The Way of Restraint

“I truly don’t know which matter specifically caused this. Recently, I’ve overseen several large overseas acquisitions, which may have offended some people.” Liu Shi did not go into detail.

“Either way, be careful.” Su Jie said to Jin Xin, “I know how Mr. Larry hires his security teams. I’ll send you some materials later—hire more professionals. Safety comes first. Money is trivial; if you lose your life, you have nothing left.”

Su Jie displayed his professionalism, and he did so without any trace of arrogance or pride in his achievement.

This did not escape Liu Shi’s notice, and it raised his estimation of Su Jie even further.

This time, Su Jie had saved his life. Under normal circumstances, one could use such a favor to build a closer relationship. But Su Jie showed no such intention.

On the contrary, Liu Shi had a feeling that Su Jie did not hold him in any special regard because of his status. In fact, it seemed as if in Su Jie’s eyes, Liu Shi was somehow of a lower standing.

Recalling the details of the moment just past—in the instant Su Jie had saved him—there was a quality about him, like a god who could hold anyone’s life or death in his hands.

*This young man is extraordinary. I must not underestimate him because of his youth. There will be many situations in the future where he can be of use. Larry also saw his ability.* These thoughts flashed through Liu Shi’s mind. A smile appeared on his face. “Mr. Su Jie, you have saved my life today. I must properly thank you. If there is anything Liu can help you with, name it now. As long as it’s within my ability, I will satisfy it.”

“There’s nothing in particular. But regarding your security arrangements, you might consider investing some resources into building your own security team. Your own security is always better than relying on others.” Su Jie said calmly. “Next time if you need my protection, I can take that job.”

Su Jie was thinking of bringing Liu Shi into the new security company Zhang Manman was establishing. With Liu Shi’s support, the company could grow to a scale that would no longer fear the Zhang family’s pressures.

“I am interested in this matter. Who is the point of contact on your end? I’ll have my investment department handle the specifics.” After this incident, Liu Shi was indeed shaken and needed to increase his investment in security.

Nothing was more important than his own life.

“Here is my contact information. You can reach me directly for anything. Of course, if there’s ever something I need your help with, I hope you won’t refuse—and I will certainly offer a satisfactory price.” Liu Shi gave Su Jie his private information.

There were very few people who could contact him directly, reaching him personally.

With this disruption, the match between Su Jie and Takeshi Omoto fell through.

Neither of them had time for a bout.

They could only help Liu Shi clean up the aftermath.

Since the meal venue had been recommended by Takeshi Omoto, and such an incident had occurred there, he bore some responsibility and needed to explain many things and clear himself of suspicion.

To prevent further attacks, Liu Shi suggested that Su Jie serve as his temporary bodyguard for the duration of his stay in Japan. Su Jie readily agreed.

This matter was put aside for now.

At this moment, in a secret room, several masked individuals were holding a meeting.

Some of the masks were demonic, some were plain white, and one was gold. Their body types varied—some were Eastern, some Western.

If Su Jie were here, he would discover that every single one of them was a super-strong expert—each, perhaps, no less formidable than Gu Yang. One or two of them could even rival Feng Hengyi.

If they wanted to kill someone, no one could escape.

The door opened, and a person entered, wearing a snake mask.

“Failed?” The demon-masked person spoke in English.

“There was an expert on site. This person was too formidable and turned the situation around, causing my sniper attempt to fail. I think we should leave this place. Omoto has considerable influence—he knows many political and military figures. He is very angry now and is using his own means to investigate. I will not stay here.” The snake-masked person spoke.

“Who was that person who protected Liu Shi? Since we failed this mission, we have to refund the money and also compensate the client. That’s no small loss.” The plain white mask spoke.

“We follow the rules. We still have opportunities.” The gold-masked person interjected. “As for security concerns, you need not worry. We can still operate with ease here in Japan. Their public security is useless. Besides, someone will tip us off.”

“It’s better to leave for now.” The snake-masked person carried a case—clearly containing a sniper rifle.

“That person who protected Liu Shi—he’s the same one who protected Larry before. I wonder why he’s now protecting Liu Shi. This person is a thorn—we may need to remove him. Because of him, how much money have we lost? Let me calculate…” The demon-masked person seemed to be grinding their teeth in frustration.

“Calculating that is pointless.” The snake-masked person opened the door and left directly.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…

After that, the others meeting in the room each left, scattering in different directions.

No one knew their true identities, their truths hidden behind those strange masks.

Su Jie did not know what had happened here. But he knew that Liu Shi was being targeted, just like Larry—in constant danger at any time.

In the current world, there was an evil force disrupting the world order. No one knew what their ultimate purpose was, or what grand schemes and ambitions they harbored.

Su Jie vaguely sensed that this force was connected to his sister’s disappearance.

He had been searching for it all along.

Because of the incident, Liu Shi did not continue participating in the Tai Chi martial arts exchange conference. Since Su Jie had to stay close to protect him, he did not continue attending either.

After informing Old Chen, Su Jie stuck close to Liu Shi, guarding against any further assassination attempts.

Yang Shu also did not stay by Liu Shi’s side. He knew that this was not something he could involve himself in—it should be left to professionals. He was a martial arts grandmaster, not a bodyguard grandmaster. He had not received anti-assassination training.

Unlike Su Jie, who, in addition to specialized training, had also read extensive materials on assassination techniques—how to counter them, how to defend against them. Larry’s database contained many such examples. Training with these case studies, Su Jie had, in just one winter break, gained more than a full year’s worth of special agent training.

Combined with his physical ability and sensitivity, protecting Liu Shi was no problem.

He could identify poisons, assess terrain to determine which hidden corners might conceal assassins, and even at a great distance, sense the concealed killing intent in a person just by looking at them.

With deepening cultivation, Su Jie’s sixth sense grew increasingly sharp.

Staying close beside Liu Shi, somehow Liu Shi felt an absolute sense of security.

This was a psychological feeling. But Liu Shi, a businessman who had weathered countless commercial battles and practiced Tai Chi to a reasonable level of mental and physical refinement, naturally trusted that his feeling was real.

In a lavish presidential suite of a grand hotel, surrounded by patrolling bodyguards keeping everyone at a distance, Liu Shi and Su Jie sat in one room together.

Liu Shi now dared not let Su Jie step more than five paces away.

Su Jie had plainly told him that within five paces, he could guarantee safety. Beyond five paces, he could not guarantee being able to grab him and dodge bullets in time.

Additionally, everything Liu Shi ate now had to be inspected by Su Jie.

Su Jie also taught Liu Shi the best response methods to use before a crisis struck.

*Larry truly does security in an impenetrable manner. We domestic entrepreneurs have had it too easy and haven’t paid enough attention to security. I’ll be more mindful starting from this incident.* Liu Shi reached for a bottle of purified water.

Su Jie first took the bottle, inspected it, opened it, smelled it, then handed it to Liu Shi.

“You went to Minglun Martial Arts Academy to study martial arts two years ago. Before that, you were just an ordinary student? How did you reach this level in just two years?” Having taken Su Jie on as his personal bodyguard, Liu Shi had thoroughly investigated his background. But he had difficulty uncovering information about Odell, the God Maker.

“You practice Tai Chi. You’re not very focused on fighting—you care more about cultivating the body and mind, enhancing your wisdom,” Su Jie said. “In this regard, Elder Principal Liu Guanglie of Minglun Martial Arts Academy divides the stages of mental cultivation into: stability, stillness, tranquility, severance, clarity, enlightenment, and emptiness. For the first sixteen years of my life, although I did not practice martial arts, I went to bed and woke up on time every day, studied on time—it became a habit. I had actually already reached the stage of tranquility long ago. With just a bit of guidance, I could begin severing the bonds of life and death.”

Su Jie had long studied why his cultivation had progressed so quickly.

From the age of a few years old, he had begun to practice self-restraint, setting rules for himself without anyone teaching him. Neither his mother, Xu Ying, nor his father, Su Shilin, had interfered.

Other children at that age were still playful—it was their nature. But he was orderly in his reading and studies, never causing any trouble.

As a child, his family never spent money on tutoring classes for him, yet he still achieved excellent grades, basically never causing his family any worry.

Otherwise, he would not have been able, as a child from an ordinary family, to attend the best high school in S City, and consistently rank second in exams.

Other parents had their children constantly attending tutoring classes, hiring the best teachers, nurturing them like precious treasures with high-quality education—yet they still could not surpass him.

In truth, it was because he had naturally entered the “tranquility” stage from childhood.

This had laid a solid foundation for him.

Even Feng Hengyi, though trained since childhood, would certainly have harbored resistance deep down, unwilling in his heart. Unlike Su Jie, who was naturally peaceful and at ease, accepting any hardship with equanimity.

Reflecting on his own mental journey from childhood, Su Jie found it was exactly so.

Two people undergoing the same training every day—one doing it because the rules demanded it, yet resisting deep down; the other doing it peacefully and naturally—would yield completely different results. Su Jie had done data analysis on this. Among athletes with the same training volume over a month, their different mindsets produced drastically different outcomes.

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