Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
Friday night, at Zhaofeng Street.
Having worn black-framed glasses and made slight adjustments to his facial muscles, Lou Cheng looked entirely like someone else. Walking through the milling crowd, not a single person saw through his disguise.
This was a disguise technique made possible by his mastery in All-seeing God. However, due to limitations of bone structures, he couldn’t make disguise himself as someone else. Still, it was ample to make himself look starkly different from himself.
“It’s lively here, even though it isn’t a provincial capital or big city...” mumbled Lou Cheng. As he looked around, he often took out his phone to snap photos and send them to his wife, who just arrived at her lecture room.
Their opponent this time was overwhelmingly strong. To give themselves ample time for preparations, Longhu Club arrived at Zhaofeng City two days in advance.
After dinner, Lou Cheng studied on some relevant videos for a while. Then, he went out for a stroll to relax. Needless to say, it was rather unprofessional of him.
Sigh, after all, I’m not a martial arts fanatic like Guo Jie. Everyone needs a break sometimes, he reasoned internally. To his surprise, he realized that the street of Zhaofeng was choked with martial arts dojos. They were essentially everywhere. There were even dojo advertisements pasted all over the utility poles, making it a worthy opponent for the Chinese clinics.
Zoning out for a few seconds, Lou Cheng recalled interview program he saw in the past. In that program, they jested that Zhaofeng City was the city of dojos.
Daxing Temple was famous in China, so there were always mountains of people lining up in the hope of enrollment. However, only a small portion of that gets selected. As for the ones that got rejected, some proceed to try their luck at martial arts schools affiliated with the likes of Shangqing Sect, Shushan Study, and Longhu Club. Others choose to stay and look for another way out.
There was also an exodus of outer disciples from Daxing Temple every year. Some return to their hometowns, some venture to the big cities, and some stay at Zhaofeng after seeing a business opportunity. Martial arts schools and dojos were opened up by people who advertised themselves to be authentic Daxing Temple disciples. Business flourished.
The trailblazers struck gold, and so the dojos kept growing in scale. At the same time, the number of imitators increased. Daxing Temple silently consented such behavior to rival against the government-funded martial arts schools. When promising late-bloomers emerge from these dojos, they will indubitably be recommended to the Daxing Temple, given the dojo master’s connection to it. Even if they weren’t accepted in the end, Daxing Temple would remember it as an act of goodwill.
In the Jianghu, favors beget favors, and more connections mean more insurance!
After years of development, Zhaofeng City was flooded with dojos and martial art schools. Students arrived from all over the country, bringing their elders along with them. This, in turn, boosted the economy, which includes the housing industry, the agricultural industry, the entertainment industry, and the service industry. It also contributed a lot to the GDP and tax revenue.
At first, the Zhaofeng City government thought of it as a hindrance to the city’s economic directions and was against the trend. Afterward, they began closing their eyes to it, and even relished the profits it brought.
There were also many dojos in Huahai, Huacheng, Gaofen, and Moshang, but they were considered small businesses at the end of the day. On the other hand, in Zhaofeng City, it was a pivotal industry!
It’s rather interesting, thought Lou Cheng, how every city has its own unique features. Peering ahead, he saw signs that said Dabei Dojo, Daci Dojo, Dayuan Dojo, and Daxing Sister Temple. As far as what he could see, business was good. They trained students in the day and operated as a gym in the night.
Snap! Snap! Snap! He took a few pictures. Just as he was about to send them to Yan Zheke, he suddenly saw a few urban management officers walking towards him. With stern expressions, they held up warning hands.
“Delete the photos you have just taken!”
... What’s going on... Puzzled, Lou Cheng gave them a quizzical look.
He dipped his head and browsed through the pictures he had just taken. In the corner of one of them, he spotted an officer disciplining a street vendor.
I guess this is what you call collateral damage... They are afraid that I would post it on Weibo and make it into something big... Lou Cheng laughed at the realization.
Why do I always get into trouble with red-armband grannies and urban management officers?
They either want to delete my photos or fine me!
His mouth twitched slightly. Before the officers could say anything else, he suddenly stepped back and disappeared into the crowd.
“...” The officers were briefly stunned. Then, they gave chase.
“Back when I was in the dojo, they called me the man who flies on grass!” said one of them excitedly.
A few steps later, he suddenly stopped. He had completely lost track of Lou Cheng in the vast crowd.
“Forget it. It’s not like we did anything wrong,” said one of his colleague, turning back and shaking his hand. “That fella’s clearly an outstanding disciple from one of these dojos. His movements, damn, I almost thought he vanished into thin air.”
In Zhaofang, even a vendor selling skewered meat could be a martial artist. Who knows, they might even be practitioners of Iron Sand Palm or Metal Head Kungfu. They were used to it by now.
In an avenue a distance away, Lou Cheng sensed that they had stopped chasing him and smiled smugly.
Good thing I’m faster than the reporters from the West, he thought.
The episode didn’t really dampen his mood—it would be his own loss if he were to take these trivial things to heart.
“Almost got fined again!” wrote Lou Cheng exaggeratingly in a message to Yan Zheke.
Why did I say again...
Ke Ke’s class had just ended.
“What foul deed did you do this time! Did you crush other’s floorings by stepping on them? Did you break the poor trees on the walkway? Or did you rip apart someone’s bicycle chain? [holds back laughter]”
“Don’t make it sound like I’m obsessed with destroying things... I merely took a few pictures, see... [shrugs]” He told the story to Yan Zheke. They laughed about it for a while.
When her attention was back on her studies, he continued wandering aimlessly. Suddenly, he saw a boisterous noodle restaurant with a line that almost choked the pedestrian walkway. There was even a considerable number of people eating their noodles while squatting by the road.
That ought to be good... He walked towards the store enthusiastically. Meanwhile, he checked the ratings of the restaurant on the internet. It was indeed a renowned store with reviewers singing their praises.
Just as he was going to squeeze inside to order, he suddenly saw a familiar face squatting by the road.
Looking closer, it nearly started him.
What the, isn’t that Coach Lü?!
Despite also putting on a disguise by distorting his facial muscles, his stern air and detestable arrogance still stood out in the crowd.
He...him squatting by the roadside eating noodles?!
Coach Lü doing something like this almost seemed unimaginable!
Sensing his gaze, Lü Yan swiftly turned around and saw Lou Cheng.
His face darkened, then turned his head and faced his bowl, as though he was trying to tell him: you got the wrong person.
Now isn’t this awkward... Lou Cheng felt a twitch at his mouth. Following the line, he paid at the counter and proceeded to wait for his meal.
After collecting his bowl of noodles, he planned to squat beside Lü Yan. Through my actions, I’ll let him know that we are all the same, so there’s no need to be awkward, he thought. However, by the time he went out, Coach Lü was nowhere to be seen. An empty bowl and a pair of chopsticks remained at where he originally sat, waiting to be collected by the waiter.
I can almost hear him shouting “Don’t group me together with you!” angrily, thought Lou Cheng. He smiled self-deprecatingly and squat down. As he slurped on his noodles, he glanced at the street across.
Across the street, there was a row of stores that sold Buddhism-related items, like “blessed statue of Buddha”, all sorts of prayer beads, Buddhist equipment, and stuff like scriptures and Śarīras. This was another specialty of Zhaofeng.
These noodles are so good, though Lou Cheng. It’s a pity that I didn’t run into the Living Buddha, or I’ll make him pay for his previous ‘dine-and-dash’...
...
In a meditation room in Daxing Temple.
Stroking his tummy, Shishan looked out of the window. His mind had gone to the stalls at the night market.
Ultimately, there was one reason that stopped him:
He’s broke!
As a member of the higher echelons in Daxing Temple, he obeyed the abbot’s call to lead by example and live a frugal life. Therefore, he did not have any salaries. Anyway, since food and accommodation were provided by the temple, a monk like him didn’t really have other needs for money.
That was also why he enjoyed participating in professional tournaments and titled battles; he gets to keep whatever prize money he wins!
However, he only retains a tiny portion of his prize money. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be broke so often.
He sighed and rubbed the “letter of appreciation” between his hands. It was a gift he received from donating to needy children.
“I thought my savings would last me until next month, but I ended up spending all of it on food during the New Year season...” He shook his head and chuckled. Walking out of his room, he knocked on the Wisdom King, Zhihai’s door.
He never had scruples when it comes to borrowing money.
Thud, thud, thud. Zhihai walked out amid the rhythmic rapping.
Just as Shishan was about to speak, his eyes stopped at a similar letter of appreciation in Zhihai’s hand.
“What’s wrong?” asked Zhihai.
“It’s nothing! It’s nothing,” said Shishan with a smile. He then turned and walked off. “Go back to sleep, go back to sleep.”
“Such unfathomable wisdom hidden in his words... That’s the reincarnated Living Buddha for you,” mused Zhihai earnestly. He mulled over the meaning of those words as he watched Shishan leave.
...
On Sunday afternoon, the Longhu Club party scaled the stone stairs that led to Daxing Temple.