Chapter 11. Yi Han’s Revenge—The First Attempt

    At the abandoned building, Yi Han’s senior was teaching him how to navigate his qi to each part of his body, using it to increase the force for movement and fighting. Suddenly, the door opened. A man dressed as a woman walked in. It could be no one else but Lao Lao.

    “Han Han, how’s your training?” The lesson had stopped immediately when Lao Lao entered the room.

    “Master, I’m teaching him how to control his qi for moving and attacking. He’s still learning,” the boy who was teaching Yi Han reported to his master.

    “Well then, Han Han, try attacking me,” said Lao Lao. He beckoned with his finger for Yi Han to attack him.

    “I won’t go easy on you, Master.” Yi Han navigated his qi throughout his body and attacked Lao Lao. His right fist instantly shot forward to hit the man’s face. But Lao Lao smiled, then dodged to the right, his left hand squeezing the boy's buttocks before swiftly letting go. It startled Yi Han and stopped him dead for a moment.

    “Hey!” Yi Han gave a start, placing his hands over his buttocks. His cheeks turned red because of embarrassment. The boy eyed Lao Lao, who was sniffing the hand that had touched Yi Han’s buttocks, looking like a lunatic.

    “What are you looking at, Han Han? If I meant to kill you, you would have died,” Lao Lao warned the boy.

    “Your attack was too obvious, easily predicted. You could die or be injured if your enemy was using a gun or knife on you at a close range.” Lao Lao explained Yi Han’s mistake. He switched from a dirty old man to an esteemed teacher in the blink of an eye.

    “But you still shouldn’t have touched my butt like that,” Yi Han said, mentally cursing the master.

    “In real life, there are only those who kill and those who are killed, Han Han. If you are still like this, you will never improve. And your revenge plan will never succeed,” said Lao Lao with a serious face. Though he acted like he was a lunatic who liked to prey on young boys, in truth, he just took slight advantage of them sometimes and teased them only so they would not be too stressed.

    “I will remember that.” Yi Han folded his hands and bowed to Lao Lao. He could not refute the other party. The master’s words did make sense; theoretically at least.

    “Good. Then, let’s continue,” Lao Lao got into position, preparing for the attack. Yi Han dashed toward the master again; however, he did not put all his force into his attack this time. He preserved some of it in case he wanted to change direction.

    Lao Lao moved to his right again. But this time, Yi Han turned his right ankle, making his arm stretch to the right, directly in Lao Lao’s direction. Lao Lao only had to take a small step back to easily escape from the boy’s incoming arm. Yi Han had already predicted this, so he swept his left leg toward Lao Lao who was continually stepping back.

    “Better. But still not good enough.” The master ducked. He swiftly moved to stand behind Yi Han and used his mouth to nip the boy’s nape.

    “Ahh,” moaned the boy. Lao Lao tripped Yi Han's right leg which the boy had been using to support him, making him lose his balance and fall into Lao Lao’s embrace. Lifting Yi Han into his arms like a newlywed bride, Lao Lao pecked the boy’s forehead.

    “Master, you are molesting me again.” Yi Han covered his neck and forehead with his hands immediately. He squirmed until he finally got out of Lao Lao’s arms.

    “Hehehe, remember this, Yi Han. If I turned my kisses on your neck to a knife, you would be dead. My kiss on your forehead, as well. These are important points on the human body. So, until you have reached a level that I approve of, I will not allow you to take revenge on Bai Zhe.” Lao Lao continued to point out Yi Han’s mistakes from the fight of a moment.

    “Bai Zhe is just a normal boy. He cannot harm me. I have my qi power. His arms might get broken if he tries to use them to cover himself,” Yi Han protested.

    Lao Lao frowned when he heard the boy’s words. ‘Han Han is too reckless. He needs to train more. I should not let him go yet. I have a bad feeling about this,’ thought Lao Lao.

    “You must listen to me, Yi Han. I forbid you from taking your revenge right now,” Lao Lao left the room immediately after speaking.

    “Yi Han, you should listen to the master,” his senior warned.

    “Then when? I will never claim victory over the master. If this continues, when will I have a chance to take my revenge, Senior?” The boy took his towel and prepared to take a shower.

    “You don’t have to claim victory over the master. If he is sure that you can take care of yourself, he will let you do it. Don’t be so stubborn,” the senior warned him again, but Yi Han ignored him. He walked to the bathroom, leaving the senior to shake his head before he left the room.

    “Master?” The senior started when he saw that Lao Lao was still at the front of the room and had been listening to their conversation.

    “Like other teenagers, Han Han is impatient and stubborn. If I can’t stop him, I’ll have to let him learn from experience. If the boy named Bai Zhe is just an ordinary person, Yi Han will have his revenge. But from what his father told me, Yi Han only slapped the table to pick a fight with Bai Zhe. Then, he was in pain as if his body was being cut by knives. The hospital examination found that there was nothing wrong. I guess Bai Zhe is definitely not just an ordinary boy.” Lao Lao told the senior about his anxiety in regard to the boy named Bai Zhe.

    “Maybe this boy has dark magic,” said the senior, looking around suspiciously.

    “It is possible. Normal people don’t even know that qi power exists. I cannot guarantee that there is no such thing as magic. You need to keep an eye on Yi Han but don’t let him know. Bring him back here if he loses to that Bai Zhe boy. You must help him. Do not involve yourself in something you are not really sure about. Understood?” said Lao Lao.

    “Yes, master,” agreed the senior before disappearing into the darkness.

    Lao Lao went to his room. He thought about the boy named Bai Zhe. From his research on the boy, he found that Bai Zhe was filial to his parents. He worked for his tuition fees and helped them pay rent. However, Yi Han, who had everything, chose to bully Bai Zhe. He felt guilty about accepting Yi Han as his pupil. He would never have taught Yi Han the qi power if he had known about all this, but Yi Han had already called him his teacher. The only thing Lao Lao could do was ignore the fact that Yi Han had bullied Bai Zhe.

    “I have to change his behaviour a bit. Otherwise, he will get himself into trouble in the future,” thought Lao Lao before walking to his room.

    Yi Han sneaked out of the abandoned building Lao Lao used for training after showering and dressing. He could not wait to take revenge on Bai Zhe any longer. The boy did not realise that his senior was following him at a distance.

    Bai Zhe’s school

    Bai Zhe had an appointment with Xi Lua after school. He quickly walked out of his school to call a taxi to head to Xi Lua’s office.

    “There’s probably been an accident. Cars won’t be able to move for a bit,” said the taxi driver.

    “It happens that I have an appointment, too.” Bai Zhe was quite worried about using the technique these days because of all the press trying to find out who he was. Also, he had to beware of other martial artists.

    “Shall we use the path along the mountain? Even though it’s a dirt road and few cars use it, the exit is near the Xi Lua Real Estate Company, your destination,” the driver suggested.

    “All right. Then, let’s do that. I will increase your fare to serve as the car washing fee,” Bai Zhe said, agreeing with the suggestion.

    The taxi driver was driving along the mountain when he saw a boy around 15 years of age standing in the middle of the road. The taxi driver had to hit the brakes.

    “Boy, get out of the way right now! I need to drop my passenger off. I don’t have time for you,” the driver shouted, trying to get rid of the boy. However, the boy slammed his fist down onto the bonnet of the car. The bonnet was destroyed in front of the driver's eyes.

    “I have something to resolve with your passenger. Do me a favour and get lost. And don’t look back. Or else, I will kill you,” said the boy coldly. Fearfully, the driver turned back and ran away, completely uncaring about Bai Zhe, who was still sitting in the backseat.

    “Too scared to move, coward?” The boy used his foot which was boosted by qi power to kick the taxi. It flew off and crashed against a cliff so hard that it was destroyed, and then exploded in the blink of an eye.

    “Yi Han, I never thought that you were this vengeful.”

    Bai Zhe’s voice sounded from behind Yi Han, taking the boy by surprise. He turned to stare at Bai Zhe.

    From a large distance away, Yi Han’s senior was shocked because when Yi Han kicked the car and it hit the cliff and exploded, he saw Bai Zhe still sitting in the backseat. Then, the boy came out of nowhere like a ghost to stand behind Yi Han. He believed that this ‘Bai Zhe’ boy was a warlock.

    ‘That boy named Bai Zhe must be a warlock. There is no way a martial artist can move that fast. Is this some sort of teleport magic?’ Yi Han’s senior was scared at first. However, when he thought about the teleport he had seen in games and the novels he had read, he was excited instead.

    “You...how did you get here? I saw that you were in the car until it exploded in front of me.” Yi Han was shocked. He recalled Lao Lao’s warning.

    “Tell me your business. I am in a hurry,” Bai Zhe answered curtly, looking at the time on his wristwatch.

    “In short—die!” Yi Han immediately attacked Bai Zhe. Instead of dodging the attack like Lao Lao, Bai Zhe stood still, which delighted Yi Han. Yi Han threw his qi-enhanced fist with all his might, aiming it at Bai Zhe's stomach with the intention of punching through it. At that moment, Bai Zhe uttered a phrase: ‘calm like Bodhisattva.’ He lifted both hands into the gesture of the Buddha pacifying the ocean.

    Crush! Crack!

    “Ouch!” Yi Han cried out in pain. The sound of the bones breaking in his hand was loud enough for his senior who was far off to hear.

    At the moment Yi Han’s fist was about to hit him, Bai Zhe swiftly controlled his qi, sending all his strength to reinforce the point of impact. When Yi Han’s fist made contact, the force was thus bounced back to him, because Bai Zhe’s defense was stronger.

    Bai Zhe stopped the qi, he was taking only a split second to do so that even Yi Han’s senior and even Yi Han himself could not sense his qi.

    The ‘Calm like Bodhisattva’ was a technique that Tai Si Kong had taught him. It was a trick for defense and counterattack. It was a gathering of all the qi together in one spot. As a result, the person who attacked would receive the damage he meant to cause. This technique had originated from Tai Si Kong, who had never harmed anyone, He kept to his vows and was a lone wolf. Thus, among martial artists, he had been given the alias ‘the Living Bodhisattva’. The ‘Calm like Bodhisattva’ technique was also regarded as the strongest defense technique in the land.

    “T…this is nuts. My punch was strengthened by qi. It could even destroy a car easily. How can you still be all right?” Yi Han was in a panic. He looked over at Bai Zhe and wondered if this was really Bai Zhe, the weakling whom he had regularly bullied.

    “Are you also a martial artist?” Yi Han said.

    Bai Zhe smiled before vanishing and appearing again in front of Yi Han. His hands were not in fists. Instead, his hand looked as if it was preparing to flick something.

    Crack. Clunk. Thump.

    These were the sounds of Bai Zhe's fingers flicking Yi Han’s forehead. His body flew away like a kite that had had its line cut. Yi Han hit the cliff and slumped next to the wrecked taxi.

    “Yi Han has lost consciousness. I’m in a hurry. If you want to fight, I ask that you bring it on.” Bai Zhe suddenly appeared behind Yi Han’s senior who was about 100 metres away from Yi Han. Bai Zhe’s appearance made him freeze. Cold sweat broke out on his back. The senior decided to draw the sword that had been hanging around his waist and swing it toward Bai Zhe.

    Snick.

    His sword stopped moving. Yi Han’s senior was even more stunned when he saw Bai Zhe use the middle and index fingers of just one hand, which were shining slightly, to hold onto his sword in a highly relaxed manner. It was looking like an adult playing with a little child. Furthermore, the senior could not sense his qi. The only thing he could think was that the other person was some sort of magic user.

    “Tiger Eyes.” Bai Zhe opened his eyes wide as a light shone out of them. The senior hallucinated that he saw himself standing in front of a gigantic white tiger. It opened its mouth and ate him in one bite.

    “Ahh!” A scream sounded, along with urine and feces being expelled into his pants. Yi Han’s senior slumped to the ground, his eyes revealing his fear. After he saw him in that state, Bai Zhe used his transport trick to leave the area and head toward Xi Lua’s company immediately.