After discussing some follow-up matters with Su Mei, the conversation ended in an atmosphere where both parties were extremely satisfied.
When Su Yu returned home, a faint scent of thick tomato soup was already wafting through the house. Kiana was sitting cross-legged on the carpet, holding a floating sphere in her hand—that was the [Spiral Eye] motion capture unit, as named by Vill-V. Hearing the sound of the door opening, her eyes instantly lit up, looking exactly like the Chongchong who had been waiting for Su Yu to come home earlier. They were truly like two white cats, one big and one small.
"You're back!" Kiana released the floating sphere. It had to be said that this little gadget was quite intelligent; it flew back to charge itself at this moment. Su Yu changed his shoes and put away the briefcase containing the black-tech motion capture equipment.
"It's done." Su Yu's tone was relaxed, but there was still a hint of thoughtfulness between his brows. On the way back just now, he had briefly told Kiana about Su Mei approaching him for cooperation.
"There is no problem on Second Senior Sister's side. She is a smart person and knows that this deal is a guaranteed win. The difficulty now lies in... how we are going to persuade that 'little old-fashioned' one."
Kiana blinked and tilted her head: "Little old-fashioned? Are you saying... that Fu Hua?"
"Yes, that Fu Hua who worships you like an immortal." Su Yu sighed, sat down opposite Kiana, and spread his hands somewhat helplessly. "You also know that our mission is to get Fu Hua and those disciples to join as motion capture actors. But the prerequisite for everything is that Fu Hua, the legitimate Sect Leader, must give the nod. You know Fu Hua's personality... she's stubborn. She thinks martial arts are for cultivating the self, not for making games, unless..."
He paused, looking at Kiana, a trace of hesitation flashing in his eyes. "Unless, she sees with her own eyes what the true Tai Xu Divine Essence is."
Kiana froze for a moment, then immediately understood Su Yu's meaning. "You mean... let me go to that Inch Heart Dojo and demonstrate in front of her?"
"Yeah." Su Yu nodded and voiced his thoughts. If even Kiana, the expert in Fu Hua's eyes, was willing to participate in the game's motion capture, and solidly recorded those martial arts through motion capture for preservation, then it would be impossible for Fu Hua not to be moved.
However, Su Yu's body subconsciously leaned forward, blocking the space between Kiana and that imaginary outside world like a mother hen protecting its chick. "But you don't have to force yourself. I've already greeted Su Mei; everything prioritizes your feelings. If you don't want to meet people, or feel uncomfortable, we can just record the video at home and send it over. At worst, I'll just waste a bit more breath talking to Fu Hua."
He rambled on, his brows furrowed tightly, seeming to have already pre-enacted eighteen plans in his mind to protect Kiana from social harm.
"Pfft." A light laugh interrupted his murmuring. Su Yu froze and looked up. He saw Kiana covering her mouth, her shoulders trembling.
"Hey, I'm being serious here, what are you laughing at?" Su Yu felt a bit embarrassed.
"Laughing at you." Kiana put down her hand and stood up. She placed her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest, the smile on her face growing even more vibrant. "Su Yu, you don't need to be so nervous. I am no longer that Kiana who could only hide behind you and didn't even dare to enter a convenience store."
She raised her chin slightly, the corners of her mouth hooking into a confident arc. "Since I am the Little Grandmaster of this world, I have to show the appearance of an elder! Isn't it just giving some pointers to the younger generation? This Miss... cough, this Grandmaster has no problem with it!"
She clenched her fist, her eyes firm. "Moreover, you also said it, this is for our game, so that everyone can see Kiana's story. Since I promised you I would make changes, then let's start with this first step! Let [Tai Xu Revival] become the first big thing I do in this world!"
Looking at this high-spirited young girl before him, Su Yu was stunned for a few seconds, then couldn't help but laugh out loud. It seemed he had worried too much. Indeed, she was Kiana Kaslana. In that imperfect story, she was the person who could turn an imperfect story into the way she wanted it to be. As long as she made up her mind, there was nothing Kiana couldn't do.
"Alright, Little Grandmaster." Su Yu stood up and reached out to flick that ahoge (idiot hair). "Then let's go teach that little old-fashioned one a lesson."
Ten minutes later. Su Yu took out his phone and clicked on the chat box remarked as "Part-time Warrior Ah Hua".
[Su Yu: Fu Hua, are you free tomorrow? I want to take Kiana to the Inch Heart Dojo. She heard about the dojo's current situation and plans to go see it personally.]
Less than three seconds after the message was sent, "The other party is typing..." appeared at the top of the chat box. That line of text flickered intermittently for a full minute, as if the person on the other side was experiencing some huge psychological fluctuation and was weighing every punctuation mark.
Finally, a message popped up:
[Fu Hua: Free! Free anytime! I'll notify Chaoyu to clean up the dojo right away! Um... does Little Junior Uncle have any dietary restrictions? Or any special preferences? Should I prepare some... offerings? No, I mean meeting gifts?]
Even through the screen, Su Yu could feel Fu Hua's frantic nervousness. This wasn't meeting a Junior Uncle; this was simply like meeting the Jade Emperor descending to inspect work.
Su Yu looked back at Kiana, who was lying on the sofa drinking Happy Water while watching TV, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but rise crazily. His fingers quickly typed a line of words:
[Su Yu: No need to do those empty things. Just prepare more iced black tea and Happy Water, preferably ice-cold. Also, if possible, prepare some fried chicken and pizza.]
The other side fell silent for five seconds. Just when Su Yu thought Fu Hua would feel this request was too "un-sagely," Fu Hua's reply came:
[Fu Hua: I understand! Returning to simplicity, great clumsiness is great skill! Little Junior Uncle is using worldly items to temper her state of mind; this is the highest realm of practicing within the world! Thank you for the pointer, Senior, I'll go buy them right now!]
Su Yu looked at the screen, the corner of his mouth twitching. As expected of you, Ah Hua. With this reading comprehension ability, it's truly a waste of talent not to be the class representative for Chinese literature. Although he didn't know what earth-shattering Daoist truth Fu Hua had imagined, there was one thing Su Yu was certain of—tomorrow, Kiana would probably come back carrying several Want Want Gift Packs.
A little later. In order not to lose face tomorrow, Kiana had imagined quite a few entrances for herself in her mind. She put the finished potato chips aside and jumped up directly.
"Look, is this okay for me?" Kiana took a deep breath, tried hard to keep a straight face, clasped her hands behind her back, raised her chin 45 degrees, and tried to imitate that deep look of "seeing through the mortal world." Although, because the potato chips in her mouth hadn't been swallowed yet, her cheeks were bulging, making her look more like a hamster hoarding food. Let alone dignity, just looking at her made one want to laugh.
"Cough... grand-disciples, no need for formalities." She lowered her voice, waving her hand with feigned maturity.
Su Yu, who was looking at his phone, raised his head. Seeing her appearance, he almost couldn't hold back his laughter. "How is it, how is it? Is there that kind of... uh, what's that word called again? Immortal wind and Daoist bone?"
Kiana broke character in a second, leaning in to ask with a face full of anticipation.
"Doesn't that Fu Hua usually have this dead-pan face?" Su Yu's mouth twitched. "That word is called facial paralysis, not immortal wind and Daoist bone." He looked Kiana up and down. This girl was wearing that slightly oversized training suit. Although her figure was impeccable, that silliness and vitality that couldn't be hidden no matter what were simply a different species from the word "Immortal." This was a goofy character, a goofy character in the truest sense.
"Besides, I don't think you need to act." Su Yu thought for a moment and said earnestly. "Think about it, what is your setting? A worldly hermit who has been in seclusion in Deep Mountains and Old Forests for years, knows nothing of worldly affairs, and is wholeheartedly dedicated to the ultimate martial arts."
He raised a finger. "What is the core of this persona? It's purity. To put it bluntly, it means knowing nothing except fighting, having zero common sense in life, and speaking straightforwardly."
Kiana blinked, feeling like there was some logic to it, but also faintly feeling something was wrong.
"So you just need to act as your true self. However you usually act foolish... cough, however you speak, just speak that way tomorrow. Even if you look like an idiot, it doesn't matter. In their eyes, that's called great wisdom appearing as stupidity, called the heart of a newborn."
The air went quiet for two seconds.
"Su Yu—!" Kiana reacted, grabbing a pillow from the sofa and smashing it over. "You're the idiot! Your whole family are idiots! This Miss is very smart!"
Su Yu caught the pillow and leaned back with the momentum, smiling incredibly wickedly.
Ding-dong.
Just as the two were engaging in their daily bickering, the phone screen on the coffee table lit up. Su Yu glanced at it, his brows raising slightly. It was that well-informed Su Mei again.
[Su Mei: Su Yu, there is some not-so-good news.]
[Su Mei: Tomorrow, besides Master, there is also a troublesome figure who will be present.]
Immediately after, a photo was sent over. The background of the photo looked like an underground boxing gym. A man with a buzz cut and muscles bulging like granite was roaring at the camera; behind him was a sandbag that had been burst open. Even through the screen, one could feel that rushing aura of chuunibyou.
[Su Mei: Ma Yanqing, or you can call him Ma Feima. My Sixth Junior Brother, a famous prickly pear of the Inch Heart Dojo.]
[Su Mei: This guy is a true practitioner, and also stubborn. He has been engaging in exposing fake traditional martial arts on the internet for the past few years, attacking everything and everyone. He hates those charlatans who swindle people under the banner of Masters the most. He feels Master has real skills but can only guard a broken dojo, while those scammers can get rich; this makes him very unhappy.]
Su Yu clicked on the link sent by Su Mei; it was a popular video of Ma Feima. In the video, this sixth disciple was pointing at the camera, spittle flying:
"What Tai Chi Master? What Qigong Grandmaster? Do you dare to get on the ring and touch hands? I'll let them know what 'Physical Salvation' means with one punch! As long as I, Ma Feima, am still here for one day, the Tai Xu Sect will not allow any people who deceive the world and steal reputation!"
Good lord. This wasn't just exposing fakes; this was about to overturn the entire martial arts circle. Su Yu looked at the man in the video with fierce eyes and vigorous movements. Not only did he not feel it was troublesome, but he actually felt... it was quite interesting.
Although his conduct was a bit flamboyant and his mouth a bit foul, this vigor to offend the whole world just to maintain the reputation of his sect was indeed that of a real man.
The phone vibrated again.
[Su Mei: I've already received wind. Old Ma has one hundred objections written all over him regarding that Little Grandmaster. Tomorrow he will definitely make difficulties on the spot, and might even start a fight to expose a fake.]
[Su Mei: Are you sure Kiana can handle it? Although Old Ma can't compare to Master, his external kung fu is the real deal. If things get messed up tomorrow...]
Su Mei didn't finish her words, but the meaning was obvious. If Kiana really got 'exposed as a fake' tomorrow, then the plan for "Tai Xu Revival" would be dead in the womb directly.
But seeing Su Mei's worried message, Su Yu's mood didn't fluctuate in the slightest. He even wanted to laugh a little. Old Ma exposing Kiana as a fake? Real or not?
What is the difference between this and "I'll fight Sukuna"?
Su Yu looked at that line of text, his fingers tapping briskly on the screen.
[Su Yu: Rest assured.]
[Su Yu: By the way, Senior Sister, please pass a message to that Junior Brother Ma.]
[Su Mei: What? Ask him to show mercy?]
[Su Yu: No.]
The smile on Su Yu's lips gradually became wicked.
[Su Yu: Tell him to eat a bit more tonight, preferably a good meal, don't save money.]
There was silence on the other end for a moment.
[Su Mei: ...Why?]
[Su Yu: Because I'm afraid he will be knocked out by Kiana with one punch tomorrow, and will have to faint for a whole day on an empty stomach. Low blood sugar is bad for the body.]
[Su Mei: ?]
____
________________________________________
If you want more chapters, please consider supporting my page on (P). with 50 advanced chapters available on (P)
👻 Join the crew by searching Leanzin on (P). You know the spot! 😉