Chapter 105: Lama Fist

“Alright, I’ll ask around.”

After hearing this, Li Qiyao nodded repeatedly. Not only Xiang Yuanyuan, but even she felt tempted to go. From her understanding of Xiang Yuanyuan, there was no way she could resist such an invitation.

After all, it’s not only men who love horses and cars; many women are often unable to resist the thrill of a thousand horses galloping.

...

The Ili Pegasus Festival is an event held in one of the townships under their jurisdiction, belonging to Zhaosu Town. Zhaosu County boasts abundant natural resources, with vast grasslands, clear lakes, and unique folk customs. The Pegasus Festival is essentially a horse racing event that has been held locally for thirty years and is quite famous. This year, it has been heavily promoted, and apparently, celebrities were invited to help publicize it.

The “thousands of horses galloping” is just one of the opening ceremony’s events, where a large herd of horses will be led to gallop across the grasslands, creating a breathtaking spectacle.

Of course, “thousands of horses galloping” is a rough description. In reality, more than a hundred thousand horses will be involved, making the scene absolutely stunning.

“So, Boss Du, do you know how to ride a horse?”

Xiang Yuanyuan stood at the airport arrival area and asked Du Ruo. When Du Ruo mentioned the event in the morning, it immediately sparked Xiang Yuanyuan’s interest. She said she had a horse when she was young, but after one time she got drunk and fell off because she lost grip of the reins, her horse was sold.

So, the moment Du Ruo mentioned watching horses, it captured her full attention. The three of them came straight here because they had checked the Pegasus Festival schedule, and it seemed the opening ceremony was happening within these two days. Missing the opening would mean only seeing the races, which would be a pity.

“I’ve never ridden a horse before, but riding won’t be a problem for me.”

Du Ruo shook her head. Her martial arts foundation was solid, with a stable lower body and strong limbs. She believed she could learn to ride with just one lesson.

Still, while speaking, Du Ruo kept observing the expressions of the other two. After all, this was the highlands, though the altitude was less than two thousand meters, she worried about possible altitude sickness.

Fortunately, they seemed fine. Xiang Yuanyuan often climbed mountains; the elevation of Huangshan is much higher than here.

“Hehe, then I’ll teach you how to ride. I guarantee you won’t have any trouble.”

Xiang Yuanyuan’s energy was completely different from when she was at the tavern—she was excited and lively, no longer looking weak and sickly.

“Boss Du, Madam Boss, over here, over here!”

Just as Du Ruo was about to reply, a loud voice called out from the airport arrival area, even waving hands to ensure Du Ruo saw him.

“Hey? Qiangzi, didn’t you say you wouldn’t come to pick us up? Why are you here? And how did you know about our flight?”

Du Ruo looked at Qiangzi curiously. She had only asked him about the Pegasus Festival and hadn’t planned to trouble him, so she hadn’t mentioned their flight details. Besides, they had to transfer planes from Huangshan, yet here he was, waiting.

“Hehe, I have Lingjie’s WeChat, I asked her. Besides, since you’re here, I have to look after you the whole time. Come on, I’ll get your luggage; the car’s right outside.”

Qiangzi was very enthusiastic, taking their bags and leading Du Ruo outside.

“What do you think?”

Li Qiyao looked at Du Ruo, unspoken but clearly hinting.

“Alright, let’s follow him.”

Du Ruo smiled, not wanting to refuse the warmth.

---

“Boss Du, you’re staying at my place tonight. My home’s in the pasture area—plenty of space, you can stay anywhere you like.”

Qiangzi drove the car, chatting with Du Ruo. Unlike the earlier awkwardness in Du Ruo’s courtyard, he was now more relaxed but still polite.

“Honestly, I didn’t expect you to be from Ili. Your Mandarin has no accent at all, so I guess I had some stereotypes about this place.”

Du Ruo laughed. Qiangzi’s language and appearance were quite different from what she imagined an Xinjiang native to be.

“Haha, right? I actually studied at Huizhou Normal University, majoring in Chinese literature. My dad forced me to learn Mandarin well since I was little, hoping I could go far and find a decent job. Being a herder is really tough, not as comfortable as people think, and the pay isn’t much. We always worry about natural disasters or accidents wiping out years of hard work.”

Qiangzi’s voice lowered as he spoke.

“Parents’ love is truly heartfelt.”

Li Qiyao couldn’t help but sigh. When her own father learned she was constantly being harassed by that person, an originally honest man started sharpening his knives. It was a torment that must have taken years to reach that point.

“Then why Huizhou?”

Xiang Yuanyuan jumped in. Her father had low status at home, so she didn’t share the same sympathy.

“He wanted me to go farther and see more of the world. So, during university, I traveled a lot, experiencing different places and cultures. After graduation, I came back here to teach the local kids so they could also have a chance to explore.”

At that moment, Du Ruo’s impression of Qiangzi changed dramatically. Beneath his somewhat rough appearance was a delicate, thoughtful heart.

Of course, Du Ruo had no intention of teaching Qiangzi martial arts. It wasn’t necessary. He had ideals and life goals, so there was no need to disrupt his life. Besides, Du Ruo already had enough to train on his own.

Like himself, after gaining the skill extraction system and starting martial arts training, there was no turning back. Now, he only wanted to explore the limits of martial arts and human potential.

“Wow, a rainbow~~”

When the atmosphere in the car grew heavy, Xiang Yuanyuan suddenly pressed against the window and pointed ahead, shouting.

It wasn’t that she had never seen a rainbow, but the sky here was clearer, and the rainbow stretched across half the sky, which startled her.

“This place is full of beautiful scenery. If you go hiking, you can even see all four seasons change in a single day.”

Qiangzi began enthusiastically describing the local scenery, unable to stop once he started.

“Qiangzi, why don’t you learn martial arts at home? Why search online everywhere? It wastes money and time.”

Du Ruo looked at a temple outside the window and asked.

“Huh? What’s there to learn here? I’ve never heard of any real martial arts here. Most people just practice Tai Chi in the park.”

Qiangzi didn’t understand why Du Ruo said that and replied casually. He grew up here and knew it well, but had never heard of anyone practicing true martial arts.

“Oh? Then what’s that?”

Du Ruo pointed to the temple, which looked somewhat ancient. The wooden structure and stone pillars showed signs of age. Since the Pegasus Festival was about to begin, no tourists were around.

Du Ruo was actually pointing at the temple roof. With sharp eyes, she spotted a small white kitten there, likely a very young cat. Next to it stood a lama, squatting and gently lifting the kitten.

(Lama means spiritual master, so calling him lama is not disrespectful.)

---

Then the lama appeared to step down from the roof as if the three or four meters height didn’t exist, lightly stepping down.

“Gah~~”

The car screeched to a sudden stop. Qiangzi had just seen the lama leap down from the roof and, excited, slammed on the brakes. Fortunately, he was driving slowly, so Li Qiyao and Xiang Yuanyuan in the back seat weren’t jolted.

What he didn’t see was even more astonishing—the lama had jumped onto the roof by stepping on an outside stone lion first.

“That… that temple I know. There are only two lamas inside: one about my age and another nearly eighty years old.”

Although Qiangzi’s eyesight wasn’t great, he recognized from the lama’s robes that this was the eighty-year-old lama he mentioned.

Eighty years old and still climbing rooftops to rescue cats—what kind of expert is that?

“So, what do you want to do? Ask about it or keep going?”

Du Ruo couldn’t help but ask. He thought Qiangzi might immediately chase after the lama and pester him to teach some skills.

“Let’s go back first.”

Qiangzi glanced once more at the temple, watching the figure squat down—probably setting the kitten down—and then turn back inside.

“Boss Du, do you know what kind of martial arts that lama was using?”

Qiangzi restarted the car and asked Du Ruo.

“I can’t tell. He was just moving up and down the roof. Sometimes you don’t need any special skills to do that—when your kung fu is good enough, it becomes natural.”

Du Ruo explained, then looked curiously at Qiangzi. His face showed no particular expression, but his knuckles gripping the steering wheel were white, revealing inner tension. So Du Ruo added:

“Actually, Lama Boxing has many famous and ancient techniques, but they aren’t widely spread.”

“If they’re powerful, why aren’t they popular?”

“Because Lama Boxing requires strong internal power. All martial arts that rely heavily on internal strength are hard to spread. For example, Tai Chi originally was a very power-demanding martial art and difficult to popularize. But after the training part was removed, Tai Chi quickly spread everywhere. Didn’t you say Tai Chi is popular around here?”

As Du Ruo’s skill levels in various abilities rose, he gained more insight into martial arts worldwide, so he spoke confidently.

“So, Tai Chi became just something old men and women do for exercise? How is that still martial arts?”

Qiangzi was puzzled. Fortunately, they were on the familiar road to the pasture, so a bit of distraction was no issue.

“You hit the point. Nowadays, martial arts are mostly just about fitness. Isn’t that enough? Why bother practicing traditional techniques?”

After saying that, Du Ruo stopped. This was also why he didn’t want to teach Qiangzi martial arts. He guessed that if he went to see that lama, the lama would probably turn him away.