Chapter Eighty-four: Returning to Simplicity and Embracing Reality

  With the Spring Festival approaching, Song Jian knew that Sun Bing had arranged for Pi Hai and his gang to prepare to rob the tomb during the Spring Festival. He would first inform Old Master Heshan, after all, Yun Kong Dashi was a master.

  Arrived at Huqiu, Song Jian walked towards Yunyan Temple behind the Tiger Hill Tower, entered the temple and went straight to the backyard.

  Arriving at Yun Kong's residence, this time without the monks blocking the way, Song Jian directly went upstairs to the second floor and came to Yun Kong's room.

  "Ah yo, this idiot, out 2 ah, two!" Yun Kong Master stared at the screen, his other hand waving the mouse, shouting.

  Song Jian silently hooked his mouth and walked to the back of Yun Kong's law master, only to see him playing Dou Di Zhu, and the person who cooperated with him was obviously a newcomer. This newcomer didn't know how to block the landlord, and Master Yun Kong on this side was blowing his beard and staring wide-eyed.

  Soon after, the landlord followed a small sign and went all the way, singing loudly and advancing fiercely, and walked away.

  "My beans are gone again!" Master Yun Kong cursed and shut down the game hall.

  Song Jian bowed his hands and said, "Master is really good-tempered."

  "Joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness are all true emotions!" Yun Kong turned around and looked at Song Jian, "Buddhism emphasizes no sadness and no joy, emptiness and nothingness, but deliberately seeking a state of no sadness is also a kind of foolish obsession."

  Song Jian was stunned for a moment, and in that instant, his mind buzzed with a loud noise, as if he had understood something, yet seemed to understand nothing at all.

  "Why are all of you masters still chanting sutras in the morning and evening, and sitting alone under a solitary lamp?" Song Jian asked.

  "Ah, people only realize themselves after getting rid of their ignorance and foolishness, and only understand the beauty of their true nature after cultivating their body and mind. This is what is meant by 'returning to simplicity and reverting to truth'!" Yun Kong stretched out his hand and tapped Song Jian's Baihui acupoint, shouting.

  Song Jian suddenly understood and bowed to Master Yun Kong, saying: "Thank you, Master, for your guidance."

  "Oh? You understand?" Yun Kong burst out laughing.

  "I understand some of it," Song Jian also didn't show modesty.

  "Alright, alright...huh?" Yun Kong originally had a profound look on his face, but after re-examining Song Jian, he was stunned.

  "This can't be right, last time you came, your energy was full, your body was upright and strong, your heavenly court was full, although it was a wealthy and healthy appearance, but it only stopped at this point. Why in just a few weeks, you actually have the hidden dragon and tiger energy inside your body, obviously already entered the realm of martial artist's inner strength?" Yun Kong couldn't believe his eyes, but he knew that his own eyesight was definitely not wrong.

  Song Jian bowed his hands to Yun Kong Lao and said, "Indeed, due to a certain fate, I feel that there is a hidden power within me, but how to use it, I do not know."

  Yun Kong Lao and Shang nodded, stroking his beard with the palm of his hand, saying: "This time you've come, is it because of that grave-robbing thief?"

  "It's true, Master. I've investigated and found that the tomb raiders will make their move before or after the Spring Festival. This time I came to inform you, Master. Also, I'll be working with Officer Li to protect the underground ancient tomb. However..." Song Jian paused intentionally.

  "Haha, speak up," Master Yun Kong glared at Song Jian with a hint of amusement, "You little scamp, what kind of thoughts are you harboring against me?"

  Song Jian smiled awkwardly and said, "It's just that among them there is a person named Sun Tian whose kung fu is very strong. I think with me and Officer Li, as well as those ordinary police officers, we are no match for him. So, Master, I am puzzled, why would Sun Tian, who is so young, have such great skills, come to rob this tomb?"

  Yun Kong laughed and said: "Not bad eyesight, little guy, you can actually see that Sun Tian is not ordinary."

  Song Jian stood in front of the window, and just outside the window was that pavilion, where Song Jian and Sun Tian first met.

  "That day, I met Sun Tian, he was waiting at the pavilion to meet with others. With Sun Tian's abilities, I think he must have known that there is a master like you in Yunyan Temple, but he chose to meet with the tomb robbers in this place. Hmm, unless Sun Tian had already met with Master and knew that Master would not stop him, otherwise, he would not dare to do so." Song Jian Zheng said, his tone full of confidence.

  "Haha! Not bad, not bad," Master Yun Kong praised with a glance at Song Jian, slowly pacing to the center of the room. On the wall in the very center, hung an image of Sakyamuni.

  "You're right, Sun Tian is actually the grandson of an old acquaintance of mine. Although he's an old acquaintance, he's not a friend or an enemy either. We're more like people who live in seclusion amidst the bustle of the city, but exist outside of it. Whatever happens in the city, we won't intervene," Cloud Void Master said softly, looking at the statue of Sakyamuni. "Sun Tian came to me before and asked for something from the tomb, I didn't agree, so he took matters into his own hands and stole from the tomb. This Tiger Mound Sacred Land naturally can't be destroyed by him, that's why I hope you and Meng Ya can help me."

  "His grandfather and Master Yun Kong are both high-ranking individuals, just like you. What is Sun Tian's motive for robbing tombs? I think he must not be lacking in wealth and antiques." Song Jian looked at the old monk.

  Yun Kong Da Shi turned his head to look at Song Jian, smiled slightly, shook his head and said: "There are still many things in this world that cannot be bought with money. Hmm, I was just casually saying it earlier, but now that you've entered the realm of dark energy, maybe you can really stop Sun Tian from entering the tomb to retrieve the object. What kind of martial arts do you usually practice? Show me."

  Yun Kong Lao and the abbot want to personally instruct him, Song Jian is naturally delighted. This Yun Kong Abbot in ancient times must be a legendary figure in Jianghu, although not as powerful as the leader of Wulin, Tai Shan Bei Dou, but at least he is on par with them, an old monk who is equal to the abbot of Shaolin Temple, this is simply a mysterious old man in martial arts.

  Nodding his head, Song Jian performed a set of Wuji Qigong exercises in front of the old monk.

  The old monk originally thought it was Tai Chi Fist, but after watching for half a time, his face gradually became serious.

  After completing his last move, Song Jian gathered his momentum and asked, "Master, this kung fu of mine is not weak when facing an enemy, but I always feel like something's missing."

  The old monk's face was solemn, and he said, "You play it again for me to see."

  Song Jian didn't have much of a defensive mindset either, and he was still quite at ease with Yun Kong Lao Shang.

  Song Jian looked at Yun Kong and Shang again after practicing Wuji Qigong once more.

  "So that's how it is, no wonder, no wonder," Yun Kong muttered to himself, bowing his head and muttering something under his breath.

  "Master, what's wrong? Is there something strange about this kung fu?" Song Jian asked.

  Yun Kong looked at Song Jian and burst out laughing. He patted Song Jian's shoulder and said, "Great, thank you so much! Haha, great!"

  Song Jian was somewhat perplexed.

  "With your hands tied behind your back, you said: 'This kung fu of yours should be mainly for strengthening the body and secondarily for fighting skills. If practiced consistently over a long period of time, say sixty years, one will surely enter the internal energy level, free from all diseases, and live to be a hundred years old!'"

  Song Jian quietly listened to Yun Kong's explanation.

  "This kung fu is really precious, although it looks similar to Tai Chi, but there are differences. Tai Chi emphasizes circular movements too much, so that the original meaning of Tai Chi is lost. However, young man, the kung fu you're practicing has a hidden implication of our previous discussion about returning to simplicity and truth. But if you want to return to truth, you must first go through a process of tempering, only then can you better bring out the power of this kung fu. Do you understand?"

  Yun Kong looked at Song Jian with an expectant face.

  Song Jian sank into thought for a moment, nodded his head and said: "Master, I understand some of it now. To put it bluntly, this technique is too advanced, my current level is not enough to cultivate the intended state, so I must first lay a solid foundation. But what does that mean?"

  "Haha, right," Yun Kong smiled and looked at Song Jian, "But I think you have a natural talent that surpasses others. You've somehow grasped some of the profound meanings in this skill, and since you've already entered the Dark Energy realm, it's likely that you can master other martial arts without much effort."

  "Please enlighten me, Master!" Song Jian bowed his head and paid homage to the venerable monk Yun Kong.

  Yun Kong walked to the door and said downwards: "Yuanyi, you come."

  "Master," a white-haired and white-browed old monk quickly walked up, bowing to Yun Kong. This Yuan Zhi monk looked even older than Yun Kong.

  "From now on, you will be responsible for teaching Song Jian some martial arts. Except for the secret techniques of the Dharma Hall, you can teach him all the other skills," said Yun Kong.

  Motoi didn't ask why and nodded in agreement.

  Song Jian bowed his hands to Yun Kong Lao and made a deep bow, then followed Yuan Zhi to the martial arts training ground in the back mountain.

  This mountain behind is a martial arts training ground, normally children are not allowed to enter. However, there aren't many monks in Yunyan Temple who actually practice martial arts, these days monks are all professionals, they shave their heads just for the sake of making money.

  Yuan Zhi was a martial arts enthusiast, but his comprehension wasn't great. He followed Master Yun Kong for thirty years to learn martial arts and is now over eighty years old, yet he still hasn't entered the realm of internal energy. Without entering the realm of internal energy, no matter how high one's martial arts skills are, they're just an ordinary person. Ordinary people at ninety years old will definitely have declining physical strength and falling teeth. Yuan Zhi's body is still quite robust, but his age is starting to show, and his physical strength has decreased a lot.

  "Learning martial arts requires starting from the basics. Now, I'll teach you Shaolin Arhat Fist. Although it's a basic fist technique, mastering it can make one invincible. Watch closely!"

  Yuan Zhi and the monk did not speak or laugh, but when teaching, he was very serious. He first taught Song Jian to practice the 18 hands of Luohanquan. Luohanquan is called so because it imitates the postures of the 18 Arhats, which are revered by Shaolin monks as embodiments of Sakyamuni. The main hand techniques include separation, forcing, rushing, flashing, pointing, lifting, pressing, hooking, scooping and throwing. The leg techniques emphasize jumping, rolling, sweeping and popping. Luohanquan requires coordination between the upper and lower body, with steps following hand movements, like a boat rudder, agile and varied. When striking, attention should be paid to "seizing the center" and "protecting the center", and the force required is both hard and soft.

  Although there are only eighteen moves, the variations are over a hundred, and more importantly, the basic techniques of punching and kicking contained in this boxing technique are exactly what Song Jian lacks!

  After carefully watching Yuanzhi's movements, Song Jian couldn't help but feel delighted. Yun Kong Lao Shang was right, these basic fist techniques were essential for him to master. Only by mastering these key points could he better exert the power of Wuji Qigong and comprehend its meaning, reaching a state of returning to simplicity and truth.

  At this time, in the dormitory building, Yun Kong was slapping his own head with both hands non-stop, grinning from ear to ear. "Haha, haha, haha, the difficult problem that has been troubling me for 20 years is finally solved! Where did Song Jian get this boxing technique? This is a fist method that only a saint can understand and create!"

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  Thank you for the second reward from Book Friends who resigned, thank you very much. Thank you also to Mu Rong book friends for your reward, thank you all.

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