191: Chapter 188: All things related to the opposite side

"This place should be perfect for gathering intelligence, right?"

Li Changsheng said in a low voice, his volume low, audible only to the two of them.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Guoli, who was walking in front, paused slightly before continuing forward.

The decor here had a very 'Xia Kingdom red' feel, exuding a festive atmosphere everywhere, with red walls, various lacquered red carved wooden doors, and screens.

Li Changsheng wasn't actually a fan of this decoration style; it was too red and too gaudy.

It couldn't be ruled out that this was because his compatriots wanted to cater to the inherent impression foreigners had of the Xia Kingdom, but Li Changsheng still preferred the ancient architectural style back home.

It had red, but it wasn't ostentatious, and it would be accented by various greenery in gardens, ponds, and lotus leaves; pavilions and corridors wouldn't be entirely red, but rather the natural color of the wood, at most coated with a layer of tung oil.

This kind of antique style that harmonized with nature had more charm and wasn't abrupt, and as time passed, the wood of those buildings would continuously settle and become deep, just like Xia Kingdom culture—only when you calmed your mind to experience it could you feel its profundity, restraint, and vastness.

What was before his eyes was too superficial; simply put, it was a bit tacky.

Looking around at the interior and the open-air tree exposed in the center of the main hall, Li Changsheng could only think of one thing: 'A wall upon a wall, a tree piercing the eaves, the family falls and people die.'

If a feng shui master saw this place, they would definitely say, "Hmm... a land of great misfortune!"

This open-air area in the middle was clearly the place with the best lighting, but because of this towering tree, it was completely blocked off.

Plus, with the bright red lanterns frequently adorning the place... it would definitely be perfect for filming a horror movie.

Guided by a fellow countrywoman, the two chose a double room and lay down.

"Mr. Li, I believe you have some guesses about my identity. At this point, I won't hide it from you anymore; this is my identification!"

As he spoke, he saw Zhou Guoli finally pull that item from his pocket. It was a small booklet, and the emblem was... gold. As for the pattern on it, it was indescribable; I'm afraid of getting censored.

Li Changsheng took a look, his expression slightly startled, but he quickly calmed down.

From the Security Bureau, as expected!

"What does Mr. Zhou want to discuss with me?"

Since the other party was talking to him so calmly, Li Changsheng roughly knew that his own mess probably didn't amount to much. This time, it was likely just a proper talk; they might ask him to do something, or make some kind of agreement.

Li Changsheng was guessing the other party's purpose, yet Zhou Guoli was not in a hurry at all.

Instead, he said with a chuckle, "Mr. Li, you are also a practitioner of martial arts. I assume you know some knowledge about Traditional Chinese Medicine. I wonder how much you know about Acupuncture?"

"Hm?"

Li Changsheng was taken aback; he hadn't expected this person not to get straight to the point, but instead, to change the subject so abruptly.

"Acupuncture is a profound field of study. Used well, it can cure diseases and save lives; used poorly, it can kill without a trace."

Li Changsheng replied sullenly.

"Hm! That's right. And you're in luck this time; the well-known Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner Elder Peng happens to be here. He usually flies back and forth between the country and abroad, so you really caught him at the right time."

"He has a TCM license here, is a member of the TCM Association, and is a visiting professor at a university in An Province back home. He is extremely skilled at treating insomnia, headaches, and depression, and has attained quite an achievement in Acupoints pressure, shoulder and neck pain, and lumbar muscle strain."

"Hmm... he's also skilled at treating infertility."

Zhou Guoli said a lot, and Li Changsheng became a bit interested.

He was, of course, aware of the miraculous effects of Acupuncture, but the other party seemed to have some real skills.

"Do you come here often?"

"Pretty much. Every time I finish a mission, I come here for some adjustments. Martial artists must treat themselves well, otherwise, when you get old, all sorts of ailments will come."

"Besides, I practice hard-style martial arts." Zhou Guoli said this with the air of someone who had been there before, as if warning Li Changsheng that young people should practice moderation.

"Hard-style!" Li Changsheng narrowed his eyes and smiled, "Just now, I felt that Mr. Zhou was of the hard-style Long Fist school, and it seemed your attainments were quite high. Listening to your accent, I wonder which of the Seven Great Martial Arts styles you belong to?"

It was quite boring for Li Changsheng to directly ask about the other party's high-level fist style; after all, they weren't sparring now, and it was a bit impolite to directly ask about someone's style.

Zhou Guoli, on the contrary, laughed quite nonchalantly.

"It seems the intelligence description of you was still superficial, saying you've only been learning martial arts for about a year, at most no more than three. And that your knowledge of martial arts mostly comes from Elder Zhang Youdao."

"I didn't expect your eye for this to be so sharp."

Zhou Guoli smiled, then said indifferently, "I am a successor of the Tongbei Fist. If you really have to categorize it, Tongbei is considered part of the Shaolin lineage."

Hearing this, Li Changsheng nodded inwardly.

Tongbei School is said to have originated in the Henan region and belongs to the Central Plains northern fist styles, and many northern fist styles in the country are classified under the Shaolin lineage.

And the Seven Great Martial Arts styles in the country are: Shaolin, Wudang, Emei Sect, Southern Fist, Taiji, Xingyi, and Bagua.

Of course, there are also many ethnic minority wrestling styles and some combat techniques that are not included.

"No wonder it felt a bit like practicing Long Fist; Tongbei School can also be considered to have a similar destination through different paths."

Li Changsheng pondered to himself.

However, this Tongbei Fist is quite a unique flower among Traditional Martial Arts.

There are many versions of Tongbei Fist, and Li Changsheng guessed that the one in front of him probably practiced the version passed down from the late Qing Dynasty.

In fact, if one traces it back, this fist technique has a very long history, and legends say it can be traced back to the Warring States period.

Of course, this is a legend; whether it's true or not is another matter.

"Mr. Li, you are also an expert in Traditional Martial Arts, following the paths of Xingyi and Baji Quan. I have also dealt with Elder Zhang quite a bit."

"Why don't we wait until we finish the Acupuncture, and I'll ask the boss to clear out a room, and you and I can spar?"

Zhou Guoli smiled lightly.

Sure enough, whenever someone practices Traditional Martial Arts and has some real skills, they all want to exchange pointers and spar with others.

"That would be great!"

Li Changsheng also smiled and nodded; being able to spar with a successor of the Tongbei Fist was naturally excellent.

Although Tongbei Fist doesn't look very aesthetically pleasing when performed, a true expert is not playing around; if they say they can kill you, they can kill you.

"And Tongbei is really very similar to Taiji! It's like how Xingyi is very similar to Xinyi, though they aren't from the same source, right?"

In terms of force generation, Tongbei mostly uses whipping force, soft force, and swinging arms to seek force; the two arms are like two whips, shadowless and formless, flickering and uncertain. Once the force is unleashed, it's like a thunderclap in a clear sky, the force reaching the point of impact with immense power. The Boxing force originates from the waist and back, reaching the tips of the fists, with centrifugal force running through the whole body to strike out.

Simply put, it has the same marvelous effect as Taiji, but there are differences. To summarize in one sentence: as soft as Taiji, as hard as Baji Quan.

It emphasizes rounded force techniques and marvelous consecutive strikes.

Moreover, its force is constantly changing; sometimes it forms a combined force, unleashing violent power, and sometimes it uses clever force to deflect a thousand pounds with four ounces.

One fist determines four postures, three stars and nine turning rings, interlocking rings form a circle, and circles upon circles naturally become a sphere.

Using the sphere's rounded force to neutralize external force, and using the sphere's explosion to strike in all directions.

This is also why Li Changsheng felt that Tongbei and Taiji were very similar.