Chapter 43: Release The Beast, Wing Chun!

Chapter 43: Release The Beast, Wing Chun!

"FIGHT!"

Ronald Di, a practitioner of traditional kung-fu, immediately shifted into his stance and readied himself for our duel.

Analyzing his positioning, I could tell he was sitting at the peak of the Basic skill level, standing just a hair away from achieving Advanced qualifications. For an eighteen-year-old kid, his foundation was honestly great.

I would place his current mechanical execution at roughly the same level as Tina's, though Tina had recently crossed the threshold into the Advanced ranks due to the brutal, unforgiving training sessions enforced by her mother. Despite his solid form, I could see every single line of Ronald's movement with absolute clarity.

My body's current physical conditioning sat two whole realms above his, backed by an instinctual combat knowledge that spanned three entire tiers beyond what he could comprehend. Deciding to have some fun with the match and give the instructors a show, I resolved to toy with Ronald by employing an unconventional animal style.

I settled my weight and let my mind channel the erratic, chaotic rhythm of a wild monkey. I snapped my left hand up over my eyes as if blocking the glaring sun, crouching down low into a deep squat like a primate perched atop a high rock scanning the tall grass for predators. To fully immerse myself in the mindset and adapt my physical rhythm, I let out a few sharp primate noises right at him, calling out, "Ho ho ha ha, ah ah ah!"

Animal styles could look highly amusing and entertaining to an outsider, but if an opponent underestimated the bizarre angles of attack, they would end up dead. These traditional forms placed their heaviest emphasis on the two most critical aspects of real-life battle: absolute balance and fluid center-of-gravity control.

Ronald looked a little distracted by the display, though it wasn't because he had never seen an animal form before; he had simply never squared off against a combatant who possessed actual mastery over its erratic transitions.

The romance-loving head coach, however, immediately widened her eyes on the sidelines, recognizing the seamless physical integration as my posture shifted into a flawless imitation of a wild monkey's spirit.

I scampered forward, executing a sudden rolling tumble across the canvas while maintaining that curious, erratic posture, making it look as though I had just spotted an interesting pebble on the road. In reality, I was rapidly closing the distance between us, but to Ronald, I just looked like a complete clown acting silly in the middle of a ring.

With a sudden swoosh of fabric, Ronald decided he had seen enough and exploded forward, throwing a heavy jump kick directly at my chest. At that exact microsecond, the monkey found an imaginary bug on the side of the path, causing me to execute a sharp lateral roll that made it look like I was completely unaware of the incoming strike as the kick sailed harmlessly through the empty air above me.

I popped up from the mat, holding up the invisible bug toward the watching students, pretending to pop it into my mouth and chewing with a wide, mocking smile while chattering, "Oh ah ah?!"

"Fight seriously, you bastard!" Ronald roared, his frustration boiling over as he pivoted and threw a straight, heavy punch at my face.

Seeing the extended limb as a convenient tree branch, the monkey climbed the tree. I launched into an acrobatic, tumbling jump directly over his extended arm, faking a climbing motion as I leaped high enough to land my weight squarely on his broad shoulders. I balanced perfectly on his upper back for a split second, reaching down as if plucking fresh leaves from a high canopy, but my hands grabbed a tight hold of his underwear waistband instead, ripping it upward into a brutal, agonizing wedgie.

"Huh?! AHHHH!" Ronald screamed, the sudden pressure shooting straight up his spine. He possessed nearly fifty percent more body mass than me, but the leverage of the maneuver bypassed his strength completely.

I leaped cleanly off his back, flipping away to land safely ten feet out on the canvas while he staggered around, frantically reaching behind his gray uniform to readjust his newly formed G-string.

I let out a sharp chuckle, immediately resetting my posture and shifting my mental focus to channel a completely different animal form as he spun back around in pure rage.

"Croak, ribbit!" I barked, dropping flat onto all fours with my knees flared out wide and my chest pressed close to the canvas. The deep, resonant vocalization let everyone in the stadium know exactly what was coming next: I was a frog, tilting my head back and forth as if scanning the skies for predatory birds or hunting for tasty flies.

"FUCK YOU! Stop clowning around and fight me!" Ronald shrieked, completely enraged by the humiliation of the wedgie and the sheer mockery of my acting. He flew forward, launching into a desperate, high-flying jump kick, which showed decent execution, but he completely forgot the one thing frogs excel at above all else.

"Ribbit? RIIIIIIIBIT!" I bellowed.

I pushed off the canvas with explosive force, utilizing the full power of my leg muscles to gain significantly more vertical height than his jump kick. I snapped through two lightning-fast somersaults high in the air, tracking his trajectory perfectly before driving both of my feet straight down into his midsection like heavy pistons. The impact slammed him flat onto his back against the mat with a resounding, echoing thud. I utilized his broad chest as a convenient lily pad, absorbing the recoil of the landing before instantly leaping off his body to catch another imaginary fly, intentionally driving my heel deep into his lower abdomen as I launched away.

As a professional point of anatomical fact, if an opponent possesses a semi-full bladder and you strike the pelvic region at a precise forty-five-degree angle, the physical shock forces an involuntary discharge. Ronald didn't completely wet himself out in the open, but the sudden agonizing pressure made his face turn pale, and both he and I knew his gray uniform shorts were suddenly damp and smelling faintly of urine.

Deciding I had gotten enough amusement out of the animal forms, I landed smoothly and transitioned directly into my default combat stance, locking into the tight, defensive framework of Wing Chun. It was a specialized variant of kung-fu that served as the foundational style for legends like Bruce Lee back in my original world, a discipline built entirely around rapid-fire centerline dominance.

Ronald struggled back up to his feet, his face twisted in a mixture of deep shame and blinding anger as he let out a guttural roar like a wounded beast, glaring at me as if I had personally insulted his entire lineage while making him watch.

"Rick Leeeeeeee! Die!" he screamed, charging blindly across the white lines.

As he rushed into my striking range, I widened my horse stance, dropping my center of gravity to lock my positioning for the final flurry. Looking at his wildly exposed posture, all I saw approaching me was a rigid wooden dummy just waiting to be systematically dismantled.

"Whaaaaaaa! Hah hah hah hah hah haaaaaa!" I yelled, letting loose a high-pitched battle cry that would have made the old martial arts cinema masters proud.

Smack, smack, smack, smack, smack! My hands became a blur of motion as I executed a lightning-fast chain of close-quarters strikes. I intercepted his incoming punch with a sharp parry, using my leading hand to redirect his momentum while my secondary fist drove a vicious punch directly into his shoulder, completely throwing him off balance. With his guard shattered, my second strike nailed him squarely in the lower ribs, the localized shockwave cracking through his side. My third punch whipped upward, striking the point of his chin with precise force, snapping his head back and forcing his gaze toward the ceiling.

Moving with fluid footwork, I circled tightly around his blind spot, delivering a heavy fourth punch straight into his lower back, followed instantly by a fifth strike into the meat of his waist and hip, completely breaking his skeletal alignment. For the grand finale, I brought both palms forward simultaneously, driving a devastating double-palm strike directly into his lungs to collapse his chest and completely knock the wind out of him, sending his body sprawling face-first onto the canvas.

The entire five-hit combination took less than two seconds to execute from start to finish, leaving Ronald completely out cold on the mat, his lungs desperately gasping for air that wouldn't come.

The watching assistant coaches, the surrounding students, and poor, semi-conscious Ronald were left completely stunned and confused by the display, trying to process how a ridiculous animal performance had seamlessly transitioned into an elite, terrifyingly high-speed display of centerline mastery.

To them, it looked like I had just descended from some ancient, hidden monastery mountain. The only person in the room who looked truly horrified by the display was Ashley Hue, who happened to be someone who actually did come down from a hidden mountain sect, recognizing the devastating efficiency of the strikes for what they really were.

Tina, noticing that I was casually stepping closer as if to deliver an unneeded finishing blow to the downed student, quickly turned and yelled to the stunned instructor, "Coach, call the fight right now, or this duel is going to turn into a funeral!"

The romance-loving head coach snapped out of her daze, seeing me hovering over the unconscious freshman. Recognizing the danger, she raised her hand and officially terminated the match, shouting, "Rick Lee wins by KO!"

Hearing the declaration, I straightened the fabric of my gray uniform, offered a brief, traditional bow to my half-conscious opponent, and leaned down to whisper the exact words he had thrown at me back at the deli: "Fuck your weak-looking ass. Later, loser."

I turned on my heel and walked back over to the sidelines, taking my place right next to Tina, who was sporting a massively smug grin. I forced my basic acting skills to kick in, attempting to maintain a perfectly nonchalant, unbothered expression so I wouldn't look embarrassed under the intense stares of the entire class.

Unfortunately, my internal focus was entirely fixed on avoiding the crowd, causing me to completely miss the sneaky grin and playful gleam dancing in Tina's eyes.

Mwah.

The sudden sensation of soft lips pressing against my cheek caught me completely off guard. Tina delivered a quick, deliberate kiss right on my skin, making sure the entire crowd saw the display before she turned a mocking, triumphant glare toward Number 5, practically daring Danny Shu to step up and challenge me next.

"I told you to kick his ass and I would give you a kiss," Tina purred loudly, leaning close enough for only me to hear her next words. "Oh, and by the way, that's technically my first kiss."

My standard acting skills completely collapsed under the sudden weight of her actions. A heavy blush rushed up my neck, turning my face a rosy shade of pink from sheer embarrassment as the surrounding students began to murmur. There was absolutely no way the rest of the campus wouldn't be spreading wild rumors about the two of us by the end of the day.

I let out a silent, internal sigh, refusing to admit to myself that my heart had given a strange, sudden twitch when her lips touched my skin. I forced those chaotic thoughts right out of my head, replacing them with the far more terrifying realization of the impending doom waiting for me back at my own house.

Over by the instructor's desk, Danny Shu stood frozen, watching a couple of assistants painfully drag Ronald off the mat. A sinking feeling was clearly hitting him, giving him a distinct hunch that he had bitten off far more than he could chew with me, and seeing Tina act so openly affectionate with a freshman was driving his temper into a boiling rage.

For the remainder of the class period, the dynamic on the floor shifted completely. A large crowd of kung-fu students kept approaching my spot to act friendly, and more than half of the women in the group seemed highly interested in getting to know me a lot better, offering plenty of subtle hints and playful smiles.

Deciding that my high school days of total isolation were over, I figured it wouldn't hurt to be a bit more social and build up a functional network of campus friends. The group eagerly tried to invite me out for a massive welcoming meal after class concluded, but I had to politely decline the offer, informing them that I had strict wife obligations to handle at home. I took a definitive rain check for the following week, keeping my focus locked on survival.

When the dismissal whistle finally blew, the first official day of university came to an end, and Tina and I headed out toward the parking lot to face whatever came next.

In the parking lot, Tina and I leaned against the warm hood of the Hummer, waiting for Jenifer to make her way over to us from her third class. The intense energy of the stadium match was still fading when Tina turned her head slightly, her gold eyes locking onto mine as she asked, "Rick, did you learn to fight from your father?"

My father was always my default excuse whenever anyone questioned where I picked up my martial arts capabilities, but this time, the weight of the question made me answer a bit differently.

"My father was my hero," I said, staring out across the asphalt. "I don't care about him being a police officer one bit, but his teachings about life are what I miss the most. He taught me a lot, including how to recognize when it's absolutely necessary to break the rules. I just think the world was a complete bitch for shafting him and my mother in the end, though."

The memory of seeing him again in that vivid dream sequence flashed through my mind, serving as a harsh reminder that our lives can be snuffed out at any given moment. Even after facing off against the Monk, I had rushed forward far too hastily, practically throwing my life away without a second thought.

I kept trying to justify that reckless behavior by telling myself it was entirely to save my wives, but deep down, I knew it was just my past life's suicidal nature peaking through to the surface again. Plus, in the back of my mind, a dangerous lack of fear regarding death had settled in, driven by the absolute certainty that reincarnation really existed.

But a chilling realization followed right behind that thought: what if I am the only one who can reincarnate? The entity who initiated this whole process had heavily implied exactly that.

Tina watched the shifting expressions on my face, her voice dropping into a softer, gentler tone. "Sorry, that must still be a tough subject for you. I actually saw that event go down, you know. He was absolutely amazing. He was the real reason I noticed you in the first place."

"I only recently got some of my memories from those specific days back," I admitted, rubbing the back of my neck as I recalled the fog that used to consume my thoughts. "For a couple of weeks, my mind was completely broken. I didn't truly wake up or feel like myself until after my long absence from school."

"Yes, I remember that period vividly," Tina nodded, her expression growing uncharacteristically serious. "You completely forgot everything you had said and done at school before you went missing."

I looked directly into her serious face, trying to piece together the timeline of my missing adolescence as a sudden guess struck me. "Did I actually talk to you back then?"

She nodded instantly, but her playful demeanor crept right back in as she answered, "It was the first and only time we ever spoke to each other until the day you broke into that Ning's locker. But I absolutely won't tell you what we talked about until you win this entire tournament."

"I was fourteen and you were fifteen back then," I scoffed, shaking my head at the ridiculous mystery she was trying to build up around it. "So I can't imagine it was anything remotely worthy of this much secrecy. Besides, since I forgot the conversation entirely, it doesn't really matter anyway."

She instantly stuck her pink tongue out at me, crossing her arms and pouting like a child who had just been denied a toy. "You severely undervalue your own worth, Rick, even back then."

Before I could press her further on the matter, Jenifer finally arrived at the vehicle, jogging up to us with her book bag slung over her shoulder, which meant it was time to climb into the Hummer so we could go drop them both off.

As the sun was soon to set, I pulled up at home and looked up toward the second-floor windows with a deep sense of fear and trepidation. Putting both of my hands together, I offered a silent, desperate prayer to every relationship god in existence, whispering, "If a System and reincarnation actually exist, then maybe you guys can hear me right now. Please let me survive this night and not break any hearts. Amen, or whatever I'm supposed to end this with."

I grabbed my briefcase, heading straight into the garage to let the executioners upstairs know that I was finally home, and after quickly putting my standard things away, I carried the warm pizza boxes up into the main living space.

When I stepped into the room, I found my two wives already waiting for me at the dinner table with plates and napkins perfectly set. Both of them had their arms and legs crossed, their eyes tracking my thoroughly guilty face as I walked closer, prompting me to clear my throat and offer, "I am home. I'm incredibly sorry about this."

I placed the pizzas down on the table and went straight to the sink to wash my hands before eating. Before taking a seat, I made sure to give both of my executioners a tender kiss to demonstrate that I was completely surrendering to their judgment. Both Hana and Mary remained entirely silent, their quiet postures implying they were waiting for me to do the talking, so I took a deep breath and began spilling the truth.

"It all started right after my hospitalization, well before the school semester officially ended," I explained, trying to keep my voice steady. "I managed to find a program that let me eavesdrop directly on Scott's activities so I could figure out a way to get some proper revenge on him. During the process, I found out some major secrets and utilized that information to target Scott's specific weaknesses."

I carefully stretched the explanation of my master-tier computer skills to water down the highly illegal details, making sure to omit any mention of hacking into the national bank. I honestly explained how that electronic trail led to me becoming partners and eventual close friends with the twins, explaining with a visible blush how Nichole desperately wanted to get revenge on Scott while helping herself and her sister.

To prove my point, I brought up my device, playing the raw audio recordings from Scott's phone to show my wives that the twins absolutely detested him and were not involved in any kind of physical relationship with him. I hadn't even reached the part of the timeline regarding what actually took place inside the school building when Mary raised a hand, cutting me off.

"Okay, hold on a second," Mary said, her eyes narrowing as she processed the timeline. "So if I am understanding this correctly, you slept with one of them and managed to get her pregnant, right? Which one is it, Nichole or Nadia?"

I swallowed hard, looking between them as I stammered, "Ah, uh... actually, it was both of them, and it seems they are both pregnant."

My two wives looked completely petrified by the sudden revelation, the sheer reality hitting them that I hadn't just slept with a single girl, but had explicitly been with both of them, resulting in concurrent pregnancies while both women apparently harbored genuine feelings for me.

Seeing their stunned expressions, I went on to fully detail exactly what had transpired during those private encounters, explaining how I had only recently found out about the twins' condition and the ultimate fact that there had never been any birth control pill involved.

Hana leaned forward, her brow furrowing as she asked, "Rick, honey, I get that you are a naturally trusting person, but why on earth would you believe her when she claimed she was on the pill and explicitly insisted that you finish inside her? That should have been a massive red flag right from the start, shouldn't it?"

Attempting to defend my actions as a former love virgin who lacked real-world experience, I gestured with my hands and replied, "Hana, I also trusted you completely when you told me it was your safe day during our time together. I didn't question your word for a second, and I simply did the exact same thing back then with the twins, so I made a thoroughly poor choice here. I'm sorry."

Mary let out a slow, controlled breath, tapping her fingers against the table as she countered, "Right now, I am actively staying calm for the sake of my baby, so I am going to completely skip past the list of many, many crimes you have committed so far. What I want right now is for you to let us see every single text message and email you have exchanged with the now married Tang twins."

After being struck by a few more justified emotional arrows straight to the knees, I gave a submissive nod and pulled up the active chat logs on my screen.

Thankfully, I had only ever discussed my technical hacking operations in heavily veiled letters, and I had already taken the precaution of deleting any truly incriminating files beforehand.

While Hana and Mary leaned in close to read through the entire digital history together, I quietly utilized the distraction to fill my belly with what felt like the final meal of my free life. I was admittedly blowing the situation out of proportion inside my own mind, but I always tried to remain as honest as possible when confronted, and a heavy layer of guilt weighed on me for putting the people I loved into such an awkward position. I didn't even attempt to shift the blame onto Nichole for orchestrating the situation, choosing instead to place the responsibility squarely on my own shoulders, believing it was exactly what a man should do.

After finishing the last line of text, Hana looked over toward Mary for a brief moment before turning a stern gaze in my direction, commanding, "Go down to your den and start working on your university assignments while Mary and I discuss the details of this situation alone."

Mary instantly glanced at Hana, pointing a finger toward my seat as she argued, "If you let him go hide down there right now, he might try to run away."

Unknown to my panicked mind, Hana and Mary were intentionally collaborating to make me suffer as much mental anxiety as possible, using the pressure to ensure I would make significantly better decisions regarding women in the future.

Hana casually retracted my potential running plan, fixing me with a direct look as she asked, "What are your actual long-term plans regarding this situation, Rick?"

Scratching the back of my neck awkwardly, I broke down my analysis of the twins' behavior, telling them, "Nichole is incredibly scheming, and she routinely makes complex plans years in advance. Based on that logical deduction, if she and Nadia are openly letting me know how they feel about me, it means she already has a specific strategy in place for us to be together in the future. I am not entirely certain what her exact timeline looks like, but it must heavily involve noble family politics. They don't even reside in the same household as Scott anyway, maintaining their own private villa on the Tang family property."

Mary crossed her arms, absorbing the information before asking, "So when exactly are we going to be able to talk to them directly?"

Thinking about how Nichole's mind operated, I offered a cautious suggestion, replying, "Nichole thoroughly enjoys playing the role of a pretend blackmailer right now. If I have the two of you step in to talk to them right away, she might become incredibly disappointed that all of her intricate structural plans were ruined just like that. How about you give me a little bit of time to find out what her long-term objectives actually look like first?"

Hana followed up immediately, her tone serious as she asked, "If she were to actually divorce Scott in the future, would you willingly marry them? Even if it means getting your hands dirty with the Tang family's internal affairs?"

"I will face absolutely anything for the sake of the mothers of my children," I answered without a single shred of hesitation, looking her dead in the eyes. "So yes, even if I have to get deeply involved with the Tang family dynamics, I will do it."

Mary raised a sharp eyebrow at my declaration, tossing out another critical question. "Do they even know that their current husband is actually your cousin?"

I rubbed my temples, my expression turning incredibly awkward as I admitted, "Not yet. So much happened out in the open today, and I wanted to make absolutely sure I told the two of you everything first. They still have no idea about the family connection, and Scott hasn't muttered a single word to them about it either."

Mary turned her head toward Hana, seeking a consensus from her co-wife. "As the established wives of this household, what do you want to do here?"

Hana kept her eyes locked on my face as she addressed Mary, her voice softening slightly. "If the twins didn't have his babies growing inside them right now, I would completely forbid him from ever having anything to do with them again. But Rick's actual children are involved here. The rice is already cooked, and pushing those children away from our family would not be good for anyone. Plus, I can tell our husband genuinely wants to be with them, and it seems they have gone completely out of their way to remain fiercely loyal to Rick despite the incredibly awkward situation they are trapped in. Because of that, I am honestly wavering on the matter. Maybe we should find out exactly what Nichole's plans look like before we officially castrate him."

Mary put her head in her hand, letting out a heavy sigh as she delivered our final verdict. "I don't know if I am thoroughly pissed off at this Nichole girl or incredibly impressed with her ability to completely entrap you, Rick. But you have exactly one week to dig out that vixen's long-term plans and report your findings directly back to us. If she isn't planning on leaving Scott for good, I expect you to end the relationship immediately. I don't want you pining away for a pair of unavailable women. Furthermore, I fully expect to be able to sit down and talk with them within one month. We women need to have a serious girl talk about how we're sharing you."

Inside my head, I instantly began performing a silent semi-victory dance, completely relieved because her words made it sound like I was almost entirely off the hook.

"Why are you just sitting there looking stupid?" Mary snapped, breaking through my internal celebration with a sharp glare as she pointed toward the kitchen. "Go make me a tasty lunch for my work shift tonight, you little smug bastard. I am going to bed. Good night."

I quickly leaned in to give Mary a sweet kiss before running straight into the kitchen to prepare some extra delicious food, fully focused on satisfying the appetite of the beautiful beast that was my pregnant wife. She headed off to get some sleep before her shift started, leaving me to my culinary duties.

While I was busy cooking at the stove, the kitchen door swung open and Hana walked inside, leaning her back against the refrigerator as she watched me work.

"I am going to need a really good foot rub tonight," she murmured, a playful but demanding smile touching her lips. "And don't you dare forget to put in a ton of extra effort if you want to earn my full forgiveness, husband. See you later."

After Hana turned and left the room to head off to her own bed, I stopped stirring the pan, raising a hand to wipe the cold, nervous sweat from my forehead as I uttered the only thought left in my brain: "Damn. I think I just managed to dodge a bullet."

But looking back on it now, I would eventually find out that managing a harem isn't like dealing with a single bullet at all. It is a non-stop hail of enemy fire raining down on you from every single direction. It is never a question of if a bullet is going to hit you, but exactly when it's going to connect.

The Tang twins were bound to become a major pain in my ass moving forward, but I would never even dream of abandoning them. They hadn't just totally screwed over my peaceful life; they were holding onto an even bigger surprise for me in a few short months. Though to be perfectly fair about the situation, they were actually the ones who ended up more surprised in the end, meaning my upcoming pain was completely shared across the board.