activa-t 第14章 1老1少，1曲1琴
第14章 1老1少，1曲1琴
Lu Cheng looked at the wood shavings floating in the cup and sighed softly.
"What a waste of a perfectly good cup of tea."
"If you want to compare hand strength, I'm afraid you'll have to laugh at me. I'm just an opera singer, good at fancy moves, but when it comes to real hand strength, I'm no match for a trained fighter like you."
Lu Cheng slowly raised his head, and his eyes changed at that moment.
He simply extended one finger, his index finger.
Then, it gently rested on the rim of the perfectly intact white porcelain teacup.
Inhale.
Sink your Qi to the Dantian, pass through the coccyx, and rush down the spine.
"Buzz..."
Lei Laohu's ears twitched suddenly.
He heard it.
It wasn't a sound coming from Lu Cheng's mouth, but rather a vibration emanating from Lu Cheng's chest.
It sounded like the low growl of a feline guarding its food, or like distant rumbling thunder.
This is……
Tiger and Leopard Thunder Sound!
Lei Laohu's pupils instantly contracted to the size of pinpoints.
Before he could react...
Lu Cheng suddenly exerted force with the finger that was resting on the rim of the cup.
This force carried a burst of explosive power emanating from the dantian.
*Smack!*
A crisp sound.
Half of the white porcelain teacup shattered cleanly under that finger, as if it had been sliced by a knife.
"Duh!"
A sharp piece of porcelain couldn't withstand the sudden force and flew out, grazing Lei Laohu's cheek before embedding itself hard in the wooden pillar behind him.
penetrating!
The tea spilled all over the table, but not a drop touched Lu Cheng.
Quiet.
A deathly silence.
Lei Laohu touched the bloodstain on his face that had been scraped off by the strong wind, and froze.
Cold sweat instantly soaked his back.
He's an expert, so he naturally knows the ins and outs of it.
Lu Cheng's strength wasn't boundless, but the key was the sound—the thunderous sound emanating from his stomach.
"This is... internal energy cultivation?!"
Lei Laohu was in turmoil.
Lei Laohu practiced Iron Palm for twenty years, developing a body with exceptionally strong muscles and bones. This was the pinnacle of "complete power," the pinnacle of external martial arts masters.
But that's it.
Because he had no master and no secret techniques, he would never be able to even touch the threshold of "internal cultivation" in his entire life.
But this Lu Cheng in front of me...
The crispness of that fingertip indicates that his muscles and bones have become flexible.
That "thunderous sound" indicates that he has already begun to practice the five internal organs!
External martial arts train the skin and flesh, while internal martial arts train the internal organs.
Although this finger strike still looks a bit raw, it's not quite a complete "Ming Jin" explosion.
But this means that Lu Cheng has already stepped halfway into that threshold.
Half-step Ming Jin!
"So young... and already understands internal breathing, and has already started bone transformation?"
Lei Laohu became more and more frightened the more he thought about it.
In the martial arts world, anyone who can reach this level at this age is either an exceptional genius, one in a hundred, or...
Behind him stood a true master of internal martial arts, a direct disciple of the Grand Martial Arts School!
Neither of them were people he, a self-taught thug who made a living by physical labor, could afford to mess with.
"You, you..."
Lei Laohu's Adam's apple bobbed as he looked into Lu Cheng's calm, unwavering eyes, and the fierceness in his heart vanished instantly.
Lu Cheng blew non-existent dust off his fingers, looked at Lei Laohu whose face was ashen, and said calmly.
"Master Lei, how does your bone compare to this porcelain cup?"
"Thump!"
Lei Laohu's knees buckled, and he knelt directly on the ground.
What talk of江湖脸面 (jianghu face) or 受人钱财 (taking money from others)? In the face of absolute class oppression and fear of the unknown, all of that is bullshit.
"Master Lu, I was blind to your greatness."
Lei Laohu's kneeling startled Manager Liu and Xiao Shengyun, who were standing nearby.
They couldn't understand the intricacies of it.
All that was known was that Lei Laohu, who could crush wood, was so frightened by Lu Cheng flicking his finger that he knelt down.
"What... what are you saying? He just broke a cup, didn't he?" Manager Liu stammered.
Lei Laohu raised his head, his face full of bitterness, and even a hint of resentment as he glared at Steward Liu.
"Manager Liu, if you want to die, don't drag me down with you."
"Master Lu is a master who has entered the realm of internal cultivation, an expert at the half-step Ming Jin level. You want me to fight someone like that?"
"Are you trying to make me lose my sight here?!"
After saying that, Lei Laohu kowtowed twice to Lu Cheng, got up, turned around and ran away without even looking back.
In the private room, only Manager Liu and Xiao Shengyun remained, trembling as they faced Lu Cheng, who remained sitting upright like a mountain.
Lu Cheng ignored Lei Laohu and turned to look at Manager Liu, who was slumped in his chair in fear.
"Manager Liu."
"You just said you wanted to set rules for me?"
"No, I wouldn't dare... It's a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding!"
Manager Liu's teeth chattered as he tried to stand up, but found that his legs wouldn't obey him.
Lu Cheng stood up and walked to Steward Liu.
He didn't lift a finger, but simply patted Manager Liu on the shoulder.
With each slap, Manager Liu shrank a little, because he was frightened.
"Since it's a misunderstanding, what about the cost of this meal?"
"I'll pay! I'll pay!"
Manager Liu hurriedly shouted, pulling out his wallet from his pocket, his hands trembling so much that he spilled the silver dollars all over the ground.
"besides."
Lu Cheng leaned down and whispered in Steward Liu's ear:
"Go back and tell your troupe leader."
"In the world of Peking Opera, you earn your living through your own abilities."
"If you dare to use these underhanded tricks again, next time it won't be a teacup that gets blown up, it'll be the signboard of your Qinghe Troupe."
After speaking, Lu Cheng straightened up and waved to Ah Bing behind him.
"Master A Bing is gone."
"The tea here is dirty; we'll drink it when we get back."
A bright smile bloomed on Ah Bing's usually serious face.
Although he couldn't see it, he heard the crisp sound and recognized the thunderous roar.
It was a pleasant sound, and also the sound of the Qingyun Troupe standing tall.
"Alright."
Ah Bing flicked his wrist.
He lifted the jinghu (a two-stringed bowed instrument) in his arms, pressed the string with his left hand, held the bow with his right hand, and pulled it sharply.
"squeak--"
The bow is pulled.
A tune rang out in the private room.
It's a Peking Opera tune... "Deep Night".
The sound was like tearing silk, like metal and stone.
It exudes a sense of desolation, and even more so, an arrogant and overbearing arrogance!
As Ah Bing pulled, he followed Lu Cheng's steps and walked outside.
The sound of the zither drowned out the noise downstairs, penetrated the roof of Tongheju, and soared straight into the sky.
Lu Cheng walked ahead, listening to the stirring piano music, and smiled slightly.
Elegant.
Freehand style.
An old man and a young boy, a song and a zither.
The two of them swaggered out of Tongheju.
……
After the two left, the private room on the second floor of Tongheju was in a mess.
Manager Liu of the Qinghe Class slumped in the armchair, the chill in his crotch making him shiver all over.
Xiao Shengyun, standing next to him, was even paler. The cigarette in his hand burned his finger, making him jolted awake from the nightmare.
"Whoosh..."
At this moment, the curtain of the private room was carefully lifted.
The owner of Tongheju Restaurant, carrying a large brass teapot and followed by two waiters, peeked in with a broad smile.
"Mr. Liu, Boss Sheng Yun, shall we continue serving this dish? Our signature 'Three No-Stick' is just out of the pot..."
The shopkeeper sniffed as soon as he entered the room.
It smelled strongly of urine.
He was a shrewd person; his eyes darted around, and he noticed the mess on the ground. He immediately understood the situation perfectly.
This isn't eating; this is kicking a hornet's nest.