Chapter 125: Training Begins

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At the crack of dawn, Old Man Ma dragged me out of bed and hauled me deep into the mountains, where he led me around in a daze.

“Did you memorize the route we just took?” Old Man Ma asked.

“I did.” What next? Was he making me exercise my memory first thing in the morning?

“Now run twenty laps along the same route! Don’t even think about slacking off. I know exactly what you’re capable of!”

Twenty laps! We had just walked a huge circuit around the mountain, at least a thousand meters! Back at school, running eight laps around the track had been my absolute limit. And the mountain paths were rugged and uneven, overgrown with weeds and trees. He was trying to kill me!

Before I could say anything, Old Man Ma urged me on. “You’re far too weak. If you want to establish yourself in this line of work, you can’t go on like this. These mountains are far from the human world and rich in spiritual energy, which will aid your cultivation. If you want to improve, do as I say!”

I truly did need to improve. I had to grow stronger—not only to avenge Fourth Aunt and Zhang Haozi, but also for Sister Yan.

I stopped complaining and obeyed Old Man Ma, running along the path we had just taken.

Running through the mountains felt completely different from running on a track. I had to stay completely focused. Never mind the potholes along the way—I could easily run straight into a tree.

I ran lap after lap while Old Man Ma sat on a section of deadwood, leisurely drinking from his gourd and looking perfectly at ease.

For the first few laps, I was still full of energy. By the eighth, I was exhausted as usual, my whole body burning and sweat pouring down my back. Apart from having a fever, I had almost never sweated so much in the middle of winter.

Finally, gasping for breath, I said to Old Man Ma, “I... I can’t... huff...”

A sharp sound split the air. Suddenly, a searing pain tore across my back, as though my flesh had been ripped open. I shuddered and spun around.

Old Man Ma was holding a wooden stick! It made no sense. I was dressed so thickly—how could it hurt this much?

Then I noticed a talisman pasted to the end of the stick. The problem had to be that thing!

“Keep running!” Old Man Ma urged without a hint of hesitation, raising the stick as though he was about to lash me again.

I jolted and hurried forward. Somehow, through sheer desperation, I managed to complete another lap. I was utterly shaken. I had never imagined that one day I would make it to a ninth lap. It was unbelievable!

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Yet after that ninth lap, both my legs were trembling and limp, utterly incapable of producing another ounce of strength. My chest felt as though it had reached its limit; I could no longer draw in even the slightest breath.

My face must have looked utterly ghastly. I could no longer speak and could only look at Old Man Ma, gesturing desperately to show him that I truly could not go on.

Crack!

A fiery pain exploded across my back. I clenched my teeth and forced myself to keep running. I had no idea how I managed to lift my feet. My legs were completely devoid of strength, and stabbing pain pulsed through my chest. My vision swam. The colors gradually faded until everything before me turned gray and white.

I did not know how far I ran or how much time passed. Then the terrible pain of another blow struck my back. My body pitched forward, all strength finally leaving me, and I collapsed onto the ground.

The world before my eyes was gray and murky. My limbs had gone numb, and the only message my entire body could send to my brain was this: agony.

Gasping desperately, I felt the pain in my chest grow even worse.

Crack!

The wooden stick struck me again. I shuddered, but I no longer had the strength even to crawl back to my feet.

Old Man Ma’s furious, contemptuous voice reached my ears. “You’re far too weak! You couldn’t even make it halfway!”

I had actually run halfway—ten laps. I could hardly believe it.

A rooster crowed, and the villagers began rising to go to work. Old Man Ma and I returned from the mountains. I trudged along behind him, my legs heavy and leaden. In the end, I had failed to complete all twenty laps. Old Man Ma was furious with my performance. Clearly, he had never imagined that I would be even weaker than he expected.

Tuer had already woken up and was stretching outside the house. When he saw me in that state, he asked in bewilderment, “What happened to you two?”

I could only smile bitterly.

Old Man Ma called me into the courtyard. “Your legs are useless, but your arms still work. I won’t make things too difficult for you. Do thirty push-ups, then come in for breakfast. You’re simply too weak. I’ll have to come up with a new training regimen for you.”

So he really had been training me in earnest. I had thought he’d made me run those twenty laps as revenge for my hiding Tuer’s origins from him. But as for push-ups, I usually managed twenty at most...

I struggled through twenty-four before I could no longer lift myself. Old Man Ma grew even angrier, his entire face darkening.

“How did Old Chen ever take a liking to you?” he snapped.

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After breakfast, Old Man Ma said, “Your body is truly in terrible shape. It’s not entirely because of the ghost curse hidden inside you. I’d wager that after you came of age, you failed to apply yourself—eating, drinking, chasing pleasure, indulging in every vice imaginable—and ruined your body completely!”

He had hit the nail on the head. I could only smile sheepishly.

“Your body is weak, but at least your mind is reasonably sharp. I’ll teach you how to recognize talismans later. Today, you’re going to study talisman drawing properly!”

We cleared the table in the sitting room and sent Tuer outside. Old Man Ma brought out blank talisman paper, brushes, and ink, then produced a stack of talismans bearing a variety of intricate patterns.

“Talisman drawing is a form of sorcery widely practiced in the Southern Lingnan traditions. Talismans can be used for both righteous and wicked purposes, and their applications are numerous, so I won’t list them all. Just remember this: any sorcery intended to take a life is evil sorcery. The same goes for talismans.”

I nodded, though my mind was elsewhere. Taking advantage of Tuer’s absence, I asked Old Man Ma, “Why did you bring Tuer here with us?”

Old Man Ma’s expression hardened. “If I hadn’t brought him along, leaving him outside would have been even worse. That boy is the expert you encountered in Hainan, isn’t he?”

“You knew?” I asked in surprise.

“I guessed it from the hesitant look on your face in the car! He was the one who disposed of the White Beauty belonging to the Gu girl, wasn’t he?” Old Man Ma said.

I said nothing, which amounted to an admission.

Looking at me, Old Man Ma said meaningfully, “That boy is extraordinarily capable, and he also knows wicked sorcery. He must have a powerful background. When I told you to be careful around him, I meant that you mustn’t alarm or offend him, nor associate yourself with him and risk straying onto the wrong path.”

“He did save me twice. If not for him yesterday, I wouldn’t have survived until you arrived.” The same had been true in the forest of vines. Without him, I would certainly have died. Besides, he had done me an enormous favor by taking Sister Yan’s ghost away. I was grateful to him from the bottom of my heart.

“You consider him a friend now, so naturally you think he’s trustworthy. The day he becomes your enemy, you’ll understand how troublesome he can be. Since you’re my disciple, you cannot choose the wrong side. You must follow the righteous path!”

Old Man Ma had not made his meaning entirely explicit, but I understood him. If Tuer truly belonged to some unorthodox and wicked tradition, then he and I were destined to walk different roads.