2. Health Cultivation Practice

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“Master, you’re already fifty years old. You should take it easy during these next few days. Why are you still practicing martial arts? What if you sprain your waist?”

A young man in gray robes, surrounded by the shop assistants, half concerned and half joking, spoke up, causing a burst of laughter.

He was Zhang Bing, the eldest disciple of Xie An, who had mastered the skill of appraising and pricing items quite well.

During Xie An’s convalescence, Zhang Bing had taken over most of the appraisal work at the pawnshop. Nothing went wrong, the shop operated smoothly, and he was well-liked.

Many secretly speculated that once Old Xie passed away, Zhang Bing would most likely succeed him as the chief appraiser.

Xie An was displeased by Zhang Bing’s teasing but concealed it, only saying to Chen Yuan, “I’m just looking for a health-preserving exercise to loosen up my body.”

Seeing Xie An’s serious expression, Chen Yuan took an old black leather-bound book from his pocket and handed it to him. “Old Xie, I’ve been practicing this half-volume of the Five Animal Frolics for years with little effect. Take it easy though, don’t really twist your waist.”

Though well-intentioned, Chen Yuan’s words carried a hint of regret.

Health cultivation requires years of persistent practice to strengthen the body. If Xie An had started ten years ago, it might have helped. But how many days did he have left now?

Xie An accepted the book, thanked him, and turned to leave.

As soon as Xie An left, Zhang Bing leaned over the counter and whispered, “Shopkeeper, Master is already at his age. If something happens because of the exercises you gave him, the shop might get implicated...”

Chen Yuan shot Zhang Bing a sharp look. “What, don’t want your master to live a few more years?”

A flicker of panic crossed Zhang Bing’s face. “I of course hope Master enjoys health and longevity. I’m just worried he might injure himself practicing.”

Chen Yuan lowered his head, continuing to watch his cricket and muttered, “Then why say anything? Go do your work.”

“All right,” Zhang Bing said reluctantly and left, feeling displeased.

He had meant to kindly remind the shopkeeper and curry favor but ended up being scolded.

However, seeing how unsteady Xie An had walked moments ago, clearly with little time left, he sighed in resignation.

Once he becomes the chief appraiser, the shopkeeper won’t dare boss him around like this.

...

As Xie An left the pawnshop, he saw Zhang Bing whispering into Chen Yuan’s ear, his face full of flattery.

“No wonder he hasn’t come to visit me—busy trying to curry favor with the shopkeeper behind my back...”

“Does he really think he’s learned enough to bypass me and become the chief appraiser?”

Though thirty years had passed since his transmigration, and Xie An had not achieved much elsewhere, he had mastered an extraordinary skill in appraising and identifying treasures.

He had never taught this rare skill to his disciples.

He would never allow a tragedy where teaching a disciple would lead to the master starving to death to happen to himself.

In truth, Xie An’s focus on appraisal was out of necessity.

When he first transmigrated, he was a lowly servant sold to the Li family, with no money to practice martial arts. He had to devote himself to learning appraisal from the old chief appraiser.

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By the time Xie An had saved enough silver, he was already past the age for martial training, and the Li family head, seeing his skill, refused to release his servitude contract.

“Well, the priority now is to prolong my life—I don’t want to die like this...”

Back in his small room in the backyard, Xie An locked the door and sat down to study the Five Animal Frolics.

The Five Animal Frolics was not a proper martial arts manual but a set of health-preserving exercises from medical tradition. It could be bought on the black market outside Wuqiao Town. Xie An chose to seek Chen Yuan’s help and endure ridicule just to save five taels of silver.

These days were far tougher than his previous life; earning money was extremely difficult.

Ordinary farmers, after a year of hard work, barely earned a dozen taels of silver. After costs and labor, it was just enough to survive.

Pawnshop assistants made about four to five taels a year. Apprentices for the chief appraiser earned seven or eight taels, barely scraping by.

Xie An’s position as chief appraiser earned about twenty taels yearly. It seemed a lot, but old age brought many ailments and expenses, so he had little left and had to be frugal.

They say in youth you trade your life for money; in old age, you trade money to buy life. This was no exaggeration.

“The ancient immortals practiced guiding and stretching the neck and back, moving the joints to resist aging. I have a method called the Five Animal Frolics: tiger, deer, bear, ape, and bird...”

The opening line caught Xie An’s attention.

Ancient immortals... sounded impressive.

But after reading through, his expression darkened considerably.

Many authors loved to use flashy openings to lure readers, then feed them nonsense.

This Five Animal Frolics author was a master of hype.

Opening with immortals, but the rest had nothing to do with immortality.

Simply put, it was about unblocking meridians, harmonizing qi and blood, moving muscles and joints to improve physical fitness and disease resistance.

No wonder Chen Yuan said practicing for years had little effect.

Still, Xie An had no better option, so he pinned his hopes on this longevity method.

He pushed aside the dining table, cleared some space, and began practicing.

The Five Animal Frolics was an external movement with internal stillness, seeking calm within motion. There were five classic movements: tiger hunting, deer running, bear shaking, ape picking fruit, and crane flying.

Practice demanded authentic imitation—not only the form but the spirit, like the tiger’s fierce pounce, the deer’s neck stretch and turn, the ape’s agility, the bear’s steadiness, and the bird’s wing extension and grace.

Though the moves looked simple, mimicking the spirit was difficult. One had to first practice stance work to achieve body coordination.

Xie An was not in a hurry; after all, he had survived thirty years.

He spread his legs, lowered his shoulders and elbows, sunk his chest, and lifted his back. He imagined himself a wooden stake, keeping his body coordinated and lower body immobile.

The moves seemed simple, like horse stance in his previous life, but the standards were much higher.

Within moments, sweat poured down his face, and his muscles twitched.

After half an hour, Xie An collapsed to the floor, gasping, feeling as if his old bones were falling apart.

“I thought only martial arts needed stance training. Didn’t expect health exercises would be no different.”

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Without this special advantage, Xie An would not have wanted to endure such hardship.

Now that he had hope to extend his life, no matter how hard or tiring, he was determined to persevere.

“Again.”

By midday, there was a knock at the door.

“Master, it’s time for lunch.”

It was He Chunli bringing the meal.

Xie An opened the door and looked at He Chunli carefully. “Where’s Zhang Bing?”

He Chunli hung his head. “Brother Zhang went to the Li mansion. He said he had urgent business to report to the master there.”

Trying to curry favor with the shopkeeper wasn’t enough; now he was going over Xie An’s head to the Li family?

In this era, taking on a master required proper attire, washing, kowtowing, presenting gifts, serving tea, and observing filial mourning.

Disciples had to care for their masters until the end.

Once a master, always a father—not to be taken lightly.

Otherwise, why would a master risk teaching a disciple if it meant risking starvation?

Though still a servant, Xie An’s situation was not unique; many slaves worked as skilled laborers. When he took in three disciples, the ceremony was simple but sincere.

When Zhang Bing and other disciples formally apprenticed, they spoke earnestly of caring for Xie An in old age.

Now, seeing his own demise approaching, Zhang Bing was neglectful and cold, even eager to replace him.

This crossed a line for Xie An.

“I understand. You may go.”

Xie An took the tray and returned to his room.

A bowl of plain rice and a bowl of tofu soup.

Though no meat, after standing all morning, Xie An was ravenous and ate heartily, then resumed his practice.

By dusk, he collapsed once again, utterly exhausted.

He clearly felt a warm flow circulating in his lower abdomen, slowly moving through his limbs and bones. The aches in his waist and back had slightly improved.

At that moment, two lines of small text appeared before his eyes:

[Current Health Exercise: Five Animal Frolics (Initial Insight: 1/100)]

[Hint: Completing Initial Insight increases lifespan by six years]