Holy body, start with the Five Animal Exercises

19: Harvest, six arms“Young Master, please come in! Someone, we have a big guest!” The pawnbroker’s voice lifted slightly, and a young attendant came out to greet him.

A pawnshop’s business is to buy back items, so naturally, there are things to pawn, to sell, and to buy.

“Master, please follow me,” the attendant said with a bow and a smile.

Entering the inner room of the pawnshop, sunlight streamed in through the window, making it appear very bright and open.

The attendant poured some tea. “Master, please wait a moment. I will go and invite the shopkeeper.”

With that, he walked to the side, lifted a curtain, and went in.

Soon after, a portly middle-aged man walked out, dressed in a green brocade robe, with the attendant following behind him.

Seeing Qin Jiang, he sized him up. He didn’t look down on him for his ordinary clothes, and smiled as he spoke, “Guest, I am Li Fu, the shopkeeper here. Have you come to look for treasures?”

Qin Jiang nodded slightly. “Preferably ancient artifacts used for rituals.”

Compared to things like calligraphy, paintings, or clothes, ritualistic items were more likely to contain potential points.

Li Fu toyed with the prayer beads in his hand, a hint of surprise in his eyes. “We do. Please follow me this way.”

The three walked through a long corridor and arrived at a room. The room was somewhat dim and exuded a musty, old smell.

Qin Jiang scanned the surroundings; various items were displayed.

“These are all items that were forfeited. Guest, you can rest assured, there won’t be any problems,” Li Fu said with a smile.

Then, he pointed to a table on which many bronze artifacts were placed.

“You see, it’s quite a coincidence. A while ago, Master Li asked us to collect some old ritualistic items. This batch hasn’t been sent yet. If you like any, feel free to take them.”

Generally speaking, most ritualistic items have unclear origins and are usually unwanted.

However, a few days ago, Master Li suddenly asked to collect these items, and today Qin Jiang specifically asked for them, which is why he was somewhat surprised.

But this had nothing to do with him. It was better to have one less problem than one more, and a good shopkeeper doesn’t ask questions.

Qin Jiang was also a little surprised. He knew that the Master Li mentioned by Li Fu was Li Songzheng.

He couldn’t help but recall the Dharma Assembly that day; this old man collecting ritualistic items probably had ill intentions.

Walking to the table, he individually touched each of the artifacts: bronze stands, wine vessels…

Just as he was feeling a bit disappointed, thinking his guess was wrong, his fingertip brushed against a jade pendant.

【Potential points absorbing… 0.1… 0.1…】

There it was!

Qin Jiang’s face lit up with joy. He took the jade pendant into his hand. It was a Dragon-shaped jade pendant, carved with simple beast patterns. The material wasn’t good, and a small part of it was even ordinary stone.

Li Fu’s eyes brightened slightly from the side. “Guest, do you like this jade pendant?”

Qin Jiang glanced at him, shook his head, and put the jade pendant down. “Let me look at other things.”

Once the potential points were absorbed, it was no longer useful to him.

His fingers continued to pass over other items. After looking at the ritualistic artifacts, he focused on other objects. Before long, he had touched everything in the room.

During this time, he kept nodding, and Li Fu’s arm also followed, raising and lowering.

“Guest, have you made your selection?” Li Fu asked with a smile. Having been in business for many years, he certainly wouldn’t show anything over such a small matter.

Qin Jiang nodded slightly and picked up a jade pendant from the table. “I’ll take this one.”

This jade pendant was greenish-brown, and its material was not particularly good, only ordinary. It was carved with an unknown mythical beast.

The reason he bought it was that this jade pendant was different from the other artifacts that contained potential points.

Its potential point absorption speed was very slow, but it was continuous. He estimated that it contained at least two potential points, though he didn’t know how many days it would take to fully absorb them.

Li Fu walked over and carefully took the jade pendant. “Guest, the origin of this jade pendant is not simple; it was brought out from Dahei Mountain!”

Saying this, he gestured. “You must know Dahei Mountain, right? That’s not a place ordinary people can go.”

Qin Jiang raised his hand slightly. “Stop. Do you think I don’t know its value? I’ll give you one chance to make an offer. If it’s suitable, I’ll take it; if not, then forget it.”

Li Fu’s expression was a bit troubled. After a moment of consideration, he held up two fingers. “Silver, three taels.”

“Deal.” Qin Jiang directly took the jade pendant, then took out three taels of broken silver from hisin my arms and handed it to Li Fu.

Li Fu looked annoyed, realizing he had priced it too low!

But with his attire, he hadn’t seemed like a wealthy person.

Qin Jiang took the jade pendant and put it away. “Shopkeeper, I’ll take my leave. I’ll come again when I have time.”

Li Fu nodded repeatedly upon hearing this. “Alright, Guest, please take care!”

Coming out of the pawnshop, Qin Jiang looked at his panel: 【Potential Points: 7.6】

If he added the jade pendant, he might be able to gather ten potential points!

Hoo~

He took a slight breath and stepped away.

After passing through several streets, he looked at a mansion across the road. Two stone lions at the entrance were majestic and imposing, the dark gate was gleaming, and the plaque above read “Li Mansion” in large characters.

Two guards stood outside the gate, tall and clearly trained in martial arts.

Of course, they were certainly not true Martial Artists. Even Master Li himself would show respect to true Martial Artists; they would never be guarding a gate.

Earlier at the pawnshop, he had heard from the shopkeeper that more than one batch of ritualistic artifacts had already been sent to the Li Mansion. He planned to sneak in and take a look after he had mastered the Iron Arm Fist.

On one hand, it was for potential points, and on the other, he wanted to see what kind of trick Master Li was playing.

Without lingering, he headed straight for Master Wang’s courtyard. When he arrived at the alley, Li Lang and his group were not there; Li Bo was still guarding the courtyard entrance.

“You’re here? You’re a bit late today,” Li Bo said with a smile.

Qin Jiang nodded. “I went to Dahei Mountain and was delayed for a while.”

Li Bo’s eyes changed slightly. He went to Dahei Mountain? Quite courageous.

“Alright, once you go in, you can find any wooden stake to Cultivate the Iron Arm Fist. Oh, you know the rules, right?

You can ask Master Wang for guidance once every three days. The medicinal bath is once a month, costing five taels per session. A meal in the cafeteria is twenty coins, and you can pay for a month at once.”

“Understood,” Qin Jiang said.

Walking into the courtyard, he looked around. When he came last night, it was already dark, so he hadn’t observed carefully.

In the center of the courtyard was a stone path connecting the courtyard gate to Wang Minglang’s house.

On both sides, against the walls, there was a room each, and in the corner was the kitchen, from which cooking smoke was already rising.

On the open ground on both sides of the stone path were several wooden and iron stakes, as thick as a bowl, very smooth, corresponding to the Cultivation of the first and second levels of the Iron Arm Fist.

At this time, three people were already practicing the Iron Arm Fist, but all three were still using wooden stakes, evidently not yet having reached the second level.

Walking to a wooden stake in the corner, he took out two jars of medicinal liquid from his satchel. These were the secret arm-strengthening medicine and arm-washing medicine formulated at the Old Doctor’s place.

He took off his upper garment, revealing his not overly strong but lean and robust upper body.

Opening the jar of arm-strengthening medicine, he applied the brown medicinal liquid to both his arms.

Standing in front of the wooden stake, he spread his legs apart and took a stance.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

With his feet following the Iron Leg Footwork described in the Iron Arm Fist manual, his arms alternately struck the wooden stake, followed by his shoulders, chest, and back.

This was the practice method described in the Iron Arm Fist, first using the wooden stake to strike the upper, lower, and outer sides of the forearm, then the pectoralis major, outer shoulder, and rear scapula—collectively known as the ‘Six Arm Strikes’.