Poaching Kang Gu was indeed a good choice…a first counterattack against Haoyu.
Moreover, with Su Jie’s Diandao Martial Arts and Dragon Club joining forces, having such a flagship fighter would certainly lead to great development…even reaching the international stage.
But how to actually poach him was the problem.
No one knew what agreement Kang Gu had signed with Haoyu Group.
Seeing Liu Long’s confident demeanor, Su Jie wasn’t sure what kind of business operation or recruitment strategy he would employ.
“Let’s go inside and talk. Lin Tang, you come too,” Liu Long said.
The three entered the training room and sat down.
“I know the fighting world’s poaching game inside out,” Liu Long said as soon as they sat down. “Don’t let Haoyu Group’s size fool you…in the sports fighting sector, they’re still newcomers who don’t understand the rules. Here’s a copy of Haoyu Sports’ contract.”
He pulled out a contract for Su Jie and Lin Tang to examine.
Su Jie glanced over it and saw it was an indentured contract…full of harsh terms. If a signed athlete breached the contract, not only would they face massive penalties, but they could even face imprisonment.
“They play the same game in the film and television industry,” Su Jie said. He was also an expert on contracts, having spent considerable time studying law…contract law, company law, and so on…until he knew them inside out.
“The film industry is the film industry; the sports world is the sports world. Different circles have different rules. They’re breaking the rules by doing this…clearly they’ve grown arrogant and accustomed to having their way,” Liu Long said. “I have a plan for this. Kang Gu’s contract is probably just like this one.”
“So the key issue now is convincing Kang Gu,” Lin Tang said. “What kind of person is he? What’s his family background? What’s his personality? Would he be easily persuaded? That’s the real problem.”
“Kang Gu’s physiognomy tells me he’s been deaf-mute since childhood, extremely withdrawn, with a unique inner world completely different from ordinary people. Someone like that either becomes an utterly ordinary person, or a true unparalleled genius…and clearly Kang Gu is the latter. At a critical moment, he received instruction from a master, who fully developed the power of his inner loneliness and solitude, transforming it into interest in martial arts training. It erupted like a volcano…unstoppable,” Su Jie said. “Someone like that is basically impossible to convince through persuasion.”
“So there’s no hope?” Liu Long frowned. “If Kang Gu is willing to jump ship, we can proceed with our plan. If not, there’s nothing we can do.”
“Where is Kang Gu now?” Su Jie asked.
“In B City,” Lin Tang said. “The Heshan Cup finals were held at B City Gymnasium today…we were just watching the live broadcast.”
“Then I’ll find a way to meet Kang Gu,” Su Jie said.
“I’ll look into his whereabouts,” Lin Tang said.
Lin Tang had become quite professional now…managing finances, gathering intelligence…all organized and efficient, rivaling a real corporate headhunter.
“Lin Tang, I have a cooperation with Liu Guan. I’ll introduce you two when the time comes…you can represent me on some matters,” Su Jie said. He felt he could share some of his resources with his roommate.
After a year of training and observation, Su Jie felt the three brothers in his dormitory were reliable and could be brought together for certain tasks.
“Leader, I’ll follow your lead,” Lin Tang nodded.
Liu Guan was Liu Shi’s son…ordinary wealthy people couldn’t even get a foot in the door. By introducing Lin Tang, Su Jie was giving him enormous social networking resources. With Lin Tang’s abilities, he could certainly skyrocket.
Lin Tang was already making a fortune managing investments for Liu Long.
“Leader, give me your money and I can manage a portfolio for you…guaranteed profit with no loss,” Lin Tang said again.
“Fine. Discuss this with Liu Guan and set up a financial project with you in charge,” Su Jie said. He felt this should be formalized.
“I was thinking the same thing,” Lin Tang nodded. “I’ve started preparing to take a series of financial certifications.”
“Why didn’t you major in finance instead of life sciences?” Liu Long asked curiously.
“You can’t learn much finance in university…what I’ve taught myself is far deeper than the curriculum. I chose life sciences because I want to live longer,” Lin Tang said. “Finance you can self-study, but life sciences you can’t.”
Su Jie nodded. “Get Kang Gu’s whereabouts figured out and arrange a time. I’ll go meet him and see if he can be won over.”
As he spoke, he resumed his hidden weapon training.
Su Jie had this remarkable ability…he could train anywhere, anytime, nothing could disturb his focus.
Lin Tang somehow managed to track down Kang Gu’s whereabouts and returned to Dragon Club’s training room: “Kang Gu has been training in B City recently. Every day after training, he goes to a massage parlor called ‘Ke Yi’ for a massage.”
“Ke Yi?” Liu Long said. “That massage place is truly amazing. I used to go there often and even had a VIP card. Back then, Master Zhuang gave me massages…his skill was divine. Later, for some reason, Master Zhuang stopped doing massages. His disciples’ techniques were far inferior, so I gradually stopped going.”
“Ke Yi Hall?” Su Jie found the name interesting. “The word ‘Ke Yi’ comes from a chapter in Zhuangzi, discussing the way of self-cultivation. It describes six types of people and analyzes their attitudes toward life, ultimately concluding that the sage’s way requires no deliberate effort to sharpen the mind…yet it is naturally lofty and unfathomable; no deliberate advocacy of benevolence and righteousness…yet it is naturally cultivated to the highest; no deliberate breathing exercises…yet it naturally achieves longevity. Everything comes naturally.” (G: 刻意 Ke Yi means deliberate.)
“Can such a thing exist in this world? Everything requires effort to yield results. Take martial arts…without the accumulation of blood and sweat, you can’t achieve anything,” Lin Tang shook his head.
“This is a very high realm…where every action and movement is integrated with the operation of heaven and earth. Nothing needs to be done deliberately; everything is naturally formed. It doesn’t mean not doing anything…it means doing without effort. For example, eating, drinking, sleeping…you do them every day without deliberate effort. But training forces you to push yourself. When you can treat training as natural instinct, your skill will advance by leaps and bounds,” Su Jie said. “In terms of physiology and evolution, this is the process of natural selection…integrating behaviors into genes. Just like in ancient times, when marine animals kept leaving the water, generation after generation, their gills eventually degenerated and evolved into lungs.”
Even Liu Long had never heard this theory before.
“Enough talk,” Su Jie said. “Let’s go to Ke Yi Hall and find Kang Gu.”
“I have connections there…it’ll be easy to find Kang Gu,” Liu Long said. “Besides, he just won the Heshan Cup, so he’s somewhat famous now.”
Without delay, Liu Long and Su Jie drove over immediately.
Ke Yi Hall was located among countless alleyways and courtyard houses in the eastern part of B City. Though the buildings here were old, they were quaint and historic, often housing wealthy, influential, cultured elites of high society.
Master Luo’s residence was also in this area.
They got out of the car and walked deep into the alleyways, turning through secluded paths until they reached a massage parlor with an old wooden plaque bearing the characters “Ke Yi.”
The two characters were written in wild cursive…at first glance, impossible to read. But upon closer inspection, they seemed like dragons and snakes dancing wildly, vast and surging…showing the calligrapher’s profound skill.
There was no one at the entrance…similar to that private kitchen restaurant.
Liu Long swiped his card, and the door opened. The two entered.
Inside was a large courtyard, three stories with about forty-five rooms. The scent of incense wafted through the air, refreshing the mind.
Seeing them enter, a young man in Hanfu-style short clothing approached to receive them. Recognizing Liu Long, a smile appeared on his face: “Brother Long, what brings you here today? You should have made an appointment. But my master happens to be in today…he’s giving a massage to someone. After he’s done, I’ll let him know.”
“No need,” Liu Long waved his hand. “Is Master Zhuang massaging someone named Kang Gu? I’ll go in now.”
With that, he led Su Jie without letting the young man guide them, walking along the corridor to another courtyard.
It was a smaller courtyard, even more elegant. A pomegranate tree grew in the yard, and in the center was a deep fish pond…even in the height of summer, a chill rose from it. The water was emerald green, with massive koi swimming about, full of spirit, as if about to become supernatural.
In the room facing the pond, the smell of medicine wafted out…someone was brewing traditional Chinese medicine.
Liu Long and Su Jie walked over. Someone was boiling gelatin.
It was unclear what animal glue and paste were mixed together, boiled into a thick, hot paste to be applied to the body to strengthen bones and heal injuries.
Inside the room, a middle-aged man was giving a massage.
The person being massaged was indeed Kang Gu.
The middle-aged man applied the boiled gelatin to Kang Gu’s body, constantly pushing and kneading. The force seemed to penetrate deep into the internal organs. Under his manipulations, the scalding gelatin miraculously seeped through the skin.
Su Jie could feel Kang Gu’s internal organs heating up, his whole body brimming with vitality.
“This massage technique surpasses Uncle Mang’s,” Su Jie observed for a while and concluded that this man was a true grandmaster of therapeutic massage. His precision rivaled that of a mechanical arm…and his technique was even more exquisite.
At Larich’s laboratory, there were also mechanical arms for massage. Master Luo and Uncle Mang had been researching this, but it hadn’t yet reached a truly mature, perfected state.
As Su Jie stepped into the courtyard, Kang Gu seemed to sense something. His prone body shifted slightly, and his gaze turned in their direction.