Romance of Dragons and Snakes

Five or six plainclothes men came walking into the corridor of the hospital. They were all well-built, and their faces had a firm and determined expression. Their walking patterns had been similar to that of a meddler, and some of them could be seen holding something in their hands, but the majority of them were empty handed. Clearly, they did not look like they were here to pay a social visit to a patient.

“Master Wang is recuperating at the moment. My apologies, please come back in another month when he has time to receive visitors.”

There had been a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes when Chen Aiyang greeted them. His words had been tactful, but the meaning within his words had been clear and unrelenting.

“Ah, is that so.” The men each gave each other a mutual look, but their feet didn’t stop moving and continued to walk towards the sick room where Wang Chao was.

Chen Aiyang held out a hand to stop them from continuing. At the very front of the group, one man sneered and lashed out quickly with his hand. His wrist bent at an angle as it pushed outwards in a way that made the entire strike seem soft, but there was a deceptive amount of power that was commonly seem in the art of Chin Na.

And yet it had been completely unexpected to see that when his hand made contact with Chen Aiyang’s own, his gigantic body would be ejected backwards with a pow! Slamming into the nearby wall, the man’s body slid down to the floor in an unconscious state.

“Are you practitioners of Yiquan?” Chen Aiyang had used the soft Jin of Taichi to send a single person flying while staring down the rest of the group. “With how your martial arts are, you have no right to come see master Wang Chao. Why has your master not come? Master Wang’s martial arts is ten times more brilliant than mine own. If you wish to see him and seek his guidance, that is fine. But see that you can defeat me first.”

“Who are you?” Someone had asked.

“Perhaps you might not know the name Chen Aiyang. Go back to your master and ask, you’ll know then.” Chen Aiyang flicked up the fingers to his hand. “What, will you stay here then?”

“Very well. We’ll come back next time to visit.” The group spoke before taking the fallen person and disappeared like a puff of smoke.

This situation was a very common occurrence that would happen outside of Wang Chao’s ward almost every day.

Wang Chao and Zhou Binglin had fought in a park. It was true that Zhou Binglin had eaten up a heavy loss with his arm being severed by the “Cutting Tail of the Crocodile”. Even if it was reconnected, it wouldn’t be able to exert as much power and would essentially be no better than a prosthetic limb at most. For a martial artist, this was as good as a death certificate. To lose a single arm for them was to have their martial arts capability reduced by eighty percent.

But Wang Chao had his internal organs severely injured as well. Thus, he had called over his good friend, Chen Aiyang, the number one expert in the Southeast Asia world of martial arts, to oversee him as he recuperated.

Needless to say, his help was quite timely.

Neither parties had said anything about their battle in the park, but several people who had been strolling around there had already seen it. Quickly, word of it had spread its way around the martial arts circle of Beijing.

Wang Chao and Zhou Binglin were both great experts of martial arts. With the both of them fighting, no matter how covert their fight had been, it was useless to hide. There was no such thing as a wall that didn’t allow wind to pass through or a dam that didn’t leak water. And with Wang Chao’s reputation for beating everyone in Beijing, he was already under watch by many people. The situation between he and Zhou Binglin had long since been of interest to them.

Zhou Binglin didn’t fit in with the martial arts circle in Beijing. But because of his overwhelming skill of it and fighting capabilities, the other martial art experts had conceded that he was strong despite never saying so in public.

And now with Wang Chao defeating him–with such a vicious move nonetheless, his name had grown even higher after people had heard about it. Just faintly, he was being called “Wang the Undefeated”.

But with him injured and stuck in the hospital, what previously defeated master wouldn’t borrow an excuse to come and visit to try and take advantage of the situation? Even if they couldn’t strike him down in the hospital, they could at the very least strike at him with words to regain their beaten pride.

They weren’t even able to see Wang Chao when they came, however. Like a gatekeeper, Chen Aiyang had prevented practically everyone from being able to enter his room.

Wang Chao was a man of the military and could call soldiers to prohibit anyone from visiting him while he recuperated as well.

But this simply had no use. The people he had offended were all well connected as well. He was only a title without actual power, a figurehead. In any aspect or field, it was hard to say the people he hired to protect him would show devotion on the surface but opposition underneath and fail to protect him.

A general that doesn’t lead would have no ears that would listen.

A staff officer that doesn’t give advice wouldn’t even be heard even if he farted.

From the very beginning, Wang Chao hadn’t allowed the organization to hire people so as to avoid trouble. He had complete confidence in Chen Aiyang.

Ever since he had substituted for Chen Aiyang and exchanged martial arts, they had bonded over the hardships and trials to life and became friends that could treat one another with absolute sincerity.

Chen Aiyang had already made a name for himself ten years prior. He had been in countless matches, and the lives he claimed were far more numerous than Wang Chao’s. He was the number one expert in the Southeast Asia world of martial arts and in his prime had his martial arts at the peak. From all those Yiquan practitioner military instructors, not a single one would be able to find a way to retrieve what was lost with him around.

In this period of weakness, Wang Chao’s high-profile name hadn’t suffered a hit. On the contrary, Chen Aiyang’s assistance had help add to his name.

Ever since half a month ago when the head of the Yiquan dojo, Wang Yunlian came, he had unsuccessfully pressed hands with Chen Aiyang thrice before finally leaving in shame. From then on, none of the military instructors had come by.

But some of their soldiers, or even disciples had sometimes come by in their stead. Yet, for what reason would they be able to see Wang Chao?

Pitter patter! The sounds of rain could be heard as it fell against the windows. It was especially verdant on the outside with the hazy autumn rain bringing forth a calm atmosphere.

One daytime after half a month, Wang Chao was standing straight up as he stared out the window. With the rainy background, it was quiet and peaceful, a rare occurrence.

“In another month, it’ll be December. Ai! In a flash, five years have gone by, where has the time gone? It really is like a dream. The fate of life is truly inconceivable.”

Five years ago in December, Wang Chao had met Tang Zichen.

For an entire half month, Wang Chao had nourished his health and healed his internal organs back to fifty percent of its regular state. This was mainly due to Chen Aiyang’s daily usage of acupuncture and the soft Hidden Jin massage to stimulate the blood vessels and the entire internal organs.

Not only did Chen Aiyang succeed the Li Style of Taichi, he had also inherited their art of healing.

Having an expert of Transforming Jin treat and nurse him everyday with his medical expertise, Wang Chao’s recovery was naturally very swift.

If Chen Aiyang wasn’t there, it would take at least a year to recover with the treatment of the hospital. Wang Chao would never be able to handle such a long duration like that.

The science of modern medicine was well developed, but those doctors and medical practitioner’s comprehension of the human body could never compare to an expert of Transforming Jin.

Gently taking in a deep breath, Wang Chao closed his mouth let the breath warm up in it. Sticking his tongue to the roof of his mouth, he swallowed his saliva and breath.

“Gulp!” The saliva and breath was swallowed down his throat in a single gulp. Wang Chao’s chest let out a muffled sound that was akin to the sounds of a frog. After that, his two hands pressed against his chest and slowly massaged the abdomen. The intestines below the abdomen then let out a slight rumble as well.

The internal organs within his body began to squirm. With a sound that circulated from down to up and then from up back down, it was as if spring had come back to the pond next to the fields. Many frogs could be heard croaking in unison and joy.

The Wudang method of dining on the breath, “Fishing Toad Jin”. Originally, a Daoist priest generations ago had heard the frogs in a pond joyously croaking one after another and combined it with what he knew of the human body to create a way to breathe and swallow the air to feed on it. Via this method, the way to strengthening the internal organs and nourish the health was made.

The way to nourish health in Chinese boxing originated from the natural movements and understanding of animals in the world.

These past few days, for the sake of helping Wang Chao treat his internal injuries, Chen Aiyang had given a thorough description of the secret “Fishing Toad Jin” of the Li Style of Taichi over to Wang Chao.

Wang Chao had taught himself the Li style while also explaining the killing moves of “Assault of Dragon and Snake” to Chen Aiyang. The two had exchanged martial arts without holding anything back.

At first, no matter how close two masters were, they would generally leave behind something when exchanging martial arts.

Like in the novel Dramatized History of Sui and Tang, the two male cousins Qin Qiong and Luo Cheng had taught each other their martial arts. But Qin Qiong had hidden his “Killing Jian”, and Luo Cheng had similarly hidden his “Returning Spear” from each other.

Originally Chen Aiyang and Wang Chao were just two masters with regular interaction with each other. But the gushing spring that was Wang Chao’s kindness after substituting for him in his match against Cheng Shanming was a rare thing to come across.

A public match was a very cautious matter that was unlike a private match. For a well known practitioner, if he lost a hand in front of the eyes of many, he lost for an entire lifetime.

Like an athlete, a screwup in regular practice was of no major importance. But during the Olympics, if he were to drop the ball, then it wouldn’t do at all.

Wang Chao and Zhou Binglin’s fight had been like this. With the both of them knowing of each other’s identity and fighting without another word, there was no time to consider fighting and consenting to inviting the Wulin with cards and agreeing to a life or death battle. Resolving this matter through such a way in the public’s eye was always a way to guarantee a death.

To fight in a public match was to gamble your life and name away for an all or nothing attempt. In a private match, even a serious injury would have some leeway of a comeback.

Wang Chao had substituted for Chen Aiyang in a public match. This had meant he had bet his own life and fame for another, making him a friend who had experienced life or death together with Chen Aiyang.

With Wang Chao slowly feeding on this air, he had slowly felt his internal organs. Suddenly, the doors came slamming open and the sweet-smelling wind of perfume had carried a gentle voice into the room, “Master, I heard you were injured? I came to see you!”

“Master? I don’t think I’ve accepted any disciples, did I?” Wang Chao whirled around to see a 17-18 year old young woman with a rosy-red and lightly touched up face come into the room. She wore a light-blue casual dress that had been quite simply cute in appearance.

“You are? Huo….” Wang Chao had vaguely remembered that this woman was the little miss of the Huo family he had met in Hong Kong, Huo Ling’er.

“Master, I heard of what happened to you in Beijing. You’re amazing!” Huo Ling’er had spoken once she had entered. Her voice had carried an exceptionally-affectionate tone to it.

“Master, look!” Huo Ling’er had been like an impatient child upon meeting Wang Chao. Stretching out a hand and gave a gentle chop with it. Suddenly, all of the pores and hair on her body stood straight up.

“How did she come to understand it so quickly?” Wang Chao was stunned. Huo Ling’er had just demonstrated a move from Karate, but the burst of Jin that had caused her pores to rise had been affected due to the dantian and vertebrae.

Wang Chao could even clearly see that in her chopping motion, the middle of her vertebrae had been like a snake that was retreating downwards. When the Jin arrived at the vertebrae, the power in her fist had been doubled!

This was the reason why the fundamental of the Three Integrals in martial arts was about the body obeying the vertebrae.

“Master, when you’re discharged from the hospital, teach me something new! From until you’re discharged, I’ll come take care of you.” Huo Ling’er twirled her fingers.

“That….for me to teach you something new, you must become an official disciple of mine.” Wang Chao was stunned.

“Ah, didn’t I formally apply last time?” Huo Ling’er was confused, her big eyes blinking rapidly.

“Ling’er, apprenticing yourself to a master isn’t a game to play around with; it isn’t that simple. There are rules to follow. You must have your parents, family, and close friends all attend a feast and kowtow to the master on the spot.” Chen Aiyang came walking in.

Chen Aiyang had a large business in Hong Kong, and so it seemed that he too recognized and knew Huo Ling’er.

Chen Aiyang hadn’t spoken wrongly. Wang Chao knew that well known masters of martial arts placed heavy importance on the rules for apprenticeship. It was compulsory for the head of the family, friends and family to attend a banquet along with those of the same principle in the martial arts world before kowtowing to the master.

This wasn’t Formalism, but rather a necessary means of doing things. If a master were to taken in a disciple silently, then in the case a disciple didn’t admit that he had learnt from the master, what would happen to the master? In the case a fresh and new disciple learned from you, and then apprenticed himself to another master, what would happen then?

A disciple was the future upholder for the master who would take their place in a fight when the master grew old. They were vital figures for the fight of reputation. And for matters relating to the name, life, and honor of a martial artist, one couldn’t afford to be sloppy.

So it didn’t matter whether it was in the old society or modern era. A true disciple of a master would have to invite their head of family, family, and friends over to a banquet where the disciple would kowtow to the master on the spot. If these conditions weren’t met, the master would never teach the disciple any genuine skill of theirs.

Inviting the family head and kowtowing the master at the banquet was a binding act from disciple to master. In the future if they wished to change masters, didn’t acknowledge their debts, or didn’t respect their masters, then it was something that had to be heavily considered about.

So for those who didn’t throw a banquet and kowtow to him, Wang Chao wouldn’t teach them anything. When Tang Zichen had taught him, it had been a test. He hadn’t been apprenticed to her and he had always called her sister.

When Wang Chao taught Cao Jingjing, he had only taught her posture training, and not about her vertebrae.

The rules of the Wulin may have some malpractices, but some of them were necessary nonetheless.

“En! I’ll set it up with my dad and mom then.” Huo Ling’er nodded her head without hesitation.

“Hold on. Wait for another half month when I am discharged from the hospital.” Wang Chao had still wished to test this aristocratic girl and make sure there was no doubts about this matter.

He wasn’t looking for a girlfriend to have sex with after all.

He was looking for a disciple that could hold up his appearances and continue his name, martial arts, and principles. Thus he had to be very careful about this.

In the case that this disciple was capable to be taught, then he would concentrate his attention and care meticulously for.

According to reason, Huo Ling’er’s status was already suitable for her to be a disciple. Her talent was one in a hundred, and the Huo family and the government had close ties with one another. A disciple that was a part of a rich family had many ways to help protect the namesake of their master.

Masters and grandmasters were all humans in the end, not Immortals. They had to live in the mundane world, eat, drink, sleep, live, and spend money.

“Well then, rise up from your bed, master, I’ll help brush your teeth. I’ll have someone bring some soymilk; do you want to eat fried breadsticks or a steamed bun? There’ll be lotus root in the steam bun, it’s really tasty! I’ll have a specialized chef come in.”

That very morning, Huo Ling’er had a cup, brush, and had several breakfast foods brought on up.

For the days after that, Huo Ling’er had indeed taken a considerable amount of care over Wang Chao without the arrogance or temperament to be expected from a daughter born from a rich and powerful family like hers. This had made Wang Chao very surprised.

“I used to treat my grandfather this way as well to curry favor for a bigger part of the inheritance.” Huo Ling’er had honestly replied when asked, leaving Wang Chao unsure of whether to laugh or cry.

For a week and a day, Wang Chao would teach Huo Ling’er several fundamentals about the posture training in his free time. He had also taught her the Chopping and Pounding Fist of Xingyiquan.

Wang Chao had a unique understanding of fighting techniques and had been able to blend in those profound techniques into the daily aspects of his everyday life. To use the most basic of words of everyday life to explain, it was a sensation of as clear as one’s cottage splitting open.

A genuine master of martial arts would know how to fight and how to teach.

“Let’s go outside to the closest park. In a few days, I’ll be discharged.” One morning when the bright dawn had just appeared, Wang Chao suddenly had the feeling of wanting to go for a jog.

“En, okay!” Huo Ling’er nodded her head. Swiftly packing in her stuff, she followed Wang Chao out the door.

It was quite peaceful in the early morning. The sky was still quite hazy in the park, and not many people come be seen exercising. But there were still a few early risers that were doing so.

“Master, look–there’s some people practicing martial arts over there.”

The two were walking by a tree-filled avenue when Huo Ling’er had spoken out. Not too far away, there was a single middle-aged man teaching the posture training to five or six others.

“Their postures doesn’t seem to be accurate. It’s a bit different from what master taught….” Huo Ling’er was just starting to speak when Wang Chao looked over. But when his eyes had widened, she had shut her mouth.

“Let’s go.” Wang Chao’s was unwell, but he had turned to leave.

“If a person teaches his disciples incorrectly, you shouldn’t speak up still. Even if a person is taking in disciples for the sake of money, you cannot say he is wrong. Would it make sense to destroy the rice bowl one makes a living from for no reason?”

“There are many practitioners amongst the people. The majority are lovers for the art, some for the money, some for the daily exercise, and some to eat. You should take note, even if you become extremely strong in martial arts one day, you shouldn’t speak out so carelessly if you come across this again. This is a taboo; a broken bowl is what every martial artist fears.”