Chapter 8, The Most Useless Secret Manual in History (2)

Recalling various rumors about reckless practice of internal skills, leading to a state of madness and insanity, he decided to give up and take this secret manual to school for further study.

Whenever Li Jiangnan thought about the matters three months later, he felt an indescribable annoyance. Fortunately, he was a carefree person, and after a while, he set the issues aside and gradually drifted into slumber

Sitting on the bed, he took out the small iron box, reached in, and retrieved the bound manual. Li Jiangnan once again became incredibly excited

Meanwhile, a heart-wrenching cry came from next door. It was the son of Xiao Wang, who had just joined the factory and worked as a driver alongside his father. The child, Baozai, was not yet two years old, and one could hear him crying while calling out: "Mom, Dad, I'm scared, I'm scared..."

The images and text in the manual are very detailed, with the locations of the acupoints clearly marked, making it entirely possible to learn independently. Li Jiangnan still harbors hope and decides to start practicing from the first posture

Li Jiangnan was certainly startled awake, and for a moment, he could not comprehend what was happening. He could only say, "It's nothing, it's nothing, I just had a particularly terrifying nightmare"

According to the instructions in the manual, the first posture requires the body to lie flat, the mind to relax, and the breathing to be even and rhythmic. Begin by exhaling, then inhaling, expelling all stale air, opening the mouth wide, but only exhaling without uttering any words. Once the breathing becomes completely natural and the mind is clear, draw in the abdomen and contract the anal sphincter. Overlap the palms at the Laogong points, guiding the intention along the meridians. This intention should travel from the Dantian to the Great Dun point of the Liver Meridian, then return to the liver, spreading throughout the chest, and finally settling in the lungs, completing one cycle. When the mind is clear, draw in the abdomen and contract the anal sphincter, overlap the palms at the Laogong points, guiding the intention along the meridians. This intention should travel from the Dantian to the Great Dun point of the Liver Meridian, then return to the liver, spreading throughout the chest, and finally settling in the lungs, completing one cycle.

On the contrary, Li Jiangnan always felt a sense of frustration while practicing, an indescribable heaviness in his chest, as if a large stone were pressing down heavily upon him; only by stopping the practice would that feeling of frustration dissipate

Thus, he decided to have a good sleep, as the winter vacation was coming to an end, and he needed to prepare his luggage for returning to school tomorrow. Until now, he had not figured out how to deal with that "blue and white bowl," so he could only take it one step at a time.

Li Jiangnan patiently finished reading, and only then did he realize that there are six postures for the monks practicing vocalization. According to the written instructions, these postures must be practiced in order

He unexpectedly shouted loudly in his sleep

Fortunately, Li Jiangnan has always had low expectations of himself. After feeling frustrated for a while, upon hearing that the child was still crying loudly, he muttered to himself in a rather self-satisfied manner: "Mom and the books, this kid is still scared out of his wits, calling for his parents. At least I haven't practiced in vain these past few days"

Moreover, he also aims to save people, specifically beautiful women, whether they are Chinese, Western, or even African. It is likely that not every one of these beauties will be ungrateful; there must be some who are grateful and willing to repay his kindness with their devotion.

Among all the drivers in the logistics department of the factory, he has the longest tenure and the best skills, yet he is unfortunately the least successful. According to a common economic theory, this is referred to as good goods not fetching a good price.

Having sorted everything out, Li Jiangnan felt utterly exhausted, so he opened the door, intending to step outside to relieve himself before returning to sleep.

Li Jiangnan is not someone who can endure hardship very well, and he has begun to doubt that this is not an internal martial arts manual at all, but rather something he has imagined due to watching too much television and reading novels. Of course, the emergence of these images and words must have some reason behind them; there may be secrets within that he has not considered.

Ah ... ... Ah ... ...

After much anticipation, Li Jiangnan unusually entered the house early in the evening, then turned on the light and closed the door

Communication with his father was infrequent, but after Li Jiangnan wet the bed, he dared not sleep. After having breakfast, he could only open the bedroom door, sit at the desk, and pretended to be engrossed in a book he did not even know the title of, feeling dazed.

On the evening of the sixth day, Li Jiangnan forced himself to practice for three hours, feeling as if his chest were about to burst under the weight of a giant stone

To be honest, he does not have much admiration for this strict father. He truly cannot understand why his father has to be so foolish. Not to mention that he is not good at flattering others; he cannot stand certain things. At most, he could just turn a blind eye, so why must he speak out and offend others? That is simply not worth it.

But he suddenly felt a sense of heaviness in his chest, as if some kind of air current was trying to escape from his mouth.

Li Jiangnan was even certain that if he were in his father's position, he would certainly be doing much better, at least he would have changed to a new house

At this thought, Li Jiangnan couldn't help but chuckle quietly "hehe"

Li Guoqiang then said: "You child, I told you not to watch those horror movies, and now you're having nightmares, aren't you? You have grown so much, but I have never heard you scream this loudly before"

Fortunately, by the afternoon, the restless father went back to the factory, and Li Jiangnan enjoyed a good sleep. However, he had set the alarm for a specific time; he could not lie in bed before Li Guoqiang returned, otherwise, he would face another round of scolding.

Thus, Li Jiangnan fell asleep immediately, and this time, he slept soundly

Li Jiangnan could only respond with a submissive agreement

This roar immediately startled Liu Fang and Li Guoqiang, who were just a board apart. Li Guoqiang was the first to speak: "Jiangnan, Jiangnan, what happened? It's the middle of the night, why is the noise so loud?"

As they spoke, there was no further sound from the parents, suggesting they had gone back to sleep

Because this manual does not contain any martial arts techniques, nor does it appear to resemble the legendary internal cultivation methods; instead, it consistently depicts a monk with his mouth wide open, much like the alumni of a music department practicing their vocal exercises.

Li Jiangnan lay on the bed, reflecting on what had just happened. He still felt a slight heaviness in his chest and had already guessed that it was the vocal technique he had practiced that was causing the disturbance. He thought to himself: "You rotten watermelon, why do you activate automatically when I haven't even practiced? How can one live like this?"

However, one must admit that the father is diligent and frugal, working hard to earn money, smoking only the cheapest cigarettes, and wearing a jacket that has been used for nearly eight years, which he is still reluctant to discard. Seeing his father's silent demeanor, Li Jiangnan sometimes feels a pang of sadness.

He was fantasizing about mastering the divine skills contained within, transforming into an invincible superhero, and then traveling the world, casually engaging in acts of robbing the rich to help the poor. Naturally, the first to be helped would undoubtedly be himself

However, Li Jiangnan felt quite unwell. He practiced exactly as described in the manual, but each time he trained, he did not experience the refreshing and invigorating sensation that was said to accompany the cultivation of internal energy. It seemed as though he felt a lack of energy throughout his body.

Another disappointment

Having practiced like this for six days, I will be departing for school to report in one more day

He began to browse through that secret manual

On the first day, Li Jiangnan, unfamiliar with acupoints and the concept of meridians, practiced for three hours before grasping some key points. However, he felt little and soon went to sleep

However, when he arrived in the living room, Li Guoqiang had already gotten up and gone out. Upon seeing Li Jiangnan, he scolded, "Jiangnan, what is going on with you? Why are you only getting up now? I have been sleeping in because I ran long distances for three days, but you? You have had no such commitments and still sleep in so late. I really don't understand your lack of ambition. If you start working in the future, I wonder how you will manage. Being frequently late is something no boss will tolerate."