c13

Chapter 13 (A Fierce Fight)

“Oh? How profound?” asked Chen Wei Guo curiously.

The hunched old man whispered, “His Qi energy doesn’t leak out, and he could conceal his internal strength. His whole body is well trained and has already reached the pinnacle.”

Seeing his own guard giving Zhao Tie Zhu such a high a.s.sessment, Chen Wei Guo smiled, “I only heard that according to Ray he’s really awesome. And, I’ve also heard the name of Phantom. However, I never thought that he would be so powerful. Well, do you want to test him?”

“Indeed, a little.” The old man’s face neither showed happiness nor sadness; there was no trace of any expressions.

“Then,” Chen Wei Guo said, “why don’t you give this Zhao Tie Zhu a visit tonight? Consider it a test for Director Li’s daughter sake.”

“Yes.” The old man turned and left the room. It seemed as if he was just strolling casually toward the hall, but before anyone realized, he had already vanished into the darkness. It was as if he was never there to begin with.

“Brother Tie Zhu, I need to go back and spend some more time with my grandpa tonight. Tomorrow, we’ll go out and have some fun,” said Ray, seeing Zhao Tie Zhu to the villa’s entrance.

“Okay, will do. Well, you should go back now.” Zhao Tie Zhu waved his hand and walked into the villa.

“Ah, Zi Yi, don’t keep blocking my way.”

“I’m not. Yan Ni, don’t just randomly fire the missiles.”

As he walked in, Zhao Tie Zhu saw Cao Zi Yi and Su Yan Ni playing on the computer. They both had brought their laptops to the living room. Placing the computer on her lap, Su Yan Ni wore a close-fitting lace nightgown, revealing the perfect curve shape of her breast. Cao Zi Yi was lying on her stomach on the sofa, with her laptop in front of her. She lifted both of her legs, swaying them back and forth in the air. He didn’t expect Cao Zi Yi to have such a cute side. Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s weren’t as big as Su Yan Ni’s, but because of the way she lay, more than half of their milky whiteness bulged out.

Zhao Tie Zhu felt his life was really too beautiful…

He sat beside Su Yan Ni and asked, “What are you gals playing?”

“Just see for yourself,” said Su Yan Ni. “It’s Kart Rider. Ah, Zi Yi, you crashed into me again.”

“Ha ha, how old are you guys?” said Zhao Tie Zhu. “Still play this game? Zi Yi, why do you also follow her madness?”

“I’m a painter, so I need to regularly looking for different source material. Don’t you think the landscape scenery has a lot of colorful details? That’s why I’m playing it.” Cao Zi Yi didn’t even lift up her head as she spoke. When she didn’t hear any response from Zhao Tie Zhu, she looked up and saw him staring at her in a daze. Looking downward, she noticed her how much of her chest was exposed. Her face blushed, and she quickly got up in a sitting position. It was rare, but Zhao Tie Zhu’s face also flushed red immediately. He lost his mind for just a moment, but then hurriedly said, “I didn’t see it. I didn’t see anything.” If only he hadn’t said those words. But, now, Cao Zi Yi blushed even more.

Seeing Cao Zi Yi became ashamed and bury her head between her knees, Zhao Tie Zhu got up and said, “Well, you girls play, I’m going upstairs.” Then he walked into his room, keeping his eyes fixed straight ahead.

“I’m so useless.” He secretly cursed himself. All this years, having wandered through so many flower fields, he didn’t expect that he would have blushed. But… Cao Zi Yi’s face suddenly appeared in his mind. He sighed, “Ah, she’s so much like Si Ru.” (TL Note: In Chinese, women are often referred as flowers. So saying he wandered through many flower fields is basically saying that he had many experiences with women.)

As his imagination ran wild, suddenly, a Qi aura locked onto his body. Zhao Tie Zhu’s expression changed. This Qi was so thick he felt as if he was enveloped by mud, with no gap at all.

“Interesting.” The corner of his mouth twitched, and he looked fiercely toward the window.

Outside, a hunched old man was standing on top of the villa’s fence. He just looked silently at Zhao Tie Zhu. Zhao Tie Zhu stepped to the balcony. Looking at the old man, he said, “Elder, it’s quite late, shouldn’t you be asleep? You know, it’s really not good to be a peeping tom.”

The old man suddenly grinned, “Throughout my forty years of wandering, I’ve seldom met a worthy opponent. Meeting you, kid, my hands are itching for a match. I really hope you can help me out.”

“I wouldn’t dare disobey,” said Zhao Tie Zhu. And, with a kick, he flew out several meters. The old man’s eyes sparkled as he said, “This place is too small for us to unleash our full power. Follow me, kid.” After saying that, he leaped toward the West Lake.

Zhao Tie Zhu jumped quickly to follow. With every leap, they covered the distance of a dozen meters. Furthermore, the old man’s speed wasn’t slow. The one followed the other; it didn’t take long before they arrived at a secluded open area next to the West Lake.

At this moment, the old man’s hunched figure had been completely straightened, exuding a strong Qi power. There was no wind, but his gray gown somehow fluttered as if there was. Suddenly, it began to swell up.

Zhao Tie Zhu was not as lackadaisical as he once had been. He wasn’t sure how long it had been since he faced an opponent as formidable as this. He stretched out his front leg, his toes angling toward the ground. “Please, I’d love some pointers,” he said. His body flashed forward, and in the blink of an eye was in front of the old man. The old man’s arms formed a circle as he defended himself. Just as Zhao Tie Zhu’s fist was about to strike him, he blocked with one arm. The other arm swept around as flexibly as if it had no bones in it, striking directly toward Zhao Tie Zhu’s face. Zhao Tie Zhu dodged to the side, evading the attack, then pushed out, shoving the old man’s hand aside. He followed up with a roundhouse kick. At the same time, the old man kicked out toward Zhao Tie Zhu. The kick attacks let out banging sounds as they shot through the air. BAM! A ma.s.sive sound exploded out as their legs collided. Beneath them, the ground couldn’t withstand the pressure; it sank down, and cracks spread out across its surface.

Keeping his feet stable on the ground, Zhao Tie Zhu crouched down and kicked in a leg-sweeping attack, which the old man avoided by retreated a small step back. As he dodged the attack, the old man shaped his hand into a claw that shot toward Zhao Tie Zhu. In the blink of an eye, the two of them had exchanged dozens of blows.

Bang. Zhao Tie Zhu’s hand seemed to have slammed into the man’s ribs, moving with such speed that it left behind an afterimage. The old man flew back a few meters. When the old man stopped moving, it became clear that he hadn’t been hit after all; he had actually used one hand to protect his ribs.

Zhao Tie Zhu wasn’t someone with the ‘Respect the Old and Cherish the Young’ philosophy. At the same time as the old man was thrown flying, he moved to close in. Just as the old man was about to land, Zhao Tie Zhu elbowed him. Another boom rang out. Raising both of his hands, the old man received the elbow hit. “What a powerful force,” he thought secretly. With both hands holding Zhao Tie Zhu’s elbow, the old man leaned to the side and swept his foot in a circular motion. He redirected Zhao Tie Zhu’s elbow’s force and then twisted his waist. Suddenly, a great force emerged from his hands. Bang! The old man threw Zhao Tie Zhu flying backward several meters.

“Tai Chi!” Zhao Tie Zhu exclaimed in surprise. It seemed that the old man had trained to the pinnacle of Tai Chi. The ability to instantly disperse force and leverage energy by “borrowing power to strike” wasn’t something that an average person could do. The old man’s feet flashed and, in an instant, he was in front of Zhao Tie Zhu. He unleashed another kick which landed on Zhao Tie Zhu’s abdomen. Zhao Tie Zhu let out a groan as his body was flying through the air. In another blink of an eye, the old man had somehow already appeared midair, clenching both of his hands into fists, bang! The fists slammed onto Zhao Tie Zhu’s shoulders. Zhao Tie Zhu smashed into the ground like an artillery sh.e.l.l.

As light as a feather, the old man landed back on the ground. Looking at the hole in the ground created by Zhao Tie Zhu, the old man softly said, “In five years, you can be one of the top-five dragons.”

“I really need five years?” Zhao Tie Zhu’s silhouette suddenly appeared behind the old man already, giving the old man quite the surprise. He had no time to react; Zhao Tie Zhu’s fist slammed into the old man’s face. This time, the hit was the real deal. The old man was sent flying several meters, slamming into a big tree, causing the tree leaves to fall on the ground.

“Cough, cough, cough.” The old man stood up slowly, coughing a few times. “Really a young hero,” he said. “In the future, the world belongs to you.” He turned around slowly, and his body was hunched again instantly. “Make a good use of your power, young man. Among the heroes in China, your talent can be considered one of the most outstanding.” Then, the old man’s figure slowly disappeared in the darkness.

“Cough.” Seeing the old man disappear, Zhao Tie Zhu also started coughing. This old man was really powerful. He secretly said, “It’s been a long time since I’ve come across such a strong opponent. Given the show I just put on, Chen Wei Guo shouldn’t be worried about me anymore.”

In the military compound.

“How was he?” asked Chen Wei Guo when he saw the old man came back.

“About the same as I was thirty years ago, a.s.suming he exerted all his strength just now,” said the old man, muttering to himself.

“He was really as strong as you were 30 years ago?” Chen Wei Guo was surprised. He knew very well the strength of the old man thirty years ago. With his martial ability, he belonged to the top-three Chinese Dragons!

“Times have changed,” said the old man. “In those days I counted as one of the top three dragons, but, if it were now, I might only reach the top seven. Zhao Tie Zhu’s strength might put him in the top-five dragons. After all, the top four all have supernatural powers.”

“Top five dragons? Tsk tsk, too bad he isn’t someone we can acquire.” Chen Wei Guo picked up his pen and wrote down three characters on a golden yellow piece of paper: Zhao Tie Zhu. Then, he handed the paper to the old man and said, “After a few days, bring this to the Special Ops division.”

“Yes.”