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Chapter 5: The Power of the Secret Manual

Chapter 5: The Power of the Secret Manual Qian Ruhai stepped out of the inn to wander around. It was his first time strolling through the streets of the Song Dynasty, and everything he saw was a novelty. After walking and stopping for several hundred meters, he came upon a crowd cheering ahead. Pushing through the crowd to get a better look, he saw a man in the center, brandishing a dozen or so staffs. On the ground lay a dozen or so medicinal plasters arranged on a tray, each with a paper label stuck on top. It turned out to be a traveling performer from the martial arts world, demonstrating his staff skills while peddling medicine—commonly known as a “super-strength pill” peddler. However, this man was no ordinary person; he was also a future hero of Liangshan, known as Li Zhong, the Tiger-Slaying General. Qian Ruhai watched Li Zhong’s performance in silence. When Li Zhong packed up his stall and the crowd dispersed, he stepped forward and bowed, saying, “My friend, there is a job available paying five taels of silver a month. Would you be interested?” Li Zhong was somewhat tempted. After all, the local magistrate earned no more than ten guan a month—equivalent to five taels of silver—so this was definitely a high salary, far better than performing or selling medicine. He asked, “ “I wonder what the job entails. I only know how to perform acrobatics, sell medicine, and concoct remedies—I’m not skilled in anything else.” Qian Ruhuai first introduced himself, saying, “The Qian Family Inn needs a guard. There’s currently a vacancy for a waiter, so the position requires you to also serve as a waiter. Would you be willing to take it?” Li Zhong was somewhat reluctant. He considered himself a hero of the martial arts world and actually looked down on the work of a waiter. However, the job of a guard was acceptable to him, and since the waiter duties were only temporary, he agreed for the sake of the high salary of five taels of silver. And so, the first “hero waiter” in history was born. “Waiter, bring me a plate of salted peanuts.” “Waiter, where’s my braised beef?” “Waiter, I’ve been here a long time—where’s my food?” “Coming, coming—just a moment…” Li Zhong mumbled his replies as he weaved through the tables and chairs in the dining hall, carrying dishes. After a frantic meal, sweat was beading on his forehead—not from exhaustion, but from anxiety. His mind wasn’t that sharp; he’d remember one thing, forget another, recall this, and deliver the wrong dish. Of course, it was also because it was his first time doing this and he had no experience. When he had a moment to spare, he ran to the back yard to find Qian Ruhai and complained, “Boss, I can’t do this…” Qian Ruhai waved his hand and interjected, “Hey, Li Zhong, we men can’t say we’re no good.” Li Zhong stood there dumbfounded. Well, people back then didn’t get modern-day banter. Qian Ruhai continued, “All right, hang in there for a few days. We’ll hire a waiter soon, and then you’ll be off the hook.” To be honest, hiring waiters was easy. In those days, there were so many people who couldn’t even afford a meal. Word got out, and who knows how many came to apply. Unfortunately, Qian Ruhai didn’t approve of any of them. Since the security guards were heroes of the martial world, the waiters couldn’t be any less impressive. They had to be heroes, too. Li Zhong scoffed at this. Weizhou was on the frontier; few heroes of the martial world ever passed through, and even if they did, none would be willing to work as a waiter. When would he ever be relieved of his duties as acting waiter? He silently resolved that if the boss still hadn’t found a waiter in three days, he’d quit the job. Three days passed quickly, and still no waiter had been found. Li Zhong strode into the back courtyard, pushed open the door, and found the room empty. He searched everywhere but couldn’t find Qian Ruhai. By chance, he spotted a few books on the tea table. As a rough-and-tumble fellow, he usually had no interest in books, but one caught his eye—the illustrations inside seemed to depict a martial art. Curiosity piqued, he picked it up and began flipping through the pages. “Tai Chi. These moves look incredibly profound!” “Bajiquan. It’s quite similar to my style—both follow a fierce and powerful path!” “This one is the Nine Yin Manual…” Suddenly, a voice came from behind him: “Hey! Li Zhong, what are you doing here?” Li Zhong recognized his boss’s voice and was so startled he nearly dropped the *Nine Yin Manual* on the floor. He quickly put the manual back where he found it, turned around, and stammered, “I, I came to find you because I wanted to… but you weren’t here… so I… I’m truly ashamed!” Qian Ruhai gave a soft “Oh,” walked over, picked up the Tai Chi and Baji manuals, and tossed them casually to Li Zhong, saying, “Don’t worry about it. These manuals were meant for you anyway. You’ve worked hard these past few days. You can draw inspiration from Tai Chi’s principle of using softness to overcome hardness, and Baji is a better fit for you to learn. As for this Nine Yin Manual, it’s far too profound—we’ll talk about it once you’ve mastered Baji.” “T-this… thank you so much, Boss!” Li Zhong immediately knelt down to express his gratitude. He felt a bit ashamed, but mostly overjoyed. For a martial artist, nothing is more important than martial arts manuals; kneeling was the only way to properly express his gratitude. At that moment, any resentment he’d felt about working as a waiter vanished completely, and he secretly rejoiced that the boss wasn’t there—otherwise, he would’ve had no chance of getting these manuals. Qian Ruhai, being a modern man, couldn’t bear to have someone kneel before him. He stepped aside to help Li Zhong up and said, “No need to thank me. Since I don’t practice myself, giving this to you is putting it to good use. Just do your job well from now on.” Li Zhong nodded repeatedly, secretly wondering why the boss didn’t practice martial arts. Wasn’t it a waste not to practice with such a great manual? However, he didn’t dare ask further. He tucked the manual away and returned to the front courtyard to continue his work. He didn’t notice the faint smile on Qian Ruhai’s lips as he nodded in satisfaction. He thought to himself that all this effort hadn’t been in vain. It turned out that all of this was part of Qian Ruhai’s plan. He had long since realized that Li Zhong was unwilling to settle for being a waiter, so he used the manual as bait to pacify him. As for the manuals themselves, they were all purchased from modern times—traditional Chinese editions—guaranteed to be free of errors. Whether one could achieve anything depended entirely on personal destiny. However, when comparing the two, Li Zhong—having trained in martial arts since childhood—found practicing Baguazhang to be like adding wings to a tiger. Qian Ruhai, on the other hand, had never had the opportunity to train in martial arts as a child; by now, his joints and bones had long since stiffened, so his practice served merely to strengthen his body. Therefore, he had never intended to cultivate these manuals; if he were to encounter any quick-learning martial arts or immortal cultivation techniques in the future, he would certainly study them. Li Zhong returned to the front of the inn. Coincidentally, there were no customers. He was just about to sit on the bench to read the manuals when he realized it was work hours. The boss was kind, the pay was good, and he had the manuals to practice—the only way he could repay them was by doing his job well. He decided to go outside and see if there were any potential customers he could greet. He walked out and stood at the door. Whenever a passerby looked his way, he would call out to them and introduce the inn’s food and lodging. Before long, someone suddenly called out, “Master!” He turned to see it was Shi Jin, the Nine-Tattooed Dragon, accompanied by a tall, burly soldier. Feeling somewhat embarrassed, he covered his face and went back inside—it was truly mortifying for a martial hero to be working as an innkeeper and run into an acquaintance. Shi Jin didn’t think much of it at first, assuming he hadn’t heard correctly. Just as he was about to call out again, the soldier beside him said urgently, “Shi Daliang, I’ll wait for you at Pan’s Restaurant. Once you’ve paid your respects to your master, come quickly and have a drink with me, Lu Da.” So this was Lu Da—the future Liangshan hero known as the Flower Monk, Lu Zhishen. Shi Jin gave a reply, took a quick step forward, and grabbed Li Zhong’s sleeve. Just then, the secret manual of Bajiquan fell out. Curious, he picked it up and glanced at it, asking, “Master, you dropped your manual.” Li Zhong quickly snatched it back and tucked it into his robe. Glancing around to make sure no one was paying attention, he yanked Shi Jin into the inn, found a corner to sit down, and pushed the Baji Quan manual toward him. “Brother, I never expected to run into you here—it must be fate. Why don’t you take a look at this manual first?” Shi Jin was a skilled martial artist with some knowledge of the arts. After flipping through it, he was stunned: “This is definitely a high-level boxing manual. It trains the tendons and bones externally and the internal organs internally—cultivating both the exterior and interior is truly brilliant. Master, may I borrow it for a while?” Li Zhong mused, “We’ll discuss borrowing it later. Do you know why I’m working as a waiter here?” Shi Jin had also been secretly puzzled as to why Li Zhong, having fallen on hard times, would take a job as an innkeeper. Upon hearing this, he began to grasp the situation and whispered, “Master, could it be that you came here for this manual?” “Ah, you’re a smart one!” Li Zhong breathed a silent sigh of relief. At last, he wouldn’t have to lose face; he could keep this lie going, and perhaps even solve the problem of the vacant innkeeper position.