Chapter 9. The Martial Artists of This World

    The next morning, because many field reporters were still looking for the mysterious martial artist in the park, Bai Zhe woke up early to walk to school again.

    He was immediately mobbed by schoolgirls who wanted to take a picture with him when he arrived at school. Of course, his first thought was to refuse, but later, after thinking about it, since he wanted to follow the original Bai Zhe’s dream of being a superstar, trying to get used to having his picture taken seemed to be good practice.

    It took a moment for him to realize that the girls were taking liberties with him. They put their arms around him. Sometimes, their hands were naughtily placed where they should not be, touching him here and there, to the point where Bai Zhe needed to give them warnings.

    “What do you think you are doing? I’m fine with taking pictures, but keep your hands to yourself,” he said, with a resigned expression.

    The girls giggled with pleasure. The reason why they wanted to get closer to Bai Zhe was that he was no longer a sickly little shrimp. He had turned into a boy with a model’s physique and a handsome face, which he had gotten from Bai Qing Yun. He became one of the most popular boys in the school 2 to 3 days after he started practicing his qi.

    “Oh, you don’t need to worry about anything from now on. I heard that Yi Han has left our school.” One of the girls shared Yi Han’s news with Bai Zhe.

    “Bai Zhe, I think that this face suits black sunglasses very well. You will likely look cool with them,” a male student who was one of the school’s resident hooligans said. He walked toward Bai Zhe, clenching his fists firmly. Bai Zhe knew that this boy was planning to punch him with all his strength.

    “I never thought that with the Yi Han incident barely concluded, some other hotshot would be trying to pick a fight with me.” Bai Zhe smiled, standing up straight. He had grown a lot taller. His height made the jerk feel like he was having his height compared. Moreover, Bai Zhe was looking at him with a challenging gaze.

    “How dare you look at me like that? If I don’t teach you a lesson today, you won’t come to your senses.” The boy could not stand Bai Zhe’s challenging gaze any longer. He tried to punch Bai Zhe with his right fist, but in the blink of an eye, Bai Zhe tilted his head out of the way to the right. His hand grasped the boy's wrist, which had missed his face, before twisting it slightly, making the punch’s force bounce back. The boy’s body was hit by his own force. He hit the ground. His face was slammed hard into the ground as well.

    “Ouch!” The boy was hurt. Six of his front teeth fell from his mouth when he lifted his face up, his nose bled.

    Everyone who had witnessed the situation laughed at the boy's state after having Bai Zhe retaliate to the point that he ended up slamming his face into the ground. An administrative teacher rushed over to stop the fight.

    “Bai Zhe, you are usually a well-behaved student. Why did you physically hurt your friend like this today?” asked the administrative teacher.

    “He was going to hurt me. I just protected myself,” Bai Zhe explained, lifting up both hands.

    “No, that is not true, Teacher. We can vouch for the fact that Bai Zhe was going to hurt my friend first,” a boy in the same group as the jerk said, blaming Bai Zhe. They wanted the teacher to punish the boy and call his parents.

    “No, that’s a lie, Teacher. This guy started it. When it all started, many of us recorded what happened. They are the ones who tried to pick a fight first,” said one of the girls. Many female students showed videos of the situation from the start when the hooligans came up to Bai Zhe. The movement that Bai Zhe used to make the boy end up with his face slammed to the ground was shown as him merely grasping the boy’s wrist and giving it a light twist. However, the boy fell and hit his face against the ground because he had lost his balance.

    “Send me the video. With the other party hurt so bad that his teeth fell out, I need evidence to show his parents that he was the one who started the fight.” The teacher handed over a phone to the girls so they could send the video clip they had recorded of the situation, in order to show it to the hooligans’ parents. Parents these days truly believed that their children were angels. They might sue the school if there was no evidence that this student had started it himself.

    “Thank you, girls. You all should go now. And you, come with me to the nurse’s office, then we need to have a discussion in the administrative office.” This was said before the teacher left with the hooligan. Bai Zhe turned to the girls who had helped him.

    “Thank you all so much. If it was not for your videos, I would have been punished.” He smiled gently and went into the building.

    Right now, it was not just the ten girls who were Xi Mo’s fans who saw his smile, but the other girls as well. Their faces went red because of shyness. They kept their heads down and mentally squealed over Bai Zhe’s charms, which had pierced their hearts like an arrow.

    The male students felt very depressed. Before the midterm exam, Bai Zhe had been a mere social recluse for the girls. He had sported a depressing vibe and had been scrawny and uninteresting. But now, he had turned into one of the hottest, most popular boys among the girls.

    Lunch break

    Bai Zhe went up to the rooftop to practice his qi, while 20 of his female classmates were having a conversation about him.

    “Take a look at this. I compared his pictures before and after the midterm. How does he look so much better?”

    “Right? But look at this. This picture was taken from the side when he shook hands with Xi Mo.”

    “Really, he’s rather amiable. It is just that we haven’t talked to him much before.”

    “If it was not for Da Tong, we could have fully helped him in many areas.”

    “Mm-hmm, I agree.”

    The conversation they had made the schoolgirls in the room develop better feelings toward Bai Zhe. The afternoon class swiftly passed by.

    “Bai Zhe, are you heading home?” a girl asked when she saw the boy sling his bag over his shoulders, preparing himself to go home.

    “Do you want to go sing karaoke?” another girl asked. Their attitude toward Bai Zhe had changed after they heard about the boy and Xi Mo shaking hands. And the story that shook everyone in the class was that Bai Zhe was the artist of the calligraphy paintings that had been made national treasures.

    “I have work. I’m not smart, so I didn’t get a scholarship. That’s why I need to work for my tuition fees, my food, and my rent. Sorry, but maybe next time,” he explained to the girl. Of course, he was lying. He had enough money that he did not have to struggle for a long while.

    “Really? We never knew that you were so badly-off. We are sorry about the things we’ve done. Can you forgive us?” said one of the girls.

    “Me too. I used to look down on you and call you the class’s trash.”

    “I understand. Another thing—you do not have to talk to me when Da Tong’s around. I don’t want you to get into any trouble,” said Bai Zhe.

    “Thank you so much for understanding us. The person who has a beef with you knows Da Tong, though. You should be careful. You can talk to me about anything. I will help you as much as I can,” said the head girl.

    “Thank you. I will tell you immediately when I need your help.” He smiled at her gently, conveying his heartfelt gratitude.

    “Ah, b…blood...?” The head girl felt liquid running down from her nose. She touched it to see what it was—only to realise it was blood. The girl fainted. Her friends came to help her while Bai Zhe used this ruckus as an opportunity to quietly escape from the classroom.

    ‘From the information that I have gathered about the entertainment industry, there are, briefly, hosts, actors, comedians, stand-up comedians, singers, musicians, and models. I need to find a course to study anyway. It’d probably be good if I start with singing. Language is a fundamental skill for acting. Though I’m confident that my singing and instrumental skills are at a superior level, they are all ancient instruments for people in this world. Most of the fans are teenagers. If I want to capture their attention, I need to adapt myself, that is what people call marketing,’ the boy thought while he was walking.

    His phone rang; he looked at it with a smile on his face. It was Xi Lua who called him.

    “Hello, Grandpa,” he called the old man by the title the other person wanted. It would help bond the two even more.

    “Xiao Zhe, the publisher has agreed to buy your novel. You’ll get a 60/40 deal on payments. When will you be available to sign the contract? They have already finished preparing it and are only waiting for you to sign it,” said Xi Lua.

    “What about tomorrow? Today might be too sudden,” answered Bai Zhe.

    “All right, tomorrow then. What time does your school end? I will send a driver to pick you up,” said Xi Lua.

    “Don’t worry about it. It would be better for me to catch a taxi to go see you at your company. It won’t inconvenience you either, Grandpa,” said the boy.

    “Well, all right then. Oh, my friend wants to buy you a meal. Tell your parents that you will get home late. I will have my driver drive you home,” the old man said.

    “Yes, sir. Thank you so much,” answered Bai Zhe.

    After Xi Lua hung up, Bai Zhe went straight to an herbalist’s shop downtown near his school. There were customers shopping in the shop; most of them were elderly. The shop staff was busy taking care of them.

    The shop owner, who was overseeing orders in the shop, saw a young boy of about 15 years old, enter his shop. He greeted Bai Zhe by himself because all of his staff was busy.

    “Hello, what is it that you are looking for? We have herbs in the form of capsules, stems, roots, and leaves. Our shop has them all.” The shop owner inquired about the needs of the boy in front of him. The owner knew that this teenage boy was not part of his main customer base. Asking the boy directly helped him finalise the sale faster and made the shop less busy.

    “I want all the herbs on this list. Could you please also check their quality as well?” Bai Zhe handed him a list of more than 30 herbs.

    The shop owner read the list before taking another look at Bai Zhe. Bai Zhe knew from the look that the owner was insulting him. That was because these 30 herbs were cheap. Though they were bought in a large quantity, the shop would not make much profit.

    “Just a moment, I will tell my staff,” he told Bai Zhe, then called the staff who had just become available to pick up this order. He handed the staff the list and started to calculate the price.

    While Bai Zhe was waiting, he felt qi power. It was not the power that was around him but belonged to two martial artists. The boy immediately disguised his qi power.

    The shop door opened; an old man and a teenager entered. The old man was wearing a suit that fit him perfectly. Though his face was wrinkled, he was tall and large. He stood with his back straight, like he was in his thirties. The boy beside him had blue hair. He was wearing sleeveless athletic wear that exposed his shoulders and biceps, which showed that he was on a strict training regimen. He wore a pair of famous brand-name sweatpants that Bai Zhe had seen when he did research on clothing brands in this world.

    The two newcomers wore iron bangles. The iron had been distilled by qi power. It was called first-level qi iron. If it was smelted by qi that was used for medicine fabrication, it would turn into mid-level qi iron. Its level would be upgraded to high-level qi iron when it was smelted using qi fire in accordance with the principles of Wen Wu fire. The high-level qi iron could be turned into a superior personal weapon. Bai Zhe could sense that they were the two martial artists that he became aware of earlier.

    The old man was at the heart level of qi, while the boy was at the primary level. Bai Zhe was still at the first step of the earth level, and he was here to buy herbs to make medicine to strengthen qi.

    If he could fully reach the heart level of qi, he would be able to use his qi power and this treasure that he had concealed in his soul, and it would be easier for him to practice higher levels of qi.

    “Master Li, what can I do for you today?” The owner greeted the two immediately, leaving his staff to calculate the bill.

    “Give him the list bestowed by the elder, Xiao Li,” the old man told the boy who had accompanied him.

    The boy pulled out the list and handed it to the shop owner. Even though Bai Zhe was standing at a distance from them, he could see that the herbs on the list had rather strong yang power. When he carefully observed them, he smelled the yang herbs on them. Bai Zhe guessed that one of their family members must have been poisoned by yin power or have a pure yin body, which sometimes could happen from their martial arts practice. If mistreated, the chances for survival were very slim.

    “Master Li, I do have an amount of these herbs in stock, but I’m afraid if the amount is this large, we may not have enough,” said the owner.

    “Give us all you have,” the boy said harshly.

    At this time, a staff member brought Bai Zhe the herbs he ordered along with the bill from his colleague, in order to ring up the purchases.

    “May I inspect the products first?” asked Bai Zhe.

    “Of course, sir,” the staff member answered. He showed the boy the products and went through the list on the receipt.

    “Could I trouble you to change this one and the one next to it? Do you see that they are moldy? Not only are they useless, but they could also poison people who eat or use them. And change that entire bunch of herbs as well. They are so old they likely don’t have medicinal use remaining. Look at this. When you touch them just slightly, they crumble to dust. For this grass, please separate it from the normal grass that has been mixed in with it, you should be able to tell which is normal grass and which is herbal grass. Let me tell you something. Moldy herbs mean that your preservation method is not as good as it should be. People eat and use these things. How can you be this careless?” Bai Zhe frowned. This shop was big, but the management and the preservation of the herbs were not as good as they should have been.

    The reason why Bai Zhe was mad was because when he was in Da Xian, his master, Tai Si Kong, had been very strict about herbs and medicine fabrication. He still vividly remembered his words: “Medicine is used to cure, not to kill.”

    “This boy! Do not be fussy. We are one of the top medicine shops in this city and have been in business for decades. We know what we are doing. They can be used just fine. You don’t have money to pay for them, is that it? Are you trying to get a discount with all your criticism?” yelled the owner because after Bai Zhe said his herbs were lacking in quality, many customers immediately left the shop.

    Bai Zhe pulled out his phone to take pictures of all of the problematic herbs. Naturally, the sign on the front of the shop was unintentionally included in the pictures. He sent them to Xi Lua before looking at the owner’s face. His eyes showed that he hated swindlers. The boy blinked, releasing his deadly psychic power at the man.

    “Ahhhh, please, I’m scared now! Don’t kill me! Please!” He clasped his hands together in entreaty to Bai Zhe in the midst of the astonished gazes of his staff and the customers.

    “What are you doing? Go replace the herbs for the customer!” he shouted at his staff when he saw they were standing still. The owner was on the floor, sweat bathing his face and clothes, the crotch of his pants soaked with his urine. The old man and the boy who were standing near the owner looked at Bai Zhe with anxious eyes.

    “Grandfather, what was that coldness that pierced the length of my body just now?” whispered the boy to his grandfather.

    “That was called deadly psychic power. Normally, a person who has been through many fights and battles will have it. But to use it at will, without affecting other people, as far as I know, that person must be a member of the five Divine Sects. Maybe that young boy is one of them,” the old man told his grandson.

    “You two whisper loudly. I’m just an ordinary person who happened to come buy some stuff from this shop. Just ignore me.” Bai Zhe smiled before the staff gave him the herbs he had asked to be replaced and started to ring up his purchases. The boy handed over his debit card to pay for them. He then tied all 30 herbs together securely before throwing them upon his shoulder. He called a taxi and eventually left.

    “We have to pretend like we didn’t see anything then,” said the old man. If the boy was a member of the Divine Sects, the boy's words meant that he wanted the two to act like they had not met him and not be nosy about his business. His grandson could not do anything but feel confused.

    “Owner, what did he order?” the old man asked. The owner handed Bai Zhe’s list to him.

    “Grandfather, what would the Divine Sects do with this large amount of cheap herbs? Aren’t they trying to find that herb?” asked the boy.

    “We shouldn’t talk about it here,” the old man warned the boy.

    “I understand,” the boy responded. He turned to the owner to rush him to prepare the herbs they had ordered.

    The next day, that herbalist shop was investigated by authorities because they sold low-quality herbs; the herbs were also dangerous to those who bought them to eat. The government closed the shop for further investigation of all of the herbs in the shop and the purchase orders. They found a large quantity of expired herbs. Thus, they immediately revoked the shop's license. Xi Lua was the one behind this. He contacted his friend to permanently close the shop down after he received messages and pictures from Bai Zhe.