Atlas of Heaven and Earth-Chapter 4: The Enemy Within, the Obstacle in the Heart

Chen Chuan put the things back, closed the box, walked into the living room, found a rotary phone, picked up the receiver, and said, "This is the Nian residence..."

A familiar voice came from the other end of the line: "Hey, Chen Chuan, what are you doing? Don't stay cooped up at home, come out and hang out?"

He recalled that this was the voice of Ding Jiao, his high school deskmate. He heard a lot of noise on the other end of the line, probably from a phone booth on the street. He asked, "Where are you?"

"Where else? The usual place, the Zizai snack street[-], Dali, and Miangua are here too. What have you been up to lately? Haven't seen you around."

Chen Chuan said, "You guys have fun. I've been a bit busy lately, so I won't be coming."

"Hey, looking for a place to go? I say, don't keep things to yourself. If there's anything, we can help. Not to mention, it's easy for me to find you a position at my family's factory."

Chen Chuan smiled and said, "If I need your help, I won't hesitate to ask."

He didn't mention that he had been admitted to Wuyi. Ding Jiao was very loyal but also had a big mouth. If he told him now, it was guaranteed that all his classmates would know the next day, and there would surely be many people coming to congratulate him or curry favor. He still had to prepare for the entrance re-examination and really didn't have time to deal with all that.

"Alright, by the way, did you know..." Ding Jiao's voice suddenly rose, "Han Laosan went to Molan, it's all over the place! Damn, what kind of luck does that guy have! His grades weren't even as good as yours!"

Chen Chuan was slightly surprised: "Molan Company?"

"Which other one? That guy is so smug!" As he spoke, Ding Jiao's envy and jealousy seemed to spill out of the phone.

Chen Chuan hummed in acknowledgment.

Molan Company, full name "Molan Highland Company" is said to have its headquarters in the central city, with a relatively important branch in Yangzhi City. On the surface, its main business is cosmetics, but in reality, the company has already permeated every aspect of Yangzhi City and the surrounding towns. Most of the people's clothing, food, housing, and transportation are related to Molan and its subsidiaries.

According to Nian Fuli's private remarks, half of the city council's councilors take money from Molan, and the other half help Molan count money. Several civil administrators have had to follow Molan's lead in their actions. The company also has an independent security team and its training facilities for company employees. His classmate probably went there. That's not simple; perhaps his family pulled some strings. I vaguely remember that the Han family is in charge of water affairs.

After talking for a while, Ding Jiao remembered something and raised his voice, "By the way, don't forget the graduation dinner at the end of next month."

Chen Chuan said, "I remember, I won't forget."

"Hey, then I'll hang up first, Dali and the others are urging me."

Chen Chuan hung up the phone and returned to his room. Next, he would start preparing for the entrance re-examination. Counting from June, there are still three months left, but that's all the time there is, and it's not yet time to relax.

Moreover, the reason why his predecessor was killed is still unclear. Although it happened in the suburbs, far from the city, he decided to avoid going out unnecessarily.

He took out a map of Yangzhi City, spread it on the table, and then took out a small notebook labeled "Martial Affairs Records. His eyes wandered as if searching for something, and he even circled a few places with a pencil.

Time flew by, and soon it was time for dinner. The Nian Fuli family came back one after another, and the house became lively. When the family sat down at the dining table, Nian Fuli said, "Kid, did you go looking for a place today?"

Chen Chuan said, "Yes, Uncle."

Nian Fuli hummed and said, "How did it go?" He just asked casually, thinking that it was only the first day and there probably wasn't any result.

Chen Chuan said, "I went to Wuyi University[-] today."

"Wuda[-]?" Nian Fuli suddenly looked at him, very surprised, "What did you go there for?"

Chen Chuan smiled and said, "I was just about to tell Aunt and Uncle, that I passed the entrance exam for Wuyi University[-] today, and I will move to the school when the term starts."

"You got into Wuda[-]? You?"

Nian Fuli was shocked, his eyes wide as he looked Chen Chuan up and down as if seeing his nephew for the first time.

What kind of place is Wuda[-]? Every year, countless people want to get in. That Wei Laohu, who doesn't get along with him, bragged about his son getting into Wuda[-] for a whole year!

He couldn't help but suspect, "You didn't cheat, did you?"

Yu Wan was immediately displeased and pushed him, "Why can't Chan'er pass?"Chen Chuan smiled and said, "Uncle, how could I cheat? I don't know anyone, nor do I have money. Why would the teachers at Wuda[-] help me?"

"That's true."

Nian Fuli looked at him a few more times, with an indescribable complexity in his eyes. Chen Chuan also noticed a hint of melancholy in his aunt's expression, but more so, a sense of relief.

After a while, Nian Fuli picked up his chopsticks and tapped them on the table, saying, "Wuda[-] is a way out. Getting in is like carrying a gold brick in your pocket early on, but you still have to pass the re-examination, right?"

"Yes," Chen Chuan nodded, "There's an entrance re-examination."

"That's it," Nian Fuli tapped again, "Kid, let me tell you, there's a trick to it. Even if you get in, whether you pass the re-examination or not makes a big difference. I don't know how Wuda[-] let you pass, but even if you can get in, it doesn't mean you can pass the re-examination."

Yu Wan immediately became anxious, "Husband, what should we do?"

Nian Fuli waved at her, looking at Chen Chuan, "Xiao Chuan, what was your original plan?"

Chen Chuan thought for a moment, "I was planning to find a boxing club to learn, but I don't know which one is reliable. I was just about to ask Uncle for advice."

Nian Fuli leaned back, and thought for a while, "Don't go to boxing clubs. Those places are a mixed bag, with too many tricks. You might spend a lot of money without learning anything real, and it's easy to get into trouble."

Chen Chuan nodded, sincerely asking for advice, "Then Uncle, what should I do?"

Nian Fuli rubbed the stubble on his scalp, "Is there still two months until enrollment?"

Chen Chuan said, "Yes, Uncle." Actually, it was three months until the official start of the semester, but new students needed to report a month early, so saying two months wasn't wrong.

Nian Fuli said, "Xiao Chuan, I'll find someone for you to follow and learn from for a while, to try to pass this exam. This person is not simple. If you can learn a few moves from him, it will be of great benefit."

Yu Wan asked with concern, "Will there be tuition fees?"

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Nian Fuli said, "Don't worry about that." Then he said to Chen Chuan, "Xiao Chuan, come with me after dinner."

Chen Chuan said, "Okay."

After dinner, the two of them pushed their bicycles out the door, and after about a five-minute walk, they arrived at the Baofeng District Police Station, which was also where Nian Fuli worked. This place was originally a fortress built during the war era, later transformed into a police station, all constructed with reinforced concrete, so it looks particularly robust from the outside. Now, as the sky hasn't completely darkened, the entrance road has already been blocked by barriers.

Seeing Nian Fuli and the other, a patrol officer with an armband slowly walked up from behind the barrier, saying, "Yo, Nian, why are you back? It's not your shift tonight."

Nian Fuli tossed a cigarette over, gestured towards Chen Chuan, and said, "This is my nephew, brought him here to broaden his horizons."

The patrol officer sniffed the cigarette under his nose, seemingly casually glanced at Chen Chuan a couple of times, didn't ask further, waved his hand, and two patrol officers came up to move the barrier.

Nian Fuli said thanks, signaled Chen Chuan to follow him, and pushed his bike inside.

After the two entered, the armband patrol officer scanned the street outside a few more times, then slowly turned back.

It was Chen Chuan's first time at the police station, initially curious, but most buildings here only had a few holes on the outside, looking solid and dull, very oppressive, really nothing much to see, so he lost interest.

The two twisted and turned, as if making a big circle, finally arriving at a place resembling a warehouse, brightly lit, with soft mats on the terrazzo floor, surrounded by a lot of exercise equipment and stacked wooden boxes.

More than a dozen patrol officers had taken off their outer clothes, only wearing their undershirts, revealing sturdy arms, squatting or standing, forming a circle, in the middle was a middle-aged man wearing a traditional jacket, gentle and refined, seemingly explaining something.

"Gentlemen, you can try standing on one leg first, keep the posture steady."

The patrol officers immediately stood on one leg, some shaky from the start, some stood for quite a while, but even the shaky ones managed to stabilize after a few tries.

A patrol officer said, "Mr. Wen, what's so hard about this?"

Mr. Wen smiled and said, "Then please close your eyes."

The patrol officers closed their eyes as told, this time, most of them started swaying violently from the start, cursing loudly, but a young patrol officer still stood steadily.

"Ji Guan is amazing!"

"This stance, not moving at all, can't tell."

"Golden Rooster Stands Alone, what an image!"The patrol officers chattered on, while the young patrol officer closed his eyes and said proudly, "I used to play this a lot when I was a kid, along with goat fighting and bullbutting. Standing still like this, I can last a quarter of an hour. Mr. Wen, what else? Just let me try!"

Mr. Wen smiled and said, "Officer Ji is very good. This time, you can try standing on the box and then give it a go."

"That's easy, watch me!"

The young patrol officer eagerly climbed onto the box and then...

"Whoa!"

He hadn't stood for long before he started shaking violently and had to jump down.

He looked back at the box, feeling incredulous. It was just a switch from flat ground to the box, the standing area wasn't smaller, and the box wasn't that high, yet as soon as he closed his eyes, he felt a sense of panic and couldn't stand still.

"Wait, I didn't stand steady just now."

The young patrol officer, still unwilling to admit defeat, tried again, but this time it was worse than before. As soon as he closed his eyes, he started swaying. He jumped down, puzzled, and said, "That's strange, Mr. Wen, what's going on?"

Mr. Wen smiled and said, "Because your brain is telling you that you're currently in an unstable environment, urging you to refuse such actions."

He pointed to his head, "It's your brain wrestling with you. For example, some people have the urge to jump when they're at a high place, which is based on the same principle. Essentially, your brain wants you to stay away from danger. However, we can coordinate our bodies through certain training.

Martial artists in the old days would choose to practice on the edge of cliffs to overcome mental barriers. Nowadays, we don't have to be so extreme; we can choose to train on the edges of high platforms, gradually getting used to it.

There are many things in our daily lives that we need to overcome. For instance, when you see a fist coming, you instinctively close your eyes. Fists are one thing, but if it's a weapon, that blink might cost you your life. As patrol officers, you must keep your eyes on the target at all times, unless you have better senses to replace them."

Someone subconsciously asked, "Better senses?"

Mr. Wen smiled and didn't elaborate.

Hearing this, Chen Chuan felt a slight stir in his heart. Suppose he used "Second Self" to see for him, wouldn't that count as better senses?

"Second Self" basically exists within a few meters around him, and it is part of him. If it could replace normal vision, not only could it see from behind, but perhaps also from above, observing opponents from various angles...As he was thinking, Nian Fuli had already stepped forward and greeted Mr. Wen, saying, "Mr. Wen." Then he gestured for Chen Chuan to come forward, patted his shoulder, and raised his voice to say, "My nephew, just got into Wuda[-]."

"Wuda[-]? Wuyi Academy?"

"Wow, impressive! Your nephew is really making a name for himself this year!"

"You should treat us, Nian Fuli!"

A dozen patrol officers gathered around to join in the excitement. In these times, to make a name for oneself, one either had to get into a prestigious university or enter Wuda[-]. Not to mention, many who came out of Wuda[-] served as security advisors to officials in the civil administration. If one was lucky enough to go to the central city, it was a meteoric rise.

Nian Fuli also felt a sense of pride and said, "Mr. Wen, my nephew has never practiced martial arts before, he just figured things out on his own, and somehow passed the entrance exam. I'm thinking that for the subsequent re-examination, I can't let him do as he pleases, so I wanted to ask Mr. Wen for some guidance. What do you think, Mr. Wen?"

Mr. Wen looked at Chen Chuan, pondered for a moment, and said, "Alright, Captain Nian, let's talk over there." The patrol officers were all very tactful, and upon hearing this, they all dispersed.

Chen Chuan and Nian Fuli followed Mr. Wen to a spacious corner, where Mr. Wen said earnestly, "Captain Nian, forgive me for being blunt, but I don't want to waste your nephew's time."

Nian Fuli was taken aback, "What do you mean?"

...

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