Chapter 27: You Come and Hit Me
Chapter 27: You Come and Hit Me
Lin Yuan nodded to the girl, thanked her, and then turned towards the second floor of the martial arts hall.
He greeted Cheng Peng, mentioning that he would practice a bit more and Cheng Peng didn't need to wait for him.
This was Lin Yuan's first time going to the second floor.
The staircase from the first floor to the second, and the walls on both sides of the second-floor corridor, were adorned with framed pictures at intervals.
Almost all the frames contained pictures of martial arts disciples winning in combat competitions, holding trophies.
Lin Yuan looked at each photo one by one.
Among them were awards from the city, the province, and even a national-level competition.
However, the person in the photo holding the third-place trophy and belt, smiling brightly, seemed to be wearing attire not belonging to the Source Martial Arts School.
"He."
Lin Yuan read the characters on the person's clothes.
The photo looked quite old, with slight yellowing around the edges.
"Was the Source Martial Arts School previously called the Crane Martial Arts School?"
Lin Yuan speculated as he looked at the photo.
At that moment, a slightly stern voice came from behind him.
"What are you doing here?"
Lin Yuan quickly turned around and saw a man in his thirties, standing about ten meters away, looking at him expressionlessly.
Lin Yuan immediately recognized the man.
He was the coach with an imposing presence from the first day Lin Yuan attended the martial arts hall, the one Cheng Peng mentioned who once punched a hundred-kilogram sandbag flying.
"Hello, Coach Qin."
Lin Yuan raised the application form in his hand and explained, "I'm a student from Lin Zhiqin's class, and I'm here to get Lin Zhiqin's signature."
"Oh."
The man's expression softened slightly, and he walked a few steps closer to Lin Yuan.
"What signature do you need? Let me see."
Lin Yuan respectfully handed over the application form, thinking, "That was quick!"
Without any visible movement from the man, the distance of ten meters closed in an instant, as if it were described in a novel as "shrinking inches."
Of course, it wasn't as exaggerated in reality; it was likely due to the man's agility or high-level footwork.
Is this the strength of a professional martial artist?
Lin Yuan marveled silently.
"Form for the formal disciple assessment?"
The man glanced at the form, then swept his eyes over Lin Yuan, casually asking, "How long have you been in the martial arts school?"
"One month and one week."
Lin Yuan answered honestly.
"Are you proficient in the three basic skills? Have you measured your punching force? How much is it?"
The man asked a series of questions.
Lin Yuan estimated that he was essentially helping Lin Zhiqin assess him.
It was similar to being called to the office by a subject teacher, and when you accidentally meet the head teacher, the head teacher will certainly interrogate you a bit – "Why are you here?" "Didn't submit your homework or eating in class again?" "Did you pass the last exam in this subject?"
A similar logic.
Lin Yuan honestly answered, "I've measured my punching force, and it's over a hundred kilograms. I feel I've practiced the three basic skills quite well, but I'll let Coach Lin evaluate them."
"Hmm."
The man nodded, returned the application form to Lin Yuan, and gestured forward.
"Go ahead to the second-to-last office; Coach Lin should be in there. Go."
"Thank you, Coach Qin."
Lin Yuan politely bid farewell to the man, turned and walked straight ahead as indicated.
Two or three seconds later, the feeling of someone watching him from behind gradually disappeared.
When he reached the door of the office the man mentioned.
Before knocking, Lin Yuan glanced in the direction he had come from.
The man's figure had disappeared.
Upon closer inspection, the old photo he had just seen seemed to be gone, leaving an empty space on the wall for no apparent reason.
"Why did he take that photo?"
Lin Yuan wondered, but didn't dwell on it; he focused on his task.
He knocked on the door.
Soon, Lin Zhiqin's voice, belonging to the owner of the office, came from inside.
"Come in."
Lin Yuan pushed the door open.
He saw a not-so-large office.
There was only a desk, a coffee table, and a punching bag placed in the corner.
In front of the window, there were some potted plants, but they looked wilted, with yellowing leaves, probably not watered for a long time.
Lin Zhiqin was sitting on the sofa in the office, smoking. The ashtray in front of him was filled with cigarette butts.
When Lin Yuan entered, he was extinguishing a cigarette in his hand.
"Who are you?"
Lin Zhiqin frowned as he looked at Lin Yuan.
"Lin Yuan, a student of Coach Lin."
Lin Yuan found Lin Zhiqin to be quite unreliable.
He was one of the outstanding students in the class, and yet Lin Zhiqin seemed to have no impression of him.
The others were probably worse off.
No wonder the classes were getting more and more perfunctory; those who enrolled in his class were unlucky.
If Lin Yuan didn't have a professional interface and worked hard himself, the ten thousand yuan his father, Lu Xinghua, paid for the course would probably have been wasted.
"Lin Yuan... Oh, I remember now."
Lin Zhiqin's face showed a "suddenly enlightened" look, whether it was genuine or not.
He picked up the cigarette box from the coffee table, took out another cigarette, lit it again, and asked Lin Yuan, "Do you have something to find me?"
"I want to apply for the formal disciple assessment, so I specially came to ask Coach Lin to sign."
Lin Yuan said, handing over the application form in his hand.
However, Lin Zhiqin didn't bother to look, and his indifferent eyes looked Lin Yuan up and down through the slowly dissipating cigarette smoke.
"If I remember correctly, you just joined the class a month ago, right? And you didn't seem to have any previous foundation."
"Yes."
Lin Yuan nodded, meeting Lin Zhiqin's gaze without flinching, and said seriously, "But my punching force has already exceeded one hundred kilograms, and I feel I've practiced the three basic techniques quite well."
"Heh."
Lin Zhiqin couldn't help but laugh at hearing this.
"You said your punching force has surpassed one hundred kilograms?"
"Yes. I just tested it downstairs before coming to see you."
"Then come and hit me."
Lin Zhiqin, with a cigarette in hand, stood up from behind the coffee table with a smile.
He walked up to Lin Yuan, waved to him, and said, "Throw a punch at me, let me feel your punching force. Don't worry, hit me boldly; you don't need to be afraid."
"Hoo—"
The sound of fists tearing through the air.
Before Lin Zhiqin finished speaking, Lin Yuan's fist was already fiercely heading towards his face.
"Coach, be careful."
Lin Yuan's reminder came after the punch.
Despite the eager expression, he was really going all out.
His father, Lu Xinghua, managed to scrape together ten thousand yuan for him to enroll in
this course, and Lin Zhiqin, the coach, either arrived late or left early every day or didn't come at all!
Out of the ten classes, at least six were spent on free practice!
Hit you?
I'm hitting you for sure!
"Bang!"
A slight muffled sound.
Lin Yuan's fist was firmly caught by Lin Zhiqin's right hand, but his body also stepped back half a step.
By now, the smile on Lin Zhiqin's face had completely disappeared, replaced by a strong sense of astonishment.
He stared blankly at Lin Yuan.
His gaze seemed as if he were truly getting to know him for the first time.
"Sorry, Coach, I didn't hurt you, did I?"
Lin Yuan gently pulled his fist back from Lin Zhiqin's hand and scratched his head apologetically.
"No, of course not. How could you hurt me?"
Lin Zhiqin snapped out of his astonishment.
He murmured a few words.
Suddenly, he threw the cigarette in his hand away, his eyes fixedly staring at Lin Yuan.
That expression...
As if accidentally brushing away a pile of debris in front of him, he unexpectedly discovered a sparkling diamond underneath!
"Quick! Show me the three basic techniques I taught you in class!"
Lin Zhiqin urged Lin Yuan urgently.
(End of Chapter)