Wayfarer

Chapter 19: Xiao Nanfeng's Foundations

"Junior Brother Nanfeng, this is your room, along with a set of disciples' robes and living supplies. As a formal disciple, you'll have a stipend of a thousand taels of gold a year for your resource needs." On Elder Ku's request, Yu'er unwillingly beckoned a few nominal disciples over to help set up a residence for Xiao Nanfeng.

"Thank you, Senior Sister Yu'er!" Xiao Nanfeng bowed.

However, Yu'er only sniffed. Upon realizing that Xiao Nanfeng had become Elder Ku's disciple, that he was living right beside Elder Ku's cottage, her mouth puffed up in anger. Her envy and jealousy seemed poised to overflow from her body.

"Elder Ku, if you can take him as an apprentice, why not me? How am I worse than he is?" Yu'er cried out.

Elder Ku, who was repairing the snapped string on his guqin by a nearby table of stone, shook his head. "I accepted Nanfeng as a student in name not because of his talent, but rather because he rectified an error I committed today."

"What error? I can fix it too!" Yu'er pursed her lips again.

Elder Ku shook his head. He didn't want to explain. Yu'er puffed up her mouth again, then glared at Xiao Nanfeng.

Xiao Nanfeng pretended not to see her. How am I to blame if Elder Ku doesn't want to take you as his disciple? Why are you getting mad at me?

"Nanfeng, what stage of cultivation are you at? How is your foundation?" Elder Ku asked calmly.

"Master, I'm at the sixth stage of Acquisition. I've never received formal training, and I only know one fist technique, "Marching Fist," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

"Sixth stage of Acquisition? You really are a novice, aren't you? And "Marching Fist"? Isn't that the most fundamental fist technique taught in the Empire's army? This is all you know?" Yu'er gasped in shock.

Elder Ku was willing to take such a novice as a disciple, but not me? Really?

"'Marching Fist', you say? Self-taught?" Elder Ku himself seemed rather surprised.

"Yes, Master. My estate employed a few retired soldiers, and I learned this technique from them. I know none other," Xiao Nanfeng replied wryly.

"Marching Fist" was the most basic of all fist techniques. It was all he knew because he had no other choice; the chief steward had forbidden it.

"Who among you knows the fist technique 'Marching Fist'? I'd like to get a sense of Nanfeng's fundamentals," Elder Ku called out toward the disciples reciting scriptures by the Cliff of Meditation.

Before anyone could speak, however, Yu'er jumped in. "Elder Ku, I know this technique! Let me help!"

"You?" Elder Ku frowned slightly.

"Don't worry, Elder, I won't hurt your disciple. I'll restrict myself to the sixth stage of Acquisition and help you test his fundamentals." Yu'er seemed very excited to participate.

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Elder Ku frowned again, realizing that Yu'er might be ill-disposed toward his disciple.

"Master, may I be tested by a male senior? I'm unused to fighting against women," Xiao Nanfeng suddenly stated.

"What's this? Are you looking down on women?!" Yu'er glared, putting her hands on her hips as she made to berate him.

"No, certainly not. I simply don't wish to prompt any unnecessary physical contact, and would prefer that a male senior help test me."

"Oho? Is that something you care about, then?" Yu'er sneered.

Elder Ku seemed to have made up his mind. "Yu'er, you can help."

"Very good, Elder! I'll make sure to test his fundamentals thoroughly." Yu'er rubbed her palms gleefully as she walked up to him.

"Nanfeng, defend yourself to the best of your ability," Elder Ku stated.

"Yes, Master!"

"Junior Brother, I'll give you the first strike. Don't worry—I'll go easy on you." Yu'er smiled with excitement as she provoked Xiao Nanfeng.

Just then, Xiao Nanfeng stepped forward, pushing off the ground like a loosed arrow and instantly approaching Yu'er's side. Yu'er narrowed her eyes as she felt a surprising pressure emanate from him. Was he more skilled than he pretended to be?

Yu'er made to strike, but Xiao Nanfeng twisted his body and kicked at her calf. She wobbled and her punch failed to land. Without giving her a chance to breathe, Xiao Nanfeng's palm struck her back, slamming her into the ground.

No!

However, it was too late. Xiao Nanfeng leapt into the air and dove down toward her, his knees heading straight for her head. If the attack landed, Yu'er would faint on the spot, at the very least.

She shrieked.

Before the attack landed, however, Xiao Nanfeng twisted his body and landed beside her, not inflicting any injury whatsoever.

"Thank you for the bout, Senior Sister." Xiao Nanfeng bowed to her.

The disciples reciting scriptures some distance away all stopped in shock as they gaped at Xiao Nanfeng.

Had that—had Xiao Nanfeng taken down Yu'er instantly? Yu'er wasn't injured, but everyone knew that it would have been a crippling blow.

"No, you, didn't you say you weren't going to hit women? And you still came at me so fiercely!" Yu'er exclaimed, crawling up with a mix of shame, anger, and embarrassment.

"Senior Sister, I've read Martial Sage Wei's Mentality of Combat, which describes the importance of focusing solely on the fight, rather than your opponent's identity. Against men and women, young and old alike, express not pity or sympathy; neither think yourself inferior against a strong foe, nor superior against a weak one. Treat every bout with the fullness of your abilities," Xiao Nanfeng recited.

"Ah? The Mentality of Combat?"

"Excellent work," Elder Ku praised. "Yu'er, you've read this scripture more than once, haven't you? Should you not also have internalized its teachings? If not for Nanfeng's clemency, if your cultivation were the same level as his, you would have died."

Yu'er flushed. She had been too careless.

"That fight doesn't count. I wasn't ready. Let's go again!" Yu'er cried out.

"Master, may I be tested against another disciple? I worry that Senior Sister's mood may affect her ability to fight, that she might go against her earlier promises and strike me harshly," Xiao Nanfeng requested, firmly but calmly.

Yu'er glared at him. "What do you mean? I'm a woman of my word. I won't strike you with any blow beyond that feasible at the sixth stage of Acquisition, or with any technique except Marching Fist!"

Sensing Yu'er's anger, Xiao Nanfeng looked toward her with doubt writ clearly on his face.

"Do you still doubt me?! Very well—if I go back on my word, I'll hand you three hundred taels of gold!" This was the first time in her many years at the Taiqing sect that anyone had treated her with such naked distrust! It was an insult beyond anything she had suffered.

The disciples reciting scriptures stopped again as they turned to watch the fight between Xiao Nanfeng and Yu'er instead.

"Master, Sage Shan's Discourse on Inimical Behavior states that the promises of those displaying emotional instability are not to be trusted, and cautions that you should distance yourself lest you be caught unawares in their moods," Xiao Nanfeng recited again.

"Discourse on Inimical Behavior? I had to memorize that once, and he does seem to be right..." one disciple murmured to herself, a strange look on her face.

"Shut up! Or are you doubting my promises too?!" Yu'er glared at the disciple who had spoken.

"No, Senior Sister! Please, ignore what I said." The former disciple immediately looked abashed as she lowered her head.

"Come on! My word is gold. Beat me, and I'll give you three hundred taels!" Yu'er shouted at Xiao Nanfeng again.

"Master..." Xiao Nanfeng looked toward Elder Ku, wanting to extricate himself from this entire mess.

"Nanfeng, fight once more with Yu'er," Elder Ku replied calmly.

Xiao Nanfeng smiled wryly. "Yes, Master!"

"Lad, this time, I won't let you catch me off-guard again! Come!" Excitement flashed through Yu'er's eyes as Xiao Nanfeng turned serious once again.

"Let's begin." Yu'er glared and whizzed toward him.

Xiao Nanfeng and Yu'er exchanged blows once again. Both disciples were now at the same level of cultivation, and neither's strength could overwhelm the other's.

They launched Marching Fists together in a flurry, each striking the other once and again, clashing with elbows and legs, and stirring up dust all over.

By now, the disciples all around them had lost all interest in continuing with their scriptures. Rather, they watched the bout with growing interest and wide eyes.

"Did this lad really learn 'Marching Fist' all by himself? And he can even fight on equal footing with Senior Sister Yu'er? We all know how much combat experience she has—this is ridiculous!" one disciple murmured.

"I would believe that he's self-taught. Look, don't his punches seem a bit stiff to you? But they're incredibly accurate, almost as though they're examples straight from our manuals—and he seems to be getting more and more familiar with Marching Fist on the fly."

Indeed, despite his inexperience, Xiao Nanfeng's precise and decisive blows were shocking to the gathered disciples. As the fight dragged on, Xiao Nanfeng slowly took the upper hand, having had time to acclimate to using the technique in actual fights.

"This is impossible! He's improving as we speak!" someone shouted.

Yu'er grew more and more anxious. This time, she had paid her opponent her full attention from the get go, but why did she remain unable to take him down? This was impossible! She was certain she had far more combat experience than Nanfeng. How many fights to the death had she undergone? Meanwhile, it was clear that Nanfeng was a complete and utter novice. How could things be progressing in such a fashion?

"Marching Fist, a fist technique that prioritizes swift, decisive punches that strike hard and true. Senior Sister, as described in Martial Sage Wei's Treatise of the Fist, all things bear duality in yin and yang. Despite its outward appearance as a yang technique, the crux to Marching Fist is its supple and adaptive nature, which bolsters the speed and strength of the resulting punch. Your usage of Marching Fist has neglected its yin underside in favor of its yang appearance. You have exchanged infinite adaptability for a decisive, penetrating strike—and in doing so, diverted from the core of the technique entirely!" Xiao Nanfeng criticized.

"Martial Sage Wei's Treatise of the Fist? I, I seem to have memorized that scripture once, but I never realized that it could be applicable in this way until now. That Taoist scripture actually relates to a commonplace technique like Marching Fist?!" one disciple cried out.

Elder Ku's face was as impassive as ever, but he was internally amazed. Did his new disciple actually integrate the learnings from these Taoist scriptures into his techniques?

As Xiao Nanfeng grew ever closer to mastery of the Marching Fist, Yu'er became even more vexed. How could this be? She had far more combat experience than he, so how was he beating her?

Nanfeng's fist technique had been stiff and untested at the beginning, but he seemed able to land each and every strike. She knew her punches were stronger—so how did he stymie her with every blow? How could this be? And he's even lecturing me about fist techniques now? As if I need to learn anything about as basic a technique as Marching Fist! In a sudden flare of shame and anger, Yu'er couldn't hold back any longer.

"Five-Venom Penetrating Palm!" Yu'er found an opening in Xiao Nanfeng's defense and struck his chest, sending him flying.

Just as he was about to strike the ground, a palm appeared by his back and held him steady, dissipating much of the momentum from Yu'er's attack.

"Master?" Xiao Nanfeng looked at the elder who had saved him.

"Are you alright?" Elder Ku asked.

"Yes, Master. Thank you for the help."

He turned to Yu'er with a wry smile. "You have bested me, Senior Sister."

However, Yu'er wasn't happy at all. She hmphed as she stomped on the ground. She had broken her promise, after all! Not only had she used a technique other than Marching Fist, she had even borrowed from her true strength!

Had she won? No—it was utter defeat.