Chapter 171: The Aura’s Conflict

I turned my head to see one of the elderly men from yesterday’s Tai Chi practice. He had offered me some pointers then, and upon seeing me, he smiled and greeted me.

“Oh, little girl, are you joining us for practice tonight as well?”

“Mm! Yes, that’s right.” I quickly said, putting some distance between myself and Old Man Zhang.

Fortunately, someone had arrived. I shuddered to think what horrors might have unfolded if I’d been alone with Old Man Zhang for a few more seconds.

The two old men knew each other. Old Man Zhang immediately put on a smiling face and greeted him.

Yet, that sinister grin, coupled with his already distorted features, was utterly chilling.

What was even more unsettling was that the Tai Chi elder showed no reaction to Old Man Zhang’s warped features or expression.

He cheerfully chatted about everyday topics, just as one would with a normal person, discussing dinner, travels, and chess.

Was it only I who saw his distorted features, while the Tai Chi elder perceived Old Man Zhang’s face as normal? Or had the Tai Chi elder simply grown accustomed to it all?

I couldn’t say, but either possibility was terrifying upon deeper thought.

Still, I couldn’t simply walk away. I worried that if I did, Old Man Zhang might reveal his true, monstrous nature to the Tai Chi elder and mercilessly attack him.

I remained standing beside them, my parasitic worms poised for action.

In the end, nothing happened. The two old men concluded their pleasant chat, said their goodbyes, and Old Man Zhang departed.

The Tai Chi elder turned to me, a smile on his face. “Why are you still waiting here? You could have started practicing already; you don’t need to wait for us.”

“Hehe, that’s the thing.” I offered a forced laugh and turned toward the community square.

‘Was I waiting because I was worried some perverted killer might ambush you?’

We both arrived at the practice area. The others had already formed a square formation, following the music and beginning their movements.

The elder and I walked directly to the back of the formation and joined in.

Having received Yi Zhiqiu’s guidance today, I was finally beginning to grasp the Tai Chi forms. Grasping the Sparrow’s Tail, Hand Strokes the Lute, Embrace Tiger and Return to Mountain, White Crane Spreads Wings—every move flowed seamlessly into the next.

In fact, I started to feel they were moving too slowly. Since this martial art was for the elderly to strengthen their bodies, the female voice announcing the forms on the tape recorder spoke very slowly.

Often, it would take five to ten seconds to announce the next move, and I felt I could already complete the next form in that time.

At this point, a deeply contradictory feeling arose within me. On one hand, I was incredibly impatient, eager to complete the entire set of movements in one fluid go.

On the other hand, I had to follow the others, moving at a painstakingly slow pace, which felt incredibly agonizing.

Midway through the practice, burdened by this conflicting sensation, my breathing suddenly became erratic. A sharp pain pierced my chest, and I stumbled a few times, nearly falling.

The others immediately stopped, looking at me with concern. “Little girl, what’s wrong?”

“Cough, cough! It’s nothing, I think I just got a cramp. I’ll be fine after a short rest, don’t worry about me.” I moved to the side and sat on a chair, gasping for air.

It took a while for me to recover.

‘Strange, I didn’t feel this way yesterday during practice or this morning while learning from Yi Zhiqiu. What’s happening to me? Could it be like in novels, where I’ve mismanaged my qi and fallen into a demonic deviation?’

When they finished a set and began to rest, I walked to the side to practice on my own. This time, I didn’t need to follow their rhythm.

I simply followed my own inclination and executed the movements in one continuous flow.

This round of Tai Chi felt incredibly smooth. I moved faster and faster, striking with a force that could probably knock someone over if it landed on them.

Moreover, I sensed that an aura was vaguely forming around me. It was ethereal and illusory, not yet condensed.

If it could fully materialize, with internal and external circulation, that would likely be when I truly cultivated my aura.

However, during this process, I felt something on my body that clashed with the aura, preventing it from taking shape. Upon closer inspection, it was the spiritual light from my two magical artifacts that conflicted with the aura.

Each time the aura tried to gather, it was dispersed by the spiritual light.

Perplexed, I took out the two magical artifacts I carried: the prayer beads and the jade pendant. After some thought, I realized these were Buddhist artifacts.

They likely conflicted with the Daoist aura of Tai Chi. No wonder I felt a sense of disharmony with the overall Tai Chi aura during practice yesterday.

Putting these two artifacts aside, I resumed my practice. This time, it felt right. The aura encountered no more obstacles, and my punches flowed more smoothly.

An intense exhilaration surged within me, a feeling of my heart connecting with my fists.

“Clap! Clap!” At that moment, a round of applause sounded nearby.

A wave of irritation immediately washed over me. Feeling unstoppable, I turned and struck out with a palm in the direction of the clapping.

“Wait!” The person clapping was none other than the elder who had guided me earlier. My palm strike startled him, causing him to retreat several steps.

However, he was already several meters away from me, and my aura hadn’t fully formed. My strike was merely an empty swing in his direction, causing him no harm whatsoever.

My mind instantly cleared. ‘What was I doing just now? Why did I suddenly feel such irritation and anger? Was it because my smooth practice had been abruptly interrupted?’

I quickly retracted my fist and apologized to the elder. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t control myself for a moment.”

“It’s nothing, nothing. I was just startled by your sudden turn, that’s all. It’s fine.” The elder replied.

I offered another solemn apology. This was no joking matter. The elder appeared quite frail, likely in his eighties or nineties.

If I had accidentally startled him into a heart attack, I would have been in serious trouble.

“Cough, cough! Speaking of which, little girl, your progress in Tai Chi is truly astounding. Yesterday, I still needed to help correct your posture, but today you can complete an entire set of Tai Chi so fluidly. Are you a genius?” The elder exclaimed in amazement.

Yi Zhiqiu had also told me I had a great talent for Tai Chi, and this was even more a result of his guidance today. It was Yi Zhiqiu who taught me the breathing methods and guided me through the Tai Chi forms, allowing me to connect them.

To achieve this effect in just two days made me feel a little proud.

However, I still humbly replied, “How can I be that amazing? I was just striking randomly; none of my movements were standard.”

“In real combat, there are no requirements for standard movements. Little girl, your punching power is already formidable,” the elder said with a smile.

I found this a bit strange. Surely, they practiced Tai Chi purely for physical conditioning. Even if it had effects against evil spirits, they shouldn’t know about it.

What was the point of discussing real combat with such a slow martial art?

If this set of Tai Chi could truly be used in combat, I wouldn’t need to painstakingly try to learn killing moves from Yi Zhiqiu. It was precisely because Yi Zhiqiu refused to teach them that I wanted to learn killing moves from Mo Qingyan.

Afterward, I rejoined them, slowing down my pace to practice. However, after two or three rounds, I felt depleted, my blood and qi insufficient.

Even though I had deliberately eaten a pound of beef for dinner, it still didn’t feel like enough.

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