Chapter 9: Hand As Knife, Fist As Arrow, Knee As Hammer
The next afternoon, Chen Wujun went into that alley for a turn and immediately noticed several shirtless men playing cards in one of the houses.
“One… two…” Chen Wujun just glanced at the doorway and recognized two among them.
“Only two are the ones I’ve seen… they have more than the four people seen that day…” Chen Wujun’s gaze slightly condensed, and he lowered his head and walked away quickly.
“Even if the leader is killed, others will come to collect the debt! Unless all those IOUs can be burned!”
Chen Wujun himself knew that was impossible.
“It’s all that gambler’s fault, that bastard!” After turning the corner of the alley, Chen Wujun kicked the wall somewhat angrily.
He felt that he had hit too lightly last time.
“Since the debt can’t be written off, then find a way to get some money!” Chen Wujun remembered hearing a saying somewhere: open sources and cut expenditures.
Besides cutting expenditures, there is opening sources.
What is opening sources? It’s getting money from outside.
“If I can rob a sum from them… even if life at home is tough, at least I can guarantee the money for going to the martial arts school.” Chen Wujun’s mind turned, and he quickly had a plan.
“There is more than one way to solve any problem. In life and work, you can’t hang yourself on a single path!”
“These past couple of days, my mind was full of killing people so the money doesn’t need to be repaid. Although it’s satisfying, it’s still thinking too simply… I can completely change my approach.”
“After all, I’m just starting to practice martial arts now, and my skills are only at an ordinary person’s level. Those loan shark people are numerous, I only have one chance to make a move, and it’s impossible to take them all out.”
Chen Wujun reflected on his recent mentality and thoughts while walking, feeling that his previous mindset was still too naive and immature.
Fortunately, he woke up to it.
Then he turned his thoughts back to those loan shark collectors: “If they collect the debt, and I go rob it afterward, that can solve my current problem.”
“If luck is good, maybe I can even make a profit.”
After sorting out his thoughts, Chen Wujun’s mentality gradually calmed down.
Although the purpose changed, the next goal remained the same.
It was just that the purpose changed from killing to write off the debt to killing to take the money.
Chen Wujun turned a corner and went to Long Jin Road to buy a hat to wear, and also bought a baggy black T-shirt and a pair of gray sweatpants.
After changing into this outfit, he looked completely different from usual, especially with the hat on, blending into the crowd made him unfindable.
Then he went to squat near the alley where those loan sharks were, preparing to first scout their travel habits.
Not long after, he saw two people coming out of the casino.
One of them had a pale face, evasive eyes, and a look full of hesitation and confusion.
Chen Wujun guessed at a glance that this person was a gambler, while the other was pointing into the alley and saying something.
Then the two drilled into the alley.
Chen Wujun looked from the alley entrance, and sure enough, the two went into the loan sharks’ base.
Moments later, the two came out of the alley again. The one who had been full of hesitation and confusion before put his hand in his pocket, walked quickly with excitement on his face, and drilled back into the casino.
Chen Wujun stared at his back and spat on the ground.
He estimated that his own big brother was probably like this when he borrowed the money back then.
After waiting a moment more, Chen Wujun saw three people coming out of the alley, heading in one direction.
Chen Wujun’s heart stirred, and he blended into the crowd to follow.
“That Chicken Feet Dong ran when he saw us, this time we catch him and we’ll break his leg!”
“Is the news accurate? He’s at…”
“The news is reliable…”
Chen Wujun followed behind them, stopped after hearing snippets, felt there was not much point in following, and returned to near the alley entrance to keep watching.
But this time he found a fish ball stall and bought some fish balls.
Until dusk was about to fall, those few returned to the base looking dejected, and moments later came out with one carrying an iron rod and another carrying a bucket.
Chen Wujun quietly followed behind and saw them go to a seventh-floor place, first smashing the door, then directly splashing gasoline on that household’s door, and lighting it with fire.
Chen Wujun poked his head to look, then pretended to be passing by and went up half a flight, hiding behind the stair corner to watch.
Immediately, screams from a woman, crying from a child, and a man’s pleas for a few more days’ extension came from that household.
Chen Wujun watched all this coldly from the dark corner.
Those gamblers are just like this, not only ruining themselves but also dragging down their families.
Moments later, the few gave a final deadline, then left swaggering, kicking over a pile of clutter in the corridor.
Chen Wujun remembered that when they left his own home, they also kicked over nearby clutter, and he had to clean it up for half a day.
“It looks like showing off force to intimidate others!” Chen Wujun secretly noted this in his heart.
“Although it’s low-class, it can increase intimidation and pressure on debtors… especially ordinary debtors.”
After the few left, he waited a moment before going downstairs home.
After dinner, he went up to the rooftop again, lay on the guard wall looking at the brightly lit high-rises in the distance, the young man’s gaze full of longing.
Then he put both hands on the guard wall, quickly climbed up, and as soon as he stood up, his center of gravity was slightly unsteady, so he hurriedly spread his arms to balance, his heartbeat racing.
Even though he came up every day these past few days to do standing meditation, in such a place on the line between life and death, the body’s instincts would feel fear.
Chen Wujun calmed his emotions and looked down.
The street below the high-rise was narrow like a ruler.
Dots of lights dotted the sides.
Two gangs were confronting each other on the street; if it were any other day, Chen Wujun would have run down to watch the excitement.
But at this time, Chen Wujun just looked and turned back, took a deep breath, and began standing meditation. Everything around started to fade, but the distant sounds were unusually clear.
“Sha Jiu, you dare break my son’s leg?”
“He caused trouble in my place, just breaking his leg is giving you face! Next time, no one can protect him!”
“Good, good, good, He Tu really produces talent, breaking my son’s leg is giving me face! Then if I chop off one of your legs, that’s giving face to your boss…”
“No wonder you’re called Hong Yong, you really are bold! How about we set up a ring, you and I fight, see if I can kill you?”
……
“Hoo!” Chen Wujun returned to the rooftop, hands on his knees, sweat pouring down his body.
But the smile on his face couldn’t be suppressed; every time he could feel his own progress.
His eyes also sparkled.
Soon, Chen Wujun thought of the sounds he heard from below while standing meditation earlier, and curiously lay on the guard wall looking down.
“Sha Jiu… He Tu’s Four Heavenly Kings?”
“Don’t know what she looks like.”
“Heard she’s a woman, even more formidable than men!”
“Who is that Hong Yong?”
Those gangs don’t harass ordinary people, but He Tu’s influence on the Walled City is all-encompassing, including the Walled City’s Welfare Association being controlled by He Tu.
So even ordinary people have heard of those big shots’ names.
Besides, these past few days at the casino, he had heard the name Sha Jiu mentioned multiple times.
But by now the people below had started dispersing.
The two sides confronted for half a day, even Li Dong’s person was watching nearby, but in the end, they didn’t fight.
He Tu’s big boss Lin Jianxin sent someone to pass a message, giving that Hong Yong a way out.
Hong Yong immediately backed down, threw a few harsh words, and took his people away.
Not seeing the person made Chen Wujun a bit regretful in his heart. Even if she was still there, he couldn’t see clearly from the 40-meter-high rooftop.
Soon, Chen Wujun put this aside, rested, then climbed onto the guard wall to do standing meditation.
Over the next few days, Chen Wujun did the same: every afternoon scouting around Long Jin Street, and at night going to the rooftop for standing meditation.
But he bought two more T-shirts and hats, changing them each time he went scouting to avoid being noticed.
This was something he learned from Police News.
A gang of robbers wore the same clothes every day while staking out near a gold shop, got noticed by the police, and they set up an ambush.
That gang of robbers was blocked inside the gold shop as soon as they made their move.
So Chen Wujun liked reading Police News, always able to learn new things from it.
In four days, Chen Wujun watched those loan sharks go collect debts every day and learned quite a bit.
For example, how to create pressure on debtors, how to force debtors to repay.
……
At the same time, his standing meditation progress far exceeded ordinary students. Although the progress in Golden Rooster Stance wasn’t as fast as in Charge Stance, it still made Senior Brother Li nod secretly.
After all, he was just a teenager; it was normal for killing intent to train a bit slower.
“Come over! Starting today, like them, when standing Golden Rooster Stance, use your knee to strike the wooden stake!”
This day after finishing Golden Rooster Stance, Senior Brother Li called Chen Wujun to the wooden stake wrapped with hemp rope.
Seeing Senior Brother Li’s stance, Chen Wujun knew he was about to teach new things, and anticipation rose in his heart.
“Hands are knives, fists are arrows: fast, ruthless, accurate, poke eyes, poke throat, and the knee is a hammer: hard, heavy. One knee strike to break the opponent’s bone, shatter the internals!”
Senior Brother Li didn’t teach fists, but directly taught knees.
Because Golden Rooster Stance is originally raising the knee as a shield, both for blocking and attack preparation, turning the shield into a hammer.
“Know why we have you stand Golden Rooster Stance first? Because fists strike from afar, knees are the deadly weapon up close. In the Walled City, it’s narrow and chaotic; beyond three steps, grab whatever to use, within one step it’s close-quarters tearing, your hands are for tearing, pulling, creating openings.”
“At that time, the knee is the hidden killer move below, and the knee is also your hardest, most destructive place!”
Chen Wujun thought about Senior Brother Li’s words and deeply agreed.
For beginners, fists are not as good as picking up a stick from the side or grabbing a stool.
But knees are different.
Just one hit, and the opponent loses fighting ability.
Senior Brother Li turned sideways to the stake, instantly raised his knee, movement fast as lightning, power rising from the ground, fiercely transmitted through waist and hips to the kneecap.
Thud!
“Use this! The hardest bone on the front of the knee!” Senior Brother Li patted the spot directly below his own kneecap. “Don’t use the side, you’ll hurt yourself.”
“You try!”
Chen Wujun went to the wooden stake, carefully observed, then imitated Senior Brother Li’s movement and fiercely kneed the wooden stake.
“Remember, it’s not lifting the leg to kick, but striking! Imagine your knee is a stone, press your entire body weight onto it, smash it over!” Senior Brother Li shouted from the side.
“Breathing! Inhale when raising knee, explode breath on impact! Roar out all your body’s power!”
“Ha!” Chen Wujun roared and raised his knee to strike again.
Thud!
“Alternate legs for striking! Left knee, right knee, in a fight the opponent won’t stay on one side!” Senior Brother Li nodded secretly from the side; Chen Wujun’s learning ability was strong, just a few times after being taught the movement and he could do it.
But after a few strikes, Chen Wujun’s movements slowed down.
“Hurts? Good if it hurts! Your bones are hardening, your muscles are remembering how to exert force, continue!”
“Don’t treat it as wood, treat it as your enemy! Every strike with killing intent!”
“Starting today, come two hours early every day, 300 strikes each leg, if you can’t do it, no need to train!”
Senior Brother Li stared tightly at Chen Wujun, teaching loudly.
Lin Zetao’s few disciples looked at each other; since Chen Wujun came, they had it much easier.
These past few days, Senior Brother Li had put almost all his attention on Chen Wujun.
They originally feared being targeted by Senior Brother Li the most, but now felt completely ignored, which left a bad taste in their hearts.
Filled with disappointment and unwillingness.
