Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing

No. 33, Jindong Street.

It was a spacious courtyard, more than twice the size of the place Lin Zheyu was renting. From the outside, the house looked exquisitely built and likely expensive. Lin Zheyu wasn’t sure whether Master Liang had rented it or bought it.

Knock, knock.

Knock, knock, knock.

Lin Zheyu knocked in a steady rhythm, and before long, the door creaked open. Liang Song, who was limping slightly, came to open the door and turned around without a word. He then continued to water the flowers.

The courtyard was filled with purple flowers, and the air carried a refreshing, fragrant scent that was truly pleasant. The plants had lush green leaves, and their blossoms were large and unusual. They were like strikingly beautiful, fluttering butterflies in vibrant colors.

Just as Lin Zheyu eagerly stepped forward to help water the flowers, Liang Song said, ”Don’t touch anything. Just find a spot and sit down.”

He treasured these flowers and didn’t want someone unfamiliar with them, like Lin Zheyu, to accidentally damage them. Silently, Lin Zheyu took a seat beside the stone table in the courtyard.

It took Master Liang over an hour to finish watering the plants before he finally walked over, satisfied, and sat down beside Lin Zheyu.

He walked with a limp and looked like an unkempt old man. He was completely lacking the aura or bearing of a martial arts expert.

Liang Song glanced at the items Lin Zheyu had brought and said with a smile, ”There’s no need to be so stiff. Just relax. You even brought meat for me. That’s very thoughtful of you. I don’t go in for formal disciple ceremonies here, and besides, I haven’t decided to take you in as a disciple yet.”

It was merely on a whim that he intended to teach a few basic martial techniques. As for how much Lin Zheyu could grasp would depend on his comprehension. Lin Zheyu smiled slightly without saying a word. He picked up the steeped tea on the table and obediently poured a cup for Liang Song.

Liang Song took the tea Lin Zheyu offered, nibbling on the snacks he’d brought, and spoke with evident interest. ”Martial arts require comprehension, perseverance, and resources. Your physical foundation is far too weak, so you’ll need a period of conditioning first.”

He quite enjoyed the stories Lin Zheyu told. He found them amusing, and many of the characters really appealed to his taste. But there was too much scholarly sentiment in them. The protagonists were always scholars, so it was tiresome to listen to after a while. If he had a say, Yan Chixia should’ve been the main character; that would’ve been proper.

”Mm, I’ve made some money lately and I’ve already started working on my health,” said Lin Zheyu with a nod.

”That’s not enough. Conditioning the body takes both nourishment and training.” Liang Song said calmly, ”Your foundation’s poor. You’ve never practiced martial arts, and you’ve barely exercised. Your waist, legs, and feet are all soft and weak. A towering structure starts from the ground up. If you want to train well, you have to begin with the most basic stance work.”

Liang Song walked to the center of the courtyard. He loosened his shoulders, dropped into a half-squat, pushed his arms forward, and let his body rise and fall gently. It was like ripples stirred by a soft breeze.

”Follow me. This is one of the foundational stances, the horse stance,” said Liang Song.

Lin Zheyu stepped forward and mimicked Liang Song’s posture. He half-squatted, his arms outstretched, and his body bounced gently as if astride a horse.

”Your form is wrong. As the name implies, the horse stance was inspired by horseback riding. When you stand, your posture should rise and fall, as though you’re conjuring a horse beneath you. Picture yourself riding a galloping horse, your legs moving with the rhythm of the steed, fusing that horse into your waist and thighs,” said Liang Song with a gentle voice.

His body undulated in rhythm as he went high and low, just like a man galloping on a fine steed.

After a brief demonstration, he walked over to Lin Zheyu’s side and began correcting him. He said, ”Cling to the ground with all five toes. Let your knees rise naturally... With every rise and fall, keep shifting your center of gravity...”

Following Liang Song’s instructions, Lin Zheyu gradually got into the rhythm. Whenever his posture was incorrect, Liang Song would toss a small stone at the spot where his strength was misapplied.

Soon, Lin Zheyu had grasped the correct form for the horse stance. But when he first tried holding it, he couldn’t last even 10 minutes before his entire body trembled and he collapsed onto the ground.

”Go back and practice. Come back once you can hold the horse stance for a full two hours. If you can’t reach that within a month, don’t bother coming again,” said Liang Song.

He waved his hand, signaling Lin Zheyu to leave. He wasn’t the type to teach just anyone, but Lin Zheyu was someone he found agreeable, so he offered a chance. Whether or not he would teach him further depended on Lin Zheyu himself. If he didn’t even have the willpower to hold the stance for two hours, then there was no point in teaching him at all.

”Yes, Master,” replied Lin Zheyu as he rose unsteadily with his legs trembling. His body was too weak, and he couldn’t even hold the horse stance for ten minutes before breaking down.

He didn’t leave right away, but instead respectfully asked, ”Master, is there any kind of decoction or medicinal bath recipe that can help the body recover faster?”

Reaching the point of holding the horse stance for two hours within a month was extremely difficult. He couldn’t even manage a 30 minute jog right now. And given his poor physical condition, it would be nearly impossible without the aid of medicinal baths or decoctions.

”There are, but such formulas are expensive. Even the most basic ones will cost over one tael of silver per batch. I’ll give you a prescription for tonifying qi and enriching blood. Just take it to the pharmacy and have it prepared. It should cost just a bit over a tael. Don’t let them overcharge you,” said Liang Song.

He asked Lin Zheyu to bring him a pen and paper, then began scribbling with bold, sweeping strokes. His handwriting was just like his personality, it was wild and unrestrained, with a touch of careless flair... Or rather, frankly speaking, it was a mess.

Liang Song’s handwriting was terrible, but who said a martial master’s calligraphy must be elegant? Staring at the scrawl, Lin Zheyu had to spend quite some effort just to decipher what was written.

”Thank you, Master!” said Lin Zheyu with a respectful tone as he took the prescription. After bidding farewell to Liang Song, he headed straight for the pharmacy.

It’s true. Literati stay poor, while warriors get rich. Just one prescription costs a whole tael of silver, thought Lin Zheyu, sighing in his heart.

It was only because his storytelling had gained some popularity that he could earn money more easily now. For an average person, earning a tael of silver might take an entire month. It was barely enough to buy a single medicinal decoction.

Including the 300 wen he would earn today, Lin Zheyu had saved up over 1,800 wen. At current rates, around 1,500 wen could be exchanged for one tael of silver. It was just enough for him to afford a batch of herbs.

Passing by a pharmacy, Lin Zheyu went in and picked up a set of medicinal herbs. This kind of basic qi-tonifying and blood-enriching prescription could be found in nearly every pharmacy. As Master Liang had said, the herbs cost him one tael of silver plus an extra 120 wen.

Originally, the shopkeeper had asked for one tael and 500 wen, but after some bargaining, Lin Zheyu brought the price down by over 300 wen. That was more than a full day’s earnings for him.

Back home, he cleaned his newly bought medicine pot, added fresh water and herbs, and set it to simmer over a gentle flame. Boiling the decoction wasn’t as difficult as imagined; he just needed to control the heat and wait patiently.

A single batch of qi-tonifying and blood-nourishing herbs could be boiled three times, though the potency would drop sharply after each round. Since decocting took a long time, he used the waiting period to practice his horse stance in the courtyard.

With his toes grasping the ground, his body rose and fell like horseback riding. His eyes were fixed on the distant horizon. His body was still weak, so he could only hold the stance for about three or four minutes at a time.

Each time, he would hold out until his legs went numb and his body collapsed. Then, he would stretch his limbs and rest for a while. Once his strength returned, he resumed the stance again.