This was completely off the charts!
Once a kid has read *Journey to the West*, dragons lose all their mystique!
Originally, Danny had planned to tell an inspiring story about a young boy who trained diligently for over a decade, challenged the divine dragon Shou-Lao, fought eight hundred rounds to win its approval, and ultimately forged a pair of indestructible “Iron Fists.” But now, with the Great Sage Equal to Heaven setting such an overwhelming precedent, what dragon wouldn’t have to step aside?
Seeing Danny’s utterly depressed expression, Liam Price gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder.
“Pal, while I know the charm of *Journey to the West* is something your story can’t quite match, your kung fu is genuinely impressive.
One look and I could tell it’s not just for show.
How about this?
I’ll pay you some money if you can spare a bit of time to teach my two boys real martial arts.” A parent’s love plans far ahead for their children.
It was precisely because Liam Price knew a thing or two about Danny’s abilities that he truly hoped his two boys could learn something from this “Iron Fist.” Taking a favor leaves one indebted, and eating someone’s food leaves one soft-hearted.
That bowl of noodles with fried bean sauce had really hit the spot for Danny, and Liam Price’s genuine care for his sons touched him as well.
So, even though Danny knew he currently had far more important things to attend to—he needed to find a way to reclaim Rand Enterprises, left behind by his father, so he would have enough resources to investigate the truth behind his parents’ deaths—he ultimately couldn’t bring himself to refuse Liam Price outright.
After thinking it over for a moment, Danny said, “I don’t need money, but my time really is tight right now.
Mr.
Lee, how about this?
Over the coming period, if you set up your stall here every day at noon, I’ll come over and teach the boys some martial arts.
However, I can’t guarantee they’ll actually manage to learn what I teach.” *Can’t guarantee they’ll learn?* Liam Price chuckled inwardly, feeling a bit cheeky.
Regardless, as long as the Iron Fist agreed to teach, Liam Price was quite grateful.
He extended his palm.
“Then it’s a deal.
From now on, I’ll bring the food truck here every day at noon to do business, and you can teach the kids some moves.
I guarantee I’ll treat you to authentic Chinese food every single day.” Danny, who was well-versed in Chinese culture, understood the gesture.
He reached out and slapped his palm against Liam Price’s with a crisp *snap*.
“A promise made cannot be broken by four horses.” After sealing the pact with a high-five and chatting a bit more, Danny slung his battered backpack over his shoulder.
Before leaving, he refused a handful of loose change Liam Price tried to hand him, though he accepted a freshly wrapped savory crepe.
“I’ll save this for dinner.” Stuffing the takeaway box into his backpack, Danny bumped fists with Liam Price.
“Tomorrow at noon, I’ll be back to check on Broly and Konrad’s ‘homework.’ Fair warning: I’m a strict master.” Liam Price merely smiled without saying much.
He only hoped this Iron Fist wouldn’t be too demoralized tomorrow.
Once the Iron Fist had left, Liam Price looked up toward the nearby Rand Tower.
In the top-floor executive office, a woman looking down through binoculars gasped in surprise as Liam Price suddenly glanced directly at her, nearly dropping the binoculars in shock.
“What’s wrong, Joy?” “It’s nothing, Ward…
maybe it’s just my imagination.” Joy Meachum hesitated, but in the end, she opened up to her brother.
“I keep getting the feeling that the ‘hobo’ who’s been coming around to look for us lately really is Danny.
He knows so many things about Danny and us from when we were kids.” Ward Meachum fell silent for a moment.
Then, placing both hands on his sister’s shoulders, he looked into her eyes with utmost seriousness.
“Joy, Danny is dead.
That was reported in the news over ten years ago.
Uncle Rand and his entire family tragically perished in that plane crash.
It was our father who turned the tide as a partner and saved Rand Enterprises in its darkest hour.
Now that Father has passed away too, Rand Enterprises has been handed to us.
What we must do is protect the great enterprise created by two families across two generations, and not let it be stolen away by people with ulterior motives.” “But…” Joy wanted to say more, but her brother cut her off.
Ward told her to stop worrying about non-existent problems and go home early to rest.
Once his sister left the office, Ward sat alone in thought for a while before dialing a number.
…
“Yes, my *dear* father.
I haven’t gone crazy.
I am positive that man is Daniel Rand!” …
“If you use that F-word on me again, you can look forward to eating Brussels sprouts for dinner all week.
It’s not like you dare to step out of that damned apartment anyway.” …
“Fine!
I get it!
I won’t contact The Hand that you’re so terrified of!
I have my own contacts…
You ask how I met them?
Father, that’s called networking.
Hiding inside an apartment, too afraid to come out, isn’t going to make you any new friends!” …
Ward engaged in a “warm and friendly” exchange with his father, Harold Meachum—the man who, after contracting cancer, had sought help from The Hand to save his life, only to be “house arrested” in a penthouse apartment after being cured.
Ward harbored deep resentment toward his father.
Because Harold had begged The Hand, he had agreed to a series of demands just to stay alive, to the point that the entire Rand Enterprises was now on the verge of being swallowed whole by that syndicate.
Even so, Ward still informed his old man that Daniel Rand was alive.
After all, the plane crash that took the Rand family years ago had been orchestrated entirely by Harold Meachum himself.
“Heh, what a terrible father!
Clearly it’s the debt you incurred, yet I’m the son who has to pay for it.” He picked up his phone, made another call, and tossed it onto the desk.
Then, Ward pulled out several carefully hidden pills from a drawer and swallowed a few in succession before his remaining sanity forced him to stop.
…
That evening, Liam Price, who could have set up his stall for the night shift, chose not to.
He locked his food truck inside the abandoned factory he had purchased and instructed little Broly to stay home obediently with his little brother.
Meanwhile, Liam Price pulled up a chair and sat grandly right at the main entrance of his abandoned factory.
When Danny was having lunch with them at the stall, Liam Price had used his Qi sensing to notice someone observing them from the Rand Corporation headquarters building.
After Danny left, Liam Price specifically locked onto that train of Qi and lightly applied the Psionic power recently rewarded by the system.
Combining [Qi Sensing] with [Psionic Prophecy], he foresaw that someone intended to harm their family of three tonight.
The main reason Liam Price hadn’t marched straight over to settle accounts was that he wanted to test whether his [Psionic Prophecy] was reliable, and whether uninvited guests would truly show up tonight.
Secondly…
Liam Price was a reasonable man.
Of course, if others weren’t willing to listen to reason, he didn’t mind resorting to force.