Immediately, a burly man jumped down from the other side. According to Xiluo, this man was about forty years old. He immediately grabbed the young man who was bleeding profusely from Xiluo's beating and flew into a rage. He ordered his men to carry the young man away.
"And then?" I had a bad feeling. "And then he fought with you?"
“Yes…” Xiluo only managed to utter one word before immediately shaking his head, his face a mixture of shame and anger. He gritted his teeth and said, “Damn it, he wasn’t ‘fighting me’! He was beating me up! That guy is really strong! I couldn’t even withstand a single blow from him! I didn’t have a chance to fight back!” Xiluo lowered his head, his voice filled with extreme frustration: “Damn it. I’ve been practicing boxing for so many years, and I’ve never seen such a powerful guy! One punch from him made my vision go black, and all I knew was to keep my fists in a defensive stance, but soon I felt a…” A sharp pain shot through me, and I went completely numb. He punched me three times in the chest, and even with my arms raised in a defensive stance, I couldn't block him. Finally, he kicked me in the leg, fracturing my shinbone instantly! As I fell to the ground, my head was still spinning; I hadn't even seen his movements clearly! He was standing next to me, saying, "You broke three of my son's ribs, so I'll break three of yours. As for your leg, it's a warning that you can't just throw those kinds of punches around! Didn't your martial arts teacher tell you that those kinds of punches can kill?!"
After saying this, Xiluo looked up at me.
I remained silent and did not speak.
Fundamentally, we are in the wrong. We went to collect protection money, but they refused, which led to this fight.
But we are a criminal organization, a gang. I've never said I'm a good person. The Big Circle is a gang; smuggling and territorial disputes are just part of the equation. It's like asking if you can accuse a wolf of eating a sheep. Wolves are meant to eat sheep!
Moreover, our approach was quite aboveboard; at least we set up a stage and fought them to determine the winner.
If it were any other gang, they would have already led over a hundred men, armed with knives and guns, and razed that martial arts school to the ground!
Reasoning? Gangsters are inherently unreasonable.
but……
I'm really surprised!
I know Xiluo's skills very well. To put it bluntly, even if I were to fight him, although Xiluo is far inferior to me, I know that even if I could defeat Xiluo... I don't think I could do it so easily!
When we spar, if I don't use my full strength, Xiluo can usually last at least ten minutes against me.
This is why Xiluo and I have a particularly good relationship, and why he respects me so much.
I squinted, my expression unreadable, and finally let out a cold laugh, steeling my resolve: "Hmph, no matter what, hitting my brother won't be so easy!"
Indeed, I'm a member of the underworld; I'm not a good person! Although I don't like bullying people, from my position, if I don't bully others, they'll bully me! I have no choice! Unless I give up everything I have now and go back to being an ordinary citizen! But even if I go back to being an ordinary citizen, I'll still be bullied!
That's just how the world is!
I shouted for Hammer to come in, then instructed him, "Go. Pick five of the best fighters from the area! Wait for me in the car outside in ten minutes!"
Hammer paused for a moment: "Huh? Fifth Brother, you need to do something?"
"Hmph." I sneered, "Come and cause trouble with me!"
A black minivan slowly pulled up onto the street and stopped. I personally helped Xiluo out of her wheelchair and then looked up at the martial arts school in front of me.
Just as Xiluo had said, the martial arts school wasn't very big, and the entrance was quite small. I looked up at the entrance and was slightly surprised...
It's quite strange that this martial arts school doesn't have a sign.
Because every martial arts school, regardless of size, needs at least a name. A person's name is like a tree's shadow; it's about making a name for oneself. That's the idea. If you're opening a school and taking on students, why doesn't the martial arts school even have a name?
Even a common name like "威武" (majestic), "扬威" (glorious), or "振兴" (revitalizing) would be fine.
I frowned and looked down at Xiluo, asking, "What's the name of this martial arts school?"
Xiluo paused for a moment, then shook his head: "I don't know. We didn't pay attention to these small martial arts schools. Who cares what their name is? If it weren't for them opposing us and us coming to their door, we wouldn't even know there was such a school. As for the name, I didn't ask in detail. When I came last time, I didn't look closely either. It seems like they don't have a sign."
I frowned.
My initial thought was that I could at least glean some information from the signboard. For example, if it said "Liuhe Martial Arts School," then they were likely masters of Liuhequan (Six Harmonies Boxing). If it said "Pigua Martial Arts School," then I'd know to be wary of their Piguaquan. I even went a step further, wondering if, if I destroyed this martial arts school today, would they have other masters seeking revenge later?
But now, the other party doesn't even have a name. I can't find out anything about them at all.
Never mind, since we're already here, I frowned and slowly pushed Xiluo inside. Of course, there were already two brothers leading the way.
The main door of the martial arts school was open, leading to an outer hall. What surprised me was that this didn't seem to be just a martial arts school. From the outside, passing through the outer hall and lifting a curtain, I saw a row of mahogany furniture... Upon entering, I was immediately greeted by a strong smell of Chinese medicine. Clearly, that row of cabinets was a medicine cabinet!
I even saw several large plasters hanging to dry under the curtain.
This inner hall is completely open, and to the left, there is a martial arts training ground!
There were seven or eight young people practicing routines in the arena. I glanced at them and could tell that they were practicing routines from Hung Kuen, and their stances were quite good.
Seeing me push Xiluo in, and with the hostile looks on the faces of the people around me, several young people gathered together, and one of them shouted, "It's them! These people are here again!"
Immediately, seven or eight young men dropped their stances and ran towards us, blocking the entrance to the training ground.
"What are you doing? Humph, we agreed before the competition yesterday that if you lost, you would no longer be involved in anything on this street! You lost, but you've come back today. Are you trying to renege on your promise?" A young man, about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and a strong build, was wearing a white martial arts jacket and cloth shoes.
He stood at the very front of the group of young people, looking up at me with his head held high.
"Who are you? Tell your master to come out." I looked at him and said coldly.
"The owner isn't here! Just tell me what's wrong!" The young man seemed very assertive.
Xiluo said, "Xiao Wu, yesterday, in the first match, he defeated one of our brothers. This guy is the master's apprentice here."
"I'm the master's eldest disciple!" The young man looked at me with hostility. "My junior brother was injured, and my master went to the hospital and hasn't come back! What are you doing here! Want to fight again? Humph, do you even keep your word?"
“You keep your word.” I said coldly, “You won yesterday, and we accept the loss! I’m their boss, and from today onwards, my men won’t interfere in this street!” I looked at the young man, who remained calm and fearless despite my sharp gaze. I smiled faintly, “One thing at a time! I don’t want the territory, but I can’t ignore my brother being beaten like this! I’m not here to fight you for territory! I’m just standing up for my brother!”
"Stand out? Do you want to fight again?" The young man looked at me; he was actually a bit older than me.
"Hey!" I sneered, shaking my head at him. "Do you really not understand? Hmph, according to the rules of us martial artists, I'm not here to fight today! I'm here to challenge the school! If no one here can beat me today, your martial arts school should close down as soon as possible!"
After I finished speaking, I took a deep breath, took two steps to the middle, looked up, and saw a sign on the door that read: "Strengthen the body and improve health".
The sign was placed directly above the door, about two meters above the ground. I lightly jumped and picked up the wooden board, which was about one meter long, with one hand. Then, I gently exhaled, raised my foot, kicked it over my head, and then slammed my heel into the wooden board!
Wow!
I split the wooden plank in two with one kick!
I pointed at the young man: "When is your manager coming back? I'll wait for him here!" He was clearly surprised; he shouldn't have missed the skill with that kick I just delivered. I looked into his eyes and slowly said, "According to the rules, before you challenge someone, you should reveal your name! Hmph, let me know which school or sect I'm challenging today!"
The young man glared at me angrily. He gritted his teeth, but raised his arms to block the other young men behind him, preventing them from rushing out. He looked at me and said in a deep voice, "Our family's name is not allowed to be displayed outside, by our master. If you want to know, you might as well turn around and look!"
I turned around and searched the area with my eyes. In the back of the pharmacy, I saw an incense table with a still-burning candle. Above the table, on the wall, hung a small, very antique wooden plaque. The plaque, though its age was unknown, was remarkably clean despite its worn appearance. The only pity was its small size and inconspicuous location; I hadn't noticed it since I entered…
The plaque bore three large, bold characters written in a flamboyant, dragon-and-phoenix style...
When I looked...
Holy crap! I was completely stunned!
Because of those three elegant, vigorous, and powerful golden characters on the plaque…
The letter reads:
Bao...zhi...lin!!!
...
Oh my god!
Part Two: The Road to Success, Chapter Eighty-Four: Old Stories
Baozhilin?
Baozhilin!!!
What do these three words represent? What kind of fame and prestige do they symbolize?
Upon hearing these three resounding words, many people will immediately think of a series of illustrious names:
The Ten Tigers of Guangdong... Head Coach of the Militia... The Shadowless Footwork of Foshan...
The famous Master Huang, Huang Feihong!!!
What is Po Chi Lam? It's Wong Fei-hung's pharmacy and martial arts school!
Who was Wong Fei-hung? He was one of the most renowned martial arts masters in China during the late Qing Dynasty!
Of course, the so-called "Foshan Shadowless Kick" doesn't exist in reality; it's just something fabricated and made up for the sake of the story and character development in movies.
The real Wong Fei-hung was not skilled in leg techniques, but he was a recognized master of Southern Shaolin Kung Fu and a famous "Hung Kuen" grandmaster in the late Qing Dynasty!
There are plenty of people in the world who practice Hung Kuen, but Po Chi Lam... goodness, it's a direct descendant of Wong Fei-hung, the grandmaster of Hung Kuen!
No wonder...
I stared at the plaque on the wall, lost in thought for a long time... and at that moment, all my brothers finally saw the plaque, even Xiluo saw it.
The name "Po Chi Lam" is something most of us my age and my buddies have heard countless times from movies and TV shows. And "Wong Fei-hung"—that's a name that speaks for itself; he's a legendary martial arts master…wow. He's practically an idol!
Unexpectedly, my challenge to the martial arts school has landed me in Wong Fei-hung's own home...
Fortunately, Wong Fei-hung had been dead for a century, otherwise... hehe!
Including Xiluo, all the brothers had strange expressions. Each of them looked as if they had swallowed an egg whole. Xiluo suddenly reached out and gently patted his cheek, muttering to himself, whether with emotion or helplessness, "I never thought I would lose to Huang Feihong's disciples and grand-disciples. This loss is indeed not unjust."
If it were any other martial arts school, I wouldn't have bothered with the choice, but since they'd dared to challenge Po Chi Lam, I couldn't help but tone down my arrogance. I took a deep breath and turned to look at the young man. I slowly said, "So you're from a prestigious family, hehe! My apologies for my overreaction!"
The young man immediately showed a hint of arrogance on his face and snorted heavily through his nose.
Looking at the arrogance on his face, I felt a slight unease...
Hmph, Po Chi Lam, so what if it really is Po Chi Lam?
If this were a hundred years ago, during Wong Fei-hung's era, Po Chi Lam would certainly be revered by everyone. Even if you gave me the guts, I wouldn't go and challenge Wong Fei-hung to a duel!
But now, the Wong Fei-hung lineage has been passed down for countless generations. The so-called "Po Chi Lam" has shops in mainland China, Southeast Asia, and even the United States, but most of these shops are independent. Back then, Wong Fei-hung took in a group of disciples, and then those disciples took in disciples, and so on, generation after generation, branching out and flourishing. Among them are genuine direct descendants, and of course, there are also some who learned a little bit and then went out to make a living by relying on the prestige of their master.
As for this "Po Chi Lam" in front of us, who knows how much it has to do with the real Wong Fei-hung's authentic lineage?
It's possible that it was indeed opened by a direct descendant of Wong Fei-hung, and that it truly possesses family-inherited martial arts skills... If that's the case, I'd better turn around and leave. I ask myself, how many years have I been learning martial arts? Even if my master praised my talent back then, and I studied diligently, compared to a descendant of a prestigious family nurtured by such authentic family martial arts skills... I still have some self-awareness.
However, there's also a considerable possibility... that this Po Chi Lam in front of us is simply run by someone who has absolutely no connection to Wong Fei-hung. A century has passed, and Wong Fei-hung's disciples have been passed down from generation to generation. In addition, in recent decades, various films and television shows have been relentlessly hyping up this martial arts master of the late Qing Dynasty. Heaven knows where all these disciples and grand-disciples of Wong Fei-hung came from in this world.
But considering that the owner of this establishment almost crippled my top general, Xiluo, in just a few moves... I think this Baozhilin shouldn't be a counterfeit!
But the arrogance on this young man's face still annoyed me!
"Hmph!" I snorted loudly, then looked at myself and said coldly, "Po Chi Lam? So what if it's Po Chi Lam? Do you really think you're Wong Fei-hung?"
Seeing the young man's expression change slightly, I continued with a cold laugh: "Of course Huang Feihong has a great reputation, but over the past hundred years, there are countless people in the world who are his disciples and grand-disciples. It seems that anyone who has even the slightest connection with Huang Feihong, and who opens a martial arts school or a pharmacy, likes to hang up the Baozhilin sign to intimidate people."
As I talked, I calmed down.
Indeed, at the beginning, I was truly stunned by the name Baozhilin! As the saying goes, a person's name is like the shadow of a tree! These three names are indeed resounding, and you can't deny it.
But so what about Wong Fei-hung? Even if Wong Fei-hung was incredibly powerful... that was over a hundred years ago!
Let alone Wong Fei-hung, even Huo Yuanjia, humph, not a single one of Huo Yuanjia's direct descendants practices martial arts now! Huo Yuanjia's descendants have long since stopped practicing martial arts and have simply set up a Huo Yuanjia museum in their hometown to make money.
I calmed down a bit and regained my confidence.