Chương 31: Chapter 30 — Recruitment

"Yes. Yes I did." Mingzhe looked back down at his wrist, which Lin Che eventually let go of. It was slightly red.

"How?" he asked, still refusing to believe what had just happened.

"That'll be difficult to answer," said Lin Che, who picked up the table that had been moved to the side. He placed it back between them and brought out the chairs.

"Sit down." Mingzhe sat. This time, he did not reach for a drink, and instead leaned forwards towards Lin Che.

"You said you had no formal training."

"I don't have any."

"Then what do you have?

"A secret," said Lin Che, "kept in certain circles." He paused for a moment, pouring out a drink for both of them.

"Which is, actually, part of why you're here." Mingzhe raised an eyebrow.

"The competition is sponsored for a reason," said Lin Che.

"One such reason is to find people worth finding — athletes and martial artists who've proven themselves to be both talented and disciplined. And then, once they're found, they get offered a door."

"A door," Mingzhe echoed back, quieter.

"Into what?"

"I'm sure you understand what I am talking about," said Lin Che, channeling Qi into his eyes. Indeed, his suspicions were correct, with Mingzhe already bearing trace amounts of Qi suggestive of beginner cultivation training.

"You've spent fifteen years building up a foundation and hit your ceiling, but I suspect you have recently gone beyond what you had assumed was your skill cap." Mingzhe was quiet for a moment.

"And Yang Zichen is part of this world, isn't he?" Lin Che coughed.

"He entered the competition a couple of years ago, but then he disappeared. And now he's back and better by a significant margin, and he moves like—" He stopped.

"You've invited him."

"Yes," said Lin Che, barely holding in a smile which could expose him.

"Right." Mingzhe picked up the drink and drank from it properly this time as he bought time to think.

"And you're inviting me."

"If you want to be invited—""What does that involve?" Lin Che reached into his jacket pocket and produced a business card for the Shen Clan. His wife had given it to him earlier that morning, stating that she had better things to do than to go watch some ants fight for recruitment purposes, and very succinctly briefed Lin Che on his task: introduce the winner to the Shen Clan. He slid the card across the table.

"Call that when you're ready to step into this world," he said.

"They'll take it from there." Mingzhe looked at the card and scrutinised it.

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"No interview, no—""You just demonstrated everything they want to see," said Lin Che.

"You survived three rounds with someone very good and are now asking sensible questions instead of panicking. The interview's already over."

"Thank you," replied Mingzhe, before standing up and giving Lin Che a deep bow. Lin Che scratched his chin out of embarrassment, but moved back to a neutral position by the time Mingzhe rose again.

"Don't thank me," he said.

"Thank whoever answers that number."

Mingzhe had one hand on the door when it opened from the other side. Xu Fang came through first, walking in at the accelerated pace of an excited puppy after his conversation with Zichen, who followed behind at a regular speed. Mingzhe stopped in his tracks. He looked at Xu Fang, then back at Lin Che, before his eyes moved onto Yang Zichen, before the puzzle pieces fell in place. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Xu Fang! You're friends with the sponsor?"

"Guest of the sponsor," said Xu Fang.

"Lin Che's wife sorted us out with the tickets. I'm just here for the free drinks and to watch you embarrass yourself on a stage." He clapped Mingzhe on the shoulder.

"You were brilliant, by the way. I'm very proud of you and I'm telling everyone." Mingzhe looked between Xu Fang and Lin Che once more.

"Congratulations," Mingzhe said to Zichen.

"Good fight," he returned with a thumbs up. Mingzhe began taking his steps out of the door when—"Right," said Xu Fang, pulling Mingzhe back into the circle.

"Food. There's a place fifteen minutes from here that does excellent late-night lamb skewers and I've been thinking about them since we drove past." Xu Fang looked around the group with a smile on his face. Lin Che was the first to respond.

"I can't," he said.

"I promised Shen Yue that I'd take care of some family business tonight in exchange for the tickets."

"Tonight?" asked Xu Fang.

"Yeah, there are deadlines involved, otherwise I would definitely have come." Xu Fang turned to Zichen next.

"I'm needed at the same place," said Zichen, latching onto the chance to escape. Xu Fang looked between the two of them.

"The two of you have to do family admin at—" he checked his phone— "seven in the evening on a Wednesday." Silence.

"Fine," he said.

"I'll get Mingzhe to come. He needs feeding anyway after burning all those calories in that final." Xu Fang began texting, already moving on from the conversation. Lin Che caught Zichen's eye briefly and they both looked away at the same time.

"I'll call a car," said Zichen.

Outside, the evening air was cool and dry, which thankfully meant that Lin Che had been appropriately dressed for the weather. Zichen stood by the kerb with his phone out, and Lin Che stood beside him.

"How long are you sealed for?" asked Lin Che.

"Another hour or so. I asked for a seal that lasts longer than usual just in case the tournament had a delay or two." He looked at his phone.

"By the time we get to the clan, it should be fully cleared."

"And the tournament committee don't ask questions about why someone of your level enters a mortal competition?"

"The committee doesn't know what I am," said Zichen.

"And besides, the sealing is thorough enough that no one in that hall tonight would have been able to tell. The only exception is you, but that's just because you know me from beforehand." They stood in a silence that was not uncomfortable, but certainly had some tension of sorts.

"The night at your apartment," said Zichen.

"Yes."

"I want to be clear that I was there to remove something; not to place it. And that the decision to place it was not mine," he said, rather directly.

"You already know what it was and why it was there, but I just wanted to say it plainly."

"I know," said Lin Che.

"And the bite," Zichen let out something halfway between a smile and a grimace.

"Was unexpected."

"I was out of options."

"It was effective. I'd love to understand your techniques a bit better."

"You will," said Lin Che.

"When we spar." Zichen looked at his phone.

"Car's two minutes away. The training rooms at the compound should be free by the time we arrive and I'm no longer sealed." They stood at the kerb watching the headlights come.

Xu Fang and Guo Mingzhe found the aforementioned stall as promised, the smell of lamb skewers over charcoal hitting them before the stand even came into view. They ordered and found a section off to the side with a couple of benches for them to sit in and eat opposite each other.

"You were close," said Xu Fang, in between bites.

"I know," said Mingzhe.

"The second round especially. When you got his foot."

"I know." Mingzhe picked up a skewer.

"I should have committed faster to throw him off."

"I don't know much about all the fighting, but I'm sure you could have won if you tried your new technique.

"I didn't have time to use it. I haven't mastered it properly and it needs me to fully clear my mind to apply it — it's hard to do that when there's a crowd cheering and shouting at you." Xu Fang finished his skewer.

"Are you going to call the number?" Mingzhe looked up.

"The card that Lin Che gave you. He mentioned having to do that on the way over and I saw you pocket it." Mingzhe was quiet for a moment.

"You know what it's for?"

"Vaguely," said Xu Fang.

"I know Lin Che and I know Shen Yue, so I can trust that that number will be very helpful for you. If they're pointing you somewhere, it's probably worth going." Mingzhe ate in silence for a moment. The stall behind them hissed as someone lay some meat on the grill, filling the gap in their conversation. Mingzhe fished out the card from his pocket and placed it in front of him on the table as he re-read the number that was written down.

"Can I ask you something?" said Mingzhe.

"You can ask me anything," said Xu Fang. Mingzhe put the card back in his pocket and drank from the water bottle he'd got from the stall.

"How much do you know about cultivation?"