"Uncle, these four bear paws, you and your aunt have one, and I will take the remaining two to the mountain to give to the master, and I will have to trouble the aunt to cook them later, and the rest of the meat, you will be tired and give a share, and let other uncles and uncles try it." In addition, I have to trouble my aunt to prepare some dry food for me, and I will take it with me when I go down the mountain in two days. ”

"Xiao Yuanxi, you can rest assured, the uncle asked your aunt to prepare everything for you. ”

Zhao Qianjun's calloused big hand patted Yuan Xi's shoulder,

"Let's have a few sips with my uncle later!"

The first time Yuan Xi drank was to help Uncle Zhao hunt tigers, and the master was very satisfied with his performance, so he threw his own wine gourd to him.

Having been thinking about the master's gourd for a long time, he couldn't wait to open the stopper and pour a mouthful. Like almost every child who thinks wine is a good thing, Yuan Xi's first sip was spicy enough.

After choking a few bites, Yuan Xi pursed his lips, and then smacked his lips, only to feel a hint of sweetness from the spicy taste.

At that time, the mountain monk smiled and told him,

"Drink lightly, drink slowly. ”

On the fire were processed tiger legs.

The tiger was slaughtered by Uncle Zhao and Yuan Xi together, and the mountain monks would never do this.

After Yuan Xi was eight years old, laundry and cooking were done by Yuan Xi, who slowly learned, and before that, there was Zhao Qianjun.

At first, the woman of the Zhao family was unhappy, but later when Zhao Qianjun handed over the money to her woman, she smiled. It's not that she loves money, but who would be happy to do more laundry and cook for the two of them for no reason?

Yuan Xi's cooking skills were learned from Aunt Zhao.

Cooking game in the mountains is either grilled or boiled. So even if Yuan Xi started cooking, he often went to Uncle Zhao's house to make some green vegetables and rice and take them to the mountains to change the taste. As for the wine, it is sold by a small wine shop in Qingshi Town, that is, the farmer's own brewed water, which is not a jade liquor, but mostly bought with the help of Zhao Qianjun.

Nibbling on tiger meat and drinking wine, Yuan Xi suddenly felt unhappy. The effect of alcohol made this half-grown boy feel comfortable, and the master did not stop him from constantly pouring wine into his mouth.

That night, the first drink was drunk at the beginning of the year.

The young man does not know the taste of sorrow, and he will have to drink 300 cups at a time.

The next day, Yuan Xi woke up, his head hurt a little, meditated cross-legged, adjusted his internal breath for a week, and returned to his best state. The Master was on the ground beside him, scribbling with a tree branch. This vacant land was still a place for literacy and practice in the early years.

Seeing Yuan Xi wake up, the mountain monk beckoned him to come over and told him a word, in the future, it is okay to be greedy, but if it is not by the side of the person who is at ease with him, he must not be drunk and do not know.

Yuan Xi nodded and said that he remembered. Master told him a lot of things, and he remembered them all.

In the backyard of Zhao's house, there are four plates of side dishes with wine on the small square table, boiled green beans in salted water, dried venison, stir-fried vegetables, and a large plate of steamed air-dried pheasant.

Yuan Xi and Uncle Zhao were opposite, and Aunt Zhao was busy steaming bear paws in the room. The old couple didn't steam the two of them, but kept them and called their aunt to come back and eat one together, and then bring one back to their in-laws. As for the bear meat, Zhao Qianjun will cut it later, let's cut it and bring some to each family in the village to send it, and they will all come to touch the light of Xiao Yuanxi. I used to get it a lot, but I'm afraid I won't have much chance in the future.

The two of them drank wine and chatted about the past of these years, Zhao Qianjun was reluctant to give up, so he drank a few more glasses, and said to Yuan Xi with red eyes,

"Uncle Wen Crepe won't talk about it, you will definitely have a future, don't forget that there is a Wang Li Zhuang here in the future, and you Uncle Zhao. ”

Farewell to Uncle Zhao, who was a little drunk, Yuan Xi carried the prepared bear paw up the mountain and went to find the master.

People are not drunk, but their eyes are red.

The mountains are high and the forests are dense, and there seems to be a peach blossom source.

Yuan Xi returned to his and Master's home, which was a quiet place that Uncle Zhao had found when he first met him.

There is a stone cave in the mountain, and it is very spacious inside, about the size of a room and a half. Outside the cave, there is about half an acre of flat land, which has been enclosed into a small yard by a fence made of tree branches.

This was originally a resting place for Zhao Qianjun to go up the mountain to hunt. At that time, it was just a simple cleanup, but I didn't expect it to become the home of Yuan Xi's master and apprentice.

The most surprising thing here is that there is a natural mountain spring next to the stone cave, and there is a way to clear the spring stone upstream.

In front of the hole in the small courtyard to the right, there is a small wooden house built by Zhao Qianjun, in which some food and dry firewood are stored. On the left is a gazebo with wooden tables and stools.

There is also a small open space in the courtyard, which is very flat, and it is the place where the mountain monks teach Yuan Xi to read and write.

The mountain monk played chess by himself in the pavilion, and he often played against himself, but he never taught Yuan Xi how to play chess. Yuan Xi walked to the pavilion with the food box and did not disturb the master.

After the mountain monk fell, he looked up at Yuan Xi,

"What is it?"

Yuan Xi smiled,

"Master, it's a good thing, steamed bear's paw!"

Although both the master and apprentice are extraordinary, the mountain dwellers will never go hunting. And Yuan Xi mostly hunted pheasants, hares, and birds as prey. He once fought a black bear, and it was because the master took him to the mountains to find an opponent in order to let him learn to fight.

After eating the bear's paw, the master was full of praise.

The mountain monk nodded, and glanced at a hare and two chickadees that Yuan Xi was holding in his left hand.

"Don't have enough bear's paws?"

Yuan Xi grinned,

"Just two, I'll clean up the rabbit and later, roast and eat them!

The mountain monk rubbed his fingers against the smooth chess pieces and smiled,

"You've eaten a lot, have you named your fingering for beating birds?"

Yuan Xi learned archery with Zhao Qianjun when he was a child. Later, he thought that archery and hunting were troublesome, so he studied using his fingers to flick stones to hunt prey.

His internal strength was taught by his master, and he didn't know any name. He didn't know how much his internal strength was, anyway, Uncle Zhao said that he was very powerful. With internal force, the stone he ejects is very powerful.

And accuracy, naturally, is practiced every day, and there is no shortage of moving targets in the mountains.

However, the control of strength was taught to him by the master. Because most of the birds he had hit were shattered by the stones he threw out, and the prey was hit, but the harvest was the same.

The mountain monk asked Yuan Xi to set up a target thirty zhang away. Then let him snap his fingers at the target. But instead of shooting one stone, it is three, and when you practice until there is only one stone left and finally hits the target, even if the grasp of finger power is well controlled.

In fact, it is also asking Yuan Xi to practice the control of his own internal force.

After all, the internal skills he taught Yuan Xi were not bluffing exercises.

How can we get one stone left to hit the target at the end? The only way to do that is to let the stone that comes out of the back catch up with the previous one and break it and continue to fly.

Yuan Xi practiced for a year, and finally managed to hit the target with only the third stone left.

Later, when he got used to it, he continued to play tricks and practice his fingering. The previous stone crushing method has been practiced. He came up with another way, using the pebbles shot from behind to hit the first stone and then fall, giving the previous stone a thrust to continue flying forward and hit the target.

Initially, he practiced hitting the first stone with the second stone and then dropping it, and then continuing to hit the first stone with the third stone and then fall again, so that the first stone would hit the target without any problems.

With the foundation of the previous control strength, Yuan Xi's practice is relatively easy. Then he began to practice shooting three stones back and forth, the three stones remained in the same line and flew towards the target, but the third one hit the second stone first and then fell, the second hit the first stone and fell again, and then the first stone hit the target.

After this practice, he came up with new tricks. Once the first and third stones can hit the target, then he will practice making the second stone hit the target.

Then use the second stone to break the first stone and continue to fly, and the third stone hits the second stone and falls.

It's easier said than done, but Yuan Xi has been practicing for so long, and he has already regarded playing stones as a game. Later, he practiced to do whatever he wanted, and he could make whichever stone hit the target. The first two, the last two, all right.

His fingering has done nothing else, so he uses it to shoot birds and rabbits. He also hit the honeycomb once, and once he wanted to get some honey to eat. Master hadn't told him that bees could sting, so he shot down the big beehive and ran over to pick it up.

He ran with a honeycomb, a swarm of bees chasing after him, and the hive in his hand had bees that he kept throwing out.

The honey is sweet, but the bag on the face is also painful.

The master looked at his swollen face like a pig's head, smiled and quipped,

"Yuan Xi, you should eat less, whose nine-year-old child's face is as fat as yours?"

Yuan Xi gnawed on the honey little by little, not because he was reluctant, but he didn't dare to open his mouth too much, and he couldn't open it. Master didn't say much, but just told him that a little bee can hurt you, so don't take it lightly at any time.

Then he sighed that the ability of the group is the greatest strength.

What's the use of high skills?

Master said a lot of things, and what Yuan Xi didn't understand, he directly remembered in his heart. He thought that in the future, he would definitely understand what Master had said.

Hearing that the master asked the name of his fingering, Yuan Xi glanced at the master,

"Master, it's just a thing that bullets stones, why do you have a name? Or do you want to call it bullet fingers?"

The mountain monk laughed and scolded,

"Even if Master didn't teach you those poems and songs that I think are useless, you won't have such a rustic name, you don't feel ashamed, I'm ashamed!"

After glaring at the disciple, the mountain monk continued,

"You think it's a thing to play stones, and when you go down the mountain, it may be a shocking martial art. Since you've used it to hit birds, call it Sparrow's Finger. ”

When Yuan Xi heard this, he hurriedly thanked the master,

"Surprise Bird Finger, Surprise Bird Finger, Master casually said that it is really much better than the name of bird hunting and rabbit shooting that I just thought hard about. What a name, thank you, Master, I'm going to cook!"

The mountain monk nodded.

The bright moon is not a branch to frighten magpies, and the breeze chirps cicadas in the middle of the night.

After living in the mountains for thirteen years, it's time to get out of the mountains. Looking at the busy Yuan Xi not far away, the mountain monk gently twisted the chess pieces and put them back in the jar.

A finger pops out of the finch and flies, and the young eagle leaves the nest with an amazing chirp.

Charcoal fiery red.

Yuan Xi flipped the branches of the dressed in hares. The prey was roasted with a sizzling sound, and the grease continued to drip onto the coals, and then streaks of white smoke rose up.

The condiment has been sprinkled, consisting of finely ground salt grains and some spices mixed with chili flakes.

Seeing that it was almost baked, Yuan Xi gently stirred the coals to disperse the fire a little, so as not to burn the food on the shelf.

From the cabin, he took out a small square table and two square stools and placed them in the courtyard. Yuan Xi then took out the bear's paw from the pot in the house and put it on the table.

When Yuan Xi beckoned Master to eat, the food was already on the table.

Two steamed bear paws, a plate of roasted hare torn apart, and a plate of roasted. Two pairs of dishes and chopsticks, a jar of wine.

The master and apprentice sat opposite each other, Yuan Xi slapped open the wine jar and sealed the mud, poured the master's bowl full, and then poured it for himself. The mountain monk first took a mouthful of steamed bear paws and put them in his mouth.

After nodding, the mountain monk used his chopsticks to signal his disciples to hurry up and eat, and then picked up the wine bowl and drank it all. Yuan Xi saw that the master was happy to eat, and he was happy, and when he saw the master's signal, he was just about to raise his chopsticks to taste it, and then he saw the master pick up the wine bowl again.

Yuan Xi hurriedly picked up the wine bowl and drank it all with the master.

The mountain monk had already tried the bear's paw, and Yuan Xi was busy letting the master taste the hare he roasted, and he also ate it himself.

Regarding the matter of eating, Master told him that on the small square table, the most decorative and upbringing is the best.

Eating with your own family, a table of people to enjoy is good, each family has its own habit of eating, and each place has its own customs. Don't laugh at the vulgarity of other people, and don't sigh at your own rudeness.

But one thing to keep in mind is that the locals do as they go. If you want to fit in with a place, you have to accept it first.

The same is true for eating, and the same is true for people and things.

There are not many rules for the master and apprentice to eat, but Yuan Xi went from grabbing delicious food first when he was a child to being the first to move chopsticks first, which he learned from the book that the master told him.

Respect for teachers.

Today is not a drink, a jar of wine was drunk, and the mountain monk asked Yuan Xi to take an altar out.

This meal can be regarded as a send-off wine for Yuan Xi. The master and apprentice have been together day and night for thirteen years, and they want to be separated, and they are as tall as the mountain dwellers, and they are also a little lost in their hearts. However, he knew that in the future, the master and apprentice would meet each other.

Looking at Yuan Xi, who was also a little drunk, the mountain monk seemed to see himself when he was young.

Serve the bowl and drink it all,

"The young man holds the lance, and the rest of the wine and the poet are happy. ”

Then looked at Yuan Xi,

"The young man has the ambition and vigor of a young man, just go, don't insult the name of the master, remember, the name of the teacher is Huo Qiji. ”

The mountain monk never told Yuan Xi his name.

"However, you have to remember not to reveal the name of the teacher until you are allowed to do so. As for your internal strengths, don't reveal them to anyone. ”

Yuan Xi drank all the wine in the bowl and knelt down to kowtow to the master three times.

Yuan Xi's internal strength, the master told him, is called high and profound internal strength. Then it's a deep internal skill, it's just a name anyway.

As for the swordsmanship, palm or fist, there are no names.

The sea is wide and the fish jumps, and the sky is high for the birds to fly.

There was a young man named Yuan Xi who was going down the mountain.

Yuan Xi left the mountain where he had lived for thirteen years with a package on his back, left Wang Lizhuang, who treated him like a native of his hometown, and said goodbye to Uncle Zhao and his master.

The package contained clothes, dry food, and some silver money from Master before leaving. Master told him that these coins were saved by him in the past few years of hunting, and they were not given by Master. Don't think it's a lot of money, and it won't take long to get into the city.

Descending the mountain is not to enjoy the scenery, but to survive.

As for how to live a better life, it depends on him Yuan Xi himself, the master has taught him everything, even if he asks for food or starves to death, the master will not care.

However, the mountain monks naturally knew that Yuan Xi would not be reduced to the point of asking for food, and he would also not commit theft and robbery.

He told him when Yuan Xi first learned martial arts, what martial arts meant to be.

Yuan Xi wore Aunt Zhao's cloth shoes, which were strong and wear-resistant, and walked along the official road to Qingyun Town. In addition to the wrapping, the two bundled hides are unusually eye-catching.

A bearskin, and a tiger skin.

The tiger skin was given to him by Uncle Zhao, and he repeatedly refused, but after Uncle Zhao blushed and red-eyed, he accepted it.

The uncle still wanted to give him some money, but he resolutely refused to accept it, so the uncle did not insist anymore.

Uncle Zhao told Yuan Xi that when he arrived in Pingnan City, before he found a means to make a living, he could go to the Yunde Martial Arts Hall to find his master, at least he could find a place to settle down first, and the money would be gone. He also handwritten a letter so that Yuan Xi could knock on the door with evidence.

In the end, it is the nature of a teenager, and it is only a moment of sorrow, and Yuan Xi is already full of curiosity about his future.

The road should be taken step by step, and the first step is to go to Pingnan City.

There is no horse to ride, only rely on the legs, Qingyun Town is about 80 miles away from Wang Li Zhuang. Yuan Xi's physical strength and foot strength are good. And there is no need to rush to the road, and there is no need for light work.

After more than half a day's effort, Yuan Xi arrived in Qingyun Town. Uncle Zhao told him that if there was no shortage of money, he would not be in a hurry to sell the animal skins in Qingyun Town, because the price was much worse than that of Pingnan City. Moreover, the bear skin and tiger skin played by Yuan Xi are very complete, and they are the favorite things of those who dance guns and sticks.

In Qingyun Town, Yuan Xi just filled the two water bladders, took a rest, and took a few bites of dry food before rushing again.

Pingnan City is more than 300 miles away from Qingyun Town, separated by Wutong Town and Qingyang Town. According to Uncle Zhao, it will be almost there in three or four days.

After the sky turned dark, Yuan Xi was still on the way. Nor will he go to the village to spend the night. There was a brook by the roadside, and he found a flat place beside the stream, laid out bear skins and tiger skins, and sat on them to rest.

Sleeping in the wild doesn't feel any discomfort for him, and it's no different than being in the mountains.

Pillowing his arms and looking at the stars in the sky, Yuan Xi missed Master a little.

The campfire is getting lower, so there's no need to add firewood. Listening to the chirping of birds and insects, and the sound of frogs drumming, I fell asleep after walking for a day.

The next day, as soon as dawn broke, Yuan Xi had already woken up. crossed his knees, operated his internal breath, and practiced his profound internal skills. In fact, his internal strength no longer needs to meditate and cultivate like this. Master told him that he had to go through a big war before he could make another breakthrough.

Adversity is the possibility of human instinctive potential bursting out.

As for his internal functions that could not be broken through, the mountain monk didn't care, after all, Yuan Xi's skill level was not something he was concerned about. It would be good to teach him martial arts so that he could protect himself, and with Yuan Xi's current skills, ordinary people still can't help him.

After the practice, continue the journey.

After walking for about two hours, several people came running on horseback. Yuan Xi stood up and stood on the side of the road to avoid choking on the dust.

Just as he hid his face with his sleeve behind his back, the men stopped beside him.