The Way of Restraint

Chapter 150: The Drowning Swimmer Turns the Tables

“Dad, what are you talking about?” Su Jie disagreed. He had been to the war zone and understood deeply that abroad, Feng Hengyi was linked to dark forces. Once he stepped out, it would be like a sheep entering a tiger’s den. 

Although Su Jie had Martial Arts skills, he knew that the power of Martial Arts was not as formidable as it seemed; there were many situations where he would be powerless. 

“Don’t worry, maybe we can catch a big fish,” Su Shilin said. “Your sister’s ambition is to design a powerful artificial intelligence. Once abroad, she might leverage the Feng Family’s connections to obtain truly confidential information. Sometimes, broadening one’s horizons and seeing the world is beneficial. Just like you, I didn’t want you to learn Martial Arts because I was afraid you would get into fights. But you didn’t listen and chose this path, inevitably exposing yourself to many dangers. For instance, your trip to the war zone—wasn’t it a brush with death? A stray bullet could take your life. Remember, those who drown are often good swimmers. Those who can’t swim have the self-awareness not to go into the water, and thus, they will never drown.”

“But it’s too dangerous,” Su Jie argued with his father. “If sister goes on an adventure, I definitely don’t support it. I know you have a good relationship with the chairman of the Zhonglong Group, and sister’s team could be very useful to them. They could easily recruit her team, compensate Haoyu, and handle the lawsuit. After all, the two major groups have been at odds before. It would be much safer for my sister to work at Zhonglong than to be on edge at Haoyu.”

Su Jie had a point. If the Zhonglong Group recruited his sister’s team, it would be a significant advantage. He had seen how the wealthy young masters like Lu Shu were willing to give away hundreds of millions in property just to recruit her. However, these young masters were not very reliable, but Su Jie believed the Zhonglong Group was trustworthy.

“Not everything can depend on others,” Su Shilin replied. “Zhonglong is Zhonglong, and we are us. Besides, even if we rely on Zhonglong, will the Feng Family let it go? It would only bring more trouble. It’s better to eradicate the root cause once and for all. Don’t worry, you’re still young; there are some things you don’t need to bear. When I can’t handle it anymore, you can step in. Many things may seem like huge troubles to you, but they might not be as terrifying in my eyes. In fact, compared to the Feng Family, the Zhang Family is the most formidable. Don’t get too close to them.”

“The Zhang Family? Is that Zhang Manman?” Su Jie’s heart stirred.

“You should ask your mother about that,” Su Shilin crossed his arms. “I’m too lazy to explain. Just don’t get too close to the Zhang Family; they are even more hostile towards us than the Feng Family.”

“I’ve interacted with the Zhang Family before, and it was fine?” Su Jie seemed to sense some hidden secrets.

“Only the core members of the Zhang Family know about the events from back then,” Xu Ying spoke up. “Zhang Manman probably doesn’t know the secrets either. Anyway, Zhang Hongqing hates your dad to the core. If you’re going abroad, definitely avoid the Zhang Family, and it’s best to cut ties with Zhang Manman.”

“What exactly happened?” Su Jie asked.

“Don’t worry about it. Just know that it’s a deep-seated grudge,” Xu Ying said. “Let’s eat; your dad has made arrangements. Your sister won’t run into any trouble. Just focus on your university studies. After you graduate, you can deal with things then.”

“Dad, are you reliable?” Su Jie still didn’t believe it. “I just don’t think you can handle this situation.”

“Hey!” Su Shilin immediately got angry. “You little brat, do you dare to question your old man? Come on, let’s see what your Martial Arts skills are really like today!”

“Shilin, you’re not a kid anymore. Why are you arguing with your child?” Xu Ying interjected. “Enough talk, let’s eat!”

At that moment, Su Jie did not heed his mother’s words. He suddenly picked up a toothpick from the table, twirled it in his hand, and, as if by magic, it vanished from sight. The toothpick shot towards Su Shilin at an imperceptible speed. Just as Su Shilin was eating with his chopsticks, completely unprepared, the toothpick struck him with a swift and precise motion that went unnoticed. 

“Hmm!” 

The instant the toothpick reached Su Shilin, Su Jie felt a slight pain in his shoulder. He then saw that the toothpick he had shot out had somehow lodged itself in his own shoulder. He hadn’t even realized it. At that moment, Su Shilin had just put down his chopsticks. All of this happened in the blink of an eye—Su Shilin was eating, Su Jie shot the toothpick, and it rebounded to pierce his shoulder, all in about one or two seconds. 

Su Jie pulled the toothpick out, a small trace of blood appearing where it had pierced his shoulder. In that instant, he hadn’t felt a thing. He hadn’t even caught a glimpse of Su Shilin’s technique. 

‘Is he really that strong?’ Su Jie immediately understood that his father was likely on the same level as Odell. 

“The heart-piercing nail of the Judge Gu Yang,” Su Shilin said casually as he watched Su Jie pull the toothpick from his shoulder. “His hidden weapons are indeed exceptional, but you’ve only just started practicing, and your skills are far from sufficient. When it comes to killing, your father is better than you. But killers are always hunted; no one is a god, all are flesh and blood. Once you enter this circle, it’s hard to turn back, and it’s quite meaningless.” 

“What technique was that just now?” Su Jie asked, staring intently. 

“Your Martial Arts have already reached a certain level; teaching you would be useless,” Su Shilin replied. “When I was young, I was nowhere near as good as you. Alright, let’s not talk about this. You have your own worldview and outlook on life; just follow your own path. You don’t need to worry about family matters.” 

“Fine.” Su Jie had nothing more to say. The technique his father had just displayed was far cleaner and more efficient than anything he could manage. If even he couldn’t handle it, then he certainly wouldn’t be able to. Since his father wanted to send his sister abroad, he must have his own reasons. 

‘It seems that only by reaching a mental state akin to the Living Dead can I truly spar with my father. Only then will I be able to withstand certain things,’ Su Jie thought to himself. ‘My skills with hidden weapons are still in their infancy; I’m far behind in that regard compared to my fist and foot techniques. I should be able to hold my own against my father in a few rounds with those.’

Hidden weapons were indeed a weak point for Su Jie. They were purely tools for killing, without any pretense. Practicing fist and foot techniques, even the most vicious moves, could be justified as a means of strengthening the body, but practicing hidden weapons was solely for the purpose of murder. Su Jie didn’t want to invest too much time and energy into hidden weapons; the priority was still on physical and mental training. Becoming overly obsessed with hidden weapons would be a waste of time. As long as his physical abilities and mental resilience improved, a little practice with hidden weapons would suffice. 

“Why are you arguing with the child?” Xu Ying suddenly slammed her chopsticks down. 

Su Shilin flinched and lowered his head to eat. At that moment, his sister Su Mucheng seemed to be much happier. “It seems that the Haoyu Group has powerful technical support behind it. During my research, I vaguely grasped that connection. If I can further crack the secrets within, I could even master all the business secrets of Haoyu and find evidence of how Feng Yuxuan set me up. Little brother, this is also why I stayed at Haoyu; I’m not willing to accept failure in my entrepreneurial endeavors.” 

“The Feng Family is not that easy to deal with. You don’t know Martial Arts; if anything goes wrong, a security guard could easily take you down,” Su Jie still felt uneasy deep down.

“I still have my value, besides, you can’t catch a tiger cub without entering the tiger’s den,” Su Mucheng said. “Little brother, you still don’t understand the tricks of computers. A true expert can gather a lot of information without anyone noticing. Once I obtain all the criminal records of the Feng Family, it will be their end. Just like how the Feng Family brought down my company back then, I will do the same to theirs.”

“It’s not that simple,” their mother Xu Ying interjected. “You must prioritize safety above all else.”

“There’s no need to worry about safety,” Su Shilin chimed in. “On the Zhonglong side, I’ll give them something to think about. There will indeed be times when we need them, but they are also the type that won’t act until they see the rabbit. We can only leverage their power, not put all our bets on them.”

“Got it,” Su Jie nodded.

After the family finished their meal, father Su Shilin and older sister Su Mucheng left, and it was unclear what they were up to. 

Su Jie stayed home to clean up the dishes. He felt much more at ease now; his sister seemed to have gained some insight and was no longer the stubborn blockhead who only focused on research. 

His sister wasn’t stupid or foolish; she was intelligent but lacked emotional intelligence. Perhaps she had spent too long in the ivory tower of academia, leading to some naivety and assumptions. After everything that had happened, she had undoubtedly grown to some extent. 

Even Su Jie had matured significantly compared to last year; he could almost say he had undergone a transformation. 

“At least I’m not fighting alone now,” Su Jie thought of his father’s technique of flicking toothpicks back. He hadn’t seen it clearly in the moment, but now it vividly replayed in his mind. When his father flicked the toothpick, he did so with such speed that it changed trajectory in an instant and bounced back. 

It was somewhat similar to a bullet rebounding off a hard surface. This kind of precision and perfectly measured force didn’t seem so miraculous to Su Jie anymore. With some practice, he could achieve it too. 

His Martial Arts had reached a certain level; as long as he calmed his mind, he could discern the essence of things. 

‘What unresolved deep-seated grudge could my father have with the Zhang Family?’ Su Jie pondered another question. ‘Zhang Manman is actually quite nice; without her, we might not have been able to deal with the Feng Family. The grievances of the previous generation shouldn’t affect the next. In this competition, I still need her to thwart Feng Hengyi’s schemes. It’s better to resolve enmities than to deepen them. If we can eliminate this grudge, it would be a good thing. Otherwise, we would have to deal with both the Feng Family and the Zhang Family, and even my father wouldn’t be able to handle it all.’