Chapter 882: Chapter 871: Growing Old

Following Fatty into the backyard, Song Yun saw an old man.

This old man, with white beard and hair, looked very spirited. When Song Yun first saw him, the old man was practicing Tai Chi Boxing, his movements were gentle and slow but full of tension, it was clear that his Tai Chi skills were deep.

Fatty stood there with Song Yun, watching the old man practice boxing. The old man seemed completely oblivious to their presence, continuing his routine for about half an hour before finishing with a beautiful closing move.

At this point, Fatty led Song Yun forward and said, “Boss, Song Yun is here!”

“Oh!” The old man nodded, looked at Song Yun, and revealed a slightly ambiguous smile, saying, “You’re Song Yun, right? Hello there!”

“Uh… Hello!” Song Yun was creeped out by the old man’s ambiguous smile and recoiled slightly.

“Hahaha, don’t be afraid! I won’t eat you!” the old man said, “Is this your first time in the palace?”

“Yes!” Song Yun nodded.

“Well, do you know what you should call me?” the old man asked again.

Song Yun decisively shook his head.

“In the palace, everyone who sees me calls me Elder Zhu.” The old man smiled broadly and said, “You can either call me Boss or Elder Zhu.”

“Elder Zhu, good day!” Song Yun bowed respectfully.

“Hmm, polite,” Elder Zhu laughed, “the leader of the second group is as old as me, but very clever. You can call him Mr. Hou.”

“Mr. Hou?” Song Yun looked a bit strange.

“The leader of the first group always wears a long face, you can call him Mr. Ma!” Elder Zhu continued.

“Mr. Ma? Pig, Monkey, Horse? Are we going to fetch scriptures from the West?” Song Yun snickered to himself.

“We’re not fetching scriptures,” Elder Zhu laughed and said, “our division of work is different.”

“Oh gosh, does this man have mind-reading skills?” Song Yun looked at Elder Zhu in surprise.

“We don’t have mind-reading skills!” Elder Zhu spoke on his own, “Our three groups mainly research human psychological emotions and expressions! Simply put, we are responsible for intelligent strategies, group one for offensive assaults, and group two for defense.”

“This… I’m a bit unclear,” Song Yun said, bewildered by Elder Zhu’s explanation.

“Every time the special action unit goes on missions, the three groups usually move together,” Elder Zhu said, “Group one is responsible for attacking, group two for defense, and our group, three, is generally responsible for final interrogations or devising tactics based on the enemy’s character in advance.”

“Oh!” Song Yun nodded, realizing the three groups function like a human body, with group one as the legs to kick, group two as the fists for protection, and group three as the brain, analyzing intelligence.

“Our group is full of exceedingly smart people!” Elder Zhu continued, “However, while we are clever, we are somewhat lacking in martial skills. Did you meet people from the other two groups?”

“I did!” Song Yun replied.

“Did they seem to look down on you?” Elder Zhu asked.

“Well… a bit!” Song Yun nodded.

“Humph, those brutes only know violence. To them, we intellectuals appear weak and feeble. Outside, it’s better since they need our intelligence analysis or micro-expressions during interrogations, but inside the palace, they strut like peacocks!” Elder Zhu said, “That’s why I applied to Mr. Song to have you join our group!”

“Huh?” Song Yun looked at Elder Zhu in confusion.

“I know your martial arts skills aren’t weak, in fact, they’re quite strong.”

“It’s alright, it’s alright!” Song Yun said modestly.

Mr. Song squinted slightly and suddenly moved. His right foot drew half an arc forward while his hand extended, grabbing Song Yun’s arm. Caught off guard, Song Yun was seized by Elder Zhu, who pulled him forward. Song Yun mustered his strength to resist, but was met with a sudden burst of immense strength from Elder Zhu.

Song Yun hadn’t expected Elder Zhu to possess such power and was pulled forward. When Song Yun gathered all his strength to retract his hand, Elder Zhu pushed him outward right at the moment Song Yun exerted his strength.

This left Song Yun frustrated because the push combined with Song Yun’s pulling motion made it seem like he was pushing himself outward. Seizing this force, Elder Zhu twisted his extended foot sideways, and his knee perfectly nudged Song Yun’s thigh, then yanked the moving Song Yun to the side.

Song Yun’s upper body lost balance immediately, and with his thigh being nudged by Elder Zhu, Song Yun tumbled to the ground.

Though this fall might not have been very painful, it was Song Yun’s pride that took a hit! As he lost balance, Song Yun used his strength to pull Elder Zhu toward himself.

Although Elder Zhu was strong, he was old, and Song Yun had greater strength. As Song Yun pulled, Elder Zhu also lost balance, but he reacted swiftly, shifting his other foot to the side with a thud on the ground, emitting a dull thump.

Song Yun resignedly watched the sky swirl before him, and then collapsed to the ground.

He was completely floored.

For the first time in a long time, Song Yun had fallen so thoroughly.

Song Yun was stunned!

Even though Elder Zhu had the element of surprise, and Song Yun hadn’t used his full abilities, Song Yun was genuinely thrown to the ground effortlessly, which was a testament to his technique.

Song Yun considered his technique to be very formidable, especially after learning much from a book his great-grandmother gave him, so he usually didn’t take others seriously. Little did he expect to be outdone by Elder Zhu upon meeting and that Elder Zhu’s technique was evidently superior to Song Yun’s!

“Ah, I’ve gotten old; my reflexes have slowed. Nearly got pulled down by you,” Elder Zhu chuckled, shook his head, and extended a hand to Song Yun lying on the ground, saying, “Young man, very impressive.”