide things from me!” he said angrily, feeling betrayed.

Zuan Shanbao rubbed its head against Zhang Jiaohua’s foot, and the fifteen adult hunting dogs approached, lying in front of him with the lead male dog exposing its belly to show submission.

Zhang Jiaohua was puzzled why Zhu Kaixun said the hunting dogs couldn’t be trained. They seemed very smart to him.

“Alright, since you’re here, you can stay at the horticultural field,” Zhang Jiaohua said, planning to clean up the field with Jin Hu and the others. He usually kept them in the bell, which was why he hadn’t noticed the hunting dogs’ presence. If they had been there, the dogs wouldn’t have escaped his notice.

Zhang Jiaohua decided to skip school and took the hunting dogs to the horticultural field, which was connected to the woods, ensuring the dogs wouldn’t be exposed.

The pig farm at the horticultural field had been abandoned for years, with the pigsties in ruins, the roof beams rotting, and tiles falling off, exposing the sky. Only a storage warehouse was still intact, perfect for the hunting dogs. Zhang Jiaohua released Jin Hu and the others to help clean the warehouse and spread dry straw on the floor, creating a new home for the dogs.

Zuan Shanbao tried to curry favor with Zhang Jiaohua all day, but Zhang Jiaohua ignored it, knowing it had done wrong.

Repairing the pigsties would require a significant amount of money, which Zhang Jiaohua didn’t have. With seedlings arriving soon, he needed to plant them quickly, even without proper fertilizer.

On Sunday, Luo Changjun’s jeep arrived at Meizi Village, followed by a Dongfeng truck loaded with seedlings. The families from Meizi Village helped without needing any prompting, reflecting the selfless spirit of the era.