Chapter 29: Miao Ruolan, Heir to Ancient Martial Arts

The surname Miao is rare. Yet within this county, there is a family bearing that name, renowned throughout the area.

“Isn’t it so? They’re from Huashi Bridge. The Miao family practices martial arts. My daughter Diandian, the little girl, doesn’t act much like a woman—she just loves fighting and gets along very well with Miao Ruolan…”

The Miao family, Miao Ruolan!

Lin Xiaosu felt a ripple stir within his heart…

The Miao family—a lineage of ancient martial arts.

In the Great Xia Kingdom, families devoted to ancient martial arts are few, indeed extremely rare.

Why is this so?

Because throughout history, such families have always been viewed with suspicion.

In old times, “heroes used their martial prowess to break the law”—martial arts were synonymous with lawbreaking.

But since the Great Xia Kingdom entered its era of civilization, the rule of law has become the absolute guiding principle. The days of violence and bloodshed have faded away, and so martial arts have gradually lost their purpose.

Those families with ancient martial traditions have become discreet, never publicly flaunting their skills. On the contrary, they deliberately downplay their martial heritage and blend into ordinary society as much as possible. Otherwise, their children would become targets of intense scrutiny from all sides, making life intolerable.

For a long time, the Miao family lived quietly in Huashi Bridge Village, their days indistinguishable from those of any rural household.

It was a chance event that brought this ancient martial family into the spotlight.

Thirty years ago, Miao Ruolan’s father, Miao Sanqiang, clashed with a local bully. The bully, being a native, took advantage of the Miao family’s status as immigrants—their ancestors had moved from Xiaoxiang Province seventy years prior—and rallied more than a dozen men to drive the Miao family out of Huashi Bridge.

At the time, Miao Sanqiang was young and spirited. He stood his ground, and before the eyes of many villagers, performed a martial feat: those hooligans wielding sticks and knives were tossed by him, one after another, more than ten meters away into the foul-smelling ditch. The bully tried to attack from behind, but Miao Sanqiang caught his wrist, applied a gentle force, and the man’s wrist bones were crushed.

That single squeeze sent shockwaves through the entire county.

To crush the wrist bones of a grown man directly—what kind of grip strength was that?

For that squeeze, he compensated the bully’s family with a pig for medical expenses. But from then on, no one dared to offend the Miao family.

Lin Xiaosu’s sudden interest in ancient martial arts stemmed from his own peculiar circumstances.

Everyone knew that physical fitness was Lin Xiaosu’s weakness.

Number 88 knew, Changye knew, even Xin Yue knew.

Of course, he was even more acutely aware.

When he was at 101, he had considered whether to pursue genetic modification.

In the past, even if he had wanted it, it would have been a futile wish, for genetic modification was astronomically expensive—he didn’t know the exact figures, but even a cursory guess told him that it was far beyond what a few vegetable plots could support.

But within Hidden Dragon, anything seemed possible.

If he performed remarkably, Hidden Dragon might even provide genetic modification free of charge.

However, after he had studied the “Emperor Xuan’s Inner Canon” in depth, his resolve wavered.

The Inner Canon’s view of the human body was too advanced, too mysterious.

Within this system, the human body was likened to the cosmos; each meridian, each breath, and every organ was a component of this universal system.

The intricate organs, operating flawlessly, together constituted an almost perfect human body.

Its primary purpose was to elucidate its medical theory.

But Lin Xiaosu focused more on its foundational premise: the human body is inherently complete. If one develops the body itself, one can naturally transcend limitations and gradually unlock human potential.

Whereas “The Principles of Genetics” pursued a completely different path.

It didn’t develop the body itself, but relied on external genes to stimulate the human organism.

Thus, genetic modification had fatal flaws.

Because it disrupted balance—it undermined the body’s natural evolution.

If you accept the fundamental framework of the Inner Canon—that the human body is complete—you should not permit the reckless addition of foreign elements.

Lin Xiaosu’s theory was still forming; he could not yet judge which system was superior. So he decided to wait and see, unwilling to blindly follow the crowd.

Not following the crowd meant he was, for the time being, rejecting genetic modification.

Yet this rejection also meant his physical shortcomings would remain unimproved.

Now, a new solution presented itself…

Ancient martial arts!

Ancient martial arts are internal arts; they maximize physical strength and power without altering one’s own genes.

He didn’t need a body of immense power—just one that wouldn’t become a liability to his vision and reflexes!

“Auntie, let me go tomorrow. I’ll speak to her myself. I have to go to the county town anyway,” Lin Xiaosu said.

“That’s wonderful. These days my mind’s been in turmoil, the weeds have taken over my vegetable plot, and I need to focus for a few days.” Auntie was delighted, her worries for her daughter eased as she returned home.

The next day, Lin Xiaosu went to the county town.

In the South City Development Zone, he arrived at the familiar fighting gym.

It happened to be the weekend, and children were in class.

The elderly security guard greeted him warmly, opened the side door, and handed him a cigarette: “Xiaosu, Director Zhou has said several times he wants to treat you to a meal. Now that you’re here, it’s perfect.”

“Uncle, do you know me?” Lin Xiaosu declined the cigarette, a little puzzled.

“Wasn’t there a child abducted last time? Thanks to you, the child was rescued. I was there that day.” The old man tucked the cigarette behind his ear.

“Your memory’s impressive, Uncle, after all this time.”

“Haha, that’s the skill of a security guard. Truth be told, standing on this street, day after day, I remember pretty much everyone who passes by…” The guard flashed a set of teeth yellowed by tobacco, quite proud. “Pretty much everyone”—that’s what the local dialect meant: roughly, or close enough…

“Uncle, is that teacher named Miao Ruolan here today?”

“She’s here! Let me check if she’s teaching…”

“Or, can I go in and have a look?” Lin Xiaosu asked.

Uncle chuckled, “It wouldn’t be allowed for others, but you’re different. You’re the one who saved the child, you’d never harm the kids…”

Lin Xiaosu went inside.

It was unlike a typical school.

Ordinary schools taught academics; classrooms had desks and blackboards.

Here, they taught fighting; the rooms held only training equipment.

And the spacious outdoor sports ground served as a kind of platform.

Over thirty children formed a circle, and in the center stood a girl who completely upended Lin Xiaosu’s expectations.

So this was Miao Ruolan?

Lin Xiaosu had never seen her, only heard of her, reputed as the direct heir to ancient martial arts.

He had naturally imagined a heroic, spirited female figure.

At the very least, someone like Tiger Girl—a fitting representative of an ancient martial arts lineage.

Yet now, seeing her in person, his expectations were utterly shattered…

She stood barely over one meter fifty, frail and thin, her hair in two braided pigtails, her face still childlike, her features plain. In terms of appearance, perhaps a six out of ten—on the street, she’d vanish in the crowd…

“Classmates!” Three words, spoken softly.

Children in the circle giggled and played. Her voice was as faint as a mosquito’s buzz.

They didn’t hear; she blushed and raised her voice: “Classmates, please listen!”

The children quieted a bit, though there was still noise.

Miao Ruolan said, “Today I’ll teach you how to practice the horse stance. The horse stance is key to training…”

A child interrupted her, “Teacher, before, Mr. Li taught us fighting!”

“I am teaching fighting too—the fundamentals.” Miao Ruolan’s face reddened further. “Watch me demonstrate!”

Her toes slid lightly across the floor as she sank into a horse stance.

Lin Xiaosu’s eyes flew open, his heart pounding wildly…

A single graceful movement, in his eyes, was breathtaking.

Her toes swept the ground like water flowing over earth—so natural, so light.

As her toes moved, dust on the cement floor rose gently, as weightless as her motion.

Yet as she settled into the horse stance, the dust that floated up suddenly fell, forming a Taiji diagram.

This was not simply dust settling; it was under her control. To put it in mystical terms: within a three-meter radius, her stance created a domain—within which even the air obeyed her.

What mastery was this?

Such a movement, light as a feather yet profound as a mountain, struck him harder than the shock brought by genetically modified humans.

“Director Zhou, this teacher… she’s no good!” A woman’s voice called out from the adjacent office.

Lin Xiaosu glanced toward the window—it was Director Zhou’s office. He and a well-dressed young woman sat on either side of the tea table.

“She… she’s an heir to ancient martial arts, taught by her family in this way,” Director Zhou said, a bit embarrassed.

“We brought our children here for exercise, for health—not to learn martial arts. You advertise this place as a fighting gym, yet instead of strengthening their bodies, you have them stand still like fools—what’s the point?” the young woman said. “If you keep this up, I’ll take my child back. The East City Fighting Gym has reached out to me several times.”

“Well… to be honest, I agree there’s a problem, but right now the situation is unusual—Li Diandian hasn’t returned…”

“Director Zhou, we’re old acquaintances. Honestly, Li Diandian wasn’t good! But the new teacher, with the surname Miao, is even worse! To avoid troubling you, I’ll just take my child and leave.”

The young woman stood up.

Director Zhou grew anxious.

She was no ordinary client.

In Fengcheng, she was influential; at least half the students at the fighting gym had come thanks to her.

If she left, student numbers would halve overnight.

If word got out, the rest might not stay.

Without students, his fighting gym would be finished.

“Miss Sun, Sun—please sit down!” Director Zhou hurried to his feet. “I’ve already contacted a new teacher. We haven’t settled salary yet, but I can have him start tomorrow!”

“Oh? What kind of teacher?” Miss Sun asked.

“This teacher is extraordinary! He’s nationally recognized. His fighting skills are featured on provincial television. Here, take a look—these are his credentials…”

From ten meters away, Lin Xiaosu clearly saw Director Zhou showing Miss Sun the name: Li Gang.

He moved his hand and searched for Li Gang on his phone.

The results appeared quickly.

Li Gang, male, 36, technical instructor at Jiangcheng Fighting Gym, graduate of Jiangcheng Fighting Academy, ranked ninth in the national fighting competition, guest commentator for Jiangcheng TV Sports Channel…