Chapter 1: Weaving mats and selling shoes
In the 368th year of the Yu Kingdom, there was a severe drought in the northern border, and the red land was thousands of miles away.
Although chaos has arisen, the Ewha Prefecture in the south is peaceful.
In Huaxi County, the market at the gate of the city is bustling with people selling straw sandals, mung beans, and pork.
A man in his thirties, with a round waist and a fat face, walked to the straw sandal stall.
This man's name is Niu Er, and he is a well-known rogue in the neighborhood.
Because it was summer, Niu Er was bare-chested, revealing the three dragons tattooed on his back. He kicked the bamboo basket holding his straw sandals with his feet, frowned and asked, "When did you go out to the stall? Is your illness cured?"
Behind the bamboo basket was a boy of sixteen or seventeen years old, with a pale face and sweat on his forehead. He was sitting on a small stool knitting straw sandals. When he heard the noise, he stood up quickly and smiled, "Thanks to the second master, I am in good health today, so hurry up Come out and set up a stall.”
As he spoke, the young man counted out ten coins and handed them over with both hands, saying with great respect, "Second Master, this is the monthly payment. I was still thinking, if you don't come today, I will give it to you in the next episode." I’ll send you there.”
The fat on Niu Er's face shook, but he did not accept the money. Instead, he said: "The monthly payment has increased. Starting from this month, it will be fifteen cents!"
"Why has it increased so much? It's really difficult for me to start a small business and just recover from a serious illness. Second Master, can you please be lenient for a few days?" The young man looked helpless.
"Everyone who sets up a stall has this price!" Niu Er sneered, tapping the boy twice with his hand, and said: "It has been announced from above that there is a big disaster in the north, and we in the south have to help, and our Qinglong Gang can't lag behind others. ! Give you mercy? Then who gives mercy to the victims in the north? ”
I don’t know how this gangster has the nerve to say such things, but he is under the roof and has a clever name, so the young man has no choice but to pay.
Painfully, he passed out five large coins, a total of fifteen coins. The young man offered it with both hands and said bitterly: "I hope the second master will take care of you in the future."
"You are very well-behaved." Niu Erpi smiled, collected the money, and walked forward. He came to a stall selling peaches, picked up a red peach, wiped it with his hand, and stuffed it into his mouth. .
The young man stood there, silently watching Niu Er go away, and then sat down to knit straw sandals again.
His name was Lin Bai, and his parents were both dead. The craft of weaving straw sandals is passed down from family to family.
Ten days ago, Lin Bai slipped and fell into the water. After that, he had a high fever and the decoction was ineffective until this morning. During this period, I dreamed every day that I was living in another world.
In the dream world, there are tall buildings and bustling people. From birth, to toddling, to sunflower class, then to love, to falling into the green tea pit by mistake, and then to the endless nine-nine-six.
In the end, it seems that through endless galaxies and time, the self in another world returns to the self in this world.
Since then, the memory of the past life has been awakened, and the mystery of the womb has been solved. The ignorant boy who weaves mats and sells shoes understands where he comes from.
Of course, after having memories of his past life, Lin Bai also thought of many ways to make money, but he had no capital, so he returned to his old business.
The world is tough and life is not easy, so you have to live well first.
When it got dark and the market ended, Lin Bai went home carrying his burden.
Open the door and enter the courtyard, there are three shabby tile-roofed houses. This is also a legacy left by my parents. There is an old jujube tree in the yard, full of green fruits.
Come to the kitchen, first add water to the pot, and then light the fire.
It was evening at this time, the summer heat was still lingering, and the kitchen was really hot. Lin Bai stuffed some firewood under the stove and sat at the door of the kitchen to rest.
He leaned his head against the door, closed his eyes, and let his mind go. Then a messy light and shadow flashed by, and Lin Bai appeared on a huge disk.
After recovering from his illness this morning, Lin Bai would appear here whenever he could relax his mind. He didn't know why.
The disk seemed to be made of jade or something like that, but it was in dilapidated condition, with cracks everywhere.
It is also covered with strange lines, and I don’t know if they are patterns or some unknown writing.
The stone plate is about a hundred feet in diameter, and the surrounding fog is so dense that it is impossible to see through it.
Lin Bai couldn't figure out the origin of this stone plate, and he didn't find anything special about it.
"It may have been brought about by that otherworldly dream, but its function is unclear."
Lin Bai walked around the disk several times, but still found nothing, so he had to give up.
Open your eyes and return to the real world.
Lin Bai looked at the stove and saw that the fire was slightly smaller, so he prepared to add more firewood. But when he turned over the pile of firewood, an old wooden box suddenly fell out.
The box fell to the ground, revealing a rusty short knife and a torn book.
This is a legacy left by my father. According to what my father said, he won money in a gambling house and invited a consumptive man named Li to drink. The sick and consumptive ghost said that he was going to die soon, so he left behind a short sword and a secret book.
Moreover, the sick and consumptive ghost also said that if he could learn the skill of throwing a knife according to the secret manual, he would be able to kill someone a hundred steps away.
Of course, Lin Bai's father didn't practice it. It’s not that he doesn’t work hard, it’s that he doesn’t know how to read...
That's why Lin's father gritted his teeth and let Lin Bai attend private school for several years. But after Lin Bai could read, Lin's father died of a sudden illness due to overwork.
I found this object when I was sorting through my late father's belongings a while ago. Because I was busy weaving straw shoes and had no time to spare, I put it on the firewood pile and planned to read it while cooking rice and porridge. Later, due to illness, the matter was delayed.
Lin Bai picked up the dagger and took a closer look. This short sword is about half a foot long, the blade is slightly narrow, there are blood grooves on both sides, and the tip is heavy.
Looking at the shabby book again, there was no text on the cover. When I opened it, it turned out to be a manual of swordsmanship, with instructions on how to use flying knives written on it.
The words on the booklet were handwritten, and the ink had faded, making it barely legible.
It is stated at the beginning that the example of flying knives is not in vain, but it is difficult to learn it successfully. It is necessary to train the ears and eyesight, as well as the waist, arm and wrist strength.
Later, I wrote about the training method in detail. At the end, the description of how to use the flying knife and how to exert force can only fit into two pages.
There is also text on the last page, saying that if it is supplemented by Qinggong and profound internal strength, the power of the flying knife will be doubled, and it can face a first-class master head-on. If there is no internal strength to complement each other, it is best to attack secretly...
However, there is no practice method for Qing Gong and Neigong in the booklet.
Lin Bai hurriedly flipped through it, feeling in his heart that the flying knife technique was not a lie.
Because it is so difficult to learn well and requires a lot of hard work.
And not only that, the person wielding the knife also needs to be calm and decisive. When the sword is drawn, the winner is determined.
What seems to be a throwing knife is actually ten or even decades of hard work.
The State of Yu favored martial arts and had many martial arts sects.
But the cost of learning martial arts is also high, and "eating" alone can isolate most people. It is not a small expense to hire famous teachers and make friends with colleagues. Some exercises even require medicinal baths and even taking pills regularly.
They are all fed by money. Even if you have money, you may not be able to learn real skills. Dharma should not be taught lightly, especially advanced martial arts.
Therefore, the average person can at most learn some superficial skills to strengthen their body, or to build up their strength and learn swordsmanship and boxing techniques that are easy to master.
The world is difficult, weaving mats and selling shoes are not enough, and we even have no ability to protect ourselves.
Now that the Yu Kingdom has been in power for nearly 400 years, there is another severe drought in the north. Maybe a one-eyed stone man was dug out of a puddle, or some post officials were unemployed, or maybe a group of prisoners were out of prison...
At that time, the world will be in a state of chaos, and the ordinary people will be like grass and grass under the general situation. Don't talk about asking for money, I'm afraid it's hard to save your life.
Therefore, it is still necessary to learn a skill of self-protection. It’s just that I can barely eat now and can’t spare the time or energy to study...
Lin Bai thought this way, looked at the stove, and found that the water in the iron pot had just boiled.
It takes almost a quarter of an hour to boil the water, and it took about a quarter of an hour just to read the instructions. However, after I just entered the stone disk space, I clearly walked in large and small circles for a long time, at least two quarters of an hour...
"Could it be that the time on the stone plate and the outside world are not the same?"
Thinking like this, Lin Bai stood up, scooped out a handful of rice, put it into the pot, and then lit a stick of incense.
Then he sat at the door of the kitchen again, holding burning incense, closing his eyes and letting his mind go.
Soon, it appeared again in the center of the stone plate.
Everything here is as before, the disk is full of mottled cracks and strange lines, and the periphery is filled with mist.
Lin Bai closed his eyes and recalled the training methods in the sword manual, but found that he remembered them clearly in his mind.
Obviously I only read it briefly and didn't memorize it at all, but now all the contents in the booklet are clearly presented in my mind.
Even the slightly faded ink characters and paper textures on that page are extremely clear.
"Have I enhanced my memory and five senses here? Does it mean that everything seen in the outside world can be clearly presented here?"
"Can I practice the flying knife technique here? First I need a flying knife..."
Thinking like this, a dense mist flew from outside the stone plate, and then a flying knife turned from virtual to real and appeared in the palm of his hand.
Lin Bai took the flying knife and took a closer look. The lines were clear, the tip was heavy but the handle was light. There were blood grooves on it, and it felt real to the touch.
When his mind moved again, the flying knife turned into dense mist and dissipated invisible.
"Words follow the law, and objects follow the heart? Is this the uniqueness of the stone disk space? What about the time... I have to keep counting in my mind to judge the approximate time."
Lin Bai thought this way, and immediately followed what was written in the book and took a horse stance.
The art of flying knives focuses on two things: a steady hand and a steady lower body. Therefore, first practice the lower body, wrist strength, and concentration.
And Zamabu is the most basic.
I kept counting silently in my heart, but when I reached fifty, I couldn't hold on any longer. My thighs felt sore, dry and painful as if they were filled with lead water.
Lin Bai stopped, rubbed his legs, and said to himself: "If practicing here is effective, will my physical condition be consistent with the outside world?"
“Anyway, let’s try it first before we talk!”
Just do it, Lin Bai took up his horse again.
This time he persisted a little longer, and after a short rest, Lin Bai repeated it again.
I don't feel hungry here, and I have a lot of energy, but it's just a little boring.
However, while exercising, Lin Bai discovered that the dense mist outside the disk would also change, alternating between thick and light. According to the silent counting in my heart, the fog will alternate between thick and light, probably every day and night.
After two days of hard work day and night, Lin Bai could easily hold on for half an hour.
"We can increase our strength." Lin Bai thought, and the mist condensed on his hand, turning into two small stone hammers.
Each stone hammer only weighs two kilograms. Later, the weight will be gradually increased, and the foundation will be laid first.
Lin Bai stood in a horse stance, stretched out his arms, held a stone hammer in his hand, and looked ahead.
After a while, my left hand suddenly felt a burning sensation.
Lin Bai immediately relaxed his mind, and then opened his eyes. He had returned to the real world.
The incense held in his left hand had burned to his skin, leaving only a length of fingernail length.
"It takes two quarters of an hour to burn out a stick of incense...I stayed in there for about two days." Lin Bai calculated silently and came to the conclusion, "A hundred times the time difference?"
Thinking like this, he stood up again and moved his body.
The thighs are a little sore and the arms are dry. This is a sign of over-exercise, which means that the strength is gradually increasing.
This means that your exercise in the disk space is effective, and the improvement of your physical condition is synchronized with the outside world.
"That means that one month in the outside world is equivalent to a hundred months inside? That's about...more than eight years! Then if I close my eyes for one month in the outside world, it is equivalent to more than eight years of practicing in the stone disk space! I am a Months of hard work is equivalent to eight years of practice!”
"No...others can't practice all day and night, but I am tireless and can practice day and night. That is equivalent to multiplying by two. One month is equivalent to others practicing for sixteen or seventeen years..."
"But it can't be calculated like this. Everyone has different qualifications and different temperaments. How can I count my qualifications as good or bad?"
"Can I learn something else in there? At this time, I have memorized the sword manual deeply in my mind, at least my memory is not hindering it."
Thinking of this, Lin Bai was full of confidence in the future. Whether it is learning martial arts, medicine, or reading, the efficiency is much faster than others!
As long as you live well, you will become stronger and stronger!
Of course, the first thing is to get through this hard time, and at the same time learn the art of flying knives to the extreme!
This is the foundation of your life! If you then learn something else, you can't just spend your whole life weaving mats and selling shoes, right?
At this moment, the door suddenly rang, and the knock on the door was extremely urgent, as if urging someone to die.
(End of chapter)