The Perilous Transmission of the Sunflower Manual

In the enveloping darkness, I could not discern my master’s features, nor could I truly see his expression. Yet, I sensed a faint joy emanating from him as I nodded my agreement.

However, the realization that his happiness came at the cost of his own sacrifice brought a warmth to the corners of my eyes. My throat constricted, leaving me speechless.

My subtle shift in emotion naturally eluded none of his perception. I heard him seemingly compose himself.

Then, in that same detached tone, he spoke softly, “Disciple, instead of wasting your thoughts on your master, you would do well to worry about yourself.”

“Your disciple is dull-witted,” I murmured through gritted teeth. “I do not understand what I should be concerned about.”

He let out a long sigh, speaking languidly. “My foolish disciple, your master observes that you have been practicing martial arts for quite some time. How could you overlook such a crucial point?”

“Inner energy cultivation, though seemingly simple, is paramount. Especially this forceful infusion of true qi—it is exceedingly perilous. A single misstep, and you could succumb to qi deviation. Is this not something you should be concerned about?”

He paused again, a glint flashing once more in his eyes.

“Furthermore, you haven’t even inquired of your master what chances of success there are in transmitting this true qi to you. Are you not afraid that your master’s attempt might not even have a ten percent chance?” By this point, his tone had grown noticeably severe.

“Your disciple is not afraid!” I answered firmly.

“Why?” he demanded, staring at me. “Do you trust your master so completely? Do not forget, it has been less than an hour since you formally became my disciple. Though we bear the titles of master and disciple, in truth, we are no different from strangers. How can you be so trusting of your master? Are you not afraid I might harm you?”

“Your disciple is not afraid! Since Master is risking his lifelong cultivation, even his very life, your disciple, though shallow in experience and ignorant of the dangers of the martial world, understands that if a person treats me with sincerity, I shall reciprocate with sincerity.”

“Since Master has entrusted his life to your disciple, your disciple can only entrust his own life in return!” My words were infused with a surge of emotion.

Yet, even as I spoke, two streams of gentle, yin-aligned inner energy slowly flowed into my pulse points. My agitated mind was soothed by this chilling true qi, and I involuntarily calmed.

“Indeed, if a person treats me with sincerity, I shall reciprocate with sincerity. This must be another one of those ‘crooked truths’ your mother taught you, eh… My good disciple, if that is the case, your master must exert his utmost effort, lest your entrusted life be cast to the flowing eastern waters!”

He spoke in a deep voice, the previous annoyance having vanished from his tone.

Just as I was about to reply, I heard him whisper another instruction. “Do not let your mind wander, no more idle thoughts! Sink your qi to your dantian, embrace the primordial unity!”

His words possessed an inherent authority, commanding respect without anger, leaving no room for rebuttal.

Hearing the gravity in his voice, I immediately complied. I closed my eyes, quietly gathering the true qi from my entire body into my dantian, then calmed my mind and breath, regulating my respiration with the qi.

“Your master will first impart to you the introductory principles of the *Sunflower Manual*. Later, during the transmission of power, if you experience any blockage in your inner breath, you must use these principles to gently guide it. Have you understood?” he said in a deep voice, seeing that I had composed my mind.

I nodded slowly, concentrating as he recited the short, hundred-odd character principles three times. I committed them to memory, albeit in a somewhat crude, “swallowing dates whole” fashion.

“These introductory principles are the essence of the *Sunflower Manual*. Alas, different people interpret them differently. For now, your master does not expect you to memorize them perfectly; understanding the general meaning will suffice. Once the power transmission is complete, your master will then impart the full *Sunflower Manual* to you!” he continued slowly.

I nodded again, a sudden flicker of joy igniting within my heart.

‘He will teach me after the power transmission… Does this mean Master believes he will suffer no ill effects after imparting his cultivation to me?’

“Dispel all distracting thoughts! Focus and silently recite!”

Just as that flicker of joy stirred within me, I heard my master let out a sharp cry. Feeling a pang of shame, I immediately reined in my thoughts, banishing all extraneous notions.

As my mind became singularly focused, I suddenly felt the master’s withered hands, which had been resting on my wrist pulse points, abruptly release. Then, my arms were involuntarily lifted upwards by a surge of power.

A chill swept over my body. My upper garments had been silently removed. Following this, a swirling force brushed against me, causing me to turn my back while remaining cross-legged.

Next, I felt a slight coolness at the *Zhiyang* acupoint on my back. A hand had already pressed there, and an incredibly pure, yin-aligned, and utterly frigid true qi slowly diffused from that palm into my meridians.

Initially, it traveled throughout my body, spreading out like rivers branching into tributaries. Ultimately, however, it converged into my dantian, like all rivers flowing into the sea.

I felt the warm yang qi, originally gathered in my dantian, instantly collide with that surge of yin energy. It was as if a thousand miles of land had been suddenly frozen solid, followed by an empty desolation as if ice had melted away.

****

I recall that not long after, having received the master’s cultivation, I meticulously recounted the entire convoluted story of how I came to be in my current state to Fourth Brother and the other two in our dormitory.

As I detailed this bizarre and exceedingly rare experience, all three of them were left speechless, their tongues clicking in astonishment. After a long period of silence, it was Yang Chun, the second oldest in the dorm, who finally broke the quiet.

I watched as that fellow, with a strangely solemn expression, clicked his tongue and said, “Tsk, so it was a ‘rear entry’ style after all! Hey, Fourth Brother, didn’t it occur to you then to shout out a few ‘Ichidai, Ichidai, Yamete’ or something to liven up the atmosphere?”

Initially, seeing his grave demeanor, I had expected him to offer some profound and insightful wisdom on the matter. I never imagined he would come out with *that*!

****

Putting aside Yang Chun, who could always link anything to vulgar matters, I was indeed immersed and utterly unable to extricate myself from the sensation of being plunged into an ice cellar, my body sealed by frigid ice.

All the warmth throughout my body felt as though it was converging into my dantian, only to then dissipate completely. An unending chill was all that remained within me.

Yet, for some unknown reason, I did not find that pervasive cold unpleasant; in fact, I felt an inexplicable sense of closeness to it.

Subsequently, that icy sensation abruptly erupted from within my dantian, surging like a rampant flood beast through my eight extraordinary meridians, and indeed, through every limb and bone!

In that very moment, the initial sensation of comfort abruptly vanished. That profound, eerie cold felt as though it possessed the power to consume the soul and pierce the bones, making me instantly feel as if every part of my body were frozen solid by ice and snow.

Remarkably, from within that extreme cold, a paradoxical sensation arose, as if I were being incinerated by a raging fire, forged and tempered a thousand times over!

Such agony was almost beyond words to describe. The incredibly pure, utterly yin-aligned, and frigid true qi seemed to forge itself into a colossal furnace of ice and snow.

It trapped me within, mercilessly using the bone-piercing cold as its flames, utterly destroying and then reshaping my entire being.

I wanted to cry out in pain, but found that every part of my body no longer obeyed me.

Abruptly, I could endure no more, and I lost consciousness…