Chapter 001: The Secret of Zhou Lie

He spoke as he walked to the bedside, carefully retrieving an antique from the compartment of the wooden bed

"Hehe, my sister still cares for me." Zhou Lie rolled off the ground, grabbed a meat pie, and ran towards the cave entrance while eating.

The square of the village echoed with shouts, as dozens of young men were boxing, with the leading few generating a powerful wind with each punch.

Indeed, it is a phone that appears dull and is covered with cracks

Lazybones, it is already 8 o'clock. Your mother knows you love to sleep in, so she specifically asked me to come and check on you. Hmph, just look at you, as expected! If you sleep for another ten minutes, you will miss the elder's instruction on the palm technique, and you will surely be punished to keep watch over the ancestral hall.

A figure entered the line, and several youths around could not help but glance at the well-muscled slacker, whispering in disbelief about the injustice of it all. This person with the surname Zhou was lazy and indulgent, yet his physique was remarkably impressive, evoking feelings of envy and jealousy.

The young man laughed heartily: "Hahaha! What is wrong with taking care of the ancestral shrine? Sleeping alongside our ancestors feels very reassuring!"

He was so startled that he shivered, staring blankly at the constantly flashing phone screen

The cave he resides in is not large, measuring only about thirty square meters. At this moment, a beam of dazzling sunlight is streaming down from the top of the cave, perfectly illuminating the center of the stone table

Next, Zhou Lie focused entirely on learning Baguazhang from the Third Elder

This antique is his secret, and seven hundred years ago, people referred to it as a mobile phone

These two individuals are close friends of Zhou Lie, and upon hearing the earlier remarks, they displayed expressions of joy, filled with confidence in Brother Lie

Two hours can be considered neither long nor short. When Zhou Lie rushed back to his residence, he was panting and exclaimed, "This amount of exercise is no small feat!"

It is ... ... that the youth respond in unison

As the music played smoothly upon startup, Zhou Lie felt that this charging session was particularly smooth. However, what he never expected was that his phone suddenly emitted a strange tune, accompanied by a child's voice saying: "Ding ding ding, you have a call coming in, you have a call coming in"

The Third Elder snorted coldly and turned to everyone, saying: "Remember, the master leads you to the door, but the cultivation is up to the individual. Not cherishing today is equivalent to not cherishing your own life; you must not be lazy or negligent. Alright, today we will continue to learn Bagua Zhang. Everyone must practice diligently with me, paying attention to the connection of each movement, and there must be no carelessness whatsoever"

Thinking of this, he quickly grabbed a cloth and a long-nosed oil can and rushed outside

A few farmers, having finished their morning chores, were carrying their hoes and about to head home when they saw Zhou Lie, dressed in large shorts and bare-chested, rushing by, which made them burst into laughter

Brother, wake up, hurry and wake up!

In fact, Zhou Lie is by no means a lazy or idle person; when it comes to diligence, no young man can compare to him. However, he finds it quite bothersome that he must sleep a full twelve hours each day. Moreover, things are relatively better now; six months ago, he needed to sleep a full fourteen hours every day.

The discussions below were rife, and Zhou Lie coldly surveyed the scene, causing many of the youths to feel the threat of his gaze and immediately shut their mouths tightly

The oil lamp needs to be refueled and the memorial tablet cleaned within two hours. The ancestral hall of Kaiyuan Village is located here. My sister, Xu Xiaohuan, came by in the morning and has already returned.

An elderly man with graying temples walked over from the opposite side and shouted, "Do you know it's so late to come? Look at everyone, warming up in advance to stretch their muscles and bones; it will be much more effective to learn the palm techniques later. And you? Relying on a slight advantage, you are just sitting idly by, what will you do when the year of dense white fog, fraught with crises, arrives?"

Since five years ago, he has been following the yoga weight loss course app on his phone for learning, and after intermittent efforts, he is finally close to completing the entire course

Oh, going to town

What on earth is going on

Someone quietly echoed: "Brother Shaoyou is right, we cannot let one piece of foul dog waste spoil the whole pot of porridge"

At noon, when a faint purple halo appeared at the edge of the sun, the Third Elder announced the end of the morning's training and instruction, and the youths scattered in a rush under the scorching sun

Charging, charging, oh dear! May the ancestors bless it to charge properly. Zhou Lie rubbed his hands together, picked up the dusty phone, and approached the stone table, reaching out to pull out a mottled and old wire.

Zhou Lie runs faster than anyone else, swiftly returning to the cave behind the village, navigating through the darkness in a winding manner until he reaches his dwelling

At this moment, the smoke from the kitchens of Kaiyuan Village rises faintly, and the sun has already risen high, hanging in the sky and illuminating the earth

It turns out that the surface of this stone table is a nearly obsolete solar charging panel

Overall, the effects are quite good. Aside from being particularly good at sleeping, my body's flexibility has improved significantly, my diving duration has gradually increased, and my health has transformed from being weak and sickly to being very robust.

With a slight vibration, the charging symbol appeared on the mobile phone

Hearing the elder mention the Year of the White Mist, Zhou Lie was somewhat moved, as his biological father had died in the last Year of the White Mist. At that time, he had just been born, and his mother had to remarry to support her young child during the Year of the White Mist. Over the years, she had given birth to two younger sisters and a brother.

At this moment, a voice came from the front of the queue: "Third Uncle, for someone like him who shows no ambition, let him fend for himself; do not waste everyone's time because of one person."

Zhou Lie swallowed the last bite of the meat pie, choking and turning purple in the face. He pounded his chest vigorously and finally managed to catch his breath, when he heard someone calling his name

Zhou Lie groggily opened his sleepy eyes and looked at the long-haired girl, scratching his head and asking, "Xiao Huan, what time is it?"

Hoo, hoo ... ...

Zhou Lie, you are the last one to arrive again. Do you know what day it is today?

Great. Zhou Lie clasped his hands in gratitude to the heavens, waiting for the battery to charge to 30 percent before pressing the power button

Zhou Lie, upon witnessing this scene, was not surprised; instead, he revealed a smile of relief, thinking to himself: "What good luck, this thing has finally started working again, I can learn the final lesson today"

The slender man had prominent cheekbones and a cold gaze, named Xu Tianbao

The stout man with thick eyebrows and big eyes has a cheerful appearance, and is named Zu Wanhao

"Enough, stop talking nonsense, get up quickly," the girl said as she handed her brother two meat pies

Uncertain when, two boys, one fat and one thin, approached and whispered: "Brother Lie, be careful of Xu Shaoyou and his group of lackeys. Recently, the village has organized a trip to the town, and for half-grown boys like us, the spots are definitely limited. They are scheming to get rid of people..."

The ringtone rang for quite a while, and he eventually, out of curiosity, raised his trembling finger and pointed it at the screen

After a while, the originally dull gray desktop suddenly revealed a layer of beautiful cobalt blue light, but the center of the light was covered with cracks, making it uncomfortable to look at.

Zhou Lie's heart suddenly became fervent, and he nodded at the two boys, one fat and one thin, saying: "I understand now, you can rest assured, our quota cannot be taken by anyone."

I know, today is the day Elder Three imparts the palm technique. Zhou Lie straightened his body and replied loudly