Chapter 22 - Thirty Percent of Strength…

Perhaps Qin Sheng and Hao Lei would not be able to tell the commoners apart from saint living in Zhongnan Mountains, there was no doubt that Qin Sheng’s grandfather could immediately point them out. When Qin Sheng was still a boy, his grandfather had brought him to see these real saints in recluse.

This was the reason Qin Sheng immediately thought about this old man in Zhangnan Mountains out of the people he knew. Qin Sheng knew this old man had a few disciples and he was truly an accomplished martial artist.

This was the first time Hao Lei met such a person. He continued with caution, “Mister, Qin Sheng had met with some trouble and is asking for your help.”

“His grandfather had passed and I haven’t seen him for two years. How is Qin Sheng?” Finally, the old man opened his eyes and fixed them on Hao Lei.

Within the dimly lit hut, the look in the old man’s eye sent a chill up Hao Lei’s spine, so much so, he did not dare to look into the old’s eyes. He averted his gaze, looking down, he said, “Mister, Qin Sheng had just arrived in Shanghai and his life is in danger.”

The old man frowned slightly and said, “Take down this phone number. Look for this person and tell him that I have instructed that he goes to Shanghai.”

Thereafter, the old man drew out a series of phone numbers for Hao Lei to key them into his own mobile phone. Finally something closer to home after feeling all the creeps of this place.

“You may go now, but please ask Qin Sheng not to forget to come visit this old grandfather more often,” the old man said before waved him away and closed his eyes once again in meditation.

Hao Lei bowed slightly towards the old man, then opened the door to leave the hut. Upon reaching the gates, he broke into a sprint. He would not stay here a second more than necessary.

Hao Lei had wanted to call Qin Sheng when he left Zhongnan Mountains, but changed his mind. He thought he should try to contact the man first. The man picked up Hao Lei’s call after a few rings. The man sounded very polite when he said, “So you are Brother Wang’s friend? I have made all the necessary arrangements. I will come to pick you up right now if you have arrived.”

“I am not a friend of Brother Wang,” Hao Lei replied as he found the voice extremely familiar.

The man on the other end of the line said, “Oops, who is this then, if you are not Brother Wang’s friend?”

“Your master had instructed me to look for you,” Hao Lei went straight to the point lest there be any further misunderstanding.

The man was struck dumb. He remained silent for a few seconds then continued, “Are you in Xi’an now? Where can I find you?”

Unlike the friendly tone he was speaking with a moment ago, the man’s voice had turned cold.

His voice was no long as friendly, but extremely cold.

“I get it,” Hao Lei gave a laugh. It was no wonder his voice sounded so familiar. He was from Congress Seven, one of the highest end night clubs in Xi’an. Most people would know of this night club even if they had never visited.

The Great Western Street turns into Xi’an’s entertainment center after night falls. The stretch of the street from Guanji Street to Qiaozi Square as well as Fen Lane in the south were filled with ten over night clubs. Congress Seven was right at a corner of Qiaozi Square and its business was overwhelming every night.

Chang Baji, who just turned forty, was the security manager of this night club. He had been working with the club for the last four to five years and was of an amiable and humble personality. Everyone in the club from the least to the greatest of the employees called him Brother Chang. It was rumored that he once saved the big boss’s life, the big boss had wanted to promote him to do more important jobs. However, he was contented doing what he was doing. Everyone in the Congress Seven respected him.

Chang Baji was of average build with a height of just over 1.7 meters. Nevertheless, he had a proportionate body ratio. Just that his features were rather hideous and with his side-parted hair, he was an eyesore. Fortunately, his easy-going personality meant that anyone could strike a good conversation with him and he was always willing to lend a helping hand. Nevertheless, everyone was aware of the consequence of offending him. Most importantly, the big boss trusted him completely so no one dared to offend him.

Therefore be it any female employee or the stewardesses would throw themselves at him. It was not easy to have a close relationship with him. Chang Baji had always maintained that safe distance with the girls so much so there was no scandals about him regarding the matter of women.

“Looking great again tonight, Brother Chang,” a stewardess threw a flirtatious glance said to him as he hung up the call with Hao Lei.

Chang Baji walked up to her and gave her a spank on her buttocks and said, “Didn’t your Mr. Shen come over tonight? It’s getting late.”

“He just called to say he is on his way. He says he wants to treat you a meal when you are free,” the girl by the name of Yue Yue said to him coquettishly.

“Anytime,” Chang Baji replied.

As Chang Baji walked through the crowd, all the employee and stewardesses made sure to greet him and he also responded to them with at least a smile on his face. He may not have an attractive outward appearance, he was definitely very popular.

Hao Lei parked his car just in front of Congress Seven, got out of his car and lit a cigarette and started smoking, leaning against his car. A few security personnel had their eyes fixed on him, fearing that he would cause trouble.

When Chang Baji emerged from the night club, a few security personnel quickly came up to him to greet him. They were delighted when he tossed them a packet of cigarettes he picked up from one of the rooms. Since Hao Lei was the only person standing outside the night club by then, Chang Baji quickly noticed him.

Slowly, he walked over and sizing him up, he said, “Are you Hao Lei?”

Hao Lei nodded. He already knew that the man’s name was Chang Baji. Although it was a rather unusual name, he did not expect Chang Baji to be a middle-aged man. In fact, he only appeared older than his age because of his hideous features and this had resulted in Hao Lei’s misunderstanding.

It was only when the security personnel realized that Hao Lei was Brother Chang’s friend that they started to relax and spread out.

“Did you meet my master?” Chang Baji asked nonchalantly.

To be honest, Hao Lei had expected the old saint’s disciple to be another wise man. Little did he expect Chang Baji to be such an uncouth character. He was totally different from the old saint. Moreover, looking at where he worked, Hao Lei could not help feeling a disdain. How would he be of help to Qin Sheng if he went to Shanghai?

“Indeed I met him,” Hao Lei said flatly.

Chang Baji lit a cigarette, smoothed his hair which was hardened by hair gel, and said, “Go on, what is it you want? I am a busy man.”

Both men were looking at each other with contempt and the air around them seemed to freeze.

“Your master wanted you to go to Shanghai with me,” Hao Lei said with a hint of arrogance.

“Reason?” Chang Baji glared at Hao Lei with his small eyes.

“Qin Sheng had met with danger in Shanghai. Your master had wanted you to go there to help him,” Hao Lei said, shaking off some ashes from the cigarette he was holding.

“Qin Sheng? Do you mean the grandson of Master Qin?” Chang Baji kept quiet for a moment as he started pondering. He did remember some things regarding Master Qin, a noble man whom his own master had highly respected.

However, he was reluctant to go to Shanghai to help this young man because it would mean he had to lay aside everything in Xi’an.

“Hmm…” Hao Lei replied with a careless tone.

“Are you looking down on me?” Chang Baji snorted.

Hao Lei’s expression changed, but he remained silent.

“You have been in the army, am I right?” Chang Baji could tell from Hao Lei’s standing posture that he had been a soldier.

“What has it got to this?” Hao Lei asked coldly.

“Show me what you are capable of then,” Chang Baji’s face broke into a huge smile, and this gave Hao Lei the creeps.

After he finished speaking and wanting to test Hao Lei, Chang Baji stretched out his arm and gripped Hao Lei on his neck as if he were trying to attack an enemy with one move. Hao Lei was after all a reconnaissance army officer who would not be easily taken down.

Hao Lei was unprepared for Chang Baji’s sudden attack and so he retreated a few steps and simultaneously threw a punch at Chang Baji’s arm. Dodging Hao Lei’s punch, Chang Baji lunged forward and punched Hao Lei on his chest. By this time, Hao Lei had regained his composure and was able to block Chang Baji’s advancement. He instantly retaliated by kicking Chang Baji on his back.

Just a moment ago, the two were merely talking. The security personnel of Congress Seven were stunned when the two men started fighting. They gathered around the two men, intending to help Chang Baji if necessary. He was after all one of the higher ranking employees of Congress Seven.

However, the personnel were unable to draw any closer to them. These two men fighting were not any common people but highly skilled fighters. The security personnel had never seen Chang Baji fight because his subordinates were usually the ones to handle any chaos arising from drunk customers. They had only heard stories of how he injured the men who tried to be funny with their big boss, and how nobody was able to defeat him. Nowadays, he had chosen to remain low-key most of the time.

This was really the first occasion they saw Chang Baji fight and moreover, his opponent was also someone very skillful. This time, they were fed a feast to their eyes.

From the start of the test to when Chang Baji realized Hao Lei’s true capabilities, he was beginning to treat this fight more seriously. After receiving a kick from Hao Lei, Chang Baji went with the flow and retreated two steps. He stretched out his hand and grabbed Hao Lei’s ankle and kicked the calf of his other leg with such force that Hao Lei’s legs buckled straight away. Blocking Hao Lei’s series of punches, Chang Baji grabbed onto Hao Lei’s shirt collar and threw him out before he could react, landing him on the boot of a Cayenne.

It was only then that Hao Lei realized Chang Baji’s true colors. He could only blame himself for despising him.

After he came to his senses, Hao Lei thought he had been too simple minded. How could he think that a disciple of the old saint was a useless man? Why would the old saint ask him to go to Shanghai to help Qin Sheng if he were a nobody?

After Hao Lei was sent flying some distance off, a group of the security personnel surrounded him, desiring to injure him further, but was stopped by Chang Baji. He walked up to Hao Lei and offered his hand to pull him up. Hao Lei accepted his help, although he thought it was quite embarrassing for him to have been defeated. He had after all been a champion fighter in the army.

“When shall we set out?” Chang Baji did not waste any time in trivial conversations but went straight to the point.

Hao Lei massaged his painful calves as he said, “Please send a copy of your identification so I can buy you an air ticket, and I’ll see you at 10 am tomorrow at the airport.”

“Alright, see you at the airport at 10 am.”

Chang Baji turned to re-enter Congress Seven, leaving Hao Lei in an embarrassing state. Hao Lei knew Chang Baji must have used only 30 percent of his capabilities.

One word, awesome…