Chapter 157: Symbol Water Rejuvenation

By the time I had memorized all the acupoints Yi Zhiqiu pointed out to me,
my face was completely flushed red.

Xia Yubing’s skin was far too sensitive—
every time Yi Zhiqiu touched a point,
I felt a slight spasm ripple through me.

After he finished,
I hurriedly put my school uniform back on.
The stockings, however, were gone.

“The basics are about all I can teach you for now.
You’ll need to go home and practice diligently.
Come find me whenever you run into something you don’t understand.”

Yi Zhiqiu said this,
though he clearly didn’t hold much hope.
Many people outside start martial arts on a whim,
only to give up halfway.

“Alright.
But how will I know when I’ve actually cultivated qi?”

I asked eagerly.

“That’s still too early for you.
Even if you do manage to produce qi,
you probably won’t notice it yourself at first—
not unless you learn to observe qi or sense auras.
Once you reach that stage,
I’ll teach you how to guide and cultivate it.”

Yi Zhiqiu replied.

He didn’t know that I could already see auras—
and quite clearly at that.
But he was right:
it would probably take at least a year or two before I could cultivate true qi.
Asking now was pointless.

“Then let me perform the form once and you can tell me what’s wrong.”

I said, standing up.
I assumed the opening stance according to the manual,
but my movements were stiff and awkward.
When I started moving,
it didn’t look like martial arts at all—
nor like dancing.
It was more like I was posing awkwardly.

After all, the manual only had a few static diagrams.
There were no moving sequences.
And since I couldn’t see Yi Zhiqiu’s actual form clearly,
I could only imitate the vague motions I remembered from watching old men in the park.
Naturally, the result was full of flaws.

To my surprise,
Yi Zhiqiu kept nodding.

“Not bad at all.
Very high comprehension.
I didn’t expect you to perform it this well on your first try.”

“Huh?
Don’t just say that to make me feel better.
I know my own level.
I’ve never practiced Taiji Quan before—
how could I possibly do it well?”

Even I could tell how rigid my movements were.

“No, really.
It’s normal for the form to be stiff and jerky on the first attempt—
everyone goes through that.
But you’ve already grasped the underlying principles of Taiji Quan.
You hold the Taiji in your heart and in your mind.
The path you’re on is already correct.”

Yi Zhiqiu said with genuine admiration.

“Many people practice for ten or twenty years
and never manage to elevate their martial arts to the level of true martial dao.
They chase only physical power and technique,
completely missing the true essence of martial arts.
But you’ve already understood it—
you’ve avoided so many detours.”

“I originally thought it would take you three to five years to cultivate true qi.
Now it seems I underestimated your aptitude.
If you keep practicing like this,
you could produce true qi within a year at most.”

I was stunned.

Only then did I realize:
while I was performing the form earlier,
the constantly rotating Taiji diagram from Yi Zhiqiu’s demonstration
had kept appearing in my mind.
My body had unconsciously moved in sync with its changes.
So that was what he meant by “understanding the principles” and “martial dao”?

In truth, I hadn’t really comprehended the essence of martial arts at all.
I had simply cheated by using my aura-seeing ability to glimpse its core ahead of time.

“Mm.
Let’s continue.
I’ll just make small corrections to your form.
Once you’re familiar enough with it,
the exact movements and sequences won’t matter anymore.
Act freely, follow your heart,
as long as you don’t violate the principles—
that is the true essence of martial dao.”

Yi Zhiqiu said.

So I continued.
Yi Zhiqiu didn’t correct much—
he let me keep practicing in my stiff, clumsy way.
Only when my posture truly went wrong
did he reach out to adjust me.

After several rounds,
I finally managed to complete the entire Taiji Quan form from beginning to end.
It was still far from smooth—
full of stumbles and awkward pauses—
but at least I finished it.

Just as I was about to close the form,
I suddenly felt my qi and blood surge and spin inside me.
Then the world tilted violently in my vision.
My legs gave out,
and I collapsed.

Yi Zhiqiu reacted quickly and caught me.
He immediately checked my pulse,
then frowned.

“Your blood and qi loss is still too severe.
The essence I transferred earlier didn’t replenish much.
Practicing martial arts now is only making the deficit worse.”

“Cough, cough…
I feel so weak all over… and dizzy.”

I said feebly.

“That earlier feeling of mental exhaustion and cold qi deficiency…
it’s coming back.
I didn’t expect my body to be this fragile now.”

“No choice then.”

Yi Zhiqiu helped me to a chair,
then went out and returned with a bowl of water,
placing it on the table.

I was about to ask what he was doing
when I saw him take out a talisman paper,
holding it between his fingers.
The talisman continuously emanated thick, vibrant life energy—
it was the same Rejuvenation Talisman he had once given me.

Yi Zhiqiu drew a few lines in the air with his fingertips.
Sparks flared from his fingers,
and the talisman instantly ignited.

I stared in shock.
He was burning such a precious Daoist talisman?

But the next moment,
he held the burning talisman over the bowl.
The ashes fell into the water.
In an instant,
the bowl radiated dense, powerful life force.
It seemed Yi Zhiqiu had used some technique to fully activate the talisman’s power—
the vitality in this bowl of water was at least three times stronger than the aura of the original talisman.

“Talisman water?!”

Of course I recognized this well-known Daoist technique.
Many Daoist priests and wandering practitioners
used talisman water to treat illnesses.
I never imagined Yi Zhiqiu would use it—
and that I’d actually get to experience it myself.

“Yes.
Um… you might not believe in this kind of treatment,
or you might feel a bit repulsed,
but just treat it like drinking water.
Drink this bowl—
it should make you feel better.”

Yi Zhiqiu explained.
He was used to having to justify talisman water to people in the past.

Without a second thought,
I grabbed the bowl and drank it down in one go.

No need to doubt—
half a Rejuvenation Talisman had once healed my wounds instantly.
With such thick vitality infused into this water,
it had to be good.

And sure enough—
after finishing the bowl,
my vision cleared,
the dizziness vanished,
and strength returned to my limbs.
The effect was immediate.

But when I carefully examined my body,
I realized the missing blood and qi still hadn’t been fully restored.
It wasn’t that the talisman water was ineffective—
it was simply the wrong medicine for the condition.

The Rejuvenation Talisman primarily healed wounds.
The burn on my calf from earlier had vanished instantly.
But blood and qi deficiency wasn’t an injury.
Although the massive influx of vitality did restore some of my qi and blood,
it was extremely inefficient—
like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

In the end,
most of that vast vitality circulated through my body a few times
before being absorbed almost entirely by my skin.
Whether it was an illusion or not,
I felt my skin become even fairer, smoother, and more radiant.
All the previous wrinkles had vanished completely,
and the itching was gone.

“Talisman water can only relieve the immediate crisis—
it can’t truly fill the void in your blood and qi.
When you go back, eat more meat,
especially organ meats,
and red dates.
And when you practice martial arts in the future,
don’t practice again until your blood and qi are replenished.
Many martial practitioners eat three or four pounds of beef every day—
it’s perfectly normal.”

Yi Zhiqiu reminded me.

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