Chapter 37: Fist Manual

"Shaking Mountains?"

The black-clad maiden furrowed her brow, reaching for the ancient book.

Unexpectedly, Chen Pingan shifted it further away.

In that instant, the black-clad maiden froze, a firestorm of indignation raging within her. Never had she been so humiliated. Ning Yao, daughter of Great Sword Immortals above the Twelve Buildings, hailed since birth as a paragon of sword talent, had suffered defeats in swordsmanship and spellcasting during her years away from home, but never had her integrity been so insulted. A tattered book, did it require her, Ning Yao, to stoop to such measures to read, to steal, to possess it?

Ning Yao gripped the hilt of her saber, her strikingly slender eyes narrowing.

Thin eyes, vermillion lips.

A fitting description for this young woman.

Upon closer inspection, Ning Yao's beauty was undeniable, yet her resolute spirit overshadowed all traces of femininity.

But the straw-sandaled boy's next words possessed a miraculous power, almost causing the maiden internal injury.

"Ning-guniang, this book came from Gu Can's house. Although I don't think it counts as stealing, it should be returned to Gu Can later. But we are friends now, so whatever is written in this book, I hope Ning-guniang, after reading it, will keep it to herself."

The maiden took a deep breath, slamming a hand on the table, glaring, and retorting, "Read what? Read it yourself! I don't care!"

Chen Pingan's next sentence left the maiden speechless, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "Ning-guniang, I can't read. Can you teach me?"

The black-clad maiden's mind raced. She chuckled, "Aren't you afraid I'll take advantage of you? Think about it, Gu Can is obviously someone enjoying a vast inheritance, even the natural sword talent Liu Xianyang can't compare, and in this small town's thousand-year history, few can rival him. So how bad could the heirloom he carefully treasures be? Aren't you afraid I'll be seized by greed, monopolizing this priceless secret manual?"

Under the faint, flickering lamplight, the straw-sandaled boy smiled slightly, offering no explanation.

The maiden scoffed, shifting her position, signaling the straw-sandaled boy to sit beside her. However, Chen Pingan remained rooted in place. The maiden exclaimed, "Ning Yao can beat a hundred of you with one hand..."

As she said this, the maiden chuckled to herself, "Are you afraid I'll take advantage of you?"

Chen Pingan sat beside the maiden, feeling somewhat apprehensive and nervous.

Maiden Ning Yao was still immersed in the context of her previous words, becoming increasingly fixated, muttering to herself, "One hundred Chen Pingans with one hand, hmm, this saying has broad applicability. When I meet someone, and after sparring, if they are defeated by me, I can utter, 'You only have the strength of three thousand Chen Pingans, yet you dare challenge me?' Sounds good. If I encounter a primordial beast or a monstrous swamp dragon, I can tell myself, 'This vile creature is equivalent to thirty thousand Chen Pingans, run!' Haha, acceptable, acceptable..."

Chen Pingan felt utterly bewildered as the black-clad maiden sitting shoulder to shoulder with him suddenly began laughing foolishly.

The maiden's laughter made the poverty-stricken boy feel suddenly rich.

At this moment, neither the boy nor the maiden realized the weight and force that this joking phrase, "One hundred Chen Pingans," would carry in the long years to come.

Especially when the straw-sandaled boy was no longer a boy.

This would become increasingly true.

Ning Yao finally regained her senses, clearing her throat, sitting upright, taking the ancient book, quickly flipping through a few pages, then closing the book, tapping the cover twice with a finger, turning to Chen Pingan, and calmly stating, "This is a boxing manual. The boxing technique is called Shaking Mountains. If we follow the rules of the Jianghu, you can call it the 'Shaking Mountain Manual'."

Chen Pingan's face lit up with anticipation. "And then?"

The black-clad maiden resisted the urge to roll her eyes, doing her best to solemnly open a page, her delicate finger, as tender as a green onion, pointing to the preface on the title page, sliding down as she read aloud, "In my hometown, there is a small insect called a 'Pitiful Ant,' throughout its life, unlike its counterparts elsewhere, all are engaged in moving mountain rocks into the water."

"My boxing method distinguishes life and death, not victory and defeat, emphasizing divine intent, not forms, when these six stances are practiced to perfection, the destructive power is immense, often deeply injuring a person's internal organs..."

"Although the 'Shaking Mountain Manual' has never been among the esteemed ranks of contemporary boxing manuals, I firmly believe that upon examining all martial arts under heaven, this boxing method will certainly have a place. I hope that the one destined to encounter it will carry it forward and bring it to glory..."

Ning Yao patiently read each sentence of the preface to Chen Pingan.

A thin booklet, the boxing manual consisting of only six stances, yet the preface was surprisingly long.

After Ning Yao finished reading the preface, she pushed the boxing manual towards Chen Pingan, patted Chen Pingan's shoulder, and casually said, "Keep it safe, don't let it get stolen."

Chen Pingan nodded, cautiously reaching out with both hands to support the ancient boxing manual.

Ning Yao watched, constantly wanting to laugh. A book placed on the table, could it grow legs and run away on its own, or did Chen Pingan fear it would fall?

Chen Pingan vigorously rubbed his right hand on his clothes, then opened the book, reading the preface word by word, followed by illustrations, in any case, the straw-sandaled boy saw a confusing mess.

Ning Yao sat sideways, her elbow resting on the table, gazing at the boy's profile, teasing, "Do you feel like you've struck it rich? Are you going to use a golden axe to chop firewood and eat with a golden bowl?"

The boy did not look up, carefully pondering the illustrations and the incomprehensible text, frankly stating, "Actually, when I saw your expression just now, I knew this boxing manual wouldn't be too good, but it doesn't matter. To me, it's good enough."

Ning Yao raised an eyebrow, also bluntly stating, "The things I've seen or heard of are indeed very good, but outside of that, I can only distinguish between good things and bad things, but how good the good things are, how bad the bad things are, is hard to say."

Chen Pingan looked up, "Then this Shaking Mountain Manual, does it belong to the category of 'good, but not too good'?"

Ning Yao irritably said, "I don't know how to describe how terrible this broken boxing manual is!"

The straw-sandaled boy blinked, a hint of a smile playing on his lips.

Clearly, he had already known, merely joking with the maiden.

Ning Yao reached out and pulled her saber an inch from its scabbard, threatening, "Do you want to be slashed?"

Chen Pingan glanced at the green-sheathed saber at her waist, sincerely praising, "Very beautiful."

Ning Yao accepted it readily, "The sabers and swords that I, Ning Yao, personally select are naturally not bad!"

Chen Pingan looked at her, feeling somewhat envious and admiring of her confidence, even though she was the same age as him, and in an unfamiliar land, but no matter what, no matter the circumstances, she was like a rising sun, unstoppable. This, Chen Pingan, with his sharp mind, could feel from Lu Daoren's cautiousness when dealing with her.

Chen Pingan couldn't help but say, "If sunlight could be exchanged for copper coins, how wonderful!"

Ning Yao, not understanding, asked in surprise, "Chen Pingan, are you crazy about money?"

Chen Pingan quickly changed the subject, flipping to the first page of the boxing manual, "Ning-guniang, can you read the text of this illustration for me?"

Ning Yao thought for a moment, not refusing, but asking, "Do you know why I knew at first glance that this boxing manual was not that good?"

Chen Pingan shook his head, "I'm also curious."

The maiden smiled, simply facing the boy on the bench, sitting cross-legged, pointing to the open boxing manual, patiently explaining, "Martial artists' martial arts secret manuals and cultivators' cultivation methods generally have three ways of recording them. The first is like this Shaking Mountain Manual, using ordinary paper pages. How many years it can be preserved depends on luck. Not to mention war and disaster, after a long period of humidity, insect damage, etc., it will gradually be damaged and disappear, right?"

Chen Pingan nodded, suddenly realizing something.

The maiden continued, "Therefore, in this way of carrying text with physical objects, there is an unwritten rule, which is to pay attention to the rarity of the material, that is, the thing carrying the text is commensurate with the value of the text content. It's like you wouldn't use a box made of elm to store a national jade seal."

Chen Pingan was thoughtful.

Ning Yao hesitated slightly, but still opened the skylight and spoke frankly to the boy, "The next type is not establishing words, emphasizing oral transmission. These are mostly the secret skills of sects and gangs, often hidden from outsiders, or with cumbersome rules such as not passing it on to women, and even many so-called direct disciples, inner disciples, may not be able to obtain the complete true inheritance, the true inheritance, is in this."

Ning Yao sighed, "As for the last type, it can only be understood intuitively, not verbally, even speaking is not allowed, cannot be spoken. For example, the two forces that entered the small town this time, Cai Jinjian of Yunxia Mountain, her Yunxia Mountain, has the 'Viewing Cloud Sea' event, the clouds surging, the cloud haze is particularly special, containing spiritual energy, praised by you people of the Eastern Treasure Bottle Continent as a 'celestial treasure', some can even transform into past patriarchs, if one has the opportunity, they can meet and communicate with them, and the dense sword energy on the summit of Zhengyang Mountain, it is said that by accident, due to fate, will also appear the sword spirits of the old ancestors of Zhengyang peaks, evolving the sword path, as to whether one can see it, it only depends on the size of fortune, not on the nobility of identity, not on the level of cultivation."

Ning Yao finally said, "Of course, the three methods do not have absolute levels, if the first method is to engrave the text on jade plates, or the Bamboo Sea Paradise, one of the seventy-two paradises, specially produces a mysterious and profound washing bamboo, it is a different matter, in addition to this, there are countless strange items, as long as you go far enough, you can always encounter surprises. The great world is full of wonders, you should still go out and walk more in the future, not to mention the extravagant hope of leaving the Eastern Treasure Bottle Continent, leaving this world, at least strive to reach the border of the Dali Dynasty's territory."

Chen Pingan nodded, clearly his mind was all concerned about the boxing manual, he pointed to a word, "Ning-guniang, how do you pronounce this?"

The maiden was furious, "Get out!"