Why Learn Martial Arts

Hardly had Lu Zhen left when a heavy, cold snort echoed from the moon gate in the Gu family's backyard.

"Hmph!"

The sound was full of vigor, permeated with the authority of one long accustomed to holding a high position.

The smile on Gu Yanzhi's face froze instantly, and his neck subconsciously shrank back.

A middle-aged man in a moon-white satin long gown, rolling two lion-head walnuts in his hands, strode into the martial arts arena with a dark expression.

It was none other than the current head of the Gu family, the helmsman of the Tongjiang Chamber of Commerce, and Gu Yanzhi's father—Gu Wanshan.

"Master..." Upon seeing him, several of the resident martial arts instructors immediately held their breath and lowered their heads respectfully.

Gu Yanzhi had no choice but to bite the bullet and greet him with a dry laugh: "Father, what brings you to the backyard?"

"If I hadn't come, I wouldn't have known what kind of nonsense you were up to here!"

The walnuts in Gu Wanshan's hands clicked and clattered as he spun them. His sharp eyes swept coldly over the weapon racks in the arena, his tone filled with frustration at his son's failure to live up to expectations.

"You don't look at the ledgers or manage the business every day; you are simply wasting your time!"

Gu Yanzhi tried to argue: "Father, these are chaotic times. Only by having martial arts skills can one protect oneself..."

"Absurd!"

Gu Wanshan interrupted him mercilessly, pointing at the bluestone floor beneath his feet and scolding him sternly:

"Protect yourself? Does our Gu family keep so many gunmen and so many guards just to eat for free?"

"Open your eyes and look at how massive our Tongjiang Chamber of Commerce business is! Half of the cargo ships on the river fly our Gu family flag! The silver dollars flowing in and out of the docks every day pour into the banks like a rushing river! Even the big compradors for the foreigners in the concessions have to respectfully offer me a cigar when they see me!"

Gu Wanshan stepped forward, staring down his son:

"In this bustling metropolis, money is the ultimate law!"

"As long as we have real gold and silver in our hands, what kind of martial artist can't we recruit?"

"Do you really think those martial artists who have spent decades training in academies are so noble? As long as the price is right, while a Bright Force Martial Master or a Dark Force Grandmaster might take some effort to hire, those Lianli brutes would be lining up to serve as guards and guests for our Gu family! You spend your idle time sweating and suffering to train that brute strength—how many ships' worth of profit can that earn you?!"

Gu Wanshan looked at the only son who gave him such a headache, his brows knitted into a tight knot. His hand, which had been rolling the walnuts, paused, and his tone softened with the weary frustration of a father disappointed in his child:

"When you were a child, you were the most sensible. You would lock yourself in the study all day reading; whether it was the Four Books and Five Classics or Western mathematics, you understood everything at a glance. I had originally hoped you would take over the chamber of commerce and become a scholarly merchant who could devise strategies from behind the scenes."

At this point, Gu Wanshan sighed heavily, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding weapon racks: "But who would have thought that as you grew up, you would become obsessed with this crude art of killing! Wasting your days in this backyard honing your strength—it is simply neglecting your proper work!"

As the autumn wind swept across the bluestone of the arena, Gu Yanzhi put away his usual cynical smile.

He gripped the folding fan in his hand tightly, straightened his back, and met his father's sharp gaze, his voice low yet resonant:

"Father."

"Do you know why your son is like this?"

Gu Wanshan raised an eyebrow. He had intended to continue scolding, but when his gaze met the clear, resolute eyes of his son, his pent-up anger faltered.

No one knows a son like his father. Seeing this rare, earnest look on his son's face, he felt a flicker of interest instead.

Gu Wanshan snorted coldly, flicked his sleeves, and clasped his hands behind his back: "Fine, then tell me."

Gu Yanzhi lifted his head.

"When I was a child, in the study..."

"What I read the most was not the business manuals, but the history books."

"The books say what our land used to look like. It was the majesty of the Great Han and the splendor of the prosperous Tang!"

"Where the Han banners pointed, our might reached the ends of the earth; the iron cavalry of the Great Tang made the four barbarians submit! With ten thousand nations coming to pay tribute, even those foreign tribes had to respectfully lower their heads when they entered our borders."

"The China of that time stood tall and possessed great dignity!"

Having said this, Gu Yanzhi turned around abruptly.

"And now, look at what it has become!"

"Look at this world and what it has turned into!"

"On the river, the warships and cannons of the Western powers run rampant, and foreign flags are planted in the concessions! This beautiful land is treated like fish and meat to be carved up by outsiders at will!"

"In the imperial court, warlords divide the land, fighting year after year for their own selfish desires, leaving the people in misery; outside the court, officials break their own spines to beg for surrender, signing one traitorous treaty after another! Our compatriots are sold like pigs and have their lifeblood drained by the foreigners' opium! Refugees are like stray dogs, the starving fill the roads, and human life is worth less than a blade of grass!"

"When foreigners walk the streets of this metropolis, even the police dare not look up. When a nation is no longer a nation, where is there any dignity left to speak of?!"

Gu Yanzhi took a deep breath, his chest heaving violently, his handsome face flushed red with agitation.

"Why has it come to this?"

"When it all comes down to it, it's because our fists aren't hard enough! Our martial strength is lacking!"

"The foreigners used their sharp ships and powerful cannons to smash open our national gates. No matter how loudly we click our abacuses, can they block the bullets of foreign guns? Can they buy the dignity of the Great Powers? They cannot!"

Gu Yanzhi met his father's sharp gaze without backing down in the slightest:

"Father, you keep asking why I refuse to guard our family business and insist on enduring hardship, why I am so determined to practice martial arts."

"Today, I will tell you clearly—"

"I practice martial arts for the rise of China!"

As his voice fell, Gu Yanzhi said no more.

He turned around and strode toward the exit of the martial arts arena.

Gu Wanshan stood where he was, watching his son's departing back, trembling with rage.

The walnuts in his hand were crushed tight with a "crack," and he stomped his foot, shouting in anger:

"You brat! Have you lost your mind!"

Just as he was fuming, a seductive figure strolled in from outside the moon gate.

It was the Third Concubine, who was quite favored in the Gu family's inner courtyard. She wore a slim-fitting cheongsam with filigree trim, her waist swaying like a water snake, and she held the hand of the young master, who had just turned two and was babbling in his attempts to speak.

Seeing Gu Wanshan's anger, the Third Concubine's eyes darted, and she quickly stepped forward.

She pulled out a fragrant silk handkerchief and, while smoothing Gu Wanshan's chest to calm him, said in a delicate, submissive tone:

"Oh, Master, please don't be so angry; you might hurt your health."

"The eldest young master is truly something; he only knows how to play with swords and guns all day. How could he understand the hardship you endure managing this family business in the marketplace? Don't be angry with Yanzhi. He is stubborn, but once he suffers some hardships outside, he will naturally understand your good intentions..."

These were words that usually pleased him, but today, Gu Wanshan found them exceptionally grating.

"Shut up!"

Gu Wanshan brushed her hand away and scolded in a low voice: "A woman's hair is long but her insight is short. What do you know about anything!"

The Third Concubine was startled by this sudden outburst, her eyes instantly reddening. She stood frozen, clutching her handkerchief, not daring to even breathe loudly.

Gu Wanshan ignored her further, instead bending down to take the hand of his little son, who was babbling beside them.

He raised his head again, casting his gaze once more toward the door.

Gu Yanzhi's back had long since disappeared at the end of the corridor, but the anger that had clouded Gu Wanshan's face had quietly dissipated.

He rubbed his rough hand against his little son's delicate palm and muttered in a low voice:

"He is my seed."

Having said that, he lowered his head to look at his little son, who didn't even reach his thigh:

"Did you see what your big brother looked like?"

"When you grow up, you must be like your big brother, do you understand?"

The little son only bit his finger, looked up at Gu Wanshan, and blew bubbles while babbling.

Watching his son's naive expression, Gu Wanshan couldn't help but stroke his chin and laugh heartily:

"Heh heh... Hahahaha!"