Chapter 86: He Mountains Stones (Part 1)

**The Son-in-Law, Episode 2: Pool of Shadows**

Over the next few days, Ning Yi occasionally saw Lu Hongti sitting on the steps, lost in thought.

"...Joint manipulation techniques, you see, primarily aim to strike a person's joints under specific circumstances, causing dislocations and incapacitating them. Some methods involve using an opponent's force, others involve forceful destruction. I know your martial arts definitely include many grappling techniques, so regarding specific methods, I'd certainly be showing off in front of an expert like you... What I want to discuss here are more direct concepts, directly focusing on areas like fingers, ankles, elbows, and knees, perhaps with a stronger purpose..."

"With quick eyes and swift hands, *snap*, break it. When someone kicks, instead of thinking about dodging or attacking other parts of their body, you catch it and apply direct force to the ankle. Whichever way they're moving, you can follow that direction. This area is very fragile; just one swift move, and usually, it leads to lifelong disability... I feel many martial arts don't seem to be thorough or direct enough in this regard. Of course, on the battlefield, it might not be very useful, haha..."

"This is a basic concept; it sounds simple. Then we can analyze it in more detail: the force applied to fingers, elbows, knees, and ankles. There are many vital points on the human body that we can list. For instance, the hand... here, uh, a knife cut here would generally cause unstoppable bleeding. Behind the ear, it would..."

At first, she listened to it as an amusing display of knowledge. For someone who had fought on battlefields, all martial techniques were inherently practical. As for joint-breaking concepts, martial arts already contained many such ideas, and Lu Hongti was perfectly clear about the many vital points on the human body. Ning Yi's simple explanation, "If you strike with your palm, I'll break your elbow," didn't seem to offer anything new.

However, with each detailed explanation, things began to seem different.

It was excessively detailed, excessively clear, and excessively logical. In his explanations, every minute detail of the human body seemed to be analyzed using a "because, therefore" structure. There were even some vital points she had never seriously considered before; even if she knew about them, in combat, she wouldn't immediately aim for such specific objectives.

"Who taught you all this?"

"Huh?"

"It's almost as if... you're applying your analytical approach to martial arts..."

Ning Yi thought for a moment, then nodded and smiled. What he was explaining was actually a synthesis of many modern combat techniques, primarily for self-defense. In his previous life, he had, after all, studied and dabbled in various arts like Jujutsu, Aikido, and Muay Thai, though he couldn't systematically learn them all later on. But aside from the fitness aspect, what he had mostly encountered were high-lethality self-defense techniques, including military combat techniques and many special forces skills. He didn't need to tell Lu Hongti exactly how to perform them, as she was already too familiar with these areas. Therefore, he only spoke in terms of broad conceptual analyses, aiming to make the objectives clearer.

"...For experts, there might be different responses. But at the level of ordinary people, with quick eyes and swift hands, and repetitive practice, aiming to destroy specific points on a person's body in the shortest time, coupled with the internal energy of those second-rate experts... Becoming a true expert might be very demanding, but if facing another's soldiers in specific circumstances, it might be more efficient... Not seeking comprehensiveness, complexity, or muddled understanding. Clearly understand the objective, do specialized training, cutting in like a scalpel... Alright, 'scalpel' is a term from the investigation of principles..."

"For instance, one could consider forming groups of five or a few people, specifically researching infiltration, mutual support, silent assassination, coordinated with long-range observation... It's not just you who can go out and consider assassinations. If several people coordinate systematically, the efficiency of assassination or disruption will be higher. But it requires in-depth research, finding patterns, and identifying weaknesses... Alright, these ideas are for a later discussion. Let's talk about them in a few days; first, let's discuss martial arts..."

"I have a few sets of boxing forms; I'm not sure how useful they are. But you are the master, so you can assess their utility. In any case, if they're useless, just consider it a viewing... The first set was probably developed targeting these weaknesses. Unfortunately, one of my hands isn't very functional, so I might not demonstrate it properly..."

Several days had passed, and Ning Yi's left hand could mostly move now. Of course, for full recovery, Lu Hongti said it would likely require half a year of continuous treatment and should not leave significant after-effects. The first set of forms was naturally military combat techniques. These were lethal forms, entirely focused on practicality and vital points. Of course, learning them didn't guarantee immediate applicability; like joint manipulation techniques, extensive practice was essential. And even if an ordinary person practiced them, they might not necessarily be able to defeat opponents like the Yang brothers with Ning Yi's physique. Ning Yi currently wasn't likely to spend a lot of time training in this. However, Lu Hongti could naturally discern what was contained within them at a glance.

"This... must be a style of boxing solely pursuing speed and power," Lu Hongti commented. "Below a certain level, it is indeed... quite formidable."

"At the extreme of speed and power," Ning Yi asked, "can it contend with a first-rate master?"

Ning Yi was curious about this. Lu Hongti, sitting there, smiled, then walked in front of him. "You try to hit me."

"I'm injured," Ning Yi said, "and I don't hit women..."

Ning Yi spread his hands, but before he finished speaking, his right fist shot out. However, as soon as the thought crossed his mind and his fist had just clenched, ready to strike, he suddenly lost all power. Lu Hongti silently placed two fingers on his elbow, then withdrew them. He tried to punch again with his right fist, then, disregarding his injured left hand, prepared to exert force with both. Lu Hongti's fingers casually tapped his hands and his leg. Her skirt flared slightly, and her toes subtly tapped his ankle. Then Ning Yi tried to open his mouth to butt or bite, but his forehead was gently pushed, and his mouth, barely open a slit, snapped shut, leaving him stunned.

From start to finish, Ning Yi couldn't even lift his hands or feet. He merely seemed to sway a few times, then covered his mouth, looking dejected. "This isn't fair..." he muttered.

Lu Hongti smiled, looking rather pleased. "Before the autumn wind moves, the cicada knows," she said. "Your analytical approach seeks simple objectives. But if, before you even lift your hand, your qi and blood already tell me what you intend to do, what good is your speed or strength then? When you learn martial arts forms in the future, your master will also tell you that those moves aren't for show. If our skill levels were similar, the moment your shoulder moved, I would begin to raise my hand. The moment you saw my fingers move, your posture would immediately change, and then I would know my move was useless and would have to change accordingly..."

She thought for a moment. "But if one only seeks quick mastery," she said, "this set of forms is actually sufficient..."

"Alright," Ning Yi said, still somewhat indistinctly, "I guess I'll just have to be a second-rate master..." He was left speechless. That afternoon, he studied military combat techniques and also talked about *Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils*. The next day, Ning Yi demonstrated a set of Tai Chi forms to her, muttering something under his breath.

"Tai Chi Chuan, born of Wuji, the source of movement and stillness, the mother of Yin and Yang..."

He only remembered that much of the phrase, but it didn't matter; it already sounded sufficiently profound. After saying it, he quickly closed his mouth and began to demonstrate with a profound, inscrutable expression. In truth, he wasn't practicing any impressive-sounding Tai Chi routine; it was just the "old man's boxing" and "old lady's boxing" seen in parks, from the opening form to "Grasping Sparrow's Tail" to "Single Whip." It was early morning, and Lu Hongti sat on the steps, eating small red berries picked from the woods, and laughing.

"You're joking," Lu Hongti said, "what kind of boxing is this? How can it be so slow? How do you hit anyone with that...?"

Ning Yi's left hand still wasn't very functional. He stopped at this point. "Shut up and watch carefully, and ponder!" he snapped. "No laughing... superficial!"

He was furious with embarrassment. Lu Hongti put a small berry into her mouth, nodded seriously, but still had a smile in her eyes. Then he started over from the beginning. Around the time of the "White Crane Spreads Wings" move, Lu Hongti, chewing, nodded and murmured, "This is a form for shield-and-saber soldiers, but the intent behind the movements is somewhat scattered..."

"Advance, Parry, Block, and Punch," "Apparent Close," "Open and Close Hands," "Right Single Whip," "Under Elbow Punch"... Ning Yi's execution was actually quite soft and his posture not very standard. Conceptually, he naturally preferred a purely rational and logical approach; military combat techniques with their data-driven, systematic approach, and vital point analysis, were more to his liking. He was simply seeing if this boxing form would be useful to Lu Hongti. When he was halfway through the forms, Lu Hongti just watched with a furrowed brow. After he finished, she sat there, pursing her lips. "Is that all?" she asked.

"Yes, that's all I know," Ning Yi said, spreading his hands. "What do you think?"

"I don't understand..." Lu Hongti's voice was a little low. Then she looked aside, as if talking to herself. "This boxing form of yours is too strange. It's fragmented; it shouldn't be like this. This is Taoist material... My master was a Taoist nun, she..."

Her master had already passed away, and he didn't know what she had been taught before, but Tai Chi Chuan certainly didn't exist in this era. Ning Yi also knew that this form of Tai Chi had changed; if martial arts were divided into practice methods and fighting methods, this wasn't even a practice method; it was closer to a dance. Since Lu Hongti was gaining insights, he naturally didn't interfere much. At noon, he took a gourd to fetch water. When he returned, he saw Lu Hongti repeating the Tai Chi forms in front of the dilapidated temple, though she stopped three times in a row from the opening form to "Grasping Sparrow's Tail."

She would stop after one attempt, restart, and then change the form slightly. Sometimes she would shake her head, ponder for a while, then change the form again and repeat. It took over an hour to complete one full round in this manner, and some parts changed so much that Ning Yi couldn't recognize them at all. She continuously performed one round, sometimes fast, sometimes slow. However, many of the dance-like movements were gone. It now seemed imbued with a fierce, martial spirit, and as her skirt swirled, there was a unique heroic aura and beauty. One "Parry, Block, and Punch" move even broke a small tree nearby, and the air hissed sharply with her movements. After completing this round, she began to push and transform the forms move by move again. This time the speed slowed down again, but it became even more varied.

By dusk, her practice had not stopped. The setting sun pierced through the gaps in the trees, and a faint wisp of white steam rose from Lu Hongti's head. She had already transformed the forms several times, speeding up and slowing down; to Ning Yi, each transformation seemed terrifyingly effective. He then lit a bonfire to cook dinner. By the time the meal was cooked, it was already night, and Ning Yi was still wondering whether to call her to stop when Lu Hongti collected her qi and came over, sitting down beside him.

"Have you grasped it?" Ning Yi asked.

"I don't quite understand," she replied, shaking her head. "Some of your forms are for battlefield use; those are easy enough to comprehend, but some other parts are difficult to grasp... Overcoming hardness with softness, like the Taoist concepts of Yin and Yang—that doesn't seem to fit with your 'investigation of principles,' does it? Where exactly did you learn all this..."

"Uh, when I was a child, a Taoist priest passed by my door..." Ning Yi mumbled.

Lu Hongti laughed. "He recited two poems..." she said sarcastically. "Don't try to fool me; I've made inquiries. If you don't want to say, then don't. If you claim it's all your own thinking, I'll just assume there are geniuses born with innate knowledge in this world..."

Inquiring about someone's craft was, after all, a taboo, and Lu Hongti took this matter quite seriously. Ning Yi shook his head. "If there really were such a person," he said, "I would genuinely want to introduce them to you, but there isn't... Hmm, it is indeed about overcoming hardness with softness. There are some very profound theories; would you like to hear them?"

So that night, he again regaled her with various theories about Tai Chi Chuan—some he had occasionally encountered, some from television, and of course, some from business philosophy. Some were made up, some too esoteric, and those on a business organizational level were too pragmatic. Ning Yi could indeed form his own set of theories, but writing them down as a treatise wouldn't be very meaningful.

For Lu Hongti to recreate Tai Chi, it probably wouldn't be something that could be accomplished in just a day or two. The next two days passed with Ning Yi "force-feeding" her concepts like the one-inch punch, Wing Chun, Half-Step Beng, and Jeet Kune Do. Ning Yi hadn't practiced any of these himself; he only knew bits and pieces. For instance, he knew the approximate stance for "Two-Word Adduction Stance" but left it to Lu Hongti to figure out its application. His explanations of close-range, short-punch techniques like the one-inch punch were also improvised; he'd say a certain punch could be thrown this way to achieve a certain effect, and as for how it was achieved, it was up to her to deduce. He even thoroughly explained the emphasis on aura in Japanese Kendo, Bushido, and Muay Thai.

On one hand, discussing these topics involved no pressure for him. On the other hand, for Ning Yi, discussing this wasn't just about showing off; he was genuinely interested in these things. Martial arts would continue to evolve for another thousand years, a period that would see transformations, advancements, and regressions. Ultimately, he was very interested to see what would happen when a martial arts master, combining their experience and temperament, absorbed all these concepts from a thousand years of future development.

His current feelings about Lu Hongti were roughly threefold: First, they were friends. Second, she was a transactional partner; he might be able to ask for other favors in the future, making her an invisible resource. Third, this was an investment; he was very curious to see how things would turn out. Of course, one didn't need to think about everything in such detail, but since they were friends, he was willing to offer her whatever he could, especially since these things were effortlessly easy for him.

Originally, he had intended to offer something in exchange for martial arts manuals from Lu Hongti. Therefore, in the preceding days, he had been thinking about and combining information, considering what would be most suitable for her. It was like managing a company for someone in his spare time, providing various solutions; first, he had to understand the company's internal situation.

So a few mornings later, Ning Yi said to Lu Hongti, "Next, I want to discuss the situation in Mount Lüliang with you. We'll discuss the annual situation of the Liao army raiding or invading, and the situation in your villages in the mountains. I already have a general outline, but the specifics are not entirely clear yet. Then... I will help you formulate a complete set of solutions and plans, and outline some prospects and development blueprints for you. Of course, these will be based on your actual situation and will be usable."

Lu Hongti pondered for a long while before looking at him. "I think I understand what you're saying," she said, "but... you understand this too?"

Ning Yi smiled. "This is what I'm truly good at," he said. "It should be helpful."