The Way of Restraint

Chapter 156: Courage and Responsibility

“Old Peng, what’s going on? Your skills…” A young woman hurriedly approached. “Are you alright?” 

“I’m fine.” Old Peng touched his face, the aura of a master completely gone. However, he was relieved; at that moment when he was struck, he even thought he was going to die. “I’ve been through countless battles, but I’ve never seen such a formidable young man. How on earth did he train to reach this level?” 

The young woman was well aware of Old Peng’s prowess, yet he couldn’t even withstand a single move from that university student. Who exactly was that young man? 

Mr. Yun’s expression was somewhat off. He originally intended to collaborate with Jiu Ding Security Group and hire them as bodyguards, but now he found himself unable to deal with an unnamed young man. However, he also knew deeply that Jiu Ding Security was powerful; their bodyguards had received military training and were skilled in various combat techniques, gaining a good reputation in the industry. That young man had taken down six people in the blink of an eye without a scratch on him; his strength was truly not to be underestimated. 

“These are just minor misunderstandings. It seems that B City really does hide dragons and crouching tigers. Let’s continue eating; those few bodyguards are fine, right?” Mr. Yun was adept at handling situations, acting as if nothing had happened. “Those just now were all students from Q University; don’t make things difficult for them. Otherwise, if they post about this online and criticize us, it could lead to a huge uproar, and we might end up with nothing good coming from it.” 

The young woman wanted to argue but suddenly felt uneasy upon hearing Mr. Yun’s words, thinking about the potential news headlines. 

[Jiu Ding Security Group Bodyguards Bully Q University Students, Sparking Heated Online Debate.] 

[Q University Faculty and Students Join Forces to Denounce Jiu Ding Security, Calling for Severe Punishment from the Authorities.]

Such explosive events could arise. 

If it were students from another university, it might be easier to handle, but Q University is one of the top universities in the country, producing many leaders. A slight stir could send shockwaves through the higher echelons. (G: pure logic.)

“Then let’s just drop this matter.” The young woman finally swallowed her anger. 

“They’re fine; they just have some dislocated joints and spasms. That young man was very measured in his strikes. To hold back under such circumstances shows his skill has reached an extraordinary level—no, it’s at its peak.” 

Old Peng knew how to reset joints and helped the dislocated bodyguards get back into shape, so there were no further issues. As for the others with muscle spasms, they would gradually recover after applying some liniment. 

“Mr. Yun, I’ve shown you something embarrassing.” The young woman said. 

“It’s nothing; as they say, there’s always someone better and greater beyond the heavens.” Mr. Yun replied, “I think you should send someone to find those university students, apologize, and offer a few thousand for medical expenses to prevent them from blowing this incident up online. If public sentiment turns against us and we’re drowned in criticism, why bother? Moreover, this incident arose because your bodyguards were a bit too rough in their methods. I’ve seen news reports where celebrities hired your Jiu Ding Security personnel only for them to end up fighting fans and paparazzi. Such incidents accumulate and damage your image.” 

Mr. Yun was someone who highly valued his reputation. 

“We will definitely improve.” The young woman nodded. 

In a corner of a busy street, there was a small noodle shop bustling with customers; there were no seats inside, and many patrons were squatting at the shop’s entrance enjoying their noodles happily. 

Su Jie, Wang Shun, Lin Tang, and Tan Dashi were also squatting by the roadside, each holding a bowl and slurping noodles. 

“This is really delicious; no wonder so many people are here.” Wang Shun finished one bowl and ordered another while continuing to squat and eat. The four of them had no sense of image; after being kicked out from an upscale restaurant, they were quite happy squatting at this small shop by the roadside.

“The taste is not bad.” Lin Tang seemed to shake off his earlier gloom, “Su Jie, are you really not afraid at all? I just checked, those were people from Jiu Ding Security, one of the largest security companies in the country. Many celebrities and entrepreneurs hire this company, and their business has even expanded abroad. And that Mr. Yun, he’s a big shot from a multinational conglomerate; they have money and power. Offending them won’t bring us any good.”

“Don’t worry, they’re the ones who should be afraid.” After finishing his noodles, Su Jie fell silent for a moment before speaking again, pointing to his watch: “Automatic recording, preserving evidence at all times. If these people treat us violently, we can upload the video online, and it will immediately create a public outcry. If they want to pursue this, the losses will definitely not be ours.”

“That makes sense.” Lin Tang became excited: “Especially with the news—Jiu Ding Security treating Q University students violently, only to be taken down by six students, with video evidence. Just buy a few comments to boost it, and it will instantly become the hottest news of the year, easily trending. On one hand, I can vent my anger; on the other hand, your martial arts downloads will surely skyrocket.”

“Forget it.” Su Jie waved his hand: “I don’t want to become famous this way; maintaining a good initial image is very important. Besides, if given a choice, it’s better to stay hidden.”

Su Jie read the Book of Changes and understood the principle of humility—being grounded in the mountains brings great fortune. If it weren’t to thwart the Feng family’s conspiracy, he wouldn’t want to participate in that arena competition and become the center of attention.

“I find that you’re really not afraid of trouble.” Lin Tang exclaimed again: “Tan Dashi, you seem to know how to fight too, but why did you look so dumbfounded?”

“The boss is just the boss.” Tan Dashi shook his head repeatedly: “I’ve fought many times in competitions, but those were all agreed-upon matches. I’ve also had a few street fights, but they were one-on-one at most, or two at once. Just now, I was really a bit dazed; the opponents were mainly well-trained and rushed at us all at once. That kind of momentum made me hesitate.”

“You can’t blame him.” Su Jie nodded: “Street fights between gangs are chaotic and disorganized, but Jiu Ding Security’s people are almost like soldiers. When they forcefully advance in formation like that, even an expert in street fighting would feel helpless. It’s akin to Qi Jiguang’s ‘Mandarin Duck Formation,’ which could achieve victory even against formidable Japanese swordsmen.”

“So that’s how it is.” Lin Tang nodded: “Is there really someone who can take on ten opponents in reality?”

“Of course there is.” Su Jie affirmed: “But it depends on who they are. If it’s just ordinary ruffians rushing at you chaotically, it doesn’t matter how many there are. But if it’s well-trained personnel from Jiu Ding Security, advancing step by step according to a plan and cornering you so you can’t fight back, that becomes very troublesome. Military encirclement is completely different from street brawls.”

“It seems you’ve experienced military encirclement?” Lin Tang was clever and made connections: “Otherwise, you wouldn’t be so calm.”

“Something like that,” Su Jie replied vaguely and didn’t elaborate on his experiences. But the more he did this, the more grand and mysterious his image grew in the minds of the three.

“Boss, from now on we’ll all rely on you for protection.” Wang Shun’s tone already carried some admiration.

“Let’s head back after we finish eating.” Su Jie said: “I still need to practice tonight; do you want to join me?”

“Of course!” Even Lin Tang, who disliked exercise the most, eagerly participated. He originally thought martial arts had limited power; no matter how skilled one was, they would fear a kitchen knife. But today proved otherwise.

He saw the true shadow of a master in Su Jie and gained confidence in martial arts, deciding to study diligently to fulfill his childhood dream.

Su Jie’s university life had just begun when he impressed his three roommates. 

Just as everything was going smoothly, Su Muchen and her team went abroad.

Haoyu Group was planning to relocate the main core technicians of its artificial intelligence laboratory abroad. 

Su Muchen’s Morning Dawn Studio was the first to be affected. 

Inside a hotel abroad, Su Muchen was chatting with her team members. 

“As long as we work for a year or two and complete our project, we’ll gain our freedom and also receive dividends,” one team member exclaimed excitedly. 

There were six members in this team, all girls around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, looking fresh-faced without any makeup. At first glance, they seem ordinary, but upon closer inspection, they possess a natural beauty. One of them was Su Muchen’s dormitory classmate. 

The one speaking was Yu Xiaolian, who was skilled at coding and could accomplish the work of many people on her own. Her complexion looked somewhat pale, clearly a result of prolonged work and mental exhaustion. If she took better care of herself, she could be quite beautiful, but she currently appeared rather plain. She noticed that Su Muchen didn’t seem happy and couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong? Aren’t you happy? Do you think Haoyu won’t keep its promises? We even signed a contract this time, so there shouldn’t be any problems, right?” 

“It might not be that simple; I need to talk to Feng Yuxuan again,” Su Muchen replied. “You all need to be more vigilant and utilize our strengths; leave more evidence online.” 

“Got it. Our company was nearly brought down once; we owe Haoyu several hundred million now. Shouldn’t we be cautious?” said a woman in a white lab coat. Her name was Bai Wen, and she specialized in hacking and intrusion. 

Click! 

The door swung open. A very tall female secretary walked in and said to Su Muchen, “Miss Su, the boss wants you to go to his office.” 

“Okay, I’ll be there shortly,” Su Muchen replied, frowning. She stood up and followed the secretary to the elevator, which took them directly to the top floor of the hotel. This hotel was built with investment from Haoyu Group and was now used as an office building as part of the group’s overseas assets. 

“You can go in now,” the secretary said when they reached the office door, then pulled it shut behind Su Muchen. She stood outside and exchanged glances with someone. 

At that moment, eight bodyguards swiftly emerged from a nearby room and stood at the entrance. 

“You all stay here; no matter what happens inside, act as if nothing is going on, and no outsiders are allowed in, understood?” the secretary instructed. 

The eight bodyguards remained silent, standing at attention with military precision. 

Su Muchen entered the office, which was vast and open-plan, complete with areas for fitness and relaxation. 

Feng Yuxuan was sitting behind the desk, playing with a folding military-style dagger. The dagger glinted coldly as he spun it in his hand like a skilled pen twirler.

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Check out my other projects: Flower Stealing Master, My Dream Goddess (Mature), My Midnight Livestream (Horror), Ask the Mirror (recommended), Immortal Divine Tribulation (recommended), Dual Cultivation with a Fox Demon, Hedonist Prodigy