[Volume 2: Youthful Battles] Chapter 23: Tai Chi
Everything happened so quickly. From the beginning to the end of the chaos, it only took eight days in total, and the chief of the city bureau in City J was replaced again. The common people spread the rumor that the previous Chief Cheng was removed by the superior leaders because of corruption and accepting bribes. They had a good impression of the newly appointed chief, after all, he quickly quelled the chaos in City J as soon as he took office.
People are just like this. They only look at the results, not the process. When Chief Cheng first took office, he also had his glorious moments, but now no one can remember them.
San Yan was released safely, the chief of the city bureau was under his control, and he was the absolute leader of the underworld in City J. Xie Wendong was walking on his way to school, breathing in the fresh air, and was in a very good mood. Ying was still in the hospital, and suddenly without her around, Xie Wendong really felt a bit unaccustomed. To get from the North Hotel to No.1 Middle School, one had to pass through a small park. In the morning, there were many people exercising there. Among them, what attracted Xie Wendong's attention the most was an old man with white hair. Every time he passed by the park, he could see the old man practicing Tai Chi.
Today, Xie Wendong was in a good mood and took the initiative to go up and start a conversation. "Grandpa, can the Tai Chi you practice hurt people?"
The old man looked at Xie Wendong and saw a handsome and delicate-looking teenager of sixteen or seventeen years old, who was quite likable. He smiled and said, "Young man, practicing Tai Chi is not for fighting!"
Xie Wendong said, "Hehe! Tai Chi is only shown as powerful in TV shows or movies. In reality, it's nothing special. It's really strange if such slow movements could be used in a fight. Most people who practice it are probably just for keeping fit. But there are many ways to keep fit. Why do I always see you practicing Tai Chi?"
The old man said seriously, "Young man, don't look down on Tai Chi. There is a reason why it has been passed down for hundreds of years!"
Seeing the disbelieving look in Xie Wendong's eyes, the old man said, "Well, if you don't believe it, try punching me!"
Punch you? If I really did, you'd probably end up in the hospital in all likelihood. Seeing that the old man was at least seventy years old, Xie Wendong didn't dare to hit him. He looked at the old man and shook his head.
"Go ahead and hit me. I'll be fine. Didn't you say that Tai Chi can't be used in a fight? I'll show you. Come on, young man!" The old man smiled at Xie Wendong.
Seeing that the old man was serious and his face was full of confidence, Xie Wendong also wanted to see if Tai Chi was really as powerful as the old man said. He laughed and said loudly, "Then... then I'll really hit you!"
"Hey! Hit me as hard as you like!"
"Okay!" Xie Wendong used 30% of his strength and punched the old man in the chest. The old man shook his head when he saw this, opened his palm, and easily grabbed Xie Wendong's fist. "Young man, didn't you have breakfast this morning? Use a bit more strength!"
Xie Wendong blushed, withdrew his fist, and said, "Grandpa, be careful this time. I'm really going to use some strength!"
As he spoke, he used 80% of his strength and punched the old man. The old man was unhurried. He slightly tilted his body and gently pushed Xie Wendong's arm with his hand, causing Xie Wendong's punch to miss. At the same time, he quickly kicked out.
Xie Wendong was surprised that his punch missed and that the old man could easily push his fist away. He secretly thought that the old man was really good. He looked up at the old man and saw that the old man was reaching out towards his chest. Xie Wendong looked down and his face turned bright red. There was a complete shoe print on his chest, and he didn't even see how he got kicked.
The old man smiled and said, "Young man, what do you think? Now you know how powerful Tai Chi is, right? Haha!"
The old man's words aroused the rebellious spirit in Xie Wendong's youthful heart. He thought that he had been too careless and had shown mercy. He said loudly, "Grandpa, can I try it once too?"
"Sure! Come on!" The old man stood where he was and got ready.
This time, Xie Wendong didn't dare to be careless anymore. He gathered all his strength, let out a loud shout, and punched the old man fiercely. This punch was extremely fast. From his many fights, Xie Wendong had concluded that strength determined speed, and speed determined everything. When the old man saw Xie Wendong's punch coming, he also showed a look of surprise. He didn't expect that the seemingly thin and weak teenager would have such explosive power. He didn't dare to be negligent. He turned his body and dodged to the side, and with his hands, he gently pushed Xie Wendong's incoming fist, changing its direction.
Xie Wendong couldn't stop his momentum and "Deng, Deng, Deng!" he rushed past the old man and ran several steps forward.
With great difficulty, he stopped his momentum and stabilized his body. Xie Wendong quickly turned around. The old man was looking at him with a smile. Xie Wendong's forehead was sweating. If this were a real fight, his entire back would have been exposed to the opponent's attack just now, and the consequences would have been unthinkable. Xie Wendong now truly admired the old man. He said respectfully, "Grandpa, I'm convinced this time. I apologize for what I said earlier. Tai Chi is really amazing!"
The old man nodded and said, "Young man, practicing Tai Chi is not only for keeping fit and self-defense. The most important thing is to cultivate one's character and to understand the principles of being a person from it. Do you understand this?"
Xie Wendong shook his head and looked at the old man with a questioning look. The old man continued, "Tai Chi is like being a person. It emphasizes smoothness and flexibility. Tai Chi uses softness to overcome hardness, stillness to control movement. When facing the strong, one should retreat, avoid their edge, and attack their vital points. When facing the weak, one should be strong, pursue the victory, and not leave them a chance to catch their breath. One should remain calm even under great pressure, and use a small amount of force to move a huge object! If a person can reach such a state, they can go anywhere in the world! Haha!"
After hearing the old man's words, Xie Wendong vaguely thought of something that he hadn't thought of before, but he was still a bit confused about what it was. Xie Wendong bowed to the old man and said, "Grandpa! I hope I can practice Tai Chi with you in the future. Can you teach me?"
The old man laughed heartily and said, "Sure. Young man, I also like young people like you. Come here at four o'clock every day from now on and practice with me. It's getting late now, and I'm going back. Since you're still a student, you should hurry to class too!" After that, the old man strolled away.
Looking at the old man's leisurely back, Xie Wendong finally understood what was meant by "realm"! He shouted, "Grandpa, I'll come to find you tomorrow. You must come!"
The old man didn't speak, and only a hearty laugh came over. Xie Wendong shook his head and secretly thought that the old man was really strange!
From then on, whether he went to school or not, Xie Wendong would arrive at the park on time at four o'clock every morning. He and the old man never asked each other about their identities, as if both of them were avoiding this issue.
Every morning, the old man would lead Xie Wendong. They would start meditating from four o'clock until five o'clock, practicing breathing and the circulation of qi. The old man said that at this time, the sun had just risen, and the spiritual energy between heaven and earth was at its strongest, which was the best time for cultivation. Although Xie Wendong couldn't cultivate the internal energy like in martial arts novels, he believed the old man's words. Every time he finished meditating, he could feel an indescribable sense of comfort, and he would become calm and composed. Even if he was feeling irritable, it would gradually disappear. Xie Wendong liked this feeling, and he always kept this habit.
From five o'clock to seven o'clock, Xie Wendong learned Tai Chi boxing from the old man. There weren't many routines, just dozens of moves repeated over and over again. However, when the old man taught Xie Wendong Tai Chi boxing, he was always talking about the principles and experiences of dealing with people and things. To be precise, Xie Wendong learned much more principles from the old man than the Tai Chi boxing moves, and they were also more useful.
In the blink of an eye, two months passed. During this period, Xie Wendong practiced Tai Chi with the old man every morning, was busy with the Wendong Society in the morning, the Qing Gang in the afternoon, and accompanied Gao Huimei and Gao Huiyu in the evening. His life was busy but fulfilling.
Xie Wendong often went to the hospital to visit Gao Zhen and Ying. Gao Zhen recovered very quickly and was basically healed. Although Ying wasn't completely well, she could move around freely. The only drawback was her eyes. Her central nervous system was pressed by a small blood clot, causing blindness. Although it wasn't permanent blindness as the doctor said, it would take a long time to recover, and she needed another operation.
Gao Zhen didn't care about this. He stayed by Ying's side all day long, talking to her or helping Ying go out for a walk. Ying gradually accepted Gao Zhen, but she wasn't good at expressing her inner feelings. She could only be silently moved in her heart by the tenderness that Gao Zhen showed her.
On this day, Gao Zhen and Ying were both discharged from the hospital. Xie Wendong led the backbone members of the Wendong Society and the Qing Gang to pick them up. Because there were too many people, Xie Wendong asked everyone to wait outside the hospital and only took San Yan, Jiang Sen, and Li Shuang into the hospital. When they reached Gao Zhen's ward, they saw that he was packing up some odds and ends and was sweating from the effort. Xie Wendong smiled and said, "Welcome, Brother Gao, to be discharged from the hospital. I can finally relax a lot more in the future!" After that, he said to San Yan and the others, "You go and help Ying pack her things. I'll stay here!" San Yan and the other three nodded and left.
Gao Zhen smiled and said, "Brother, don't say that yet. I have a plan and I'll tell you in a while!"
"Oh!" Xie Wendong helped Gao Zhen pack things up. With an expressionless face, he asked casually, as if by the way, "Brother Gao, I wonder what plan you're going to tell me later?"
"Hehe, Wendong, don't be in a hurry. You'll know in a while!"
Xie Wendong's heart skipped a beat. He tentatively took off the necklace around his neck and handed it to Gao Zhen. "Brother Gao, since you're discharged from the hospital, I should return this to you!" This necklace was exactly the order token of the leader of the Qing Gang that Gao Zhen had given to Xie Wendong when he was in the hospital.
Gao Zhen shook his head. With a happy smile on his face, he sat on the bed and looked at Xie Wendong, saying, "Wendong, you can keep this necklace. Although this thing has been passed down in my family, you're not an outsider. Moreover, I don't plan to be the leader of the Qing Gang anymore in the future!"
Xie Wendong was overjoyed, but there was a look of confusion on his face. He asked, "Brother Gao, why do you say that? The Qing Gang is yours. I have no intention of annexing it."
Seeing that Xie Wendong had misunderstood his meaning, Gao Zhen quickly said, "Wendong, I didn't say that you want to annex the Qing Gang! It's just that during my stay in the hospital, I thought a lot. I think I'm really like what Li Shiming said. I'm not suitable to be the leader. If the Qing Gang is still led by me, there will be no future at all!"
"Brother Gao, why do you say that? You did a good job before!"
"You're wrong. In fact, before we formed an alliance, all the big and small matters of the Qing Gang were handled by Li Shiming. To be honest, Li Shiming was indeed a talented person, but he was too arrogant and didn't take me seriously at all. After forming an alliance with you, we've accomplished a lot of great things and achieved certain success. But I didn't really do much. It was all your ideas."
Xie Wendong could see that Gao Zhen was sincere. He was delighted in his heart. In the future, the Qing Gang would rightfully belong to him, which meant that the entire underworld in City J was completely under his control, and he would be the absolute underground emperor! Although he thought this way in his heart, he still had to maintain appearances. Xie Wendong tried to persuade Gao Zhen, "Brother Gao, now that Li Shiming is dead, no one will interfere with you in the future. You can make the decisions you want in the Qing Gang."
"Wendong! You still don't understand what I mean. I'm simply not suitable to be the leader of the underworld, and I don't like being one either. I've long yearned for a peaceful life, but I couldn't have it. Because the Qing Gang is my responsibility, a responsibility left by the previous generation and the generation before that. I didn't have the right to choose. Wendong, do you know? I yearn for the life of an ordinary person, without fame and fortune, without the constant scheming every day. Just being able to live a quiet life is enough. During my stay in the hospital, I finally understood what it means to be fulfilled and what it means to be happy. As long as I can live a peaceful life with Ying..." Gao Zhen was a bit excited, but his eyes were shining with a longing light.
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