Chapter 3

Wulong and Xiao Hua arrived at the tall building. Wulong takes a deep breath in before heading inside. At least with Xiao Hua with him, things shouldn't get too nasty. As he enters the building and steps in the elevator, all he thought was how to squeeze information from his brother. They finally arrived at his office.

Wuzhang had his long waist-length black hair neatly braided as his back was turned to the pair. He looks out of the window as his arms were folded under his long ruby-colored sleeves of the silk Mandarin robes that he wore. He breathed an air of nobility, contrast to Wulong who was more down-to-earth with his waist-length hair done in a much looser braid, as Wulong's hair cascaded around his face. With Wuzhang, not a single lock of hair was out of place. Everything was pulled back tightly and neatly.

Wuzhang then turns around, smiling upon the sight of his guests.

"Ahh, yes, Little Wulong and young Miss Wang. How good it is to see you two. Getting along, I hope?" He then holds his hand out. "Please, have a seat you two. I'm sure that this is very important."

Wulong and Xiao Hua both took a seat in the chairs as Wuzhang sat down in his chair behind his desk.

"So, have you thought about what we said last night?"

"Yes, I did." Wulong smirked, crossing his arms.

"And what did you decide?"

"That's not what I came here for."

"Oh?"

"I want to know more about Baba."

Wuzhang smiled, leaning forward. "What is it that you want to know that you don't already know about him?"

"About his death. What was the very last thing he did before he died?"

"He invited you out to the movies."

Wulong sighed. "I meant before then!"

"Oh? I see what's going on here…" He points his finger at his younger brother.

"You do?" Xiao Hua finally piped up.

"You want to know who killed him? So you can find the guy? Look Little Wulong, I know how hard it is, but you just have to let it go!"

"I can't let it go! This man probably went on to kill more fathers and families! We need to find him and stop him and get justice for Baba!"

"Don't you even care about your own father?" Xiao Hua added.

"Baba killed himself. He was a fool who died without honor."

"How dare you speak of Baba like that?" Wulong stood up from his seat, placing both hands on his desk. "You said he killed himself and died without honor! Wuzhang, you know who killed Baba! You knew about that stint in Hong-Kong! You knew exactly what he was doing! You know who he was investigating!"

"What?! Nonsense! Who told you this?!"

"That's not important! All I need is for you to tell me what you know about the events leading up to his death! I know you know who killed him! You've been hiding this information from me! It's gone on for way too long… Because of your stubbornness, the police never found Baba's killer! I guess you didn't care… because you resented Baba for choosing me to be his successor, instead of you!"

Wuzhang was speechless as Xiao Hua stayed silent.

"You hated Baba even more because Mama killed herself!"

The office was eerily silent for several minutes before Wuzhang managed to regain composure of himself. He lets out a heavy exhale before speaking.

"Baba was in Hong-Kong for a few weeks. Before he left, he entrusted me to look after you. And I did. He told me to raise you and groom you into becoming a strong man like him. He said that he had to handle some business down there."

"Business?"

"He said he was going to meet with Big Chin Mao."

"That's a weird name? Is he a yang guzi?"

"I don't know. But now you have a name. You got a lead. I don't know if that man is Baba's killer. But if he is…" Wuzhang leaned forward to whisper in his brother's ear. "Make sure you kill that son of a bitch."

Wulong nods. "Planning on it."

He then bows as Xiao Hua did the same. "Thank you, Elder Brother Wuzhang!"

"I realize now is too late to stop you. Once your mind is set, you keep going. All I can do now is pray to the ancestors that you see this through. I don't need that man killing the only family I've got."

Wulong nods. "He won't!"

The pair left the office as Wulong writes his findings down in his journal.

"You have a diary?!"

"Not really. It's just to help keep my thoughts organized. I'm very scattered-brained." He smiled.

"So, are you going to go to Hong-Kong?"

"If the killer is there, yes." He closes the notebook.

"But it's so far away! Grandpa will be mad if I follow you there!"

"Yeah. This is something I have to do alone. But I won't be leaving just yet. I still need to confirm that Big Chin Mao killed my parents."

"And how will you do that?"

"I guess I will have to just ask around. I can ask the police, maybe. Or go back to the library."

"I see. If there's any way I can help, I will be there!"

Wulong then looked at his watch. "Oh no! We're late! We were supposed to be at Master Wang's school thirty minutes ago!"

"Oh no!"

"We should get going! Here, climb on my back! It will be faster!"

Wulong then kneeled to allow the small girl to climb on his back, giving her a piggy-back ride as they raced onwards to the dojo. After their arrival, Master Wang, Master Zhu, and Master Dim were outside waiting.

Wulong and Xiao Hua both bowed.

"We are sorry for our lateness." Wulong said.

Master Wang walked around the two with his cane. Wulong and Xiao Hua both stood still.

"Ah… what should you two do, today? Hmm… how about you two head the class, today?"

"Um… sure, Master Wang."

He smacks both Wulong and Xiao Hua in the back of their heads with his cane. The two winced in pain.

"Get a move-on you, two!"

The pair then entered the dojo where all the students waited. Everyone was on their knees, waiting for their masters to return. Wulong and Xiao Hua both stood in the middle.

"Since these two were late, they are going to head today's lesson."

Wulong wasn't sure where to begin. Neither did Xiao Hua. However Wulong figured that they start out with a solid left-roundhouse kick that they both know.

"Alright, so here's a move that I invented!" Wulong said as he gets into his stance.

Wulong earned the name, "Young Master Lei" since he pretty much invented his own fighting style. He added different styles from different dojos that he visited and put them into his own style. He also managed to master Zui Quan, and it was a good starting point as it taught Wulong how to manipulate every muscle in his body and allowed him to pretty much learn almost any move he wanted to use.

"This is called high kick and low kick!"

Wulong and Xiao Hua both swung their left leg out at the same time and promptly spun around and did a sweep kick. His back was now turned as Xiao Hua had no idea what Wulong was doing. But she turned her back, anyway.

"It allows you to turn your back on the enemy. This will invite the enemy to try and approached you. Any volunteers?"

One student got up, approaching Wulong.

"Alright, ready your stance and attack me!"

The student did as instructed, sending in a forward punch. Wulong then catches their arm, and spins them around and tosses them on the ground.

"You see, having your back-turned to the opponent provides a huge advantage in combat. And this double kick will help you get there."

The students then stood up as they practiced the new move with Wulong. Xiao Hua trained as well. However, training was cut short when Master Zhu appears. The whole class bowed.

"That's enough! Kumite!"

Everyone got into position as Master Zhu walked around the class.

"Young Master Lei. I need you to spar with Tin."

Wulong nods as Tin shook his head.

"Master Zhu? Do you expect me to_"

"You can learn a lot from using your fists. C'mon, Tin!"

Wulong bowed as he stood in front of his opponent. Everyone formed a circle as Wulong and his opponent were going to spar.

The two got into their stances after bowing respectfully. Master Zhu then gives a signal, allowing the two students to start sparring.

Tin noticed that Wulong was moving rather erratically, freely moving around as he held his fists up, while Tin stood still, watching and observing. He knew that young Kung-Fu master had a lot of tricks up his sleeve. His expression was fierce, contrast to Wulong's easy going expression. Was this a joke to him?

Tin made the first move, lunging forward for a spin-kick, which Wulong blocked with his forearm. While his opponent was open, Wulong took a step forward and sent in several punches to his opponent's gut, followed by a roundhouse kick that sent the opponent flying.

Tin gets back up, charging at Wulong again, throwing a flurry of punches and kicks, as Wulong masterfully dodged and blocked them all. He retaliates, kicking his opponent as he blocks his leg with his leg. Wulong then swings his head back, doing a surprise headbutt at his opponent, stunning him. Tin recovers just in time to block the strong right hook that his opponent was about to send.

Wulong then quickly gets on one leg, as his right arm is in a fist above his head as his left arm is curled towards him above his left knee. Just as Tin was about to strike, Wulong found an opening by lowering his stance. He spins and uses the momentum to send in a very powerful overhead kick aimed at Tin's head. He immediately fell on the ground as Wulong then reached his hand out, helping the student up. The two bowed as they both stepped back.

"Wow, you were amazing!"

Class was over as Wulong was now outside, sweaty and shirtless as he was drinking water from a gourd that came from a well. He had a towel wrapped around his neck and his braid hung in front of his chest. Xiao Hua was sweating and tired, too, drinking the same water from a different gourd.

"Thanks." Wulong replied to Xiao Hua after taking a sip.

"You invented your own moves! That's cool! I think I learned a new move from you!"

"The high and low kick?"

"Yeah, but I kept the first part. I call it… the Cloud Kick!"

"Because you'll be up in the clouds when you get hit by that attack!"

"Oh! I wasn't thinking of that! Well, I call it that because it is a high kick." Xiao Hua giggled.

"Young Master Lei!"

Wulong quickly turned his head to see one of Master Wang's students. He approached the pair with urgency.

"What is the matter?"

"It's the Hillside Gang!"

Wulong immediately stood up and chugged the last bit of his water. "Alright! Where are they?" he pops his knuckles and his neck.

"Right this way!"

Wulong followed the student as Xiao Hua accompanied him as well. Wulong realized that this is the perfect opportunity to get intel on Big Chin Mao. The Hillside Gang were a small Triad faction whose territory often cross paths with the dojo. But no matter how many times those thugs terrorize the residents near the dojo, they keep coming back for more ass-kicking. Eventually, the three were at the designation where the gangsters were spotted. Wulong took note of the people being shaken down.

"Where's the cops?!" Wulong shouted in anger.

"I guess everyone is scared." Xiao Hua commented.

Wulong sighed. "Looks like I got to handle this."

The two teen martial artists approached the gang members. There were four of them and one of them was a large burly man. The other three were smaller but still intimidating. Wulong approached the larger man, popping his knuckles. "Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Well, you see here, this woman here needs to pay up! With no money, we can't protect her."

"From what exactly? Yourselves?" Wulong was fuming.

"From other gangs, of course!"

"What you're doing here is a big scam and I don't like it!"

Xiao Hua and the student both stood there silently and watched as Wulong spoke to the gang member.

"The people here seem to agree with this arrangement. Who are you to judge? The Communist Party doesn't give a shit about us! The police refuse to do anything to help these poor people."

"Probably because ruffians like you keep taking advantage of everyone!"

The thug then grabbed Wulong's hair. "You wouldn't know because you're part of the Communist Party. Must be nice not having to worry about thieves breaking into your home at night."

"What are you talking about? I am not a Communist!"

The thug then lets go of Wulong's braid and shoves him, however, Wulong takes his wrist, and pulls the man closer to him to send in a blinding punch to his face.

The three thugs then surrounded Wulong, as one of them had a bat in one hand, and another one had a crowbar. The last one had a chain-whip.

"You just made a big mistake. Don't worry madam, we'll protect you from these kids."

Wulong and Xiao Hua both got into their fighting stances as the student stands with the woman that was being hassled. The young martial artists knew that they were outnumbered and their opponents were all armed, but they knew that they could handle this.

Xiao Hua stood in front of the large thug, as Wulong kept his eye on the other three. He watched as Xiao Hua parries the large thug's punch, and quickly sent in a toe-kick at the thug. It was soon followed by her lunging forward, waving her arms as she uses the momentum to deliver a vicious palmed strike to her opponent's gut. The sheer force of the attack alone sent the man rolling backwards for several meters. Wulong could understand why this move was named, "Storming Flower".

The three thugs then approached Wulong, ready to split his head open. Wulong does a sweep kick, quickly getting back up to send in a roundhouse kick. The man spun as he hit one of his allies. The remaining thug charges, as Wulong spun around him.

The thug then tells his comrades to stand back as he had his chain, spinning it around as a means of intimidation. Wulong smirks, grabbing his own hair, mimicking Bruce Lee as he moved his braid around as though it was a nunchaku. He hops around his enemy as he tries to hit Wulong. He quickly hops to the side and hits his opponent in the face with his hair. Surprisingly, the hit stung him. Wulong continued, hopping around and taunting his enemy, only to give him another strike with his hair.

Another opponent sneaks up behind him, ready to bash him in the head with a baseball bat. Sensing his other opponent, he quickly dropped to the ground, and kicks his opponent in the face, launching him in the air before getting back on his two feet.

Xiao Hua was doing pretty good on her end, effortlessly taking out the large bandit. She moved on to fight the thug with a chain, being very careful not to get hit by him, and using his range against him as she got into her Phoenix Illusion Stance. Unlike Wulong's version of the Phoenix Illusion, hers allowed her to get low to the ground, avoiding enemy strikes, as well as send in surprise attacks from above. She lunges forward, getting closer to her opponent, as she noted that with his chain, he has no way of defending himself from up close. She unleashes a jumping kick to his gut, followed by several side-chops with a powerful palm strike to finish him off.

He rolls backwards, as Wulong quickly crouches as he sticks his leg out, tripping the enemy as he falls on his comrades. He and Xiao Hua both stood side-by-side in their stances, as Xiao Hua motioned for the opponent to come forward.

The thugs all coward and ran off in fear. However, Wulong catches a straggler, grabbing him by his arm, forcing him to his knees as he had him restrained, tugging at his shoulder. With enough pressure and force, Wulong could break his arm.

"Look, I'm sorry! We'll leave you alone! Please, I'll do anything you want! Don't hurt me!"

"I'm looking for information. Who do you work for?" Wulong pulls the arm.

"Uh… his name is Master Lam."

"Master Lam… where can I find him?"

"Uh… he has a hideout… at the tattoo shop!"

"Tattoo shop? Which one?"

"AHHH! I don't know?"

Wulong yanks his arm, doesn't break it, but sends the man in searing agony. "What do you mean you don't know? You're part of the Hillside Gang, aren't you?"

"Look! I'm just an errand boy! Okay! All I do is collect the money! You've got to believe me!"

Wulong then releases the ruffian as Xia Hua stood there, stunned. She never knew Wulong to be rough on people, but here he is, almost letting violence consume him.

"I supposed that Master Lam might know Mr. Big Chin Mao." He smirks as he pops his fingers. "Come, Xiao Hua. Let's go pay Master Lam a visit."

"Um, actually, I uh… should get going now! Mama is making dinner! Bye!" Xiao Hua stammered as she hurriedly ran off back towards her residence.

"Hm. I guess it's all up to me now."