022 Practiced Incorrectly?

“Boss Du, I can tell you practice martial arts too, so why…?”
Xiang Yuanyuan watched as Qiangzi and his classmates left, then turned to Du Ruo with a puzzled question. She had noticed that Du Ruo always acted as though he didn’t practice martial arts in front of Qiangzi, or at least avoided discussing it, and she couldn’t quite figure out why.
Logically, Du Ruo could simply reveal he practiced as well, perform a set of forms, and earn the other’s respect—there didn’t seem to be any need to crush someone so thoroughly.
“In today’s society, what future is there in martial arts? It takes a fortune and endless effort, and even if you train well, you can’t find a decent job. If you’re not good at it, you end up hurting yourself. Besides, there are more con artists out there than real martial artists. You might pay to learn a few tricks and just get played for a fool.”
Du Ruo shook his head as he spoke, listing only the drawbacks and never mentioning his own martial arts practice.
But truthfully, these were his genuine thoughts. As for himself, his martial arts knowledge all came from skills extracted from within a game. His real aim in training was to gain attribute points to strengthen himself.
“That’s not entirely fair. Traditional martial arts have survived all these years for a reason. If you say it like that, it sounds as if all martial arts are nothing but scams.”
Yang Chenguang was clearly displeased by Du Ruo’s words.
He had always had a fondness for martial arts, firmly believing that there was real skill to be found, even if the internet was awash with stories of so-called masters being exposed.
“What are you thinking? I was just giving advice to someone else. Don’t forget, I train for fitness too. I’m not denying traditional martial arts—I just think there’s little ground for it to flourish in modern times.
Scams are one thing, but look at Qiangzi, in his early twenties and already in decent shape. If something happens, his first instinct is likely to use his fists.
Do you know what kind of price you pay nowadays for hitting someone with martial arts?”
Du Ruo glanced at Yang Chenguang, and seeing his confusion, continued,
“Take the Double Peaks to the Ears move from Tai Chi. Even if you strike lightly, you’ll end up paying at least ninety-eight thousand in compensation.”
As he spoke, Du Ruo stretched out both hands, miming the move alongside Yang Chenguang’s ears.
“Just a light slap like that, and you’re paying up—even if the other person started it.”
With that, Du Ruo said nothing more. He raised his glass, toasted with Xiang Yuanyuan, and took a sip.

“That’s what self-defense laws and acting bravely for a just cause are for, right? In those situations, you wouldn’t have to pay…”
Yang Chenguang tried to argue, but his voice trailed off.
“Let’s not talk about this anymore, let’s drink.”
Xiang Yuanyuan laughed, taking a generous gulp from her glass. It was just idle chatter after all—she was only curious why Du Ruo had hit Qiangzi so hard with the truth.
“Alright, cheers!”
The three dropped the subject, drinking and chatting, never mentioning the earlier matter again.
“So this is what the martial arts world is like now? Is this an isolated case or… Never mind, I should focus on myself. I’m still far from strong enough—making myself stronger is the real path.”
Only Du Ruo was still pondering the matter deep down.
In fact, as Xiang Yuanyuan suspected, Qiangzi had only wanted to encourage Du Ruo to train. Despite his persistence, he meant well, and perhaps Du Ruo had gone too far in shattering his conviction.
No matter how you looked at it, it seemed rather heartless.
But Du Ruo was still brooding. Though he had just disparaged martial arts, that couldn’t erase his own passion for it—he admired martial arts even more than Yang Chenguang.
Yet watching so many online videos lately, with his own knowledge, he could tell most of those so-called martial arts internet celebrities were all show, raking in money by spreading fantastical nonsense. It left him deeply frustrated.
Seeing Qiangzi admire them only added fuel to the fire, so Du Ruo had ruthlessly exposed the truth. He didn’t know if he’d done the right thing, but for now, all he could do was take care of himself. He was still a novice—just look at how miserable he’d been up in the mountains today. He didn’t have the power to change anything.
The three of them drank and chatted until a little after nine before parting ways, but the evening left Du Ruo with a much better impression of Xiang Yuanyuan.
She could really hold her liquor, drinking more than a pound of sixty-proof spirits on her own. Yet when her eyes grew a little hazy, she stopped pushing herself.
Throughout the night, she remained composed, never losing control. Her candid and forthright manner left a strong impression—maybe not to pursue her romantically, but as a friend, she was certainly admirable.
“If only she didn’t drink so much, or at least less often, marrying a woman like her wouldn’t be bad at all.”

Du Ruo returned to his guesthouse, glancing up at the lit windows on the tavern’s second floor, lost in thought.
The next morning, he was up at six again, practicing martial arts in the courtyard as usual. He felt fully recovered, and perhaps due to the attribute boost, even yesterday’s wounds were already starting to heal, though they still looked rather gruesome.
Still, Du Ruo began his routine with the gentlest form—the Five Elements Fist of Xingyi.
“Qiangzi, forget about yesterday. Boss Du wasn’t wrong. If you got scammed, then so be it—when we get back to school, we’ll spread the word so everyone knows about your master.”
While Du Ruo was practicing in the courtyard, the guests in the neighboring guesthouse were packing up for a climb up Yellow Mountain before heading back to school. Qiangzi, however, seemed downcast, his spirits nothing like yesterday’s. His classmates, all aware of what had happened, offered words of comfort as they packed.
“No need. Even if the Qi-to-the-chest thing is fake, the Xingyi Fist he taught me is real. I’ll find true martial arts one day. When I do, I’ll come back here and show Boss Du that there’s real skill in traditional martial arts. Let’s go climb the mountain—when we’re done, I’ll visit more teachers. I’m determined to find real kung fu.”
His classmates’ encouragement seemed to help. Qiangzi squared his shoulders, shouldered his backpack, and joined them as they left the guesthouse.
Here, checking out required no front desk—just leave the key card and send a message online. After the room was checked, the deposit would be refunded.
“Hey, look—Boss Du is doing a form. Isn’t that Xingyi too? But it looks different from yours.”
As they passed the building where Du Ruo was staying, a sharp-eyed roommate spotted him practicing and tugged at Qiangzi, as if he’d made a great discovery.
“It really is. We’re not in a rush—let’s watch for a bit.”
Qiangzi’s interest was piqued. He moved closer to watch Du Ruo’s practice.
“Boss Du, you’re doing the sequence wrong! The Five Elements Fist isn’t in that order.”
Clearly excited by his discovery, Qiangzi couldn’t help but shout from outside the courtyard.