Murim's Weakest Princess-Chapter 85: Straw Mattress Obstacle Course (1)

When Anji first attempted to roll, as the book suggested, she faced her first obstacle. Zhao Mingfeng demonstrated the roll in a very cool form. Anji thought the movement looked simple. It resembled a round pebble as long as she tucked her knees towards her chest and curled her spine with her head looking at her belly. However, when she assumed the ready position, she rolled backwards instead of forwards.

Mingfeng did his best not to laugh at the surprised look on his daughter’s face. He should have known this would be a tad too difficult on her. Unlike her golden core and knowledge, Anji was still a tofu princess, as Doctor He described. She did not have the same amount of strength and coordination a regular four-year-old child had. The Rolling Panda Martial Arts might be a tad too ambitious for her.

Clearing his throat to hide his amusement at Anji’s confusion, Mingfeng decided to change this week’s lesson. They should prioritise building Anji’s physical stamina and power first before incorporating any martial arts.

"How about running lapses first?" Anji’s father suggested. "At this rate, it won’t be a rolling panda but a rolling dumpling. We need to strengthen your muscles and practise some coordination movements first."

Anji readily agreed. Although she had learned some basic martial arts from Gu Ying and her mother under Doctor He’s strictly regulated guidance, it was not enough. In the past two months with her shifu, Anji had barely left the hut. Any strength or muscles she gained before would have deteriorated. Apart from the muscles that she used to walk, pick up objects and sit, Anji did not practise anything else.

Instead of running in the courtyard, Mingfeng shifted the straw mattresses, creating several obstacles and a new running route that involved climbing up and down some stacked mattresses as part of her track.

"We will not be timing your progress for the first run," Mingfeng told his daughter. "Follow the course and don’t mind the speed. Remember that safety comes first, no matter your progress." freeweɓnovel.cѳm

Feeling excited for the interesting obstacle and running track, Anji bounced on the balls of her feet. Due to her poor health, she had never been given the chance to climb on objects. Her mother barely let her climb any stairs and most times, Lizi would carry her when they had to climb more than a flight of stairs. The stacked straw mattresses rolled up appeared like bouncy boulders. Anji could not wait to jump on them later.

Clapping his hands to mark the start of the obstacle course, Mingfeng watched as his daughter shot off. Although Anji wasn’t a quick runner, she had the brightest smile as she ran.

The first stretch was easy. Anji ran on the straight path, guided by straw mattresses, and prepared herself mentally to face the first obstacle. Although the straw mattresses were not stacked very tall, and Anji could easily run over them, they were still difficult to walk on due to the uneven surface. Given how weak her ankles were, Anji had to be careful of twisting them on accident and causing more injury to herself.

Slowing down as she approached the first obstacle of scattered straw mattresses, Anji stomped on them as she flailed her arms in an attempt to balance herself. Mingfeng watched as his daughter struggled with her gait and balancing sense. Although she understood the basics of balancing her body, Anji’s lack of core muscles made it difficult for her to keep her upper body upright. Even her legs weren’t bending effectively to lower the centre of gravity in such situations to provide for a more stable balance. His youngest daughter was lacking experience. Studying from books could only go so far. Even Mingshen had to experiment with his theories to determine how to implement them practically.

After waddling through the fallen mattresses, Anji finally reached the solid wooden floor again. Knowing how much time she had lost from the first obstacle, Anji picked up the pace despite her tired thighs. When the going gets tough, the tough get going!

Curving a short corner, Anji faced a new obstacle. This time, three layers of straw mattresses were stacked vertically on top of each other, creating a mini wall that reached the height of Anji’s waist. Although she could go around this, the mattress path seemed to be commanding her to climb over it instead. Confronting the mattress hill, Anji used both hands to prop herself on the mattress, leaning her chest forward, hoping she had enough strength to pull herself on it horizontally.

It was tougher than it looked. Anji failed the first attempt when her little legs dangled from the side, unable to reach the top of the mattress. Without enough arm strength and friction to stay on top of the mattresses, Anji slipped back down.

Backing away from the mattress fort, Anji decided to pick up speed and use the momentum to gain a little more space at the top of the mattress. She should be able to reach the top of these piled mattresses by stepping on the sides of it. Unlike wooden blocks, straw mattresses would take the shape of a heavier object on top of it. Anji hoped she could create at least one temporary foothold with this method.

Mingfeng observed his daughter. Other children might have fumbled after failing the first attempt or retry using the same method, further exhausting themselves in the process. However, his daughter worked differently, exploring a new method. As she backed away and rechallenged the mattress hill, Mingfeng noted how uncoordinated Anji was when she moved backwards. They would have to work on that as well.

After jumping onto the stacked mattresses, Anji managed to flop her abdomen onto them with her hands. Without wasting the opportunity, she held her breath and flung the other leg upwards, succeeding in bringing it to the top. From here, it was easy to roll onto her back to bring the other leg up.

Anji sat on top of the stacked mattresses for a while to catch her breath and surveyed the remaining obstacles on her running track. There were only two more obstacles. However, she was already breathless from climbing.

Carefully turning to her belly, Anji slid down the mattress stack and only released her hands when she felt her toes touching the ground. It was a safe dismount, and Mingfeng nodded in approval. However, the next course did not have such an option, and he was curious to know what Anji would do then.

Jogging along the track, Anji confidently climbed the mattress steps. The top of the mattress staircase reached Anji’s forehead. However, it was easier to climb the mattress stairs instead of the mattress wall. However, Anji soon realised the hidden challenge. According to the law of gravity, whatever that went up must eventually go down. The new height scared her a little. She hasn’t mustered the Rolling Panda Arts yet and was not confident she should be rolling from such a height.

The worried father moved closer to observe Anji and, as a precaution, to catch her should she make a reckless dismount. A similar technique from earlier could have minimised the impact on Anji’s ankles upon contact with the ground. However, dismounting from such a height also required better balance and more courage. Lowering the centre of gravity and distance from the fall to the ground was the key to this obstacle.

Contemplating for a long while, Anji weighed her options. She wasn’t strong enough to push a straw mattress down herself to cushion her fall. However, if she held onto the straw mattress while sliding down on her butt, she might be able to turn that into a slow-falling slide.

Sitting on the edge of the tall stack of mattresses, Anji swung her legs and kicked at the stack repeatedly while clinging onto the top mattress layer, leaning backwards for safety. Her actions made Mingfeng and Lizi worry as the top mattress started sliding forward. Gu Ying’s eyes were sharp as she kept an eye on her young mistress. Oblivious to their concerns, Anji kept going until half her butt was hanging out on the edge with the straw mattress that was slipping.

Although the mattress moved, There wasn’t enough weight to push it over the edge yet. Anji decided to change her strategy a little. Lying her back down completely and sliding backwards a little more, Anji kicked both legs forward in the air as if she were jumping horizontally. The new momentum rocked the tall stack of mattresses lightly as it swayed more, making the top mattress slide even further. Eventually, it tilted forward enough to tip the stack over along with Anji, who slowly descended with a short scream.

Correcting her lateral posture into a vertical one, when her view of the ceiling changed into the obstacle course, Anji braced for impact and bent both knees, anticipating the impact when her feet touched the ground. Gu Ying and Lizi were about to jump in but Mingfeng held his hand arm to stop them from interfering. Anji could handle this. Although it was not part of the Rolling Panda Arts, her falling technique was similar to a cat’s.

Landing on the ground with an oomph, Anji bounced from the recoil of her own weight and landed backwards on the mattress. She had the air knocked out of her lungs, but the fall hurt less than she expected it to. After regaining her bearings and shaking away the dizziness that accompanied the fall, Anji got up with some difficulty and walked towards the last obstacle of her course.

Unlike the first three obstacles that required Anji to go over, this new course required Anji to go under. The mattresses were stacked in a way that created only a small tunnel for Anji to crawl through. However, it was too short for her to get on her knees. Instead, she had to crawl on her stomach like a worm.

Unfazed by the narrow space or darkness, Anji lay flat on her stomach and wriggled her way through the tunnel. Her progress was slower than a tortoise’s, but she eventually made it out of the tunnel. Mingfeng mentally noted Anji’s lack of arm muscles. His youngest daughter was using more of her thighs and butt to wriggle through this tunnel instead of forearms to pull her forward. They would have to work on that.