Early the next morning, Jack Young woke up from his sleep. He glanced at the ceiling and realized he was still in the Jingwu Athletic Association guest room, not back at his own home. Somehow, he just knew that this 'martial arts dream' wasn't ending anytime soon.
Sitting cross-legged with his palms facing upward, he felt a surge of warmth rush from his chest to every part of his body—the power of the Golden Wheel Relic flared up once again. Ever since Jack Young mastered the first level of Insight Technique, he could sense the relic's presence and its condition.
He figured this relic would last him about a month, and during that time, he could use its power to train his Dragon Elephant Wisdom Art. Still, Jack Young realized his talent for Dragon Elephant Wisdom Art wasn't as sharp as for Insight Technique—he'd reached the first level of Insight Technique on day one and was already close to the second, but Dragon Elephant Wisdom Art showed no signs of progress and would need slow, steady work.
Jack Young couldn't tell if it was just his imagination, but he kept feeling like a big chunk of that warmth flowing into his body was getting sucked away by his left palm. In the end, not much of it helped with his Dragon Elephant Wisdom Art, and he had no clue where the rest of the energy was going.
"At this rate, I should reach the second level of Insight Technique within a month." Feeling a bit of progress, Jack Young finished up his practice and stood. After tidying himself up, he changed into a proper Republic-era kung fu outfit and headed toward Dr. Thomas Tang’s courtyard.
Dr. Thomas Tang was also living at the Jingwu Athletic Association now, though his place was tucked away and much quieter. As the first rays of sunlight hit the ground, Jack Young arrived on time at Dr. Tang’s courtyard, where Dr. Tang stood calmly, radiating an air of deep mystery.
Of course, whether he was truly that impressive or just putting on a show—Jack Young decided he'd find out for himself.
"Master, I’m here." Jack Young stopped five steps away and cupped his hands in greeting. "Where do we start?"
"Jack Young, I’ve already decided to teach you, but before we officially begin, I want to ask you one more thing." Dr. Tang looked straight into Jack Young’s eyes. "Kung fu is tough. You need a strong conviction to stick with it, and that conviction boils down to one simple question—why do you want to learn kung fu?"
"Uh..." Jack Young thought for a moment and asked, "Does my answer actually change anything? I mean, you’ve already decided to teach me, so why ask now? To be honest, I don’t really know—or maybe I’ve never really thought about it."
"Stand, yes, but not a regular horse stance." Dr. Tang pointed: "See that water vat over there?"
"Yeah, I see it." Jack Young eyed the giant water vat, nearly 1.7 meters tall, and felt his sense of impending doom intensify.
"Go stand in a horse stance on the rim. It's called 'vat stance,' or sometimes 'ring post stance.'" Dr. Tang patted Jack Young on the shoulder, his voice gentle: "Go on, take off your shoes. I won't ask for much the first time, just fifteen minutes."
"Alright, sure." Jack Young stretched his hands and feet, walked over, and grabbed the rim—why is it so narrow?! He swallowed, glanced back at Dr. Tang, who barked, "Get on with it!"
"Got it!"
Grabbing the rim with both hands, he pushed off with his feet and hopped up in one swift motion. At that moment, Jack Young was especially grateful to Master Golden Wheel—without the relic’s blessing, he’d never be this agile.
"Hurry up! Let go of the rim, face outward, stand up—stand properly!" Dr. Tang’s stern voice rang out, and Jack Young quickly let go. He wobbled forward, wobbled back—steady, steady—nope, not steady at all!
This rim is, like, super slippery!
"Oh—crap—!" With a miserable yell, Jack Young vanished into the vat. Moments later, his echoing complaints came from inside: "What the hell is up with this vat?! There’s another half buried underground? It’s over two meters deep in here! Ow, that hurts! Hey, someone outside, toss me a rope, will ya?"
"Climb out yourself. If you can't, starve in there for all I care. Oh, and one more thing." Dr. Tang pulled out a handwritten notebook, opened to the first page, and began reading: "Boxing—it's all about body, skill, and intent, the three elements. I’ll only read this once—if you can’t answer my questions later, I’ll start tossing rocks into the vat. Ahem. 'Body means physical strength—like lifting cauldrons, moving like a bird, swapping beams and pillars, dragging nine bulls backwards.' Question: Who swapped beams and pillars?"
Inside the vat, Jack Young panted, "No idea!"
"No idea?" Dr. Tang casually tossed a pebble into the vat. It landed with a thud, sounding like someone had collapsed. Jack Young shouted, "You’re seriously doing this?! And how are you so accurate with your aim?"
Dr. Tang was as calm as ever: "Remember, the beam-swapping story is about King Zhou of Shang. 'Zi Shou' is fine, but 'King Zhou' is wrong—because I don’t like that title."
"You gotta be kidding me!" Suddenly, a pair of hands gripped the rim from inside. Jack Young, panting and gritting his teeth, pulled himself up: "You never even taught us this, did you?!" He clung to the rim with his left hand and hurled the pebble back with his right: "That’s what you get for giving me pop quizzes as punishment!"
Dr. Tang raised a hand and caught the pebble without looking at Jack Young: "Let go of the rim, face outward, stand up! Oh, right." He seemed to remember something, and went inside. Soon, he came out carrying a bucket, bigger than what Shaolin monks use for training.
Jack Young struggled to balance on the rim, wobbling, as he eyed the bright liquid in the bucket. His sense of doom surged again: "Why’d you bring a bucket of water?"
"It’s not water, it’s oil. I spent a lot teaching you boxing—had to buy all this oil."
"Wait—same question, why the heck did you bring a bucket of oil?"
"Oil’s better than water. You won’t float, and it’s even slipperier." Dr. Tang glanced at Jack Young, a cold glint in his eyes. "Every time you fall in, I’ll dump another bucket of oil in. If you still can’t stand steady before you drown in oil, then you’ll just drown in there."
"What?!" Jack Young panicked, his legs shook, and he immediately fell in again.
"Alright, first bucket." Dr. Tang’s voice was as calm as ever: "Oh, and remember to wash your clothes. After you drown, I plan to sell this oil."
"You’re selling oil that’s soaked a corpse? You’re a crook to the bone! I’ll never give in!" came Jack Young’s defiant shout from inside the vat.
"Such an iron-willed young man! As a reward, I’ll throw in three buckets for free. And from now on, every time you fall, it’s four buckets—just to encourage you."
"I was wrong, I really was wrong! Master, please say something—don’t go get more oil, Master Tang?!"