Legend of the Heavenly Swordsman
Ch.12 - Training

The next morning Tang Shu did not directly train Fu Chen, he introduced the environment that Fu Chen would use first. The place Tang Shu was using turned out to be where they had been chatting last night.

Tang Shu then explained what to do for one week in this forest. The point was that Tang Shu wanted to teach Fu Chen how to survive inside the forest under what it was.

"Because nature is the dwelling place of man, man must be comfortable living in it." That was the sentence that came out of Tang Shu's mouth when Fu Chen asked the reason behind his training.

To become a swordsman must also be able to understand natural conditions in order to facilitate every affairs of the swordsman that is related to nature. Tang Shu also said qi energy was basically natural energy, so no one should boast of its power before the original owner of the power.

Tang Shu then exemplified a way to catch fish using a spear. The key is that the throw must have considerable strength and be right on target, if the thrown spear is not strong enough and fast then the throw will miss and turn when it has entered the water.

Tang Shu invited Fu Chen to hunt when night had come. Fu Chen followed Tang Shu with caution and ever-awake vigilance. Hunting at night like this was his first experience.

After a while they searched the forest there was finally a wild boar they found. Tang Shu immediately picked up the wooden spear and told Fu Chen to quietly pay attention.

Tang Shu aimed at the boar for a moment before thrusting the spear swiftly. The pig immediately screamed as a spear pierced through his head before he finally fell silent.

Fu Chen closed his eyes as the spear his father threw hit the pig. There is a sense of horror and heartlessness in his feelings, but he soon understands it all needs to be done to survive.

Tang Shu then carried the pig towards where they had rested earlier. Again, Fu Chen's mentality was made turbulent when he had to cut the pig that was still intact. His hands trembled slightly as he sliced through the stomach of the animal and looked at the contents of its internal organs.

Fu Chen even said he didn't want to eat anything that night. But Tang Shu would certainly not let it go, even though the work of cutting pork was continued by Tang Shu but the shadow of him accidentally touching the organs in the creature was disgusting.

Tang Shu then taught Fu Chen how to grill the meat that had been cleaned and chopped. Here Fu Chen felt a little better, he began to accept grilled meat because of its very tempting aroma.

The next day Tang Shu invited Fu Chen to visit the foothills which were not too far from their original location. There Tang Shu explained to Fu Chen that he had to climb up and down the hill with the weight that Tang Shu would give during training.

Fu Chen swallowed his saliva roughly. The hill in front of him was quite large and high, especially there was no place to shelter, it was all just a knee-high weed.

Tang Shu also told Fu Chen, this son should be able to fight with some ferocious beasts herded by Tang Shu. Fu Chen could not imagine what he would be like if he was eaten by the beast.

After feeling enough to give Fu Chen training instructions, Tang Shu immediately invited Fu Chen to practice stretching muscles and exercises to strengthen other muscles.

Tang Shu aimed to strengthen his son's physique first before doing the actual exercises. Tang Shu told Fu Chen to run towards the foot of the hill and back again to where their hut was. This continued to be done repeatedly until nightfall.

At night, Fu Chen sat cross-legged under the waterfall shower at Tang Shu's command. Several times he gritted his teeth because the water temperature was so cold at night.

Tang Shu understood that Fu Chen could fall ill because of it. So that he flowed qi on Fu Chen's body when he finished meditating under the waterfall to neutralize the cold inside Fu Chen's body.

A whole week spent Fu Chen training. He was getting used to the waterfall and cutting the meat of game animals. During the one week it was a novelty for Fu Chen, his development in understanding the direction Tang Shu had given him was also very fast.

But Tang Shu was not his name if he was satisfied there, he felt less because he saw the doubt in Fu Chen while hunting. Therefore Tang Shu delayed his return one week.

Tang Shu told Fu Chen that he would go home for one day to tell Xin Xue that they would delay returning to the Village for another week.

"I hope you'll be back here by nightfall." Fu Chen smiled softly afterwards.

"Heheh, that won't happen .. be careful." Tang Shu jumped high on the branches of the trees around him after ending his sentence.

Fu Chen was stunned to see his father so easily jump so high from one tree to another. He can't wait to do the same.

***

When he had reached Tang Shu Village immediately looked for Xin Xue to let him know. Although a little reluctant yet Xin Xue tried to understand her husband's circumstances.

After obtaining permission from the wife, Tang Shu did not immediately intend to rest. He approached the Village Chief to ask for permission to enter the Village basin to take his resources first.

Inside the box that read Tang Shu's name it turned out to be a lot of resources. One of the most striking is red ginseng because of its contrasting color. Red ginseng is a valuable resource for warriors, because even warriors at the level of the Combat General can still feel its properties.

The efficacy of red ginseng is to improve blood circulation and strengthen bones and marrow. Ginseng is very useful for those who have impurities in their blood as well as warriors who want to improve the quality of their bones.

Tang Shu took three pieces of red ginseng and a long flute for him to carry.

After he finished with his affairs Tang Shu immediately said goodbye to his wife, not to forget also he brought some cooking utensils to process red ginseng.

When he arrived at the training ground it was already late afternoon and Fu Chen was not seen around there at all. Tang Shu was worried because he left Fu Chen alone in the middle of the forest like this. But his worry was gone when he saw Fu Chen carrying a chicken from within the forest.

Tang Shu then approached him. "Father has gotten permission from your mother, so we'll continue this exercise for another week before going home." Tang Shu patted both of her children's shoulders with a gentle smile.

Fu Chen did not mind it, he had indeed been less satisfied with himself for the previous week. But Fu Chen's attention was immediately distracted by some cooking tools around the hut.

"What's all that dad for?" Fu Chen pointed towards the hut.

"Well, that's just preparation. It's not important." Tang Shu laughed awkwardly while avoiding her son's gaze. "You just clean up the catch you just caught last night, I'll help you digest red ginseng."

"Red ginseng? Isn't that to warm the body?" Fu Chen tilted his head, if that was all then he also knew how to consume it.

Tang Shu's steps came to a halt before turning back towards Fu Chen and snapping his finger on his son's forehead. "Differentiate between ginseng and ginger, have you never studied before?" Tang Shu then passed away just like that.

"Sshh.." Fu Chen rubbed his forehead which was hit by Tang Shu's flick. It feels a little hot and painful. "Then what is it? I even just found out that ginseng isn't ginger!"

"You'll find out later." Tang Shu's voice from afar.

"Curly, sucks! It was always like that." Fu Chen grumbled indistinctly and started cleaning the chicken feathers in annoyance.