Chapter 1036: Hiring a female bodyguard!
Translator: Legge Editor: Legge
Giving him tea.
And pouring water.
Yang Shu kept herself busy while she helplessly watched Zhang Ye.
Zhang Ye knew that his junior martial sister had a one-track mind and was a somewhat rash person. If there was something she had made up her mind about, she would see it to the very end no matter what anyone had to say. Thinking about it, it was her life's goal to glorify the martial art of Taiji Fist. After arriving in Beijing and depending on him for so long, all she could do was stay at home doing nothing and also occasionally borrowing some money from Zhang Ye. Yang Shu probably felt dejected with nowhere and nohow to expend her energy. With people suddenly recognizing her, all the neighbors and even people from the nearby neighborhoods were now coming to learn Taiji Fist from her. They even kept addressing her as Teacher Yang or Master Yang, so Yang Shu certainly found value in this and also saw it as a way to promote Taiji Fist to the entire country, and perhaps even to the world. Naturally, she was being very diligent about it.
"Senior Bro!
"Senior Bro.
"Please teach me.
"Senior Bro!"
Zhang Ye was just about to speak.
However, Rao Aimin smirked and said, "Even if you beg him, it might not necessarily lead to anything. He has to first know how to go about doing it."
Are you trying to goad me?
Hur hur!
Do you think I'll fall for that?
Hmph! Alright, I'll really fall for it!
Zhang Ye stared at her. "Hey, who says that I don't know how?"
Yang Shu's eyes lit up. "Senior Bro, you really know how?"
If it were anyone else, they would probably not know how to go about handling this. It would not only require a lot of time to plan to simplify a set of internal style boxing techniques into something that could be practiced by the ordinary people, but would also require time to continuously refine and tweak it. Without spending three to five years, it would be impossible to complete the simplification. This was because it wasn't purely about simplifying the moves. After doing that, there was still a need to bring it in line with the essence of Taiji Fist and reflect the discipline behind it. Therefore, it was an especially difficult task, especially if a person was a master Taiji Fist martial artist. As they were already at a more advanced stage, it would be very difficult for them to see what the ordinary people were seeing.
But it was different for Zhang Ye since he was from another world. In his previous world, Taiji Fist had long since been simplified into countless versions. Whether it was the 42-form Taiji or the 24-form Taiji, Zhang Ye had seen it all. He even knew that the earliest 24-form Taiji, which was introduced in 1956, had used the Yang-style Taiji Fist as its basis for simplification. Further, the country was involved with its implementation at the time. Led by the Sports Administration in 1979, another version was introduced, the 42-form Taiji, which also used the Yang-style Taiji Fist as a basis but added the essence of other Taiji Fist styles. These were the two forms of Taiji Fist mainly practiced by the people in his previous world.
So he decided that he would teach her.
There was nothing to hide anyway.
Zhang Ye got to his feet and said, "Watch carefully."
Yang Shu immediately widened her eyes in interest.
Rao Aimin narrowed her eyes and also watched with great interest.
"This is the 24-form Taiji Fist!" Zhang Ye then demonstrated the opening stance!
First form: Initiation.
Second form: Part the Wild Horse's Mane.
Third form: White Crane Spreads Its Wings.
Fourth form: Brush Knees and Twist Step.
He executed the movements in a flowing motion!
Yang Shu was dumbfounded by what she was seeing!
Rao Aimin's eyes narrowed even more.
Zhang Ye continued, "Next, this is the 42-form Taiji Fist!"
Initiation!
Grasp the Sparrow's Tail, Right Side!
Single Whip, Left Side!
Raise Hands!
As he went through the stances, he finally reached the closing stance.
Zhang Ye asked Yang Shu, "How much can you remember?"
Yang Shu replied, "I've memorized everything!"
Zhang Ye was stunned. What? She had memorized everything? Did she need to be so full of herself? He said in disbelief, "Then show it to me. I want you to show me both the 24-form and 48-form sets."
"Yes, Senior Bro!" Yang Shu seemingly turned into another person and looked sharp. She demonstrated both sets without missing a thing!
Only then was Zhang Ye convinced.
This was what talent was. It wasn't worth it to compare people.
Yang Shu said excitedly, "Senior Bro, was that OK?"
Zhang Ye's eyebrows rose a little as he nodded and said, "It was very good."
Suddenly, Rao Aimin looked at Yang Shu and said, "Are you interested in learning from me? Transfer to the Eight Trigrams Palm? I can guarantee that you will achieve the usage of concealed power within half a year."
Yang Shu was stunned. "Ah?"
Zhang Ye panicked. "Hey, hey, hey, what's the meaning of this, Old Rao? Are you trying to steal my people?"
Rao Aimin smiled and said, "Your junior sister is a very talented person and quite suitable to learning the Eight Trigrams Palm. Her foundations are there and she has also attained great understanding, so it's not a problem for her to start learning the Eight Trigrams Palm now."
Even though Zhang Ye wasn't that fond of his freeloading junior martial sister and would talk to her impolitely at times as well as order her around, Zhang Ye would definitely not allow Old Rao openly trying to steal her from him. "There are so many disciples in the Eight Trigrams Palm School, and only two left in Taiji, so why are you trying to steal her from me? Have you no heart?" He immediately said to his junior martial sister, "Don't listen to her and continue practicing Taiji Fist. There's no point in learning some random lousy fist and palm techniques."
Rao Aimin looked at him. "Who are you saying has lousy fist and palm techniques?"
Zhang Ye stared at her and said, "Whoever tries to steal my people!"
The two of them nearly got into a fight.
Yang Shu quickly said, "Senior Bro, Master Rao, please don't argue. Master Rao, thank you for your kindness. Taiji Fist was handed down through my family, so I definitely wouldn't learn any other martial arts."
Zhang Ye nodded his head firmly. "That's the right way!"
Even if Rao Aimin's social ties were extremely poor in the Chinese martial arts world, she was still a grandmaster. Besides, other than Chenchen, she had not taken any disciples of her own yet. When he learned that Old Rao was eyeing Yang Shu, Zhang Ye was truly afraid that his junior martial sister would get stolen away. It wasn't easy for him to get a fellow junior martial sister, was it?
Rao Aimin stopped trying and turned away. "You can look for me anytime if you want to learn the Eight Trigrams Palm. Oh right, come over for lunch this afternoon."
Yang Shu said, "Thank you, Master Rao."
Zhang Ye asked, "What are we having for lunch?"
"You're not invited!" Rao Aimin strolled off.
Zhang Ye had no response.
Later that morning.
Zhang Ye taught some more simplified Taiji Fist sets to Yang Shu.
Yang Shu virtually did not need him to repeat his demonstrations as she could almost always remember the routine after observing it just once.
Zhang Ye was fully satisfied and felt that Yang Shu was becoming more and more pleasing to the eye. "That's about it. Take some time to digest what I've taught you. As for how you want to teach it to others or which sets to teach, I don't care. You can decide by yourself."
Yang Shu gave a fist and palm salute to him and said sincerely, "Thank you, Senior Bro!"
Zhang Ye said in amusement, "We are both practitioners of Taiji, so why are you still being so polite with me?"
Yang Shu nodded solemnly. "Alright, then I won't be so polite with you." Then she looked at him and said embarrassedly, "Senior Bro, can you lend me some money again?"
Zhang Ye rolled his eyes. "You're broke again?"
Yang Shu said, "Yes."
Zhang Ye said, "You didn't collect any money for teaching Taiji Fist?"
Yang Shu said, "They all liked Taiji Fist a lot, so I-I was too embarrassed to collect any money from them."
"Then how can you ask money from me?"
"Didn't you say that I didn't have to be so polite with you?"
"Did I say that?"
"Yes, you said that just now."
"I've already forgotten."
"Senior Bro."
"Fine, fine. I got it already. Here, take it."
"Thank you, Senior Bro."
Seeing her in such a miserable state, Zhang Ye couldn't bear refusing her. When he thought about that, he took out all of the money in his wallet, which totaled over 10,000 RMB. "Alright, I'll give all of this to you."
Yang Shu furiously waved it off. "I don't need that much."
Zhang Ye said, "I'm not sure when I will be coming over again, so just keep it for now. Remember, if you run out of money or meet with any troubles in the future, let me know"
Taking the money from him, Yang Shu nodded. "Senior Bro, you're really nice."
Zhang Ye said indignantly, "Cease with the niceties. They're useless against me. You should find a job in your free time. You have to be able support yourself before you can teach others about martial arts."
Dispirited, Yang Shu said, "I've interviewed, but nobody needed me."
Zhang Ye asked curiously, "What kind of job did you interview for?"
"A bodyguard position," Yang Shu said.
Zhang Ye said in surprise, "Ah?"
Yang Shu spoke angrily, "When they saw that I was a woman, they did not even give me a chance for an interview."
Zhang Ye chuckled. "As a Chinese martial arts master, why would you need to interview to be a bodyguard? Who could hire you? Even the head of state wouldn't have such a privilege, no?" His junior martial sister probably did not think of it that way. But Zhang Ye knew that with Yang Shu's skills, she would belong to the top of the Chinese martial arts world. She also practiced Taiji, and could even be considered the most authentic successor to Taiji Fist in this world, yet she wanted to become someone's bodyguard? How shameful would that be!
Yang Shu said, "But I only know kung fu and nothing else." She then thought of something. She blinked and asked, "Senior Bro, do you have a bodyguard?"
Zhang Ye said in bewilderment, "What are you planning?"
Yang Shu pleaded, "Let me be your bodyguard!"
Zhang Ye said in a speechless manner, "Will I be protecting you or the other way round?"
Yang Shu's excitement faded. "That's true. Your skills are so much better than mine, so you won't need anyone protecting you. Then I'll just keep looking and see if anyone requires a bodyguard."
Pfft!
You're still thinking about being a bodyguard?
Zhang Ye could no longer bear to listen and waved her off. "Come on! With your status, how can you think about becoming a bodyguard for others? Even if you don't feel ashamed, I feel ashamed for you! What about this? You can be my bodyguard and I'll call for you whenever I have any activities or matters to handle. You just need to shield me from the fans and reporters. As for your salary, I'll pay you 50,000 RMB a month for the time being, though that figure may rise in the future. That's right, do you know how to drive? Have you learned how?"
Yang Shu immediately nodded. "Yes!"
Zhang Ye decided, "Alright, it's settled then. In the future, you'll just need to drive and shield me from people. But of course, I won't call for you every day, so you can do whatever you need to as usual, since I won't need you for most situations. Open a bank account later and I'll transfer your salary to you every month."
Yang Shu was very happy. "Understood, Senior Bro!"
A celebrity with Zhang Ye's status would usually have bodyguards and a full-time chauffeur. Even if they did not hire anyone themselves, their talent agencies would still arrange it for them.
Today, Zhang Ye had finally gathered a full team of his own.
His agent was a Chinese martial arts grandmaster?
And his bodyguard and driver was a Chinese martial arts master?
In the entire entertainment industry, there was truly no one else who could assemble such a team!