Chapter Twenty-Four: The Solitary Nine-Character Secret Technique

"Next," Elder Dugu said to Meng Xiaoli, "you must learn to observe at all times. Use your ears to listen to the sounds around you. Let every detail, no matter how small, enter your ears, and then tell me what is happening in our surroundings."

To better capture the sounds, Meng Xiaoli closed her eyes and tilted her head. The clattering of carriage wheels, the chaotic din of voices—it was all a blur of noise. She had to dissect them one by one. "Behind us to the right, a woman is haggling with a bead and hairpin vendor. In front to the right, an old woman is buying two steamed buns. In the middle of the road to the right, a child is crying on the ground. To the front left, a man selling pine cakes is hawking his wares. To the left, a woman is pulling a man along, saying she wants to look at lanterns. To the back left, a fortune teller is shouting, 'Have your fortune told!' And behind us, a beggar is pleading for food."

Elder Dugu interjected, "What about sounds from further away?" Meng Xiaoli listened intently, but the distant sounds were drowned out by the immediate noise; she could discern nothing. She opened her eyes and said, "I can't hear anything further. But Master, these are all trivial matters. What is the use of listening to them?"

Elder Dugu kept walking as he spoke, "Who says they are useless? Everything you hear is information. You have some natural talent for identifying locations by sound, but you need more practice. Only when you can hear the sound of a flower blooming will you have reached a high level of mastery."

"Flowers make sounds when they bloom? Master, are you mocking me for being uneducated?" Meng Xiaoli followed closely, her face full of confusion.

The next morning, Meng Xiaoli forced herself to stay alert while meditating in the mountains to practice internal energy. She listened as Elder Dugu lectured on the contents of the *Heart Method of Unity Between Heaven and Man*, speaking of "the nature of heaven and earth" and "becoming formless." Gradually, his voice grew distant. She knew not how much time had passed until she wiped away a bit of drool and opened her eyes, realizing she had fallen asleep again. This inability to control her own physiological state was agonizing. She cursed her own lack of resolve; she had never been so sleepy when practicing internal energy as a child. Now, despite her desperate insistence on learning martial arts, she found her spirit willing but her body weak. Could it be that one truly becomes dull after passing the prime age for learning?

This time, her master did not shake her awake, likely finding it too much trouble to bother. Anxious, Meng Xiaoli turned to look for Elder Dugu. She found him lying halfway across another rock, holding his wine flask, watching the newly awakened Meng Xiaoli with great interest. Not knowing how long he had been staring, she said guiltily, "I fell asleep again!"

Elder Dugu was relaxed. He took a sip of wine and said, "It doesn't matter. It is normal to fall asleep when first learning meditation; after all, you don't have the boundless energy of a child. Though you lack talent, you are not the type to be as restless as if sitting on needles. You are a mediocre person, not a fool. If you want to sleep, sleep a while longer. In a quarter of an hour, you will begin a day of sword practice while hungry and weighted."

At these words, Meng Xiaoli’s sleepiness vanished. Knowing his permission to sleep was a taunt, she widened her eyes and asked, "Weighted is fine, but why must I be hungry? Master, are you out of silver?"

Elder Dugu choked on the wine he had just swallowed and coughed repeatedly. He raged, "Practicing while hungry and weighted builds stamina! When you face an opponent of equal skill, it is your stamina that matters. Whoever starves to death first loses!" Meng Xiaoli rolled her eyes secretly, thinking it utterly absurd.

After finishing her internal energy practice, Meng Xiaoli strapped sandbags to her limbs. She felt as if they were filled with lead, dragging her down heavily. Elder Dugu stood to the side and said, "The *Nine-Character Formula of Dugu* is a study of intent. Only those with high comprehension can master it. None of the moves are set in stone. For instance, the move 'One Stone, Two Birds' simply tells you to use the current situation to borrow strength and strike back, achieving twice the result with half the effort. It can be a fist, a palm, or the opponent’s weapon. As long as you exert one force to strike in four directions, it is called 'One Stone, Two Birds.' Therefore, this art can only be passed down by word of mouth and personal demonstration; the written meaning is difficult for outsiders to grasp."

"The *Nine-Character Formula of Dugu* consists of: Observe, Listen, Avoid, Guard, Probe, Yield, Cut, Borrow, and Seize. I already taught you 'Observe' and 'Listen' yesterday; you must practice them anytime, anywhere. The other eight characters have no fixed order; they must complement each other and be used interchangeably. The transitions must be flexible and fast, without the slightest error in continuity. In combat, any mistake is fatal."

Elder Dugu demonstrated the moves personally. "To learn to attack, you must first learn to guard; to learn to guard, you must first learn to avoid. The 'Avoid' character, as the name implies, relies on agility to dodge moves. If you can avoid being hit for several exchanges against a master, your skill is not trivial. The movements must transition into one another, utilizing each other..."

As he spoke, he began to spar with Meng Xiaoli. She attacked, but after a dozen moves, she couldn't even touch his clothes. Elder Dugu demonstrated various techniques from the "Avoid" category—"Willow in the Wind," "Fish in the Water," "Swallow in the Hall," and "Rabbit in the Mountains"—each with dozens of variations. Meng Xiaoli’s head was a mess, but Elder Dugu ordered her to continue practicing while weighted, while he went down the mountain to enjoy himself.

Though winter was passing, the chill of early spring remained. After an hour of practice, Meng Xiaoli was drenched in sweat and exhausted. Driven by hunger, she could only think about gorging herself at the upcoming Lantern Festival, determined to squander every penny in Elder Dugu’s purse.

Returning to their mountain shack at night, Meng Xiaoli felt sore all over, her limbs heavier than when they were weighted. At dinner, she couldn't even lift her chopsticks with her right hand. She watched blankly as Elder Dugu wolfed down his food, then asked pitifully, "Master, what does your noodle taste like?" Elder Dugu finished, wiped his mouth, and looked at her. "Don't you have your own? What? Are you waiting for me to feed you?" Meng Xiaoli shook her head quickly. "No, no, I can do it. I'll do it myself."

Staring at the bowl of noodles, she used her nearly paralyzed right hand to grab the chopsticks, lifted the noodles, and leaned her face into the bowl to slurp them up. She finally managed to eat, and Elder Dugu, watching from the side, chuckled silently.

The next morning, Meng Xiaoli felt that after a night of rest, her limbs were even sorer and heavier. But when she followed Elder Dugu up the mountain, she practiced her meditation with unusual focus, remaining awake for the entire session for the first time.

After the internal training, Elder Dugu stood before her, channeling energy into his hands and demonstrating moves. "Martial arts in a person are like a great tree. Internal energy is the root, and the moves are the branches that sprout from it. Your internal energy must be powerful enough that even if you are unarmed, your hands and feet become your weapons; any weapon is merely an extension of your limbs. Internal energy and moves must be practiced together, neither can be lacking. Moves must be flexible, steady, and accurate. Because you are facing a living person, they won't stand there for you to hit. You must learn to adapt, predict the opponent’s position and method of attack, and respond with the fastest reaction. The 'Guard' character in the *Nine-Character Formula* is about learning and observation. You block while evading, and 'Yielding' is about finding the opponent's weakness. Only by finding their weakness can you strike most effectively..."

As he spoke, he sparred with her. After dozens of moves, Meng Xiaoli still couldn't touch him and was constantly countered by unexpected strikes. This sparked a sense of defiance and ignited her fighting spirit.

Elder Dugu taught her moves from the "Guard" category—"Wild Horse's Flying Hooves," "Ram's Headbutt," and "Whirling Claw"—then stepped back, ordering her to combine these with the previous day's "Avoid" techniques, before striding down the mountain once more.

Meng Xiaoli practiced bitterly for several days. When the Lantern Festival arrived, the streets were ablaze with light. Young men and women came out to watch the lanterns and admire the moon. The scent of various snacks filled the air, and fireworks illuminated the sky. Besides the lion and dragon dance troupes, there were street performers, singers, fire-breathers, hoop-divers, and magicians. People climbed mountains to release sky lanterns for blessings and stood by the water to release lotus lanterns for wishes. Rows upon rows of red lanterns lined the streets.

Meng Xiaoli walked side-by-side with Elder Dugu through the surging crowd. Seeing the strange and wonderful trinkets and colorful delicacies, she forgot her fatigue entirely.

Seeing a pot of steaming, round dumplings, she began to salivate. She quickly bought two bowls and pulled Elder Dugu to sit on a wooden stool by the stall. She gulped down a bowl, then eagerly dragged him to watch a group of people guessing lantern riddles. Elder Dugu paid for the dumplings and followed her to join the fun.

As Meng Xiaoli watched intently, Elder Dugu had no heart for the festivities. He scanned the perimeter, sensing that several pairs of eyes had been following them all along. He thought to himself, "Nothing good comes from the Wind and Cloud Pavilion finding me."

Just then, his right ear caught a subtle sound cutting through the air. With quick reflexes, he caught it between two fingers. He glanced down to find not a hidden weapon, but a paper scroll. He looked up, scanning the shadows, knowing the sender meant no harm and simply wanted to avoid notice. He quietly hid the paper in his palm, remaining composed.

Elder Dugu told Meng Xiaoli not to stay out too late and to return home early, then sought out a quiet spot on his own. After reading the secret letter, he learned of a meeting in the dense forest. He arrived as promised, seeing from afar a youth in white standing with his back turned, holding the Heart-Slaying Brush in one hand.

Elder Dugu spoke first: "I didn't expect the Wind and Cloud Pavilion to arrive so quickly. As soon as you learned of my location, Second Young Master Wu appeared."

The cold-faced scholar, Wu Yuqiu, turned around, bowed with his brush, and said, "Elder Dugu, your movements are unpredictable; it is not easy to find you. To be honest, once I knew you were in Huai'an, I arrived days ago. I took advantage of the bustling Lantern Festival to seek an audience."

Elder Dugu got straight to the point: "Why did the Wind and Cloud Pavilion send someone to find me?" The cold-faced scholar did not beat around the bush: "Beggar Sect Leader Liang Keyong was sabotaged by Guo Jian and fled outside the pass. Although the Beggar Sect is now led by Guo Jian, he lacks the Dog-Beating Staff and thus has no actual authority. Unable to deal with Leader Liang, Guo Jian stationed men at the pass to prevent his return. Leader Liang, holding the staff, cannot enter, and all his messages are intercepted by Guo Jian. Knowing I was outside the pass, the Beggar Sect dared not move against my Pavilion, so Leader Liang asked for my help to send you this letter, hoping you would intervene."