Chapter 30 - Boiling Night
"Fish is here."
A steaming hot fish pot was brought to the table.
White fish and red and green peppers were rolling in the golden soup, giving off an appetizing aroma.
The fish was black carp.
Although not wild, it was still deliciously tender and fresh, extremely tasty.
"This must be a signature dish?"
After eating a piece of fish, Lu Yuan couldn't help but praise it.
"Yes."
Lin Zhiqin smiled and nodded, saying, "I've been eating here for over ten years. I've brought many students here to try it. Many of them, even after leaving the martial arts school, would come back to eat here from time to time."
Hearing the words "brought students here", Lu Yuan's face couldn't help turning slightly red.
Just earlier, he had used this to mock Lin Zhiqin.
But Lin Zhiqin seemed to not care at all, only saying,“You are much more mature than the average high school student."
"I just like to think a little more."
Lu Yuan sandwiched a piece of fish with rice pickpocket into his mouth.
The soul of an adult in his body was just an ordinary person in his previous life.
He's not smart, and he doesn't have much social experience.
A little more mature than the average high school student.
But just a little.
He felt embarrassed after made a joke.
However, what Lin Zhiqin said may not be all true.
"My nephew, who is your age, is far behind you in these aspects."
Lin Zhiqin stopped chopsticks, thought about it and said: "It's normal for you to misunderstand. This isn't something overt after all. And I do have ulterior motives."
"Didn't you say it was a formal competitive match?"
"It is formal. But the martial arts school has rules forbidding disciples from participating in competitive matches that are for-profit."
Lu Yuan looked thoughtful, "So if I agree, I can't take the formal disciple examination right now."
"That's right."
Lin Zhiqin nodded, "This is also why I looked for you and Yang Jiandong.
Students don't count as disciples, so they aren't constrained by the rules."
"Then..."
Lu Yuan put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth, and asked solemnly, "What are the benefits if I agree?
Is it only money?"
Lin Zhiqin looked at him and said, "There's also my personal coaching.
For Yang Jiandong, there are only those two things."
Lu Yuan's expression changed slightly, "For me there's something more."
"Yes."
Lin Zhiqin nodded and said, "Your talent in martial arts is much greater than Yang Jiandong's.
I'll teach you some other things.
And also, what I said before - the chance to become a direct disciple."
"Direct disciple...the core inheritance of Yuan Martial Arts School is exactly what?"
Lu Yuan suddenly recalled the photo he saw on the second floor of the martial arts school, which appeared and then disappeared.
The person in the photo wearing the martial arts clothes with the character "crane".
Unfortunately, Lin Zhiqin was unwilling to say.
"I'll tell you after you agree."
Lu Yuan could only stop asking.
"You can ask anything you want to know before we finish this meal.
After the meal, give me your answer."
Lin Zhiqin said to Lu Yuan.
"Alright."
Lu Yuan promptly replied, then focused on eating.
Although Lin Zhiqin said he could ask anything, Lu Yuan didn't say another word.
He probably already understood what he wanted to know, and already had the answer in his heart.
The meal was quickly mostly finished.
Of the five dishes on the table, over half went into Lu Yuan's stomach.
He was very full, even burping a few times.
Lin Zhiqin didn't eat much, and put down his chopsticks early, lighting a cigarette as if thinking about something.
When Lu Yuan finished eating,
Lin Zhiqin beckoned for him to leave.
It had to be said, this little restaurant was quite affordable.
Five dishes, with chicken and fish, totaled less than 200 yuan.
Of course, it was Lin Zhiqin who paid.
Lu Yuan stood in the shade outside the little shop's door, squinting to look at a stray cat by the trash can across the street.
Lin Zhiqin paid the bill and walked out of the shop, standing by his side, and said, "Well, have you considered it?"
Lu Yuan nodded, replying calmly, "I can agree, but I want to see first what kind of match you mentioned."
Lin Zhiqin's eyes flashed, "Alright, I'll take you there.
When do you have time?"
"Tomorrow is fine."
Lu Yuan happened to have the next two days off, and would be back in school the day after.
"Then I'll come get you around 6 pm tomorrow. Give me your phone number and address."
Lu Yuan quickly reported his phone number to Lin Zhiqin, and gave an address near his home.
It wasn't that he was afraid to expose his address, but rather that he didn't want Lin Zhiqin to come pick him up and be seen by his mother - it would be hard to explain.
It was almost noon now.
After chatting with Lin Zhiqin, Lu Yuan was too lazy to go back to the martial arts school. Whether or not he submitted the application form didn't matter anymore.
Bidding farewell to Lin Zhiqin, Lu Yuan ran to the nearest bus stop.
Watching Lu Yuan's quickly retreating back, Lin Zhiqin's eyes flashed as he seemed to be murmuring words that only he could hear:
"Six ranks of punching power in one month,
He really is a rarely seen good seedling.
Maybe I can convince Master..."
"Card packs for Galaxy Mecha War God, silver version 1 yuan, gold version 5 yuan, diamond version 10 yuan."
"Damn! I drew the brilliant Black Knight SSR!"
"Mind your language, kid! Who taught you to say 'damn' all the time? Be careful or I'll tell your teacher."
The noon bus moved as slow as an old turtle about to be cooked by the sun.
By the time he got home, it was 12:45.
Lu Yuan watched some elementary school kids from nearby housing compounds opening card packs at the shop for a while before going upstairs.
"Splash splash-"
In the bathroom, Lu Yuan turned on the faucet and splashed some water on his face.
The person in the mirror had fair skin and refined features.
Although still looking a bit young, there was a hint of sword-like brows and starry eyes.
"The scabs are almost peeling off. It looks like the old wounds from a few days ago."
Lu Yuan touched the abrasion on his cheek and found that the superficial wound from last night had healed uncommonly fast. It was now mostly recovered.
Young, with a fast metabolism, plus Lu Yuan's 10 points in Physique, his recovery speed was far beyond ordinary people's.
After washing his face, he used a towel to dry the water droplets.
Lu Yuan took a drink from the fridge and went into his room to sit at the desk.
He started thinking about what Lin Zhiqin had said to him at lunch.
"If Lin Zhiqin isn't lying, then participating in a couple boxing matches wouldn't be too bad."
"The family really needs money, and I lack real combat experience in real life.
Every battle, win or lose, I can gain a lot of experience points.
This is a good opportunity to accelerate my growth."
Just as he was thinking this, Lu Yuan's phone suddenly rang.
He picked it up and looked - it was a text message from an unknown number.
[Mosart Cup Jiaoyan Night of Boiling Ultimate Fighting Championship, check it out. - Lin Zhiqin]
Lu Yuan was startled for a moment.
So this was the formal competitive match Lin Zhiqin mentioned?
Lu Yuan casually saved Lin Zhiqin's number, then turned on the computer on his desk. He directly typed the long competition name into the search bar.
Soon, relevant information popped up in the search results.