Rapid Progress
“Medical and martial arts cannot be separated?” Of course, Jiang Ming had heard of this statement, but he only had a rough understanding of it. He immediately cupped his fists and said, “Please enlighten me, Pharmacist Feng.”
“Medicine and martial arts are inseparable. The surface meaning is naturally easy to understand. Medicine and martial arts are interlinked. Martial arts strengthen the body, while medicine nourishes the body. Different paths lead to the same destination. No one can leave the other!”
Pharmacist Feng stroked his beard and continued, “To go deeper, what is the cultivation of martial arts? It is the dense blood Qi, but you people who learn martial arts are all boorish. You only know how to practice according to the cultivation method; how can you understand the true meaning of the circulation of blood Qi? If you don’t understand blood Qi, you’ll naturally progress slowly and even waste blood Qi.”
Jiang Ming was stunned. What Pharmacist Feng said was right. Although his current technique was a second-grade martial arts technique, the description of blood Qi was only vague. It could only be explored and realized by the martial artist himself.
Even though Jiang Ming was now a third-class martial artist and could control the blood Qi to circulate throughout his body, this circulation was still very rough. Every time he condensed the blood Qi, he would consume a lot of blood Qi.
Pharmacist Feng said, “The root of a doctor’s treatment is to regulate blood Qi. If blood Qi is smooth, all diseases will be cured. I’ve seen countless patients. My research on blood Qi is much more exquisite than that of you martial artists! If you have a doctor with great medical skills to help you adjust your blood Qi when you practice martial arts, it might be more useful than drinking secret martial arts medicine.”
Jiang Ming’s eyes lit up as if he had vaguely understood something.
Pharmacist Feng shook his head repeatedly. “I’m just an old man who knows how to brew medicine. I don’t know these things. I heard it from Dr. Sun from the clinic next door when I was playing chess. He usually doesn’t teach these things to others, but he can be bribed with food,” Pharmacist Feng said as he blinked.
“Thank you for your guidance, Pharmacist Feng!” Jiang Ming was stunned for a moment; then he thanked him.
* * *
The next day, Jiang Ming worked from morning to noon at the restaurant. Finally, he spent one tael of silver on buying two of the signature roast chickens and old yellow wine.
“It’s so f*cking bleak!”
Jiang Ming could not help but complain when he thought about how a meal in Old Jiang’s bar only cost a few copper coins.
However, for the sake of his martial arts, money was nothing. Jiang Ming comforted himself like this. He first gave one chicken to Pharmacist Feng, then took the other and quickly walked to the clinic next door.
The clinic’s walls were filled with medicine cabinets, and two assistants were busy arranging the medicinal herbs.
The smell of all kinds of herbs hit his face, making Jiang Ming miss his home.
As soon as Jiang Ming stepped into the front hall, an old voice sounded, “Eh? Who brought the roast chicken from the restaurant?”
Behind the counter, a chubby old man with white hair and a ruddy face jumped up from the recliner. His nose twitched twice, and he stared at the food in Jiang Ming’s hand.
“Is this Dr. Sun?” Jiang Ming looked at the fat old man in front of him, slightly cupped his hands, and said, “I’m Jiang Ming from Tiger Hunting Village.”
“Are you the Jiang Ming that Feng was talking about?” Dr. Sun’s expression changed, and he immediately lay back down in anger. “This old Feng, I haven’t agreed, and he’s already pushing you over for a walk.”
Only then did Jiang Ming know that Pharmacist Feng had already informed Dr. Sun in advance. It seemed that if it was not for Pharmacist Feng, ordinary people would not be able to talk to Dr. Sun.
“I really owe you a big favor.” Jiang Ming sighed in his heart. He could only find an opportunity to return it in the future.
The sound of someone swallowing suddenly rang out. Dr. Sun sat up awkwardly and mumbled, “I’ll beat him up sooner or later; he’s just giving me trouble. What are you waiting for? Come to the backyard and put down your things!” Dr. Sun said unhappily. He walked to the backyard first and sat down at a stone table in the courtyard.
Jiang Ming quickly followed, put the things on the table, and stood respectfully at the side. Since he came to ask for guidance, he naturally had to have a proper attitude.
Dr. Sun opened the oil paper that wrapped the roast chicken and poured himself a bowl of old yellow wine. He ate and drank as if no one was around, then pointed at Jiang Ming with his oily finger, “Show me your technique once and let me see what you’ve got.”
“Yes!”
Jiang Ming quickly said and began to practice his fist technique in the courtyard.
After he finished typing, Dr. Sun sneered, “Hmph! So-so!”
“Dr. Sun, please give me some pointers!” Jiang Ming said seriously. Although he had concealed his martial artist cultivation, he believed that his fist technique was flawless.
Dr. Sun glanced at him and said, “No matter what realm you’re in, you can only achieve 70% of the effect at most by punching like this.”
“Why?”
“If you and I are suffering from the same illness, can we be prescribed the same dosage?” Dr. Sun asked.
“Of course not. You and I are different in age and weight,” Jiang Ming said in his mind. Then, a flash of lightning flashed in his mind, and he seemed to understand.
Dr. Sun nodded, “It’s the same with martial arts. The fist technique that Guan Feng taught you was based on his body. You can draw a rough outline, but it’s not suitable for you. If your blood Qi flow isn’t smooth, you’ll get sick with time. There’s also the breathing technique. It’s not an unchanging truth. Some people can hold their breath for an incense stick’s time, while some people can only hold it for a few breaths.”
Dr. Sun went on and on. “Martial arts techniques are all created by humans. The most suitable one is the founder. What I’m going to teach you is how to make the martial arts techniques you practice more in line with your body. Even if the compatibility is not as good as the founder’s, it’s still much better than you randomly practicing it now. Guan Feng, that boorish fellow, will not be able to teach you these things!” Dr. Sun spat out a chicken bone and snorted. “Back then, it was all thanks to my guidance that he was able to enter the second class.”
“Dr. Sun, you’re amazing!” Jiang Ming was not stingy with his praise.
“Do it again, slowly. I’ll first pick out the major flaws in your moves according to your figure. After I’ve modified them, I’ll teach you how to recuperate your blood Qi,” Dr. Sun said as he waved his hand.
Jiang Ming immediately stood still and continued to practice the fist technique. Dr. Sun, on the other hand, began to guide him with all his heart.
Jiang Ming did not leave until the evening. He felt that the harvest of this afternoon was even comparable to one month of cultivation.
“The way of martial arts is ever-changing, but there is only one foundation, and that is blood Qi,” Jiang Ming said to himself.
* * *
Time passed by quickly. The spring leaves were lush, and the summer flowers were blooming.
In the blink of an eye, Jiang Ming had already stayed in Tiger Hunting Village for three months.
In the backyard of the clinic, Jiang Ming was practicing the Leather Tiger Bone Technique. His limbs were stretched out like flowing water, full of strength as if this fist technique was tailor-made for him.
“Kid, I really don’t have anything else to teach you.” Dr. Sun gnawed on his chicken leg and shook his head. “After all, I’m not a real martial artist. It’s up to you to decide what to do next. ”
“Thank you, Dr. Sun!” Jiang Ming stood up and bowed.
Dr. Sun waved his hand, “There’s no need to thank me. These few months of food and wine are worth a few dozen taels of silver. At least you’re thoughtful, unlike that stingy Guan Feng in the past, who dared use the fake wine on his stall to fool me.”
“Eh? Why didn’t I think of that?” Jiang Ming’s eyes lit up. Seeing Dr. Sun’s posture, he immediately fled.
When he returned to Tiger Hunting Village, Jiang Ming also began to think about the next step.
In the past few months, under Dr. Sun’s guidance, Jiang Ming had made changes to almost every move of the Leather Tiger Bone Technique. It was twice the result with half the effort when he practiced it. On the surface, he was already comparable to Fang Lie.
Of course, his real strength had also improved by leaps and bounds, and his control of his blood Qi had become more exquisite. In the past, he could only release three or four waves of blood Qi before it was exhausted. Now, with fine control, he could release nine waves of blood Qi, which almost doubled his strength.
“However, I can only rely on grinding to improve from now on. It should be difficult to have such a violent improvement unless I step into the second-class realm.”
Jiang Ming shook his head. It was difficult to be a second-class martial artist. There were only a few of them in Tiger Hunting Village.
If he stayed any longer, he would only be killing time if he did not have the opportunity to break through.