Water Ink Panel: Starting with Bow Technique to Hunt the Sun and Patrol the Skies

"He has reached the Qi Cultivation Realm," Ouyang Tiezhu said with a touch of longing.

"What about you, senior brother?"

"I..." Ouyang Tiezhu replied, "I just finished bone forging and am now rushing towards the realm of Skin Forging. Master said if I cannot complete Skin Forging before the age of thirty-five, it is highly unlikely that I would develop Qi after that."

"Why?"

"Master said that once a person turns thirty, their Qi-Blood begins to decline, and there's at most a five-year window. Once this window has passed, it's too late to turn back. If you cannot muster strength while the blood is vigorous, you certainly cannot do it when Qi-Blood is in decline." Ouyang Tiezhu sighed, "I am already twenty-five this year."

Shen Qing inwardly agreed.

In his previous life, he was aware of the saying "thirty is the age for establishing oneself," and the workplace even had the notion of a "35-year-old threshold," which was not without reason.

"Let's not talk about this anymore," Ouyang Tiezhu said, patting Shen Qing's shoulder, "By the way, I still don't know how old are you today, junior brother?"

Poor families weren't so particular; most just muddled through life without paying much attention to birthdays and age.

After recalling for a while, Shen Qing calculated his age, "After the coming Li Chun, I should be fifteen."

Fifteen?!

The corners of Ouyang Tiezhu's eyes revealed a hint of a smile, as if this age made him feel much better, "Junior brother, to be honest, you're a bit old. In another year, your muscles and joints will be fixed, and the difficulty of cultivating the second Great Realm will increase not by a small margin. If you want to make progress in Martial Arts, you need to work much harder."

Shen Qing was momentarily stunned.

Did that mean he needed to complete the entire Second Realm within the next year?

It seemed like there was still... enough time?

Shen Qing was not entirely sure.

"Thank you for the guidance, senior brother," Shen Qing looked at the sun hanging high in the sky, bowed with his hands clasped and said, "Senior brother, I was wondering if you have some time now, could you teach me the movement techniques of the three and five stick Wooden Dummies?"

Ouyang Tiezhu smiled and said, "Of course, I'll perform each one, just watch."

As soon as he finished speaking, Ouyang Tiezhu walked up to a three-stick Wooden Dummy, took a deep breath and shouted softly.

He lightly tapped the ground with the tip of his foot, his hands weaving between the three protruding sticks of the dummy.

Ouyang Tiezhu's hands alternated between palms and fists, his movements smooth and powerful, each strike accurately hitting different spots on the dummy, producing a thud.

Throughout the process, his body was extremely agile, the three protruding sticks unable to even touch his upper arms.

Ouyang Tiezhu abruptly stopped the Wooden Dummy and asked Shen Qing, "How about it? Did you remember everything?"

Shen Qing, having the ability "Never Forget," had observed carefully. After briefly recalling and seeing that all the details were memorized, he replied, "Senior brother, I've got it all down."

Ouyang Tiezhu furrowed his brows, but seeing how confident Shen Qing was, he didn't have much to say.

"Then I'll perform the Five Stick method again."

Ouyang Tiezhu walked up to a Wooden Dummy covered with complexly arranged long sticks, closed his eyes to concentrate and circulated his breath.

Then he suddenly opened his eyes, his body swiftly unfolding the movement technique.

The movement technique Ouyang Tiezhu used now was even more complex, involving hands, feet, waist, knees, and legs.

It was completely different from the techniques used in the two and three sticks.

His movements were like those of a fish navigating through a coral reef, skillfully avoiding the long sticks attacking from both sides, and striking predetermined targets with precision using fists, elbows, knees, and feet. Each crisp hit was followed by the soft sound of the Wooden Dummy being shaken.

Strong and profound.

While striking, he explained the key points, benefiting Shen Qing greatly.

After completing the set of the Five Stick Piles technique, sweat droplets slid down his neck, gradually soaking the back of Ouyang Tiezhu's shirt.

"Junior brother, the movement technique for the Five Stick Piles is relatively complex. You don't need to push yourself too much, just get to know the key points. When you practice the Three Pole Stakes, being conscious of those points during your training could also be beneficial."

"Alright." Shen Qing clasped his hands together in a salute, "You've worked hard today, elder brother."

"It's all part of the duty." Ouyang Tiezhu patted the Wooden Dummy and said, "We'll stop here for today, I have other matters to deal with, and I'll come find you again when I'm free later on."

"Okay. Hongshan Village is also a bit far from here, I will need to head back after practicing a bit more."

"You're still living in Hongshan Village?"

"Yes, my home is over there."

Ouyang Tiezhu turned his head and suggested, "Once you master some techniques, I have some connections here. Later on, you can go to the Outer City and work as a guardian for some 'local tyrants,' earning some money for fist-training. It might be better to save up some money and move to the city for convenience, to avoid such back and forth."

"You have connections in Outer City too?"

"Ah... I have a good-for-nothing younger brother who works with a local named Wang Mazi. There are indeed some connections." As he said this, Ouyang Tiezhu showed a sense of frustration akin to hating iron for not becoming steel. He waved his hand and said, "I'm leaving now."

"Take care, elder brother."

Watching Ouyang Tiezhu's figure disappearing into the inner courtyard, Shen Qing withdrew his gaze and walked to the Three Pole Stakes where Ouyang Tiezhu had demonstrated the movement technique. He struck out with a palm.

The Three Pole Stakes started to spin rapidly.

"Snap!"

...

Shen Qing continued practicing in Linfeng Hall until the afternoon Shen Hour and then finally stopped.

With his aunt not in the hall now, he didn't plan to stay long.

After taking today's portion of Shiquan Dabu Decoction, Shen Qing, along with Shen Xiaohu, left Linfeng Hall, bought some supplies, exchanged some money, and headed directly to the spot he had agreed to meet with Tian Xiaohu.

As they had scheduled, the three of them met and sat in the cart, heading in the direction of West City Gate.

As Shen Qing had anticipated, the journey was smooth and uneventful.

The entire family of Wang Qiyao's death had indeed stirred no waves in the vast Ping'an City.

The three of them reached the West City Gate without incident, slowly making their way towards the shantytown area.

Sitting in the cart, Tian Xiaohu felt as if a heavy stone had been lifted from his heart, and he took a long breath of relief.

There were many people leaving the city in the afternoon. Shen Qing pulled the cart, blending into the crowd and delving deep into the shantytown.

Tian Xiaohu shifted up close to Shen Qing and tugged at his sleeve.

"What's up? Is there something you need to tell me?"

Tian Xiaohu lowered his voice and said, "I went for a stroll by Pinghe Square today and there's something I need to discuss with you."

"What's the matter?" Shen Qing asked, his face unmoved.

Tian Xiaohu continued in a hushed tone, "The entire family of Wang Qiyao has died. Since there are no descendants, their relatives are now fiercely disputing over the inheritance."

"The shopkeeper from Fengwei Restaurant just came to look and left. As for the government office, it seems they have closed the case by declaring it a robbery. Wang Qiyao's father-in-law didn't agree and wanted to provide clues, but was instead accused of causing trouble and was killed on the spot by the county government."

Tian Xiaohu spat out everything he knew in one breath.

"So, in the future, if we sell our mountain goods, we'll have to deal with a new manager?"

"It seems they have switched to someone with the last name Cai. I'll find time to inquire more about it next time."

Shen Qing tugged at the reins and responded, "Hmm."

About the death of Wang Qiyao's family, both kept an unspoken agreement not to bring it up again.

"Giddyup!"