A nostalgic look crossed Pei Hu's face as he began his tale. "When I was young, I traveled around to study martial arts. After winning the World Martial Arts Tournament, I roamed far and wide, looking to challenge masters everywhere. I thought no one in the world could beat me. But to my surprise, there was someone far above me right here in our East City region. Two thousand li northeast of White Cloud City, in the Phoenix Mountain range south of what is now East City, there's a place called Mount Paozu. That was where I once met a truly peerless master!"
"A truly peerless master?" Pei Zheng and Tang Fei asked in surprise. As far as they knew, Pei Hu himself was a peerless master, yet here he was telling them that there were true masters beyond him.
"Back then, I was arrogant. After defeating one master after another, I heard that a master lived in seclusion around Phoenix Mountain, so I went looking for him."
Pei Hu recalled the encounter, a wry smile appearing on his face.
"It was like an elder playing with a child. I attacked with everything I had, but that old man, already in his sixties, brushed aside my attacks without the slightest effort. All he did was wave his palm at me. The gust from that palm alone was enough to defeat me!"
"What!" Even Pei Zheng, who had seen his share of extraordinary things, could not help crying out.
Ever since childhood, his father had been someone Pei Zheng could only look up to. His father held himself to strict standards, trained tirelessly, and had even won the World Martial Arts Tournament. Yet today, this man who stood like a god in Pei Zheng's heart had admitted that someone could defeat him with nothing more than the gust of a palm!
"Could the young man A-Fei met be that old man's descendant?" Pei Zheng voiced his doubts.
"Probably not," Pei Hu said. "That old man lived alone. He had neither a wife nor children, so the young man couldn't be his descendant. I once begged him to take me as his disciple and let me train under him, but he refused. He said he had spent his whole life living freely and had no desire to take disciples."
Pei Hu continued, "But he did suggest that I go to East City to find his martial uncle. His martial uncle accepted plenty of disciples and might have been willing to take me in."
"Did you go, Father?" Pei Zheng asked.
A rare look of embarrassment crossed Pei Hu's face. "I did. But that old man's martial uncle-Master Shen-said I was too old and had too little talent. He refused to take me as his disciple and threw me out. After that, I settled for ruling over this little corner of the world, hiding here in White Cloud City and playing the king. In reality, I wasn't even worthy of those peerless masters' notice."
Pei Zheng and Tang Fei felt as though they had heard some enormous joke. Pei Hu, the strongest fighter in White Cloud City and a World Martial Arts Tournament champion, had actually been rejected for having too little talent!
But after stroking his beard and considering it further, Pei Hu said, "Still, Master Shen was a spiteful man who did whatever he pleased. The moves I saw his disciples practicing were vicious. If the man A-Fei met was one of Master Shen's disciples, I doubt you'd be sitting here in one piece today."
Tang Fei nodded. "That's true. If he'd been ruthless, I wouldn't have lived to see you today, Uncle."
Pei Hu lightly tapped the armrest of the sofa. "Zheng, arrange for someone to look into his background. As long as he doesn't provoke us, we mustn't make any rash moves and cause an unnecessary misunderstanding. If we get a chance to befriend him, all the better. A-Fei, do you know this young man's name? That way, I can ask around when I see my old friends."
"Uncle, his name is Jiang Nan."
"Jiang Nan?" Pei Hu felt as though he had heard the name before, but could not remember where. Perhaps it was simply a fairly common name. He did not dwell on it, and after exchanging a few more pleasantries with Tang Fei, he went upstairs to rest.
Tang Fei also rose to take his leave, and Pei Zheng personally drove him back to the club.
Early the next morning, Boss Li had just arrived to open his shop when he spotted Tang Fei skulking around outside. His heart tightened. Had this Brother Fei come to get revenge?
Surely he wouldn't dare attack or kill someone in broad daylight? Boss Li bolstered his courage, pretended not to see Tang Fei, and steeled himself as he unlocked the shop.
"Uncle Li! Uncle Li!" Seeing Boss Li, Tang Fei jogged over.
Boss Li almost thought he was hearing things. Wasn't this bastard Tang Fei arrogant everywhere he went, swearing with every other breath? Had yesterday's humiliation actually changed his nature?
"Oh, Brother Fei. What brings you here so early?" Boss Li asked.
"Uncle Li, I came especially to apologize!" Tang Fei said shamelessly. "It was all my boys' fault for misunderstanding me. I'm always telling them that our Flying Dragon Gang is here to punish evil, promote good, and uphold justice. Who would've thought those brats would have the nerve to collect some sanitation fee in my name behind my back? It's outrageous!"
Like hell I believe you! Nan probably scared you out of your wits, and now you're afraid he'll teach you another lesson!
"When I found out, I was heartbroken. I couldn't eat or sleep. I had no appetite for anything. All I could think about was how to make up for my mistakes. So here..." Tang Fei pulled a bulging envelope from his pocket. "These are the sanitation fees those little bastards collected from you. I've brought them back."
As the saying went, it was hard to strike someone who came with a smile. Boss Li could hardly say much. He took the envelope and opened it. Good grief! There was a thick stack of bills inside, far more than the Flying Dragon Gang had taken from him.
Boss Li counted out a stack of money and returned the rest to Tang Fei. He was an honest man and would not take what did not belong to him.
Without paying Tang Fei any further attention, Boss Li went into the kitchen to get to work.
When Boss Li finished kneading the dough and looked up, he found that Tang Fei still had not left. The fellow was holding a broom and making a show of sweeping the shop!
Boss Li wiped his hands and came out of the kitchen. Watching Tang Fei's clumsy sweeping leave patches of dirt behind, he could not help asking in exasperation, "A-Fei, just tell me what you want. There's no need to beat around the bush."
Tang Fei scratched his head and smiled. "Uncle Li, you've got me wrong. I really do want to make up for my mistakes."
"Well, if you like sweeping so much, carry on!" Boss Li made to leave.
"Hey, hey, Uncle Li, don't go!" Tang Fei hurriedly caught hold of Boss Li. "Well, there's something I wanted to ask you."
"Go on!"
"That Brother Nan from yesterday, Jiang Nan-what's his background? Do you know where he lives, Uncle Li?" Tang Fei asked with a broad smile.
Boss Li's expression darkened. "What are you planning? I won't sell Nan out!"
Tang Fei warmly linked arms with Boss Li and smiled. "Uncle Li, what are you thinking? Brother Nan set me on the right path yesterday. I've turned over a new leaf! I want to work for him, so I can listen to his teachings more easily!"
Boss Li pulled his arm free and asked suspiciously, "You really aren't trying to hurt Nan?"
"I wouldn't dare, even if you lent me the courage! You saw it yesterday. Brother Nan did that..." Tang Fei mimed Jiang Nan pinching the bullet. "After he did something like that, would I still have the guts to hurt him? I'd have to be tired of living!"
Boss Li thought that made sense and let his guard down. "I can't tell you much about Nan's background. He moved here a few months ago, and I'd never seen him before that. He lives in the residential complex behind us, but I don't know which apartment."
Seeing the disappointment on Tang Fei's face, Boss Li added, "But Nan comes to eat at my shop around noon almost every day. If you want to see him, just wait here."
"Sure, sure! Great!" Tang Fei's face lit up.
"Oh, A-Fei, help me arrange all these chairs!" Boss Li dispensed with the formalities and actually put Tang Fei to work. Tang Fei was annoyed, but dared not show it, lest the old bastard bad-mouth him to Jiang Nan. He immediately threw himself into the chores with eager enthusiasm.
Before you continue