The Way of Restraint

Chapter 185: The Zhang Family, with Countless Experts

“This Zhang Kaiyu is far too arrogant.”

Just after the young man left, a girl emerged from a small room in a mezzanine of the office. It was Lu Xuan from the Student Union’s Discipline Inspection Department; her other identity was a partner in Qin Hui’s company.

“He has the right to be arrogant,” Qin Hui said with a smile, not angered by Zhang Kaiyu’s attitude earlier. “Our business still relies on the Zhang family; otherwise, our foreign trade in many overseas locations would be extremely difficult. The extortion by local gangs would be enough to give us a hard time.”

“I’ve never understood what the Zhang family does. I’ve heard they have connections with many overseas gangs and organizations. Can they really do big business with that?” Lu Xuan asked, puzzled.

“The Zhang family has an immense hidden power, having ventured overseas since the late Qing Dynasty,” Qin Hui said. “Over the past century, the family has produced numerous talented individuals who have thrived in various businesses, branching out and expanding their influence. Some are merchants, some are overseas or even involved in politics, some have formed gangs and organizations, and some have even established security companies and invested in mercenary groups—they do all sorts of businesses; it’s extremely complex. The family’s assets are difficult to ascertain. Moreover, by the time of Zhang Kaiyu’s generation, the Zhang family began intermarrying with Westerners. Look at this person; he has certain mixed-race features.”

“No wonder…” “Lu Xuan nodded: “That Su Jie actually has a close relationship with Liu Long. What should we do now?”

“First, conduct a comprehensive investigation of him.” Qin Hui’s gaze was cold: “Find his weaknesses and flaws. If he’s just an ordinary student, he’ll be easy to deal with. But if he has connections, then we’ll handle it differently.”

“What about Zhang Kaiyu…”

“I’m a partner of the Zhang family, not their subordinate.” Qin Hui said: “Zhang Kaiyu is just a junior in the Zhang family. His father is called Zhang Hongjun. Although he holds a high position in the Zhang family, he’s not as high as Zhang Hongqing or Zhang Hongyuan. He introduced me…that woman from the Zhang family is named Zhang Manman, and she’s Zhang Hongqing’s daughter. Zhang Hongqing is the head of the Zhang family, and even some of the older generation are subservient to him.”

“Head of the family? It’s like those old-fashioned gangs, the Green Gang, the Hongmen.” Lu Xuan scoffed, “What era are we living in? They haven’t changed their old ways.”

“The Zhang family itself is a large, established gang family. They went overseas in the late Qing Dynasty, connecting with Chinese communities around the world.” Qin Hui seemed to know the Zhang family inside and out: “The Zhang family’s seniority is: Wan, Nian, Han, Shi, Hong, Kai, Juan, De, You, Guang. The oldest member of the Zhang family now is Zhang Nianquan, who is said to be 111 years old. At that age, he still eats meat, drinks alcohol, and practices martial arts every day, brimming with energy. The Zhang family is truly remarkable. Especially over twenty years ago, the Zhang family had seven outstanding individuals, led by Zhang Hongqing, Zhang Hongyuan, Zhang Hongjun, Zhang Hongyin, Zhang Hongding, and Zhang Hongshun. Each of them was a genius, revitalizing the family.”

As he spoke, Qin Hui produced a genealogy: “This shows the current members of the Zhang family, and their respective professions. Look at what a large family it is.”

Lu Xuan saw at least a hundred or two names written on it, from Zhang Nianquan at the very beginning to the newborn Zhang Juanwen at the very end. It was five generations under one roof.

“Such a high birth rate, truly a demographic dividend,” Lu Xuan remarked. “I have a certain feeling about this.”

“The Zhang family has maintained its ancient traditions because they haven’t been impacted by birth control policies abroad,” Qin Hui said. “Moreover, the family cohesion is very strong, especially recently under Zhang Hongqing’s leadership, showing increasing potential. Zhang Hongqing’s favorite daughter is named Zhang Manman, and she’s been trained to lead since childhood. However, because she’s a girl, there’s a lot of criticism within the family. Anyway, it’s a messy situation. In short, if I can obtain some resources from the Zhang family, I can expand the company’s trade tenfold and accomplish many things.”

“Yes, it’s not easy to do business domestically now. Even with slight success, we get acquired by large groups like Mingxia and Hedao, and squeezed out by companies like Haoyu and Zhonglong,” Lu Xuan frowned. “The only way is to seek opportunities overseas.”

“Although the Zhang family is strong, it has many loopholes. Infiltrating them will surely bring benefits.” Qin Hui burned the genealogy with a lighter; he had already memorized all the information. 

“Qin Hui, I think that freshman Su Jie is extremely powerful. Even Liu Long seemed to enjoy talking with him. I wonder how he compares to you? I have a feeling he might threaten some of your plans,” Lu Xuan suddenly asked.

“Liu Long is only powerful in the ring. Off the ring, I have a hundred ways to keep him at bay and kill him,” Qin Hui said, closing his eyes. “As for Su Jie, if he disrupts my plan to infiltrate the Zhang family, I’ll teach him a lesson as well.”

*****

Bang!

Inside the Dragon Club.

Liu Long and Su Jie were fighting hand-to-hand.

Liu Long’s “Liu-style Fast Legs” attacked like a storm, quickly landing more than ten kicks on Su Jie. An ordinary person would have suffered a broken bone from just one of Liu Long’s kicks and would be lying on the ground for a long time.

But Su Jie seemed unaffected after taking more than ten kicks.

Whoosh!

Su Jie counterattacked, wielding a “hoe strike” like a demon descending, directly pouncing on Liu Long’s face. Liu Long felt a sudden darkness before his eyes, having no time to dodge or retreat, he was struck, losing his balance and his “root” destroyed.

However, Su Jie stopped in time, preventing him from being humiliated.

The two were training in a secret training room, and a month had passed.

The weather in City B was gradually getting colder.

During this month, Wang Shun, Lin Tang, and Tan Dashi trained and studied daily according to Su Jie’s schedule, already suffering immensely. They were so exhausted that they fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow, without any signs of insomnia.

But Su Jie sensed that the three seemed to be still in the “suffering” stage, not yet finding enjoyment in it; that is, they hadn’t yet moved from “stillness” to “peace.”

Once one reaches the state of “peace,” one naturally becomes familiar with the habit, no longer feeling the hardship or fatigue. On the contrary, breaking this habit would feel uncomfortable; a day without exercise would cause itching all over the body, and one’s mental state would become sluggish.

However, if things continued this way, the three would eventually reach this state.

As for Liu Long, he had long since begun to explore the true meaning of “severance.”

“Su Jie, I never imagined that after you entered the realm of the living dead, I would be no match for you at all. The difference in our mental fortitude is so vast?”

Liu Long and Su Jie’s training ceased.

During this month of training and exchange, he felt Su Jie growing stronger every day. His punches and kicks possessed the power of a savage beast, and his body was so solid it seemed wrapped in ten layers of elephant hide, making him virtually impervious to attacks.

In combat, when someone is “impossible to break,” it signifies a huge gap in strength between the two sides, making it impossible to penetrate their defenses.

“I heard from Master Ma that your opponent, the Muay Thai champion Bangalorn, before his second duel with you, entered a temple to practice the ‘Ten Impurities,’ visualizing himself in ten different forms of death—swollen, bloodied, and mangled—before finally emerging from seclusion and defeating you. According to Liu Guanglie, the former principal of Minglun Martial Arts Academy, this is the Buddhist concept of ‘severance,’ cultivating aversion and cutting off the six senses to achieve a clearer mind.” Su Jie sat down to chat with Liu Long. “In that case, you should also try to work on the concept of ‘severance.’”

These past few days, Su Jie had been Liu Long’s trainer, and the two had openly exchanged ideas, sharing all their experiences and secrets. Su Jie had made significant progress.

Liu Long, as the top fighter in the country, possessed undeniable strength.

Many of his training methods borrowed from the most advanced foreign routines. Comparing these methods with Su Jie’s, Su Jie’s knowledge of human kinesiology deepened.

Furthermore, through daily exchanges with Liu Long, Su Jie’s ring skills improved remarkably quickly.

Su Jie usually practiced real martial arts, focusing primarily on killing techniques. Whether it was the “hoe” or hidden weapons, his training was battlefield-oriented, and his ring experience was somewhat lacking.

But now, he had made up for this deficiency.

Furthermore, he had exchanged nutritional information with Liu Long, which made his understanding of training more scientific.

Liu Long also shared his “grip-holding method.”

“Focusing on ‘severing the six senses’?” Liu Long nodded, having been pondering the issue. “Indeed, without a breakthrough in mental fortitude, I can’t defeat Bangalorn. But how exactly to ‘sever the six senses’ and ‘sever the tongue,’ and what method to use, I’m still exploring. Bangalorn’s practice of the Ten Impure Mental Suggestions successfully severed his senses, reaching an incredible level of mental fortitude. I might not be suited to that method. Modern martial arts are almost entirely lacking in methods for advanced mental training.”

Su Jie nodded.

He knew that modern combat sports had almost reached the pinnacle of human kinesiology, achieving near perfection. Training the entire muscle group for effective offense and defense, in terms of precision, surpassed ancient martial arts.

However, in terms of psychological training, it hadn’t even begun.

It was still all about sparring and real combat.

And the ancient methods of meditation, contemplation, combined with physical movements, and the various methods of sensing mountains, rivers, nature, and the merging of emotions with the universe—these were methods that modern combat sports hadn’t yet explored.

Odley, on the other hand, had studied them extensively.

“What method did you use to train?” Liu Long asked.

“I practiced the Great Corpse State Technique, simply sleeping, and it became increasingly refined,” Su Jie told Liu Long about his training process.

“I know this method. The simplest way is to lie down and sleep in a spread-eagle position; anyone can do it. But some things, the simpler they are, the purer they are. And the purer they are, the fewer people can master them.” Liu Long shook his head. “I think I should start with the ‘Grasping the Firm’ method, using Taoist hand seals to connect with nature and cleanse the mind as a starting point to achieve a breakthrough.”

“That’s not impossible,” Su Jie said. “Why don’t we try it in the nearby mountains? To connect with nature.”

“Okay.” Liu Long was ready to act immediately and drove with Su Jie into the mountains.

After driving for seven or eight hours, they arrived at the location of the ancient Great Wall in the Yanshan Mountains and abandoned their car to climb the mountain.

It was late autumn; the world was desolate, the fallen leaves rustling, a scene of bleakness.

Deep in the Yanshan Mountains, some sections of the Great Wall are wild and rarely visited. Many adventurers get stuck on them and can’t get down, so over time, no one comes anymore.

The two climbed a mountain peak, gazing at the vast Great Wall stretching into the distance, like a dragon winding through the mountains, seemingly without end. A surge of pride welled up within them.

“Look at the Great Wall,” Su Jie said, pointing to the landscape. “It can be described as the dragon vein created by the Chinese people over thousands of years. Humans can overturn heaven and earth, recreate mountains and rivers, and in the future, even pluck stars from the sky—all through wisdom, through flight and exploration, not through physical strength. This shows that mental fortitude, wisdom, and intelligence are paramount.”

Hearing Su Jie’s words, Liu Long looked at the Yanshan Great Wall, lost in thought. His hands clenched and unclenched repeatedly, a hissing sound emanating from them, as if he had entered a state of deep meditation.