Sarah Lane’s name had barely been spoken when all the children showed fearful expressions. James Parker, on the other hand, suddenly understood—so it was this child. This Sarah Lane attended the No. 2 Primary School not far from Hongxing Primary, and was a grade above them. The children had long heard rumors that she was a fierce fighter, even middle schoolers were afraid of her. James Parker, of course, knew even more. At this time in Jianghai City, there were three underworld gangs, and the leader of the Shazhu Gang was called John Lane; Sarah Lane was his daughter, raised from childhood as his successor. No wonder, when he saw her last two kicks earlier, there was a hint of Jeet Kune Do in them.

Having successfully planted a shadow in the hearts of these children, Sarah Lane jogged over. James Parker thought she was coming to scold him again for not acting like a boy, but to his surprise, she just smiled and spoke to Lily: “Hi, my name is Sarah Lane, what’s yours?”

“Uh, my name is Lily Bennett.” As the model student, Lily certainly knew about the notorious student from the neighboring school, and her impression changed instantly. Seeing the other girl enthusiastically reach out her hand, she hesitated a bit before also extending her hand, as if it were as difficult as ceding territory and paying reparations. However, children’s likes and dislikes don’t last long; after a few words, Lily had already let go of some of her misgivings, and they were chatting happily.

“Lily, do you really know martial arts?”

“Of course, I know Wing Chun, Tai Chi, Long Fist, Tiger Subduing, Judo…”

“Wow, really! Can you teach me? I only know Jeet Kune Do. I want to become your disciple!”

“No, no, my family runs a martial arts school, you can just go there to learn. But you have to teach me Jeet Kune Do, I’ve heard it’s really awesome…”

The two of them chattered away, while James Parker sighed inwardly: The martial world will never be peaceful again…

Section Four: Challenging the School

The world wasn’t troubled; it was James Parker himself who was.

The New Year at the The Harris Family was a complicated affair. But for a child as unimportant as James Parker, it was still possible to avoid most of it; the only things he had to participate in were the ancestral rites, New Year’s Eve dinner, and visiting relatives to collect red envelopes the next day. When Henry Harris and the other kids saw him, they looked as if they wanted to beat him up but didn’t dare, which was hilarious. It was like a husband dumped by his wife, who has now remarried; every time he sees her, he wants to hit her, but her new husband is too tough, so he can only keep the thought in his heart, showing it on his face but never daring to act.

James Parker felt no love for this big family. On the first day of the New Year, after collecting a few red envelopes, he was called to the martial arts school by Lily, and from then on, he spent almost every day there. The school was called Ye’s Martial Arts School; in front was the training hall, separated by a courtyard, and the living quarters were at the back. With the new year just beginning, there weren’t many students; aside from Lily monopolizing the small ring every day, there were two other kids who circled around her all the time. Mr. Bennett often sat to the side of the hall, reading a book. James Parker would sometimes take a book from the shelf, only to be scolded by Lily for pretending.

James Parker was also occasionally called up to the ring by Lily to act as a practice dummy. For James Parker, it was painful to see such flawed techniques and not intervene, so whenever guests came to pay New Year’s visits, he would go down to help serve tea and water. When guests asked Old Bennett when he got another son, Mr. Bennett would often reply, “This is my real son; Lily is just a child bride raised here.” Then Lily would be sulky for half a day.

Of course, it wasn’t possible to stay in the martial arts school all day. Occasionally, Mr. Bennett would take the four children out to play; when flying bamboo dragonflies or setting off firecrackers, James Parker had to put on a show of being very interested and excited. Only at these times did he resent that the phoenix hadn’t sent him to when he was eighteen or nineteen.

On the fifth day of the New Year, Sarah Lane, dressed in fiery red, came as promised to become a disciple.

Sarah Lane arrived around nine in the morning. On the small ring, James Parker was holding two pads as Lily’s punching bag. Seeing a child come in, she first waved at Lily. Mr. Bennett thought she was a friend of Lily’s and greeted her with a smile: “Hello, little one, are you here to play with Lily?”

“Ah, hello, you must be Lily’s dad, right?” Sarah Lane bowed, took off her snow-covered red boots, looked at the two people on the ring, and cutely twirled her finger in the air. “No, I’m here… to challenge your school!”

“Huh? Challenge the school?” Mr. Bennett’s expression was clearly surprised. Then Sarah Lane pointed to the ring: “I want to spar with him!” But she wasn’t pointing at Lily Bennett, she was pointing at James Cooper, who was standing there dumbly holding the pads.

Everyone was a bit taken aback. Lily said, “He… he doesn’t know how to fight.” James Parker shook his head in agreement.

“No, he’s wearing your school’s uniform, so he’s one of you, right? Yesterday, when he was bullied, he needed a girl to protect him. I want to learn here, but if after learning I still can’t beat a girl, what’s the point?”

“Well, you see, martial arts is for fitness, not for fighting…” Mr. Bennett stroked his beard and said. Looking at James Parker on the ring, he changed his mind: “Ahem, but since this concerns the honor of our school, James Parker, go have a match with this young lady.”