Chapter 377 – Different Treatment
On the second day after returning home, Yang Yi still followed his usual routine, getting up early and jogging around the village for a couple of laps. However, unlike in the city, the people in the village got up very early!
During the first lap, the sky was turning light blue, roosters were crowing, and people were already starting to move around. By the time he ran the second lap, many households had already started to draw water from the well. When they saw Yang Yi running by, those who knew him greeted him.
Finally, passing by the martial arts field, Yang Yi was surprised to see his own father leading a group of young men, ranging from teenagers to those in their twenties, practicing martial arts.
With a hum and a ha, it was a scene of bustling activity!
Yang Chonggui, wearing a short jacket in the middle of winter, was leading them, guiding them through each move. Although he wasn’t supervising them, none of those usually mischievous young men slacked off, each of them punching very seriously.
Wasn’t school already on vacation?
However, Yang Yi soon felt at ease. He remembered that when his father trained him and his two siblings, it was a year-round practice, even in the harsh winter and scorching summer.
However, when Yang Yi ran home, woke up Xixi, took a tree branch, and asked her to practice swordsmanship with him, it wasn’t long before Yang Chonggui came back. The old man saw his beloved granddaughter with a serious face, practicing horse stance, and waving a tree branch, and immediately jumped up in anger.
“What are you doing, you little rascal?” Yang Chonggui glared, grabbed up a whip hanging from a nearby tree, and cracked it loudly in the air.
Yang Yi was startled and quickly stood in front of his daughter.
Before Yang Yi could answer, Yang Chonggui reproached him with a heartache, “How old is Yang Xi? You’re making her practice martial arts at such a young age, isn’t this ruining the child? Yang Xi, come here. Grandpa is here. If your Papa forces you to practice martial arts again, tell Grandpa and I’ll give him a good beating!”
Xixi poked her little head out from behind her father’s back, blinked her eyes, and asked in confusion, “Grandpa, I’m four years old!”
The little girl thought her grandfather was asking about her age.
“Four years old is too young. How can a little girl start practicing martial arts so early? Boys have to wait until they are five years old to start martial arts training, and for girls, it should be even later, at least six years old. Yang Xi’s bones haven’t even fully developed, and you’re letting her practice horse stance. What if she ends up with bowed legs in the future?” Yang Chonggui pushed Yang Yi away and lovingly picked up Xixi.
Yang Huan, who was helping Yang Qing fetch water from the well, pursed her lips and whispered to Yang Qing, “Second brother, I remember when Dad taught me martial arts, I was five years old, right? He would wake me up early in the morning…”
Yang Qing responded with a bitter smile. He was a man of few words, even more so than Yang Chonggui, and could compete with the previous Yang Yi.
“Martial arts training only starts at five years old? Who made that rule?” Yang Yi asked with some confusion.
In his previous life, he had been fighting with the Grim Reaper since he was sensible, constantly learning and fighting.
“It’s a rule set by our ancestors!” Yang Chonggui tenderly touched his granddaughter’s little leg with heartache, casually responded to Yang Yi, and then asked with concern, “Does it hurt, Yang Xi?”
“It doesn’t hurt, I’m used to it. Grandpa, what are bowed legs?” Xixi giggled.
“Like this.” Yang Chonggui put Xixi down, then spread his legs apart, bent into an arch, and walked like a crab, swaying from side to side.
“Hee hee, grandpa, you’re so funny!” The little girl was amused.
She also imitated her grandfather and walked with bowed legs like a crab.
“Yang Xi, right, just like that. In the future, you can’t learn martial arts from your Papa like this. At least wait until you’re five, six, or seven years old,” Yang Chonggui advised.
After playing with her grandfather for a while, Xixi happily ran off to the kitchen to tell her mother about the interesting things her grandfather had just done.
Yang Chonggui then turned to look at Yang Yi, with a scrutinizing look that made Yang Yi’s hair stand on end.
Wasn’t it just a mistake to let Xixi start practicing martial arts too early? Couldn’t he correct his mistake? Yang Yi thought that his old man was making a big deal out of a small matter.
“I saw you running outside the village this morning.” Yang Chonggui finally spoke.
“Hmm.” Yang Yi paused for a moment, then nodded.
“Have you kept up with your martial arts over the years?” Yang Chonggui asked.
“The fist does not leave the hand, the song does not leave the mouth.”1The phrase “拳不离手,曲不离口” (quán bù lí shǒu, qū bù lí kǒu) is a proverb in Chinese, and it can be interpreted to mean that someone is always ready and capable in terms of martial arts. Essentially, it conveys the idea of being skilled and knowledgeable in martial arts and always willing to talk about it.
Yang Chonggui showed a trace of gratification, indicating that he wasn’t holding onto the matter just now. The old man began to take off his cotton-padded jacket, revealing his coarse brown undershirt on his upper body. He said slowly and leisurely, “The two of us haven’t compared notes for two years, right? Come, let me see if your skills are as good as your talk!”
Yang Yi hesitated a bit and said, “Dad, you’re getting old…”
“What, are you looking down on your dad?” Yang Chonggui snorted, “I taught you these martial arts. Let me tell you, no matter how old I am, I’m still your dad. It’s no problem to beat you.”
Yang Yi was silent, although in his heart, he couldn’t help but retort: If you weren’t my dad, I could beat ten of you!
But after Yang Chonggui finished speaking, he took a bow stance and raised his fists, assuming a ready position.
To be honest, the old man’s move really had a bit of the natural and effortless feeling of a master. His energy sank down, faintly giving Yang Yi a bit of pressure.
Yang Yi couldn’t help but put away his contemptuous thoughts.
At this time, he remembered that his old man was indeed very strong! In the past decade, as Yang Chonggui’s hair turned white and he grew older, every time Yang Yi returned home, he would spar with his old man, not daring to use his full strength. But even before that, when he was really fighting with his old man without holding back, the young and strong Yang Yi, despite using all his skills, still couldn’t beat Yang Chonggui, who was already in his fifties at that time!
Moreover, in the past thirty years, Yang Yi seemed to have never seen Yang Chonggui use his full skills!
Just how strong was he? Yang Yi started to get curious.
So, Yang Yi also stopped making a fuss. The ‘whoosh’ of his fist and the tearing force of his clothes caused a loud noise. He also stood in a bow stance, fists clenched, assuming the same posture as Yang Chonggui’s.
Hung Fist! This was the genuine technique that Yang Chonggui passed down to the three siblings, a truly lethal martial art. It was quite different from what he taught to the youngsters in the martial arts field.
The commotion made Yang Qing and Yang Huan, who were drawing water, couldn’t help but stop their actions.
“Brother, who do you think is stronger, big brother or dad?” Yang Huan couldn’t help but ask.
“Dad is stronger, right?” Yang Qing hesitated for a moment, then said with a bitter smile, “I can’t even beat him now.”
“But Big Brother is not bad either. I heard a soldier say that Big Brother is very strong, and none of the tens of thousands of people in the entire army are as strong as Big Brother.” Yang Huan muttered softly. This soldier, of course, was Guo Dabao, who had tied her up before.
Yang Qing didn’t say anything. He felt that the information was insufficient, and he wasn’t sure how to make a judgment.
But in the courtyard, Yang Yi had already engaged with Yang Chonggui. Yang Yi, who had previously looked down upon him, immediately suffered.
“Da-da-bang!” With just a few simple moves, Yang Chonggui blocked Yang Yi’s fist, seized the moment when Yang Yi exposed a gap, and punched Yang Yi in the chest.
Yang Yi took two steps back, touching his arm while looking at his old man in surprise.
The last punch that hit Yang Yi’s chest, Yang Chonggui had unloaded his strength2reduced his strength, so it didn’t hurt. However, for the two punches that were blocked, Yang Yi clearly felt the strength of the old man’s fist.
It was heavy, even stronger than Guo Dabao, and the blow made Yang Yi’s arm feel a bit numb.
This was secondary. What surprised Yang Yi was that his old man broke through his defense so quickly. Each punch landed perfectly, as if he had guessed his moves, which made him feel uncomfortable!
Even though it was the same Hung Fist, Yang Chonggui was truly like a master martial artist, simplifying the art to its essence, surpassing the need for flashy techniques.
He couldn’t really lose to Yang Chonggui, who was almost 70 years old! It’s one thing to pretend to lose to him, but if he really lost without the power to fight back, Yang Yi would feel so ashamed that he would want to find a hole in the ground to crawl into!
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