Chapter 2: Ji Da’s Legacy
Chapter 2: Ji Da’s Legacy
Sunlight shone on the pond, and a gentle breeze stirred, raising ripples of golden light.
A crow landed beside Li Zian and pecked at his hair.
It probably fancied his hair and wanted to pull out a few strands to build its nest, but the hair was attached to his scalp, and with its strength, it was hard to peck off. As a result of its pecking, Li Zian was awakened.
The crow got frightened and flew away, flapping its wings.
Li Zian was dazed for a few seconds, then scrambled to his feet from the grass.
He did not have any incense burner in his hand, nor was there one on the grass. There were only a few ordinary stones around him.
He remembered the incense burner was a little smaller than his fist, with some mysterious symbols and patterns on it. He also remembered the white-bearded old man who called himself Ji Da, but he could not see him now.
“Maybe I just picked up a stone, and my brain was oxygen-deprived. That incense burner and the white-bearded old man were just a dream or an illusion?” Li Zian thought to himself.
The spring was unblocked, and the stream began to flow again.
Li Zian spaced out for a while, then put on his shorts and tank top, hoisted his hoe, and started walking back.
Just as he was about to leave the woods, Li Zian stopped and looked at a cluster of small mushrooms growing on a piece of rotten wood.
The little mushrooms had green caps and white stems, with caps about the size of a coin. They were very rare.
Li Zian had never seen this kind of mushroom before and did not recognize it, but as he looked at it, some information suddenly popped into his mind.
Green-capped Amanita, a poisonous mushroom. Mix with two taels of lard, ten Sichuan peppercorns, five mulberry leaves, and five qian of rice bran. Simmer over low heat until it becomes an ointment. It can treat bruises and injuries. It is called Golden Wound Ointment.
Li Zian was instantly stunned.
He did not even know what kind of mushroom this was, so how did a secret recipe for making a medicinal ointment pop into his head?
After hesitating for a moment, he still used his hoe to dig up that small cluster of Green-capped Amanita, then wrapped it in a leaf. That secret recipe had appeared out of nowhere; he had to go back and test whether the recipe was real or not.
On his way home, Li Zian also picked a few mulberry leaves.
As he walked down the slope, he saw several people standing on the path leading back to the village.
Li Zian took a glance and immediately felt a headache coming on.
The leader was the well-known ruffian of Crescent Moon Village, Chen Gang, Ma Xiaorong’s husband. Chen Gang was a head shorter than him, but he was dark and stout. He had a cigarette dangling from his lips and was glaring at him murderously.
If it were just Chen Gang alone, he would not be afraid. He would fight if he had to. But with several of them, it was not a fight he could win.
“Li Zian, you son of a bitch, you dare hit my woman? Today, I’m gonna kill you!” Chen Gang cursed viciously. The cigarette in his mouth didn’t even lose its ash.
Li Zian turned and ran.
The poor don’t fight the rich, and the handsome don’t brawl with ugly thugs.
Nowadays, people not only resent the rich, they also resent the good-looking.
The ruffians were completely caught off guard that Li Zian ran without saying a word. By the time they reacted, Li Zian was already several steps ahead.
“You bastard, stop right there!” Chen Gang picked up a stone from the ground and hurled it at Li Zian’s back.
Thud!
The stone hit Li Zian’s left shoulder. The pain made him gasp, but he did not dare stop. His long legs churned, and before the ruffians could surround him, he was already far away.
“You freeloader, you wait! This isn’t over! I’m gonna kill you!” Chen Gang shouted. The cigarette finally fell from his lips onto the ground, and he stomped it into the mud.
The ruffians chased him for a stretch but ultimately could not outrun the long-legged Li Zian. They were all leaning on their knees, panting and cursing.
Li Zian ran for a distance before stopping. He pulled open the collar of his sweat-soaked shirt and looked. A large, purple bruise had swollen up on his shoulder where the stone hit. Even a light touch hurt.
“That secret recipe said Golden Wound Ointment can treat bruises and injuries. I’ll test it now,” Li Zian thought to himself. He took a long detour and returned home.
In the backyard, Lin Shengnan sat in a wooden armchair, feeding the koi in the pond.
The stream murmured, and a group of koi fought for food, splashing water everywhere.
When Lin Shengnan saw Li Zian, she frowned. “Look at you. Just fetching water took over an hour. Don’t you have any sense of time?”
“The spring was blocked. It took some effort,” Li Zian replied simply.
Lin Shengnan did not speak to him anymore. She grabbed another handful of fish food and threw it into the water, watching the koi scramble for it.
Li Zian put down his hoe and took the collected Green-capped Amanita and a few mulberry leaves to the kitchen.
In the kitchen, Li Zian also found lard, Sichuan peppercorns, and rice bran. He put the collected Green-capped Amanita and mulberry leaves into a pot and simmered them over low heat.
After about a quarter of an hour, the ingredients in the pot turned into a paste.
Li Zian did not know if this counted as an ointment. He wrapped some of the paste in a piece of torn cloth and applied it to the bruise on his left shoulder, then secured it briefly with tape.
Strangely, the bruise had been very painful, but once the plaster was applied, a cool sensation seeped in, and the pain actually went away.
Li Zian was amazed. “The Golden Wound Ointment works. Did I truly receive that old man’s legacy?”
This matter was bizarre.
Li Zian returned to his room and lay on his bed, continuing to ponder.
Somehow, before he could figure anything out, a wave of drowsiness hit him. He yawned, closed his eyes, and prepared to sleep. But the moment he closed his eyes, that incense burner appeared in his mind again, emitting a faint green glow.
“The Great Sluggish Cauldron, the personal cauldron, personal… Did that incense burner enter my body?” Li Zian suddenly understood something.
Suddenly, symbols and patterns emerged on the body of the cauldron, emitting a brighter green light, mysterious and profound.
Boom!
Countless words, symbols, and diagrams, along with the verbal account of the Fangshi who called himself Ji Da, flooded out of the incense burner. This information converged into a torrent and rushed into Li Zian’s mind.
Li Zian’s mind shook, absorbing that information like a sponge.
This was the true legacy. What happened at the pond was just the prelude.
What Ji Da sealed within the Great Sluggish Cauldron were the most formidable Fangshi Esoteric Arts from his entire life.
Fangshi excelled in Medicine, Divination, Astrology, and Physiognomy.
However, Ji Da was no ordinary Fangshi. The peerless skills he sealed within the Great Sluggish Cauldron were unique and formed their own system.
The first peerless skill was the Harvest and Nourishment Art. Harvest meant gathering herbs to concoct various medicinal plasters, and Nourishment meant dietary therapy. Other Fangshi practiced alchemy and medicine, but the medical arts Ji Da sealed in this cauldron were unorthodox and different.
The second peerless skill was the Drawing Divination Art. Common Fangshi burned turtle shells, and the Grand Diviner mastered three types of cracks—jade crack, tile crack, and plain crack—to determine fortune or misfortune. His divination technique was “drawing fortune and misfortune with closed eyes,” deciding good or bad luck based on the drawn pattern. Additionally, there were unique skills in Star Observation, geomancy, and face reading, also unconventional and taking an unusual path.
The third peerless skill was the Great Slumber Qi Refining Art. Sleeping itself was cultivation. While sleeping, one uses the body as a furnace, absorbing the energy of heaven and earth to refine it, refining Qi into essence, refining essence into spirit, and refining spirit into form. This too was different from the cultivation of ordinary Fangshi, essentially using natural air as raw material to refine into essence, then using essence to nourish the spirit, and refining the spirit into form.
This Great Slumber Qi Refining Art also included a boxing technique, Branch-Breaking Boxing.
This boxing technique had various joint locks and numerous skills for dismantling people’s bones. It was quite sinister.
After the legacy was complete, Li Zian’s mind felt extremely heavy, and his drowsiness grew stronger. He naturally fell asleep.
Natural air entered his lungs, then was delivered throughout his body by the blood.
Throughout the body, including the Great Sluggish Cauldron within his mind.
Threads of energy entered the incense burner, then emerged from it, flowing back into his body, nourishing his limbs and bones.
This was the Great Slumber Qi Refining Art.
Li Zian had never practiced any cultivation method before and had no experience, but at this moment, it was as if Ji Da possessed him. Even by simply sleeping naturally, he could enter a state of cultivation.
Breathe in, breathe out…
Li Zian did not even know what he was doing.
After an unknown amount of time, the door was knocked loudly.
“Zian, the sun has set, and you’re still sleeping? Get up and make dinner!” It was Lin Shengnan’s voice again.
Li Zian opened his eyes. His brain felt as if it had been soaked in spring water, instantly clear. Feedback from all parts of his body returned to his brain. He felt wet all over, and one place felt particularly warm, like a hot water bottle filled with hot water.
He hurriedly got up. Looking down, he was stunned on the spot.
His shorts and tank top were soaked with sweat, the sweat turbid and sour-smelling. One place was in a shocking state; before, ninety degrees was the limit, but now it was at least one hundred forty or fifty degrees!
Even the wheels had changed; before, they were size 175, but after one sleep, they were upgraded to 210!
His thinking also seemed far more agile than before. Without even properly thinking about it, he immediately found the reason.
He had slept, which meant he had practiced the Great Slumber Qi Refining Art once. He refined Qi into essence, so naturally, he was full of energy!
“Zian, did you hear me? I’m so disappointed in you. Where do you get so much sleep?” Lin Shengnan’s voice carried dissatisfaction.
Only then did Li Zian respond, “I’ll go make dinner right away.”
“Ah, you child. If you don’t strive to improve, how can you be worthy of Meilin?” Lin Shengnan sighed and left, leaning on her dragon-head cane.
Li Zian could not help but smile. Although his wife’s grandma was nagging and loved to scold, she was actually quite good to him.
He got out of bed and went into the bathroom for a quick rinse. After washing off the sweat, he felt completely renewed, refreshed, and in amazingly good condition in every way. What surprised him even more was that the injury on his shoulder had healed. The previous swollen bruise had completely disappeared, and not a trace of the injury could be found on his skin.
That Golden Wound Ointment was truly miraculous!
However, there was one downside: one particular state was exceptionally outstanding, almost too good, making it uncomfortable.
After coming out of the bathroom, Li Zian changed into clean clothes and went to the kitchen to cook.
While stir-frying, he just slightly thought about it, and many secret recipes for dietary therapy popped into his mind. Some strengthened the body, some nourished the brain, some nourished the eyes, some regulated illness, and some supplemented that thing, etc. They were varied and numerous.
Unfortunately, without the relevant medicinal herbs and ingredients, he could not practice.
“Tomorrow, I’ll go for a walk in the mountains and see if I can gather some medicinal herbs and ingredients. I’ll make some dietary therapy dishes for the Old Matriarch to nourish her,” Li Zian thought to himself.
The sun hung over the Western Mountain. Crescent Moon Village had wisps of cooking smoke rising. The Qian River flowed around the village, resembling a golden ribbon under the sunset glow, beautiful and picturesque.
Dinner was ready: steamed Tai’an fish, dry-fried green beans, Mapo tofu, and a chive egg drop soup.
Lin Shengnan sat at the dining table eating.
Li Zian was practicing moves in the courtyard enclosed by a row of blue brick walls. He had filled his stomach while cooking. He wanted to try the Branch-Breaking Boxing that Ji Da had passed down to him.
He recalled the movements that had appeared in his mind and tried to imitate them, but he always felt something was missing.
“Zian, what are you doing?” Lin Shengnan asked curiously.
Li Zian smiled and said, “Grandma, I’m practicing boxing.”
Lin Shengnan sighed again. “Ah, why do you bother with such useless things? I wanted to praise you for cooking such delicious dishes tonight, but now I don’t even feel like praising you.”
Li Zian smiled and continued practicing.
Grab, lift, lock, twist; the footwork had to match as well…
Lin Shengnan finished eating and was about to call Li Zian to clear the table, but when her gaze fell on him, she paused slightly.
Under the sunset glow, the tall young man seemed to blend into the orange-yellow light. His face had clear edges, and his features were three-dimensional, especially those bright, expressive black eyes, which always left a deep impression.
Crescent Moon Village’s Wu Yanzu—this nickname was not given lightly; it was based on merit.
But after a few seconds, Lin Shengnan sighed again. “Ah, an embroidered pillow—pretty but useless.”
Almost at the exact moment of the Old Matriarch’s sigh, a thread of heat was released in Li Zian’s mind. It instantly flowed to the fist he was swinging out.
Whoosh!
The punch carried wind!
Li Zian could not help but smile. He had found the feeling.
He continued his practice, with movements appearing one after another in his mind.
These movements were like imprints branded into his mind. Once he found the feeling, they became as smooth and natural as flowing water.
As if possessed by Ji Da!
“Li Zian, get out here, you bastard!” A yell came from outside the courtyard gate.