The young man was furious with me, pointing at me and yelling, "Fine! Since you look down on people, then today I'll show you what Baozhilin is all about!"
“Young man, you’re still young, so impatient.” I laughed, looking at the guy. “Can you represent the name Baozhilin? Please, this is Canada. You alone, do you think you can represent the name Baozhilin? I only know that the real, authentic Baozhilin headquarters is still in Guangdong, China! Besides, I’m here to challenge you, not to fight someone like you. If you want to fight me, fine, but can you represent your boss? Challenge, young man, do you even understand what a challenge is?”
The young man was speechless, but he gritted his teeth and dared not respond.
Challenging a martial arts school is not as simple as a brawl. According to the rules, challenging a school means directly challenging the most powerful master in the school to a duel. If the most powerful master in the school loses, at best, his reputation will be severely damaged and he will never be able to hold his head up again; at worst, he will simply have to close down and be too ashamed to continue teaching!
I've made it clear that I'm challenging them, meaning I'm going to fight their strongest fighter! This young man is just a disciple; how could he dare to accept my challenge?
However, his face was flushed red. My words, "Young people are young people after all," and my condescending attitude in lecturing him had naturally angered him quite a bit, because, after all, I am a few years younger than him!
Just as the other group of thugs and my men were glaring at each other, a cold "humph" came from behind us, from the main entrance gate.
Immediately I heard a deep, authoritative voice: "How imposing, how menacing! Who dares to challenge us? Step forward."
After he finished speaking, a burly middle-aged man walked in through the door. He was wearing a simple jacket and was very strong, but his steps were extremely light and nimble. He walked across the doorway in just a few steps without making a sound. Moreover, even though my men and I were clearly blocking his way, he swayed left and right and quickly slipped through the gaps between us. His movements were so fast that I didn't even see him clearly!
His movements were incredibly swift, yet he exuded an indescribable air of composure. In the blink of an eye, he had arrived at the entrance of the training ground and reprimanded the young man, "I often teach you not to be arrogant and complacent. Don't forget how young you are and how ignorant you are of your own age."
The young man looked aggrieved, but obediently lowered his head and replied, "Yes, Master!"
The burly man turned around, looked at us, and slowly said, "I am the owner of this establishment. Didn't you want to challenge us?"
This man was about 1.8 meters tall, with a broad back and a thick waist, extremely strong, with a square face, prominent facial features, and piercing eyes. He was about forty years old. Just by standing there, he immediately exuded an air of imposing presence.
But then, his expression changed instantly when his eyes met mine! And I was stunned!
The middle-aged man's expression shifted from strange to surprised, and then that surprise instantly turned into anger!
He stared at me for a long time, then suddenly let out a long sigh, chuckled coldly twice, and pointed at me: "Good! Good! I've heard that there's a famous gangster boss in Vancouver now, called something like 'Little Fifth Brother,' or 'Fifth Master'... Heh! Good! Good! I didn't expect it to be you! You, Chen Yang, instead of learning good things, you've become a gangster boss!!"
"Damn it, what did you say! Who's the gang leader!" Before I could even speak, Hammer, one of my men with a fiery temper, who usually respected me the most, immediately rushed forward and punched the big man when he heard someone speaking disrespectfully to me.
I was initially stunned, but then I snapped back to reality. Seeing the hammer about to strike the burly man's face, I only managed to shout, "Ah!! Have mercy!!!"
Bang!
The burly man stood there without even flinching. Just as the hammer was about to strike him, he suddenly swiftly kicked out with his foot. Before anyone could even see his movement, a loud "bang" rang out, and the hammer was sent flying sideways...
Fortunately, I shouted that, and he kicked the hammer away. It tumbled on the ground, but I was only numb from the shock and didn't get hurt.
Now all the men I brought were ready to attack, rubbing their fists together and lunging forward. I quickly shouted, "Stop! Stop right now! Nobody is allowed to lay a hand on anyone!!"
I quickly reached out and grabbed the two brothers standing at the front, then used my own body to block the people behind me. My expression changed several times in that instant. I stared straight at the big man in front of me, my gaze complex, and finally, I even felt my eyes getting a little wet.
I still couldn't believe it. I rubbed my eyes hard and looked the big man over carefully before I was finally sure that I hadn't seen wrong.
Then, instead of getting angry, I laughed!
I turned around and pulled the hammer up from the ground. The hammer wasn't hurt, but it shook its head vigorously. It muttered, "Damn! That was a fast kick. I didn't even see it coming. I got kicked for nothing!"
I laughed and patted the dirt off him, saying with a hint of joy, "No, no, it's not unfair. Even I couldn't have dodged that kick, let alone you."
I put down the hammer, walked respectfully to the big man, lowered my head and called out in a deep voice, "Senior Brother!"
I shouted it out. Instantly, everyone in the room, except for me and this guy, was stunned!
The burly man was still looking at me with anger on his face. He seemed to be about to say something, but then he held back and gave me a deep look with a complicated expression.
I quickly sighed to the brothers beside me, "Hey, don't just stand there. This is my senior brother, my elder brother! Put your fists down, all of you... Hey, there's no need to fight. My senior brother beats me up like it's nothing, you're no match for him. Come over here and greet my senior brother..."
But my senior brother didn't give me any face. He snorted at me and walked into the training ground.
I was left standing there in front of so many people, but I felt no anger whatsoever. I just gave a wry smile and waved to my subordinates. Xiluo, sitting in his wheelchair, was also shocked: "Xiao Wu…he…he’s really your senior brother?"
I looked at Xiluo with a guilty expression on my face: "I'm sorry... Xiluo, he really is my senior brother... Sigh, I came here today to avenge you, but I didn't expect that it was my senior brother who injured you."
Xi Luo was stunned for a moment, then a strange light appeared on his face: "Holy crap! He's your senior brother! His kung fu is so amazing, and he's actually your senior brother! Xiao Wu! Your senior brother is from Baozhilin? You...you're also a disciple or grand-disciple of Wong Fei-hung? Holy crap! Holy crap!!" He was excited for a while, then sighed: "Sigh, no wonder I couldn't beat him..." He seemed to see the guilt on my face and immediately understood what I meant: "Xiao Wu, don't say anymore, I understand your predicament. Hmm...I also injured your senior brother's son, we're both injured about the same, so I didn't suffer a loss. Sigh...but how did things turn out like this?"
“Po Chi Lam… I didn’t know my senior brother was actually from Po Chi Lam… Wait, could it be that my master was also from Po Chi Lam? But that doesn’t make sense, my master never mentioned it back then!”
As I stared at the gate of the training ground, a jumble of emotions welled up inside me...
...
Back then, when I was ten years old, I became a disciple of a master. I originally thought that my master was just an inconspicuous barber in that county town, and I was just a young boy with a lot of curiosity. Influenced by martial arts novels and kung fu movies, I inevitably became interested in learning martial arts.
Under those circumstances, I was away from my parents and attending school in the county town. As a boy alone in a strange place, it was inevitable that I would be bullied by the other boys at the school. Being an out-of-town boy, I didn't have many friends, and I was arrogant and stubborn. It was quite normal for me to get into fights with other male classmates. Actually, my parents sent me to that county town school entirely for my own good, because that county town school was famous throughout the province and had a very high college entrance rate.
By chance, one day after school, I got into a fight with a few boys. I was outnumbered and ended up with a bloody nose, a cut on my lip, and a torn school uniform. The fight took place right in front of my master's barbershop, where I usually got my hair cut. My master was a kind-looking old man. When he saw me being bullied, he came out and chased the boys away.
He knew I was studying alone in another city, and my home wasn't local. My master had never had a son, and he seemed to have a special fondness for little boys like me. He led me into the barbershop, washed my face, and even applied medicine to my wounds.
Later, seeing how badly I had been beaten, he said, "Do you want to learn some skills? I'll teach you a couple of tricks, so at least you won't be bullied anymore."
Then he taught me a couple of moves... just a couple of moves, which was just the most basic grappling technique.
At the time, I didn't pay any attention and didn't really take this old man seriously. But two days later, I got into a fight with a classmate. In the heat of the moment, I used my skills, and to my surprise, I easily knocked down the guy I was fighting with—the tallest and strongest sports monitor in the class… I was only ten years old then, a little thin, and not very tall. Usually, even if I used all my strength, I couldn't knock that guy down, but this time I easily took him down!
I'm not stupid, and I immediately realized what was going on. That afternoon, I even secretly skipped a class and went to the barbershop to find my stylist.
I begged and pleaded with him to teach me a couple more moves, but he refused. Later, I heard from my master that he only taught me a few moves because he felt sorry for me after I was beaten up. He had also heard me say that I was studying alone in another city when I worked at his barbershop, and that I was quite pitiful. He only taught me a couple of moves out of pity, just so that I could at least protect myself in the future.
My master initially refused me, but I have a stubborn streak in my nature. Since he wouldn't agree, I kept pestering and nagging him.
Finally, my master nodded. But in the beginning, he didn't teach me any real kung fu; he just told me to follow him and train my body, while secretly observing me.
The rest was much simpler.
I became my master's youngest disciple, and also his last. I had read countless martial arts novels and watched countless martial arts movies, thinking that learning martial arts was simply about practicing with a secret manual. But when I actually started learning, it was so tough that I almost couldn't take it anymore.
Putting everything else aside, just practicing the horse stance is practically deadly!
There's also the daily exercise to strengthen muscles and bones, commonly known as "stretching the tendons"... which is actually just exercising the ligaments!
For the first few months, my master didn't teach me anything; he just had me do some tedious tasks. It wasn't until a year and a half later, when my master felt he had sufficiently assessed me and believed I had good potential and a resilient character, that he formally accepted me as his disciple!
Back then, there were four or five boys, including myself, who followed our master to practice kung fu. Apart from me, the other three were from the local area. Unfortunately, one of my senior brothers stopped practicing with our master after I had studied for two years because he went to study in another city for high school. That was the end of it.
However, that was the prevailing environment back then. In this day and age, who would still place their future on martial arts training? In comparison, academic studies are still more important.
I trained in martial arts under my master from the age of ten to eighteen! A full eight years!
I know that in eight years, I couldn't possibly learn any truly advanced martial arts. And my master has always clearly told me that among his disciples, I've probably learned the least.
My master had five disciples in total (it's strange, it seems like the number five has been associated with me my whole life. However, my nickname "Little Five" didn't start then. It was only after I returned to Nanjing and met some friends while racing cars that people started calling me "Little Five"). Among these five disciples, the one with the strongest kung fu was naturally the eldest disciple!
When I became a disciple, I was only ten years old, while my eldest brother was already twenty-five! He was the only one among us who lived at our master's house, because it seemed that my eldest brother was a distant relative of our master… Whether that was true or not, I don't know, but that's what we were told at the time. Although in those years, I never saw any relatives of our master visit.
There were five of us, and one of us left along the way. Of the remaining four, the other two, although students like me, were from the local area and went home to stay every day. As for me, I originally lived at school, but after becoming a disciple, I simply moved into my master's house.
That's why I have a very good relationship with my senior brother.
My eldest brother has been with Master for many years! When I first joined the sect, he was about twenty-five years old. I heard he started practicing martial arts with Master when he was eight... You can imagine...
Our master couldn't always supervise us; most of the time, it was our eldest brother who guided our practice. I was the youngest and the last to join, with the weakest foundation. In the beginning, I was subjected to grueling training. I complained constantly during the day, and at night, every part of my body ached while lying in bed.
Sometimes, my senior brother would bring medicinal wine to my room at night and apply it to my body. He would also give me a massage. Many times, I would drift off to sleep under his unique massage techniques.
The eldest brother had a cold demeanor and rarely spoke or joked. He was also very strict when supervising our practice, never letting us off easy. Sometimes, if we made a mistake during practice, Master would punish us with a rattan cane! But more often than not, it was the eldest brother who did the beatings, so we were all afraid of him.
But our eldest brother also had moments that touched us. Every time we got a beating, Master would make us winter melon and pork rib soup the next day. Whenever we saw our eldest brother go out to buy groceries and come back with pork ribs and winter melon on his bicycle, the three of us would cheer and rush over to help him carry the groceries into the kitchen.
When it comes to kung fu, the person I admire most in this world is undoubtedly my master! However, besides my master, the person I fear most is my senior brother! My senior brother's kung fu is excellent!
Back when we were practicing martial arts, we kids could only practice on our own on the sidelines. Only our eldest brother could actually spar with Master!
Sadly, when I was fifteen, my eldest brother left. He left our master's house.
I didn't know why my eldest brother left; I only vaguely knew that he had gone back to his hometown to take over the family business. At the time, I didn't know much about what his family did. But even at fifteen, I understood that martial arts training couldn't last a lifetime, and my eldest brother couldn't live at our master's house forever. He was a man; he needed to live, work, earn money, and have his own life!
Can you make a living by practicing martial arts?
For a long time after the eldest brother left, Master was in a bad mood.
Later, I mustered up the courage to ask my master how much of his skill I had actually learned.
My master wouldn't normally answer this kind of question, but that day he had a few drinks and, when the alcohol hit him, he told me the truth.
There were four of us brothers... not counting the one who has already left.
I learned about 30-40% of my master's skills. My two other senior brothers were about the same as me, but slightly stronger. The one who truly mastered his skills was my eldest brother!
Master said that when his eldest brother left, he already possessed seven or eight tenths of his skill. Even when he was young, at the same age as his eldest brother, he might not have been stronger than him.
Master said that if the next match is right, the eldest brother will be able to truly fight him, and if neither side goes all out, the eldest brother may not necessarily lose!
Back then, I was so ignorant and arrogant that I dared to ask, "What about me? If I fight my senior brother, what are my chances of winning?"
I remember my master glancing at me and smiling: "You? Your senior brother gave you a hand and a foot. If you can last ten minutes against him, you'll be considered diligent!"
I was still a little unconvinced at the time, but my master smiled, patted my shoulder, and sighed. He told me, "Kid, don't be unconvinced. Your natural talent is much worse than your senior brother's, and your foundation isn't as good either. Plus, your temperament... sigh... there are many things that I can't teach you, not because I'm biased, but because I'm afraid you'll cause trouble! So, you won't be able to learn many of my things. Your senior brother is different; he basically took everything he could from this old man."
After a pause, my master continued, "I told you, if he gives you an inch and a mile, you'd be lucky to last ten minutes against him. And that's 'good,' based on the current gap between you two. If it's another ten years... the gap between you and him will only widen!"
At the time, I was unconvinced and expressed my disbelief: "I've been practicing hard for the past ten years. Even if I can't catch up with him, that's fine. How could he be pulling further and further away from me?"
"Kid, once you've reached your senior brother's level in martial arts, you're no longer on the same level as him. After ten years of practice, he'll catch up with me. You and he are at different levels. Even if you practice for another ten years, you'll only improve a little from your current level. He... hehe, once he reaches his level, the higher he goes, the more obvious the gap between him and you becomes... This is fate, and also one's own destiny. You can't force it."
My master has never lied to me in his entire life. According to him, more than ten years later, my eldest brother's skills are on a completely different level from mine... If we were to really fight... how long could I last against him?
The eldest brother has not returned since leaving Master's house.
The last time I saw him was at our master's funeral. Our master had passed away, and we, his fellow disciples, wore mourning clothes for him. It was only then that our eldest brother rushed back. That was the last time I saw our eldest brother.
As far as I remember, the last thing he said to me was when the four of us, his senior brothers and I, hugged each other tightly. He said to us, "Be good people, and don't let Master down..."
After a pause, the eldest brother gritted his teeth and said to us, "If any of you dare to do anything wrong by taking advantage of the kung fu taught by Master, I will break your legs if I find out!"
When we suddenly lost our master, especially me, in that instant, looking at my eldest brother, I almost mistook him for our master's shadow. We hugged each other and cried our hearts out, and then my eldest brother left. Before he left, he gave us his phone number, but after I returned to Nanjing, I didn't do very well. Later, I even sold the house my parents left me and worked in nightclubs. I always carried a sense of inferiority and self-abandonment in my heart, so I almost never contacted my fellow disciples again.
only……
My master has taught me for so many years, and I've never heard of him being a disciple of Wong Fei-hung! How come my senior brother has opened a "Po Chi Lam" in Canada now?
Part Two: The Road to Success, Chapter Eighty-Five: Choice
I felt a mix of shock, surprise, joy, and unease.
Seeing my senior brother turn and walk inside angrily, I quickly told my men to stay where they were and headed towards the training ground alone. One of my senior brother's disciples seemed to want to stop me, but I easily dodged him. He hesitated for a moment, after all, he had heard me call out "Senior Brother" earlier. Seeing that the atmosphere was getting a bit complicated, he hesitated for a moment and didn't try to stop me again. The other young men followed suit and dodged as well.
My senior brother had already arrived at the training ground. He completely ignored me and quickly walked to a door inside, pushed it open, and went through a small corridor to a room. I followed him in without saying a word, not daring to get too close. My senior brother didn't say anything either, went into the room, and turned on the light.
I then noticed that the house was just an ordinary room, but according to the customs of southern China, there was an incense altar hanging from the ceiling above my head. The altar was suspended above a layer of wooden planks, and when I looked up, I saw a memorial tablet placed on it...