Chapter 57: A chance of being crippled or killed (1/2)

Chapter 57: A chance of being crippled or killed

“I’ll give you two days to think it over carefully.”

After Cao Yi had spoken, he left Wang Chao behind in the private tea room.

“Being the government’s running dog…” After Cao Yi had divulged his plans to Wang Chao, his very first reaction was to think of those five words.

A martial artist that relied on the government had been given an unflattering name in the past. To sum things up, they were called the “Running dogs.”

The most famous running dog in the Qing Dynasty was Huang Tianba who was under the thumb of Emperor Qianlong. From the ancient past, all martial artists had one single rule: not to be an official of the government.

That was not to say being an official was pretend being noble. But being an official had meant many tasks to do and less time to practice one’s martial art.

The second reason was that it was easy to use one’s power to bully others. This in turn would cause a bad name for themselves. Even if they didn’t, many others would still criticize them behind their backs.

Naturally, the Guoshu institutes created with the government during the Republic of China had not been called this.

A martial artist was taught to be open minded and tolerant. However, there were somethings that could not be tolerated, such as for one’s honor being disgraced.

To each person, a disgrace could be one’s enemy killing one’s relative, or taking their wife. There was another disgrace that was well above the rest: one’s own country starving or even the total destruction of it.

When it came to one’s own country on the brink of destruction, it didn’t matter who, everyone would stand up for this. It was a righteous cause and had no connection with being a running dog for the government.

In short, during the chaotic times, those who practiced martial arts were heroes. During the peaceful time where the government was powerful, they were running dogs.

In truth, Wang Chao was fed up with this road Cao Yi had set up for him and was disgusted by the term ‘Running Dog’.

This didn’t mean that he was a part of the anti-government party.

It was just that his sole pleasure in life was being free and not being restricted.

If he were to join with the government, then it would be hard to avoid the shackles that came from the position. Furthermore, Cao Yi and the government’s plan was to use Wang Chao as a puppet after seeing how he could fight. This didn’t suit well with him.

Being controlled by someone else wouldn’t make anyone happy.

The second reason was that he had his mind opened when he went to the military district.

If the rulers of the current state of China were filled with revolutionaries such as grandfather Li, then it would be fine. But now, for the sake of the country, they would be treated as puppets or suicided without consideration.

It was a shame that the successors of these people were for the most part corrupted to the point where even the elders shed tears in shame and grief. Wang Chao himself had no desire to work with such people.

But the situation right now was quite dire. Despite Cao Yi giving him two days to think it over, there was actually very little time to do so.

“I am still quite weak, and with my current power and status, I’ve only several ten million to my name. Compared to the hedonistic Zhao Jun, I am nothing more than a fly to be swatted. Cao Yi’s organization is incomparable to the both of us however. With a single movement of a finger, they could order the death of a thousand of me.”

Understanding the situation he was in, Wang Chao felt as if he was staring in a mirror.

On that year’s journey, Wang Chao’s mind and will had already been polished to the point of being unmoved by anything.

His mind and will was like a deep pool of water with no ripples and a reflection of a mirror.

His mind and will was like a raging ocean with the divine dragon ascending away from a perilous situation.

It was only like this that he could control his emotions in order to break out with the Hidden Jin efficiently.

To be hard and to be soft, to bow and submit or to stand tall. This was an example of Yin and Yang, this was the science of martial arts.

“I’ll borrow their power first. When I finish this problem, then I’ll find a way to distance myself away from them.” Wang Chao thought. If he were to join Cao Yi’s organization, then he would lose the ability to move autonomously so this invite was neither a challenge or an opportunity.

On the second day, Cao Yi had received a phone call from Wang Chao. “There’s no need to think about it, what will you have me do.”

Cao Yi had long since anticipated this result since he knew Wang Chao had no other choice.

“Good, come to the provincial public safety bureau. I’ll have a car bring you here!” Cao Yi put down the phone and rubbed his forehead. “This Wang Chao, despite his life experiences being miniscule, just who in the world taught him martial arts to such a degree? That villa of his is also very suspicious as well.”

When it came to Wang Chao’s family, Cao Yi had investigated it intensely. The only suspicious thing he had found was Wang Chao’s villa and his mysterious teacher. Cao Yi had tried to research the previous owner of the villa, but the only thing he had found was that it was under the name of an European company.

No matter how much Cao Yi had tried, even he had no way of trying to investigate another country’s company.

“Forget it, I’ve already looked into him for three years, he has no special identity. He is also nobody important. Spending a large sum of money to really investigate his background wouldn’t be accepted by the organization, and even then, it’d be hard to say the results would justify the costs. However, Zhao Jun is someone the organization wants me to look closely after, this could be a big catch.”

In half an hour, Wang Chao was sitting in Cao Yi’s car.

Cao Yi’s car continued to drive out of the city for three or four hours to the mountainside. Gradually, a border sentry post and the military barracks could be seen.