Eastern Martial Arts Hall (3)

Based on the address Lin Meijing had given him, Pei Shao knew that Eastern Martial Arts Hall was quite far from the magazine office. Since he had not yet received his first month's salary and had forgotten to ask Lin Meijing whether travel expenses would be reimbursed, he chose a route and decided to take the bus.

Forty minutes later, Pei Shao got off the bus and walked east for a while. He soon spotted a signboard by the roadside, with an arrow followed by the large words "Eastern Martial Arts Hall," along with a line of advertising slogans that Pei Shao had no interest in.

Continuing deeper down the road, he passed a gas station, a supermarket, and a model car toy shop before stopping in front of a fairly large courtyard. After glancing at the gold-painted characters carved into the wall beside the gate, he knew he had found the place he was looking for.

At that moment, small groups of men and women dressed in white training uniforms filed out from inside. They gave Pei Shao a curious look and asked, "Are you here to sign up, classmate?"

Pei Shao had been worried about finding someone to introduce him, so he immediately said, "Hello, I'm a reporter from [Meijing] Magazine. Our editor-in-chief had already arranged for an interview with your hall master today, but our chief editor fell ill at the last minute, so I was assigned to handle it instead. Could you do me a favor and tell me where Hall Master Dongfang is?"

A broad-shouldered, crew-cut young man about Pei Shao's age, who looked exceptionally sunny and energetic, answered, "Sorry, classmate! Our hall master went out early this morning, and we don't know what he went to do..."

"Oh, that's fine!" Pei Shao hurriedly said. "Then may I ask if his daughter, Dongfang Yinyin, is here? It would be the same if I spoke with her."

"You're looking for Sister Yinyin?" This time, it was a petite girl who spoke. Her smooth, beautiful long hair swayed through the air as she sized Pei Shao up from head to toe. "But Sister Yinyin never sees men from outside the hall!"

"Well, could you please let her know? Tell her Miss Lin Meijing specifically asked me to come. I believe they should have spoken on the phone beforehand."

"If that's the case, then all right! Please wait a moment." The girl nodded and quickly turned to enter the martial arts hall. Pei Shao could tell that whenever she mentioned Dongfang Yinyin, her expression was full of respect and affection. It was clear that Dongfang Yinyin held a high place in her heart. That meant Dongfang Yinyin's skills must truly command admiration—a worthy daughter of a formidable father. Pei Shao grew increasingly curious about what this beautiful Yinyin, whom Lin Meijing had spoken of, looked like when she practiced martial arts.

Pei Shao chatted idly with the other two boys outside for a while before the girl came back out. She glanced at him and said, "Go on in. Sister Yinyin will see you!"

"Okay, then please lead the way!"

Following the girl into the front courtyard, Pei Shao discovered that it was a vast open training ground, probably even larger than a standard soccer field. In each of the open areas to the east, south, west, and north, boys in white training uniforms were shouting "Hah! Hah!" as they performed impressive high-difficulty moves.

The board-kicking and brick-breaking head strikes commonly seen on television could be found everywhere here as well. The more Pei Shao watched, the more shocked and impressed he became. It looks like the students here really are highly skilled.

They soon crossed the training ground and stopped in front of a building resembling a university classroom block. The girl said again, "Classmate, you can go in by yourself. We have things to do, so we won't accompany you any further!"

Pei Shao nodded. "I can ask around on my own!" He turned and entered through the main doors.

Before long, Pei Shao met Dongfang Yinyin in a room at the very end of the building. He was slightly startled; he had not expected her to be even more beautiful in person than in her photos. She was also very tall, definitely over 170 centimeters, only a little shorter than him. She and Lin Meijing were indeed equally stunning, difficult to rank above one another, though each had her own distinctive charm. However, perhaps because she practiced martial arts, the tall beauty from the Dongfang family had a flat chest.

What a pity! Pei Shao could not help smacking his lips as he sighed inwardly.

"Are you the reporter replacing Meijing for the interview?" Dongfang Yinyin gave Pei Shao a slight nod when she saw him and extended her delicate hand in greeting. This Dongfang Yinyin seems very forthright, Pei Shao thought. He extended his hand as well and lightly shook hers.

"May I ask what this handsome gentleman is called?" Dongfang Yinyin gave him a mischievous smile, making Pei Shao like her a little more. But he quickly waved his hands and said, "I wouldn't dare accept that, please don't say that! Since you're Sister Meijing's friend, just call me Little Pei!"

"Oh, Classmate Little Pei!" Dongfang Yinyin's voice sounded like that of a child in a cartoon, making her seem especially adorable. "Then have you usually heard of our Eastern Martial Arts Hall?"

"I have, of course I have!" Pei Shao immediately slipped into character, displaying a high level of professionalism. Organizing the information he had found online, he said, "I also know that Eastern Martial Arts Hall has more than five thousand students, ten percent of whom are female. You've also achieved excellent rankings in many martial arts competitions, right? Oh, and I'd also like to ask—were they all taught by you?"

"Of course! Other than my father, who else here is qualified to train such outstanding students?" Dongfang Yinyin said with both pride and confidence. "I believe the martial arts system my father has created is currently the most perfect fighting technique, and the one most suitable for modern people to learn!"

"Hehe!" Pei Shao chuckled along with her and said, "Then could Miss Yinyin demonstrate it personally? I'd really like to see..."

Dongfang Yinyin suddenly interrupted him. "You really want to see it? Then why not come learn at our Eastern Martial Arts Hall? My father is far stronger than I am." When she spoke of her father, pride once again appeared on Dongfang Yinyin's face. "I'm sure that if you train under my father for just a few days, you'll gain a great deal!"

"I absolutely believe that," Pei Shao said. "But... I'd better not!"

"Why? Are you worried about tuition? Don't worry, for Meijing's sake, I'll definitely give you a discount. Besides, my father doesn't just come out and give people guidance whenever they ask. I..."

"It's not about the money. I just don't have much time," Pei Shao lied. He felt that he truly did not have spare money to spend learning something like martial arts, and besides, he was not particularly interested in it. What interested him was merely Dongfang Yinyin's bearing while she practiced. So he added, "Miss Yinyin, how about you demonstrate for me? Let me broaden my horizons!"