After finishing her boxing practice, the woman nodded and smiled at Charles Warren, the onlooker, just as before. Her expression was gentle, but she still didn’t speak, leaving the same way as yesterday.

For several days in a row, it was always like this. Charles Warren got up very early every day and immediately ran to the park woods to watch the woman practice boxing, only to find that no matter how early he arrived, she was always there. But at exactly six in the morning, she would leave on time.

Several times, Charles Warren mustered up the courage to go up and strike up a conversation, but when the words reached his lips, he couldn’t say them.

Every time after finishing her boxing, the woman would smile and nod at Charles Warren, her expression always very kind, giving Charles Warren the feeling of an older sister.

A week passed like this. Although the two hadn’t spoken, Charles Warren felt a sense of familiarity. Finally, when the woman was about to leave, he went up to her and tried to chat: “Sister, what kind of martial art are you practicing?”

The woman smiled: “I practice Guoshu.”

“Guoshu…” Charles Warren had read many martial arts novels and only knew about all sorts of strange martial arts, like “Nine Yin White Bone Claw,” “Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms,” “Toad Skill,” and so on.

Charles Warren also knew those things were fictional. But Guoshu—he had never heard of it.

However, after watching this woman practice boxing for a week, Charles Warren found it amazing. Compared to things like karate, taekwondo, Muay Thai, or sanda, it looked much more impressive.

“What is Guoshu?” Charles Warren asked.

The woman smiled again: “Martial arts that are for killing the enemy, not for performing, are called Guoshu.”

After hearing this, Charles Warren was even more impressed. “Sister, can you teach me?”

The woman carefully looked Charles Warren up and down, then nodded. “You’ve watched me for a week, so you have some perseverance. What’s your name?”

“My name is Charles Warren, I’m sixteen years old, a second-year high school student. What’s your name, sister?” Charles Warren introduced himself.

“My name is Catherine Turner.” The woman always smiled.

Charles Warren noticed that this sister Catherine Turner had smooth, flawless skin on her face, like jade.

“Your foundation isn’t good. You’ve never practiced before. Your waist, legs, and feet are all weak. If you want to learn, I’ll teach you to stand in horse stance first.”

“Horse stance!” Charles Warren felt a bit overwhelmed when he heard that. “Miss Turner, everyone knows that. Do I still need to be taught?”

“Oh? Then try standing for me.” Catherine Turner took two steps and signaled for Charles Warren to squat down.

Charles Warren immediately swung his arms, half-squatted his legs, and stretched his hands out flat, holding still in a steady squat.

“Miss Turner, is this right?”

Catherine Turner didn’t say anything, just smiled and watched.

After a while, Charles Warren’s knees started to ache. After a bit longer, both legs began to tremble, his waist was sore, and soon his whole body felt hot and sweaty on his forehead.

Charles Warren knew he couldn’t hold on any longer, so he stood up and rubbed his aching knees. “Miss Turner, is this right?”

Catherine Turner shook her head. “Standing completely still like that will only strain your lower back muscles. Horse stance, horse stance—the important thing is the word ‘horse.’ You have to stand like a horse.”

“Stand like a horse?” Charles Warren didn’t understand.

“Have you ever seen someone ride a horse?” Catherine Turner’s smile faded. “When a person rides a galloping horse, their body rises and falls with the horse. The horse stance was created by the sages who learned the fundamentals of boxing from riding horses. So when you stand, you also need to rise and fall, as if you’re conjuring a horse beneath you.”

“When riding a galloping horse, the up-and-down force comes from the horse, so you can’t develop real skill. But on flat ground, it’s different. Your rising and falling force is as if you’re merging the horse into your body. If you stand completely still, all your weight is on your knees. If you squat for a long time, your knees will definitely have problems.”

“There’s such a principle?” Charles Warren had never thought that such a simple posture could contain so much.

“Watch how I squat.”

As Catherine Turner spoke, she also took a horse stance. Charles Warren saw her body gently rising and falling, like a breeze rippling the surface of water.

“Come, you try squatting.” Catherine Turner demonstrated, and Charles Warren followed along.

“When you squat, the force must first reach your soles. When you rise, your toes should grip the ground like a chicken’s claws. When all five toes grip, it pulls the bones and muscles of your lower legs, naturally straightening your knees. When your knees are straight, your thighs tense, you lift your waist, and tuck in your abdomen. That’s the rising force.”

“For the sinking force, your soles should be like a duck’s or goose’s webbed feet, with all five toes relaxed. When your knees relax, your thighs relax, your waist sits, and your belly bulges.”

“In this subtle rising and falling, you constantly shift your body’s center of gravity. That way, you won’t always put the weight in one place and injure your body.”

The more Charles Warren listened, the more sense it made. He nodded repeatedly and followed Catherine Turner’s instructions.

At first, Charles Warren couldn’t manage the rising and falling at all, but Catherine Turner was right beside him. Whenever Charles Warren’s force wasn’t in the right place, she would give him a kick.

Wherever Charles Warren was kicked, it felt like a needle prick. The muscle would be stimulated, and all the force in his body would instantly fall into place.

“The amplitude of the rise and fall shouldn’t be big—just about an inch with your toes. As you rise and fall, you must make the force in that inch as precise as possible—the more precise, the better!” Catherine Turner was very strict when teaching.

Sure enough, after mastering this rising and falling, Charles Warren’s standing time increased from five minutes to more than twenty minutes.