"I saved you, you know that? Last night, I was the one who shot the kidnapper in the head. Otherwise, the one with a blown-up head would have been you. So you owe me a favor."

John took a big bite of his burger, then continued, "I didn't just save you, I also have to take care of you. To be honest, I hate being someone else's babysitter. But do you know why I volunteered for this job?"

"Why?"

John said with a serious face, "Because I know you know kung fu. I saw it last night, and I saw it very clearly. You definitely know kung fu, right?"

Raymond Brooks was very hungry, so he couldn't just keep talking. After taking a big bite of his burger, he nodded and mumbled, "I do know kung fu, but maybe not the way you think. What I practice is routines."

John's eyes lit up a bit, and he asked very seriously, "What are routines?"

"It's... performance-style kung fu. It's not that practical for real combat, it's just for show. I don't know if you understand what I mean."

Raymond Brooks chose to tell the truth, because if he pretended to be some kind of master, not only would it be easy to expose himself, but it could also lead to unpredictable consequences.

But Raymond Brooks's explanation left John a bit confused.

"What do you mean, performance-style kung fu?"

"It just can't really be used for fighting, it's just flashy."

John frowned, then said very seriously, "I'm a die-hard fan of Jackie Chan, extremely die-hard. Of course, I also really like Bruce Lee. They have two different styles. Since I was little, I've wanted to learn Chinese kung fu, but I was born in a small place where there were no Chinese martial arts schools. In fact, it was hard to even see a Chinese person there."

Shrugging, John's eyes lit up as he pointed at Raymond Brooks and said, "But now it's different. I saved you, you owe me a favor, and I have to take care of you, so you should teach me a few moves."

Raymond Brooks was stunned for a moment, then said in surprise, "You want to learn kung fu from me?"

"Yes, I want to learn."

Raymond Brooks hesitated a bit and said, "Are you serious?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?"

Raymond Brooks sighed and said, "Alright, I can teach you, but let me say this first: what I practice are long fist routines, staff techniques, and broadsword techniques. These are all individual events in martial arts competitions."

John said very seriously, "Sounds great. So do you think, at my age, if I start practicing now, do I still have a chance to become a master?"

"A master? What do you mean by master?"

John put down his burger, clenched his fists, and said with a serious face, "Of course, someone who can fight. I don't expect to become a super master, but at least, I want to be able to take on three people at once!"

"Uh, when you say three people, do you mean at an average person's level?"

John's face wrinkled up, and he said with some dissatisfaction, "Average people? If I just wanted to fight average people, why would I need to learn kung fu from you? I served five years in the Marine Corps. As I am now, I can easily handle three average people. I'm talking about beating at least three people at my own level, is that a problem?"

That's a problem, a big one.

Raymond Brooks was pretty sure he couldn't beat John, just by looking at John's build.

First of all, John was very strong. Although his face was round and big, and his neck was thick, he wasn't fat at all, and his body was still muscular. With a physique like that, you could tell his ability to take a hit was pretty good.

As for Raymond Brooks, he was 1.82 meters tall, but only weighed 65 kilograms, as skinny as a bean sprout. That kind of build was good for dodging and flipping around, but if he didn't have a weapon, even if John just stood there and let him hit, he probably wouldn't be able to do much.

So after thinking it over, Raymond Brooks decided to be honest, so he wouldn't be seen as a fraud by John in the future.

"Uh, well... kung fu movies are just movies, and movies are fake. So, even if you keep practicing, it won't help. If you want to learn real kung fu, you have to find a real kung fu master."

Raymond Brooks was being very honest, but before he could finish, John's eyes started to light up again.

"You must be a real master, you must be!"

Raymond Brooks was stunned. He really didn't know what about him made him look like a master.

John said very seriously, "I've definitely gone to martial arts schools to learn kung fu. Every master at every school told me he was the best, a master, a certain generation inheritor of some Chinese boxing style. But as soon as I asked to spar, I found they couldn't last even one round before going down. Buddy, I've already beaten eleven martial arts coaches. But you're different, you're very humble."

Raymond Brooks was stunned again, and this time extremely stunned. He couldn't help but say, "And you still believe kung fu is... real?"

"Of course! Kung fu is definitely real. Are you testing me? You must be testing me!"

Test my ass. Right now, even Raymond Brooks himself didn't believe in so-called ancient martial arts, or that martial arts could be used in real combat, so he was extremely puzzled and said, "Can you tell me why you have so much faith in kung fu?"