Martial Arts Master

Gushan Martial Arts School was situated at the surrounding of Xiushan’s new commercial district. It was a quiet and elegant place within a bustling environment, and a three-story building that had slightly aged with time.

Once Lou Cheng was done tidying up his appearance, he passed through a couple of plane trees and pushed open the main entrance’s door. He discovered that Qin Rui was waiting for him at the front desk since a long time ago.

“You came early.” He walked over and welcomed Lou Cheng happily.

Lou Cheng patted his arm and joked, “That’s because I’m not familiar with Xiushan, am I? I couldn’t even estimate the right time to take the bus.”

“Haha, I guess Xiushan has changed a lot in just half a year. There are noisy renovations everywhere in the area.” Qin Rui replied before leading Lou Cheng inside the building.

It was only after he walked in that Lou Cheng realized how big Gushan Martial Arts School was. The first floor’s practice ground alone was several times bigger than the Hongluo Martial Arts School’s practice ground he visited before. The area was cleverly designed and split into seven to eight areas. Some places were bustling with activities, and some places only had eleven to twelve people. They were all practicing standing stance or punches seriously.

Qin Rui chuckled and gave Lou Cheng a brief introduction when he noticed his gaze, “It’s huge, isn’t it? My master often said that acquiring this place is his proudest and most regretful moment in his life.”

“Proudest and most regretful moment?” Lou Cheng took the bait and asked.

Qin Rui pointed at the practice ground and said, “Originally, this place is a worker’s club for a Sanji factory. It was sold during a difficult time, so my master bought it since he was looking for a place to open a martial arts school. That was many, many years ago when house prices isn’t even a known concept yet. Back then, my master spent most of his savings and owed a lot of money after purchasing this place and the necessary equipment to furnish it. However, as you can see house prices had gone up by more than ten-fold. Right now, our martial arts school is the most valuable and excellent asset we possess!”

“Oh, I see.” Lou Cheng laughed involuntarily. The idea never entered his mind at all.

After all, who would’ve thought that the proudest moment of a martial arts school would be its ‘real estate investment’?

He then asked again with a bit of curiosity, “Then why is it his most regretful moment?”

Qin Rui himself could no longer restrain his urge to smile. “Back then my master was still young and full of vigor. He was wondering if he should leave Xiushan and open a martial arts school at Gaofen. However, he ultimately gave up when he saw the opportunity to grab this big building for himself. Moreover, he figured that a Professional Ninth Pin martial arts school would at best make a tiny splash in the big pond that was Gaofen. When he thought that he would be oppressed no matter where he went in Gaofen, he decided that he might as well stay at Xiushan and maintain his circle of influence.”

“But now? Every time he thought of Gaofen’s house prices, he would be so wrapped up in regret that he couldn’t stop talking every day and every month about it. He would forget that he was lucky to buy such a big house and enjoy a martial arts school that’s doing relatively well, or that the sheer amount of compensation he would get from relocation alone would’ve rid him from any money troubles he might have for the rest of his life.”

Pu! Why is the proudest and most regretful moments of a martial arts school owner all about home appreciation? Is this what a martial arts school should be paying attention to? Lou Cheng couldn’t withhold his laughter. Suddenly, he felt a closer connection with this martial arts school. It was uh, a little more relatable so to speak…

After turning a corner and walking a few steps, Qin Rui led him up a flight of stairs all the way until the third floor of the building. The lighting here was a little dim, with long corridors and many doors at the sides.

Qin Rui didn’t do a second introduction before the meeting. He looked a little nervous and solemn as he walked to the innermost room and knocked on the door rhythmically.

Dong dong dong! Dong dong dong! After knocking on the door twice, a slightly hoarse voice rang from the inside,

“Please, come in.”

Qin Rui turned the handle, pushed the door and allowed Lou Cheng to see everything inside the room in one glance. The room had big windows and was filled with sunlight. The tables and chairs were carved out of rosewood, and the teaset was brimming with warmth.

Chu Weicai stood up. His face was etched with deep wrinkles, and his eyes were very sharp. He walked towards Lou Cheng and chuckled,

“People say that seeing is believing, and your well-rounded spirit and vigorous physique truly is an eye opener, my friend! Qin Rui and Linfeng had always thought highly of you and sung your praises to me, but it isn’t until that I saw your latest match videos that I truly believe their words. It was then I thought: oh, heroes truly are born from the young. There has never been an invulnerable physical realm Mighty One in Xiushan’s history, but maybe you can fix this regret of ours!”

His words had a very worldly feeling behind them.

Lou Cheng thought himself used to such situations already, but when he was flattered by a worldly fellow like Chu Weicai where words of praises were tossed at like cannonballs, he immediately panicked a little and didn’t know how to respond. In the end, he could only reply humbly, “You are too kind.”

Chu Weicai finally welcomed Lou Cheng to the guest’s seat after they exchanged a few conventional greetings with each other. While steeping a pot of kungfu tea, he beamed and said, “Qin Rui had told me your intentions, I can fully understand your master’s way of thinking. If my poor disciples were to head outdoors, I would’ve told them for certain not to advertise themselves carelessly before they are accomplished.”

Qin Rui and Dai Linfeng didn’t sit down. They stood on the left and right side of Chu Weicai respectively. One could see that Gushan Martial Arts School’s master and disciple relationship was more traditional and serious. They were nothing like Lou Cheng cracking jokes and even deriding Geezer Shi before him. Of course, the foremost reason behind their casual interaction was that Geezer Shi himself wasn’t an overly serious person.

Before Lou Cheng could answer him, Chu Weicai picked up his purple clay teapot and poured Lou Cheng a cup of fragrant tea. “Come, take it. This is the Hermen wild camellia tea I requested a friend to bring to me. It is equal to Ningshui County’s Maojian green tea.

The tea was pale yellow, and ripples broke smoothly from its surface. Lou Cheng took one sip and was immediately assaulted by a bitter taste in his mouth. Then, ripples of sweetness rolled off his tongue as if the taste buds on his tongue had come alive. The tea left behind a rich aftertaste.

“This tea is amazing!” Lou Cheng didn’t know tea at all, so he could only return a shallow praise.

Chu Weicai smiled reservedly before changing the topic. “The martial arts school now has 3 VIP classes. I am old already, so normally I would just observe them casually and give them a few pointers. Linfeng is the one who leads the classes most of the time. Two classes would visit the school during every holiday, and they are more familiar with Linfeng at this point. They may not be used to having a different coach all of a sudden, so I can only leave the last class in your care. When the time is right, then we will recruit a new class… This class starts every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9 to 12 pm. Are you okay with this?”

“Yes.” Lou Cheng thought for a moment before adding, “What happens if I have something to do last minute?”

“You may find someone to replace you or switch to a different class.” Chu Weicai beckoned at Dai Linfeng to pick up for white papers from the study table, “I know this is the first time you work as a part-time coach, and I’ve purposely asked Linfeng to prepare a contract so you may rest your worries. After all, nothing is set in stone unless it’s in black and white, right? Take it, and have a look. This contract is very simple. I didn’t ask a lawyer to do this since the outcome is often too complicated. I can’t understand what they’ve written.”

The four pieces of white papers were split into two copies, and the actual contract was only two pages long. There were roughly seven or eight lines of content that lay down the rules of several things. The first line was about the method of payment. Lou Cheng would be paid 10 thousand before he started working, and a total of 20 thousand by the end of July. The remaining balance would be paid after the summer school was over. The second line stated that a percentage would not be taken off personal tutoring fees. The third line stated that Lou Cheng was solely responsible for any problems that might arise from corporal punishment he dealt…

Lou Cheng read the contract carefully. After he confirmed that there were no ambiguous statements, he smiled and said,

“I’m fine with this.”

“Alright, then let us sign the contract right away.” Chu Weicai asked Dai Linfeng to bring over a fountain pen and smiled derisively at himself, “A fountain pen is more comfortable to me at my age. I just can’t get used to the felt-tip pen or ballpoint pen you youngsters are familiar with.”

A moment later, both parties had signed the agreement and kept a copy for themselves. Meanwhile, Lou Cheng wrote the card number on another piece of paper.

“Welcome to our martial arts school. We will bask in your glory if you became famous and celebrated in the future!” Chu Weicai shook both of Lou Cheng’s hands to officially express his welcome before he gave him a friendly warning, “These kids are here to strengthen their bodies and learn a few self-defense skills. So please don’t be too harsh on them and let them rest if necessary, just in case they overtrain and hurt themselves.”

“Got it.” Lou Cheng happily agreed.

He wasn’t inexperienced. Normally, the special training members would aid the lazy Geezer Shi to split the normal members into groups and teach them during the regular martial arts lessons. Most of the students who joined the Martial Arts Club were looking to better their bodies and learn a few self-defense skills anyway.

“You may come directly on Monday.” Chu Weicai turned his head to look at his disciple, “Qin Rui, tour Lou Cheng around the area so he may familiarize himself with the environment.”

“Yes, master.” Qin Rui exhaled. His expression had turned relaxed.

It was only when the duo had left and the door was closed when Dai Linfeng frowned slightly and asked, “Master, there’s no need to act so solicitously, is there? He’s obviously trying to keep some distance from us… ”

It was only then Chu Weicai smiled and said, “You are still too young. The most important factor to a person’s success is to learn how to recognize people, and know what kind of person you should stay away from, befriend, or make great efforts to befriend with… Sigh. I would’ve gotten out of Xiushan already if I hadn’t learned this only when I was forty years old… ”

…

“The third floor is where our lounge, locker room, office and strength training gymnasium for internal disciples are… the second floor has two practice grounds and three big strength training gymnasiums. It’s normally quite empty, so a part of the room would be used as a gym. When summer school starts, then everyone would have to rotate usage by time. But your VIP classes don’t need to worry about this. You may use strength training gymnasium on the third floor directly. Personal tutoring also happens there as well… ” Qin Rui introduced the martial arts school’s layout and facilities to Lou Cheng.

When the duo walked past a practice ground, they suddenly heard an outburst of pleasant surprise,

“Big brother Lou Cheng!”

When Lou Cheng looked to that direction, he discovered that the person who made the exclamation was his cousin’s boyfriend Ding Yanbo. He was a long-term student in this martial arts school, and he was practicing his footing and stance with seven to eight other people.

“Train well.” Lou Cheng smiled encouragingly. Meanwhile, Qin Rui straightened his expression and corrected a few mistakes in his student’s posture. This was the group of students he was responsible to teach.

When the duo went away, a student finally asked Ding Yanbo with a soft voice, “Who’s that, Dingding? You know him? He looks pretty strong… ”

They might not recognize the signs when a fighter had cultivated to a certain level at body refinement stage, they could still sense the sharpness and power brimming from Lou Cheng’s presence. He didn’t appear weak at all despite standing beside Qin Rui with a height of 1.9 meters.

“Hehe, he’s, he’s my cousin!” Ding Yanbo brazenly lied to his schoolmates and told them that he was his cousin, “He’s brother Rui’s classmate. Brother Rui had purposely invited him over to teach the VIP classes!”

“Really?” several students asked in astonishment.

This was the VIP classes that the schoolmaster was personally responsible for they were talking about!

“Of course. Why would I lie to you guys about this? You’d know a few days later!” Ding Yanbo’s face was red with excitement.

I haven’t even told you guys that big brother Lou Cheng might very well work as the martial arts school head coach!

This was something Qin Rui brought up while they were chatting idly.

When the rest of the students were about to inquire deeper into the matter, Qin Rui suddenly paused his footsteps, turned and roared, “What are you guys talking about? Are you guys planning to skip lunch?”

The students immediately fell silent, afraid to let even a squeak escape their mouths.

When he saw this, Lou Cheng said in amusement, “Pretty imposing, aren’t you?”

“It’s the only way, you know! If you dare show a smile to these brats they’d returned a laugh and goof off just as brazenly! I’m telling you, Cheng, you must set an example when you teach your VIP class on Monday. If they’re afraid of you, then they’d be easy to handle. Otherwise, a kid this age can climb up the sky if you let them!” Qin Rui taught Lou Cheng his own experiences.

Lou Cheng nodded thoughtfully and said, “Alright.”

How should I set an example?

What a conundrum…

While thinking, Qin Rui asked in a small voice,

“Cheng, are you planning to participate in this term’s Youth Tournament?”