She smiled again, turned around, and trotted all the way back to the house to make tea. As soon as Ah Ying walked away, I was whipped heavily on my back. The senior brother is still smiling all over his face, saying that if I don't have a steady step, I will have to be whipped like this, this is the rule. His tone was extremely gentle, and he seemed to be able to hear a smile in it, obviously a punishment, but as if he was telling a happy story. With that, he lifted his feet, hooked the stool to his side, sat down behind me, and stared at me with a smile. I was suddenly thorned in my back.

When Ah Ying came out with a teacup, the senior brother left from me. Ah Ying beckoned, like a magnet, attracting the senior brother to him. Together, the two sat down under the silkworm tree on the right. As soon as the elder brother walked past me, I felt as if I had been relieved of a heavy burden, and my whole body suddenly became much lighter. I have to thank this little sister.

After a while, the senior brothers finished running circles and began to practice martial arts, more than a dozen people showed their own routines, and the practice field suddenly swords and swords, fists and feet, making people's blood surging. I also have the motivation to tie up my horse a little earlier so that I can join them as soon as possible.

I don't know if Ah Ying encouraged me, or if I was fighting with the senior brother in my heart, after a stick of incense was burned, I still tied it steadily, and the longer I pricked, the easier it was for my legs, maybe because of numbness and loss of consciousness. I looked under the silkworm tree, Ah Ying and the senior brother were chatting, and I couldn't hear what they were saying. But there is no doubt that this big brother of mine is a good talker. Under the silkworm tree, there was a sound of giggling from time to time, like a gust of fresh wind, blowing softly towards me. It's a heart-warming laugh. Occasionally, when she turned her head to look at me, I felt like my heart was racing.

Master has two daughters, the eldest is named Xie Qing, who is married, and her mother-in-law's family is in Longhua, not far from Dongjianshan, but she rarely comes back. The custom of Shandong people, after the daughter gets married, she rarely goes back to her parents' house, which is really a bit like water spilled out. The youngest daughter's name is Xie Ying, who is the same age as me, and is the little sister of all of us. The names of the sisters come from a sentence by Su Dongpo: "Dance to figure out the shadow, how it seems to be in the world." "This proves that my master is a cultured person, not a martial artist, otherwise it would never have been possible to come up with such an elegant name. In contrast, my name is much worse, because my eldest brother's name is Wang Wenzhong, and my eldest brother took the name Wenhua and became my name - Wang Wenhua. Big brother is really sloppy.

However, although the eldest brother has little culture, he can speak well and is exquisite. Master is a taciturn man. I was even confused for a while, thinking that he was incompetent as my master. After I arrived at Xie Jiaweizi, for a long time, not only did he not teach me a trick and a half, but he even had very little communication. Every morning, while I was walking on my horse, Master was not far away, in that strange position, like a tree, and fell silently to the ground. If he hadn't been able to breathe, I'd have thought he was a tree. Not only me, but also other disciples, Master rarely spoke. I think that perhaps a figure like Master likes to maintain their majesty by being silent. In my mind, people who don't like to talk tend to be more awe-inspiring than people who are outspoken.

Later, after a long time, I gradually understood the meaning of the word Master. Teacher, teach and solve doubts. In terms of teaching, the senior brother is obviously more suitable, in the early stage of learning art, it is necessary to be severely spurred, the master has cultivated the Tao all the year round, and has cultivated himself into a soft-hearted person, and he can't do anything to the disciples, he is responsible for solving the doubts of the disciples.

Master was talking to me in a serious way, a month after I arrived at Xie's house. At the end of the morning, Master called me to me and told me to turn around and show him the whip marks on his back. This sudden love made my nose sour and I almost burst into tears. I turned my back to him. Master lifted his clothes and took a look. Probably because the scars were too dense, the master was also a little surprised, and muttered, "I'll lose it." ”

But surprise is surprise, but the master does not mean to blame the senior brother. He told me that the new disciples all have to pass this hurdle, and the reason why they beat me was because they thought that I was still a material that could be made, and now it is okay, when their generation was learning art, they took off their pants at every turn, and were pressed on the bench by the master and beaten. "It's also a good thing to suffer some flesh and skin, it can make you remember the difficulties of the road to art, the artist serves a bowl of rice, every step is not a smooth road, suffer more, and when you are out in the future, you can plant less heels. After saying that, Master put down my clothes, covered the scars, and asked me, "Is it bitter?"

I shook my head: "It's not bitter. ”

I really didn't feel that much bitterness. The pain is real, after all, I am a mortal body, and the senior brother has never been soft on my corporal punishment. But sometimes, there is not so much connection between pain and suffering, and I don't know when I had such a peculiar feeling. You know, I'm not a strong person, and when I was in school, I would feel unbearable for a little bit of corporal punishment from the teacher. But after entering the Xie family's class, I didn't have much fear in the face of the whip of the senior brother. I glanced under the silkworm tree. Ah Ying sat there, a handful of celery in his hand, expertly picking out some leaves. The morning light leaked through the leaves, and she turned to the side, her face glowing with a pure light. I thought to myself, maybe that's why I'm strong.

Master was satisfied with my answer. He nodded and said that you are not bad kid, like a member of our Xie family. Then he turned and walked back into the house. After a while, he came out again, with a bottle of potion in his hand.

"Take your clothes off. He said.

I took off my shirt and put it in my hands. Master took a medical swab, dipped it in the potion, and carefully wiped it on my back. A hint of coolness rises and spreads along the skin. This is the Xie family's ancestral bruise medicine. The stilt Yangge performance is a whole set of cooperation between the team, in addition to stepping on stilts, the martial arts routines also have to keep up. As the saying goes, a long illness becomes a good doctor, and this family of stilt Yangge, which has many years of inheritance, has accumulated rich experience in bruises, no less than any famous doctor. The effect of the potion they developed was immediate, and after applying it, the pain in my back was immediately reduced.

I asked Master, "How long will this horse be rooted?"

Master looked at me, "You don't want to be pierced?"

I put my clothes on and didn't speak, but the answer was written on my face. I did the math, and since the day of my apprenticeship, I have been in the Xie family class for a month. Under the diligent whipping of my senior brother, I practiced twice a day, morning and evening, and in a month's time, I learned such a simple movement, which was more than worth the loss. I should at least learn some martial arts routines like the other senior brothers, instead of sticking a pestle on the ground like a stake.

The Master said, "Look there." ”

Following his gaze, in the pale blue morning light, the high hanging arms were raised to the sky, and several buildings surrounded by green protective nets were silently growing into the air. The town called Dongjianshan is becoming more and more lively day by day, and the buildings in the town are getting higher and higher, and the construction workers stand on them, like ants. But Master is not here for me to see those buildings. I understood what he meant. When I was in school, my teacher often said that when a tall building rises from the ground, everything can only be learned solidly if the foundation is stable.

The Master said, "Take a horse step and let me see." ”

I moved my hands and feet, sank into the dantian, and stabbed down. As soon as my feet grasped the ground, the master suddenly kicked me from behind, and my knees weakened, and the horse immediately let go. Master followed with another kick, and I threw myself forward, my mouth almost hitting the ground.

The master said, "Just like you, if you stick for another year, you can't call it a horse step." ”

I got up and dusted my hands off. Master told me that you can't just use brute force to do it, the most important thing is to use your heart, and when your heart is stable, you can only be stable under your feet. In order for me to understand, Master gave me a demonstration. He adjusted his breathing, got up, and suddenly his body was short, and he slammed down with a horse. In an instant, I noticed that a wonderful change had taken place in him, and this man who had often cultivated and made himself a fairy wind bone, suddenly turned into an iron tower, firmly growing on the ground.

"Come on, you kick me in the back. Master said.

I stood there, not daring to move. After all, I am a descendant of Shandong. Shandong people have too many fine traditions, such as cultivating and reading heirlooms, respecting teachers and valuing education. Before I went to school, I was already familiar with the "Three Character Classic" and "Disciple Rules", coupled with the words and deeds of my eldest brother, I have always been respectful in front of my elders.

The master said, "If I let you kick, you just kick, there is no size on the stage, there are rules off the stage, don't treat me as a master when you practice." ”

I walked up behind Master and hesitated for a moment before I dared to lift my foot and try to kick it. As soon as I touched him, my legs immediately went limp, and I felt unsteady on my feet. But the master was firmly rooted there, not moving at all. He turned his head and glanced at me, frowned, and said, "Haven't you eaten? ”

These words make my blood surge. I took a few steps back, ran up, and kicked him with all my might. I thought that Master would have to stumble a few steps forward if he didn't fall. But as a result, the soles of my feet shook, like kicking a pillar, and my body was bounced back. Looking at the master again, he was still firmly rooted there, like a needle that fixed the sea. The master put his legs together, gathered his momentum, and said, "This is called a horse step." ”