Chapter 5, The Years in the Valley

Inside the study, a large desk is covered with white paper, beside it sits an inkstone with prepared ink. Behind the desk are two chairs placed side by side, and Lin Tong is squatting in a horse stance with one foot on a chair. In each hand, he holds a long iron brush, the top of each brush is adorned with an iron ball the size of a duck egg. At first glance, each of these brushes appears to weigh around seven to eight pounds, yet in Lin Tong's hands, they feel as light as ordinary calligraphy brushes. His hands move continuously, creating exquisite small characters that leap onto the paper, remarkably beautiful. This method of practicing calligraphy while squatting in a horse stance is one he devised himself, as he is always concerned that solely practicing with his hands might lead to a distorted body, hence this new idea.

The Master’s Iron Bodhi immediately targets acupoints, and the most frustrating part is that this old fellow never allows him to release the acupoints. It is only when he manages to unlock them himself that it counts. Every time, Lin Tang has to endure for two full hours. The Second Master is even more ruthless; when he throws his flying daggers, he shows no mercy, and Lin Tang often ends up covered in wounds from the daggers. However, he can still tolerate this. The most terrifying thing is the Fourth Master’s Dragon Whisker Needle; when it strikes, it causes a tingling sensation, but the various poisons attached to it leave Lin in unbearable agony.

At the beginning, the characters Lin Tang wrote were unrecognizable even to himself. Fortunately, his resilient character and understanding that his master must have a purpose for this action allowed him to complete the tasks assigned by his master with quality and quantity every day, and even to do more. After three months of practice, he finally could effortlessly use both hands to write beautiful small regular script with a large brush. Just at that moment, the brush was replaced; the bamboo brush was changed to an iron brush, still requiring the small regular script.

Lin Tong's suffering began anew as he gripped the heavy iron pen weighing four pounds daily, writing in small script on paper. At first, each character he wrote caused his arms to ache, and during these moments, he would silently recite the internal cultivation techniques taught by his master, gradually discovering that he could write a few more characters. Thus, from that point on, he practiced his skills while writing. Although his arms remained red, swollen, and painful at the end of each day, the quality of his writing showed significant improvement. As the weight and length of the pen increased, Lin Tong's arms would swell, subside, and swell again in a repetitive cycle, and six months passed in this manner. During this time, he had little opportunity to play in the valley; apart from attending school to study, he spent most of his time secluded in the study writing, only able to spend a brief moment with his mother during mealtimes. However, thanks to Master Si's treatment, Madam Lin's condition had indeed improved significantly, allowing her to engage in normal activities without issue, and her cough was not as severe.

After being tormented to the brink of exhaustion by several individuals, Lin Tang could no longer endure it and ran to his four masters' wives to express his grievances. Upon hearing his plight, the ladies burst into laughter. Ultimately, the fourth master’s wife, showing her affection, took his hand and said: "Your masters have been playing music for decades and are already tired of it. Now that they have found such an entertaining child like you, how could they easily give you up? Moreover, you are a child with filial piety; it wouldn’t be right to see them unhappy. Let me offer you a piece of advice: there is a saying that goes, 'When the devil rises a foot, the way rises a mile.' Since they are using hidden weapons against you, you should diligently practice how to receive and evade them. If they strike your acupoints, you can work on methods to shift your energy and move your acupoints. If they poison you, why not think of ways to detoxify yourself? Once you have mastered these, you will see what other methods they have to torment you.

The other three ladies, after listening, unanimously praised the eldest lady, who gently touched Lin Tang's head and said: "In life, one should not always rely on others; instead, one should find ways to solve problems on their own. Behind the Zui Xin Hall, there is a cave filled with many books. If you have time, you can go take a look; it might be of some help to you. Now, go and play, but do not disturb us as we are busy with our horse-drawn carriage."

However, you must be mentally prepared for the days ahead to be even more challenging. The few of us not only need to pass on our unique skills to you, but we will also impart knowledge on hidden weapons, poison, medical techniques, and musical theory. As for whether you can absorb all of this, that will depend on your own level of effort and understanding.

Su Dingbang said with a sinister smile: "It is not that our methods are inadequate, but rather that your meridians are too weak. If it really comes to it, I might as well help you expand your meridians."

Cheng Wanli smiled and said: "It is still not feasible. After discussion, we will each guide you in practicing our martial arts techniques. The numerous failures you experienced with your senior brothers likely stemmed from the fact that they began training in that set of skills without first understanding the essence of our respective martial arts. This set of skills is a synthesis of the quintessence of the martial arts of the four of us. Without a fundamental understanding of each other's strengths, it is difficult to truly grasp the intricacies involved. Therefore, we will first have you follow us in practicing our individual martial arts, and ultimately, we will pass on that set of principles to you for you to contemplate and practice on your own, without any further guidance from us. Of course, if you have any questions during this process, we will do our utmost to assist you in finding answers."

Starting from the next day, Lin Tang's life became both tense and fulfilling. Every morning, he first followed the master to learn the authentic Buddhist teachings, and then he practiced the internal skills of the demonic sect under the third master, focusing on the recently learned formless and selfless true energy, which was characterized by its vigorous nature. In the afternoon, the second master taught him the Daoist principle of the myriad methods of nature, followed by the fourth master, who imparted a series of soft internal forces. Within less than ten days, Lin Tang discovered that his body had developed several completely different internal energy fluctuations. As he practiced, various internal energies surged chaotically through his meridians, continuously tearing at his fragile channels.

Seeing the few people in high spirits sent a chill down Lin Tang's back, but overall, he had temporarily escaped the days that felt worse than death. What pleased him the most was that he finally had some time to himself to wander around the valley, with the condition that he hid well to avoid being caught by those four lunatics. Once caught, he would either be forced to play chess with them or join in their music or poetry recitals.

The days in Qingxin Valley were neither as arduous as Lin Tong had imagined nor as pleasant as Su Xing had described. Instead of being surrounded by the four masters imparting martial skills, he spent more time studying in the academy alongside a group of juniors. Each day, he would make the long journey twice, in the morning and evening, to his residence, where he would receive a few phrases of cultivation techniques and check on the progress of his previous training. As for the martial moves, he had never learned even a single one.

Since then, he has been caught by several masters less and less frequently, and he often uses the iron Buddha he catches to strike the master. In the face of the second master's flying knives, he can easily maneuver through the gaps. He is also mostly able to neutralize the poison from the fourth master himself and even takes the opportunity to poison him a few times. However, the thing that makes him the happiest is that he has designed traps with great care to confine several old men inside while he stands outside making faces at them. It is only now that he realizes how interesting it is to play hide and seek with the old men.

"The little monkey is so impudent," Cheng Wanli said with a laugh and a scold before turning to leave

After endless arguments among the crowd, everyone finally reached a consensus to follow Lin Tong's plan. He would practice internal skills under Cheng Wanli's guidance, while the other three would explain their respective mental techniques to him. Simultaneously, the four of them began to teach him their own moves, lightness skills, and expertise in hidden weapons. However, to accommodate the other three's desire to spend more time with the land, starting from this day, in addition to martial arts training, Lin Tong would also practice music, chess, calligraphy, and painting with the four of them.

Lin Tong smiled wryly to himself, thinking that these few matrons had indeed come up with a good idea. There was no choice but to rely on oneself rather than others, so he decided to learn. From that day on, apart from the time spent practicing martial arts, he basically stayed in the cave, rarely returning to his room even to sleep. The cave contained a vast collection of books, covering a wide range of subjects including astronomy, calendars, astrology, medicine, and various traps and ambushes, with an abundance of martial arts literature. Every day, Lin Tong tirelessly sought and explored these mountains of books, and gradually, he truly discovered many effective methods.

In this small escape and pursuit, more than half a year had passed. Lin Tang discovered that in this game of chase, his lightness skill had actually improved rapidly. When it came to running for his life, apart from his third master, who excelled in lightness skills, the other three were truly no match for him. However, he did not dare to let his guard down against the other three, as he was unaware of when they had begun to use hidden weapons against him during his escapes.

The explanation for Cheng Wanli is that he must first establish a solid foundation, as advanced martial arts are not suitable for him at this time. Therefore, several individuals agreed that he should guide Lin Tang in practicing the Buddhist heart method. Once the foundation is solidified, studying the heart methods they created will yield twice the result with half the effort. However, this method of building a foundation is indeed almost perverse, as it involves incessantly writing and drawing. Lin Tang had learned to read and write with his mother since childhood and was confident in his writing skills, yet he was still taken aback when he entered the study. The paper was of good quality, the ink was also excellent, but the brush was surprisingly long, four times the length of a regular brush. Cheng Wanli's requirement was to use such a large brush to write tiny characters.

We are quite democratic; since you have raised an objection, we cannot disregard it. How about this: you know best how to handle your own matters, so you can decide for yourself.

At that moment, footsteps were heard outside the door. Lin Tang immediately understood that Master Cheng Wanli had arrived. Although he usually did not come at this time, Lin Tang did not pay it any mind and continued with his practice

As the door opened, Cheng Wanli walked in slowly and saw Lin Tang practicing. He nodded and sat on a bamboo chair, softly saying: "You have been in the valley for half a year now, and your aptitude is far better than we previously imagined. Not only has your martial arts improved rapidly, but I also hear from the teacher that your literary talent is quite outstanding. He even suggested to me that you should study diligently for two years to take the top scholar examination. I am here today for no other reason than to inform you that starting tomorrow, you will no longer need to attend the school. At your current level, the teacher can no longer teach you anything further; any improvement will have to come from yourself. Starting tomorrow, after breakfast, you will go to the training ground, and we will officially begin teaching you martial arts."

After listening, Lin Tong finally understood that as an experimental subject, he not only had to learn a martial art he was completely unfamiliar with, but also had to explore it on his own without any guidance. Thinking of this, he smiled wryly and said, "You few, just imagine letting me fend for myself without any care." After half a year of interaction, Lin Tong was well aware of the personalities of these masters; there was never the moral concept typical of other master-disciple relationships, but rather they often joked around together.

Liu Chengfeng, with a fiery temper, shouted: "You little brat, we are imparting our unique skills to you with all our might, and you dare to call us madmen?"

Lin Tong nearly fell off his chair upon hearing this, thinking to himself, "What kind of master is this? How irresponsible!" However, after careful consideration, he realized that the master's words did hold some truth. No matter what one does, following in the footsteps of others will always make one a follower. To become the best, one must break free from the constraints of others and forge one's own path. The same applies to martial arts; if one always relies on others for instruction, then even the best disciple can only reach the master's level. To surpass the master, one must achieve a breakthrough. With this in mind, he chuckled and said, "Although your approach seems somewhat irresponsible, it does seem quite reliable. So, I will reluctantly allow you to carry on with your antics."

After several days of enduring hardship, Lin Tang could no longer hold back and finally gathered the four masters together to vent his frustrations. "I ask you four, do you even know how to teach a disciple? Having me cultivate four different types of true energy simultaneously has left my body in chaos. It's fine when I'm not practicing, but the moment I do, I feel a tearing pain. I truly wonder if you are all insane"

Lin Tong continued to write while saying: "Are you going to start resting tomorrow from the set of skills you created?"

Lin Tong looked at the four and said loudly: "I say, Master Si, just give it a rest. What kind of meridians can withstand your kind of training? I practiced vigorous internal energy in the morning, and in the afternoon, you want me to practice soft internal energy. How can two completely different types of internal energy coexist in one person's body? Although my knowledge is not as extensive as yours, I still understand the principle of water and fire not mixing." As Lin Tong spoke, he impatiently waited for the four.

"What kind of master behaves like this? Even if I am an experimental subject, you cannot joke with my life," Lin Tang finally confirmed one thing: these four masters were not looking for a disciple; they were simply looking for a toy. Thinking of this, Lin Tang protested loudly: "Since you are listening to me, then I will only practice internal skills with the grandmaster. As for the other three of you, you can teach me your mental methods and explain them to me; for now, I can only serve as an assistant. As for whether I will practice in the future, I will decide for myself. If you agree, we can continue; if not, I won't accompany you crazy people any longer. If you play around for a few more days, I will make sure you regret it."

Cheng Wanli laughed for a while and then said to him: After the four of them heard his words, they suddenly burst into laughter. Lin Tang felt goosebumps all over his body from their laughter. Looking at the expressions of the few people, which were filled with glee at his misfortune, he couldn't shake the feeling of being a sheep entering a tiger's den. He thought to himself, are these old fellows trying to play me to death

Cheng Wanli, after listening, chuckled mischievously and said: "This is not entirely incorrect. To be honest, we ourselves do not dare to claim that what we have created is perfect. Although we believe that there will not be any adverse consequences for our descendants to practice it, the results, as you can see, are rather mixed. In fact, over the past few years, we have been contemplating that martial arts training, once it reaches a certain level, is akin to life and studying; there is no fixed pattern to follow. Everything relies on oneself. As teachers, what we can do should not be to dictate the path you should take, but rather to impart some methods. As the saying goes, teaching someone to fish is better than giving them fish. I hope our decision is the right one." Saying this, he chuckled again and added: "If it turns out to be wrong, it’s no big deal; you can always try to be the top scholar again."

Cheng Wanli and Ye Qingping fell into deep thought after listening.