activa-t Chapter 43 Madam Guo
Chapter 43 Madam Guo
Just as Chen Heming's face turned ashen, his anger surging, and he was about to act recklessly...
"Squeak."
The door to the room next door opened.
Ip Man walked out, dressed in a blue cloth shirt, holding a half-bowl of cold tea in his hand.
He didn't look at anyone, but walked to the old locust tree in the courtyard and slowly poured the tea leaves onto the tree roots.
He turned around only after he finished watering.
He just stood there, his eyelids slightly lowered, his gaze sweeping across the courtyard, without saying a word, but the air suddenly tightened.
The heat that had gripped Chen Heming's body vanished in an instant, and he quickly bowed.
"Master Ye, I was itching to practice my skills and exchanged techniques with Senior Brother Zhou. I am truly sorry for disturbing your peaceful sleep."
This was the first time I had seen Ip Man with such an imposing and dignified demeanor.
Zhao Debiao shrank his neck and moved half a step behind Chen Heming.
Ip Man didn't answer. He walked to the middle of the courtyard and first looked at the incense burner. The incense had burned out, and a grayish-white incense stick was lying crookedly.
He then looked at the taut string in Zhou Xing's hand; it was dark and heavy, pulled out of shape, yet still connected.
He reached out, and Zhou Xing handed him the string.
Ip Man pinched the middle of the string with two fingers, gently twisted and stroked it. The string passed through his fingers once.
"The beef tendon is from the back tendon of a strong cow from outside the Great Wall, which has been sun-dried for 180 days and soaked in tung oil nine times."
Ip Man spoke calmly, "The hemp is Liuyang summer hemp, and the silk is Huzhou first silkworm silk. Three strands on the left, three strands on the right, twisted seven times in reverse."
With years of use, it has become richly moistened and its resilience surpasses that of a new string. You couldn't find more than five of these in any martial arts school in Tianjin.
He looked up at Chen Heming: "You've managed to pull this far, your finger strength is not bad."
Chen Heming's face flushed red and then pale, and he lowered his head:
"Master Ye, you flatter me..."
"Tonight's match ends in a draw."
Ip Man waved his hand, "It's late, you two, please go back."
After speaking, he turned his hands behind his back and stopped looking at them. His words were plain and simple, yet they felt like a heavy stone pressing down on him.
Chen Heming's jaw tightened, he took a deep breath, and clasped his hands in a fist salute: "Master Ye's comments are invaluable. This junior... has learned a great deal."
He then looked at Zhou Xing with a complex expression, "Senior Brother Zhou's resilience is astonishing, I admire him. If there is an opportunity in the future, I will seek your guidance again."
Zhou Xing reluctantly clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Master Chen, you flatter me."
He silently vowed to himself, "I will teach you how to make a ox-tendon twisted string."
Zhao Debiao wanted to say something more, but Chen Heming stopped him with a look. The two of them said no more, turned around and left the courtyard.
The courtyard gate closed.
The courtyard quieted down, with only the rustling of locust tree leaves in the wind.
Ip Man glanced at Ah Leung, who was still staring blankly at that nerve:
"Get ready, go get some rest."
Ah Liang suddenly realized:
"Yes, Master."
He took the tendon string from Ip Man's hand.
When I first picked it up, it felt heavy and sticky, covered in sweat, and the strings were twisted into an odd shape, yet they remained sturdy.
He muttered to himself, "This is really weird, it still doesn't stop..."
Ip Man turned and went back into the house, Zhou Xing following him in. The door closed, and the light from the oil lamp flickered.
The pallor on Zhou Xing's face faded, and he asked in a low voice:
"Master Ye, have you seen him?"
"I saw him."
Ip Man nodded, then shook his head. He picked up the teapot, poured two bowls of cold tea, and pushed one towards Zhou Xing:
"While Madam Guo was out using the restroom, I took the opportunity to have a brief conversation with her."
"How is it?"
Ip Man took a sip of tea and said, "He is clear-headed and moves freely. But something is not right."
"Bewitched by evil magic?"
Zhou Xing raised an eyebrow and asked.
"I wasn't under any evil spell."
Ip Man said slowly, "But he's a bit wooden. It's like something's blocking his mind, making him see things through frosted glass."
Zhou Xing pondered, "Hypnotized? Or were drugs used?"
"It's hard to say."
Ip Man shook his head. "I showed her your tiger tally and said that Master Guo might be gone. She was stunned at first, then her face turned pale, she clutched her chest, and couldn't breathe."
It took her a while to recover; she didn't say a word, tears streaming down her face.
"woke up?"
"woke up."
Ip Man lowered his voice, "She said she had felt something was wrong for a while, but every time she thought about it, her mind would go blank, and she would just make excuses for herself. I pointed it out to her, and only then did she remember things one by one."
Zhou Xing listened quietly.
She said that this "Guo Zhen" looks, has the same figure and voice, but the inside has been changed.
Ip Man paused, "The real Guo Zhen, when lying down at night, can only fall asleep by holding a lock of her hair. The fake one, back to back, doesn't move all night."
"The real Guo Zhen'ai would hum a few lines of Cangzhou Bangzi opera, off-key and out of tune, and sing it shirtless after taking a bath. The fake one, on the other hand, would never let anyone near him while he was bathing."
"besides……"
Ip Man paused for a moment, "The real Guo Zhen calls her 'Yun Niang,' with a rising tone at the end, always conveying warmth. The fake one calls her 'Madam,' which is cold and aloof."
Each and every one of these seemingly trivial events, however, pieced together a living, breathing person and a deep affection that had been completely erased and replaced.
Zhou Xing remained silent, recalling that forthright and generous man, and then said:
"Now that she's awake, why didn't you bring her back?"
Ip Man glanced at him:
"She doesn't want to."
"Unwilling?"
"She said that if she left now, the counterfeiters would immediately notice. Liu Yishou would also run away. How would she avenge her husband? She wanted to tear that beast's skin off in front of the whole world."
Zhou Xing was silent for a moment: "Leaving it there is too dangerous."
"That's what I said too."
Ye asked, "I said, if you're worried about that, I'll go and take care of them right now. I can do it."
"What did she say?"
She smiled.
Ip Man recalled Madam Guo's smile; his lips curved upwards, but his eyes were filled with hatred.
She said, "Master Ye, you killed them, and then what? There's no way to prove it."
Outsiders will only say that Guo Zhen's wife ran off with someone else, or even worse, that I conspired with you to murder my husband. Guo Zhen lived an upright life; he shouldn't die with such a stigma.
The room was quiet for a moment. Then, the wick of the oil lamp popped and burned out.
Zhou Xing thought for a moment, then slowly began to speak:
"She stayed because she wanted to find an opportunity... for a face-to-face confrontation? A frank discussion?"
"right."
Ip Man nodded. "She also remembered something else. She said that a few days ago, she overheard the fake Guo Zhen and Liu Yishou whispering in the study, mentioning 'the day of the symposium,' 'I'm leaving,' and 'you stay and clean up.'"
Zhou Xing's eyes narrowed. His mind raced:
During the discussion, the fake Guo Zhen planned to harm Ip Man or frame him. He then "left," and Liu Yishou "cleaned up the mess."
Who will be cooked?
Mrs. Guo.
With the fake death of Guo Zhen, Ip Man became the target of public criticism; Guo's wife followed suit with a "suicide pact," adding fuel to the fire.
When a husband and wife both die, public sentiment will be inflamed, and no matter how many mouths you have, you won't be able to explain yourself.
What a vicious scheme, with each part linked to the next.
A chill ran down his spine, but his eyes grew even colder.
Zhou Xing raised his head: "They're setting a trap, trying to pin two lives on you. The entire martial arts world of Tianjin could drown you with a single spit."
Ip Man nodded without saying a word.
Zhou Xing frowned deeply: "Does Madam Guo know about this plan? She's sober now, it won't be easy to hide the past."
"She guessed some of it."
Ip asked, "She said, 'Three women make a drama, and when women really start acting, they can even fool themselves.' She also said, 'A person with an empty heart can be anyone.'"
The room fell silent again. Outside the paper window, the sky was pitch black; it was still early for dawn.
Zhou Xing remained silent for a moment. Madam Guo's choice was actually advantageous to him. Publicly exposing such evil deeds at the gathering of boxers would maximize the attention that all parties would pay to the charity organization.
However, this favorable situation is built on her unfavorable circumstances.
"Madam Guo stayed behind, risking her life as a chess piece."
Zhou Xingzhi stood up. "She is a witness, the most important witness. We must protect her, keep her alive until the plea meeting, and make sure she can speak."
He walked to the table and unconsciously tapped his fingers twice on the surface:
"Master Ye, you're being watched closely by them now. As for me, they've tested me twice and are most likely convinced I won't live more than a few days, so they should let their guard down."
Ip Man looked at him: "What do you want?"
Zhou Xing thought for a moment:
"You need to write a letter to Master Gong. Write down everything that happened tonight, Madam Guo's words, and their schemes."
Old Master Gong is a shrewd man; after reading the letter, he naturally knows how to stabilize the situation at the meeting.
Ip Man nodded: "I'll write the letter. Will you take it with you?"
"I'll go."
Zhou Xingdao said, "My current 'severely injured' state is just right for me to go to the Gong family to 'seek medicine' or 'consult' them."
I'm carrying your letter discreetly. When you meet with Old Master Gong, there are some things you can't say directly, so I'll speak for you.
"Then?"
"Then I found a place to squat."
Zhou Xing's eyes turned cold. "Someone needs to look after Madam Guo. I have an informant near the Guo family's residence. In case the situation changes, I can react the fastest."
Ip Man looked at him: "The injuries on your body..."
"It's an act."
Zhou Xingdao said, "However, I am still one step short of mastering the hidden strength. Tonight in the courtyard, I was practicing the 'Toad-Catching Strength' under the moonlight, and I almost succeeded, but Zhao Debiao ruined it."
Ip Man's eyes lit up: "Fishing for a toad under the moon? That's a good omen. The boxing manual says that when a toad lies in the winter water, it inhales and exhales the moonlight, which is the time when its inner energy resonates with heaven and earth. Now that you've got it, you're just one step away."
He got up, pulled a thin oil paper package from under the mattress, opened it, and found several pages of old paper bound together, the edges of which were frayed.
"These are some key insights I jot down when I was practicing martial arts in my early years, as well as a few secret Wing Chun techniques for generating power."
Ip Man handed it over, saying, "Take this; it might be of some use. Breaking through to the inner strength level is both difficult and easy. Sometimes it's just a matter of a single moment of clarity."
"Perfect timing! You can go to the Gong family and ask them for advice; perhaps you can gain some insights that can be applied to other areas."
Zhou Xing accepted it with both hands. The paper was yellowed, the ink was dark and heavy, and it was densely covered with writing, along with some simple diagrams.
"Thank you, Master Ye."
"pay close attention."
Ip Man only said two words.
Zhou Xing tucked the paper into his pocket and placed it close to his body.
After thinking for a moment, he added, "Write the letter now, and I'll leave the city before dawn, take a detour, and then go to the Gong family. That way, I won't be followed."
Ip Man laid out paper, ground ink, dipped the brush tip in ink, paused for a moment on the paper, and then lowered it. The characters were steady and powerful, penetrating the back of the paper.
Zhou Xing stood to the side, watching the flickering lamplight and listening to the scratching sound of the pen tip gliding across the paper.
The tiger tally, a keepsake left by Guo Zhen, was icy cold in my arms.
Outside the window, the night was deep.
There are five days left until the symposium.
There are five days left until the deaths of Liu Yishou and the fake Guo Zhen.