Hit Right Here

Chapter 29: Hit Right Here

Why buy a place and not live in it, then rent somewhere else?

Xiang Kun felt he had already answered that with his first comment, but since Yang Zhen'er had asked again, he explained further. "Living there would more than double my daily commute. That means getting at least half an hour less sleep every day."

"Then why did you buy a place on the outer ring?" Yang Zhen'er asked again.

"Because that was all I could afford," Xiang Kun answered honestly.

"You could live on the outer ring and drive to work every day. You already bought a place, so getting a car wouldn't cost that much more, would it?"

"Driving myself wouldn't necessarily take less time than public transportation, and maintaining a car is expensive. It's just not worth it."

"Then what's the point of buying a place?"

"There is one. The price per square meter has gone up by at least eight thousand since I bought it. And the rent there is higher than what I pay now, so I can use it to help cover my mortgage."

"Have you found a new job?"

"Not yet."

"Want Nana and me to help you find one?"

"Thanks, but there's no need. I'm not planning to look for work just yet. I want to take a break."

"Did you used to practice martial arts? You're not really a warrior monk, are you?"

"I never practiced... I shaved my head because I started going bald, not because I was becoming a monk."

"Did you get into fights a lot? The other day, you sent that wanted criminal flying in one move, and he had a knife... And in that video, too, you kicked someone flying..."

Tang Baona cut in, "All right, stop talking and focus on driving. You nearly ran a red light just now!"

After getting in the car, Xiang Kun answered Yang Zhen'er's rapid-fire questions honestly, as long as they didn't touch on the secret of his bodily transformation.

He didn't hide or dress up anything—not his unemployment, the fact that he'd barely had any money when he bought his place, or his receding hairline. He answered everything directly.

In the past, if he'd been talking to someone he was interested in on a blind date, he would have thought carefully before answering. He wouldn't have been so casual. He would have wanted to make a good impression and wouldn't have wanted her to see how down on his luck he was.

But now, he didn't care whether Tang Baona or Yang Zhen'er liked him—or, in fact, he'd be happier if they didn't.

His mind wasn't really on the car, this hiking trip, or Tang Baona.

He kept thinking about last night's "self-harm training."

Last night, he hadn't simply cut himself with a knife. Instead, he'd burned himself. He found that burns took much longer to heal than cuts—over fifteen minutes and forty seconds. But even when the burns had been charred black, his skin had returned to normal after fifteen minutes and forty seconds.

Xiang Kun had also gritted his teeth and smashed one of his pinkies. It took eighteen minutes for it to recover completely, stop hurting, and move freely again.

He was also certain that his bones were far harder than an ordinary person's. It had taken him two tries to break the finger.

But none of that had been his biggest discovery last night.

The biggest discovery was that he'd cut a grain-of-rice-sized piece of flesh from his pinky.

The wound on his finger had healed completely after thirteen minutes, without leaving a trace. But the tiny piece of flesh he'd cut off had crumbled into a patch of oxidized gray powder.

His blood had also turned into pale gray powder after it clotted, scattering at the slightest touch.

He'd suspected as much for a while, but it wasn't until that moment that he'd become completely certain: his body was becoming more and more different from an ordinary person's.

They drove onto the highway and traveled for an hour and a half. After getting off, they drove for another hour or so before reaching the meeting point for the hike.

Tang Baona and Yang Zhen'er had a group that often went hiking together. Besides the three of them, there were more than a dozen other men and women.

When Xiang Kun got out of the car, he saw that two of the dozen or so people who'd arrived early were familiar.

One was a trainer at the gym Xiang Kun had been going to lately—the same Coach Shen who'd approached him for a chat when he first showed up and then challenged him to a bench-press contest.

The other was also a coach, but not from the gym. He taught at a boxing club below it.

The day before, Xiang Kun had gone to the club intending to sign up for a course and learn a combat sport such as kickboxing or boxing for a while.

But after hearing the staff explain the program, he'd learned that the two-month course was mostly devoted to physical conditioning, strength, and stamina. There wasn't much instruction in actual fighting techniques.

So Xiang Kun had said he didn't want to do physical training. He only wanted to learn specific fighting skills and techniques, and asked about more advanced classes.

A coach nearby had overheard him. The man turned to size him up and immediately scoffed. "You work out a lot, huh? You've got some size, and your muscles look pretty good. I hear people like you say you're strong enough all the time. But the muscles you build aren't the same as the muscles you need for kickboxing. Come on, punch me. Give it everything you've got. Hit right here. Hard..."

As he spoke, the coach walked up to Xiang Kun and patted his abdomen, inviting him to take a swing.

He'd already been listening to Xiang Kun talk with the club's receptionist for a while. From what Xiang Kun had said, he could tell he was a complete novice who'd never trained systematically. The coach had come over to show off a bit and demonstrate the club's strength.

The coach still competed from time to time and kept up with his training, so he could take a lot more punishment than an ordinary person. He'd also cleverly kept Xiang Kun at a distance that made it difficult to land a powerful punch. When Xiang Kun swung, the coach planned to meet his abdomen at just the right angle. A punch from someone who didn't know how to put their weight behind it would usually bounce right off.

Unfortunately for him, he'd picked Xiang Kun.

After two weeks of deliberately training his strength, stamina, and agility, and drinking blood three times, Xiang Kun's control over his muscles had grown stronger and stronger. Even with the coach keeping him at a distance, he could still rotate his hips and drive his shoulder forward in a small movement to put power into the punch.

The punch looked tiny, but it left the coach doubled over on the ground like a shrimp, unable to speak for quite some time.

Xiang Kun hadn't used his full strength, of course. After two scuffles, he knew exactly how strong he was.

The sight of the coach collapsing quickly drew over the other coaches and students from inside the club. They swarmed around them, and the receptionist hurried to explain what had happened.

After a while, the coach who'd fallen got back to his feet. His face was red and the veins on his forehead bulged as he tried to drag Xiang Kun into the ring.

"Damn it! I totally misjudged you! So you're playing the fool to catch the tiger, huh? Which club are you from? Come on, get in the ring and fight!"

Xiang Kun neither refused nor tried to explain. He took the gloves the coach tossed him, put them on, took off his shoes and socks, and climbed into the ring.

The coach had clearly taken Xiang Kun for someone pretending to be a beginner so he could come and pick a fight—a challenger looking to take down the club. So once they were in the ring, he held nothing back, launching one fierce attack after another with combinations of punches and kicks.