The Mirror Master

"The Lu Family had another incident last night. It was a real tragedy this time!"

"More deaths? I heard Lu Er’s Family was down to just three people—a widow and her son, with an old servant. Who died this time?"

"It wasn’t Second Master Lu. It was First Master Lu and his family of three, plus someone from the Zhou Family. I heard there were two guards as well."

"Six people dead in one night?"

Early the next morning, talk filled the streets and alleyways as rumors began to fly.

"How did they die?"

"They say a fire broke out suddenly in the night. A bit like what happened to Carpenter Zhang’s family."

"I heard Hall Master Chen was at the Lu Family’s home last night and saw it with his own eyes. He took Lu Bai and his mother to the Chen Martial Arts Hall overnight."

"Hall Master Chen is really brave, a true man of honor. To dare get involved with the Lu Family in a situation like this... isn’t he afraid of bringing disaster upon himself?"

"Madam Zhou is so kind-hearted. She’s a vegetarian and chants Buddhist scriptures; she’s never done a wicked thing. To think she has to suffer such a blow."

-----------------

CRACK!

In the main hall of the Zhou Family residence, upon hearing the news from a servant, the teacup in Zhou Chengxuan’s hand fell to the floor and shattered into pieces.

"What did you say? My son, Yu, is dead?"

Zhou Chengxuan’s eyes widened in disbelief. "Say that again!" he roared. "What exactly happened?!"

The servant looked up, saw the master’s expression, and was about to speak.

But his gaze fell upon Madam Zhou, who stood beside him with a grim face. He couldn’t help but tremble and fell silent.

"Madam, Master."

Instead, it was the burly man standing nearby, Fei Ming, the head of the Zhou Family’s Nursing Home, who recounted the rumors from outside.

"This morning, men from the Government Office went to the Lu Residence to have a look. They also went to the Chen Martial Arts Hall to ask some questions, but they left after that. They probably didn’t find out anything."

Fei Ming added in a low voice, "I took a look around the Lu Residence myself. The Memorial Hall was burned to ashes. There were only some scattered bone fragments left, impossible to identify."

Zhou Chengxuan seemed to have lost his soul, slumping weakly against the back of his chair. He muttered to himself, "Hao is dead, and now Yu is dead too. Could it be that my Zhou Family has committed too many sins and this is our retribution..."

"Utter nonsense!"

A sinister voice came from beside him.

Zhou Chengxuan flinched, snapping back to his senses. He shot a sidelong glance at his wife.

Madam Zhou had long lost her usual kind and gentle demeanor. Her face was now frighteningly dark, her brows filled with malevolence, and her eyes burned with venomous hatred. Her entire expression was distorted and savage.

Zhou Chengxuan didn’t dare to look for long and quickly averted his gaze.

After their youngest son had died prematurely, his wife had secretly taken action, leading to the ruin and death of Lu Ziheng’s family.

Now, their only remaining son was also dead. He couldn’t even imagine what his wife would do next.

Madam Zhou asked, "Fei Ming, did you just say Chen Tieshan was at the Lu Family’s home last night?"

"That’s right."

Fei Ming said, "I made some inquiries. Several people saw Chen Tieshan go to the Lu Family’s home with their own eyes last night."

"It must have been Chen Tieshan! He’s the one who killed my son!"

Madam Zhou’s voice was ice-cold, her words practically ground out between clenched teeth.

"Chen Tieshan... why would he attack the young master? Just because of his relationship with Lu Ziheng?"

Fei Ming frowned. "That shouldn’t be enough reason. Could it be..."

Fei Ming seemed to have thought of something but didn’t dare to continue.

"Chen Tieshan... Chen Martial Arts Hall... Good. Good. Good!"

Madam Zhou suddenly began to laugh hysterically.

"Heh heh... Heheheh..."

Her laughter echoed through the room, sending shivers down the spines of the others present.

Fei Ming was an Inner Martial Artist, but at this moment, he didn’t even dare to breathe too loudly.

Zhou Chengxuan said hatefully, "Chen Tieshan killed my son! The Chen Family must pay with their blood!"

"Paying with their blood? That would be letting them off too easily."

Madam Zhou said ominously, "I will make Chen Tieshan and the entire Chen Family wish they were dead..."

After a brief pause, Madam Zhou said suddenly, "Fei Ming, we’re going to the Chen Martial Arts Hall now."

"Alright."

Fei Ming said, "I’ll bring more men. We’ll storm the Chen Martial Arts Hall and create a river of blood to avenge the young master!"

"No, no, no."

Madam Zhou shook her head and said with a smile, "Killing people in broad daylight would cause too much of a commotion. It would be difficult to explain to the Government Office."

"Then why are we going now...?"

Fei Ming was confused.

A strange smile touched the corners of Madam Zhou’s mouth. "Find an opportunity to fight Chen Tieshan. You don’t need to win or lose. Just manage to tear off a piece of his clothing, or get a lock of his hair—anything that he wears close to his body will do."

"Understood."

Fei Ming nodded.

Madam Zhou said, "Let’s go. I’d like to meet this Hall Master Chen in person and... say hello."

-----------------

「Chen Martial Arts Hall.」

Having just dealt with the men from the Government Office, Chen Tieshan eagerly called Lu Bai over, asking him to take another careful look around his home to see if any evil objects had been missed.

Lu Bai pretended to search, looking this way and that.

"Hall Master Chen, after improving one’s Root Bone Stage, what exactly is the Inner Strength Realm?"

Lu Bai asked while he "inspected" the area.

His body’s previous owner had no interest in the Martial Dao and was ignorant of such basic knowledge.

He only knew that to enter the Inner Strength Realm, stance training alone wasn’t enough; one needed to cultivate Inner Strength.

Normally, Chen Tieshan wouldn’t have bothered explaining this to Lu Bai.

’Why is someone who hasn’t even passed the Root Bone Stage asking about the Inner Strength Realm?’

But now, since he needed a favor, Chen Tieshan had to be patient. "The Inner Strength Realm," he explained, "is essentially about using Inner Strength techniques to cultivate the Internal Organs, which in turn stimulates the body’s Nine Acupoints: the two ears, two nostrils, two eyes, the mouth, and the two lower orifices."

The five viscera and six bowels are all interconnected, and they are linked to the Nine Acupoints.

For instance, the liver and gallbladder are connected, and they open into the eyes.

Lu Bai actually knew a bit about this.

Chen Tieshan continued, "When a fetus is in its mother’s womb, although it’s in an enclosed space, it can still breathe on its own. This is because it is in an Innate state, using the Nine Acupoints to perform Innate breathing.

But once a baby is born, the Nine Acupoints close up, and it enters a postnatal state. Therefore, the Inner Strength Realm is also known as the Nine Acupoints of Inner Strength. Once all Nine Acupoints are opened, one can return to the Innate state!

This is the origin of the Innate Realm."

Having run his hall and taught students for many years, Chen Tieshan’s explanation was simple and easy to understand.

Lu Bai asked again, "So what are the obvious improvements for an Inner Martial Artist?"

’I’ll definitely have to face Inner Martial Artists in the future. I need to know my enemy to be prepared.’

Chen Tieshan said, "By using Inner Strength to cultivate the Internal Organs, not only are your muscles, bones, and skin strengthened and your physical power increased, but your five senses are also greatly enhanced.

The Root Bone Stage is external training, while the Inner Strength Realm is internal training. It is a progression from the outside to the inside, from the overt to the covert, from hard to soft, all in harmony with the laws of Heaven and Earth.

When hardness and softness are balanced, a powerful force will naturally be born within the body. This is Inner Strength!"

As he spoke, the two of them happened to arrive in front of a wooden training post.

"Nephew Lu, watch closely!"

Chen Tieshan bent his knees slightly, took a deep breath, and suddenly struck the post with his palm.

The post swayed slightly, but its surface remained completely unscathed.

After delivering the strike, Chen Tieshan stood with his hands behind his back, waiting for Lu Bai to ask a question.

After all, the strike appeared to have had no effect whatsoever.

’Once Lu Bai questions my power, I can reveal the truth and give him a little shock!’

This trick had never failed to impress his students.

Every student who had witnessed it had been left with an expression of utter shock.

"Is it shattered on the inside?" Lu Bai asked suddenly.

"Huh?"

Chen Tieshan was caught completely off guard.

’Why is Lu Bai’s reaction so different from my other students?’

After a moment’s pause, Chen Tieshan cleared his throat and grabbed the wooden post.

The outer layer of the post crumbled away, revealing a mass of pulverized wood within.

Chen Tieshan stuck to his usual script. He lifted his chin slightly, struck a pose with his back to Lu Bai, and said in a deep voice, "This is Inner Strength. That one palm strike contained a full twenty years of cultivation!

And that was just on a wooden post. Nephew Lu, just imagine, if I were in a life-or-death battle and my opponent threw a punch, I could just sidestep like this, and as they reveal an opening, I could strike back with a palm to their..."

Chen Tieshan didn’t get to finish his sentence. A glance from the corner of his eye revealed that no one was next to him anymore.

Chen Tieshan turned around and saw that Lu Bai had already wandered off somewhere else.

’The kid just left me hanging here and walked off...’

’He actually left!’

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