Chapter 20: Tai Chi Fist Again?

  Liu Yunshi was sitting on the sofa watching TV when she saw Chen Dasheng come out of the shower and hurriedly asked, "Where are you going to play? Are you going to gamble again?"

  From Liu Yun's eyes, Chen Daxing could vaguely recognize a thread of small excitement. This girl seemed to have gotten hooked on making money with him yesterday.

  "I'm going to my sister's place, I have something to ask her, and I might not be back tonight!" Chen Dajun said.

  "What?!" Liu Yunshi looked somewhat disappointed. "If you're not coming back, what am I supposed to do? My feet hurt, where can I go?"

  Chen Dasheng blew his hair while saying, "Aren't there any dishes left in the fridge? Just cook and eat yourself! If you think it's a hassle, I have several packs of instant noodles in my room, go get them yourself!"

  Liu Yunshi pouted, looking unwilling and unenthusiastic.

  "Right, that He Liang from yesterday might be a bit of trouble. For the next two days, don't go downstairs, just stay at home and behave yourself. When I come back, I'll bring you some good food. If anything happens, give me a call!"

  "Oh!" Liu Yunshi nodded and looked at Chen Dajie who was about to leave, hastily calling out to him, "You haven't fed Huzigu today yet, can you help me feed it before you go?"

  Hu Bugei is the name of a turtle. A year ago, Chen Dasheng and several close friends went fishing in Qing Shui River, as a result, Chen Dasheng caught a big turtle.

  That turtle was as big as a stone mill, Chen Dasheng jumped into the clear water river and only picked it up. At that time, many people were envious, listening to some old people say that the turtle was probably already over a hundred years old.

  At that time, Chen Daxing was overjoyed. He had originally planned to take it back and make a soup for Li Lan to drink, but unexpectedly, as soon as he got home, Liu Yunshi spotted it and directly snatched it away in a domineering manner. From then on, the big turtle became Liu Yunshi's spoiled pet, and Liu Yunshi even gave it a personal name, Hu Bu Gui.

  After that, Hu Bu Gui settled down here and Chen Da Sheng, under Liu Yun Shi's coercion, set up a nest for it on the balcony, raising it like a cat or dog.

  Considering Liu Yunshi's injured foot, Chen Dajie didn't bother her and took some cool lettuce leaves from the refrigerator to the balcony.

  Hú Bù Guī was lying on the balcony, comfortably basking in the morning sun. His black-green carapace sparkled under the sunlight.

  As soon as Chen Dashi approached, Hu Buge's four thick legs and that provocative big head suddenly shrunk into the shell.

  "Are you a turtle or what? I've raised you for so long, don't you recognize me?" Seeing Hu Bu Gui withdraw his head, Chen Da Sheng couldn't help but scold him with a smile, and threw the two pieces of vegetable leaves in front of Hu Bu Gui before returning to the living room.

  "I'm leaving, stay home and watch TV quietly, don't run around! If you're bored, play with Hu Bu Gui!" Chen Da Sheng said to Liu Yun Shi on the sofa while changing his shoes at the door.

  Liu Yunshi said, "Just two pieces of vegetable leaves, that's enough for Hu Bu Gui to eat!"

  "You've never heard of the thousand-year-old turtle, the ten-thousand-year-old tortoise? Turtles are famous for their longevity, going hungry for a few days won't be a problem. If you're worried it'll go hungry, just pour some leftover food into its enclosure and that's it! This old tortoise isn't picky!" Chen Dasheng said.

  "When are you coming back?" asked Liu Yunshi.

  "Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, don't think about me too much!" Chen Dasheng smiled slyly at Liu Yunshi.

  "Get out! Who will miss you!"

  Liu Yunshi spat out a mouthful, directly throwing the pillow at Chen Dasheng, but unfortunately it was one step too late, Chen Dasheng had already run out and closed the door behind him.

  "Stinky guy, leaving a girl alone at home while you're out having fun, it's really too much! Liu Yunshi muttered to herself, but when she turned around, she saw Hu Buzhui crawling in from the balcony. Suddenly, she said to Hu Buzhui, "Hu Buzhui, your dad doesn't want us anymore!"

  If Chen Daxing were here and heard Liu Yunshi's words, he would definitely be furious.

  ——

  Manjusri Monastery, Sister's Quarters.

  "Sister, why did Liu Xiaomin and the others say that you have a great reputation in Chengdu? What has happened over the past three years? What are you hiding from me?"

  At night, Chen Daxing found Chen Xiaoli's study and could no longer suppress the doubts in his heart. He had never been so eager to know what his sister had experienced over the past three years.

  Chen Xiaoli savored the tea leaves he had brought from his hometown, gazing at Chen Dasheng with a hint of a smile as if to say "Guess?"

  Chen Dàshèng wordlessly rolled his eyes and sat down beside Chen Xiǎolì, saying in a bad temper, "You're not going to tell me that you've become the boss of an underworld organization or been kept by some high-ranking official, are you?"

  "Go?" Chen Xiaoli slapped a palm on Chen Dajie's forehead and scolded, "Do you speak of your sister like that?"

  "Then you'd better say it!" Chen Dasheng exclaimed, covering his head.

  Chen Xiaoli slowly put down her teacup and said to Chen Dasheng, "Before sister answers your question, you have to answer a question from sister first!"

  "What? What did you say?" Chen Dashi asked.

  Chen Xiaoli's smile immediately disappeared and was replaced with a serious expression, as he directly asked Chen Dasheng, "Who did you learn your martial arts from?"

  "Martial arts?" Chen Dashi was taken aback, then shrugged and said, "No, I've never learned martial arts from anyone!"

  About the inheritance of the giant spirit tribe, Chen Dabing still doesn't want anyone to know, it's just a secret for now, and when Chen Xiaoli asks, he can only pretend not to know, but in his heart, he is comforting himself that he really hasn't learned martial arts from anyone, so it doesn't count as deception.

  Chen Xiaoli took a deep look at Chen Daxing, and with her discerning eye that had seen countless people, she could only see the calmness in Chen Daxing's eyes, without any hint of retreat or evasion. She couldn't help but feel puzzled again - having not learned any martial arts, how did he possess such immense power?

  "Great, yesterday my sister tried your strength, the power on you is absolutely not something an ordinary person can have. Can you tell me what has been happening to you these days?" Chen Xiaoli asked after some thought.

  Is it not somewhat unkind to deceive my sister like this? Chen Dabing looked at Chen Xiaoli's weathered face and felt a twinge of guilt. After some thought, he said, "If I must say something about martial arts, I can probably show off a few moves, but I'm not even sure if that's really martial arts!"

  "Huh?" Chen Xiaoli's eyes lit up as he continued waiting for Chen Dasheng's next words.

  Chen Dasheng dryly laughed, "Sister, I don't know if that's martial arts or not. Originally yesterday I wanted to find you to take a look for me, but you abandoned me and went to play mahjong instead!"

  Chen Xiaoli heard this and immediately stood up, pulling Chen Daxing along, saying "Come with me!"

  ——

  The courtyard was quiet, with only the faint scent of flowers floating in the air and the occasional calls of unknown autumn insects. The October night did not have the sweltering heat of August or September, and the cool breeze carried the fragrance of flowers, making people feel a sense of subtle elegance.

  As Chen Xiaoli arrived in the yard, Chen Xiaoli stood on the steps and said to Chen Dasheng, "Show me the kung fu moves you've been practicing."

  "Oh!"

  Chen Daxing responded with a sound and stood directly in the center of the courtyard, looking up at Chen Xiaoli and said, "This is a set of fist techniques!"

  Chen Xiaoli nodded slightly and said, "Let's start, be quiet, don't wake them up!"

  "Hmm!"

  Chen Daxing nodded in response, then immediately stood with his legs apart, assuming a stance, and slowly began to practice his own somewhat unorthodox Tai Chi routine.

  Wild horses separate their manes, white cranes spread their wings, embracing knees and twisting steps, hands waving pipa, reversing sleeves, holding magpie tails...

  The alternative Tai Chi Fist was performed by Chen Daxiong, similar to the original, as if it had been tempered a thousand times, extremely skilled, every punch made, and all muscles and bones in his body were bursting with explosive sounds.

  Chen Daxing, immersed in the world of boxing, didn't notice at all that when he made the starting gesture of Tai Chi, Chen Xiaoli's eyes had already lit up, and it was unclear whether she was surprised or puzzled.

  "Ah!"

  After finishing a set of punches, Chen Da Sheng let out a long sigh and surprisingly spat out a mouthful of steam-like water vapor from his mouth. His whole body was boiling with energy and blood, the feeling was just like eating **.

  "How is it? Sister, how's this fist technique? I can now only do four repetitions at most, but by the fourth repetition, my whole body feels hot, just like being fried in oil. When the boiling blood and energy subsided a bit, Chen Daxing finally looked up at Chen Xiaoli."

  Chen Xiaoli's mouth was already wide open, unable to speak. After a while, he asked Chen Dasheng, "Who did you learn this boxing from?"

  Chen Daxing shook his head bluntly, "I don't know, it just came to me suddenly!"

  "Will it suddenly work?" Chen Xiaoli bit her lower lip and furrowed her brow, seemingly lost in thought.

  "What's wrong, sister? Is there something wrong with this boxing technique?" Seeing Chen Xiaoli remaining silent for a long time, Chen Dasheng's face flashed with a hint of worry. Could it be that this boxing technique really has problems? If he practices and ends up crippling himself, what would happen then?

  Chen Xiaoli looked up at Chen Daxing and didn't say much. He walked directly to Chen Daxing's side and said, "You go watch from the side!"

  "Ah? Oh!" Chen Dajie was stunned for a moment, nodded somewhat unclearly, and quickly dodged to one side.

  "Look out!"

  Chen Xiaoli turned around and said something to Chen Daxing, then immediately stood with his legs apart, slightly crouched down, and took a stance.

  "The Ultimate Reality gives birth to the infinite, it is the mechanism of movement and stillness, the mother of yin and yang. When it moves, it separates; when it is still, it unites. Without excess or deficiency, it follows the curved and straightens..."

  Chen Xiaoli muttered to himself as he began to move, and when Chen Daxing saw Chen Xiaoli's boxing technique, it was his turn to be surprised. He found that Chen Xiaoli's boxing technique was quite similar to the one he had figured out, although not exactly the same. Just looking at the moves, there were at least nine similarities, with only some minor differences in the transition between moves.

  "What's going on? Did sister just learn from me?" Chen Dashi felt a hint of doubt in his heart.

  However, gradually, Chen Daxing finally discovered what surprised him even more.

  Chen Xiaoli's fists flew up, soft and gentle to the extreme, sometimes slow and sometimes fast. One move, one style, actually stirred the surrounding air. Chen Daxing only felt the wind from his fist whistling past his ears, the cold wind swirling around the small trees and flowers in the courtyard, making a rustling sound. Then, withered leaves and wild grass flew everywhere, circling around Chen Xiaoli in a whirlwind.

  ;