Chapitre 12: Chapter 12 Learning the Nine Skills, Cultivating Qi-Blood
Fortunately, Chen Dahu did not notice anything unusual.
Seeing there was no sign of Shen Fang in the house, Shen Qing guessed she must have gone to Aunt's home.
After thinking for a moment, Shen Qing took two hunting crossbows, pulled out a feathered arrow, and walked out.
Considering that there was already meat at home now, he carefully locked the door before leaving.
Shen Qing stepped on the snow and walked to his uncle's house, knocked on the door, and called, "Uncle, Aunt, are you at home?"
In a moment, there was a rustling sound from the door.
Creak.
The old wooden door opened.
Shen Xiaohu saw it was Shen Qing and turned his head towards the house, shouting, "Brother Qingzi is here."
Hearing it was Shen Qing, Aunt's expression turned somewhat displeased. She sat on the chair sewing and didn't even look up.
"Little brother." Shen Fang, who was helping Aunt with her work, felt a sense of relief seeing Shen Qing return unharmed.
Shen Qing glanced around the house and asked, "Where's Uncle?"
Shen Xiaohu replied, "He went up the mountain with Shanwa for a while now. I guess he'll be back soon."
Shen Qing responded with an "uh" and placed the two wild rabbits in his hand on the ground, saying, "Today, I hunted a few hares on the mountain, bringing some for Aunt."
"Brother Qingzi, you should take them back. It's not easy for you and big sister. We have Dad at home, so we have enough to eat," Shen Xiaohu quickly picked up the wild rabbits off the ground and pushed them back into Shen Qing's hands.
Shen Qing refused, saying, "I got quite a lot this time, and there's still more at home. It's not like this is expensive."
His strength was a bit greater than Shen Xiaohu's, so Shen Xiaohu couldn't refuse and had to give up.
"At least you have some conscience." Aunt snorted coldly at the side.
"Mom," Shen Xiaohu called out with a slightly complaining tone.
Aunt Wang gave him a stern look and said nothing more.
Shen Qing smoothly placed the wild rabbits back, and then took out some arrows from under his arm, handing them to Aunt, "I found the arrows I lost previously today, there are the ones I borrowed days ago, just returning them to Uncle and Aunt."
Aunt Wang bit off the thread and said, "Just put them on the table, I'll tell your Uncle later."
"Okay," Shen Qing responded, placing the arrows on the table, "There's nothing else now, I've bothered Aunt for a while, I'll take big sister and head back."
Saying that, Shen Qing was about to turn around and leave, but Aunt Wang called out to him, "Wait."
"What is it, Aunt?"
Aunt Wang took a mended old quilted jacket and measured it against Shen Qing, saying, "Looks just right."
"What's this, Aunt?"
Aunt Wang said, "I noticed you've worn your yun robes for quite a while, and many places are short. I modified one from your brothers' old clothes, so go change into it."
"This..."
"Don't dawdle, go back quickly."
Aunt Wang directly gave a dismissal order.
After spending time together during this period, Shen Qing knew Aunt's temperament well and said no more, leading Shen Fang back home.
On the way, Shen Fang complained quietly, "Qingzi, giving one is enough, we don't have much to eat at home either. We can give more to Aunt's family when we're better off later..."
Shen Qing gave no response and, reaching the home door, opened it to let Shen Fang in.
As soon as entering, Shen Fang immediately saw the pile of wild roe deer meat in the room, and her muttering suddenly stopped.
Shen Fang's eyes were full of disbelief, "Qingzi..."
"Lucky, caught a silly roe deer," Shen Qing turned to look at Shen Fang, half smiling, and said, "Sis, can you cook roe deer meat?"
...
Facts proved that Shen Fang not only had good looks but also decent skills.
In her hands, after being smoked over a wood fire, the roe deer meat turned firm yet pliable, and each bite revealed the resilience and chewiness of the meat fibers.
The surface of the smoked meat formed a slight charred fragrance, blending with the tender meat. Although a bit primitive, it made Shen Qing eat with relish.
The siblings, who hadn't eaten so freely in a long time, heartily devoured the roasted wild roe deer, clearing it up like a sweeping storm.
Even so, there was still a lot of roe deer meat left. Though they ate plenty, it was only a small portion of the whole.
The remaining meat wasn't likely to spoil in such cold conditions, and Shen Qing planned to take half to town to sell for some silver coins.
After filling their stomachs, Shen Fang conscientiously went to clean the house, while the finally free Shen Qing took advantage of the daylight to take out the "Nine Skills" martial arts book and study it closely.
This martial arts book was an entry-level manual, just refining Qi-Blood to lay a foundation before martial masters cultivated their martial path.
The entire martial arts book covered nine major stance exercises without any attacking or killing techniques.
Similar to the health cultivation martial arts like the Eight Sections of Brocade from his previous life.
Considering the understanding of the practitioners, the whole book was mostly illustrated for easy comprehension, so it was simple to follow.
Yet, Shen Qing also knew that the easier such a martial art appeared, the harder it was to learn the entry-level.
Often, there were many subtle details that were hard to notice and easy to overlook.
Whether one successfully learned it depended on these details.
After reading it once, Shen Qing comprehended the general practice methods and began training in the first four stance exercises illustrated within (Hunyuan Stance, Mao Dun Stance, Tuo Ying Zhuang, and Floating Cloud Stance).
He put the blue booklet on the table, opened to a page, clenched his fists, and stood in the Hunyuan Stance as described.
At first, there was no discomfort, but after a dozen breaths, Shen Qing felt a wave of soreness below his waist and knees, which became increasingly apparent.
Shen Qing kept a straight face, clenching his teeth, enduring it.
After a while, his whole body's muscles started to quiver slightly with each breath, as though an invisible force circulated within him.
As his breathing deepened, Shen Qing's body began to tremble slightly, and the Qi-Blood under his skin started to churn.
Suddenly, it was as if he sensed something.
Shen Qing's conscious mind reacted.
In his vision, a drop of ink spread out, revealing ink-text as follows
[Skill: Nine Skills (Entry Level)]
[Progress: 0/100 points]
[Status: Cannot be Improved]
[Note: A method of refining Qi-Blood, continuous practice can increase progress, achieving Great Perfection, and strength like an ox.]
Seeing the ink-text in his vision made Shen Qing involuntarily smile with relief, as the weight on his heart was finally lifted.
It seemed his ink panel wasn't limited to improving Bow Technique and Hunting, even martial arts could progress.
Now that the Nine Skills had appeared in his vision, with continuous practice ahead, it could be a journey of perpetual confirmation, constantly enhancing progress.
Given some time, he'd be able to learn the Nine Skills to Great Perfection.
With this thought, Shen Qing felt full of vigor.
Even though his forehead was covered in a fine layer of sweat, he seemed oblivious, fully immersed in training.
Cadeaux
-- Cadeau
reçu État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone