Killing Techniques

"Impressive. Th-this is... really impressive!"

Standing in the crowd, Fish Head Xu craned his neck to watch Xiahou Wu walk away. For a long moment, he was too stunned to react.

He'd seen plenty of fights in the film industry. Many people had martial arts backgrounds, and he'd even helped action choreographers design all kinds of fight scenes. But he'd never seen a fight this swift and fierce.

Watching two masters clash at such close range, he hadn't even been able to make out many of their moves.

Fish Head Xu wasn't the only one. Many of the spectators around him were still dazed and dumbstruck.

The fight had been far faster, wilder, and more brutal than anything they'd seen in movies or on TV. Most had barely seen the two men start fighting before the winner was already decided.

"Coming here was the right call after all!"

Yang Chu stood beside Fish Head Xu, seemingly oblivious to his exclamation. Once the fight was over, he simply murmured to himself.

Fist techniques and martial arts couldn't be judged by static strength alone, or even by the body's explosive power. There were techniques for generating force, timing, footwork, dodging, deflecting attacks, coordinating the hands, eyes, and body...

His eyelids drooped as he seemed to replay Xiahou Wu and Mai Rong'en's fight in his mind.

He'd seen every move that the others had missed. The entire exchange between the two seemed imprinted in his mind.

In just a short time, Yang Chu had analyzed a great deal.

Xiahou Wu was far shorter and lighter than Mai Rong'en, yet his control over his body and command of his strength allowed him to block Mai Rong'en's heavy blows again and again. With his nimble movements, sudden bursts of force from his smaller muscles, fascia, and tendons, and complete control of the fight's rhythm, he'd left Mai Rong'en with virtually no chance to fight back.

Build and strength were fundamental, but the human body had many weaknesses. And any weakness could be exploited.

These were techniques for killing.

Kung fu was a way of killing.

Take the blow Xiahou Wu had landed on the back of Mai Rong'en's head. He'd clearly held back. Otherwise, Mai Rong'en wouldn't have gotten away with just an injury.

Yang Chu had also noticed that Xiahou Wu had used only his fists throughout the fight with Mai Rong'en.

"His opponent was a boxing champion, so he had to use his fists?"

Yang Chu's mind raced, answers and questions appearing one after another.

He didn't understand why he was analyzing so much. Perhaps he'd simply never been interested in thinking this deeply about these things before.

"Chu-zai, what do you think now? You're not still thinking about learning boxing or challenging a gym, are you?"

Seeing Yang Chu lost in thought as usual, Fish Head Xu leaned closer and quietly asked again.

After Xiahou Wu's interruption, the Shark Martial Arts Gym's opening ceremony naturally drew far fewer people and ended in a hurry.

The onlookers, busy making a living, had seen all the excitement they could and began to drift away.

Now and then, people would repeat the words, "The Macau-Hong Kong boxing champion was nothing special." The various martial artists and gym owners who'd been there, meanwhile, all remembered the young man named Xiahou Wu.

"Brother Xu, I'm going to find him."

Yang Chu suddenly seemed to snap out of it and spoke.

"Who?"

Fish Head Xu first froze, then turned pale with alarm. "Chu-zai, don't tell me you're going to challenge that Xia-something guy to a fight?"

"Brother Xu, let's go."

Yang Chu didn't bother explaining. He was like a child who'd spotted a beloved toy, gripped by an intense urge to explore and discover it.

It was the same feeling he got while browsing books in the library, exploring himself and learning about the endless mysteries of the human body.

Only this desire to explore, sparked by the art of fighting, was far more intense than what he felt when reading.

Since coming back to life, there had been only two things that had truly stirred this kind of longing in Yang Chu.

Yang Chu and Fish Head Xu left United Road and jogged along until they caught up with Xiahou Wu, who was heading west on Prince Edward Road.

Hearing footsteps behind him, Xiahou Wu turned sharply, ever alert. When he saw Yang Chu and Fish Head Xu, a flicker of surprise crossed his face. Then he gave them the same restrained smile as before and greeted them. "What a coincidence. We meet again."

"Yeah, yeah. I never expected to run into you when Chu-zai and I went to the Shark Martial Arts Gym today. Wow, you're incredible! You took down the Macau-Hong Kong boxing champion in just a few moves."

Fish Head Xu greeted him first, his crossed eyes full of amazement.

As an actor who'd worked in kung fu films and started out as a stunt performer, he had a much stronger passion for real martial arts masters than most people.

"You flatter me."

Xiahou Wu smiled and clasped his hands again. From Fish Head Xu's remark, he understood that the man must have been in the crowd at the Shark Martial Arts Gym when he'd fought Mai Rong'en.

"May I ask what brings you two here?"

Xiahou Wu turned to Yang Chu, noticing the way he was staring at him. His tone carried a hint of curiosity.

His voice was still gentle, and he still wore a smile. He was nothing like the arrogant man who'd fought Shark Yan earlier, almost as if he'd become someone else.

"I came to find you."

Yang Chu stared intently at Xiahou Wu, as if trying to see right through him. He made no attempt to hide why he was there.

When they'd met on the bus at night, he'd only sensed that Xiahou Wu was a martial artist. But after seeing him fight Shark Yan today, he was certain that Xiahou Wu was a true master.

Yang Chu couldn't gauge exactly how skilled he was, but he could tell that if he had to face Shark Yan, with his strong bones and sinews and mastery of boxing, he wouldn't be able to handle him with anything like Xiahou Wu's ease.

"You came to find me. Is something the matter?"

The smile on Xiahou Wu's face faded slightly, but he met Yang Chu's gaze without flinching.

"Ah, well, it's like this—"

Before Yang Chu could speak, Fish Head Xu quickly stepped in front of him.

"Brother Xu!"

Yang Chu called out to Fish Head Xu, who'd deliberately put himself between him and Xiahou Wu.

Fish Head Xu ignored him and addressed Xiahou Wu. "You said your name was Xiahou Wu, right? Then you're Brother Xiahou. That's a great surname, just like the heroes in the movies. I'm Liu Xu, but everyone calls me Fish Head Xu. This is Yang Chu, or Chu-zai.

"We don't have anything else going on. It's almost lunchtime, and Chu-zai and I are going to grab a bite. You're on your own, so why not join us? It's more fun with company."

Standing behind Fish Head Xu, Yang Chu watched him wave his hands about as he rattled on. He fell silent, a faint smile appearing on his face as he took half a step back.

Xiahou Wu seemed to notice the change in Yang Chu too. His gaze settled on Fish Head Xu, who looked a little comical but spoke with complete sincerity. After a brief pause, he smiled. "In that case, Brother Xu, I won't stand on ceremony."