Chapter 34: HenTai
Chapter 34: HenTai
Professor Shen sounded very surprised on the phone. “Is it really appropriate for you to ask such a question so seriously?”
“Internal Energy? Little Fang, why are you suddenly asking about that?”
Fang Moqi sighed. “I met someone today. He shattered my understanding of how this world works.”
“Oh? How so? Does he have Internal Energy?”
“It’s not exactly that…” Fang Moqi recalled. “It’s just that he was so unbelievably astonishing. I could only guess he possesses the legendary Internal Energy.”
Professor Shen asked curiously, “What exactly happened?”
Fang Moqi then narrated the entire incident, describing every detail from the beginning of the contest.
“…That’s what happened. I saw it with my own eyes. His arrow traced a perfect arc and curved in flight!”
“Professor Shen, you know how long I’ve practiced archery! If I could make arrows curve according to my will, no one in this world could dodge my shot!”
“Back then, because I couldn’t do that, I had to employ the method of forcing movement to hit mosquitoes. Even then, I needed three arrows to hit one. But him? He only needed one!”
Professor Shen said, “What does that have to do with Internal Energy? Perhaps he has a unique arrow technique that allows the arrow to fly in an arc. He just needed to predict the mosquito’s next flight path. Hitting one with each arrow is entirely possible then.”
“No! Professor Shen, if it were just making arrows curve, I could probably figure out a way to do that too. But shooting mosquitoes is different. After all this intense training, I know a mosquito’s flight path is unpredictable. Right before the arrow hits, the mosquito senses the disturbance in the air and flies off in an unforeseen direction. That’s why there are only three ways to hit a mosquito.”
“First is speed! Pure speed beyond reaction!”
“Second is area! Even if it reacts, it can’t escape!”
“Third is forcing the movement, forcing the mosquito to fly along the path you want it to!”
Fang Moqi heaved a long sigh. “And yet, that Lan Mu used a fourth method!”
“You mean…” Professor Shen realized something.
“Yes. His method seemed to be: the mosquito sensed the arrow I shot and dodged. Then he made the arrow rapidly change course, tracing a bizarre arc to intercept and kill it in the end.”
Professor Shen gasped. “How is that possible! Are you sure you saw it right?”
“It’s highly possible! I trust my judgment! After all, he didn’t do it just once, he did it three times! Shooting three arrows simultaneously, killing three mosquitoes! Without absolute mastery over the drawn bow and arrow, it’s impossible.” Fang Moqi stated emphatically.
“Once an arrow leaves the bow, it does not return… how on earth did Lan Mu achieve this?” Professor Shen murmured.
“I can’t fathom how. Maybe the legendary Internal Energy can do it?” Fang Moqi asked.
“To be honest, Little Fang, even I don’t know if Internal Energy could do that, because it simply hasn’t existed since antiquity.”
Professor Shen said regretfully, “From pre-Qin, through the Sui, Tang, and Song Dynasties, there are records of Internal Energy and qi-jin. Old texts and ancient books mention them. From the fragments we’ve deciphered, it even seems they were most prominent during the Two Song periods. More than half the surviving texts concerning Internal Energy lore come from them. Yet, from the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties onward, they vanish. Only internal strength remained.”
“Internal Energy and internal strength are different things. One is an energy, the other is a special method of exerting force.”
Fang Moqi asked in confusion, “Why? Why did Internal Energy disappear after the Song?”
Professor Shen replied, “I don’t know! It was as if it vanished overnight. After the fall of Shibashan, what perhaps were once real skills… turned into mere legends.”
“Little Fang, so even I don’t know what marvelous effects real Internal Energy might have had. Those ancient texts only let me speculate it significantly enhanced physical functions at the least. As for the rest – like emitting qi-jin – exactly how many wondrous uses that had, I don’t know either.”
“We genuinely have no observable subject. I can’t make definite claims.”
Fang Moqi muttered to himself, “Was his handspeed possible because of Internal Energy? Did his curving arrow come from qi-jin?”
Professor Shen suddenly said, “Fang Moqi, I want to meet him.”
“Professor, do you want him to become like…” like me?
“Yes, Little Fang. Regardless of whether he truly possesses Internal Energy, just that one skill of the curving arrow, and his super-speed shot, means his assistance to us could be as valuable as yours.” Professor Shen thought for a moment, then added, “Here’s the plan. Aren’t you headed to Malay? Test him properly again.”
“I don’t need you to tell me! I suddenly really want to do an archery duel with him!” Fang Moqi said excitedly.
“Oh? You haven’t dueled him directly? So… do you think he’s stronger than you?” Professor Shen asked.
“It’s really hard to say. He’s too unassuming. Possessing inhuman archery skills, yet he’s just a journalist? Talk about immense talent wasted.” Fang Moqi continued, “To truly assess his battle prowess, I must personally face him in a duel!”
“Professor, you know this. Even if his draw speed, arrow speed—everything—surpasses mine, even with that strange arrow-control technique of his, that doesn’t guarantee he’d beat me in a duel. Only a life-and-death confrontation truly reveals combat superiority.”
Professor Shen said, “An archery duel to the death! It reminds me of your confrontation with Gates back then. A trial of psychology versus physique, a clash of life and death! Ha ha ha ha!”
“…Don’t bring that up, Professor Shen…” Fang Moqi was pulled into some painful memories and closed his eyes heavily.
“Alright, let’s leave it there. If his practical combat experience is lacking, I’ll have Xiao Luo approach him, try to study his archery technique. If he defeats you… bring him to meet me on September 3rd.”
Fang Moqi suddenly understood. “If I lose, you want him to join us for the Shennongjia expedition?”
“Yes. We need men with such unique talents.”
…
Lan Mu got a ride back with Du Yu. Before getting in the car, he noticed Ye Jinghong lingering near the club, completely ignoring him, apparently fixated solely on Fang Moqi. Feeling relieved, he got in the car.
Back at his new home, it was already late afternoon, almost dinner time.
The place looked completely transformed. Fridges, computers, and the like had already been delivered. Cheng Ming was fiddling with something on one.
Meanwhile, Su Yue silently cooked. Having a real kitchen made her movements smoother and more efficient.
“Huh? Bro Mu’s back! Come see what I’ve set up!”
Lan Mu put down his shoulder bag and walked over behind Cheng Ming with a smile. Cheng Ming was tinkering with the computer.
Displayed on the screen was the nation’s most renowned video platform. You could watch videos or live streams there. It housed everything from officially licensed content to personal creations, uniquely featuring user comments as scrolling “bullet messages” on-screen.
Anyone could have their own space on the site to upload audio and video. As long as your content – whether original or reposted – was exciting and explosive enough, it would gain the attention it deserved.
Thousands of studios, even major entertainment companies, operated official spaces on this platform. It boasted a massive user base, a key battleground for online promotion and advertising.
The site was called “HenTai,” abbreviated as “H·T,” but netizens commonly called it the “H site.”
Cheng Ming showed Lan Mu the account he’d just registered as an Uploader. “Bro Mu! Our studio is officially on H.site! So when d’you think we’ll get our first original piece up?”
Lan Mu said, “I’m leaving for an overseas shoot tomorrow. You stay here, get the studio fully operational, and reach out to our old contacts.”
“Also, put my earlier promotion write-up in the profile section. Ads need to be positioned prominently!”
Cheng Ming nodded, then added, “But our studio’s name isn’t flashy enough! Look at other studios…”
“Bro Mu, our studio isn’t verified yet. We can still change the name. Should we… pick something better?”
Lan Mu saw the account name: Lan Cheng Studio. He’d chosen it. H.site was flooded with studios and entertainment companies, their names increasingly more grandiose: “China Sound Society,” “Wanhe Tianyi,” or similar epics.
Compared to those, “Lan Cheng Studio” looked utterly lame just from the name.
But after mulling it over, Lan Mu admitted he had zero knack for naming things. He gave up.
“Don’t change it! Keep it!”
“As long as our work is top-notch, our studio will shake the industry.”