Chapter 23: The Wall
The first morning after the feast, I stood at the center of the training ground and recited the Five Principles to an audience of six.
Hao, Bolin, Suyin Shan were all sitting at the edge along with two new faces: Tao and Ma, the conscript soldiers who'd chosen to stay after the battle.
"Principle one. Cultivation begins with awareness. Before you can move qi, you must learn to feel it."
I said the words the same way I'd said them every morning for months. The same way I'd say them every morning for years. The principles weren't wisdom. They were foundations. You didn't stop pouring a foundation because you'd poured it before.
"Principle five. There is no secret. Any principle that works for one person should work for any person with the aptitude to sense qi. If a technique only works for the teacher, the technique is flawed or the teacher is lying."
Shan uncrossed his arms when I finished, and I could tell that what I said had resonated with him.
That was the start.
In the following weeks, we recruited a student named Zhao Jun, he was Zhao Ping's eldest son, I pulled him aside after his third session.
He already knew what I was going to say. I could see it on his face before I opened my mouth.