马奎子的家,甚至比陈洛的三叔家还要破旧.它只是一间茅草屋,那种可能被最轻微的风吹倒的小屋.隔壁,一户人家开着锅炉,当陈罗和侄子到达时,锅炉正在冒出浓浓的黑烟.
马奎子独自坐在门口,拿着一把锉刀,正在修理一个铸铁锅.锉刀刮擦着锅底,导致大片的黑铁粉落在地上,露出破损的斑点.
"奎兹,我是来看你的."
陈老三看到马奎子忙着工作,远远地喊道.
听到声音,马奎子一寸都没动,继续用猎锉刮铁锅.附近炉子里的金属板都快烧穿了,他就捡起来放在锅里的洞上.他用金属般的叮当声敲击它.
直到锅子被完全修好,放在一边,马奎子才终于抬头看向叔侄俩.
他的目光主要集中在陈洛身上.
因为这是一个陌生人.
也许是心理原因,当马奎子的目光扫过时,陈洛本能地感到紧张,身上的汗毛都竖了起来.感觉就像走在树林里,却被一头野兽盯着看.
"这是我的侄子,陈洛!"陈家第三代的独子.
陈老三打断了气氛,随意地将手里的礼物放在了桌子上.
"说."
马奎子终于将目光移开.他的声音很低,脸上像一块木头一样冷漠,没有表情.
"我侄子想学武术."
没有闲聊,陈老三坐下后直奔主题.
听到这话,马奎子暂停了片刻的工作.
然后,仿佛他没有听到一样,他继续他的任务.陈老三并不着急,只是等待着.直到马奎子把所有的罐子和镰刀都修好了,他才再次开口.
"你为什么想学武术?"
问题直指陈洛,陈老三保持沉默.
他知道马奎子的性子.
"我想变得更强."
陈洛说出了他心中的心愿.
自从来到这个世界以来,他从未有过安全感.尤其是在了解了"武术"的存在后,不安全感只会越来越强烈.因此,他不顾一切地获得力量来保护自己和周围的人.
"学习武术不一定会让你变得更强大,世界..."
马奎子似乎想起了什么,他喃喃自语着那些话,但随后就沉默了.他悄悄地收起了他的工具,把用过的铁钳整齐地放在房间的角落里,然后把文件放进附近的工具箱里.
"明天再来.我每天教你一个小时,你能学到多少就看你自己了.
就在陈老三以为这件事可能会失败的时候,马奎子拿起工具箱,站起身往屋里走去.当他正要关上门时,一个声音从里面传来.
成功了!
陈老三松了一口气.
Chen Luo was also full of excitement!
No matter how Ma Quezi's temperament was, for Chen Luo at this stage, this was his only chance. As long as he could step into the door of martial arts, he believed he could eventually walk a path to greatness. Using a fragmented mind to learn martial arts was a last resort. For a beginner, this choice was too risky, and if any details went wrong, it could be deadly.
By the time they finished, it was already dusk.
When the uncle and nephew returned, the nearest street was still blocked off, and the officials from the yamen were patrolling, seemingly searching for someone.
Chen Lao San, being naturally cautious, led Chen Luo to take a detour back home.
"Old Liu! Two bowls of noodles, add extra sauce and hold the spice."
Neither of them were good at cooking, so when they got to the alley, Chen Lao San led Chen Luo to sit at Old Liu's noodle stall, knocking on the table with his hand and shouting loudly.
Being old acquaintances, Old Liu immediately recognized their voices.
Moments later, Old Liu brought over steaming hot noodles, specially adding a piece of braised meat for them.
"Pay up when you're done."
Chen Lao San replied casually, then pulled chopsticks from a bamboo tube and started eating with big mouthfuls. Chen Luo didn't hesitate either and finished quickly.
Old Liu's noodle stall had been running for over twenty years, and the noodles were famous for being hearty.
Not to mention, they had added braised meat.
After they were full, Chen Lao San dropped two large coins on the table, then led Chen Luo home.
For the past years, Chen Lao San had always lived like this—whenever he had money, he never skimped on himself. Chen Luo had learned this from his third uncle: no matter what, never skimp on yourself. If worse came to worst, he could live his whole life as a bachelor. It wasn't like he hadn't done it before!
When they arrived home, Chen Lao San took out the key, ready to open the door, but saw a black bamboo stick had fallen out from under the copper lock.
Hmm?
The moment he saw the bamboo stick, Chen Lao San's expression changed.
"Third uncle, need help?"
Chen Luo recognized the bamboo stick; it was the mark left by the corpse-collector when conducting business. He had seen similar bamboo sticks before, as he had often watched his uncle during such times. However, this was the first time he had seen a black bamboo stick, which piqued his curiosity.
"You? Help? Focus on learning martial arts, don't waste my effort."
Chen Lao San cursed under his breath, put the bamboo stick into his pocket, and then opened the door to go inside.
"Tomorrow, you go on your own."
Chen Luo could only return to his room when he saw the situation.
The profession of corpse-burying had many taboos. If his third uncle was unwilling to speak, he would never be able to pry the information out. Asking too many questions might even get him a beating from his uncle.
These were all lessons learned from experience.
"I'll wait until I'm stronger and see then. Right now, I can't even protect myself."
Lying on the bed, Chen Luo couldn't help but think about the street closure he saw earlier that day.
"I just hope it's nothing serious."
He drifted into sleep, and for the entire night, he didn't dream and slept soundly.
The night passed without incident.
The next morning, Chen Luo woke up early.
What was strange, however, was that his third uncle had already left. The gate of the yard was wide open, and there was no sign of him anywhere.
"Aunt Wang, have you seen my third uncle?"
After washing up, Chen Luo went to Old Liu's noodle stall at the alley's entrance and asked Aunt Wang, who was cooking noodles. Aunt Wang was Old Liu's wife. The two of them ran a food stall—he did the night business, and she did the morning business. It was said that they had bought their son a house in the provincial capital using the money from their food stall.
"Your third uncle? He left before dawn and even took two steamed buns from me." Upon seeing Chen Luo, Aunt Wang smiled and added a bit more information.
Business was busy in the morning, so after their brief conversation, Aunt Wang went back to her work.
Chen Luo didn't press further. After having two steamed buns and a bowl of soy milk, he set off for Ma Quezi's place.
He had already gone there with his third uncle the day before.
He knew the way.
After passing the alley and arriving at the intersection from yesterday, Chen Luo noticed that the street was still blocked off. Not only was there no sign of it being reopened, but the area of the blockade had actually expanded. Several nearby households were now included in the quarantine. There were officials standing at the entrances, and when they saw Chen Luo peeking around the corner, one of them shot him a glare.
"Get lost! The road's closed, take a detour!"
Startled by the reprimand, Chen Luo quickly withdrew his head and took the same detour he had used the day before.
"I hope it's not some kind of epidemic. In this messed-up world, a plague could cause a big mess."
Thinking about it, Chen Luo felt that it was unlikely.
If it were truly a plague, the blockade would have been much more serious.
Judging by the official's attitude when he scolded him, it seemed that many people had tried to take the detour this morning, and the official was already used to shouting at them.
After passing the blockade area, it wasn't long before Chen Luo arrived at Ma Quezi's home.
Just like the day before, Ma Quezi was still busy repairing tools for the neighbors, from kitchenware to farming tools, and even horseshoes.
When Chen Luo arrived, he didn't say much, simply rolling up his sleeves and getting to work.
It wasn't until the sun was high in the sky that Ma Quezi finally stopped.
"Come inside with me."
Perhaps because of his performance that morning, Ma Quezi's attitude toward Chen Luo had improved quite a bit.
He pushed open the wooden door.
Chen Luo was surprised to find that Ma Quezi's yard was even bigger than his third uncle's. Despite looking shabby on the outside, the inside was surprisingly spacious.
Beyond the main door, there was another small courtyard. In one corner, there was a weapon rack and a sandbag. The sandbag's surface was weathered, clearly having been unused for quite some time.
"Start by practicing stance. Watch my movements, learn as much as you can."
Without waiting for Chen Luo to respond, Ma Quezi began performing a set of martial arts movements. The fluidity of his movements was impressive, and after completing the sequence, he finished with a stance.
Even though he limped on one leg, he still maintained a stable posture.
Chen Luo immediately began to imitate him.
His first attempt was far from perfect. The movements were completely off, with none of the key steps done correctly, and his breathing was all over the place. Ma Quezi stood beside him, frowning.
"Try again."
Ma Quezi suppressed his rising frustration and said in a low voice.
He knew Chen Luo didn't have great potential, but he didn't expect him to be so bad. After one round, he hadn't even remembered a single thing. This was practically the definition of a hopeless case!
Chen Luo, hearing this, raised his hands and tried again, recalling the movements from earlier.
This time, Ma Quezi pointed out several mistakes in his movements. Each time Chen Luo made an incorrect stance, Ma Quezi would use a bamboo stick to give him a light strike. Over and over, they repeated the process, until nightfall, when Chen Luo finally managed to memorize the entire set of movements.
"That's enough for today. For the next month, practice the stance. When you've got it down, come find me."
After tossing the bamboo stick aside, Ma Quezi walked off without looking back.
He was afraid that if he watched any longer, his heart condition might flare up from the frustration.
"Thank you, Master."
Chen Luo respectfully kowtowed to Ma Quezi before getting up to leave.
"Ugh!"
Chen Luo winced. He hadn't noticed it during the practice, but now, every part of his body ached. Ma Quezi hadn't been lenient with the bamboo strikes, but without them, Chen Luo wouldn't have remembered the movements.
At the stage of building a foundation in martial arts, if you practice the wrong way, it could be deadly.