Martial Arts Master

Standing beside the window she watched as Lou Cheng disappeared at the end of the road, Yan Zheke lightly bit her lips and held back the impulse to follow him. Then she tore her eyes away from him and sniffed cutely, this helped her take in the scent of fried rice and eggs that permeated the room.

She picked up her phone and subconsciously her mouth curved into a smile. Her fingers quickly moved across the keyboard to send a message to her boyfriend who had just left, “It’s all your fault! Now, whenever I close my eyes, I’m going to think of fried rice with eggs!”

Because the leftover cold rice had been used by Lou Cheng to make two portions of breakfast for the both of them, they had to make freshly steamed rice to create the dish. This would definitely not allow them to recreate the dish with its crucial essence. Nonetheless, with the basic skills she had learned, they were sufficient for her to make a decent dish.

In a minute, she received Lou Cheng’s reply:

“Hehe, whenever I close my eyes, I will think of the dishes of fried rice with eggs which we burnt.”

Yan Zheke’s cheeks suddenly blushed a bright pink and she pursed her lips. Then she typed on the keyboard, her eyes bright as she licked her lips,

“Pervert, pervert, you’re a big pervert!”

She walked into the study room, her footsteps light, as she opened the computer to log onto the monitoring system. She then began to go through the videos, looking for any trace of Lou Cheng. She intended to edit them all and erase any trace of his visit.

It was very difficult to defend against home thieves!

It wasn’t a big deal that thieves came to steal Pak Choi from home. What mattered was that Pak Choi wanted to go with the thief!

When Yan Zheke watched how Lou Cheng held his martial arts shoes and snuck upstairs with caution, Yan Zheke pursed her lips and smiled. As she held her chin with her free hand, while the other worked the mouse, she actually began to watch the video seriously. It was like she had forgotten her original purpose.

There wasn’t a monitor in the bedroom, so the scene on the screen quickly switched to the kitchen. She watched as Lou Cheng, wearing pajamas, started the stove with familiarity. As he whisked some eggs and fried the rice, she found herself standing beside him, busy weighing mild spices. She slightly changed her posture and he held her cheeks with both of her hands. While she watched, her eyes became softer and softer, like gentle ripples on the surface of a lake. Her heart warmed and filled with love.

She watched how the two of them sat together and enjoyed their breakfast like newlyweds, Yan Zheke shyly mumbled to herself as she clicked the “stop” button. She then ran upstairs and to her room where she found her thumb drive.

I have to copy all of these videos with Cheng and keep them!

She watched carefully as the files were copied, one by one. She couldn’t help but laugh when she saw Lou Cheng squatting next to the refrigerator, balancing the bowls and chopsticks in his hands. She also blushed and was touched to tears as she watched herself and Lou Cheng kiss passionately while they forgot about their dish and burnt it.

Even though she looked through the videos very quickly, she managed to notice a lot of details which she hadn’t earlier. For example, while they were kissing, Lou Cheng’s hands were stroking her back. She could tell he had wanted to move them to her front, several times, but he had held them back.

“Pervert… ” she cursed him with a word. Even though she was annoyed she was still happy.

He really wants me, and he also respects me…

But, why do boys always like that kind of thing?

As her mind was wondering and straying off topic, near the main door, there was the sound of the door being unlocked by a fingerprint.

Yan Zheke sobered up instantly and she quickly copied the remaining surveillance videos to her own hard drive and then formatted the rest.

After finishing up, she turned off the computer and walked out of the study where she greeted her aunts with a smile,

“Aunt Huang, please prepare enough for three more people this afternoon. I have a few friends coming over, and one of them is a professional fighter. They all love your steamed carp~”

Three of my best friends, Song Li, Gu Shuang, Xing Jingjing are coming by later so they can interrogate me about my secret love relationship.

“Well, okay. I’ll go shopping now.” Replied Aunt Huang with a smile.

Yan Zheke contained her happiness, then she nonchalantly added,

“Also, there is a lot of fried rice and eggs in the kitchen. Just throw them away. They were just practice dishes.”

…

The afternoon sunshine streamed into the living room through a window making it very hot. Zhao Zijun sat on the sofa, holding the air conditioning remote control in his hand. However, he hadn’t turned it on and seemed to be thinking about something instead.

“Old Zhao?” Huang Qun walked in holding their dishes and said to him quizzically, “Didn’t I ask you to turn on the air conditioner? What are you thinking about?”

Because their workplaces were close to their home and Huang Qun’s work was leisurely, they both came back at noon to have lunch.

Zhao Zijun sighed and smiled wryly, “I’m thinking about that kid from the Lou family… Although I can’t find any relationship between Commissioner Xing and him, I still think he has a bright future based off of his ability. As long as he doesn’t have an accident, he’s going to become rich someday!”

He had already checked out Lou Cheng’s basic information.

Huang Qun hesitated and said, “So, do we want Qianqian to meet with Lou Yuanwei again? The boy seems to be a good person and the Lou family is going to be rich later… ”

“No! Never consider that. I’ve been with the police for many years and I’ve caught lots of criminals. So I’m good at judging people.” Zhao Zijun vetoed his wife’s proposal immediately, “Lou Yuanwei is really good in other aspects, but he’s too impatient, too proud, too unstable and will never be able to do things steadfastly. It’s difficult for people to change their temperament. So, even if his younger brother does well in the future, ultimately it’s still hard for his brother to take care of his own life.”

“Well, then why do you think about Lou Cheng? He’s still in college!” Huang Qun asked him gruffly.

Zhao Zijun stood up and walked over to the table as he pondered, “Even if we needn’t ask him for help right now, it’s still necessary for us to develop a good relationship with him. Better be safe than sorry, Lou Zhisheng and I have been friends since a young age. So, we should contact him more and more in the future and develop a better relationship with him and his family. That way, in the future, if we really need the help we can ask him directly instead of going through Lou Yuanwei!”

“You, ah, you have been considering these things for years.” Huang Qun shook her head.

Zhao Zijun sat down at the table. He ridiculed himself and laughed, “I didn’t understand these things before, so I have always struggled. It’s only in recent years that I have begun to understand the importance of relationship management…”

…

On a smaller practicing court of the Gushan Martial Arts School,

Lou Cheng held his arms and looked thoughtfully at Qin Rui’s striking movement.

Still, stance was not a martial arts skill that people could master in one hour. After one hour of individual guidance, the fighters should practice hard every day after. Occasionally, if Qin Rui had some doubts, Lou Cheng would assist casually so that Qin Rui would not waste too much money on this aspect.

The one hour of focused personal guidance had been on correcting his style.

Chu Weicai was a real Professional Ninth Pin fighter and had mastered the fighting style from several schools, like Huxing (tiger form tactic). So the playing style and martial arts he taught wasn’t a problem. However, he was getting older and lacked energy and the opportunity and the number of students he could teach was limited. Which meant, most of the time, he still needed the help of Dai Linfeng.

Under such a situation, Qin Rui’s exerting skills, footwork and punches were fairly good. But, if he were to put his style into specific use linked with different movements, he would have some problems. He’s over 6 feet 2 inches tall and has long arms and long legs. He would need to adjust a lot of styles correspondingly in order to link them more fluently and more naturally. However, no one had ever pointed this out to him before.

“Well, you should adjust Downward Cut in Tiger-hug Posture like this so that you can fit in the following changes.” Lou Cheng nodded to express his approval.

Qin Rui smiled bitterly, “Playing like this makes me feel very uncomfortable.”

“Making adjustments to habits can definitely be uncomfortable. You should practice more so that these adjustments eventually turn into habits.” Lou Cheng answered with a smile.

One person taught while the other practiced and time passed by quickly. Qin Rui was starting to become familiar with the fighting styles that had been adjusted. He was sincerely convinced by Lou Cheng’s abilities.

“Hey, if I master these, maybe I can even surprise Brother Dai.” Qin Rui said smugly.

Lou Cheng only laughed and did not comment further. People have to try something on their own so that they are able to understand the gap between themselves and the professionals.

Lou Cheng waited for Qin Rui to leave before he drank the remaining soup that he had brought and begun his own practice.

While he was thinking about the urgent and clear goal at noon, Lou Cheng felt a breath well in his chest which filled him with power. His mind was filled with thunderclouds, and something muffled like a song in his abdomen. He then compressed his muscles and punched out a fist and kicked creating a sound like wind and thunder.

This time, the effect of his polished power was getting better and he actually gained twice the results for half the effort.

However, he still hadn’t found his own martial arts will, to put it more accurately, how could he find his martial arts will?

I don’t lack the will or desire for victory, the will for persistence, or the will for holding my mind to enjoy life. But, still, what really is the martial arts will?

Because Lou Cheng was confused, he finished his tempering and decided to call his master for guidance.

“Hey, brat, what kind of problem did you encounter this time?” Geezer Shi coughed once.

Lou Cheng honestly replied, “Master, I would like to ask you about what the martial arts will really is.”

“Ke, that is a good question.” Geezer Shi laughed.

He had been waiting for this kind of question from his apprentice for a long time!

To offer to teach this smelly boy is different from waiting to be consulted, the latter will be cooler, hahaha!

He paused, then he said leisurely, “To clarify, it’s to practice your heart and mind. Only a person with a clear mind and strong will can control their body and control the subtle points. Only they can influence the Spirit, the qi, and blood in order to have the force to withdraw their power. This is similar to the feeling when you mastered meditation, just the latter can’t be used in fighting. That’s why I told you that you will achieve the Dan stage much easier than other fighters based on your meditation.”

“As for how to have a clear mind and strong will and how to control the martial arts will, different fighters in different factions have their own understanding and their own way. Also, they aren’t exactly the same. As for me, because I have a close relationship with the military power, I have my own understanding related to them. To take them as an example, do you know what the biggest difference between the recent army and the modern army is?”

“I don’t know.” Lou Cheng knew little about this area.

Geezer Shi answered seriously this time, “The recent army paralyzes their soldiers with fear through discipline and brutal punishment, making them fear punishment over death. However, the reason the modern army faces death directly is that they understand what they are fighting for!”

“They realize how much they are willing to pay for this goal and the army that created several miracles can finish the great Long March. They have a will as hard as steel and they continue forward even after they have encountered so many troubles. They are not born to be great and they are not all monsters.”

“A lot of people always want the spirit of the Long March and learn the will that can only be learned through the long march. Haha! Their understanding only stays on the surface instead of getting to know the deeper essence. They dare not or are unwilling to ask why it is that this army chooses to finish this great action while other armies do not. The source of their strength, spirit, and will is that they know what they are fighting for!”

Hearing his words, Lou Cheng was very shocked because he had not seen this matter from that point of view. He still murmured until his master hung up the phone,

“What am I fighting for?”