The Empress’s Gigolo

“Do you want to go up and take a look?” Ren Baqian parked his car in front of the entrance to the martial arts center. He turned around to press the remote key fob with one hand and picked up a strand of green silk from the back of the empress’s head with the other hand before twirling it around his finger.

The empress swatted away his hand, making it swell. She said coldly, “I’m not interested.”

“I will go up and take a look.” Ren Baqian moved his hand back and smelled the fragrance between his fingers.

Although he had learned about the progress of the center from the reports, he still wanted to see it with his own eyes.

Ren Baqian took out a pair of sunglasses from the glove compartment for the empress to wear, adjusted them, and said, “This way, other people can’t see your face clearly. It should prevent a big crowd from gathering here to look at you by the time I come back. I’ll be back very soon.”

As Ren Baqian went into the center, the two receptionists recognized him and quickly greeted him, “Boss.”

“I just want to go up and take a look.” Ren Baqian gestured for them to move aside and went up to the second floor alone.

Before going up, he could already hear shouting coming from the second floor. Upon arriving, he saw more than 20 people in the big open space practicing boxing. There were also a dozen people drinking at one side.

The person leading the group in the boxing practice wasn’t a winged cavalry warrior, but was a refined-looking man in his thirties.

This man was mentioned in the report by Ding Jie and was the coach from Renren Martial Arts Center.

When those youngsters came to challenge the martial arts center, they were outwitted by Liu Chengwu and that kick a winged cavalry warrior delivered to the punching bag almost frightened them to death. As a result, they quietly slipped away from the center.

Since these people had been practicing at Renren Martial Arts Center, they were naturally interested in martial arts. Although they were initially frightened by the prowess of the winged cavalry warriors, they came back to join Ren Baqian’s martial arts center after returning and pondering for a few days.

Not only that, they also lavished praise on this martial arts center to their fellow trainees.

The people at Renren Martial Arts Center couldn’t endure it since these trainees were leaving, yet came back to brag about the superiority of another center. They were switching instructors and still wanted to break their rice bowls.

Subsequently, the coach of Renren Martial Arts Center came over to “exchange views.”

The result was obvious—that coach became a disciple of the new center.

Most of the members of Renren Martial Arts Center followed him as well.

“Boss!” Ren Baqian had been standing there for a short while when he saw Liu Chengwen and Liu Chengwu run over.

The people who were practicing boxing took notice of this hefty fellow due to this greeting.

“Boss, why are you here?” Liu Chengwen asked eagerly.

“I’m just taking a look. Not bad—it’s quite lively here.” Ren Baqian nodded.

“Most of these people were brought by Peng Kaihuai. These few only came later. After all, Boss didn’t want to advertise. There were only a few people who saw our center and came in. The fees are high, so only a few people registered,” Liu Chengwen explained.

Peng Kaihuai was the name of that gentleman. It was said that he was a top provincial Sanda exponent who opened Renren Martial Arts Center after retiring from competition. He was also quite well known in Shanghai.

“Well, this is fine. For those who are gifted and can’t afford to pay, you can first take them in and let them pay in installments when they are working. As for the ordinary students, no matter how many you have, it’s pointless,” Ren Baqian said casually.

“I understand,” Liu Chengwen replied. It seemed like the boss didn’t open this center for the sake of making money. Liu Chengwen didn’t know exactly what Ren Baqian meant by gifted people, but Liu Chengwen thought he should pay more attention and look out for such people in the future.

Logically, he should be able to find the students that his boss wanted in those big martial arts centers and in some of the clans of the martial arts world.

“Stop for a while. Kaihuai, come here.” Liu Chengwen asked the group to stop training.

“Remember, this is the boss,” Liu Chengwen said.

“Boss, nice to meet you.” Peng Kaihuai curiously looked at this valiant young man. He was in his twenties, he looked like a person of high status, and his imposing manner was rather intimidating.

However, he didn’t appear to be a martial arts exponent as his body lacked the physical signature of a martial arts practitioner.

“Come, spar with me for a while.” Ren Baqian laughed. He was itching for a fight. In Dayao, whether it was Tong Lan or his guards, he couldn’t even beat one of them. He had been working hard, but had never won…

On Earth, most of his interactions were with ordinary people, and it was no fun to bully them.

This guy in front of him was a top provincial Sanda practitioner who had trained in the center for two months. Ren Baqian could gauge his own level through Peng Kaihuai.

Peng Kaihual was somewhat surprised because it wasn’t normal for a person with such a lofty status to personally enter the ring.

“It’s a rare occasion for the boss to be interested. Why don’t you practice with him?” Liu Chengwen added.

“Fine” Peng Kaihuai nodded. He was thinking of secretly giving Ren Baqian some slack if necessary, but not too much since it was also bad to look weak.

When both of them walked to the stage, the students immediately gathered around them and started whispering to each other in hushed tones.

“Is he the owner of this center? He looks tough, but I wonder whether he’s a match for the coach.”

“If having a good physique was good enough, what would be the point of practicing boxing?”

“In the end, he’s the owner of a martial arts center. It’s unlikely that he doesn’t know any martial arts at all.”

“Coach is a top athlete and few are better than him.”

Ren Baqian took the boxing gloves, threw them back, and said, “I don’t need these or protective gear—let him wear protective gear.”

Peng Kaihuai was in a dilemma. In his opinion, it was better for the boss to wear protective gear.

It wasn’t a problem if the boss knocked him down, but it would be troublesome if he knocked the boss down. However, since he would be cutting the boss some slack, he would just play along and make the boss happy.

A moment later, both of them stood in the middle of the stage. Liu Chengwen stood on the stage, put his hand down, and said, “Start.”

Peng Kaihuai focused his attention on Ren Baqian, waiting for him to make the first move.

Ren Baqian considered the fact that he was a Man Wheel expert and that this guy was an unqualified trainer, so he decided it wasn’t fair for him to start first. He stood there and waited for the other party to attack.

The two of them stared at each other.

Upon seeing that his opponent wasn’t moving, Ren Baqian beckoned with his fingers and said, “Come on!”

“Boss, be careful.” Peng Kaihuai pivoted on his heel and rushed toward Ren Baqian.

Even though he had been learning [Boxing of Death] for two months, he still couldn’t change the Sanda habits that he had practiced for many years. The aboriginals executed [Boxing of Death] with steady steps and vigorous movements.

Peng Kaihuai’s movements, however, were nimble as he jabbed at Ren Baqian after closing within striking distance.

This was followed by another jab.

Ren Baqian saw the jabs coming, averted his head slightly to dodge, and drawled, “Too slow.”

Peng Kaihuai focused his eyes and sent a thunderous sounding punch toward the chest of Ren Baqian.

Ren Baqian leisurely turned his body and appeared behind Peng Kaihuai almost instantly.

Too slow. This speed was much slower than Tong Lan’s—it was like comparing a horse carriage to a Ferrari.

This wasn’t noticeable in his daily life, but here on the stage, he discovered that his opponent was too slow and seemed to be moving in slow motion.

Every move could be clearly seen and every detail was registered in his mind.

He could even predict the next move from the subtle movements of the opponent.

The body is twisting slightly, the waist is primed, and the shoulder is dropping a bit—the next move should be a whip-leg kick.

Ren Baqian looked at the opponent’s leg and nimbly retreated two steps to evade the kick.

He’s pulling back his left hand—a straight punch is coming again.

Ren Baqian turned around leisurely while the opponent’s punch passed by his chest.

This is the difference between a Man Wheel expert and a person who isn’t one.

Ren Baqian even had spare time to think.