Cangmang Asks the Way 1: Guardian of the Lamp

It was another Saturday morning, and the mist hadn't yet dissipated when the sound of punches filled the training hall.

Chen Xuhua stood at the front of the group, attentively watching the trainees practice the basics of their competitive routines. Cang Tianci led the way in the front row, with Liu Xiaohai, Li Xiaoman, and other trainees following behind. Front kicks, side kicks, outside kicks, inside kicks…

At this moment, Zhou Zhenhua slowly walked into the training hall. Chen Xuhua saw him, nodded to him, and then continued to focus on the training in the arena.

Zhou Zhenhua, dressed in a black tracksuit, stood straight against the wall, his gaze sweeping over each trainee before finally settling on Cang Tianci. Cang Tianci's movements were both precise and graceful, swift and powerful in his leaps and bounds, possessing an indescribable beauty.

After the students finished practicing the basic skills, Chen Xuhua let them rest for a while. Then he walked up to Zhou Zhenhua, stood in front of him, and said with a smile, "Principal Zhou, welcome to give us your guidance."

Zhou Zhenhua waved his hand and said, "Coach Chen, you're too modest. You're the expert in martial arts routines, how could I be qualified to give you guidance? However, I think it's already quite good that you've trained those new students to this level in just over a month."

He paused for a moment, then said, "I've heard that you often take your trainees outdoors for training. This is a form of situational teaching, which helps to stimulate students' interest in training. That's good, but please be careful."

"Yes, thank you for reminding me, Principal Zhou! I will pay attention."

Zhou Zhenhua then called out to Cang Tianci, who was relaxing his muscles in the middle of the field, "Tianci, come here for a second."

Cang Tianci jogged up to Zhou Zhenhua and greeted him, "Hello, Principal Zhou!"

Zhou Zhenhua looked at his precocious disciple with satisfaction in his eyes.

He pointed to Chen Xuhua beside him and said, "Tianci, Coach Chen has spoken to me about your performance many times, praising you highly. I came here today specifically to see you. You are indeed as Coach Chen said."

Cang Tianci lowered his head and said, "Thank you, Principal Zhou, but I still have a long way to go."

"It's not that being far behind is scary, what's scary is not knowing where the gap lies." Zhou Zhenhua patted him on the shoulder and said, "If you know where the gap lies, it means you're aware of it. Once you're aware, things will be easier."

He paused, then asked, "Are you facing any difficulties in your daily life?"

"no."

"Okay, that's good. If you need anything from the sports school, just let me know. Don't be shy about asking."

Cang Tianci raised his head and looked at Zhou Zhenhua. His eyes held concern and trust. He remembered a few years ago when Zhou Zhenhua patted him on the shoulder and said, "Tianci, Nancheng didn't want you; they were blind. I want you!" Back then, he was nobody; it was this man who gave him a chance, who gave him direction.

"Principal Zhou, thank you!" he said.

"No need to thank me," Zhou Zhenhua waved his hand and said, "Just practice hard and walk your own path well; that's more important than anything else."

After saying that, he said to Chen Xuhua, "Coach Chen, you guys continue training. I'll go check out the other training grounds." With that, he turned and strode out of the training hall.

In the afternoon, Chen Xuhua gathered everyone in the center of the venue.

"We're not practicing the basics today," he said. "I'm taking you somewhere."

The trainees looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Let's visit the Southern Shaolin Martial Arts School. I'll go for a run as a warm-up."

As soon as the words were spoken, the training hall erupted in excitement. Liu Xiaohai was the first to jump up: "Coach Chen, is it the martial arts school run by Principal Zhou?"

"right."

"I heard there are masters from Shaolin Temple inside?"

"You'll see when we get there. Line up, let's go."

The group ran along the national highway. The October wind carried the fragrance of osmanthus blossoms and the smell of car exhaust. Chen Xuhua led the way, with Cang Tianci bringing up the rear. After more than a month of practicing stance training, the biggest change wasn't increased leg strength, but the fact that he no longer felt breathless while running. He thought to himself that he would soon see his senior brothers Chen Gang and Li Qiang, and his mood lightened considerably.

A large truck roared past, kicking up a cloud of yellow dust. Everyone held their breath, waiting for the dust to settle before catching their breath. Liu Xiaohai coughed, choking on the dust, and cursed, "This damn road, I'll have to wear a mask next time."

After running for about thirty minutes, two huge iron gates appeared ahead. Above the gates hung the words "Southern Shaolin Martial Arts School" in large red characters, which shone like red-hot iron in the sunlight, making one's eyes gleam. To the left of the gates was a long wall, on which were painted the martial arts movements of Shaolin monks—some practicing punches, some kicking, some wielding staffs, and some standing in stances, each move lifelike.

Chen Xuhua told everyone to stop and stretch their limbs. He then went to the guardhouse and spoke a few words to the goalkeeper. The goalkeeper picked up the phone, dialed a number, said something, hung up, walked out of the guardhouse, and opened the iron gate.

The iron gate slowly opened, emitting a dull "humming" sound.

The students filed in. Cang Tianci was the last to enter. As he stepped over the threshold, he looked up and saw the entire martial arts school—

A wide cement road stretched before us, lined with sycamore trees whose leaves were beginning to turn yellow and rustled in the wind. At the end of the road stood several brand-new buildings with gray-white exteriors and gleaming windows. To the left of the buildings was a sports field with a cinder track, and inside the track was a soccer field with neatly trimmed lawns.

The playground was bustling with activity. Dozens of students in martial arts school uniforms were training. Several instructors moved among them, stopping from time to time to correct their movements. Shouts, footsteps, and the whistling of punches mingled together, like a pot of boiling porridge.

Cang Tianci's gaze swept across the playground, then suddenly fixed on something. At the edge of the playground, under a sycamore tree, stood a man. He was wearing a black training uniform, his hands in his pockets, talking to the coach beside him. His profile was familiar—high cheekbones, a strong jawline, and slightly downturned lips. It was Sun Peng.

Cang Tianci was stunned. He thought he was seeing things and blinked. Yes, it was Sun Peng. The Sun Peng who had been his enemy at the Jixian Sports School, who had been expelled, followed Hei Pi, and participated in the ambush of him in the alley. What was he doing here?

Sun Peng seemed to sense something, turned his head, and glanced in their direction. His gaze lingered on Cang Tianci's face for a moment, then he smiled. The smile was strange, neither entirely friendly nor entirely malicious; it was like a nonchalant "I've been here all along," or perhaps saying: You didn't expect that, did you? He nodded slightly to Cang Tianci, then turned and left.

Cang Tianci stood rooted to the spot, his nails digging into his palms. He recalled the steel pipe in the dark alley, the image of Sun Peng holding the pipe to Lin Wanqing's temple, and the scene of him subduing him with the "Dragon's Heart-Searching Finger." Those memories were distant, but not gone. He took a deep breath, suppressing those images.

Chen Xuhua led everyone inside. At the entrance of the teaching building stood a tall, imposing figure, dressed in a black training uniform, arms crossed, looking this way. Cang Tianci recognized him immediately.

"Senior Brother..." he called out.

Chen Gang saw him and laughed. He strode towards Tianci and called out loudly, "Tianci, what brings you here?"

Cang Tianci quickened his pace, walked up to Chen Gang, gave his senior brother a warm hug, and said, "Coach Chen brought us here."

Chen Gang patted Cang Tianci on the shoulder, then walked up to Chen Xuhua, extended his hand, and said, "Coach Chen, hello!"

Chen Xuhua walked up to Chen Gang, extended his hand, and said, "Coach Chen, hello!"

The two men reached out their hands and spoke almost simultaneously. They were both startled, then burst into laughter.

Chen Gang said to Chen Xuhua, "Coach Chen, why don't you take these junior teammates around and show them around? I need to have a private talk with Tianci."

"Alright. You all chat." With that, he led his disciples away.

"Tianci," Chen Gang slapped Cang Tianci's shoulders heavily once more, his voice trembling with excitement, "You have no idea how happy I am to see you standing here alive and kicking again. The moment you collapsed, we were terrified. Then we heard that although you had woken up, you had amnesia. I worried about you for a long time. Every day I hoped you would recover. Now, you're finally better! Finally better!"

As he spoke, his voice lowered, and tears seemed to glisten in his eyes.

Cang Tianci sensed his senior brother's sincerity. He looked at Chen Gang and said gratefully, "Thank you for taking care of me all these years, senior brother! I'm sorry to have worried you."

"Hey kid, don't be so polite. Come on, let's go see Li Qiang. These days, he's teaching new students quite well." He took Cang Tianci's hand and walked towards the training hall.

As Cang Tianci walked, he asked, "Senior brother, I just saw Sun Peng. What's he doing here?"

Chen Gang glanced at him sideways and slowed his pace. He said calmly, "Tianci, do you know that this martial arts school doesn't belong to Principal Zhou alone? There are two shareholders behind it. Principal Zhou acquired the land for the school at a low price through his connection with County Magistrate Zheng. He contributed the land as his share. Most of the money for the land was borrowed from the bank. But having land alone isn't enough; building, buying equipment, and paying salaries all require money. Since the funds weren't sufficient, they had to seek external financing. So they found Zhao Dabiao. Zhao Dabiao is the main investor behind it all. To expand the scale of the martial arts school, he even went with Principal Zhou to Shaolin Temple on Mount Song to learn from their experience, and invited a highly skilled martial monk from there to be the school's principal."

"Zhao Dabiao invested a lot of money and couldn't rely entirely on outsiders. So, he brought in Sun Peng to help with management. Now, he's one of the head coaches of the martial arts school, just like me."

Chen Gang stopped, turned around to look at Cang Tianci, and lowered his voice, saying, "I know you're upset. To be honest, when I first saw him, I felt a lump in my throat too. I haven't forgotten that matter. But Tianci, Principal Zhou also has his difficulties—he has to repay bank loans, pay salaries, and keep the students busy. Now that Zhao Dabiao's money is coming in, his demands have to be met. Li Qiang and I are here just to make a living. As for Sun Peng's matter… we can't control it, and we can't just abandon our responsibilities because of him."

He paused, then said, "I'm not speaking for him. I just want to say that some things aren't simply black and white. You'll understand later."

As Cang Tianci listened, he felt a lump in his throat. It wasn't anger, but an indescribable, suffocating feeling. He wanted to shout, "How could you work with someone like that?" He wanted to say, "How could Principal Zhou cooperate with Zhao Dabiao?" But these words stuck in his throat.

He remembered Zhou Zhenhua patting him on the shoulder and saying, "Practice hard and walk your own path well." He remembered Chen Gang watching over him at Nancheng Hospital, and Li Qiang's rough hands as he helped him relax his muscles. Their kindness to him was genuine. Their work in the same place as Sun Peng was also genuine. These two genuine feelings, placed together, felt like two stones pressing on his chest.

He tried to think, "They've never been enemies, so why can't they cooperate?" But as soon as that thought popped into his head, the image of Sun Peng holding a steel pipe to Lin Wanqing in the dark alley came flooding back. It wasn't that he didn't understand the reasoning; it was that he couldn't get past the mental hurdle.

He remained silent for a long time before whispering, "Senior brothers, I won't blame you. I just... didn't expect it."

The uncomfortable feeling hadn't completely dissipated, but he didn't want to make things difficult for Chen Gang any further.

Chen Gang looked at him, his eyes filled with heartache and a hint of helplessness. He reached out and pressed heavily on Cang Tianci's shoulder, saying, "Tianci, don't think so much. Living a good life is the most important thing."

The training hall was behind the teaching building; it was a newly built building, twice the size of the sports school's training hall. Through the window, Cang Tianci saw Li Qiang leading a group of students in boxing practice. His movements were still as simple and unpretentious as ever, every punch solid and real.

"Fourth Senior Brother!" Cang Tianci called out.

Li Qiang turned his head, saw him, paused for a moment, and then grinned. His smile was as innocent and childlike as a child's.

"Tianci, I heard you've recovered and was thinking of taking some time to visit you at the sports school, but I didn't expect you to come first."

Li Qiang said loudly, walked over, punched Cang Tianci in the chest, and said, "Good lad, you made us worry for so long last time, you'd better take it easy next time."

He paused for a moment, then asked, "I heard you've switched to a different style? How's your training going?"

"Still learning."

"Take your time, no rush. You're smart, you'll definitely win another gold medal."

Looking at Li Qiang's sun-darkened face and rough hands, Cang Tianci suddenly felt his eyes welling up. He wanted to say, "Senior brother, are you doing alright here?", "Thank you for your concern," and "I missed you." But in the end, he only smiled and said, "Senior brother, you've gained weight."

"You're not being fair, you come here and immediately say I'm fat. Look, look, where am I fat? I'm muscular, okay?" Li Qiang showed off his thick biceps.

Chen Gang teased from the side, "Tianci wasn't wrong. Now that you're a coach, you've lost your ambition. No wonder you've gotten fat!"

"Come on, Tianci, I'll show you around," Chen Gang said.

"I'll go too," Li Qiang said.

"What are you doing? Focus on your studies, or Sun Peng will dock your pay," Chen Gang said with a laugh.

"Okay." Hearing that his wages would be deducted, Li Qiang had no choice but to give in. He looked at Cang Tianci apologetically and said, "Tianci, we'll come to see you at the sports school again when we have some free time next time."

Chen Gang showed Cang Tianci around the martial arts school's teaching building, training hall, and dormitory. As they walked, he explained, "We model our school after the Shaolin Temple Martial Arts School, with a fully enclosed, semi-military management system. We wake up at around 5 a.m. with a whistle, doing morning exercises, kicks, and horse stances for an hour and a half. At 8:30 a.m., we change into our school uniforms and go to the classroom. We still have to attend academic classes like Chinese, math, English, politics, and history, using the nationally standardized textbooks. At 2:30 p.m., we change into our training clothes and head to the training ground for over three hours of practice, including routines, free sparring, and weapons. There's also a self-study session in the evening, and we go to bed at 9 p.m."

It was during recess. Several boys around ten years old ran over from the playground, sweat still dripping from their foreheads. When they saw Chen Gang, they stopped and shouted, "Hello, Coach!" in clear, loud voices.

Chen Gang nodded and continued to Cang Tianci, "Although this is a martial arts school, we can't ruin the children's future. Things are different now than before; just knowing how to fight and kill won't get you anywhere. You need certifications and academic qualifications. Many parents send their children here because we're strict, semi-military, and it's less stressful than at home..."

As Cang Tianci listened, he suddenly thought of his elder brother, Cang Lifeng. The martial arts school that his brother had been longing to establish in Nancheng was just like that—a school where children could have access to education, martial arts training, discipline, and a future. Unexpectedly, Principal Zhou had made it happen first.

Just then, Cang Tianci heard Chen Xuhua calling for a gathering outside. Cang Tianci had no choice but to say goodbye to Chen Gang.

On the way back, he ran at the very back of the group.

As he ran, he kept thinking about what had just happened. He thought about Sun Peng's meaningful smile, Chen Gang's words, "Some things aren't black and white," and Principal Zhou patting him on the shoulder and saying, "Practice hard and walk your own path well." He knew that the people and things that made him uncomfortable wouldn't disappear just because of his feelings. Sun Peng was here, Zhao Dabiao was here, and Principal Zhou and his fellow students were here too. They all had their own paths to walk, and so did he. His path wasn't at the martial arts school, nor was it about competing with Sun Peng, but rather returning to the sports school, practicing his stances, perfecting his routines, and catching up on the lessons he had missed, bit by bit.

The wind brushed past his ears, carrying the fragrance of osmanthus blossoms. He didn't stop walking.