72: Just pretend and leave

After leaving the restaurant, Li Qinghe drove Vu Linh Huong back to California Gym. She had originally planned to work out, but had gotten caught up talking with Li Qinghe and hadn't exercised.

She would have to make up for the lost gym time in the afternoon.

Back at the gym, Vu Linh Huong showed Li Qinghe her professional fitness level.

It was no exaggeration to say that Vu Linh Huong's fitness level was enough to qualify her for a gym instructor position.

Vu Linh Huong was also surprised to discover that Li Qinghe, whose muscles were incredibly sculpted, was almost a complete novice at fitness.

His physical conditioning was simply astonishingly powerful.

"Qinghe, how did you get your body so strong?"

Under Vu Linh Huong's curious gaze, Li Qinghe performed a set of Tongbei Fist.

Hearing a series of crackling sounds and seeing Li Qinghe's flexible arms and the whistling speed of his punches cutting through the air, Lingxiang was greatly surprised.

"Qinghe, so you practice traditional Dragon Country martial arts. What is this called? It looks very impressive. Vietnam has many martial arts that came from the Dragon Country, like Wing Chun, Hung Gar, Choi Gar, and Southern Shaolin boxing, but I don't seem to have seen this kind of style."

Hearing Vu Linh Huong skillfully list various boxing styles, Li Qinghe was also very surprised: "A Xiang, you seem very familiar with this. This is the Dragon Country's Tongbei Fist."

"I used to train for a few years with a master of Quan Khí Đạo..."

Through Vu Linh Huong's explanation, Li Qinghe learned that the more well-known local martial arts in Vietnam were Viet Vo Dao and Quan Khí Đạo. Both of these martial arts were created by modern Vietnamese martial artists, combining various martial arts styles.

Quan Khí Đạo, in particular, was directly derived from the Five Plum Blossom style of Southern Shaolin, integrating tiger, crane, and mantis boxing forms, supplemented by some wrestling techniques and ancient Vietnamese boxing.

The 'Quan' in Quan Khí Đạo came from an early Dragon Country Zen master who taught the founder. His name contained the character 'Quan,' and the martial art's name borrowed this character.

Even more interesting, in the 1960s, the founder of Quan Khí Đạo left Vietnam for France and established the main dojo of Quan Khí Đạo in Toulon, France.

Football fans who frequently watch Cristiano Ronaldo should be familiar with Toulon. The Toulon Tournament is renowned in international youth football events.

Vu Linh Huong's explanation made Li Qinghe feel like he had learned a bit more useless knowledge.

Moreover, his interactions with Vu Linh Huong felt a bit strange. Aside from some intimate moments at the Dragon Country restaurant, once they returned to the gym, their interactions felt somewhat formal, almost overly polite.

As a man, Li Qinghe felt it was his duty to break this deadlock, starting with a bit of showing off.

"A Xiang, are there any sandbags or punch force testers here?"

"We have both."

Led by Vu Linh Huong, Li Qinghe arrived at a corner of the gym, which surprisingly had a dedicated combat area. In the center was a full-sized octagon cage.

Around it were a dozen or so sandbags, and in the corner, two punch force testers.

The gym was quite busy in the afternoon, and about ten people were training in the combat area, including two professional combat coaches teaching students Muay Thai.

"A Xiang, if I break something, Uncle Wu won't make me pay, right?" Li Qinghe joked with Vu Linh Huong.

"If you can break the equipment here, he'll only be happier," Vu Linh Huong rolled her eyes slightly.

She thought Li Qinghe was just joking with her. Although his shadow boxing seemed powerful, the equipment here was all large, sturdy, and difficult to break.

The two combat coaches saw Vu Linh Huong bringing someone over and immediately left their students to attend to her.

When they saw Li Qinghe, they also gave a friendly nod, but their eyes couldn't help but glance downwards.

At California Gym, everyone already knew Li Qinghe. The men were all jealous of Li Qinghe, wishing they could be him.

Now seeing Li Qinghe with Vu Linh Huong, this noble little princess, they felt a mix of emotions.

"A Xiang said it, if I break anything here, I don't have to pay."

Li Qinghe still maintained a joking demeanor.

"Whatever Miss Lingxiang requests is the standard the gym will follow," one coach said, pressing his palms together in front of his forehead as a sign of respect.

Even if Vu Linh Huong tore down the entire California Gym, everyone would applaud and cheer, then ask her if she had fun and if she wanted it renovated to smash it again.

"A Xiang, I'm mainly here to show off my strength to you. In our Dragon Country saying, it's 'show off and then leave.'"

Li Qinghe had a smile on his face. He said it in Dragon Country language, which the two coaches didn't understand, but Vu Linh Huong understood perfectly clearly.

"Alright, strongman, hurry up and start your demonstration. After you're done, come with me to get a facial."

At this point, Vu Linh Huong still thought Li Qinghe was here to demonstrate the attack routines of Dragon Country boxing using the sandbags.

"Okay, I'll start then."

Li Qinghe walked towards the punch force tester. As he passed two sandbags, there were two "bang bang" sounds, followed by a "whoosh."

Instantly, two piles of sand appeared beneath the two sandbags.

Vu Linh Huong and the two combat coaches' pupils constricted sharply. Li Qinghe had actually burst two sandbags with two punches.

And they hadn't even clearly seen how Li Qinghe had thrown the punches.

By this time, Li Qinghe had already walked to the punch target machine and punched the target back into the machine. The numbers on the target screen soared rapidly, and then the machine suddenly buzzed and crashed.

Li Qinghe clapped his hands: "A Xiang, let's go."

He truly fulfilled the saying of "show off and then leave."

Vu Linh Huong also stared blankly at the machine for a moment before obediently following behind Li Qinghe.

Left behind were the two dumbfounded combat coaches. Their eyes shifted from the sand on the floor to the crashed target machine, and they heavily swallowed their saliva.

They hadn't expected that this man still had reserves of strength.

Everyone knew that there was a significant difference in punching and power generation techniques between strongmen and combat athletes.

With the same weight and strength, the power a combat athlete could deliver would definitely exceed that of a strongman.

But to be able to burst a sandbag with one punch and crash a punch target machine, there really weren't many people who could do that.

"Qinghe, how do you have so much strength?"

After leaving the gym, Vu Linh Huong changed into a fitted short dress and small leather shoes, and took Li Qinghe to her usual beauty salon for facials.

This was also located in a high-end office building in Ba Dinh District. The beauty salon was very large, modernly decorated, and occupied an entire floor of the office building.

Vu Linh Huong was as familiar with this place as if it were her own home.

All the beauticians and staff who saw Vu Linh Huong respectfully greeted her, then curiously looked at the tall Li Qinghe beside her.

"A Xiang, it seems this is your base. Everyone knows you."

Li Qinghe observed everyone's reactions.

Vu Linh Huong did not respond.

"Qinghe, I've arranged a skincare package for you too, in the room next to mine."

She sat in a chair, holding a tube of cosmetics, and told Li Qinghe with a smile.

Vu Linh Huong

Li Qinghe wasn't averse to this. Since coming to Vietnam, whether it was a four-hand synchronized SPA or a hair washing salon, there were usually skincare services.

So, he followed Vu Linh Huong's arrangement and went to the adjacent room, led by a beautician wearing a short skirt.