Over the next few days, Lu Zheng shuttled between the two worlds. In ancient times he sparred with Yan Hongxia and Ao Qi, letting them experience the exquisite torture of being teased by every technique yet never quite satisfied. In the modern world he browsed the internet and ate melon, having the time of his life.
A few days later, once Zhao Xiaodao stopped responding to all the clout-chasing, “Brother Lu” never showed his face, and the experts’ analyses turned into the same old repetitive nonsense, the hype around that full-plate combat event finally died down.
Yet just as Lin Wan had predicted, although the specific match cooled off, full-plate combat itself caught fire.
Video platforms were suddenly flooded with full-plate clips: solo demonstrations, friendly bouts, even massive group melees.
Armour and cold-weapon shops saw a sales boom.
Zhao Wenyu’s cold-weapon workshop, which had been bleeding money ever since it opened, actually turned a profit this month…
No surprise there; the inventory was deep!
He had every weight and style of armour imaginable, plus weapons of every kind. Years of collecting historical sources and hiring specialists to refine the designs had paid off.
No shop on any shopping platform came close to his selection. Add the fact that he owned the club behind the viral event, and his sales rocketed straight up.
For days he bombarded Lu Zheng with dozens of messages, insisting on treating him to dinner.
Lu Zheng said he would wait until Lin Wan returned and host a proper one instead. Unable to refuse such enthusiasm, he agreed to a small gathering.
Not many people; just Zhao Wenyu, Du Lin, and Zhang Tiexia.
“How are you feeling?”
Once seated, Lu Zheng first asked after Zhang Tiexia’s health.
“Much better!”
Zhang Tiexia nodded repeatedly. “No lingering issues. Another half-month of rest and I’ll be able to swing a spear again.”
His eyes were full of gratitude toward Lu Zheng. That strand of true qi had been crucial to his rapid recovery.
These days Zhang Tiexia sometimes wondered in private whether Jin Yong had actually been a martial arts master. How else could he know true qi could heal internal injuries?
He himself hadn’t known that before…
“Good to hear.”
Lu Zheng picked up some cold dish, clinked glasses with Zhang Tiexia, then turned to Zhao Wenyu.
“Made a fortune?”
“Orders are booked solid through next month!” Zhao Wenyu said excitedly. “Machines running twenty-four hours, workers on three shifts. This wave alone will cover all the losses from the past few years!”
His armour and weapons were genuine high-end products, priced accordingly, with excellent margins.
Or rather, there was virtually no competition on the market. The other two clubs’ workshops were small-scale; they couldn’t compare. So he pocketed almost the entire premium-segment windfall.
Armour was expensive, but weapons had a bigger market. Ordinary swords and blades brought Zhao Wenyu a flood of orders that he redirected to Du Lin’s Ten Thousand Blades Ancient Sword Hall, fattening Du Lin’s wallet too.
The four men clinked glasses again.
“Congratulations!”
“Same to you!”
“Such a pity, though. With your skill, Brother Lu, you’d crush the UFC. Shame we’ll never see it,” Zhao Wenyu continued his flattery.
Lu Zheng shrugged. “No fun. Full-plate is entertainment; I can toy with opponents all I like. UFC is professional; out of respect you go all-out.”
“So…” Lu Zheng said, “what would be the point? Two punches and KO the guy?”
Zhao Wenyu, “…”
Du Lin, “…”
Both thought Lu Zheng was being outrageously arrogant. UFC had weight classes and featured the world’s absolute top combat athletes. They weren’t on the level of Zhang Tiexia or Uesugi Mei.
Strictly speaking, neither of those two would even qualify for UFC.
Yet Zhang Tiexia knew Lu Zheng wasn’t exaggerating in the slightest. With true qi in his body, every real strike caused internal injuries. Step onto that stage and one punch to the organs could end a fighter’s career.
Terrifying.
“Brother Lu can’t go to UFC. If he actually went all-out, he’d end the organisation after one tour,” Zhang Tiexia said.
Zhao Wenyu, “…”
Du Lin, “…”
Was this a fight or a murder spree?
Zhang Tiexia smacked his lips and ultimately kept quiet about Lu Zheng possessing true qi. The man himself never mentioned it; clearly he didn’t want it known. Revealing it to Zhang Tiexia had been solely to heal him and give him face. It would be ungrateful to blab.
“Speaking of which, Zhao Xiaodao really carried us this time. Without her we’d have been utterly routed!” Zhao Wenyu sighed. “Some of my friends were so mad they deleted their accounts. After she stepped in they jumped back into the fray and chased down the haters.”
He laughed. “Thanks to this, they’ve become internet darlings again. They talk about you nonstop and brag without a shred of evidence.”
Lu Zheng smiled. He had already seen their pages while eating melon.
In their telling, they and Lu Zheng were sworn brothers who regularly wined, dined, clubbed, cycled, travelled, and did escape rooms together.
No photos, of course, but “Brother Lu keeps a low profile”, and nobody else had pictures either.
So even though not a single photo of Lu Zheng existed online, he lived vividly in countless people’s stories. Truly, the man was absent from the jianghu, yet the jianghu was filled with his legends.
Lu Zheng didn’t mind. It had its perks: whenever someone tried to slander “Brother Lu”, these “authorities” would swarm and defend him.
…
After an upscale barbecue-and-beer dinner, Lu Zheng went home alone and immediately received a call from Lin Wan.
“Need help?” he asked.
“No need. Found him.” Lin Wan sounded weary.
“Well done, well done. When you’re back I’ll cook you a feast!”
“Yes please. That promise was the only thing keeping me going!” Lin Wan said helplessly.
She had practically toured the entire Maple Leaf Country these past weeks. “I never imagined he could hide so well. Ended up in a border town, living as a lumberjack.”
“Wolverine, huh!” Lu Zheng laughed.
“Pretty much.” Lin Wan laughed too. “When I finally saw him he looked far leaner than back home. No more fat, even had a six-pack.”
Lu Zheng shook his head. “Was it worth it? What’s he even after?”
“Just a moment of thrill, I guess. Pretty much all his money has been bled dry by Maple Leaf Country’s gangs over the years.”
Lu Zheng, “…”
“Anyway, enough of that. My flight is tomorrow. I’ll be home the day after. Remember my feast: oil-braised giant prawns and sweet-and-sour carp!”
“Okie-dokie!”
“I want three meals of it!”
“Easy peasy!”
“Hehe! Love you, hubby!”
“Mwah! Come home soon!”
“Mwah mwah!”
“Hugs!”
“Lift you up high!”
