Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
“Lou!”
Accustomed to being addressed that way by Smith, Lou Cheng habitually turned to the voice, but only saw two America students he didn’t recognize.
With Lou Cheng’s gaze on them, George and Wildon grew in excitement, spitting out words— with slang mixed in between— at the rate of a machine gun. Their speeches overlapped into an incoherent mess, to which Lou Cheng listened laboriously with his merely passable comprehension skills. The only part he caught was the familiar mention of the King of Youth Pro League.
Ironically, the senior bodyguard who had distanced himself from Lou Cheng understood most of the conversation.
Hm, from what they said, that Asian kid seems to have placed top four in a competition called ‘King of Youth Pro League’, and is the idol of those two students...
Never heard any competitions of that name... They must be avid fans of the Chinese culture, the kind that loves and pursues the somewhat mysterious “kungfu”...
After evaluating, the security agent regarded Lou Cheng with more respect. He took out an encrypted phone and began contacting his headquarters.
As a professional bodyguard, whenever unidentified targets possessing decent strength showed up around the protected target, it was his onus to cautiously look up the individual’s antecedents and take precaution to prevent accidents.
“Target has attended ‘King of Youth Pro League’, he was addressed as ‘Low’,” he reported, replacing Lou Cheng’s surname with a similar-sounding word. “Please respond ASAP.”
After sending the message, he clutched the phone tightly in his hand and waited for the reply. At the same time, he watched Lou Cheng warily, observing the interactions between him and the students.
At that moment, his phone buzzed, vibrating so violently that it almost slid out of his grip and headed towards freedom.
The senior bodyguard held it up and took a look. Words in an alarming red were appearing on the screen one after another.
“EXTREMELY DANGEROUS!”
“DO NOT APPROACH!”
“STAY AWAY FROM HIM!”
“RUN!”
...
Oh, my god...The senior bodyguard froze for a few seconds, then subconsciously moved away from Lou Cheng.
After thoroughly processing the situation in his head, he repressed his fear and burst into the classroom. Grabbing his client, he said, in hurried whispers,
“We have to leave, right now! Go! Go! Go!”
Whether or not the target in question harbored ill intentions, retreating is always the right move!
The small episode did not catch Lou Cheng’s attention. With Yan Zheke’s interpretation, he roughly understood that the two students he met were avid fans of his. He smiled faintly in response.
The freckled youth with brown hair, Wildon, excitedly showered him with another round of praises, and at the end of it he asked with nervous anticipation,
“Are you free lately? Would you like to come down to my Martial Arts Interest Club? If we can hear you tell us about the wonders of Chinese kungfu, that would be even better.”
George silently cussed at his high-strung companion’s lack of eloquence. He quickly added, “In the University of Connecticut, there is an interest club formed by martial arts lovers, which we are a part of. We are all very interested in martial arts, and we would really like to hear some detailed insights from you...”
Lou Cheng was holding Yan Zheke’s hand and felt the girl’s enthusiastic response when she heard words related to a Martial Arts Interest Club. Lou Cheng understood. Tilting his head, he chuckled and asked,
“Would you like a little workout?”
Since coming to America in August, other than daily training and my occasional tutorials, Ke Ke hasn’t been able to enjoy combat in a long time— an ordeal for a zealous martial artist with past combat experiences.
With her husband beside her, she didn’t have much to worry about. After hesitating shortly, she nodded her head with feigned reluctance and twinkling eyes.
“I guess we can go take a look in the afternoon. I have no classes anyway,” she said.
“Okay.” With that, Lou Cheng turned to George and Wildon, and said with an affable smile, “Is it alright if we go in the afternoon? At around two o’clock.”
“Of course! There won’t be any problems, not at all!” The blonde youth, George, came close to doing a knee slide in celebration.
After confirming the address, Lou Cheng waved goodbyes to the two foreigner fans. Hand in hand, he and Yan Zheke walked towards the outside of the campus.
“Aiya!” The girl came to a sudden stop. “I didn’t bring my martial arts suit and shoes...” she exclaimed ruefully.
Now I can’t sweat it out!
Ke Ke, where did your air of reluctance go... Lou Cheng thought in amusement.
“Why do you think I told them we’ll go at two?” he said placidly.
I left just enough time for us to drive home and collect her things!
Yan Zheke turned back with a puzzled look. After studying him with wide eyes for ten seconds or so, a smile broke out on her face. She gave a thumbs-up.
“Ten points to Cheng!”
It took me so long to realize... Oh no, it feels as if Cheng is smarter than me now... Bah, nonsense! It must be because I’m sleepy.
The unpleasant thought prompted her to change the subject. “So, what are we having for lun—”
Before she finished her sentence, she remembered something. She took her phone out, unlocked the screen, and began tapping on the screen with her head hung low. Lou Cheng did something similar.
Before long, the girl waved her phone, and suggested with a note of pride,
“Let’s eat at this seafood restaurant located in the nearby commercial building. It has been in business for decades here in Connecticut.”
Despite my busy study schedule, I made this guide during my spare time!
Glancing at the addresses, routes and restaurant names displayed on the girl’s phone screen, Lou Cheng laughed abruptly. Holding out his phone, he displayed the exact same images and words on his screen.
“What a coincidence! I made a guide too!” he said, smiling.
Yan Zheke peered. A flower-like smile spread out on her face.
A close to telepathic connection existed between the two of them, as though they were constantly on the same wavelength. The two ambled forth, hand in hand, following the route on the map. Occasionally, they exchanged glances, then smiled and looked away. Students passed by them, and around them, snow weighed the branches down.
It was two o’clock in the afternoon, at the Martial Arts Interest Club.
Yan Zheke had already tied her hair into a ponytail and changed into a white martial arts suit with black trim. Youthful and elegant, her beauty was almost blinding. George, Wildon and her other classmates could hardly take their eyes off her. They could not believe they were seeing the prim-and-proper Sophia.
Though standards of beauty differed between the two countries, years of cultural exchanges have made true beauty recognizable.
Sophia’s features are so delicate, but there isn’t much to say about her figure... George and Wildon exchanged glances of silent lament.
They were loyal advocates of bountiful bosoms and big bottoms, which was why they found a certain Susan extremely sexy. In comparison, Yan Zheke was more like an angel who was soothing to look at.
After shooting the breeze, knowing what his wife had in mind, Lou Cheng suggested a spar.
“With her?” George gasped, pointing at the slender Yan Zheke.
“You got a problem with that?” Yan Zheke said with a hint of anger after being discriminated.
The image of “Ren Li”, who looked like a doll or manga character, came to George’s mind. He quickly shook his head.
“No, not at all!”
Lou Cheng laughed. He raised his right hand to announce the start of the match.
George concentrated and struck a boxing pose. He took a tentative step and started with a hook. With a twitch of her shoulder, Yan Zheke’s arm thrust at her opponent’s throat like a spear, producing a snappy sound. He quickly raised his fists and tucked in his chin to defend himself.
Springing her joints and stretching her fascias, the girl began executing 24 Blizzard Strikes. After three punches in a row, with a sudden twist of her hips, she kicked out at a low angle with a taut leg. George, who was already slightly disoriented, was too focused on defending his upper body to dodge the low kick. The kick hit its mark, recoiling the right leg he raised to block backward. He toppled forward.
“Next,” Lou Cheng said to Wildon as he caught the falling George.
Technique-wise, the white youth was only at the level of an Amateur Third Pin. He was, however, blessed with good physique. His arms were powerful, and altogether he was roughly at the level of an Amateur First Pin. It was a pity that he didn’t get a chance to use them.
Wildon was slightly weaker than George, but Yan Zheke was eager for battle, so she extended the fight as long as possible by forfeiting opportunities. The fight ended, unsurprisingly, with Wildon’s defeat. He almost puked on the spot after taking a sliding punch imbued with Meteor Force.
Next up was a white girl, Colleen. Yan Zheke switched to a style that imbued all the knowledge she had accumulated through the recent period of watching Lou Cheng’s fights.
After beating five Martial Arts Interest Club members in a row, her stamina had significantly diminished, and she was in a lethargic state. Her forehead was covered with a thin layer of sweat. Therefore she opted to stop and take a break.
Wiping off the sweat on his girl’s forehead, Lou Cheng asked George and Wildon airily,
“Are you two from the Geruga Sect?”
“Used to be...” Wildon replied bitterly.
In a similar tone, George added, “We left because we couldn’t become martial arts disciples even after years...”
“What’s the problem?” Lou Cheng asked interestedly.
“We couldn’t awaken our ‘Own Spirit’,” sighed George. He looked at Lou Cheng with anticipation. “Lou, do you think we have hopes of mastering Chinese kungfu?”
If you couldn’t awaken your “Own Spirit”, then entering Solemn Silence wouldn’t be an easy task for you... Of course, there are many different systems of martial arts, and they all focus on different things, so it’s not impossible for them to enter Solemn Silence...
“Relaxing the mind and concentrating are prerequisites of most kungfu and martial arts Sects. However, everyone has their own ways of doing it. The Geruga Sect uses self-hypnosis, while the Mission Sect leaves their worries to God. In our country, we emphasize purifying impure thoughts and seeking inner peace through daily training... If you can’t do that, then you can only put your hopes on the advancements in modern technology or cultish kungfu.”
“We could feel our surroundings quieten down when we practiced Geruga, but we never found, as they called it, our ‘Own Spirit’,” said Wildon vexedly.
Could it be the defensive mechanisms of their bodies at work? They could have been subconsciously rejecting self-hypnosis.
Seeing the Martial Arts Interest Club members gathered around him, he brooded, then said,
“I’ll demonstrate a set of movements. Try feeling it.”
He shed his jacket and handed it to Yan Zheke. Forming a stance, he punched out slowly, then withdrew his arm slowly. There wasn’t anything special in between his movements, and it was too slow to be practical in actual combat.
George and Colleen watched blankly, not knowing what he was getting at. But gradually, they felt as though Lou Cheng’s moves conjured a scene of a gentle lake beneath spreading clouds— a scene that put everyone at peace. They couldn’t bring themselves to disrupt the operations of nature or startle the state of peace their minds were in.
They were far away from the city and its clamors. At that moment, an azure and enigmatic ocean reflecting the streaming moonlight seemed to have appeared before them.
When Lou Cheng’s movements slowed down to a stop, he was surrounded by silence, as though he was in a church right after Sunday prayers.
“There’s hope for all those who managed to quiet down just now,” he said with a faint smile, taking his clothes back from Yan Zheke’s hands, before whispering. “Want to go for a few more rounds? Or should we wash up and head back?”
“Let’s wash up when we get home. I forgot to bring shampoo and face wash...” the girl replied, nibbling on her lips. She felt like an idiot today.
Lou Cheng stifled a laugh at his throat. Grabbing the girl’s hand, he waved to George and Wildon, then strolled towards the entrance of the Martial Arts Interest Club.
At that moment, George and the others finally came back to their senses, feeling as though they just sat through a cathartic symphony. Lou Cheng and Yan Zheke’s silhouette disappeared by the door.
“Is this what you derived from learning the Enemy Heart Freezing Move?” whispered Yan Zheke, switching back to Chinese.
“Yes. Nothing gets past Coach Yan’s sharp eyes.”
...
At the same time, a security company was sending out warning messages to all of its business associates and partners.
“Lou Cheng of Wuyue Club from China has appeared in Connecticut City! Extreme Danger Grade.”
“Lou?” Inside the Msasi Martial Arts Gym, a young man with black hair and brown eyes read the message with keen interest. His lips curled upwards and a star-like radiance glimmered in his eyes.