Chapter 88: It Was Ji Xiang Who Did It
“Brother Jun, I’ve found the location for the arcade, come take a look?”
“I’ll be there in a bit.” Chen Wujun tossed the telephone aside; he was eating at his place right now.
A Yue’s cooking skills had improved quite a bit compared to before.
Nowadays, when he had nothing to do, he would also come back here to A Yue’s for lunch.
After eating, Chen Wujun put on his clothes and left, while A Yue hummed a tune as she cleared the table.
For her current life, A Yue was quite content; at least they had settled down here, and Chen Wujun wasn’t bad-tempered or bad to her.
Moreover, the money he gave her recently had increased to 6000 bucks; aside from the expenses for her father and younger brother, she could still save some.
The only thing on her mind was wanting her younger brother to go to school.
But they didn’t even have identities right now.
She wanted to find an opportunity to ask Chen Wujun if they could get identities in East District 9.
……
“Brother Jun, what do you think of this place?” Ah Fei and two henchmen led the way to a shop on Long Jin Road, located on the western side of Long Jin Road, dimly lit with only some light filtering in from the gaps between the tall buildings above the shop.
The surroundings were extremely noisy, with the sounds of chainsaws, electric drills, and hammers striking occasionally ringing out.
After going inside, there was still quite a bit of sawdust and debris on the floor.
This area to the west was full of various family workshops making rubber pumps, rubber shoe soles, rulers, spinning yarn, and so on.
While to the east it was a normal residential area, also a bit more prosperous.
“This place used to make pencils, but business got bad, so they closed the shop and rented it out.”
“It’s over 530 square feet in total; put two rows of machines against the walls, two rows back-to-back in the middle, enough for 20 machines, with the rest as walkways and such; this side can also have a counter for exchanging coins and buying drinks.”
“The only issue is there are lots of workshops nearby, so it’s a bit noisy and smells bad… but arcades don’t need to care about that.”
The various sounds in arcades are even louder than outside.
“The foot traffic here is pretty good; lots of students pass by on their way to school…”
“I also asked about the rent: 5500 bucks a month.”
“This is it.” Chen Wujun nodded; the rent was about what he expected, though the space was quite a bit larger.
“You negotiate with the landlord; pay rent every three months.”
Then the two of them went to Long Gang Road; this was Chen Wujun’s turf, and one of the shops there was being cleared out.
This place used to be an electrical repair shop.
They went into the shop and looked around; it was a bit smaller than the previous one, only about 400 square feet, but it was enough.
“Have you settled on the used machines? Just clean it up simply, get the machines working, and open. Arrange for two henchmen to hand out flyers and such.” Chen Wujun said.
“Settled; talked to the two in the Walled City, and contacted some outside too; the two arcades have 38 machines total, besides Street Fighter 2, a few Final Fight, Snow Bros., and shoot ’em ups; put two slot machines in each shop for them to play while waiting for machines.”
Chen Wujun nodded slightly; Ah Fei’s strength was average, but he was meticulous with these miscellaneous tasks.
“I’ll leave this to you; take the funds from the gambling den first, then report it to me together later.”
Right now his mind was full of Tiger Roar Golden Bell Shield; he could leave these miscellaneous tasks to his subordinates.
“Brother Jun, one more thing.” Ah Fei saw Chen Wujun about to leave and quickly called out to him.
He signaled the henchmen to wait outside, then walked with Chen Wujun to the corner.
“Brother Jun, these past couple days on the streets they’ve been saying… that you injured Sister Kai Lun’s subordinate and slapped Sister Kai Lun’s face…”
“Oh?” Chen Wujun didn’t take it to heart; that had indeed happened.
“Lots of people are saying Brother Jun is prestigious, that Sister Kai Lun couldn’t even protect her own subordinate…” Ah Fei hesitated a bit and cautiously said: “Some are also saying Sister Sha Jiu is unfair, favoring Brother Jun, suppressing veterans like Kai Lun…”
“If it was just one person saying it, fine… but several people saying it… I suspect Li Dong’s side is stirring things up?”
Chen Wujun hadn’t taken it seriously at first, but after hearing half of it from Ah Fei, he became alert.
“Didn’t expect you to be so sharp.” Chen Wujun praised. “Well done; if you hear anything else, tell me.”
“Got it, Brother Jun.” Ah Fei immediately said, thinking to himself that Fa Zai did have some thoughts; he’d instruct him more when he got back.
This matter wasn’t actually something he noticed; it was Fa Zai who noticed and told him.
Chen Wujun left the shop and walked back unhurriedly, his mind turning constantly.
‘This probably wasn’t spread by Kai Lun… though quite a few dancers saw it that day, they wouldn’t dare talk recklessly… someone must be stirring things up in the middle…’
‘How would Li Dong’s person know the details of my conflict with Kai Lun?’
‘My enemies aren’t many; I can count them on one hand. If not Li Dong… then it can only be Ji Xiang!’
Chen Wujun quickly locked his goal onto Ji Xiang; he was the biggest suspect.
As for whether it could be someone else… anyway, Chen Wujun figured it was him.
“In a few days at the meeting to settle accounts, I’ll go cause him trouble then.”
……
Two days later, Chen Wujun sat in the wooden bucket, feeling his diaphragm press down like a drum skin with one breath in, then vibrate.
As he tensed his whole body, all over 200 bones, fascia, and muscles on his body vibrated along.
A rumbling thunder-like buzzing sound came from inside his body.
Even the water surface in the wooden bucket kept vibrating, forming countless tiny ripples.
Until that breath could no longer be held down, surging from the abdomen to the chest cavity, finally rushing out from his throat.
“Roar!”
As if a great tiger perched on a giant rock in the mountains, roaring through the jungle.
The entire room was stirred up with a gust of wind.
At the same time, Chen Wujun felt a stream of hot energy entering his body through the skin surface amid the vibrations of his joints and muscles, nourishing his body and organs.
“This time it’s right!” Chen Wujun was delighted inside, then took a deep breath and pressed down the diaphragm again.
Moments later, another roar came from his throat.
Clouds follow dragons, winds follow tigers; each time Chen Wujun made a sound, a gust of wind would appear in the room.
In a nearby room, the man was just about to charge into battle when a tiger roar came, startling him into a shiver.
“Fuck, who has no public morals like that?”
It took him a while to recover; before he could raise his weapon again, another roar came.
After two or three times, the man’s eyes were red; he yanked open the door and cursed loudly: “Who is it, endlessly?!”
Chen Wujun in the room turned a deaf ear; a long while later he stood up from the wooden bucket, countless medicinal liquids sliding down his body.
At this time Chen Wujun’s eyes shone brightly; as he circulated his vital energy, his skin surface also reddened.
A Yue hurriedly brought a towel to wipe his body.
Chen Wujun got out of the wooden bucket and moved his body a bit, feeling vital energy surging inside, blood flow speed much faster than usual.
His skin felt a bit hot and stinging from the medicine, which would fade in a bit.
He picked up the telephone and called Curry: “Bring a few guys with wooden sticks to the martial arts school and wait for me.”
Then he put on clothes and went out.
Moments later, Chen Wujun arrived at the martial arts school; Curry had already brought people and was waiting, and that Li Wei was there too.
“Brother Jun, who are we beating up?”
“No one; come practice kung fu with me.” Chen Wujun led the way, and the group entered the martial arts school.
“Brother Jun!” The students and henchmen in the martial arts school greeted him one after another, some with flickering gazes.
These past few days Ji Xiang’s people had spread the news everywhere; those low-level henchmen just thought Chen Wujun was prestigious, that even veterans like Kai Lun who had followed Sister Sha Jiu for years had to give him ground.
But some also thought Chen Wujun turned hostile and didn’t recognize people, acting arrogant and overbearing after rising up.
Chen Wujun couldn’t be bothered with their petty thoughts; he led people to the second floor and found an empty room.
“You few, hit me with wooden sticks. Mainly front chest, back, and arms.” Chen Wujun took off his outer clothes, wearing only shorts, then circulated his vital energy, tensing his muscles.
“Brother Jun, are you practicing hardening kung fu?” Li Wei’s mind turned, asking curiously.
Tong Bei Quan had methods to train the hands, eventually making them hard as steel, able to shatter even brick walls with one punch.
An ordinary person hit by a Tong Bei Quan master would have their bones broken.
Hearing his words, the others also understood.
“Brother Jun, you’re telling us to hit you!” A henchman said cautiously.
Then several of them surrounded Chen Wujun with wooden sticks.
Chen Wujun suddenly inhaled deeply, his whole body muscles tensing; everyone felt like they heard distant thunder, thinking it was raining outside, but only Li Wei was full of doubt.
The henchmen swung their wooden sticks onto Chen Wujun’s body one after another.
The room kept resounding with the sounds of wooden sticks striking, but not like hitting flesh.
If listening with eyes closed, it was more like hitting wood, crisp sounds.
Chen Wujun’s mind was entirely on the vibrations inside his body until he couldn’t hold on, that breath surging in his abdomen like a ball moving to his chest, finally rushing out his throat.
“Roar!”
“That’s Tiger Roar Golden Bell Shield; just now that was bones and tendons resonating!” Li Wei said in surprise.
He had smuggled over from Eastern Seventh District, learned martial arts since childhood, and heard quite a few jianghu secrets.
Over fifty years ago in Eastern Seventh District there was a master named Deng Yuan who trained Tiger Roar Golden Bell Shield and Dragon’s Roar Iron Cloth Shirt to an unprecedented level; even without a gun, the Federation sent masters to catch him, and he beat and injured over a dozen.
Later Deng Yuan said he had a big thing to do, then disappeared.
After he vanished, his influence and subordinates were surrounded and wiped out by the Federation; some died, some fled.
Nowadays even in Eastern Seventh District few people know this kung fu, and none reach Deng Yuan’s level.
He hadn’t expected to encounter someone practicing it in East District 9’s Walled City.
And from that tiger roar, he knew Chen Wujun had learned the real thing.
His family had said that this sound was the core of Tiger Roar Golden Bell Shield; without a teacher, even if you knew how to practice, it was useless and you might ruin yourself into an invalid.
“Continue!” After Chen Wujun steadied his vital energy, he instructed the henchmen, then inhaled deeply, vibrating his diaphragm and circulating vital energy.
All the way until two hours later, when Chen Wujun was entirely red, he finally told the henchmen to stop, took a towel and sat to the side, wiping his body with it.
“A Wei, you know Tiger Roar Golden Bell Shield?”
“Heard of it.” Li Wei said.
“Tell me about it.” Chen Wujun immediately became interested.
Li Wei told what he knew, and after Chen Wujun heard it, he showed a bit of longing.
Unprecedented… how many in the world could achieve that? Even the Federation couldn’t do anything to him.
Then Chen Wujun thought of his master Zhou Qing’s photograph, and his heart stirred.
“Do you know what he went off to do?”
