True Solution of the Sword Dao

After Lin Fei and Yuan Yonglong signed the contract as mentor and mentee, with both parties agreeing on the terms, Lin Fei suggested going out for a meal to celebrate the day, and Jiang Nan, still in the reading room, was also called to join them.

Entering the elevator, Lin Fei said to Yuan Yonglong with a smile, "My god-grandfather has essentially left me to handle all matters of the Swordsmanship Club, so I can make decisions on everything. If you have any requests, Master, please don’t hesitate to bring them up directly. The same goes for all the junior brothers and sisters."

Having signed the contract and secured his disciples’ future, Yuan Yonglong was clearly in a good mood. Hearing Lin Fei’s words, he smiled awkwardly and said, "Actually, there is a small request I’d like to discuss with you."

"Say it, as long as it’s not a big deal, I can handle it," Lin Fei replied without a pause.

Yuan Yonglong glanced at Chen Wu standing by.

"You are certainly aware of Chen Wu’s strength, right?"

"Of course, being able to effortlessly execute the sword moves that the junior sister uses as her ultimate skill, and doing it so easily, he surely has no issues with strength," Lin Fei acknowledged with a nod.

At that moment, Chen Wu also understood what his master was about to say.

"I’d better say it myself, Master," he stepped forward, his eyes betraying a touch of embarrassment and discomfort. After all, Lin Fei was actually younger than him, and asking for help from someone younger than himself challenged his pride.

"My sister is ill and in the hospital... she needs some money for surgery... I was wondering... if I could get an advance on my salary?" His head lowered, his voice was deep.

"No problem. How about this, I’ll go to the hospital with you to check. That way, if the advance isn’t enough, we can be prepared," Lin Fei agreed readily. "Of course, since it’s an advance, you won’t get any end-of-month bonuses or anything like that."

"Of course," Chen Wu replied, knowing that Lin Fei was providing him some emotional comfort, but still couldn’t help feeling grateful. He realized that forfeiting bonuses was a way to make the salary advance seem more justified—as if this assistance was part of an exchange. But he also knew how ridiculous it was to ask for an advance on a salary for a job he hadn’t even started yet. There was no foundation of trust between him and Lin Fei.

"Second Junior Brother, may I call you that from now on?" Lin Fei asked with a smile.

"Certainly," Chen Wu responded immediately.

"Which hospital is your sister in?"

"Xinyang Hospital, over on Taoyuan Road."

Lin Fei called Xiao Ling to arrange for two cars to come. Meanwhile, Jiang Nan was curiously observing Lin Fei, feeling that her cousin was becoming more and more of an enigma, as even the adults here were so polite to him.

"Feifei brother..." she began, but Lin Fei cut her off.

"Nannan, how about you stay here and read? We’re going to the hospital, so you can come if you want or stay here. When we come back, I’ll pick you up for dinner," he said.

"Okay," Jiang Nan nodded. She was indeed eager to get back to learning her job and knew that her cousin was busy with important matters, unable to spare the attention to take care of her at the moment.

As the group headed down to the first floor, a staff member responsible for miscellaneous tasks who had been out posting recruitment ads returned. Even as a miscellaneous worker, they had chosen a rather young and attractive girl for the job. The salary was only a thousand a month, and there was a lot of work, but the requirements were low. These three young women all held middle school or high school diplomas and came from impoverished families. Lin Fei’s original requirement was that they be pleasant to look at and had potential. To put it plainly, they had to be pretty and quick-witted. Lin Fei, acutely aware of the so-called ’front desk effect’ from his past life, naturally wouldn’t overlook this detail.

The image of a company, or rather an organization, largely depends on the first impression made by the front desk staff. And when people form their first impressions, they mostly judge by appearance. The Swordsmanship Club is actually a training facility and it is expected that the proportion of males will be greater than females, so this arrangement was a result of some consideration on the part of Lin Fei.

The three young girls, two of whom are shorter—Xiao Lin and Xiao Mei—dropped out of junior high, while the taller one is a high school student named Zhao Xue. Her name is quite common, unlike the two younger girls, Zhao Xue has a plain look with not a trace of makeup on her face. Her hairstyle is also very simple—a ponytail. However, unlike Xiao Lin and Xiao Mei, Zhao Xue is much more hands-on and quick to take initiative in her work. She is always eager to do things and takes good care of the two younger girls. Many miscellaneous tasks at work were also handled by her.

Just then, Zhao Xue was returning. She immediately stepped aside with the poster ads in her hands when she saw Lin Fei.

"Instructor Lin," that was the internal title for Lin Fei, whose responsibility was the daily instruction of swordsmanship.

Yuan Yonglong and the others also picked up on the meaning of this title but didn’t pay it much attention. Only the youngest junior sister, Xu Ruoruo, showed a flash of disdain in her eyes. She had the least respect for those who lacked ability yet liked to boast.

"Zhao Xue, there’s something I need to trouble you with," Lin Fei said, pointing at Jiang Nan. "This is my cousin Jiang Nan, and she will be my Swordsmanship attendant from now on. There’s a lot to learn, so I hope you can help teach her. Treat this as a formal job and you can put other things aside for now."

"Hello, Sister Zhao Xue," greeted Jiang Nan obediently.

Zhao Xue naturally agreed, and Jiang Nan followed her.

"What is a Swordsmanship attendant?" Yuan Yonglong asked curiously. He had never heard the term before. The others were also curious and paid attention to Lin Fei’s answer.

"That’s a person responsible for maintaining the swords for the swordsmen, cleaning their outfits, tidying up the training area, and maintaining and replacing the equipment," Lin Fei explained. In fact, this so-called Swordsmanship attendant role was only available to those who reached a certain level of swordsmanship. High-level swordsmen usually used expensive swords, and without specialized care knowledge, it would be difficult for most people to handle various related issues. Also, according to his plan, if the role of Swordsmanship attendant developed well in the future, it could become a sort of apprenticeship for sword practitioners. It would give young people, who may lack talent but have determination, the chance to access true swordsmanship.

All this was predicated on the Swordsmanship Club becoming a genuine profit-oriented organization. Regarding profitability, Lin Fei considered taking the mercenary route, directly tying it to Shueisha’s missions. If Shueisha attracted various criminal talents, then the Swordsmanship Club would attract martial arts talents. Shueisha itself would distribute a large number of tasks every year, most of which were tasks that the state could not manage or it was inconvenient for the state to handle directly. These would be handed over to Shueisha, but the actual completion rate for these tasks was quite low. Lin Fei planned to select some simpler tasks that could serve as training for the Swordsmanship Club. Of course, confidentiality was crucial, ensuring the training members did not know what they were actually doing was best.

As for the real profit model, they would use the model of establishing a martial arts gym, taking in disciples, whether it be Taekwondo, Karate, Muay Thai, or free fighting. To spread rapidly, they needed to satisfy several key features.

First: Self-defense. These martial arts were conveniently applicable for self-defense. For the Swordsmanship Club to achieve this, it needed to be convenient, powerful, yet not overly dangerous. According to Lin Fei’s plan, it would be best to reach the level of using a simple wooden stick to subdue an opponent or train students in self-defense skills that substitute the hand for the sword, which needed a set of self-defense techniques to be developed gradually.

Second: A certain degree of performance value. Because of its performance value, martial arts like Taekwondo could attract many viewers. This was easier to manage—the Swordsmanship Club had Lin Fei, a C-rank powerhouse, and had absorbed some of Yan Shi’s swordsmanship experience. In the future, combined with other martial arts experts, creating a set of performance sword moves should not be a problem.

Third: A strict standard grading system. This could satisfy the modern pursuit of titles and honors. Being able to say someone is at a certain level or rank could be quite intimidating to others and convey prestige within the community.

Fourth: This is the most critical aspect, prominence! Whether it’s boxing, Taekwondo or the like, they could only be considered fitness activities, but it was difficult for them to progress further. Their role was mostly to improve health and strength. However, any martial art needed a significant figure to represent its profundity and to demonstrate that it is limitless and has infinite potential. That would quickly garner recognition from the general public. Moreover, if the intention was merely to operate a fitness profit organization, that would not be in line with Lin Fei’s original intent.

Following Chen Wu’s directions, Lin Fei and the others traveled in two vans to the so-called Xinyang Hospital.

It was a three-story building with four large characters spelling out "Xinyang Hospital" cased in sheet metal on the roof.

The grayish-white walls were stained here and there, appearing quite unclean. There were hardly any visitors coming and going at the entrance. Through the glass doors, one could see an old nurse in a light blue uniform sleeping on the front counter. Next to her hung a small color TV that was showing a melodramatic Korean drama.

"Is this the place?" Lin Fei asked in confusion.

"Yes," Chen Wu said with a wry smile, nodding. "Aside from the poor service attitude here, it has the cheapest fees in the city."