Extraordinary Realm from Persuasion System

Chapter 91: Chapter 87: Guilty Conscience

”Do something for me?”

Hearing this, Chen Rourou blinked, thinking she had misheard.

Initially, when she learned Zhang Beixing had personally come to the Karate club to find her, Chen Rourou had thought she might have offended him and that he was there to teach her a lesson. But she never expected that he was seeking her out to ask her to do something for him.

”Well, well, well, I never thought you, Zhang Beixing, would see a day like this!” Realizing she hadn’t misheard, Chen Rourou looked at Zhang Beixing, thinking this, and couldn’t help feeling rather elated.

It made sense, though. Ever since she got to know Zhang Beixing, she had been constantly overshadowed by him. Now, she had finally managed to come out on top and was striving to be her own master. How could Chen Rourou not be happy about that? It was only because the occasion didn’t allow for it; otherwise, she would have definitely stood there with her hands on her hips, proclaiming that she had finally stood up for herself!

”Beixing, go on, what is it you need? Just say the word, and I’ll definitely get it done for you!”

Out of that elated feeling, Chen Rourou was somewhat carried away at this moment, boasting without even thinking it through.

Seeing her like this, Zhang Beixing’s eyebrows twitched. He had been wondering how to phrase his request to get Chen Rourou to agree. But now, it seemed this girl wasn’t just ordinarily naive; she was voluntarily walking right into his trap. Since you’re being so proactive, don’t blame me, Zhang, for not being polite!

With this in mind, Zhang Beixing didn’t dawdle and directly said, ”It’s nothing major. I just want you to help me record Elder Chen practicing the Northern Sect Eight Pieces of Brocade in his daily routine, and then send the video to me.”

Once he said this, the smile on Chen Rourou’s face visibly froze.

She paused, then looked at Zhang Beixing with a bewildered expression and said, ”The favor you’re asking of me is to film my grandfather’s daily practice videos?”

”What else? Didn’t you just say you could handle anything? It’s just filming a video at home; that shouldn’t be too hard for you, right?” Zhang Beixing asked, his face showing a playful look.

Hearing his words, the corner of Chen Rourou’s mouth twitched. Seriously, don’t you have any idea how difficult this is? That’s the Northern Sect Eight Pieces of Brocade! It’s our Chen Family’s ultimate skill! If this were ancient times, leaking something like this would, at the very least, result in expulsion from the family records. At worst, one could be killed on the spot! And this is what you’re asking me to do?

”This...”

”That’s not really appropriate, is it?” Chen Rourou stammered, her mouth twitching as she spoke, still trying to salvage the situation.

Unmoved by her reaction, Zhang Beixing simply stood up, patted Chen Rourou’s shoulder, and said with a beam, ”Well, whether it’s appropriate or not, we’ll only know by trying, won’t we?”

”I remember you’ve always wanted to learn the Northern Sect Eight Pieces of Brocade, right? Don’t worry. As long as you get me this video, once I learn the Northern Sect Eight Pieces of Brocade, I’ll teach it to you. I’ll show you how to do it.”

”But, if you don’t bring the video back...”

”Rourou, your Uncle Zhang will be very disappointed in you!”

Saying so, Zhang Beixing patted Chen Rourou’s shoulder again and, without waiting for her reaction, pushed the door open and left, leaving Chen Rourou alone, sitting there on the verge of tears.

We agreed to mind our own business at school! She suddenly had the urge to slap her past self. Look at you! Why did you get so carried away? Agreeing to anything without even asking, claiming you could do everything. Now look, Zhang Beixing has you cornered, and you’re in a real bind! Now, filming it is a problem, and not filming it is also a problem!

”Sigh!” Chen Rourou muttered in distress. ”This is truly a dilemma!” She pondered what to do.

”Huh... wait a minute.” Suddenly, she realized something. What year was it now? 2018! In this era of rapid technological development and information explosion, there were tons of martial arts videos online, even ones with meticulous, step-by-step instructions. Yet, to this day, hardly anyone had actually learned from online videos. Not to mention, her grandfather’s Eight Pieces of Brocade was far more profound and intricate than those circulating online. Even she, a Chen family member, hadn’t learned it after watching for so many years. So how could Zhang Beixing, an outsider, possibly manage? Without her father’s or grandfather’s personal guidance, it would be impossible to learn. Otherwise, so-called traditional martial arts would have become commonplace long ago. Besides, even Teacher Liu Yi hadn’t managed to secretly learn it back then, so how could Zhang Beixing possibly master the Northern Sect Eight Pieces of Brocade just by watching a video? So, it’s just filming a video... I probably don’t need to be so nervous!

Thinking about it this way, it doesn’t seem so unacceptable after all, Chen Rourou thought, her mood instantly lightening. She then packed her things and headed home.

「An hour later.」

「In the Talltree District, outside the Chen Family estate.」

Chen Rourou got out of the car. With a heart full of apprehension, she walked in. This was the first time in her life she had ever entered her home feeling so nervous.

Even though Chen Rourou kept telling herself not to be nervous, that it was just filming a video and Zhang Beixing wouldn’t necessarily be able to learn it, the thought that she was about to pass on her Chen Family’s ultimate skill to an outsider filled her with a sense of transgression, nervousness, and a strange thrill. Her body couldn’t help but tremble. To put it bluntly, she had a guilty conscience.

It was in this state of mind that Chen Rourou arrived outside Elder Chen Hongguo’s bedroom.

Looking at the closed door, she reached out and knocked.

THUD THUD THUD—

A muffled sound came from the door. Before long, she heard Elder Chen’s robust voice from within, ”Come in!”

Hearing this voice, Chen Rourou’s nervousness intensified. She took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and patted her face to keep herself alert. Then, she pushed the door open and walked in.

Elder Chen’s bedroom was very simply furnished. Apart from a bed, a table, and a few stools, the rest of the space was cleared, serving as Elder Chen’s usual exercise area.

At this moment, Elder Chen was sitting on a stool, holding their Chen Family’s secret manual, the ”Northern Eight Pieces of Brocade,” stroking his beard and reading with great interest.

”Grandpa!” Chen Rourou called out crisply as she entered.

Hearing the sound, Elder Chen was startled for a moment, then turned his head. When he saw it was Chen Rourou, he was somewhat surprised and asked, ”Rourou? Why are you back? Didn’t you say you were planning to stay at the school dormitory recently?”

”Well... I changed my mind. I missed you and wanted to come back and see you. Is that okay?”

Although she knew filming the video likely wouldn’t help Zhang Beixing much, she was, after all, doing something sneaky, so Chen Rourou still felt somewhat nervous and guilty. However, she didn’t let any of it show, looking at Elder Chen calmly as she spoke.

Hearing her words, Elder Chen chuckled, clearly amused. ”Okay? Of course, it’s okay! My favorite granddaughter wants to come back and see this unloved old codger? I couldn’t be happier! How could I possibly refuse?”

”However, you, young lady, are famous for never visiting without a reason!”

”So, tell me, what brings you to see your grandpa today?” Elder Chen asked, smiling at Chen Rourou.

After a moment’s thought, Chen Rourou decided not to hide it and said directly, ”Because I want to film your magnificent form while you practice the Eight Pieces of Brocade!”

”Film my magnificent form while I practice the Eight Pieces of Brocade?” Elder Chen was taken aback. Somewhat confused as to why Chen Rourou wanted to do this, he asked, ”Why is that?”

”Um...” Chen Rourou hesitated for a moment but quickly came up with a reason. ”Because I admire you, Grandpa! As the leading authority on the Eight Pieces of Brocade in Northern River Province, you’re only famous within the martial arts circle. That’s just not right! I want to post your video online so that all the netizens can see it and know your name!”

”Oh, so that’s why!” Elder Chen said with sudden understanding, not suspecting a thing. He even thought Chen Rourou was being quite thoughtful, wanting to increase his fame this way.

”However... there’s no need to post it online, Rourou. Grandpa is old now and doesn’t really care much for fame and fortune anymore!”

”If you want to film it, go ahead!” Elder Chen said, waving his hand.

Then, he walked to the open space in the room.

After Chen Rourou got ready and pressed the record button, he began to perform their Chen Family’s Northern Sect Eight Pieces of Brocade.

Although the Northern Sect Eight Pieces of Brocade was the Chen Family’s ultimate skill, this Cultivation Technique itself was not overly complicated. All told, it consisted of only eight movements.

A rhyme could summarize them:

Lift earth, drag sky, to regulate Triple Burner;

Left-right draw the bow, like an archer’s keen fervor.

To tune spleen and stomach, one hand must ascend;

At five strains and seven hurts, a backward glance extend.

Clench fists, glare fiercely, to build your arm’s might;

Sway your head and wag your tail, to make kidneys and waist right.

With both hands pull feet, to banish heart’s fire;

Seven jolts on horseback, all ailments retire!

Singing the rhyme while performing the Northern Sect Eight Pieces of Brocade, Elder Chen finished the entire set in just a few minutes.

Chen Rourou stopped recording. The heavy weight in her heart finally lifted.

Just as she was feeling relieved that she wouldn’t get into trouble and marveling at how smoothly everything had gone, Elder Chen walked over. He coughed twice and asked with a somewhat expectant look, ”Rourou, the video is done. Is there anything else?”

Hearing this, Chen Rourou instinctively wanted to say there was nothing else. But noticing Elder Chen’s occasional glances at the phone, her observant nature allowed her to guess his thoughts immediately. So, Chen Rourou said, ”Of course, there is! This is your video, Grandpa. You should definitely take a look and see if I filmed it well. Grandpa, please review it.”

With that, she handed the phone over with both hands.

Seeing this, Elder Chen was inwardly overjoyed but still made a show of polite refusal. After a few rounds of back-and-forth, Elder Chen, seeing the time was right, put on an expression of ’I can’t say no to you’ and took the phone from Chen Rourou’s hands.

As he watched the video, where he, despite his age, performed the Northern Sect Eight Pieces of Brocade with such vigor and magnificence, a proud smile couldn’t help but appear on Elder Chen’s aged face. He said, ”Rourou, you filmed this very well! I didn’t expect that even at my age, I could look so good on camera.”

Chen Rourou quickly waved her hands. ”Grandpa, you can’t say that! My filming skills are just average. What truly makes this video so good is that you’re naturally photogenic and still so vigorous despite your age!”

”Hahaha, you little rascal, you just know how to make an old man happy!”

”Not at all, I’m just telling the truth! If you don’t believe me, Grandpa, how about we film another version of the Eight Pieces of Brocade?”

”...”