Martial Saint through Reading-Chapter 40: Expert? Brother Chu?
While working for the Criminal Defense Bureau, drinking is prohibited.
"That kid Hou Wuchun is so robust, it’s clear he eats a lot. Young Master Chu Ming, you should eat faster. Later I’ll teach you the Tiger and Python Strength, and I guarantee you’ll be able to eat an extra bowl of rice at night."
Half a stick of incense later.
"Brother Chu, why aren’t you done eating yet?"
Hou Wuchun, having rested his stomach, sat on a rock, watching Chu Ming leisurely fill his third bowl of rice.
"I’m hungry." Chu Ming pressed the food down and walked over to the side to eat.
"Haha, not bad, that’s how you should eat." Shao Pengshu picked up some firewood, gesturing towards the iron pot, "Would you like to reheat it?"
"Alright."
"...Really eating?" Shao Pengshu’s expression changed slightly. He was just joking; there’s still enough in the pot for one more bowl.
This young master with his frail body, can he really eat four bowls?
Chu Ming raised his head, looking at Shao Pengshu and Tan Hong, "If the two Arresting Captains aren’t eating anymore, you can leave it unheated."
"...Tan Hong, reheat it again."
A moment later.
"Brother Chu, my mother’s cooking is delicious, but you can’t keep eating like this."
Hou Wuchun was a bit anxious because Chu Ming was on his sixth bowl.
"Young Master Chu Ming, I was just joking. You don’t have to eat a lot to be a man..."
Shao Pengshu held an empty bowl that had gone cold, his gaze lingering on Chu Ming.
He couldn’t understand why, even though he was full, watching Chu Ming eat bite by bite, slowly, made him feel hungry again.
He couldn’t understand how that small body could eat a sixth... no, a seventh bowl.
Tan Hong, looking at the thoroughly scraped pot, slightly regretted reheating the food earlier, "Young Master Chu Ming... you don’t have to finish it all."
"Young Master Chu Ming, you’re not trying to keep eating just to delay without practicing the Tiger and Python Strength, are you?"
Shao Pengshu’s mind was turning, years of experience in the Criminal Defense Bureau making him think of a key point.
"..." Chu Ming didn’t respond and continued eating.
Seven bowls weren’t much because the bowls Shao Pengshu gave him were very small, half the size of what Little Shan prepared. After seven bowls, he barely filled his stomach.
As for practicing the Tiger and Python Strength, he really wasn’t planning on it.
Hou Wuchun, sitting on a big rock, heard about the Tiger and Python Strength, and his eyes suddenly flashed. He jogged over to Shao Pengshu, "Lord Shao, why don’t you guide me?"
"You?" Shao Pengshu’s eyes glinted, "Come on, hit it out and let’s see."
Guiding and improving Kid Hou in front of this young master is the best teaching!
Hou Wuchun was overjoyed, stepping back a few paces to a clear space, taking a stance, and starting his moves.
"Hmm, not bad. Your horse stance is very stable, you’ve practiced a lot usually, haven’t you? Keep going." Shao Pengshu evaluated.
"The second and third moves are also very standard, but... the force is too light."
He walked over to Hou Wuchun and took a horse stance too, "Watch closely, this is how you exert force."
However, Hou Wuchun acted as if he hadn’t heard, continuing with his own practice.
Chu Ming raised his eyes to look, pausing the hand that was scooping rice, a flicker of unusual light passing through his brow.
What Hou Wuchun was doing was the Tiger and Python Strength, but not quite.
That set of Tiger and Python Strength was something Hou Wuchun had exchanged for with silver a few days ago.
"Kid Hou, your moves at the back are a bit off... hmm?"
Shao Pengshu was about to correct Hou Wuchun’s moves, but when he saw Hou Wuchun’s increasingly fluid moves emerge, his mind seemed to be struck by lightning.
That kind of fluidity felt even more advanced than the Tiger and Python Strength!
This kid Hou Wuchun...
"Lord Shao, Kid Hou’s Tiger and Python Strength..."
Tan Hong also had a look of shock, seeing that what Hou Wuchun was practicing was extraordinary.
"Let’s keep watching."
Shao Pengshu abandoned the horse stance, quietly observing.
The further Hou Wuchun went, the stiffer his moves became, but Tan Hong and Shao Pengshu only grew more shocked.
The two even began to mimic the moves, seemingly gaining some insights.
Because Hou Wuchun was moving slowly, the two men’s faces grew anxious, and their movements increasingly slowed.
Chu Ming continued eating, watching the three of them in a row.
Hmm, quite harmonious, they reminded him of the "old masters" practicing Tai Chi in the parks of his previous life, three of them.
In a moment, Shao Pengshu and Tan Hong were engrossed, while Hou Wuchun suddenly stopped after a leg movement.
"Go on, why did you stop?" Shao Pengshu urged.
Hou Wuchun looked at the two and then at Chu Ming, his face gradually reddening, "I haven’t memorized the rest yet..."
"Haven’t memorized?"
Shao Pengshu suddenly felt uncomfortable. This set of moves gave him a lot of insight, and he felt that continuing to watch could solve many doubts he had about Body Refining Technique.
Stopping now was like drinking halfway but running out of wine; eating a few bites but running out of food;
Or when the music stops suddenly in a brothel.
"Hmm, my lords, please wait, I’ll take a look now."
Hou Wuchun ran to the back of the carriage, retrieving a blue-covered book from inside, its cover looking new, as if recently bound.
He carefully held the book and opened it with reverence.
Shao Pengshu and Tan Hong leaned in, eagerly looking.
The cover opened, revealing merely three pages of paper.
Three pages of paper?!
"Why are there only three pages?!"
Shao Pengshu and Tan Hong’s eyes widened, and the breath they’d been holding dropped instantly.
Three pages, and you bound it as a book?!
How could a technique more advanced than the Tiger and Python Strength be only three pages long?!
Hou Wuchun scratched his head, chuckling, "It was originally just one page. I feared losing it, so I copied it onto three pages."
Three pages will do.
Shao Pengshu’s eyes gleamed as he stared at the booklet, "Let me take a look."
"No, I can’t do that. I went through a spank—I mean, I spent two..." Hou Wuchun’s eyes flickered, "twenty taels of silver to buy it."
"Twenty taels?" The two Commandants’ expressions changed slightly.
"Is that too expensive?" Hou Wuchun hugged the book behind him, "Fifteen taels is fine too."
Too expensive?
Shao Pengshu and Tan Hong exchanged a glance.
A technique more advanced than the Tiger and Python Strength, even if the moves were few, couldn’t be bought for just twenty taels of silver.
Shao Pengshu reached into his robe, pulling out ten broken silver pieces, "Kid Hou, this is all I’ve got. If you want, take it and let me see the technique. If it’s not enough... hmph, once you go to the Criminal Defense Bureau..."
"I’ll take it!" Hou Wuchun immediately handed the book to Shao Pengshu, promptly pocketing the ten taels of silver.
"You’re a sensible kid."
"Thank you, Lord, for the praise." Hou Wuchun ran back to the carriage, pulling out another similar book.
Shao Pengshu and Tan Hong, looking at him, were momentarily stunned, "What are you getting?"
"A cultivation technique."
"The same one?"
"Of course it’s the same. If you don’t believe me, the two Lords can see for themselves." Hou Wuchun opened it obediently and added a sentence:
"I was afraid to lose them, so I made several copies. If you need another one, the second book is also ten taels."
"..."
The two took a shallow breath, beginning to read the technique.
The three pages read quickly, in less than a cup of tea’s time.
After reading, Shao Pengshu and Tan Hong practiced it once.
"Lord Shao, I feel that the condensing of the qi blood in my veins has enhanced, although it’s very subtle, but if there could be more..." Tan Hong said excitedly.
Shao Pengshu’s eyes glittered, similarly unable to hide his excitement.
Too little, not enough!
With a serious expression, he looked toward Hou Wuchun, who was practicing the moves, "Kid Hou, which master passed you this technique, can you copy more of it?"
Master?
Hou Wuchun looked toward the front of the carriage, where Chu Ming had finished eating and was sitting inside reading a book.
