Yongling Martial Arts Fitness Center

Chapter 34 - Yongling Martial Arts Fitness Center

As soon as Li Bai got home, he shooed Qingyao, the Demoness who was supposed to be causing trouble on the 17th Floor, away from his laptop and started searching for new rental housing online.

He didn't want to be too far from the Seventh People's Hospital where he worked, but the rent near the hospital was generally not cheap. Therefore, finding a suitable place would require careful selection and comparison.

However, Xiao Wang from the Nanhu District Public Security Bureau, who had taken Li Bai's statement twice, gave him a pleasant surprise. Just after noon, he recommended a rental unit with excellent value for money. Not only was the rent cheaper than his current cramped apartment, but the room was also larger and closer to the Seventh People's Hospital, just two bus stops away, or about a thirty-minute walk.

Following the address Xiao Wang had sent via mobile phone text message, Li Bai found the place.

A large, eye-catching sign above the street-level entrance revealed it was a martial arts fitness center.

The Yongling Martial Arts Fitness Center occupied half of the ground floor of a mixed-use commercial and residential building, along with the entire two floors above it. The other half of the street-level commercial space was shared by an outdoor sports equipment store and a beauty salon.

Floors four through fifteen were commercial office spaces. Floors sixteen through twenty-two were residential apartments, complete with utilities. The top two floors, twenty-one and twenty-two, comprised a duplex penthouse owned by a wealthy tycoon, offering panoramic views of the entire commercial district and even a distant glimpse of the West Lake scenic area in the city center.

After reconfirming the address and unit number provided by Officer Xiao Wang, Li Bai was somewhat surprised by the actual environment. Finding such an affordable place in this location seemed unbelievable.

The rental unit was on the nineteenth floor. Li Bai didn't rush upstairs; instead, he walked directly into the Yongling Martial Arts Fitness Center.

"...Focus on your dantian, lower your center of gravity, and plant your stance firmly..."

The ground floor housed the reception area and the martial arts training floor. As Li Bai entered, he heard the coach's loud shouts. Dozens of young people in martial arts uniforms were practicing their stances, and the wide, transparent glass wall facing the street served as a display.

"Hello, are you here to work out?"

The young receptionist, cheerful and lively, greeted Li Bai as soon as she saw him.

"I'm looking for Xiao Jiangnan. I just called him."

The landlord Officer Xiao Wang had mentioned was none other than Xiao Jiangnan, the owner of the Yongling Martial Arts Fitness Center.

"Please wait a moment!"

The receptionist picked up the phone to confirm. Meanwhile, Li Bai curiously observed the beginners practicing their stances.

Many had been holding the pose for a while, their calves trembling uncontrollably. Any significant shift in their posture would draw stern reprimands from the coach.

Sensing someone watching them with "schadenfreude," some of those in the stance rolled their eyes, some looked embarrassed, some glared directly at Li Bai, while most ignored him.

"Sir, is your surname Li?"

The receptionist quickly confirmed the appointment information.

"That's right, I'm Li Bai!"

Li Bai nodded.

"Mr. Xiao is in the general manager's office on the third floor. You can take the stairs inside."

The receptionist pointed Li Bai in the direction of the stairs.

"Okay, thank you!"

Li Bai nodded and walked towards the stairwell.

Apart from an emergency exit connecting to the commercial and residential building, the Yongling Martial Arts Fitness Center's internal staircase was entirely separate, accessible only from the first to the third floor.

The second floor housed the weight training area and shower rooms. Part of the third floor was dedicated to light training areas like yoga, while the other part contained the gym's administrative offices, storage rooms, accounting office, clerical office, and coach's lounge, including the general manager's office.

Standing before the heavy solid wood door of the general manager's office, Li Bai's expression was peculiar. He could faintly hear shouting and dull thudding sounds from behind the door.

If his Glazed Heart, which could currently only sense within a three-foot radius, were restored, he could perceive everything inside the room.

Knock, knock!

Li Bai knocked on the door, but there was no response.

Knock, knock!

He knocked again, this time with more force.

There was finally a reaction from inside.

"Someone's knocking!"

"Wait, we haven't decided the winner yet. Take this!"

Crack! As the dark red wooden door swung inward, a clear, loud "Take this!" struck Li Bai's ears.

The young man who opened the door for Li Bai's face suddenly changed. He instinctively sidestepped, and a slender foot clad in a white sports shoe shot towards Li Bai's face with fierce wind.

"Watch out!"

The young man realized his evasive maneuver would lead to more severe consequences, but it was too late to stop it.

In a flash, Li Bai took half a step back without any warning. The foot, having expended its force, stopped about a foot from his nose.

The owner of the foot was a tall, slender beauty with long hair and willow eyebrows. She was then intercepted by the young man, who had reacted and blocked her inside the doorway.

Silence fell in front of the general manager's office. Only the pale faces of the young man and woman remained.

"Are you okay?"

Realizing she had nearly injured someone, the long-haired beauty with willow eyebrows quickly regained her composure and looked apologetically at Li Bai, fearing that he might start bleeding from his nose and collapse at any moment.

Li Bai shook his head. What a needless disaster.

In a world where beauty is justice, especially when it's a beautiful woman, she would receive preferential treatment. If it had been a fat, ugly man, the Great Demon would have slapped him to death long ago.

"I told you, someone was knocking, and you're still relentlessly chasing me."

The young man glared accusingly. He noticed that Li Bai, who was smiling, didn't seem to be injured at all, not even a single hair out of place. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Excuse me, who is Xiao Jiangnan?"

Li Bai didn't mind the earlier incident, as he hadn't been hurt.

"I'm truly sorry, I am Xiao Jiangnan. You must be Doctor Li, right? I apologize for startling you earlier. This is my sister, Xiao Wei!"

The young man quickly moved aside from the doorway and then glared at his sister, who had almost caused trouble. "Go, pour Mr. Li some tea!"

Xiao Wei's shy face flushed slightly. She stuck out her little tongue at Li Bai and, nimble as a deer, darted away from her brother to prepare the tea.

Just moments ago, the brother and sister had been fighting in the general manager's office, and the competitive sister had nearly accidentally injured bystanders.

"Please, please come in and sit!"

Xiao Jiangnan enthusiastically extended an invitation.

"Thank you for having me."

Sitting down in a chair in front of the general manager's large desk, Li Bai took the opportunity to survey the unusual office.

Completely different from a typical business office, the space of over a hundred square meters was practically a small training room. Bookshelves, a desk, and a few potted plants occupied only a small corner. Most of it was open space covered by carpet, with exercise equipment and cold weapons displayed along the walls.

It was clear that this general manager was also a martial artist. Founding the Yongling Martial Arts Fitness Center was both a passion and a career.

"Scholars are poor, martial artists are rich" – this still held true in modern times.

Finding a good master, the high costs of food and medicinal supplements, as well as equipment and training grounds – it was generally unaffordable for ordinary middle-class families to practice martial arts with proper lineage. They could only manage to practice something like Tai Chi, which could split watermelons, as a compromise. Practicing intensely would ruin them within two to three years, leaving them with injuries like athletes, making their old age worse than death. (My cousin saw a true martial artist once; the only impression he left was that they were huge eaters. They ate so damn much!)

"Wang Xuan is my childhood friend. Doctor Li is his friend, which makes him my friend too."

Xiao Jiangnan, with the straightforwardness of a martial artist, closed the distance between them with a single sentence.

Li Bai smiled and said, "Meeting is also fate."

He hadn't expected Officer Xiao Wang to be so close with this President Xiao. Coming here to find housing clearly meant he considered him family, so Xiao Jiangnan's warmth was not surprising.

Leaning against her brother Xiao Jiangnan's large desk chair, with her arms resting on the desktop, Xiao Wei asked curiously, "Brother Li, what kind of doctor are you? Which department?"

She looked like a quiet, well-bred young lady, showing no trace of the fierce warrior she had been moments before.

"Psychiatry!"

Li Bai waited quietly.

As expected, Xiao Wei exclaimed in surprise.

"Psychiatry? Isn't that for treating mental illness?"

In modern medicine, especially in China, patients in the psychiatry department are particularly reluctant to seek treatment. It's like drunk people; not many are willing to admit they have mental health issues, even though many people in society are in a state of sub-optimal mental health and could have an episode at any time.

"That's right, I specialize in treating mental illness, or rather, I specialize in treating all forms of defiance!"

Li Bai made a small joke.

He was speaking the truth, wasn't he? A psychiatrist is indeed someone who treats all forms of defiance.

Who would dare to say they weren't defiant in front of a psychiatrist?

They'd be taken in immediately, bound, and sent to the hospital. Once you enter the palace gates, it's like a deep sea; from then on, your relatives are strangers. The banner reads, "The Ward Welcomes You." Granny Wang guards the house, warding off all evil. Under such authority, even the Public Security, Procuratorate, and Judiciary are powerless.

Doctors in other departments don't have such prestige.

The younger Xiao sister immediately burst into laughter, and even Xiao Jiangnan couldn't help but smile. This psychiatrist was truly humorous. He said, "Perfect timing, I'll take you to see the houses first. We can discuss the rent after you've seen them!"