Old Time Tea remembered the pretty girl named Snowy and the benevolent power in the store and believed that the future of the world was bright.
A benevolent heart might dim, but it would never vanish.
Zhang Zian nodded seriously, "I understand, Grandma Tea. If I see something unfair happen, I won’t let it get by."
Old Time Tea nodded satisfactorily, "I trust you. If I had even a little bit of doubt, I wouldn’t teach you Wing Chun Kung Fu. In fact, I have been observing you these days and trying to see if you are a reliable and righteous person."
Zhang Zian was nervous. He had been making fun of people online all the time. He also made Lu Yiyun cry one time. He was eager to find out what Old Time Tea thought about him as a person.
As if Old Time Tea could read his mind, it laughed, "I only look at the big picture. As a person, you should remain unmoved by either the carrot or the stick. Young kids always joke around and that is normal. If you were too serious, I would worry that you were faking it. All real benevolent warriors do not restrict themselves in tiny details. The Kung Fu master Ye Wen was a crazy kid when he was younger."
Old Time Tea was in her deep memories as she spoke. A smile came up on her face.
Zhang Zian relaxed.
The smile disappeared on Old Time Tea’s face. She said seriously, "Being tough is great, but you have to be very clear about your limits. For example, when the seven Rainbow Fighters came for money, it was an easy decision to get them out of here by simply giving them some money. You have to remember that a real benevolent warrior should be smart and nicely K.O. the enemies without getting hurt."
"True!" Zhang Zian agreed.
Honestly, Zhang Zian felt scared after the seven Rainbow Fighters left. If those people stabbed him, it wouldn’t be worth it to fight back…
"Similarly, before you turn into a real Kung Fu master, when you see someone in need of help, I’d suggest calling the police," Old Time Tea said.
Old Time Tea’s words made him laugh. He could feel the concern and love from Old Time Tea through her words.
"Understood," he said.
Tired of being ignored, Fina was impatient and grumpy. "Are you guys done?"
Zhang Zian looked up and saw that not far from where he was, Xinghai was having fun chasing a group of street cats.
Old Time Tea smiled, "Queen Fina is pushing us. Let’s begin. I will teach you the Wing Chun formula first. It is okay if you cannot understand. All you need to do is memorize it and then understand it through practice."
Zhang Zian paid full attention and tried to memorize.
"Wing Chun techniques are from Shaolin. No actions relate to the animal shape and the five elements. Instead, they focus on movement, power and angle to defeat the strong with less energy. Every move is resolved by another. There is no killing move. Save your power like a snake and release it like a cat…"
Release power like a cat?
Zhang Zian almost burst into laughter when he heard this. No wonder Old Time Tea could easily defeat the seven Rainbow Fighters! Old Time Tea used "release power like a cat" to the utmost extreme because she was, in fact, a cat.
The so-called "release power like a cat" probably meant to move as quickly as a cat. The essence of Kung Fu was the speed of movements.
Old Time Tea finished the formula. She said immediately, without asking the student’s feedback, "Wing Chun is very easy to learn yet difficult to master. You only need to learn some basics, so you should be okay."
Zhang Zian was offended. What did Old Time Tea mean? I have the same last name as Zhang Wuji. How come he could become a Martial Arts master but I can’t?
Of course, Old Time Tea was not aware of Zhang Zian’s complicated feelings. She continued, "Wing Chun includes three sets of basic Chinese boxing – The Intention, The Search and The Advancement. There are also a set
s of wooden dummy practices, a set of knife practices and a set of stick practices."
Old Time Tea looked down at her paws and giggled, "I am not going to teach you the knife practice and stick practice because I am not good at it. Also, it is not easy to carry a weapon around nowadays."
"You are right," Zhang Zian agreed yet felt pity because he wanted to learn the whole thing.
Old Time Tea continued, "It is best to master the essence of some movements. It will help you your whole life. For example, the Intention is entry level boxing, but people always say that if you master the Intention, you master half of Wing Chun. From today on, I will teach you from the Intention."
"First of all, look straight forward, and keep your arms down naturally. Focus your mind on Kung Fu and don’t think about anything else," Old Time Tea started.
Zhang Zian followed the instruction to pose a standby gesture and keep his mind focused.
However, he couldn’t help to ask, "Grandma Tea, how come the standby gesture feels like the broadcast gymnastics I practice at home?"
Old Time Tea laughed, "I can’t stand watching you practice that useless broadcast gymnastics so I decided to teach you Wing Chun. It might seem similar at first but will become very different as you advance."
Zhang Zian was, in fact, joking with Old Time Tea. He knew that broadcast gymnastics could only warm up the body and was not very effective in real fitness training… After learning Wing Chun, he didn’t need broadcast gymnastics anymore.
"Okay. Stay focused and let the first movement begin – double direction point. Raise both arms to the front. Put the power in your fingers and poke to the front as hard as possible. Your fingers should remain at the same height as your eyes."
Old Time Tea only taught him a few simple moves which formed the first movement in the Intention. Old Time Tea had Zhang Zian practice on his own as she jumped up to the wall and observed the environment. At times, she pointed out some mistakes in Zhang Zian’s practice.
The movements looked simple, yet they were difficult to practice. Old Time Tea required every move to be fast and light yet powerful. His eyes had to move alone with his hands and his lower body had to stay firm. Old Time Tea was normally easy-going but when it came to Kung Fu, she could not stand any tiny mistakes or slackness.
Zhang Zian warmed up quickly. He took off his jacket and threw it on a rock. Fina jumped on his jacket immediately and used it as a blanket. Zhang Zian was too lazy to complain so he decided to focus on practicing.
The moves were simple and didn’t seem to be powerful. He kept practicing repetitively.
His body felt more and more tired, yet his mind was clearer and clearer.
It seemed that every movement would get rid of a bit of distraction and impurity from his body.
He was sweating all over. Sweat came down from his hair, forehead and neck.
Old Time Tea was very happy with her new student. Finally, she said, "Let’s call it a day."
Zhang Zian was so tired. He called to Xinghai, "Xinghai, it is time to go home."
Xinghai ran back quickly. Apparently, she had had fun.
Fina was laying on the jacket and taking a nap.
"Fina, let’s go. It is time to go home. I need my jacket back!"
Fina opened her eyes lazily, stood up, and stretched. She jumped up and gave him back his jacket.
It was windy. Although Zhang Zian was warm and sweating, he had to put his jacket back on. Otherwise, he might catch a cold.
After putting his jacket on, his cellphone rang. An unfamiliar number was calling.
"Hello?" he answered.
"Master Zhang, it is me," Aunt Li said, "A man in a suit is here for you. He looks like one of those white-collar workers from TV shows."
"Okay. Have him wait there for a minute. I am coming now," He hung up.