I am dying of old age, and I have awakened to the character of longevity.

"Master, you're already fifty years old. Take it easy for a few days. Why are you still practicing martial arts? What if you throw out your back?"

A gray-clothed young man, surrounded by the shop assistants, spoke half with concern and half in jest, eliciting a burst of laughter.

He was Zhang Bing, Xie An's eldest disciple, and his skills in appraising and pricing goods were quite proficient.

During Xie An's convalescence, Zhang Bing mostly handled the appraisal work at the pawnshop. There were no major incidents, and the pawnshop operated smoothly.

Many people were privately speculating that when Old Xie finally kicked the bucket, Zhang Bing would most likely take over the appraiser position.

Xie An was displeased by Zhang Bing's teasing, but he didn't show it. He simply said to Chen Yuan, "I'm just looking for a health exercise to loosen up my body."

Seeing Xie An's serious face, Chen Yuan took out an old book with a black leather cover from his arms and handed it to Xie An, "Old Xie, I've been practicing this half of the Five Animal Frolics for several years, and it's not very useful. Take it easy, and don't actually throw out your back."

Although he was kindly reminding him, his words revealed a hint of regret.

Health exercises require years of consistent practice to make the body stronger. If Xie An had started practicing ten years ago, it might have been useful, but now he only has a few days left to live?

Xie An took the health exercise, thanked him, and turned to leave.

As soon as Xie An left, Zhang Bing leaned over to the counter and muttered, "Shopkeeper, Master is already so old. If something happens to him because of the health exercise you gave him, you'll inevitably be implicated..."

Chen Yuan glared at Zhang Bing, "What? You don't want your master to live a few more years?"

A hint of panic flashed across Zhang Bing's face, barely noticeable. "Of course, I hope Master enjoys a long and healthy life. I'm just worried he'll get injured while practicing."

Chen Yuan lowered his head and continued to play with his cricket, muttering, "Then what are you talking about? Go do your work."

"I'm going, I'm going."

Zhang Bing left listlessly, feeling unhappy.

He had intended to kindly remind the shopkeeper, hoping to curry favor, but he didn't expect to be reprimanded instead.

However, thinking about how Xie An had been walking, shaky and unsteady, it was clear he didn't have many days left to live.

He felt relieved.

Once he became the appraiser, the shopkeeper wouldn't dare to order him around like that.

......

As Xie An left the pawnshop, he happened to see Zhang Bing leaning close to Chen Yuan's ear, whispering with a flattering and fawning expression.

'No wonder he doesn't come to visit his teacher; he's busy trying to bypass me and curry favor with the shopkeeper...'

'Does he really think he's learned the real skills and can bypass me to become the appraiser?'

After transmigrating for thirty years, Xie An hadn't achieved much in other areas, but he had acquired an extraordinary skill in appraising and identifying treasures.

He hadn't taught this unique skill to his disciples.

He would never allow the situation of a disciple starving his teacher to happen to him.

In fact, Xie An's dedication to studying appraisal skills was also out of helplessness.

Returning to the small house in the backyard, Xie An locked the door, sat down, and began to read the Five Animal Frolics.

The Five Animal Frolics was not a proper martial arts manual, but rather a health exercise from the medical profession. It could be bought at the black market outside Wuciao Town. The reason Xie An went to Chen Yuan, despite being teased, was simply to save five taels of silver.

It was much harder to earn money in this world than in his previous life.

Ordinary farmers, after a year of hard work, would only have a harvest of a dozen taels. After deducting costs and labor, it would barely be enough to make ends meet.

A pawnshop's errand boy would earn about four or five taels of silver a year. An appraiser apprentice would earn about seven or eight taels, barely enough to live on.

Xie An, as an appraiser, earned more, about twenty taels a year. It seemed like a lot, but old age brought many ailments, requiring money everywhere. He didn't have much savings, so he had to save where he could.

It was often said that one earned money with their life when young and bought life with money when old, which was no exaggeration.

"Ancient immortals engaged in guiding exercises, turning their necks like owls, stretching their waists and bodies, moving their joints to seek longevity. I have a technique called the Five Animal Frolics. First is the tiger, second is the deer, third is the bear, fourth is the monkey, fifth is the bird..."

The first sentence made Xie An's eyes light up.

Ancient immortals... that sounded very impressive.

After reading it through, Xie An's expression dimmed.

It was said that many authors liked to create gimmicks in the opening, using exaggerated titles to lure readers in before starting to feed them garbage...

The author of this Five Animal Frolics was also a master of gimmicks.

It started with immortals, but the content had nothing to do with immortals.

In short, it was about clearing the meridians, harmonizing qi and blood, activating the muscles and bones, and lubricating the joints, that is, improving physical fitness and enhancing disease resistance.

No wonder Shopkeeper Chen said that he hadn't seen much effect after practicing for several years.

However, Xie An didn't have a better method at the moment, so he could only pin his hopes on the Longevity Fate.

Xie An got up, moved the dining table, cleared a space, and began to practice.

The Five Animal Frolics was a kind of external movement and internal stillness, seeking stillness in movement. There were five classic movements: the tiger searching for food, the deer running, the bear shaking, the monkey picking fruit, and the crane flying.

When practicing, one had to imitate realistically, not only in form but also in spirit, such as the tiger's mighty pounce, the deer's stretching neck and looking back, the monkey's clever agility, the bear's profound steadiness, and the bird's outstretched wings and standing tall.

These movements seemed simple, but it was difficult to imitate them in both form and spirit. One needed to practice stance work first to achieve body coordination.

Xie An wasn't eager to succeed, after all, he had survived for thirty years.

He stepped forward, sank his shoulders, dropped his elbows, tucked his chest, and pulled up his back. He imagined himself as a wooden stake, achieving body coordination, with his lower body completely still.

The movement looked simple, similar to the horse stance in his previous life, but the standards were much higher.

In just a few moments, Xie An was drenched in sweat, and the muscles in his hands and feet were cramping.

In less than a quarter of an hour, Xie An collapsed on the ground, panting heavily, feeling like his old bones were about to fall apart.

"I thought that only martial arts required learning stance work, but I didn't expect this health exercise to be no exception."

If it weren't for this golden finger, Xie An really wouldn't want to suffer this pain for nothing.

Now that he had the hope of increasing his lifespan and immortality, he had to give it his all, no matter how hard or tiring it was.

"Again."

Practicing until noon, there was a knock on the door.

"Master, it's time for lunch."

It was He Chunli who brought lunch again.

Xie An opened the door and couldn't help but take a closer look at He Chunli, "Where's Zhang Bing?"

He Chunli hung his head, "Brother Zhang went to the Li family, saying he had important matters to report to Master Li."

Having failed to curry favor with the shopkeeper by bypassing him, he was now trying to curry favor with Master Li by bypassing two levels?

In this world, when taking a disciple, one had to straighten their clothes, wash their hands, perform the bowing ceremony, present a gift, offer tea to the master, and observe filial piety.

Disciples had to provide for their master's old age and burial.

Being a teacher for a day meant being a father for life, which wasn't just empty words.

Otherwise, why would masters risk teaching their disciples, who might then starve them to death, and pass on their skills?

Although Xie An was still a slave, it wasn't uncommon for slaves to be skilled workers in this world. When he took in his three disciples, although the etiquette was simple, there was still a formal apprenticeship ceremony.

Earlier, when Zhang Bing and the other disciples took him as their master, they all said they would provide for Xie An's old age and burial.

Now that he was about to fall, Zhang Bing was not only neglecting and cold, but also eager to replace him.

This undoubtedly crossed Xie An's bottom line.

"I understand, go and be busy."

Xie An took the tray and returned to the room.

A bowl of white rice and a bowl of tofu soup.

Although there was no meat, Xie An was already hungry after a morning of stance work. He ate the meal quickly and continued to practice.

Practicing until dusk, Xie An once again collapsed on the ground, exhausted.

He clearly felt a warm current flowing in the lower abdomen, slowly flowing through his limbs and bones, and the back pain had slightly improved.

The next moment, two lines of small characters appeared before his eyes:

【Current health exercise: Five Animal Frolics (Beginner: 1/100)】

【Hint: Completing Beginner will increase lifespan by six years】