Chapter 43: The Air-Conditioning Formula

  "What... what kind of Qigong is this?" Liu Xiu was so excited that he stuttered.

  "It's said that the name is Ba Jue, the 'Ba' in the way of King Ba." Liu Yuanqi furrowed his brow and stopped talking. "You should practice well, not only can it cure your heartache, but also greatly benefit your martial arts skills. However, don't think like before, that having a bit of strength is enough to conquer the world, you must know that the bravery of an ordinary man is not reliable."

  "Ah, I see." Liu Xiu repeatedly responded. This incantation sounds powerful, and Father is so serious about it, it must have a great effect. It's still good to be born with it. Even if Liu Bei was more talented, he wouldn't have gotten something this good. He suddenly thought of a question and asked, "Ah-weng, have you practiced it?"

  "Me?" Liu Yuanqi was taken aback, a hint of disappointment flashing across his face: "I've practiced, but I didn't succeed."

  "How did you know that would be useful for me?" Liu Xiu was stunned, this couldn't be something that street bum used to deceive the innocent young man.

  "This is a physical issue, this qigong method has very peculiar requirements for one's physique, and your physique just happens to match the requirements."

  "Has... anyone in our ancestors ever cultivated it?"

  "Of course." Liu Yuanqi said without thinking, raising his hand, just about to continue speaking, but suddenly sank his face, restored his previous angry expression, and loudly scolded: "You, as an elder brother, don't even know how to take care of Xuande, let alone hurt him. Now you still have the nerve to talk reason? Watch me not teach you a lesson." As he spoke, he stood up tall, rushed over, grabbed the silk book on the table with one hand and quickly stuffed it into Liu Xiu's arms, raised his hand and slapped him with a loud "slap".

  Liu Xiu was stunned, his eyes wide open just about to speak when a hurried footsteps sounded outside the door, followed by Liu Bei pushing open the door and throwing down the fabric in his hands, rushing over to hug the angry Liu Yuanqi, saying repeatedly: "Ah-bo, Ah-bo, big brother didn't mean it, don't blame him anymore."

  Liu Xiu finally came back to his senses, innocently looking at his furious father, feeling extremely wronged, thinking that if you want to act, you should give a notice in advance, I'm being wrongly accused this time.

  Liu Bei saw Liu Xiu's wronged expression and felt even more uneasy, so he pulled Liu Yuanqi to one side with force, repeatedly pleading for Liu Xiu. It was not easy to persuade Liu Yuanqi, but eventually, he accompanied a smile, picked up the cloth that had been thrown on the ground, and presented it to Liu Yuanqi with both hands: "Uncle, this is the cloth I bought, please take it back for my mother. And here's the extra money, a total of 52 coins."

  Liu Yuanqi glanced at the money in Liu Bei's hand, then touched the cloth in his own hand and said discontentedly: "Xuande, why did you buy such poor-quality cloth? You're about to serve under Governor Cai, if you dress too shabbily it won't do." As he spoke, he turned his head and gave Liu Shao a fierce look: "You little scamp, aren't you going with Xuande to rebuy some good cloth? Do I have to go myself?"

  Liu Xiu did not dare to slack off, and hastily agreed. He took the money bag from Liu Yuanqi's hand and pulled the embarrassed Liu Bei out while saying: "Xuande, hurry up and leave! If you don't leave now, I'll get beaten again."

  Liu Bei reluctantly followed Liu Xiu out the door and carefully asked about what had just happened. Liu Xiu, of course, wouldn't tell the truth, only saying that his father was extremely angry with him for hurting him and was scolding him. If Liu Bei hadn't returned in time, he would have probably been beaten again. Liu Bei listened and smiled foolishly: "Ah, Uncle is really like this, making such a big deal out of a small injury. Big Brother, I'm really sorry."

  "It's nothing, I was the one who hurt you." Liu Xiu suppressed his smile and went with Liu Bei to Bu Chui, where they bought a high-quality silk fabric and a Qingzhou-produced brocade handkerchief for his mother-in-law. They returned to the tavern laughing and chatting. Liu Yuanqi had calmed down but still refused to give Liu Xiu a pleasant expression, gruffly instructing him to take good care of Liu Bei before leaving with the fabric, warning that he would come back to Zu County in a few days and deal with Liu Xiu if he didn't behave.

  Liu Xiu had a number in his heart, and after a few more days, Lao Die would definitely come, but not to see if he had taken good care of Liu Bei, but to worry about whether his own heartache had improved. Although he didn't understand why Lao Die wanted to put on such an act in front of Liu Bei, the fact that the knot between father and son was untied was ultimately a good thing.

  Alas, it seems like I've really started treating this old man as a father.

  After returning to the post house, Lu Min had not returned yet. Liu Bei sat for a while and couldn't bear the loneliness, so he asked Liu Xiu if he was interested in going out for a stroll. Liu Xiu had the silk book hidden in his sleeve, and all he could think about was taking a look at it as soon as possible. He didn't have any interest in going out to play, so he made an excuse that he wasn't feeling well and wanted to rest for a while. Liu Bei thought he was still upset from being scolded by his father earlier, so he didn't say much and just comforted him with a couple of words before leaving himself.

  As soon as Liu Bei left, Liu Xiu closed the door and took out the silk book to examine it carefully. On the silk book, there were several human figures drawn with ink lines, with a red line painted with cinnabar on the upper body, chest, abdomen, and waist. Next to each figure were written a few sentences, but they were not elegant classical language, rather colloquial words that looked effortless to understand. At Liu Xiu's current level, he quickly grasped the meaning.

  This is a mnemonic about breathing methods, but it's completely different from the concepts Liu Xiu got from martial arts before. Those all talked about things like dantian, ren and du meridians, and zhoutian, but this one doesn't mention those things. It only talks about drawing in air into the abdomen, which is somewhat similar to belly breathing, and it's different from the qigong requirements for soft and slow breathing. This mnemonic specifically notes that the breathing should be heavy and fierce.

  This is indeed a bit strange.

  Liu Xiu was momentarily uncertain, thought for a long time, and decided to hide the silk book first, putting it in the most secret place, lest Liu Bei find it. After careful consideration, he sat down according to the posture on the silk book and took a deep breath like pulling a bellows.

  "Ah——", the air had just been inhaled halfway, Liu Xiu suddenly felt his heart jump violently, as if he was being pulled by a rope. He hadn't caught his breath yet and almost choked. He patted his chest nervously, feeling that his heartbeat was much faster than usual.

  If it weren't for the detailed explanation in the manual, Liu Xiu would have doubted whether he had misunderstood. He slowed down and decided to try again, reducing the amplitude a bit, and feeling his way first.

  The palpitations had weakened a lot, although the feeling of being implicated was still there, but it was no longer unbearable. He repeated the exercise several times, carefully savoring the sensation of his heart rising and falling with each breath, unknowingly closing his eyes.

  The sounds around him slowly faded away, and all that was left in his ears was the sound of his own breathing, faintly accompanied by the "thumping" sound of his heartbeat, with a clear rhythm, like a lullaby, both clear and vague, as if it were right next to his ear, yet seemingly far out of reach.

  It wasn't long before Liu Xiu suddenly felt a stir in his heart, and that almost ethereal feeling vanished instantly. The sounds from outside surged in like a tidal wave, and the world suddenly became bustling and extraordinary. He opened his eyes to find, to his surprise, that his heartache had eased considerably.

  Heh heh, this trick is a bit strange, but the effect is undeniable. Liu Xiu thought with joy, flipping over and lying down on the bed, letting out a long sigh.

  A chaotic footsteps came from outside, getting closer and closer, as if heading in this direction. Liu Xiu was stunned, quickly got up and walked to the door, stretched out his hand to pull the door open, took a glance, and suddenly became stupid.

  Liu Bei stood at the door with a crying face, one eye socket blackened, his nose dripping blood, half of his face swollen like a pig's head, and his clothes were also torn apart, looking as if he had been beaten by a group of people.