Martial Arts Master

“Are you going to stay at the Sect for a few more days, or are you heading straight home?” He Yi asked with a smile, walking along the passageway with his hands crossed behind his back.

Remembering his Senior Martial Sister had already gone to Guanwai for a competition, and his Master had gone to the secret base for his periodic treatment, he replied with candor, “I have already booked a plane ticket.”

“I see.” He Yi went up the staircase and entered the main hall of Ice Queen Pavilion. “In that case, I’ll get Jingting to send you to the airport.”

“You don’t have to trouble Martial Niece Mo, any other disciples will do,” Lou Cheng blurted.

He never felt comfortable being together with that crafty superstar. If she took advantage of him and caused some kind of scandal, he couldn’t begin to imagine how much it would hurt Ke Ke.

“What trouble? She’s got nothing better to do anyway,” He Yi said dismissively, ringing Mo Jingting up to get her to come by.

At this point, it was hard to turn down his goodwill, so Lou Cheng didn’t object any further. He just had to keep his distance later on. Plus, after the concert incident, Mo Jingting had evidently been restraining herself from doing things that might cause misunderstandings.

While waiting, he unlocked his phone and sent a laughing emoji to Yan Zheke.

“I made some progress while I was learning the ‘Titanic Starlit Skies—Absolute Frost’ tonight! Who knows? I might be able to derive some unique moves from it!”

Knowing that it was midnight over there and his girl was fast in her dreams, Lou Cheng didn’t wait for her reply, and added, “I’m planning to keep this a secret until I actually come up with something!”

Mhm, in this time, I can beat around the bush with Master and try to get some hints from him!

Before long, Mo Jingting arrived at the Ice Queen Pavilion with her car key in hand. She wore tight-fitting navy-blue jeans that accentuated her height and slender, long legs. For her top, she chose a white cotton-padded jacket. With her hair cascading down her shoulders, she had a plain and effortless girl-next-door vibe that could somehow put movie stars to shame.

“Not staying for dinner, Martial Uncle?” she asked. Lou Cheng’s silhouette was outlined in those passionately dreamy eyes of hers

.

Lou Cheng smiled politely. “I’m running short on time, so I guess I’ll just eat at the airport.”

“Martial Uncle, you sure are eager to return,” Mo Jingting jested sneeringly, as though they were old-time buddies.

Lou Cheng got on the car and fastened his seatbelt. Remembering, he informed his wife with a snickering emoji.

“Sect Master Martial Uncle got Mo Jingting to send me to the airport… I won’t make the same mistake, now that I know the rear-view mirror can be adjusted through the dashboard!”

Expertly, Mo Jingting started up the car. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Lou Cheng’s upward-curving lips. Curious, she asked,

“What are you smiling about, Martial Uncle? Is my driving posture strange?”

Driving posture… It’s easy to think in the wrong direction from those words… Damn it, it’s the fault of those “old drivers” on the Internet that twisted the meaning of “driving”! Lou Cheng thought to himself. He shook his head and laughed.

“I was sharing something interesting with my boss,” he said.

“Oh…” Mo Jingting took the hint and ended the conversation.

After a while of driving, with her eyes still on the road, she said, suddenly,

“Martial Uncle, do you think I have any hopes in attaining the Dan Stage?”

Instantly, Lou Cheng felt the authority of a senior. After some thinking, he responded,

“You are only in your 20s. There’s a long time before your Qi and blood weaken. If you can put your heart to it and endure the hardships, it’s not impossible.”

Back when Mo Jingting was accepted as a disciple of the Ice God Sect, she was already at the level of a Professional Ninth Pin despite her young age. That was enough to prove that she was fairly gifted. The reason for her jerky progression was only due to her lack of interest.

“After all of these years in showbiz, I finally came to realize that attaining the Dan Stage would do me much good,” Mo Jingting explained smilingly. “For example, if I have greater control over my body, my acting skills and expressiveness will skyrocket. The same applies when I have to control my breathing during singing. Most importantly, I can retain my Qi and blood and guide my skin and muscles to slow down my aging… I’m really interested in making the breakthrough to Dan Stage now. If I run into any questions, I’ll be counting on you for answers! ”

“Your master is more experienced than me, not to mention there’s Sect Master Martial Uncle. You don’t have to come to me,” said Lou Cheng euphemistically. Subconsciously, he felt that he needed to turn her down.

Mo Jingting giggled, then suddenly switched gears.

“Senior Martial Brother Zhu Tai had been at the Inhuman Stage for a long time, but he’s still stuck at Fifth Pin. He’s approaching his 30s too, so his chances of attaining Physical Invulnerability State is slim… Junior Martial Brother Lei Fang is almost 25 but has yet to refine his root pulps and make the breakthrough. In two years time, he’ll probably lose his edge even if he promotes… ”

Lou Cheng listened quietly, occasionally interrupting, as Mo Jingting brought up information on the Sect members. They arrived at the Shanggao Airport after a generally agreeable journey.

Waving goodbye, she watched as he went off into the departure hall. Retracting her gaze, Mo Jingting smiled and heaved a sigh.

She fished out another phone and cast a glance at the Wechat application she had just launched.

That was the number she used for the sole purpose of texting guys!

Back then, Lei Fang fell in love with her and made a series of advances. For a time, Mo Jingting was tempted to give him a chance. But, having been in the showbiz for years, she had seen too much of the ugly sides of men. Therefore, she specifically got a new number and registered a new Wechat account, fully furnished with a set of photographs of a C-list showbiz escort. After filling in the details for her Moments, she sent a friend request to her Junior Martial Brother, who promptly accepted. In their chats that ensued, Lei Fang flirted with her in filthy language, exposing a side of himself that was previously unknown to her.

After that incident, Mo Jingting’s heart went cold. Though she continued flirting with Lei Fang in a lukewarm manner, she was no longer interested in a relationship.

When she heard about Yan Zheke going overseas to study, she realized that her Martial Uncle was going to be left alone for a long time. Whimsically, she used the same Wechat account to test him, hoping to unveil his true colors beneath his righteous demeanor.

But… She took another look at her phone screen. One after the other, the requests went unanswered, as though she was throwing rocks into the sea.

Mo Jingting smiled and shook her head. She pushed down on the manual transmission, released the foot brake and stepped on the gas. The car swerved into the main road.

Seems like Martial Uncle is really the kind of martial artist with the will of a Sadhu… Or, perhaps, he doesn’t have a strong desire for those kinds of things…

…

At the end of January, at Xiushan, Xing Province.

In the tidy and well-lit new home, Qi Fang had packed some stuff. Massaging her waist gently, she said to her son, “This is for Zheke. Don’t forget to take them later. ”

Lou Cheng looked over the contents in the bag— sausages, cured meat, sticky rice cakes, and other similar products. Mouth-twitching, he said tentatively,

“Mom, I don’t think these can go through the customs?”

“Why not? Didn’t they let you through even when you are capable of setting fires and generating explosions? Are these food items more dangerous than you?” Qi Fang retorted in a high-pitched voice, eyes glaring.

Mom, your logic is so sound that I’m at a loss of words… Lou Cheng let out a laugh, then sighed. After tremendous effort, he finally convinced the stubborn middle-aged lady.

Before he stepped out of the door, Qi Fang said, with all earnestness,

“You must treat Zheke well. Such a young girl, leaving her home and going abroad all for the sake of you. All alone there, not being able to return home even during New Year…”

On that matter, Lou Cheng had played with his words and slightly twisted the original story, so he dared not to dwell on the subject and nodded nervously. Afterward, he began on other topics, until his mother impatiently chased him out of the house.

Silently humming, he got into the car in a pleasant mood and began to fantasize about his approaching trip to America.

There’s New Year, and my birthday, plus Valentine’s Day and our anniversary. I wonder what kind of surprises or gifts Ke Ke has in store for me… I’m ready for anything…

Perhaps I should let Aunt Du go on a holiday and spend the New Year with her son in China. Then I myself can fill the position of being Ke’s full-time bodyguard. Heh-heh, does that make me the School Beauty’s Personal Bodyguard? (drama reference)

When the weekend comes, if time and opportunity allow, I will try to challenge the Mighty Ones of the Geruga Sect. Whatever I learn and acquire from the experience will serve as a good warmup for the Nationals in April.

I’ll ask Spidey to continue keeping an eye on Holy Top Church. If that scum Pavel dares to show up and commit more crimes, I will see to it that he couldn’t be able do another crime, ever…

His exultant mood was met with an unpleasant delayed flight. He arrived in Connecticut City at 10 PM, five hours later than his ETA. It was snowing lightly outside with shrilling and frigid winds.

“Didn’t I told you to wait for me at home? I’m not a child, I can get there by myself in a cab,” Lou Cheng replied Yan Zheke as he stepped out of the customs. “It’s so late and cold now, and you have lessons tomorrow!”

Yan Zheke replied with a [bashful smile with head hanging low] emoji.

“But I want to see my Cheng as soon as possible…”

…Startled at first, a smile broke out on Lou Cheng’s face. He replied with a [shocked doggo] emoji.

“Hold on… What did I just see?! My little fairy is being all mushy!”

“Your mushiness rubbed off on me!” Yan Zheke replied with an [angry and sad] emoji.

Before he could reply to the message, Lou Cheng saw a white figure before him. She wore a milky long-sleeved down jacket, and a mellow-colored knitted hat with a furry ball dangling on both sides, sheathing her ears. She looked beautiful and cute.

Their eyes locked. Gazing at each other, they exchanged thoughts without the need to say a single word.

—–

In the Department of Homeland Security office, Smith— after nearly two months of not seeing a certain troublemaker— had thought that he was relieved from his burdens. He even began learning Chinese with new found enthusiasm. Now, he stared at the surveillance screen blankly, uttering three words in halting syllables,

“Ma…Mai…Pi.” (A Sichuan swear word that had become popular among Chinese Internet users in recent years. Basically means F***.)