In the dead of night, A Lai began his training. He stood with his legs parallel and shoulder-width apart, relaxing his entire body. He focused on each part of his body, imagining his head relaxing first, followed by his shoulders, chest, abdomen, and legs, until he felt the tension drain away through the Yongquan points in his feet, releasing any static electricity in his body.
He hoped this would help discharge the static, but instead, he felt a tingling sensation, like a current of electricity, growing stronger and gathering in his lower abdomen, his dantian. A Lai grew a little nervous.
Following the instructions from the book he had read, he attempted the meditation posture with five points facing upward, sitting cross-legged and letting things flow naturally. As he relaxed, strange characters began to appear in his mind. These characters transformed into a seven-colored halo that enveloped A Lai.
He began to chant, "Om Mani Padme Hum..."
A Lai felt six streams of energy circulate through his body, filling him with a sense of warmth and power. These energies moved like a waterfall through his meridians, clearing blockages and eventually settling in his lower abdomen.
Soon after, the fragrance of the osmanthus tree outside his window filled the air, seeping into his Baihui point and flowing into his dantian, where it condensed into a warm, comforting energy.
After finishing his practice, A Lai consulted a medical book, examining the diagrams of the body's acupoints and the pathways of energy flow in the meridians. He was shocked by what he discovered.
The legendary martial arts techniques that required beginners to spend at least a hundred days building a foundation before sensing energy, followed by years of diligent practice to open the small and large energy circulations in the body, seemed to have been naturally accomplished within him. The small and large circulations had been open in his body for some time.
He also noticed that his entire body had become a dantian, a converter of bioelectric energy.
Analyzing this, A Lai concluded that the lightning strike must have opened these pathways. It was as if he had been "forged by lightning," and the mysterious characters he saw were likely powered by the six relics passed to him by Master Le Kong upon his death.
It was all so incredible!
A Lai clasped his hands together and silently vowed, "Master Le Kong, I won't let you down. I will achieve great things."
After some thought, A Lai decided to focus his training on mastering the energy within him, transforming his passive state into an active one, and learning to control the energy from the relics at will.
During the day, with nothing much to do, A Lai thought of visiting Misa and Mile at the temple. He put on his monk's robe and eagerly headed to Tianyin Temple.
The temple was bustling with activity, filled with worshippers from the city coming to pray, seek blessings, and fulfill their vows. The temple grounds were thick with the smoke of incense, and outside, stalls were set up for fortune-telling.
A half-crippled fortune teller, dressed in Daoist garb, was crouched behind a car, offering his services. This man, born with congenital torticollis and strabismus, stood at about 1.3 meters tall and was said to be over forty years old.
When the fortune teller saw A Lai approaching the temple, he quickly abandoned his work and hobbled over to block A Lai's path with a grin. "Noble sir, please stay."
A Lai turned and pretended to be annoyed. "What is it? Trying to get me to be your apprentice again?"
The fortune teller chuckled. "I see a noble aura in your brow, a sign of great fortune, but I also detect some troubling energy in your face. Come, let me read your fortune."
A Lai, unimpressed, said, "The same old lines—can't you come up with something new?"
The fortune teller paused but continued, "You're young and strong, but beware of a romantic misfortune. Come, give me your birth date, and I'll give you a quick reading."
"Heh," A Lai laughed. "How about I give you a reading instead?"
The fortune teller clutched his chest. "No need for that; it's just my old ailment acting up—stomach pain."
A Lai nodded. "I bet you haven't had any customers yet today, and you didn't eat breakfast either. You stayed up late and caught a chill on an empty stomach. No wonder it hurts."
The fortune teller coughed and nodded, embarrassed.
A Lai reached into his bag and handed him a plastic bag. "I figured as much. There are meat buns and bread inside, along with some water and stomach medicine."
The fortune teller eagerly tore into the food, devouring it quickly. After finishing, he patted his aching leg and struggled to his feet. "Ah, food is strength. I feel better already."
A Lai asked, "What happened to your leg?"
The fortune teller sighed, "I had a run-in with an unreasonable guy this morning. He said my reading was inaccurate, that I was just making things worse. Not only did he refuse to pay, but he also kicked me."
A Lai laughed. "You should have just told him what he wanted to hear instead of pretending to know everything."
The fortune teller sighed deeply. "One day, I got caught in a heavy downpour and took shelter in a small shrine in the middle of nowhere. I was soaked, starving, and burning with fever, barely clinging to life. If you hadn't come by as a child, bringing me food, water, and medicine, I wouldn't be here today."
A Lai shrugged. "That's all in the past. Why keep bringing it up?"
The fortune teller continued, "You've been looking out for me ever since. Whenever you come to the temple, you always think of me. But I'm just a cripple—I can't do anything to repay you."
A Lai smiled and said, "Just stay alive. That's repayment enough."
"But what good am I, being a cripple?"
"Don't talk like that. Just staying alive is enough."
A Lai pulled out a hundred yuan and handed it to him. "Make sure you eat well. Don't skimp! And if things get too tough, come stay at the courtyard with me." With that, A Lai jogged into the temple.
Inside, Master Le Kong, with his thin face and scholarly appearance, was performing blessings for a line of worshippers. Standing respectfully by his side were Misa and Mile, assisting in maintaining order.
Master Le Kong chanted quickly, then used a ruler to tap each worshipper on the head, followed by dipping his fingers in a bowl of water and marking their foreheads.
A Lai waited patiently, not wanting to interrupt.
When Misa and Mile saw A Lai, they joyfully lifted him up and tossed him into the air. "Put me down, or I'll use my three palms of Heaven on you!" A Lai warned.
Mile laughed. "Before you can even use one palm, I'll kick you across the room!"
Misa added, "I'll punch you to the ground before you get the chance!"
After setting him down, Misa praised A Lai's cleverness in creating the electric shock device that had thwarted a group of thieves. Mile suggested that A Lai should train with them more often.
A Lai modestly replied, "But my basics are so weak."
"Don't worry. With our guidance, you'll make progress quickly."
"Great brothers! Let's go visit the abbot first."
The abbot greeted A Lai warmly, asking about his recent endeavors and expressing no surprise about the incident with the thieves, as he had already heard about it. He only inquired about A Lai's performance in the college entrance exam.
A Lai, ashamed, lowered his head and admitted he hadn't done well. The abbot consoled him, saying, "Everything happens for a reason. Just go with the flow."
Misa and Mile proposed teaching A Lai martial arts.
The abbot smiled and readily agreed. "A Lai, you're part of this temple. It's only right that they teach you. It'll be good for you to learn some martial arts. Remember, the path of martial arts requires both mental sharpness and diligent practice. Be humble, and you'll improve."
A Lai bowed. "Thank you, Master, for your guidance. I'll remember your words."
He then turned to Misa and Mile. "I grew up in this temple, learning meditation from Master Le Kong. I never trained in martial arts, so I'll be relying on you two to help me catch up."
...
Having missed several months of temple visits due to the exam, A Lai followed Misa and Mile to learn a few martial arts moves before wandering off on his own. As he strolled around, he couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching him. No matter where he went, he sensed he was being followed.
Suddenly, he squatted down, pretending to tie his shoelaces, and scanned the area around him.