themonasnovels Chapter 4 Crane Fist
Chapter 4 Crane Fist
It took about a month to cover it up.
We ate almost half of the food we brought, but the house was finally finished.
The trees in the mountains were tall, and Cai Xuan figured that it would take the same amount of effort to cut them longer or shorter, so he simply cut each tree into eight-meter lengths, so the house was also eight meters by eight meters in size.
Worried that the forest would be damp, he added an extra layer on top, making it a two-story building: the lower floor for storing things and the upper floor for living.
The ground floor is not high, only about two meters high; the upper floor where people live is higher, more than three meters high.
A wooden staircase led directly to the second floor from the side of the first floor. A railing was built at the top of the staircase to prevent snakes, insects, and wild animals from climbing up. On the second floor, there was a small platform with a trellis above it, which Cai Xuan planned to use for climbing the golden gourd vines. Behind the platform were two rooms: one for living and one for the kitchen.
The roof is a pointed roof, also made of wood.
The gaps between the wood pieces were filled with dried moss, and then covered with red clay dug from the ground. This was done on both the top and bottom layers.
The platform and roof in front of the house needed to be made more rigorous. Cai Xuan specially made a wooden mallet, then went to the gravel ground to fetch coarse sand and gravel, spread them on the red clay, and tamped them down together. Then he spread another layer of red clay and continued tamping. This way, when the rain came, it would not be easy for the red clay to be washed away.
Moreover, the platform wasn't paved perfectly flat; it was slightly sloped downwards to allow rainwater to drain away.
As for the roof, after it was tamped down, he went to the mountains to find the leaves of some kind of tree, which he didn't know what it was, and laid them layer by layer, then pressed them down with wood to fix them in place, in order to prevent rainwater from seeping into the house.
These leaves are very large, each one is as big as an arm's length, thick and tough, making them perfect for paving roofs.
It's a pity there's no tung oil. If we had applied another layer of tung oil, it probably wouldn't have rotted even if we wanted it to.
The day the house was finished, Cai Xuan moved everything from the tortoise cave over. Living there any longer, he felt like he was turning into a tortoise himself. Constantly crawling in and out—it was true!
That night, Cai Xuan lay on his hardwood bed, breathing in the fresh scent of the wood, scrolling through short videos downloaded on his phone. Only then did he feel as if he had come back to life. Having a house gave his soul a home. Otherwise, he always felt like a wandering soul, drifting aimlessly, empty and without a place to belong.
A disc-shaped object rose from the distant mountain peaks, and night fell.
A mountain wind whistled, and rustling sounds came from the dense forest.
"Waaah—"
Suddenly, a howl echoed from the woods to the left, sounding like a wolf, yet not quite. Cai Xuan didn't think much of it; he'd heard it so often lately that he was almost numb to it. After a moment's thought, he went to a corner and retrieved a rechargeable solar-powered lamp, installing it to instantly illuminate the room.
Sometimes he would work outside until dark, but the work wasn't finished, and he couldn't do it without some light.
He used to use a rechargeable miner's lamp, but when solar energy came out, he bought a solar lamp with strong power storage that could not only provide lighting but also charge his mobile phone and computer.
He always carried this lamp with him, never expecting it would come in handy here.
I hadn't taken it out before because I was busy building a house and living in the turtle cave.
They slept on a canvas from a tricycle spread on the ground, using any unopened package as a pillow.
Now that the house is built, he can't live such a slovenly life anymore. So Cai Xuan unpacked the package containing "The Complete Book of Martial Arts," "The Compendium of Qigong," and "The Illustrated Complete Book of Herbal Medicines," placed the books by the bedside, and laid a sweater on top as a pillow. He lay down to try it out and it felt pretty good.
"roar"
In the distant woods, the roars of beasts grew louder and louder, chaotic and unlike the tranquility of the daytime.
So he doesn't go out at night. No matter what noises are outside, he won't go out until dawn. What if he encounters a wild animal, steps on a poisonous snake, or runs into a poisonous spider? Anything can happen in these mountains and forests, so it's always best to be careful. You only have one life, so you can't be careless.
After watching videos for a while, Cai Xuan got bored and lay down to sleep fully clothed.
There's no signal here, so you're just watching old videos you downloaded before. You wouldn't enjoy watching them even if you watched them dozens of times.
Recently, we've been building a house, working from dawn till dusk every day. Today, I only moved some things and didn't do much work, so I wasn't tired. I lay in bed for a while, but I couldn't fall asleep at all. Unable to sleep, Cai Xuan simply got up, sat cross-legged on the bed, clasped his hands between his legs, looked down at his nose, focused on his lower abdomen, and cleared his mind.
He used to do this when he couldn't sleep, and it was very effective.
My breathing, initially rapid, gradually became gentle and long, and I drifted off to sleep without realizing it.
When Cai Xuan awoke, he didn't know how much time had passed. His legs felt sore and numb, as if they weren't his own. He quickly stood up and moved around. After a while, the soreness and numbness gradually subsided. Perhaps the excitement of the night had worn off, for the roars and commotion from the forest had ceased.
The solar-powered light was still on, so he quickly went over to turn it off and went back to bed to continue sleeping.
"roar"
"boom"
Suddenly, two enormous roars came from somewhere, followed by a muffled collision that shook the earth. The commotion was so great that even he could feel the tremors.
Cai Xuan had no idea what kind of eerie place he had ended up in.
If it's supposed to be ancient times, the commotion is so huge, it doesn't seem like ancient times at all; if it's supposed to be a fantasy world of cultivation, the plants haven't changed much, it doesn't seem like a place where spiritual herbs and fruits are everywhere. After thinking about it for a while, I couldn't find a solution, so I simply stopped thinking about it.
Perhaps because I ate dinner too early, I felt hungry again, so I took out a compressed biscuit to eat.
Cai Xuan is from southern Fujian. His staple food is rice. If he doesn't eat rice for a day, he feels hungry and uncomfortable. In the evening, because he was too lazy to cook, he cooked some instant noodles with canned beef, which he has already digested.
After eating the compressed biscuits, I felt sleepy because I had something in my stomach.
He took out the thermos he had brought, rinsed his mouth to aid digestion, and then went to sleep.
I slept soundly until dawn.
I got up in the morning, removed the wooden block blocking the door, and went outside. The weather was a bit chilly, but the air was incredibly fresh. I took a deep breath, and it seemed to carry a sweet, honey-like aroma that was almost intoxicating.
Exhale a breath of stale air and begin practicing standing meditation.
The stance is the White Crane Stance, which is the stance training he practiced in Crane Fist.
Crane Fist, also known as White Crane Fist, was created by Fang Qiniang from Xiapu, Fujian Province during the Qing Dynasty. It later spread to various places, and today there are practitioners of White Crane Fist in more than 100 countries and regions around the world who have set up schools to teach students.
In the past, there were boxing masters from Cai Xuan's hometown who came to teach him boxing, and this continued until the 90s, so he learned a few moves.
Starting in the 10s, due to social development, the abundance of entertainment, and the high pressure of life, people's enthusiasm for martial arts gradually disappeared, and no one came to teach martial arts anymore.
However, good things never truly disappear. Like traditional Chinese medicine, it only needs a spark to be revitalized. As people's lives have improved, they've exercised less, and their health has begun to decline. At this point, some people gradually realize this and pick up their abandoned martial arts again.
Cai Xuan was the same; during his summer vacation as a child, he learned a few moves of Crane Fist from the villagers and the boxing master.
Later, because he enjoyed watching martial arts in TV shows and movies, and also loved reading martial arts novels, he maintained his passion for martial arts.
Back then, he would get up at five o'clock almost every morning to climb mountains and exercise, then practice boxing with a punching bag. He was very diligent on his own without needing anyone to supervise him. But later, as he grew up, he had to learn a trade, do odd jobs, and work to make a living.
He gradually abandoned martial arts.
It wasn't until the last two years, when he gained weight and became somewhat weak, that he picked up his old hobby again and started practicing martial arts.
The posture of the White Crane Stance resembles a white crane, standing with its wings folded in the wilderness or lake. Head reaching towards the sky, feet firmly planted on the ground, body upright, tongue touching the upper palate. Breathing in and out is natural, soft, and continuous, imperceptible to the ear.
After an unknown amount of time, Cai Xuan opened his eyes and felt refreshed and comfortable all over.
Immediately afterwards, he shook his head, hands, feet, and body, beginning to stretch his muscles and bones.
There are many exercises for strengthening muscles and bones, such as Baduanjin, Wuqinxi, Jinganggong, and Taijiquan, but Cai Xuan did not practice any of these. Instead, he practiced an exercise from a book called Yijinxisuijing, which he bought from a weighing bookstore. It was called "The True Meaning of the Western Region Arhats' Attainment of the Dao" and there was a line of small print below the exercise: "The True Transmission of Shaolin Mandate".
He felt an immediate connection to the illustrations accompanying "The True Meaning of the Western Region Arhats' Attainment of Enlightenment" and started practicing it.
To be honest, I felt refreshed all over after the workout, so it was actually somewhat effective, but that wasn't all it could do.
After obtaining the technique, he practiced it intermittently, only a handful of times a year, and didn't achieve any significant results. He only felt more comfortable after each practice session, so he now uses it as a way to loosen up his muscles and bones before practicing martial arts.