"What a feat of mastering both inner and outer skills."
Fu Qingjun gave a thumbs up, admiringly said, "This must be the legendary inner breath training!"
The big man shook his tobacco pouch, actually exhaled a breath, and said with a grin, "Speaking of The Fiercest Little Celestial General of North City, he's a real rebel! Just recently he lost a fight at the Du Guan Town train station, but rumor has it, he's preparing for a breakthrough, ready for a comeback."
Fu Qingjun's heart skipped a beat, stutteringly asked, "Brother, where did you hear this from? Quite well-informed, huh?"
The big man shook his head, tapped the ash at the edge of the table,
"They have a martial sister called 'Little Trumpet,' who was wildly excited, blabbing everywhere. I've heard she leaked secrets and got slapped by the brothers, now she's 'Big Trumpet.'"
"Gotta say, Little Trumpet doesn't have strong martial skills, but she has amazing lung capacity. It's said she practices frog breathing, can blow out dozens of candles from a distance, combined with her trumpet technique to rupture eardrums. No matter how strong a person's martial arts are, the eardrums can't take it—it's considered an eerie group attack skill."
Fu Qingjun was dumbstruck, "This mouth really knows how to blow, spilling everything."
The big man thought the young fellow before him was captivated by these Jianghu tales, continued,
"Can't endure it, right? That martial training is tough! Starts at eight years old, holding breath underwater, then training to blow, blowing goat intestines, blowing candles. Combined with medicinal lungs, training in the coldest winters and hottest summers, only then does the lung capacity become incredibly formidable,
It's said thirty years ago, the third leader of the Haikou Salt Gang mastered the skill, could easily blow up a snake with breath alone. In Jianghu, he was known as Haikou Little Xu Xian,
One man, one trumpet, once challenged over thirty southwestern desert bandits, fighting alone against seven leaders, dismantling their camp. That scene was indeed...
But even such a character couldn't withstand bullets. Previously, when the army invaded the customs, Haikou Salt Gang's third leader stepped up, said he could fight a hundred regular men. Yet, he was instantly gunned down by a squad of foreign shooters.
At that moment, his pale eyes were filled with disbelief. But to say such experts have strong muscular density, he didn't die from a round of gunfire but suffered worse fate, captured by excited soldiers for dissection."
Fu Qingjun shivered.
The big man heavily exhaled smoke, eyes a bit melancholic, said, "Buy the medicine if you want, or not... Do you even know how we reclaimed territories, and now have reached the New Continent to snatch land, establishing several autonomous regions on this soil, entering the Cold War era?"
He took down a hunting rifle from the high shelf of the pharmacy, patted the gun barrel, exhaled smoke rings,
"Thanks to this! We have masters on beams, Northwest Thieves' Guild, one of the greatest family clans of our Northwest Jianghu. Originally, they were the most famous horseback thieves, demanding tolls from passing caravans,
But at the cost of almost wiping out a village of 731 people, they sneaked into enemy camps with a ship funded by Haikou Salt Gang, learning stealthily piece by piece!"
"Alas, they were loyally valiant!"
The big man tapped the murky ash heavily, laughed, "They say, having taken money from this Northwest land, they must do their duty, guarding this land for hundreds of years, no one daring to bully these caravan leaders."
Fu Qingjun was solemn.
The big man added, "Then, martial artists respond quickly, scaling walls, ordinary people holding these objects turned into deadly weapons, not to mention us with firearms? But martial training... is ultimately useless. No matter how powerful, it can't withstand these hot weapons."
Fu Qingjun nodded, immediately cupped his hands, "What a Jianghu!"
Though he's not in Jianghu, he respects these valiant heroes fighting for their country.
"Our elder says well, Jianghu won't disappear suddenly, just gradually fade..."
He exhaled smoke, "In a few decades, there'll be no more Jianghu, and the spirit of roaming with a sword will be gone, stories of killing in ten paces might only live in the books left to future generations."
Fu Qingjun was simply listening, many tales and anecdotes were interesting too.
This brother was quite talkative and friendly.
Fu Qingjun ended up buying some items, along with standing meditation potions, prescriptions for ant wine, and some materials to brew medicinal wines.
The brother remained enthusiastic, "This ant medicinal wine isn't that simple. Ants need special treatment, the stronger the better. First, feed the ants with medicinal grains for nourishment, then stir-fry them with herbs in a hot pan, like peanuts, before finally soaking them in wine..."
"Ah, so the brother is an expert in this field."
Fu Qingjun took out his notebook, opened a page, and like a good student, meticulously noted down various key points and details from his seventeen years of learning experience.
"Brother, if you spread this recipe, won't it be a problem?" Fu Qingjun suddenly asked.
"No worries, no worries!"
The big man laughed heartily, "Our elder said, it was precisely because the old martial world kept secrets that the inheritance couldn't spread. If we don't teach it now, no one will learn it later."
"Your elder brother has great foresight."
Fu Qingjun listened for so long, genuinely feeling this person had charisma, being bold and generous. Surely that's why his brother could win him over, he asked again, "Did your elder brother pass on his martial arts?"
"No, he hasn't taught them." He scratched his head.
Fu Qingjun immediately understood, you guys really know how to play.
"But our brother comes from a martial family, with at least a three hundred-year legacy. Training passed down, their bones and bodies differ from ordinary people. Outsiders can't learn their martial arts, and learning it instead harms the body, distorting it." The big man added, "The body structure is different."
Training, can gradually alter generational body structures?
Fu Qingjun was skeptical yet didn't say much, paid, and prepared to leave.
At last, when handing over the change, the big man advised, "Young man, practice martial arts if you wish, but martial knowledge has limits... heed an older brother's advice, if you're not smart enough to become a scientist, then train martial arts—it's the work of rough men! When needed, you can go to war, holding a gun to contribute more."
Fu Qingjun didn't say much.
Though not a scientist, he's a gold medal programmer, definitely a professional too.
The big man sat at the pharmacy behind, shook the pipe, sang an unknown opera tune, "Don't enter Jianghu... once you enter Jianghu, the spirit is fierce, the spirit is angry, the spirit is resentful, the spirit is dead..."
Leaving the pharmacy, he hurriedly headed back, face darkening slightly, "This is truly life-threatening! That Li Mo, should've found some tight-lipped people to discuss..."
Not to mention the height being wrong, still developing, hasn't even trained muscles yet...
On the other side.
Fu Qingjun walked a distance, the pharmacy suddenly had a commotion.
A muscular woman with a sausage mouth, wearing old clothes, with a small round hat on her head, a golden trumpet on her waist, entered the pharmacy spiritedly,
"Second brother, bad news! That guy heard elder brother closed for training, knows we lack the backbone, they're starting from the south alley, wanting to grab our territory, those night clubs in the west city..."
"Isn't this trouble you're causing! Don't disturb eldest brother with this!" The big man slammed the table, grinned lowly, "Signal flare, grab the weapons!"
Bang.
A firework streaked across the sky, scattered into ugly fragmented flowers.
Suddenly, from behind, the entire street of pharmacies, clothing shops, pawn shops, food stalls, originally peaceful street, rushed out various muscular men, plus a few thin young men, wielding weapons and charging out.
What's going on behind, suddenly a fight broke out?
Fu Qingjun was shocked, remembering the straightforward northern man who was shaking the ash earlier, suddenly recalling a phrase: Killing while laughing.
He pretended to be calm, nonchalantly holding the bag, walking out of the street, listening to the shouts behind soaring, feeling that wartime era is extremely dangerous.
He dared not to look back, suddenly recalling a saying:
Normal people never look back at explosions.