John let out a sigh, then said very seriously, “Six years ago, back when I had just become a mercenary… no, I had just become a PMC. In the Green Zone of Baghdad, I saw an underground boxing match. A Chinese guy knocked out his opponent with a single move. That Chinese guy was really skinny, about your size, even much shorter than you, and the guy he knocked out was at least twice his weight. It was like a featherweight boxer defeating a heavyweight, and with just one hit.”

“He used grappling or Sanda, but it definitely wasn’t kung fu. I don’t want to admit it, but I have to be honest.”

“No, he used Bajiquan, that’s right, that’s what he said.”

Raymond Brooks’s mouth opened slightly in surprise as he stared at John, who continued, “Why do I say this? Because he immediately joined the next match—a no-rules, no-limits cage fight. Five people entered, and the last one standing won a hundred thousand dollars. It was a big fight. You know there’s not much entertainment in the Green Zone, so a lot of people participated, a lot of people bet, and of course, the prize was huge.”

Raymond Brooks swallowed and said, “And then?”

“Then he knocked out four of them. You can probably imagine, but at the time, I… I…”

John reached out and mimed his head exploding, his face full of reverence. “My head felt like it exploded, because I realized my childhood dream was coming true right in front of me.”

Now Raymond Brooks felt like his own head was about to explode, because he didn’t believe kung fu could be that powerful. But looking at John, it didn’t seem like he was bragging, so he started to feel like things were getting surreal.

Chapter 8: Legend

Raymond Brooks didn’t know what to say, because he didn’t believe what John was saying, or rather, he just couldn’t imagine it.

“What happened after he knocked out four people?”

“After he came out of the ring—oh, it was cage fight rules, but there wasn’t an actual cage—when he came out of the circle, I ran up to him and said, ‘You’re my idol.’”

“And then?”

“Then…” John looked helpless and extremely disappointed. “I wanted to become his disciple, but he didn’t want to bother with me. I kept pestering him, telling him how much I admired him, how much I loved kung fu, how much I hoped he could teach me a few moves.”

“What did he say?”

“He said, ‘There are plenty of people who want to learn kung fu. Who do you think you are?’”

“Uh… please go on.”

“The next day, that Chinese guy entered another underground match, one-on-one. But this time, his opponent was a Green Beret hand-to-hand combat instructor, a fighter called Wolfman. He was really good, extremely good. At least, I definitely wasn’t a match for Wolfman. But that Chinese guy took six seconds, landed one punch on Wolfman’s chest, and then… Wolfman died.”

Raymond Brooks gasped, staring at John in shock, but John looked full of longing as he said, “I stopped him again. There were a lot of people there. I even knelt down right then and there, told him I was willing to give him all my money, just to have him teach me kung fu. I really, really loved kung fu!”

“So… what happened then?”

“He refused.” John shook his head, looking utterly dejected. “But he did say a few more words to me. He said it was a family art, not to be taught to foreigners.”

“Uh, and after that?”

John continued, “After that, I tried hard to get closer to him. I begged him to tell me what style he practiced. Eventually, he saw I was sincere and finally told me he practiced Bajiquan, but with Bagua footwork mixed in. That’s it.”

A long time ago, Raymond Brooks had lost faith in martial arts. He thought martial arts were just for show, just for looking good. As for the legendary ancient martial arts, those were just legends, only existing in wuxia novels.

But now, an American was telling Raymond Brooks about the wonders of Chinese kung fu, and Raymond Brooks didn’t really believe it.

How could he bear it, how could he bear it?

“And then?”

With a heavy sigh, John said, looking disappointed, “Then he died. Just when I was finally getting closer to him, when I saw a bit of hope, he was killed by a bomb while on a mission outside the Green Zone. So the last time I saw him, it was his corpse.”

Raymond Brooks was very hungry, but now he was holding his burger and had forgotten to eat, just staring blankly at John.

John spread his hands and said to Raymond Brooks, “After that, you’re the next person I’ve met who knows kung fu, a Chinese person, so I have a really good impression of you.”

Raymond Brooks swallowed, looking confused. “Is what you said really true?”

“Of course it’s true. Why would I lie to you? The captain… Frank was there too.”

“What was the Chinese guy’s name?”

“James Brooks, his companion told me. I even had someone write it down for me, but later someone else told me it was a fake name.”

With a sigh full of regret, John looked at Raymond Brooks expectantly and said, “But you’ll teach me, right? You owe me a life, man, you’ve got to do something.”

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and John just wants to find a master wherever he can.