Chapter 3: Chicken Ribs?

Shui Miao deeply understood Xiong Ying’s personality. If Xiong Ying found out that he had threatened Chen Jianguo, his chance to learn the Five Elements Qigong would be postponed indefinitely, possibly for an unknown, lengthy period. Thus, Shui Miao needed to act immediately and extract the method of practicing the Five Elements Qigong within the shortest possible time.

Xiong Ying thought Shui Miao was genuinely eager to learn and, feeling delighted, shared the method of the Five Elements Qigong practice on the spot.

In essence, this qigong wasn’t complicated, bearing many similarities to other common qigong practices.

The only unique aspect was a specific incantation that had to be silently recited during practice. Xiong Ying told Shui Miao that this incantation could connect with spiritual forces—in this case, the spirits of the Five Elements. However, he didn’t explain the origins of the incantation. Upon learning the method, Shui Miao felt somewhat disappointed. He wasn’t convinced that simply reciting the incantation twice and then sitting in meditation practicing breathing techniques would quickly generate true qi. Even if it worked, it might take decades to achieve! At that rate, even if he succeeded, developing the “Yin-Yang Eye” might take forty or fifty years. How could he possibly rely on this to achieve wealth and success?

Besides, life is short, and whether one could even live to be sixty remained uncertain.

“Grandpa, how long will it take me to cultivate the Five Elements Qi?” Shui Miao’s face gradually lost its initial excitement. “By the way, how long did it take you, Grandpa, to cultivate the Five Elements Qi back then?”

“Thirty years.”

Xiong Ying raised his hand, showing three fingers. Seeing Shui Miao gradually losing his patience, he shook his head, gave a cold smile, and said, “Do you think you can reach the sky in one step without accumulating time? You can’t eat hot tofu in a hurry! However… it’s not entirely impossible. Unless your insight surpasses mine and your opportunities are better than mine.”

After saying this, Xiong Ying continued drinking, saying no more.

Xiong Ying clearly understood that cultivating Dao and practicing qi required opportunities and should happen naturally. It couldn’t be forced; pushing too hard might lead to mistakes in practice, resulting in counterproductive outcomes. Now, he had already taught what needed to be taught, and the rest depended on Shui Miao’s own fate.

Shui Miao fell silent too, pondering in his mind that this seemed like a waste—neither satisfying nor worth abandoning. He thought, “I could spend this time working and earn a decent living in a few decades!” But… this was his grandfather’s expectation, and hadn’t he always aspired to become someone as impressive as his grandfather? Right, mastering this would help me in the future with my career and making big money!

Shui Miao admitted he was very pragmatic, but that was the reality of society, especially for the poor. Without money, life was extremely difficult, basic needs couldn’t even be met, let alone marrying a wife. The years he spent working away from home made him fully aware of society’s cruelty, so he had to prioritize money.

“Grandpa, don’t worry, I’ll start practicing the qi after I finish eating,” Shui Miao smiled at his grandfather, breaking the silence.

Xiong Ying didn’t smile. After finishing his bowl of wine, he said indifferently, “You’re practicing for yourself, not for me. Also, practice in a quiet place on an empty stomach, preferably every morning just before dawn when the air is best. Furthermore, I’m going to Kunlun Mountain with a few fellow apprentices for a while, and I don’t know when I’ll be back. Take good care of yourself and don’t worry about me.”

“Okay…”

Seeing his grandfather suddenly turn cold, Shui Miao thought it might be because he was too pragmatic. As for his grandfather going away, Shui Miao had nothing to say. His grandfather often went deep into the mountains with his apprentices to search for dragon veins. He disliked unnecessary chatter, considering it inauspicious.

Soon, Xiong Ying stopped eating. He told Shui Miao to eat more and then went out to meet his mahjong friends.

Shui Miao ate a little, not really hungry, and then cleared the table.

It was midday, and there was nowhere to go. Shui Miao went to the pavilion and silently recited the incantation several times in his mind, then unknowingly fell asleep. He had covered two night shifts for his colleague, meaning he had been awake for forty-eight hours straight. By now, he was simply too exhausted.

He slept until nightfall.

Xiong Ying had already returned and cooked porridge. Seeing Shui Miao come out of the pavilion, he told him not to rush into eating yet and to practice some qi by the riverside while his stomach was still empty. Shui Miao washed his face by the river and was about to sit cross-legged on a clean patch of concrete nearby to practice the qi, when Xiong Ying chased him to the muddy ground instead, explaining that sitting there would make it easier to absorb the earth element’s spiritual energy.

Shui Miao was puzzled. If absorbing earth element’s spiritual energy required sitting on muddy ground, wouldn’t absorbing fire element’s spiritual energy require being in the midst of a fire? Although he doubted his grandfather’s method, Shui Miao didn’t argue and followed his instructions.

This qigong was very similar to Daoist meditative practices focused on nurturing energy and regulating the meridians, not the type of hard qigong.

Shui Miao sat cross-legged naturally, relaxed his entire body, placed his hands overlapping with thumbs forming a Tai Chi shape over his lower abdomen, tongue touching the roof of his mouth, breathing naturally through his nose, silently recited the incantation twice, and gradually entered the state of practice.

In fact, meditative qigong was not unfamiliar to Shui Miao.

While working away from home, he occasionally browsed the internet, and aside from studying feng shui, he searched for good qigong cultivation methods to understand and familiarize himself with them. However, fearing that these methods might differ from his grandfather’s, he had never dared to try them. Still, he was very familiar with the practices of qigong.

Cultivating meditative qigong emphasizes three forms of stillness: physical stillness, mental stillness, and intentional stillness.

Shui Miao completely relaxed his mind, thinking of nothing, and quickly entered a meditative state.

“This brat actually looks the part. Maybe he really has the potential to cultivate qi!” Seeing Shui Miao sitting in meditation so earnestly, Xiong Ying stroked his beard, feeling very satisfied. He nodded slightly and said indifferently, “Cultivating qigong is actually quite simple; as long as one has a strong mental state, it’s almost sufficient. However, cultivating the Five Elements Qigong differs from ordinary meditative practices. Practicing the Five Elements Qigong requires reciting the incantation, which helps you connect with spiritual forces. If you persist in this practice, success will naturally follow.”

Xiong Ying knew clearly that for an ordinary person, it would take at least three to five years of accumulation to make any real progress, so there was no need to explain too much at this stage.

Seeing Shui Miao still sitting motionless, Xiong Ying shook his head helplessly: “Fine! Since you like practicing so much, keep at it a bit longer. I’ll save your dinner. When you get hungry, just go eat by yourself. I’m off to play cards with a few old fellows. Hehe, for us Dao cultivators, gambling is all about winning money while making others genuinely admire us. That’s one of life’s great joys!”

Xiong Ying glanced at Shui Miao a couple more times before turning and leaving.

Mosquitoes would soon emerge, and the barley fields were full of large, fierce mosquitoes. Xiong Ying doubted that Shui Miao could sit by the river for long.

Xiong Ying had arranged to play mahjong all night with his card buddies. After finishing off the leftover dishes from lunch, he left a large bowl of porridge and a plate of sautéed celery for Shui Miao. This wasn’t out of stinginess on Xiong Ying’s part; rather, there were many dietary restrictions for Dao cultivators.

After eating his fill, Xiong Ying left Shui Miao alone by the river.

Shui Miao practiced qigong for a while and felt extremely comfortable, wanting to continue a little longer. However, swarms of mosquitoes suddenly flew out from the grass, biting him so badly that he jumped up in pain…

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Seeing a big bowl of porridge and a small dish of vegetables, Shui Miao didn’t fuss and devoured everything in one go like a whirlwind.

Just after washing the dishes, Shui Miao heard Chen Bing shouting.

“Shui Ge! Shui Ge! Where are you?”

Chen Bing was carrying a battery pack, wearing a miner’s headlamp, and holding a net and a fish spear. “Shui Ge, I’ve got everything ready. Let’s go! Xiao Ye and Li Hua are getting the boat ready. Once we get there, Lin Haiyang should already be there too.”

“Oh no! I forgot to buy the beer!” Shui Miao suddenly remembered.

“No worries. There’s a shop run by ‘Second Dull’s’ wife at the east end of the village. They have all kinds of beer. I checked it out already. We can just buy two boxes on our way and carry them straight to the boat.”

Chen Bing and the others had planned everything out in advance; they were just waiting for Shui Miao to arrive.

Shui Miao quickly changed clothes and hurried with Chen Bing to Er Dull’s house at the east end of the village. Just as they were about to buy the beer, they heard Lin Haiyang call out.

“Brother, the beer’s already bought—five whole cases!”

“Shui Ge! You’re finally here. We’ve been waiting for you for ages!”

Shui Miao turned around and saw the chubby Xiao Ye standing at the bow of the boat, holding a bamboo pole. Lin Haiyang and Li Hua were loading the beer onto the boat.

Xiao Ye’s real name was Ye Haibing. He was also twenty years old and had gone to Suzhou three years ago to learn pastry-making. Along with Shui Miao and Chen Bing, he had left their hometown together. However, he was lucky enough to be introduced by a relative in Suzhou to a famous pastry master. He spent three years learning the craft and had already mastered the skills. But without the capital to start his own business or connections to change jobs, he continued working under his master. This time, his parents urged him to return home for a matchmaking meeting. Unexpectedly, Shui Miao and the others had also returned, and he was delighted, planning to go to Haiyang with them in a few days to seek their fortunes.

This was a cement boat about ten meters long, owned by Li Hua’s family.

Li Hua’s father had previously been a small kiln business owner, using the boat to carry straw. Now, his father had switched careers to become a businessman and was rarely at home, so the boat had been left unused. Li Hua wore thick glasses and was still in university. Among their group of classmates, he was the only one still studying.

Chen Bing was talkative and loved company. Before even getting on the boat, he had already called Xiao Ye, who then notified Li Hua. The childhood friends quickly reunited. When Shui Miao boarded the boat and tried to hand money to Lin Haiyang, Lin frowned and said, “Are you trying to push me away on purpose? I can’t fish, I can’t catch birds, and I can’t even cook. If I’m not even allowed to chip in for the beer, I’ll just go home. We won’t even be brothers anymore.”

Lin Haiyang was two years older than Shui Miao and came from the neighboring Xiaozhou Village.

Hearing this, Shui Miao was at a loss.

At that moment, Li Hua pushed his glasses and said, “Shui Ge, you can take care of the cooking. I can’t do anything either.”

“Yeah! It’s rare for us brothers to reunite like this. It’s not worth ruining our friendship over just a little beer money, right?” With a push of his bamboo pole, Ye Haibing set the cement boat in motion. Everyone quickly jumped into the cabin and steadied themselves. Ye Haibing was definitely not slow at steering the boat.

As night fell, the reeds along the river blocked the light. Chen Bing hurriedly turned on his miner’s lamp to illuminate Ye Haibing. “Xiao Ye, slow down! Why are you in such a rush? Where are you going?”

“The old spot—the graveyard where no one dares to go. Only we dare!”

Ye Haibing pushed hard with his pole, and the cement boat sped up, creating splashing sounds as the water rushed past…