Chapter 127: A Business Deal Formally Proposed

By the break of dawn, the light snow had gradually ceased.

The horizon spat out a pale, fish-belly white, and before long, a streak of golden light ignited, staining half the sky.

Amidst the golden-red clouds, half of a brilliant, crimson sun floated at the edge of the world.

The temperature remained just as frigid, the snow cover just as thick, but the shift in the sky's hue made the day feel far more bearable than the night.

Seeing Chu Tianshu gazed at the scenery outside the window.

There were quite a few vehicles moving slowly along the road.

One side of the road was lined with vast stretches of factory buildings—each facility with iron gates piled high with snow and windows tightly shut.

The other side was a vast, flat expanse of snow, likely farmland buried beneath the drifts.

Over a dozen electrical pylons stood in the snowy fields, power lines stretching from them toward distant utility poles.

Early as it was, many power grid workers were already climbing those towers, wielding hammers and wooden clubs to clear away the frozen ice and snow.

A few minutes later, the car turned onto a concrete road.

Compared to the main road, the utility poles here were noticeably shorter.

Some of the old poles appeared abandoned, their inner steel reinforcements exposed, yet they remained standing beside the newer ones.

Both old and new lines were strung across the poles, extending into the distance.

Quite a few young people in blue-and-white school uniforms, wearing gloves and holding wooden sticks, were out here clearing the ice.

Seeing Chu Tianshu noticed two brush-calligraphy characters embroidered on the left chest of their uniforms: "Jin Dao."

Beside the characters was a red-threaded fire cloud, a bright splash of color amidst the ice and snow.

"Our martial arts school students have been taking turns clearing ice and shoveling snow lately; we even had some temporary electrical worker teachers provide a bit of guidance,"

Qi Lianyong said, his mood brightening as he looked at the students while keeping his hands on the steering wheel.

"Everyone here practices martial arts, so we have the stamina. Unlike those schools focused solely on academics with their heavy workloads, we have the spare time to come out and help."

"If it weren't for Master Bai being snatched away, forcing us to go in pursuit, it would have been our turn to be out here clearing ice this morning."

Seeing Chu Tianshu nodded. "The weather is decent enough this morning, though according to the phone forecast, there's more sleet on the way."

Qi Lianyong pointed ahead. "We're almost at the school."

The car turned from the concrete road onto a wide asphalt thoroughfare.

Opposite the asphalt road stood a towering, memorial-arch-style stone gate.

The four gilded characters "Jin Dao Martial Arts School" were carved into the stone lintel, with long walls stretching out on either side.

Qi Lianyong leaned out to greet the gatekeeper.

After the sliding iron gate opened, the vehicles drove into the campus one by one.

The snow on the ground inside had been shoveled and piled onto the grass on the sides.

The trees lining the paths, even under the weight of the snow, had not lost their deep, verdant green.

Looking ahead, one could see a vast stone-paved plaza, the fountain in the center frozen over, and several large buildings surrounding it, each with massive characters carved into their sides indicating their function.

Academic Building, Library, Canteen, Laboratory Building, Indoor Sports Arena...

There were even larger buildings further away that bore no names.

"Since it's a martial arts school, the largest area is naturally reserved for the open-air training grounds,"

Qi Lianyong explained. "The training grounds are divided into several sections for different grade levels."

"Compared to a regular school's playground, ours has more sand pits, plum blossom stakes, weapon racks, straw targets, and the like..."

"Hey! It's just the right time for breakfast; let's head to the canteen first."

Seeing Chu Tianshu smiled. "That suits me perfectly."

The cars all parked in front of the canteen.

Seeing Chu Tianshu stepped out and noticed the Principal and the others had also disembarked, leaving only the captives in the vehicles.

The tables and chairs in the large canteen were neatly arranged, though it wasn't very crowded.

A man with graying hair, sparse eyebrows, and a lean build, wrapped in a black leather coat, was holding a water bottle and pouring boiling water into his large tea mug.

Standing beside him was a woman in her thirties with short hair, a sharp, bridge-like nose, and full lips, dressed in casual athletic wear and sneakers.

"Dad, with the industrial pollution these days, the hot water you get from boiling melted snow isn't even as good as tap water."

The gray-haired man remained unmoved. "Even from a scientific perspective, snow water has a lower heavy water content and contains more active ingredients, which is beneficial to the body."

"Besides, with my fifty years of internal energy cultivation, do you really think I'm afraid of getting diarrhea from snow water? Even if you added arsenic to it today, you couldn't stop me!"

The female teacher clicked her tongue. "I'm mostly just annoyed that you're wasting good tea leaves."

Feng Jianhua walked in and laughed heartily. "Old Yuan, Young Yuan, at it with the tea leaves again?"

He still had two cans of cola and immediately brought them out. "Here, have some cola!"

Old Yuan sighed. "The tea is almost ready; I don't drink these little sugary waters."

Qi Lianyong introduced them from behind: "This is our Vice Principal, Yuan Chongxiao, and the younger one is our Chinese teacher, Yuan Zhonglü."

Seeing Chu Tianshu whispered, "Pi?"

"It's Yuan, Zhong, and Lü," the younger Yuan teacher said with a smile as she came over to shake hands. "The Zhong and Lü from the 'Zhong-Lü Chuan Dao Ji.' You must be the Mr. Chu that Qi mentioned on the phone. A pleasure."

Seeing Chu Tianshu shook her hand and felt her body was filled with hidden resilience, her strength like a taut, slender bow.

He couldn't tell if she practiced internal energy, but in terms of physical conditioning, she was certainly an expert.

The younger Yuan teacher felt it too and praised, "Your heart rhythm is like the lingering resonance of a yellow bell; Mr. Chu, you have a truly transparent physique!"

"Have you eaten? Would you like to join us for a bite, Mr. Chu?"

Seeing Chu Tianshu didn't decline. "What do they have in this canteen?"

"The selection is limited in the morning: soy milk, fried dough sticks, steamed buns, and tea eggs,"

the younger Yuan teacher paused, "and ginger-boiled cola."

Yuan Chongxiao said, "Because the Principal grabbed half a case of cola and ran off last night, I figured he wouldn't have enough for the road, so I asked the canteen to prepare extra."

"I didn't expect that by the time he arrived, the matter was already settled, so he ended up saving quite a bit of cola."

Seeing Chu Tianshu found this a bit strange.

Why did it sound as if the Principal had to drink more cola whenever he took action?

Qi Lianyong chuckled softly. "Just one of the Principal's little quirks."

The short-haired girl and the others seemed accustomed to it.

Master Bai, who had been sleeping soundly in the short-haired girl's arms, suddenly woke up, meowed at Seeing Chu Tianshu, and pounced at his feet.

Yuan Chongxiao was surprised. "After Old Yang passed away, Bai usually only acted attentive when he was trying to scam food. Why is he so enthusiastic about Mr. Chu?"

The younger Yuan teacher retreated to her father's side and whispered, "In terms of pure physical conditioning, wasn't Uncle Yang the top expert in our school when he was alive?"

Yuan Chongxiao shook his head. "It's not as if no other experts have visited, but perhaps it's just a matter of affinity."

Seeing Chu Tianshu gently lifted his foot to nudge the cat away, but when it pounced again, he played with it three times before snapping his fingers.

"Fine, let's go get something to eat."

He walked toward the serving window, and Master Bai, full of spirit, followed behind.

Not knowing what the cat liked, Seeing Chu Tianshu ordered a few tea eggs and fried dough sticks, and out of curiosity, two servings of ginger-boiled cola.

After bringing the tray to the table, he took a sip of the ginger-boiled cola.

Confirmed.

It was just ginger-infused sugar water; no surprises there.

Seeing Chu Tianshu took a bite of a tea egg and decided he didn't want to offer any critique.

After all, it was a school canteen; even a prestigious place like Jin Dao Martial Arts School could only guarantee nutritional value.

As for the flavor, aside from the salt and the cloying, thick soy sauce, nothing else had really penetrated.

Then again, perhaps his sense of taste was just too sharp, making him a bit picky.

Over at the other table, Feng Jianhua was already mentioning "Li Guangzong," "interrogation," and "Ghost Market" to the Vice Principal.

Yuan Chongxiao wore a look of regret.

"Fine, leave him to me. Send the others to the younger generation at the Special Capture Division."

Yuan Chongxiao picked up his large tea mug and left the canteen.

Qi Lianyong and the others were busy ordering food and eating heartily.

Feng Jianhua walked toward Seeing Chu Tianshu and reached out to scratch Master Bai under the chin.

Master Bai narrowed his eyes in comfort, too busy to bite his fried dough stick, and before he knew it, he had been lifted away by Feng Jianhua, who then sat down opposite Seeing Chu Tianshu.

"The taste is quite mediocre, isn't it?"

Feng Jianhua started the conversation with a smile. "People in the school exert so much physical energy that they find the food satisfying, but I've always found it average; I don't really care for the canteen."

"If you don't care for this, how about we go to my office and have something else?"

Seeing Chu Tianshu finished peeling half a tea egg. "I've already ordered it; it's not good to waste food. Let's just make do with this for now."

Feng Jianhua nodded slightly.

"That's fine. Chatting over a meal is an old tradition. Let's get straight to the business—what exactly did you want to discuss?"

Getting straight to the point like this—he really didn't have the feel of a businessman at all.

Seeing Chu Tianshu was quite adaptable, however, and spoke frankly: "I've encountered a bottleneck in my cultivation. I need an expert with intense killing intent to shout the word 'Kill' while I practice, to help me clear away distracting thoughts."

Feng Jianhua's eyes flickered with surprise. "Hearing you say that, have you encountered a 'Body Calamity'?"

*Virtue not matching one's position leads to calamity. *

When the body cannot match the progress of the mind, one suffers a "Body Calamity."

When the state of mind cannot match the progress of one's cultivation technique, one suffers a "Heart Calamity."

This was a common saying in indigenous martial arts, covering a wide range of meanings.

Seeing Chu Tianshu said, "My technique refers to this as the 'Mortal Fetus Barrier'."

"Is that a Buddhist term?"

Feng Jianhua pondered it for a moment and nodded. "Indeed, it's very fitting."

"The business you're proposing sounds simple—just someone to shout 'Kill'—but the requirements are actually quite high."

Seeing Chu Tianshu smiled. "I saw the killing intent you displayed earlier; it's definitely more than enough."

He opened his mobile banking app, pulled up his account balance, and placed the phone on the table.

"Take a look. If I use this money to hire the Principal for this business, how long would it cover?"

Feng Jianhua glanced at it and laughed. "Oh, your net worth is actually quite decent. But to have me shout 'Kill' for you..."

The old man sipped his ginger-sugar tea and pondered for a long time.

"How about this? I have another method here. Come with me and see if it meets your standards."

"Look, if this money is used to ask the Principal to help me with this business, how long can I hire him for?"

Feng Xiaozhang takes a look and laughs: "Yo, your net worth is actually quite good, but to ask me to help you recite the 'Kill' character..."

The old man drinks his ginger sugar water and ponders for a long time.

"How about this, I have another method here; come with me and see if it can meet your standards."

(End of chapter)