Boss Du, I want to learn this.

“Look at the other fist again. The wrist isn’t bound at all, and if you look closely, when he makes a fist, the flesh beneath the skin is an abnormal white. This shows that he tied off his wrist, cutting off the circulation to his hand.

Simply put, it’s caused by deliberate restriction—tying off the wrist so blood can’t flow, making the fist swell. On top of that, he’s probably trained in iron palm or something similar, so the flesh of his hand is already thicker than ordinary. That’s why, by comparison, the visual difference is so pronounced.”

Hearing this, Du Ruo found herself unable to refute Qiangzi, so she could only play the video again, explaining further for him.

“Really? That’s possible?” Qiangzi scratched his head, surprised by this answer.

“Try it yourself and see.” Seeing Qiangzi’s confusion, Du Ruo didn’t bother to explain further. She reached out, grabbed one of Qiangzi’s hands, and with a swift motion, clamped down on his wrist.

Qiangzi felt Du Ruo’s fingers grip his wrist like iron shackles. He didn’t resist, knowing she wanted him to experience it firsthand.

“Boss Du, my palm feels a bit numb now, and a bit swollen.”

After a few minutes, Qiangzi felt a clear difference.

“Wait a bit longer.” Du Ruo didn’t let go, still gripping his wrist, cutting off circulation to his hand.

“Now make a fist. Compare both hands.”

After a few more minutes, Qiangzi’s palm started to turn pale—not pure white, but with a flush of red underneath.

“It’s a little hard to make a fist, wow, it’s really like that. This hand is obviously much bigger.”

Qiangzi struggled to clench the hand Du Ruo was holding, then compared it to his other hand. The effect was immediately clear: one fist was significantly larger than the other, visible to the naked eye.

“See? Now you understand. This is actually very dangerous. If I kept holding longer, your hand would turn completely white, then purple as all the blood was cut off. Eventually, you wouldn’t be able to make a fist at all, because it would swell to twice the size of the other. After that, the flesh would begin to die. So don’t try this lightly—it’s really hazardous.”

Du Ruo released his wrist, and his hand quickly returned to normal size. She then explained the dangers of the method to keep him from fooling around with it.

“Got it, got it. What about the wrench in the video—was that real or fake?”

Qiangzi rubbed his wrist, two obvious white marks where she’d gripped him, and nodded thoughtfully, even pointing out another flaw in the video.

“Oh, that one’s real. If it was fake, they wouldn’t need to hit it so many times.”

Du Ruo sipped her tea and answered offhandedly.

“Huh?” Qiangzi was stunned. He’d thought the object was real, only for Du Ruo to say it was fake, but now she was claiming something he’d thought must be fake was genuine?

“I’ll go get you a wrench.”

Without further explanation, Du Ruo went to her room and came back with a wrench. With all the tools needed for the guesthouse, it was easy to find one.

“This is a really cheap wrench, but it’s metal all right. I’ll suspend it here—now, you try hitting it. Use the thickest part of your palm, not the edge, and don’t chop down. Just slap with the palm.”

She propped the wrench on the table for Qiangzi to try. She knew he had trained, at least judging from his muscles. He just hadn’t learned the right way before.

“Okay.” Qiangzi didn’t hesitate. He crouched by the table, felt the palm of his hand, then struck down hard as instructed.

“Harder, don’t worry. Your posture is right; with this method you won’t hurt your bones.”

The thickest part of the palm has enough padding to absorb the blow—as long as your form is correct, it’s fine.

Thump, thump, thump—

Qiangzi grit his teeth and struck three times in quick succession. Afterward, he rubbed his palm, unwilling to hit again, but there was now a clear bend in the wrench.

“See? With enough training, thick palms, and the right technique, it’s easy to bend a cheap wrench. You can buy these online for next to nothing—don’t get the expensive ones at hardware stores, you won’t be able to bend those yet.”

Du Ruo stood to the side, smiling as she explained.

Qiangzi said nothing, staring blankly at the obviously bent wrench.

Seeing his expression, Du Ruo sighed, picked up the wrench, laid it on the ground, and without much effort, brought her arm down and slapped it, not even appearing to use much strength.

Bang!

The wrench, no longer braced on bricks, bent back the other way at her touch.

Qiangzi stared at the wrench, then at Du Ruo, and finally at his own reddened palm.

“Boss Du, aren’t you trained in Xingyi? How do you know iron palm techniques?”

He pointed at Du Ruo, momentarily at a loss for words.

“First, that’s the force method from Tongbei Fist. Second, the core of most martial arts is similar—training energy, spirit, and vitality, strengthening oneself. It’s not just iron palm techniques; it could be Tongbei, Pi Gua, or even Bagua.”

Du Ruo explained, then lifted her tea to her lips, neither drinking nor setting it down.

“Boss Du, can you teach me? I want to learn.”

Qiangzi didn’t catch her subtle refusal, continuing to press. The last time Du Ruo had shocked him profoundly; he hadn’t recognized her as an expert then, but after thinking it over, he realized she must be, or she wouldn’t know so much. Now, with such a good opportunity, he didn’t want to miss out.

“I’m sorry, I can’t teach you. We live in a law-abiding society now; the consequences for fighting are serious. Bagua’s ‘Yin Strike’ or Pi Gua’s ‘Back Helmet Grab’—if you use those, you could easily be looking at a six-figure compensation payout. Other moves are similar, and if you start a fight, you could end up in jail. As an instructor, I’d be asking for trouble. So, no, I won’t teach you.”

Du Ruo shook her head. She was telling the truth—beating around the bush wouldn’t work with someone like Qiangzi.

“Boss Du, I wouldn’t… I… Boss Du, your phone’s ringing.”

Qiangzi tried to plead further, but the ringing phone on the table interrupted him.

Du Ruo smiled at him, picked up her phone, and saw it was Yang Ling calling.

“Boss, come quickly! Two groups of guests at the villa are fighting—”

Before Du Ruo could speak, Yang Ling’s anxious voice came through the line.

“I’m on my way. Take care of yourself—never mind the property, just keep yourself safe.”

After hanging up, she said a quick word to Qiangzi and strode purposefully outside.