Zilu Accepts an Ox

Before long, the Martial Arts Team members arrived one after another.

None of them could stay away from their phones, and Gao Wu saving someone had caused a sensation across the whole school. Of course, they all knew about it.

"You've got some skills, kid. You pulled off something huge without making a peep!"

"That girl had a pretty nice figure. You got to grab and press her all over—felt good, huh..."

"Well, well, if it isn't our great hero who saved someone!"

The boys were not very old, but anyone who could enter the Martial Arts Team was smart. The coach did not like Gao Wu, so naturally they would not get close to him.

Now that they were talking, all kinds of teasing and mockery were unavoidable.

Of course Gao Wu knew what these boys were thinking. He grinned smugly. "In a moment of crisis, a hero's true colors shine through! At least I didn't disgrace the school team or let my brothers down!"

Gao Wu liked doing good deeds, but he was not particularly smooth in dealing with people. On the contrary, he was somewhat flamboyant. The key was that he was very strong.

Though everyone envied and resented him, they would not say anything too unpleasant to his face.

The coach's nephew, Huang Long, walked over and patted Gao Wu on the shoulder. With an air far older than his years, he gave him a brief compliment. "Well done."

Huang Long was half a head taller than Gao Wu and even more powerfully built. At the Martial Artist level, height and strength were the greatest advantages. Huang Long had naturally become the mainstay of the Martial Arts Team.

"Thanks." Gao Wu smiled. Huang Long was more calculating than the others, but at least he remained polite to Gao Wu on the surface.

It was just that Huang Long always acted like the big brother, wanting to take the lead and make decisions in everything. That old-fashioned manner of his was both irritating and a little funny.

Gao Wu tended to focus on people's good qualities. As long as someone did not go too far, he did not ask much of them.

At two thirty in the afternoon, Coach Huang Hai arrived with Principal Han Qingfeng and a group of others.

"I know you—a good child who persists in doing good deeds! What a Hot-Blooded Youth, spirited and promising, truly worthy of being one of our school's outstanding students..."

Han Qingfeng wore round-rimmed glasses and had a somewhat plump build. A courteous yet worldly smile always hung on his pale, fleshy face.

He publicly praised Gao Wu at length, calling him a model for young people. The two attendants following him held a camera and a video camera, diligently recording everything from the side.

Gao Wu bared his neat white teeth in a bright, foolish grin, looking every inch the simple, honest good boy.

Though he liked joking around, he knew what was important. This was not the time to show off his wit.

After the principal finished speaking, a handsome middle-aged man stepped forward. He wore a gray-blue administrative jacket and gold-rimmed glasses, with a refined scholarly air. Yet he looked more like a principal than Principal Han did.

The handsome middle-aged man took the initiative to shake Gao Wu's hand. "My name is Song Yunhe. Thank you for saving my daughter. Thank you."

Before Gao Wu could modestly decline, Song Yunhe took a thick red envelope from someone beside him and stuffed it into Gao Wu's hands. "A small token of appreciation. Please do not refuse it."

"Since you put it that way, Uncle, I won't stand on ceremony." Gao Wu accepted the red envelope generously. He needed the money.

The other man was impeccably dressed, composed and gracious in bearing. He was either an official or a wealthy man; a few tens of thousands meant nothing to him.

Song Yunhe was a little surprised. He had expected Gao Wu to refuse politely at least a few times. Then he smiled. "Men of Dongjiang should be open and straightforward."

With a sincere expression, Gao Wu said, "Zilu Accepts an Ox, and Confucius praised him for it. Our teachers used this story to teach us that when good deeds receive good rewards, it encourages more people to do good. I wholeheartedly agree..."

"Excellent—both virtuous and capable!" Song Yunhe knew the story of Zilu Accepts an Ox.

Confucius had a disciple named Zilu, who once saved a drowning man. To thank him, the man gave Zilu an ox, and Zilu gladly accepted it. When Confucius learned of it, he praised Zilu.

Confucius believed that good deeds receiving good rewards set a fine example and could lead more people to do good.

The story of Zilu Accepts an Ox fit the situation perfectly. Song Yunhe was somewhat impressed by the child's quick wit.

This way, Gao Wu could accept the gift of thanks openly and legitimately, while also slipping in praise for the school's teachers.

Unfortunately, his background was too poor. At this age, he was only an intermediate Martial Artist. He had no real future.

Song Yunhe was no ordinary man. Though he looked down on Gao Wu inwardly, not a trace of it showed on his face.

He praised Principal Han. "Principal Han, it is because your esteemed school nurtures people through virtue and maintains rigorous standards in education that you have taught such an outstanding student..."

"You flatter me, Mr. Song."

Principal Han beamed with delight. Song Yunhe was an important figure in Dongjiang. Receiving praise from him was an immense honor.

Gao Wu stood to one side, grinning. Song Yunhe's smile was warm and approachable, but Gao Wu could sense the arrogance in his bones.

He found the family rather interesting. The daughter was cool and detached, yet sincere toward others. The father handled matters generously and calmly, treating people like a spring breeze, but he was deeply arrogant beneath it all.

He did not care about that. He had saved her because he wanted to, because he held himself to high moral standards. It had nothing to do with Song Yunhe, or even with the girl he had saved.

Principal Han and Song Yunhe clasped hands, while Gao Wu stood behind them. The cameras faithfully recorded the scene as well.

Huang Long and the other Martial Arts Team members stood at either side as background scenery. None of the boys could hide the envy and jealousy on their faces. Coach Huang Hai stood among them with a polite smile, but his gaze was somewhat gloomy.

Once Principal Han and Song Yunhe left, the Martial Arts Team boys impatiently crowded around Gao Wu, each staring fixedly at the thick, large red envelope in his hand.

"That has to be twenty thousand, right?"

"At least forty thousand..."

A skinny boy with a sharp mouth and monkey-like cheeks reached for the red envelope as he spoke. He looked like a monkey, his nickname was Houzi, and the martial art he practiced was precisely White Ape Fist.

Though he struck suddenly, Houzi was even faster than a real monkey.

But Gao Wu had been prepared. With a casual motion, he knocked aside the fellow's cheap hand. "Houzi, putting your hands on it is going too far."

Having failed, Houzi gave an awkward laugh. "We're all brothers. What's wrong with letting us take a look?"

Someone nearby also egged him on. "Old Gao made a huge splash today and got a big reward too. You should treat us tonight!"

"Yeah, treat us, treat us!"

"Old Gao, let your brothers share in some of this good fortune..."

The others immediately got excited as well. Anyone who passed up a free advantage was a bastard.

"Listen to yourselves. I brought great glory to the Martial Arts Team, and all of you shared in that glory. If anything, you should be treating me to a meal. How did it get turned around?"

Gao Wu did not mind treating them, but these people usually spoke to him with veiled sarcasm and gave him trouble at every turn. If he treated them now, that would not be kindness—it would be stupidity.

After a pause, he added bluntly, "My family's circumstances are not good. I especially can't afford to waste money!"

The boys all fell silent. Unable to gain anything, they were irritated and resentful.

But Gao Wu was not someone easy to provoke, and none of them dared truly fall out with him.

"Why aren't you training yet? What are you waiting for?"

Huang Hai walked over, his pockmarked dark face stern. At his rebuke, the boys surrounding Gao Wu scattered like birds and beasts.

"Coach."

Gao Wu lowered his head slightly, putting on the honest posture of someone waiting to be lectured.

"You did very well saving that person today. The principal was pleased too."

Though Huang Hai was praising Gao Wu, his tone was cold and detached, as though he were merely handling routine business.

Gao Wu had long been used to it. Huang Hai was simply cold by nature; he treated everyone beneath him that way.

That included his nephew Huang Long, whom he berated viciously every day and sometimes even physically punished.

"Now that you have some fame, the school hopes you can appear on stage more often."

Huang Hai's tone grew sterner as he said this. "But you are still lacking in every aspect. Going onstage would only bring embarrassment. That will not do..."

After a pause, his tone softened slightly. "I have several Blood Dragon Agents here. They are targeted muscle-and-skeletal enhancement agents that can strengthen bones and muscles within a short period of time.

"These agents require approval and are expensive. I have channels to get them for you cheaply—three thousand per dose. Ten doses make one course. Three courses would be enough to raise your strength by sixty to seventy percent, perhaps even double it."

Of course Gao Wu knew about Blood Dragon Agents. Almost every member of the Martial Arts Team used them. Even ordinary people without martial arts talent could become intermediate Martial Artists by using Blood Dragon Agents.

However, Blood Dragon Agents had severe side effects. They could cause tissue proliferation, cardiac hypertrophy, and liver and kidney damage and deformities. Using Blood Dragon Agents during one's growth period could also cause bodily deformities as bones and muscles expanded rapidly.

In short, Blood Dragon Agents worked very well, but they were also extremely harmful.

There was another major problem. Normal beginner-grade Blood Dragon Agents sold for around five thousand through legitimate channels.

Yet Huang Hai was offering them for three thousand. A man like Huang Hai would never take a loss, much less when he disliked Gao Wu. How could he possibly give him a bargain?

The only possibility was that Huang Hai was selling imitation agents. Imitation agents might be more potent, but their side effects would also be greater! Their sole advantage was being cheap.

With a serious expression, Gao Wu said, "Coach, you know my circumstances. I can't afford such expensive agents."

"The red envelope in your hand is enough to buy one course of Blood Dragon Agents."

Huang Hai said calmly, "If you want to step into the arena, you have to pay a price. Otherwise, if you lose onstage, you will not merely lose face for yourself—you will disgrace the school as well."

"I need to discuss this with my family. I can't make this decision on my own," Gao Wu said.

Huang Hai handed Gao Wu a small black cloth pouch. "There is one dose of Blood Dragon Agent in here. Take it back and try the effects first. It's free."

"Ah, thank you, Coach." Gao Wu was somewhat surprised. Was Huang Hai really being so kind?

Still, he had to take this advantage. Refusing it would only anger Huang Hai instead.

Gao Wu accepted it with both hands and sincerely thanked Huang Hai.

"The competition is the afternoon after tomorrow. Use one dose of Blood Dragon Agent first, so I can put you on the field." Huang Hai's dark face showed no expression as he waved Gao Wu away.

After training ended, Gao Wu left first with the red envelope and Blood Dragon Agent.

Huang Long watched Gao Wu leave the Martial Arts Arena. Somewhat unwilling, he quietly asked Huang Hai, "Third Uncle, aren't we letting him off too easily by giving him a Blood Dragon Agent for free?"

"One thousand per dose—it amounts to nothing. These imitation agents have extremely fierce side effects."

With an expressionless face, Huang Hai said coldly, "Arena competitions do not require physical examinations, but admissions for martial arts students have strict physical exams. After injecting three courses of Blood Dragon Agents, even if his body does not fall apart, he definitely will not pass the university physical examination.

"Spending thirty thousand not only improves our school league ranking, but also helps you get rid of this competitor. It's a very worthwhile deal..."