The Way of Restraint

“Dad, just now you said you wanted my brother to make an example of someone. Am I included in that ‘someone’?” Zhang Manman knew that the chance of getting what she wanted from her father was already gone.

In truth, Zhang Hongqing had always treated her well. She received more family resources than even some of the direct-line male descendants.

But her ambitions didn’t stop there.

In her view, the family was rotten to the core. A major reform — a complete blood transfusion — was necessary to adapt to the new era.

But now, it seemed Zhang Hongqing’s vision was entirely different from hers.

“That depends on your brother’s decisions. Since I’ve raised him to be the family heir, I’ll let him do as he sees fit. If he performs well, he’ll remain the true heir. If not, I’ll naturally consider replacing him,” Zhang Hongqing said.

“As long as you don’t step in, Dad, my brother can’t beat me,” Zhang Manman said. “Besides, you’ve already made your move.”

As she spoke, Zhang Manman walked out.

Zhang Hongqing watched her retreating figure, shook his head, and showed a trace of helplessness. He hadn’t actually made a move, after all — she was still his daughter.

After Zhang Manman left, Zhang Kaitai walked in: “Dad, my sister came to see you? What did she say? According to the intelligence I’ve gathered, she wants to split off all the branch lineages. She’s secured investment and started a new security company — she’s taking the branch families with her and offering them a considerable cash payout. If all those branch members leave, a lot of our family’s business dealings in many places could grind to a halt.”

In Zhang Kaitai’s view, these branch family disciples were like a city’s sanitation workers — low-status, but absolutely indispensable. Yet raising their wages was also absolutely impossible.

“That depends on your skills. If you can’t handle even this small matter properly, you might as well quit,” Zhang Hongqing said. “Company employees striking over low wages — this happens all the time. The family elders are all watching how you handle this.”

“I’m worried about accidentally hurting my sister in the process. If someone else were leading this, I’d wrap it up in no time. But with Manman involved, I can’t act freely without caution.” Zhang Kaitai tested the waters: “Dad, can you give me a straight answer?”

“It’s simple. She’s your sister after all,” Zhang Hongqing said. “There can’t be any issues regarding her personal safety. Otherwise, you’d be failing in your fraternal duty. Governing a family starts with filial piety first, then fraternal duty. Filial piety means respecting your elders. Fraternal duty means unity among siblings. Keep those two principles in mind.”

“Understood,” Zhang Kaitai said.

“Then go,” Zhang Hongqing said, waving his hand. Just as Zhang Kaitai turned to leave, he added, “And don’t go after Su Jie. You’re no match for him.”

“Even a pair of fists can’t overcome four hands. I don’t believe he’s invincible,” Zhang Kaitai said, still unconvinced.

“If it were just him alone, no matter how strong he is, there’d be nothing to fear. But now he’s become Larry’s bodyguard — and even part of the research team. Larry needs his data and protection.” Zhang Hongqing had assessed the situation accurately. “His value to Larry is immense. He won’t be given up easily. If you provoke that megacorporation, you know what the consequences will be.”

“Manman really has put me in a difficult position,” Zhang Kaitai said with a bitter smile.

“If this were a game of chess, you’d have already lost. Your sister brought in Su Jie as an outside ally, used Su Jie’s martial arts skills to build a connection with Larry. Then over this past year or more, she’s visited all my old friends in the country and secured their financial backing. On top of that, she has people working under her — even Judgement Gu Yang, Luo Weiji, and Ma Fengnian have endorsed her. A while back, Ma Fengnian wrote to me, saying that her appearance — her neck like a dragon, her pupils like a phoenix — destined her for great things. Look at all of this — these are resources you failed to leverage. If she were a man, you wouldn’t even be in the running.”

Zhang Hongqing continued: “Your martial arts skills are passable, but your strategic abilities are far inferior to your sister’s. More than a year ago, she had already figured out the timing for Honey Badger’s security company formation. She knew our Zhang family would have to send someone — and that person would become the family heir. That’s when she started laying her groundwork: recruiting outside allies, stirring support from within, expanding the chessboard with every move. And the key factor is luck — she’s had it on her side. How can you compete with her? I made my move yesterday, but that kid Su Jie got away. The fact that he could escape from me — yes, there was an element of luck involved — but his ability is definitely not to be underestimated.”

“What?” Zhang Kaitai was genuinely shocked this time — his eyes widened like bronze bells. “You went after that kid? And he got away from you? That means… just how strong is he?”

“What are you two father and son discussing in here?” Just then, a figure appeared at the doorway. The man was tall, with a full head of white hair and a long silver-white beard. In his hand, he carried a dragon-headed staff — solid steel, which scraped against the floor with a resonant clang.

“Great-grandfather, why are you here?” Zhang Kaitai was even more astonished. Zhang Hongqing also stood up immediately and moved to support the old man.

This old man was the highest-ranking member of the Zhang family by generation: Zhang Nianquan.

The Zhang family’s generational naming sequence ran: Wan, Nian, Han, Shi, Hong, Kai, Juan, De, You, Guang.

Zhang Hongqing’s father was of the “Shi” generation, his grandfather of the “Han” generation, and the great-grandfather was of the “Nian” generation.

This Zhang Nianquan was already over 115, just a few months short of turning 116.

“No need to help me. I can still walk on my own.” Zhang Nianquan said. “This morning I walked the Plum Blossom Stakes and practiced the Nine Palaces Great Yu Thunder Section Orthodox Method. My body hasn’t deteriorated — I can probably live another eight or ten years without issue.”

As he spoke, he walked to a chair, sat down, pulled a handful of fava beans from his pocket, tossed one into his mouth, and crunched it loudly with his intact teeth.

Zhang Kaitai felt a chill run through him, afraid his great-grandfather might break a tooth from the crunching.

“Great-grandfather, about your signature technique — the physical movements of the Nine Palaces Great Yu Thunder Section Orthodox Method — I’ve already had Honey Badger Training Camp’s AI and various human biomechanical data collection systems run calculations. They’ve now simulated the most balanced movements and proposed many improvements. Have you seen them?” Zhang Hongqing asked.

“I’ve seen them.” Zhang Nianquan actually pulled a large-screen AI-enabled smartphone from his pocket and handled it with practiced ease.

No one would expect a 115-year-old man to be even more adept with a smartphone than many young people. As he played with his phone, he said, “Honey Badger’s AI technology is only average at best. The best is at Typhon. Larry’s company is decent — better than Honey Badger — but what they compute isn’t necessarily accurate. My Thunder Section Orthodox Method can be called the highest secret of Daoist cultivation. I don’t know how much trouble I went through to obtain it back in the day, and it’s only thanks to this system of techniques that I’ve lived this long. One branch of our Zhang family’s ancestors came from Mount Longhu. As you should know, the Mao family is from Mount Mao — we both come from Daoist lineages.”

“Great-grandfather, you didn’t come all this way just for small talk, did you?” Zhang Hongqing asked.

“A few days ago, that old man Little Mao came to see me, and we chatted about some things. His Mount Mao physiognomy and fortune-telling do have some skill. Although he’s thirty years younger than me and quite devious, there are situations where his power can be useful.” Zhang Nianquan said. “He mentioned that our Zhang family will encounter a certain tribulation that must be properly resolved. Otherwise, the family will be reduced to nothing. I’ve been contemplating this matter.”

“That old Mao family fellow is always muttering mystically, but he did help the Feng family secure a huge market share domestically.” Zhang Hongqing had already grasped the great-grandfather’s meaning: “That tribulation you mentioned probably involves that kid Su Jie.”

“Who is Su Jie?” Zhang Nianquan asked.

Zhang Hongqing recounted what had happened the previous day.

Zhang Nianquan’s eyes lit up, and he clicked his tongue in admiration: “Amazing, these young people today are truly remarkable. Eighteen years old — and at eighteen years old, he’s reached Shen Er Ming Zhi [Divine Enlightenment]. Extraordinary. When I was that age, I was still just a small-time escort guard traveling the martial world, with no real martial arts progress to speak of. Hongqing, here’s what I think: more friends are better than more enemies. Since Manman wants to go out and make her own way, let her. When she’s older, she’ll come back anyway. In fact, I’ve noticed that Old Man Mao wants to pair Manman with Mao Xin, to unite our two families. But the Mao family is too steeped in scheming and conspiracy — it harms their heavenly mandate too much. Personally, I don’t want any entanglement with them.”

“Great-grandfather, I’ll remember what you’ve said,” Zhang Hongqing nodded.

“You’re the big dragon head, after all. Family affairs are your decision.” Zhang Nianquan stood up and walked out, leaning on his steel staff. “I don’t have many years left. I just hope to see the Zhang family reach new heights before I die. When the annual ancestral rites come around, I want my incense offerings to be abundant and my pockets full in the underworld — then I’ll have no regrets. Whatever you do, don’t let me end up without incense after I’m gone.”

Zhang Kaitai laughed: “Great-grandfather, you actually believe in that stuff?”

“You’re still young. You don’t understand anything. When you grasp the importance of family ancestral rites, you’ll be qualified to be the family head. The great affairs of a nation are sacrifice and war — whether for a family or a nation, sacrifice comes first. You young people — if you don’t make offerings to me after I die, I’ll definitely make your lives difficult.” Zhang Nianquan bristled his beard and glared.

Su Jie knew nothing of what was happening inside the Zhang family. But he remained on guard against Zhang Hongqing at every moment.

The battle from yesterday was deeply etched in his memory. It had greatly moved him, providing him with too many lessons. The insights gained from it could even surpass those from his fight with Feng Hengyi.

Zhang Hongqing’s strength, speed, and technique had all left him in awe, forcing out every last bit of his potential. He had finally managed to use the terrain to escape with his life — and in doing so, gained tremendous confidence in himself.

He truly had never experienced combat against a top-tier master before.

Larry’s side had already sent him a high-definition video of his fight with Zhang Hongqing for his own study, which made Su Jie realize that Larry’s company was no paper tiger — they could even monitor real-time street conditions.

It was said that Larry’s company’s satellites could clearly read the patterns on a matchbox, especially in this city, where the security systems approached perfection. This was the place where Larry had made his fortune, and also the global hub for computer technology at the highest level — Silicon Valley.

Just as Su Jie was studying the footage, Cass sent him another message: “Mr. Larry’s office will be receiving an important guest soon. He wants you there to handle his security.”

Related