Chapter 1: The Entanglement of Love and Hate, Haicheng's Solitude

  Lies are a double-edged sword, aside from moral factors, it can also be called a kind of wisdom. Those who are good at telling lies are not necessarily big shots, but all big shots must know how to tell lies. On the stage of life, you either excel at fabricating lies or excel at debunking them; otherwise, you cannot take the initiative. The world is a place woven from lies. In this world, mastering the skill of lying is like a young wolf mastering the use of its fangs.

  Li Huqiu learned this truth from a young age. Before the age of eight, he went out to beg for food with several other children who were crippled and mute, managed by Zhang Tiejun. Li Huqiu was one of the three children among them who had intact arms and legs. Although having intact limbs was a good thing, they also couldn't win more sympathy like the other children who were made mute and crippled. The amount of money these children begged for every day was fixed, and it was not easy for the three healthy children to complete this task. However, Zhang Tiejun soon discovered that Li Huqiu could always complete his tasks ahead of schedule and in excess of the quota. He even completed them faster than those mute children.

  Honest people believe in diligence making up for clumsiness, while clever people use lazy methods to change everything.

  When the other two children were crying and pretending to be pitiful, but often couldn't complete their tasks even with a lot of effort. Li Huqiu, however, knew how to make a paper box, write a tear-jerking story on it, leave a small opening, and then just stand quietly behind the box. Someone would be attracted by the crooked words on the box and offer help to this child who claimed to rely on his dying grandfather for survival. The power of lies silently infected Li Huqiu.

  From that moment on, Hao Diaozi and Da Qizhanzi, the two former waves, were destined to be knocked down by him on the beach.

  Li Huqiu's precocity is a living proof of his desire for a more dignified life. He tortures himself with the most arduous training, remembering every lesson left by his predecessors who failed on the dark path. He often warns himself that repeating the mistakes of his predecessors is as foolish as deliberately stepping into a dung pit, where everything he sees and smells is filled with stench, yet still wanting to step in - what else can this be but foolishness? Therefore, Li Huqiu has been striving tirelessly without making any mistakes so far.

  The courtyard was still the same, but the owner's name had changed to Zhang Manli. This was the home that Li Huqiu had given her. At the age of 16, Li Huqiu was already over 1.75 meters tall and had a few features of a big boy. His daily training, which had never stopped, was as relentless as thunder. He didn't know what he would get from his hard work, but he knew that if he became lazy and fell behind, everything he had now would be lost soon. Now, he could do 2,000 push-ups, carry a weight of 100 kilograms, and run to the train station in just 20 minutes. This distance was as long as 5 kilometers, and he ran back and forth every day without fail. After finishing his run, Li Huqiu continued with his usual training routine and added Bagua Palm exercises. He persisted in practicing this palm technique according to the oral formula, still carrying weights while doing so, but managed to fully exploit the characteristic of Bagua Palm's "dragon-like" movement.

  That morning, he ran back to the yard as usual and practiced Bagua Palm. But what he saw was that he had set up four large winnows in the middle of the yard, and placed a wooden dummy in the middle of the winnows. His legs were tied with lead blocks, and he lightly jumped onto the winnows, treading on the steps of Bagua Palm, quickly rotating around the dummy, occasionally stretching out his hand to strike the dummy. The wooden dummy was wrapped in thick cowhide, which was already covered with broken marks everywhere. Walking on the winnows is a basic light body skill that begins to be cultivated after Bagua Palm has reached a high level of proficiency. Li Huqiu learned it from that book, and hitting the thousand-layered cowhide was told by a Russian boxer. As for tying lead blocks to his legs to practice walking on the winnows, it was his own innovation.

  An old man passed by the entrance of the courtyard, and when he walked past, he seemed to glance into the courtyard unintentionally. The movements of Li Huqiu behind the low wall were all seen by the old man. Although he had long known that this young man was not ordinary, after seeing the situation in the courtyard, he still couldn't help but be surprised. He thought to himself, no wonder Chu Lie threw away his book, this little thief's comprehension is really not ordinary. He actually invented a way to practice Bagua Palm, practicing light body skills while practicing palm strength and footwork at the same time. This method of practice completely jumped out of the teacher's routine, although for most people this method is very impractical, but it is obviously suitable for this young man. At such a young age, he has already approached the level of dark power, and this is still self-taught, what if he had a famous teacher to guide him?

  In the late autumn of Harbin, the north wind had begun to show its ferocity, driving people who were wandering in the city back home to hibernate. On this particular morning, Li Huqiu woke up to find that it had snowed for the first time this year, and winter had arrived as scheduled. Li Huqiu sighed, thinking that he would have to grow another year older, and buy new winter clothes for Little Swallow again. He pushed the door open as usual, but it wouldn't budge. The snow in the courtyard wasn't thick, and even if there was a draft outside the gate, not much snow could accumulate. Li Huqiu clearly felt that something heavy was blocking the door. He jumped out from beside the wall and took a look at the entrance, where he couldn't help but be shocked. An old man had frozen unconscious, his tattered cotton-padded jacket patched up, his face deathly pale. Li Huqiu didn't bother with anything else, hastily picked up the old man, opened the door and rushed inside, shouting to Zhang Manli: "Sister, quickly heat up a basin of warm water, Little Swallow, hurry and get the medicinal wine your father made!"

  He had already laid the old man flat on the kang, and with a few quick tears, he ripped open the old man's cotton-padded jacket. The body exposed was surprisingly robust, not at all what one would expect from someone of his age. His full chest muscles rose and fell slightly, revealing the old man's weak state. Li Huqiu didn't have time to think much, took over Zhang Manli's hastily prepared warm water, dipped his hand in it, and gently massaged the old man's chest with a light touch, which was also the best way to warm him up. This, of course, was also thanks to Li Huqiu's good reading habits. Little Swallow sensibly brought over a small jar of medicinal wine, Li Huqiu took a big gulp, then sprayed it onto the old man's face, and then used gentle strokes to massage the old man's ears and nose. The reason for being so careful was to prevent the old man's ears from freezing hard, if he applied too much force, they would be damaged.

  Perhaps it was the taste of alcohol that stimulated him, after the old man let out a big sneeze, he suddenly woke up before Li Huqiu could let out a second one.

  In the winter of 1992, a new member was added to Li Huqiu's family, an unknown old man. He could drink and eat meat, but he had a persistent high fever and claimed to have no relatives or friends to turn to, so he stayed at Li's house. Li Huqiu wasn't a good person, but the old man was a master of playing tricks. As long as Li asked him about the location of Xianxiang, the old man would get a fever, always exactly 39 degrees, leaving Li speechless. If there was anyone in the family who could talk to the old man, it was only Xiaoyanzi. The little girl's words were jumbled and confusing, matching the old man's pretending-to-be-crazy act perfectly.

  Half a month has passed, and Li Huqiu has already gotten used to the old man's presence. Although this old fellow has many bad habits - he snores when sleeping, needs wine and meat for every meal, and requires someone to serve him a basin of hot water for his feet every day - he also has some good points.

  Actually, every elderly person who has experienced the vicissitudes of life is a treasure trove, it just depends on what you can read from them. Li Huqiu was an expert at reading this kind of treasure trove. The old man's humorous conversation and research on food broadened Li Huqiu's horizons. After a long time, when Li Huqiu asked the old man his name, he finally told him that his surname was Dong and his given name was Dong Zhaofeng. He had been an orphan since childhood and loved cooking because of his gluttony. In fact, the old man knew many things, far beyond just cooking and food knowledge. Li Huqiu respected his age, learning, and solitary life, and from then on never mentioned driving him away again.

  Another half month passed, and the old man finally confirmed that Li Huqiu did have the intention of taking him in. He also noticed that the relationship between Li Huqiu and Zhang Manli was not as he had initially imagined. The old man had heard Zhang Manli's story from two young men who were drunk, and Li Huqiu could see a woman and be moved but remain unmoved, this determination was already very good. The old man decided to teach Li Huqiu some real skills.

  On a winter evening, Li Huqiu persisted in his usual 2-5 more kung fu practice. From 8 to 10 pm was his unshakeable training time before his kung fu was accomplished. He stood in the courtyard, following the routine of You Shen Bagua Palm, and began to practice around the dummy. The snow in the courtyard reflected the light, with high visibility, only to see Li Huqiu's every move hitting the leather dummy, splashing debris everywhere. Since he didn't wear any weight during his nighttime practice, his movements were exceptionally quick and agile. If an outsider were watching at this moment, they would definitely be impressed by Li Huqiu's kung fu skills.

  Tonight, Li Huqiu's state was exceptionally good, and he felt that every punch and kick he threw out was the most satisfying in his life. The more he fought, the happier he became, and suddenly he turned his head to look back at the house, actually wanting to find someone to share the joy brought by his excitement. Suddenly, he found Dong Zhaofeng sitting on a chair under the eaves of the house, watching him, without knowing when he had moved there. The chill of the night was very heavy, and Dong Zhaofeng wore a sheepskin coat, but his expression did not show any fear of the cold.

  Li Huqiu didn't think much and came over to ask with concern, "How did you come out?" "Hurry back, it's warm in the house, don't catch a cold again and get a high fever that won't subside. You gave me a hard time when you had a fever those days, but your fever was strange, just like those qigong masters performing on the streets nowadays." Dong Zhaofeng didn't rush to move, instead asking Li Huqiu, "Huqiu, are you practicing boxing?" Li Huqiu replied with a smile, "What else can I be doing? Of course, I'm practicing boxing!" Dong Zhaofeng shook his head and said, "I don't think so. From my observation, what you're doing isn't boxing, it's monkey business. You only have the appearance of boxing, but you haven't truly grasped the skills of Bagua Palm."