thefictionvixens Chapter 6 Lecture
Chapter 6 Lecture
Sheng Wansong's life was very simple, consisting of just a few things: educating Anlan, going to the academy to read and write, educating Anlan, figuring out new techniques, educating Anlan, practicing cultivation, educating Anlan, and sleeping.
The content of education includes both literary and martial arts; it covers everything.
Anlan had learned to read at home, but she could only read the first half of the Three Character Classic. In order to let Anlan experience the pain he had once suffered, Sheng Wansong would give Anlan homework every day before going to the academy, making her copy books and memorize characters at home, and then test her on her progress when she returned.
After lunch, completely disregarding the child's small age and injuries, she made the other person sweep fallen leaves with a custom-made small broom and learn various household chores.
Every afternoon, Sheng Wansong would spend some time practicing the "Sacred Heart Technique" to cultivate his inner energy.
The Tathagata Palm is an external martial art. More important than daily practice is actual combat. Unfortunately, there are not many opponents in this world for him to practice against, so he can only gain some insights and improvement by reading Buddhist scriptures.
The night is the quietest time, and Sheng Wansong will begin teaching Anlan the essential knowledge of martial arts at this time.
First and foremost is knowledge of acupoints and meridians in the human body.
A large diagram of human acupoints is pasted on the wall, but for children, this diagram with hundreds of acupoints and densely packed Chinese characters is too difficult to understand.
Therefore, Sheng Wansong chose a simpler teaching method: hand-drawing.
Place your finger on An'an's body, say the name of the acupoint, and then trace the meridian to the next acupoint.
"There are twelve regular meridians, extra meridians, and over a thousand acupoints including Ashi points in the human body."
"If you are only learning martial arts and not acupressure techniques, it is enough to master the twelve regular meridians and the eight extraordinary meridians."
"I'll start by teaching you the eight extraordinary meridians, little by little."
Two oil lamps were lit in the bedroom, casting a dim yellow light on the two figures. Sheng Wansong had An'an sit cross-legged on his bed, then raised his finger and poked below her lips, "Chengjiang."
To help Anlan deepen her memory, Sheng Wansong would also inject some internal energy, so that An'an's acupoints would retain a cool and comfortable feeling for a period of time.
An Lan felt a cool sensation at that acupoint, and she squinted her eyes in comfort. "It feels so cool and comfortable."
"Be serious!"
An'an immediately tightened her expression and repeated, "Chengjiang acupoint!"
Maintaining the flow of internal energy, Sheng Wansong slid his index finger down the girl's smooth skin to her neck, "Lian Quan."
"Lianquan Point."
The route drawn by internal force remained inside An Lan's body, allowing An An to perceive two acupoints and the meridian lines connecting them through her senses.
Following that were Tian Tu, Xuan Ji, Hua Gai, Zi Gong, and Yu Tang...
"It's so itchy."
Sheng Wansong sternly reprimanded, "This is class, be serious!"
An'an tightened her expression again with difficulty, "Yes!"
The points are: 膻中 (Shanzhong), 中庭 (Zhongting), 鸠尾 (Jiuwei), and 巨阙 (Juque).
"Shenque".
Sheng Wansong poked his fingertip into the girl's belly button. At this age, a girl's belly would be slightly bulging. An'an's belly button was not perfectly round, but rather long and narrow.
"It's so itchy~"
An An was about to laugh, but immediately stopped herself and repeated, "The Shenque acupoint is in the navel."
She had already closed her eyes, and the internal energy flowing into her body formed a line, which appeared as a cool blue line in her mind.
But the paintbrush used for painting is warm.
With a focused mind, Sheng Wansong slowly reached the end, or rather the beginning, of the Ren meridian.
"perineum."
An'an had long since stopped speaking and was simply feeling with her heart.
Sheng Wansong took his finger back and explained, "The meridian formed by these twenty-four acupoints is the Ren meridian, which is commonly referred to as the Ren and Du meridians."
"The degree of unobstructed flow of the Ren meridian determines the amount and purity of internal energy. However, you have a special constitution and your Ren meridian is already open, so you just need to memorize it."
"These two meridians are the core meridians for martial arts. My internal energy will remain in your body for three days. During these three days, you need to memorize them by referring to the human meridian diagram. Don't make me go through the trouble a second time."
"Once you've memorized it, I'll teach you about the Du Meridian."
An Lan sat cross-legged on the bed, repeatedly reciting the names of the acupoints and meridians.
She was exceptionally intelligent. Sheng Wansong only taught her once and she had already memorized it. The next step was to repeat the lesson repeatedly to deepen her memory and make it an instinct, so that she could match the pronunciation with the Chinese characters when looking at the chart.
The next day, Sheng Wansong went to school as usual.
Anlan sat in the courtyard reciting her lessons aloud, her voice clear and resonant, revealing an irrepressible joy.
"An'an, you seem very happy?"
A head with a topknot popped out from over the wall; it was the neighbor's daughter, Yaya.
"Don't call me An'an!"
An Lan frowned and scolded, "Call me Lanlan!"
"Okay, Lanlan, I understand, Lanlan."
Ya Ya asked the same question again, "You seem very happy?"
An Lan corrected her with a straight face, "I'm very happy every day I'm here."
Ya Ya persisted, "You seem especially happy today."
"Um."
An An finally couldn't keep up the serious act: "Because I can feel that my God is inside my body."
"god?"
Ya Ya didn't understand.
"You're too young to understand."
An'an acted like a little adult, which made Ya Ya pout, "Ya Ya is the same age as you."
Qingfeng Academy.
"Brother Sheng?"
Fang Weihan came over as soon as the morning reading session ended.
Sheng Wansong has always been a loner and has never been close to anyone in the academy, maintaining a distance that is neither too close nor too distant. As a result, some people secretly ridicule him as a poor, pedantic scholar who is hypocritical.
But ever since An'an's incident, Fang Weihan has acted as if the two of them are already familiar, and he comes over from time to time.
"Brother Sheng, do you know Lin Youde, the Great Hero Who Pierces Through the Clouds?"
Sheng Wansong, holding the "Spring and Autumn Annals," didn't turn his head and said, "Not familiar with it."
"Of course we're not familiar with them. How could we, mere scholars, who are powerless even to kill a chicken, possibly be familiar with such martial arts heroes?"
Fang Weihan's voice was filled with longing for that world of chivalry and vengeance.
Little did he know that many people in the martial arts world wanted to be like him, a carefree scholar.
"Originally, the referee for this Chu Xiang Heroes Gathering should have been Hero Lin, but he killed the tax official of Yong'an County and is now wanted by the imperial court. He has been replaced by Wang Hu, the Red-faced Tiger, the master of the Tiger Might Martial Arts School."
After saying what everyone already knew, he quietly leaned close to Sheng Wansong's ear and said, "I also heard that Hero Lin killed the captain of the General's Mansion and a hundred elite soldiers, which angered General Lü to no end. People are saying that he has opened up his Ren and Du meridians and has become one of the top masters in the martial arts world."
The white-bearded lecturer, sitting in a recliner, saw this and made a sarcastic remark:
"Some of our students don't study properly themselves, and they even bother those who are working hard. It seems they think they've already got the exam in the bag."
The right to recommend candidates for the academy examination rested with the lecturers. Fang Weihan's incessant chatter was finally stopped. "This disciple knows his mistake."
But before returning to his seat, he couldn't help but turn back and ask, "The Chu-Xiang Heroes' Gathering is in three days. Brother Sheng, would you like to watch it with me?"
When Fang Weihan heard no reply and was feeling dejected, he heard a soft voice.
"it is good."
He immediately beamed with joy, sat back in his seat pretending to read, but his mind was already soaring to the heavens.