Jianghu Qimen Lu

Chapter 9 Martial Arts Manual

Although it was late autumn, the south was still warm like spring. Mosquitoes swarmed in the latrine, and the stench was overwhelming. The edges of the latrine were covered in a thick layer of dust, except for the northwest corner, which was smooth as a mirror, as if someone had touched it frequently! Furthermore, the messy footprints on the ground suggested that someone frequented this place. Bai Shandian surveyed the surroundings. The toilet, facing east, was about a hundred square meters in size, occupying the southwest corner of the western living area. The latrine was right next to the north side of the toilet, and there were two large holes in the north wall, serving as direct channels for the discharge of urine and feces. As for the smooth area in the northwest corner of the latrine, it was next to a thick courtyard wall to the west. The wall was over ten feet high, making it difficult for anyone to climb over.

As a sharp-eyed imperial spy, Bai Shandian meticulously observed: the toilet had always been a gloomy place, one that no one wanted to frequent. The dust around the urinal was normal. What was noteworthy was that the northwest corner of the edge was smooth as a mirror from being touched so much – that was highly unusual! Because further west was a wall, offering no way out! Who would be so idle as to frequently come here to inhale the stench?

Bai Shandian strode over and discovered the secret—there was a small, round, recessed pit at the northwest corner of the pool, easily missed if one wasn't looking closely. He reached out and pressed his fingers against the pit, and with a strange creaking sound, the entire cesspool embedded in the ground suddenly rose into the air, about a meter tall, supported by four thick, retractable steel springs at its four corners. A large opening appeared before them! A series of steps led down into the cave!

The soldiers shouted and, brandishing their spears and swords, surrounded the cave in a flurry. Hongchen, his face beaming with excitement, grinned so wide his eyes narrowed to slits, saying, "Lord Bai, it's only right that we two get promoted and made a fortune! You're truly capable, worthy of being a secret agent of the Imperial Guard, a master!" Bai Shandian coldly rebuked, "Xiangquan and Choujiao are both top-notch martial arts masters, all of you be careful! Come, follow me down to capture them!" Although Hongchen wasn't a member of the martial arts world, he had long heard of Xiangquan and Choujiao's reputation and knew they were not to be trifled with. He quickly instructed the others, "Unless absolutely necessary, do not offend Master Xiang! Our purpose today is simply to capture the leader of the Red Flower Society!" Seeing that he was thinking of him wholeheartedly, Bai Shandian thought, "That's good. Unless absolutely necessary, I really can't reveal my wife Xiangquan's past to the public! As for the strange book 'Complete Book of Martial Arts,' we'll have to take it slowly and communicate with my wife little by little later." He then ordered the constables to guard the cave entrance, and the rest of the men followed him down. Seeing his alertness and caution, Hongchen secretly admired him. He quickly took the lead and went down into the cave. The soldiers followed in single file.

After descending about twenty steps, they reached the bottom of the cave. It was pitch black inside, so dark that one couldn't see their own hand in front of their face. Bai Shandian ordered several soldiers to light a few torches, which illuminated the cave as if it were daytime. The cave was quite spacious, with long, narrow blue stone walls all around, tightly sealed. There was no hidden door.

"General Hongchen, stop looking. This is just an ordinary vegetable cellar in my house," Elder Xiang suddenly appeared at the entrance above, peering inside and calling out. Hongchen was also somewhat discouraged, whispering to Bai Shandian, "Could it be that we were just like pigs biting piss bubbles—all for nothing!" Bai Shandian sneered and shouted up, "Since it's just an ordinary vegetable cellar, how come I didn't know before? Father-in-law, you'd better keep quiet. You know, trying to cover something up only makes things worse. You're a smart man, don't do something as foolish as trying to hide something obvious!" Elder Xiang snorted and angrily said, "Bai Shandian, don't take advantage of your power! Just because you have the imperial sword doesn't mean you can act lawlessly and recklessly! If you can't find my daughter and the others later, I won't let you off the hook! I'll have to go to the emperor and impeach you!" Bai Shandian said nothing more, but took a torch from a soldier and carefully examined the surrounding stone walls.

Suddenly, he noticed a small, round hole near the ground in the left corner of the wall. At first glance, it looked like a mouse hole. Bai Shandian crouched down and reached in with one finger. Unexpectedly, what he touched was a switch contact that dented when pressed. He was extremely excited and gently pressed it. With a whoosh, a doorway appeared in the western stone wall! The soldiers cheered and rushed in. Before them lay a large cave that could hold a hundred people. It was brightly lit; the wall lamps on all sides had already been turned on! Several bookshelves lined the cave, filled with numerous books. Further in was a desk, complete with writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. A book was rolled up and lay flat on the desk, clearly having been read recently! Next to the desk was a large bed, with blankets piled haphazardly on it, along with folded paper boats, paper cranes, and other children's toys!

Bai Shandian remained silent, walking straight to the bedside. He reached into his trousers and touched the floor; it was still warm! It seemed the people here hadn't been gone long! Bai Shandian couldn't help but think of his two adorable children… The older one, Bai Yu, was eight years old. His wife, Xiang Quan, had already hired a private tutor for her to teach her reading and writing. The younger one, Bai Jin, was just five, but exceptionally intelligent. He often followed his sister, mischievous and playing at the private school. He could recite passages from the *Three Character Classic* and *Standards for Being a Good Student and Child* that his sister couldn't, reading ten lines at a glance, mastering them instantly, and even reciting them backwards. His teacher was astonished, calling him a child prodigy! Little Bai Jin also learned to sing from his wife. Once, his wife sang a song she had written, which he quickly learned and sang with great emotion. In his own words, because his father was often away from home, he missed him dearly and wanted to sing this song only for his father! At that moment, Bai Shandian felt a surge of emotion, his nose tingled, and two streams of tears welled up in his eyes… Therefore, he still remembers it vividly to this day. The song goes like this—

Father's hobby

I haven't seen you for many years.

I woke up crying from a dream, seeing my child's face.

The waning moon shines coldly outside the window at midnight.

When will I return home?

The song "Remembering Jiangnan" perfectly expresses the heart-wrenching longing of a child who misses him while he is constantly away from home!

"My children, I owe you so much! Because being a secret agent is a special profession, I am always busy and cannot stay home with you often. I am not worthy of being your father! This time, I even led troops to your maternal grandmother's house to arrest you. I am a beast in human clothing, worse than pigs and dogs! But... I am helpless, I have no choice!" Bai Shandian stood by the bed, thinking back and forth, his heart was in turmoil, and he was in a daze.

Hongchen strolled to the bookshelf, casually flipping through a few books. He was immediately astonished and hurriedly called out to Bai Shandian, "Lord Bai, every book here is incredibly precious! Come and see!" Bai Shandian then snapped out of his daze, quickly came over, picked up a few books, and examined them. Sure enough, they were all internal energy cultivation methods and martial arts routines from various schools and sects in the martial arts world. In addition, they also detailed various secret martial arts techniques of famous martial arts masters from Shaolin, Wudang, and Tianshan!

Hongchen's teacher was from Caozhou Dahongquan in Shandong, supposedly taught by a镖师 (bodyguard/escort) from Caozhou. To this day, the origins of Dahongquan, its founder, and its creator remain unknown. He searched high and low for a long time, finally finding the "Caozhou Dahongquan Manual" in a drawer in the fourth row of cabinets. Opening it, he found it identical to the basic skills, martial arts routines, and internal energy cultivation methods he had previously practiced. It was even more detailed and comprehensive than what the Caozhou镖师 had described. After reading it, the problems he had encountered with stagnant energy flow during practice were easily resolved. He tried circulating his energy and found it surprisingly smooth and unobstructed, his mind and spirit greatly refreshed. Overjoyed, Hongchen secretly slipped the book into his pocket when no one was looking, intending to study it again later at home.

Bai Shandian, a disciple of Shaolin, picked up the book "The Essentials of the Seventy-Two Arts of Shaolin Boxing" from the cabinet, opened it, and read it. He was astonished, thinking, "No wonder the Xiang family of Jiangnan is renowned overseas, even emperors throughout history have feared them! No wonder they have so many officials in the court; this family truly has a wealth of talent and countless masters! In the martial arts world, which family or sect doesn't value their own martial arts more than their own father, treating them like treasures? Yet the Xiang family of Jiangnan doesn't believe in this, actually gathering all the world's best martial arts into one, establishing their own school, and writing it into a book! Impressive! It truly commands respect and fills one with awe!" Bai Shandian then thought again, "And I, their son-in-law, know nothing about this! It seems their waters run deep!"