The Martial Arts Stunt Double of the Entertainment Circle – Chapter 4
by Little PandaThe story of how she befriended Old Man Li and the other elderly gentlemen began several days ago.
Bored out of her mind, Tuoba Yan had seized the moment when her mother, Qiao Chunyi, was away and sneaked downstairs for some fresh air—only to spot several casually dressed old men playing music and practicing Taiji sword routines with great solemnity.
Tuoba Yan had always been fond of martial arts. She knew full well that these men were only practicing for recreation and fitness—even if septuagenarians and octogenarians sought out renowned masters to study orthodox martial disciplines, their physical limitations would still prevent them from achieving anything remarkable. But watching them make such egregious errors, she couldn’t resist offering a few corrections offhand.
As for Old Man Li and his companions—men who had spent their entire lives in military service, accustomed to having the final say both at home and abroad—in their old age, now confined to this modest Yuchuan Hospital Sanatorium, would they really accept instruction from a junior like Tuoba Yan? Let alone someone who was barely more than a girl still wet behind the ears—what could she possibly know? They immediately argued with her in indignation.
Tuoba Yan didn’t say much more. She stepped forward, turned off the speaker, took the sword, and reproduced the routines the old men had just demonstrated move by move. She pointed out in detail where they had misunderstood the forms, as well as the flawed moves embedded within the sword routines themselves—moves so poorly designed that forcing oneself to practice them long-term would actually harm the body.
The more General Tuoba spoke, the more animated she became. She had always wielded the Sky-Piercing Halberd; her understanding of sword techniques was merely superficial—she was better off empty-handed. Growing excited, she simply tossed aside the featherlight sword and performed for the old men a set of combat boxing routines that she and the military drillmasters had painstakingly simplified and popularized across the army in her previous life.
Though her body was still profoundly weak and her left arm couldn’t move vigorously, that unmatched, ferocious martial presence still shone through with absolute clarity. Tuoba Yan fought with exhilarated abandon. Old Man Li, who had been pulling a long face earlier, looked like his eyeballs might pop out of his head. After a few exchanges, they had become friends across the generations.
Tuoba Yan had Old Man Li run through the first three forms of the health-preserving boxing routine she had taught them, pointing out several errors in detail. The old men all craned their necks, listening with rapt attention. The earnest camaraderie between the old men and the young girl was so endearing it was impossible not to smile.
From across the fountain pool, Li Yanrao asked the doctor beside her with great interest, “Doctor Zhang, who is that young lady?”
“She seems to be called Tuoba Yan. She met Old Master Li and the others a few days ago. We were concerned, so we looked into her background.” Doctor Zhang, Old Man Li’s attending physician, replied. “This child was admitted half a month ago after a suicide attempt. I heard it was due to schizophrenia. She also has anorexia. But she’s recovering very well now—both mentally and physically. Her mother even sent a silk banner1 to the hospital.”
“Tuoba Yan…” Li Yanrao lifted her chin slightly, narrowing her alluring phoenix eyes as she unabashedly sized up the slender young woman from head to toe.
She was a bit too thin, but even her pallor couldn’t conceal her beauty—she was a striking, lovely girl. Yet what was most interesting wasn’t her appearance, but rather the confident, open, iron-spined pride she carried. That wasn’t something a girl of her age should possess.
Li Yanrao’s eyes swept suggestively over Tuoba Yan’s chest and hips. Also, for all that she looked pitifully thin, her figure was surprisingly curvy—the hospital gown couldn’t conceal her graceful, youthful silhouette…
Perhaps Li Yanrao’s leering gaze was too obvious—Tuoba Yan snapped her head around, and those cold, piercing eyes met Li Yanrao’s squarely, startling her so badly that her heart lurched and she nearly lost her composure and stepped back.
Tuoba Yan’s elegant willow-leaf brows furrowed slightly as she regarded the strikingly beautiful young woman with seductive red lips and a black dress. Her gaze was too strange—though it carried no malice, it still made Tuoba Yan feel somewhat uncomfortable.
The woman who had been watching her showed no fear whatsoever at Tuoba Yan’s glare. Instead, she tilted her head, blinked playfully, and waved with a smile.
Tuoba Yan stiffly curved her lips and nodded haphazardly, thinking, What a strange person.
Seeing Tuoba Yan withdraw her gaze and continue instructing her ‘old friends’ in the health-preserving boxing routines, Li Yanrao also straightened up, no longer leaning against the railing. “Secretary Liu.”
Li Yanrao’s secretary, Liu Wenjing, stepped forward. Li Yanrao twirled a strand of wavy hair around her finger and said in a languid voice, “Look into this Tuoba Yan for me. See if she has any connections with that side.”
“Understood. I’ll have the team look into it right away.”
Tuoba Yan and her group of old friends completed their customary one-hour morning exercise and waved goodbye right on time, heading back to her ward.
Li Dingchen followed the method of channeling strength that the young lady had described and slowly performed the first four forms. Exhaling to close, he felt his entire body relax, an indescribable warmth flowing through his limbs and bones:
“That Yan lass is no simple matter.”
“Does that even need saying?” Lin Xuetang agreed. “But didn’t you have Little Chen look into her on the very first day? We’ve all seen the file. She’s a stubborn, earnest girl from a single-parent family. The two of them, mother and daughter, are quite pitiful. The way she is, she probably hates the Tuoba Family to the bone—she couldn’t possibly be a mole they planted.”
Xu Enze, who had rarely spoken, suddenly piped up, “Maybe she had some kind of extraordinary encounter.”
Li Dingchen was practically speechless. “Old Xu, hey, didn’t I tell you to stop reading those trashy books your precious grandson brings you? You’re half-dead already, and you’re still reading this kiddie stuff. Is it that interesting? Can you fly to the heavens or burrow into the earth?”
Lin Xuetang shook his head. The moment Xu Enze opened his mouth, this old rascal Li Dingchen would get all fired up.
Tuoba Yan had barely reached the floor where her ward was located when the ward nurse called out to her. “Little Yan, a few young ladies said they’re your classmates and came looking for you just now. I told them you’d gone downstairs, and they chased after you.”
“Thank you, Nurse Qiao.”
Tuoba Yan strolled leisurely back to her ward, poured herself a glass of water, and half-reclined on the hospital bed, using her phone to read a boxing treatise written by a preeminent Republic-era martial arts grandmaster.
In the time it took to finish half a glass of water and read a few pages, her classmates had found their way to her door:
“Tuoba Yan! Ah, finally found you!”
The one leading them was a short-haired girl in a tank top and jeans. She stood at the door, waving with a grin. “Hey, what are you spacing out for? I’m Fu Shuya. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten me—I’ll be heartbroken.”
“I really did forget you.” Tuoba Yan smiled and dragged chairs over for her classmates to sit.
“No, no, you lie back and rest.” Fu Shuya firmly pressed Tuoba Yan back onto the bed. Two more girls of the same age followed behind her—one was plump and pleasant-looking with an adorable, round apple face, while the other was much more slender and beautiful, wearing a crisp sky-blue dress with long hair cascading down, though her expression was decidedly cold.
After Fu Shuya exchanged a few pleasantries with Tuoba Yan, Tuoba Yan quickly drew out the other two girls’ names—the long-haired one was Chen Qing, and the round-faced one was Fang Qinying. Fu Shuya was the class monitor. None of the three were particularly close with Tuoba Yan. Fu Shuya was warm and lively, but Chen Qing had clearly been dragooned into making up the numbers—her relationship with Tuoba Yan in the past probably hadn’t been very good.
“…The teacher also said that the school has approved your medical leave of absence. Don’t worry—once you’re better, you can continue with your senior year next year.” Fu Shuya comforted her. “I have to say, you were really foolish. Isn’t living wonderful? You haven’t even had a boyfriend yet—isn’t that a shame?”
“It was a moment of foolishness on my part.” Tuoba Yan could see that this girl was speaking with genuine sincerity. “Even if just for my mom, I’ll keep living well.”
At this point, Chen Qing spoke up, her tone dripping with passive-aggressive venom. “Exactly. How can your situation compare to Tuoba Jiao’s? She’s got her dad and grandpas backing her up. You’re just an egg smashing itself against a rock2.”
Fang Qinying tugged discreetly at Chen Qing. Chen Qing just snorted and turned her face away.
Tuoba Yan naturally wouldn’t hold it against a child. She only smiled and said, “I won’t do it again. Thank you.”
Chen Qing choked on her words. She hadn’t expected the notoriously hot-tempered Tuoba Yan not to get angry, but instead to thank her gently and softly. She froze, unsure of what to say.
After chatting a bit more, Fu Shuya mentioned that the teacher had only given them a half-day pass, so they needed to head back to school. Tuoba Yan insisted on getting out of bed to see them off. Fu Shuya couldn’t stop her and simply assumed she was reluctant to part with classmates she hadn’t seen in so long, so she let it be.
Chen Qing was the first to walk out of the ward. Today she was wearing a pair of wooden-soled casual sandals—already difficult to balance in—and her mind was still rankling from how Tuoba Yan had deflected her. She hadn’t noticed while sitting and chatting that the cleaning staff had mopped the corridor floor outside. Her footing slipped, and she went down hard:
“Aiyah!”
The author has something to say:
The domineering CEO Li Yanrao makes her entrance!
Footnotes
- A traditional Chinese silk banner of gratitude, typically presented to doctors, teachers, or others as a public token of appreciation for exceptional service or care.
- A Chinese idiom meaning a hopelessly unequal contest, equivalent to 'bringing a knife to a gunfight' in English. The image of an egg smashing against a rock conveys futility and certain destruction.
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