Chapter 45 The Arrival of the New Year

At the fifth watch the next day, Li Yanqing once again arrived at the small grove. Hu Sheng was already waiting for him there. Seeing Li Yanqing run up, he smiled and said, "There was no preparation yesterday, so it was just running. Today, we are going to add a little something extra."

Li Yanqing was overjoyed. "Is uncle going to teach me saber techniques today?"

"No!"

Hu Sheng retorted rather huffily, "Today is still running, but before we run, you will lift the stone locks one hundred times!"

Li Yanqing looked back and saw two stone locks, one large and one small, placed beneath the tree. The larger one probably weighed around a hundred catties, while the smaller one was roughly twenty catties.

Hu Sheng stepped forward and effortlessly lifted the hundred-catty stone lock, raising it high above his head. He shouted to the dazed Li Yanqing, "Let's begin! Once we finish the hundred lifts, we will run."

With no other choice, Li Yanqing stepped forward and tried his utmost to lift the stone lock...

The biting wind was piercingly cold. The two of them ran one after the other along the Yongji Canal for over thirty li. Li Yanqing was panting heavily, unable to even speak, and his legs felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead. This was completely different from yesterday's run.

Hu Sheng glanced at him and pointed at a large boulder not far away. "I'll spare you for today. Rest for a moment, and we'll resume running immediately!"

Li Yanqing collapsed instantly onto the boulder. At this moment, the cold bluestone felt even more comfortable than a goose-down cushion. He had never been this exhausted in his entire life, feeling as though his entire body no longer belonged to him.

Hu Sheng did not rest, however. He began practicing shadow boxing in the open space. The boxing routine was executed with formidable, tiger-like vigor, yet it left Li Yanqing dizzy, with a tight chest and a desire to vomit.

When Hu Sheng finally finished the routine and Li Yanqing's breathing had calmed down slightly, the boy hurriedly clapped and cheered, "What a magnificent boxing style! Uncle is truly formidable!"

Hu Sheng sneered in response, "Whether it's the spearplay you saw yesterday or the boxing style you saw today, they are nothing more than flashy displays. They are completely useless on a battlefield."

"Then what kind of martial arts are useful?"

"Running! If you can't beat them, flee. That is more practical than anything else."

Li Yanqing offered a bitter, speechless smile. Uncle Hu was genuinely teaching him the art of escaping with his life!

Hu Sheng waved a hand. "Keep running. No stopping this time."

Though Li Yanqing was brimming with questions, Hu Sheng had already started running. His voice drifted back from afar: "If you want to ask something, ask while we run."

Li Yanqing had no choice but to quicken his pace and catch up.

"Uncle, why was yesterday's run so easy, but today is so exhausting?"

Hu Sheng laughed heartily. "How can running not be tiring? It's just that yesterday's fatigue has accumulated into today. The reason I made you lift the stone locks today was to release a portion of your fatigue first, otherwise you wouldn't have been able to run even ten li today."

"Lifting stone locks counts as resting?"

"Of course! Isn't practicing calligraphy a form of rest for you, too?"

......

"Uncle making me run is to train my endurance, right?"

"As expected of a scholar, you're clever. When two armies clash, the ones who end up killed are either those with too little strength, those with insufficient stamina, or those who run too slowly. Running trains both stamina and speed; it is the best method for strengthening the body."

"What about strength, then? How should I train my strength?"

"Why would you train your strength? Even if you practiced for a lifetime, you wouldn't catch up to me."

"But... without training strength, how can I fight the Khitan barbarians?"

Hu Sheng suddenly stopped. Staring intently at Li Yanqing, he said, "When you matched strength with Liu Chenghong, even if you used every ounce of your power, you couldn't match a single arm of his. Yet that day, you almost disemboweled him. Have you forgotten?"

A flash of understanding dawned on Li Yanqing. "Uncle means my speed is fast!"

Hu Sheng resumed running and smiled at Li Yanqing. "You possess two astonishing natural gifts: one is speed, and the other is precision. If you delve deeply into these two gifts and master them thoroughly, your martial arts will naturally manifest. Why bother learning so many moves? To kill a man, a single strike is enough to take his life."

Li Yanqing was suddenly enlightened. "Uncle, I understand."

"As long as you understand, stop talking. Use the breathing technique I taught you, and you won't feel tired much longer!"

Hu Sheng accelerated his running pace. Li Yanqing stopped talking as well, regulated his breathing, and followed closely behind Hu Sheng's footsteps. Despite his young age, he did not fall behind at all. Hu Sheng silently praised him inwardly; the child's comprehension was exceptional, and perhaps he truly would become a remarkable figure in the future.

......

Thus, Li Yanqing followed Hu Sheng every dawn to run. The breathing technique Hu Sheng taught him greatly increased the efficiency of his running, and his stamina improved day by day. Li Yanqing quickly experienced the benefits brought by running: he felt spirited and full of energy every day, and his memory improved, making his studies effortless.

Starting from the eleventh day, Hu Sheng began strapping lead bags to his legs and arms to increase the difficulty of the run. In Hu Sheng's words, this was to ensure that he would be able to escape with his family fortune later in life.

Time passed day by day, and the festive atmosphere of the New Year grew stronger. The very first New Year since Li Yanqing's arrival in the Song Dynasty was approaching.

Li Daqi had already returned home. He knew that his son followed Hu Sheng for morning runs every day, but he did not object, provided it did not interfere with his studies for martial arts. Running strengthened the body and benefited scholarship; Li Daqi knew this truth profoundly from personal experience.

However, the closer it got to the New Year, the busier Li Daqi became. Many clansmen had traveled back from other places, which was just the right time for him to update the clan genealogy. For the past few days, he and Li Daguang had been leaving early and returning late.

On the twenty-sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, the school began its winter break, and the students could finally sleep in. Li Yanqing, however, was not granted this luxury; once he followed Uncle Hu on his runs, he could not stop.

Early that morning, after the two finished their run and parted ways, Hu Sheng smiled at Li Yanqing and said, "We are pounding rice cakes today. Come over and help out!"

"Alright!"

Li Yanqing was very excited. When he was young, his family used to pound rice cakes, and when he went to the county to participate in the children's gathering, he had also seen the townspeople pounding rice cakes. Surprisingly, it was no different from his childhood memories. He had always wanted to watch, but never had the chance to go out. He had not expected Uncle Hu to be pounding rice cakes as well, filling him with anticipation.

After going home and eating a few coarse-flour steamed buns, he rinsed his body with cold water by the well. Just as he finished tidying up, he heard little Qing'er calling him in the courtyard.

"Coming!"

Li Yanqing threw on a short jacket and stepped out into the courtyard.

"Second Brother, it's time to make rice cakes!" Little Qing'er hopped and skipped around with the excitement of a little rabbit.

In the past, when Li Daqi was destitute, Uncle Hu would always pound rice cakes and send some over to them. This year, their family's circumstances had improved, so they could collaborate on pounding rice cakes. The two households bought seven dou of glutinous rice and three dou of nonglutinous rice. Auntie Hu steamed them, and the rest of the work fell to her son, Hu Sheng.

There were two types of vessels for pounding rice cakes: a stone trough for two people pounding together, and a stone mortar for a single person. The striking tool was a wooden mallet. Whether for a pair or an individual, someone had to stand ready to turn the rice dough over at any moment so that it would be pounded evenly and delicately, resulting in a better taste.

Hu Sheng wore a sleeveless short jacket, exposing his dark, glistening, powerful muscles—exceptionally robust. Li Yanqing was dressed the same way, though his arms were much fairer and thinner, yet he still looked quite sturdy.

"I'll strike from above, and you turn from below. You must be quick-witted and nimble-handed, and make sure you don't get hit by my mallet. Do you understand?"

"Uncle, is this also a form of martial arts training?" Li Yanqing asked excitedly.

Hu Sheng chuckled softly. "This isn't martial arts training. I'm just utilizing the advantage of your fast speed to turn the rice dough for me. No one else can keep up with my rhythm, but I think you can."

The two washed their hands clean. Hu Sheng stretched his arms. "Let's begin!"

Li Yanqing understood tacitly. At first, he wasn't needed, but after dozens of strikes, the cooked rice gradually fused into a cohesive lump. Hu Sheng shouted, "Start turning!"

Hu Sheng struck once. The very instant the wooden mallet was raised, Li Yanqing used the fastest possible speed to flip the rice mass in the stone mortar. Seeing that the boy was a bit tense, Hu Sheng smiled and said, "Take it slowly at first. Once we are familiar with the coordination, we'll pick up the speed."

The success of pounding rice cakes did not depend on the person striking, but rather on the person turning the rice below. Generally speaking, the faster and more thoroughly it was turned, the more evenly it was pounded, making the final rice cake all the more delicate and delicious.

And so, one person struck from above while the other turned from below, their movements growing faster and faster until they became a blur.

The two pounded without stopping for half an hour until Hu Sheng shouted, "Stop!"

Both halted simultaneously. Li Yanqing was drenched in sweat, his clothes soaked entirely. Hu Sheng was the same. Giving a thumbs-up, Hu Sheng praised, "That was truly exhilarating, Brother Qing. You're the first person who has ever allowed me to strike with such absolute satisfaction."

Li Yanqing also smiled and said, "At first I could still see, but later on it was completely based on instinct. To not have been hit by the mallet truly was sheer luck."

"That wasn't sheer luck!"

Hu Sheng smiled gently at Li Yanqing and said, "At first you watched with your eyes, but later you watched with your heart. This is a talent you've had since childhood. Come! Let's change to another tub of rice and continue."

The two pounded three large tubs of cooked rice in one breath. Nearby, Auntie Hu and Qing'er's mother began shaping the rice cakes using molds, producing plump, delicate rice cakes one after another.

Little Qing'er played enthusiastically nearby, molding two little rabbits and a small deer.

Having finished pounding the rice cakes, Li Yanqing stood up and caught his breath. His entire body was drenched in sweat, and he lifted the hem of his jacket to wipe his brow. At that very moment, voices came from the entrance, and a middle-aged woman poked her head in to ask, "Is Brother Qing here?"

It turned out to be Third Aunt Gu from the village. Li Yanqing smiled and said, "Third Aunt, I'm right here!"

Suddenly, five or six people poured in from outside—all fellow villagers from the same community. Beaming with smiles, they crowded around Li Yanqing, all talking at once. "Brother Qing, please write a few couplets for the New Year for us!"

Naturally, Li Yanqing would not refuse the request of his neighbors. He turned to Hu Sheng and asked, "Uncle, do you have anything else you need me to help with?"

Hu Sheng shook his head and smiled. "I originally wanted to take you to slaughter a pig, but never mind. I'll take Huzi and Zhuzi instead. You go and write couplets for everyone, and don't forget to write one for me as well."

"Don't worry, Uncle, I won't forget!"

Li Yanqing went home to put on a jacket, and was immediately surrounded and escorted away by the crowd to write New Year couplets.