MUP: Chapter 97. Flaws
"Master Ip, you're closing up?"
"Yes." Ip Man nodded to a Chinatown resident and kindly said, "I don't think anyone will come if I wait any longer, so I'll just close up and go home early."
"Didn't you accept a new disciple before, that young man who looked a bit goofy?"
Ip Man: "He stopped practising, saying it was because his family won't let him."
"I knew those foreigners don't have any patience. Master Ip knows real martial arts. It's his loss." Hearing that, the neighbour spoke up in indignation, completely ignoring the fact that in Chinatown, he was actually a foreigner.
"Maybe there are some problems in his family." Shaking his head, Ip Man didn't bother with the issue any longer.
"Master Ip, maybe I can recommend the martial arts school to someone for you?"
"You're welcome to, but it's better to go with the flow in such matters." Declining the other party's kindness with a smile and chatting some more, Ip Man then headed out of Chinatown.
As a clone, Ip Man didn't really need to rest. The reason why he went back and forth to the martial arts school in Chinatown every day was purely for the sake of maintaining his identity.
"Ah --"
Passing through a slightly dark alley, a scream coming from the alley made him stop.
Immediately afterwards, a flustered white man was seen running out of the alley with a lady's purse in his hand. When he saw Ip Man standing at the entrance of the alley, the man shouted with a ruthless expression, "Damn it, move out of the way!"
The man's words made Ip Man subconsciously frown.
Looking at this menacing figure, he didn't move out of the way as the other party said, still standing motionless at the entrance of the alley.
"Bastard, I'll kill you!"
Seeing that the guy in front of him didn't avoid him, the man's expression turned even more fierce. He rushed directly toward Ip Man.
Ip man silently looked at the man as he rushed toward him.
Ip Man, who had been motionless before, slightly raised his eyelids.
He simply made a slick side-step, followed by a flick of his foot that hit the man's front leg with pinpoint accuracy. In an instant, the man, who was still looking aggressive, stumbled and fell down directly in front of Ip Man.
[Reputation points from S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent +10]
"Huh?"
In the antique shop, noticing the unusual prompt, Ryan sat up straight.
'I knew it, how could S.H.I.E.L.D. give up so easily? '
With that in mind, Ip Man's hands didn't pause as he looked at the white man who was struggling to get up from the ground. He went straight for him and knocked him out with a light hand chop.
[Reputation points from S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent +20]
Looking down, he glanced at the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, who was pretending to be a mugger. Ip Man reached out and took the bag from his hand.
At one time, in the alley, a long-haired redhead limped out and noticed the tall figure lying on the ground. The woman's expression was slightly stunned, and then she assumed a surprising look and saw Ip Man standing at the corner.
"Did you stop him?"
"I did. Is this purse yours? " Looking at the stunning woman, Ip Man immediately nodded.
"I can't thank you enough, I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't stopped him." Hearing Ip Man's reply, the woman then displayed a grateful and immensely excited expression.
Faced with the look of gratitude shown by the woman in front of him, Ip Man slightly smiled, "Actually, you would have been able to get your purse back even if I hadn't stepped in."
"Huh?"
Faced with Ip Man's inexplicable words, the woman blinked with a puzzled look on her face.
"In fact, with your skills, Miss, I'm more surprised that he could snatch the purse from you in the first place." Not caring about the other party's expression, Ip Man continued.
Hearing Ip Man's words, the woman's expression slightly changed. Seeing that the man in front of her looked like he was certain, she immediately put away her previous delicate expression and raised her hand to fix her somewhat messy hair. Without denying anything, she said, "How did you know? "
As a trained agent, she thought her disguise was flawless.
"A martial artist's intuition."
"Intuition?" Raising an eyebrow, the woman didn't believe the statement.
"Although you have deliberately restrained yourself by the way you walk, I know you're not an ordinary person. At least you have trained in footwork."
"Walk?"
Ip Man's answer had left the woman in a state of reflection. Her years as an agent had given her extraordinary combat skills, but she had never imagined that these skills would one day expose her and become a flaw.
'In fact, the real reason is that I already knew who you were from the beginning. '
In the antique shop, Ryan looked at Natasha, who was slightly lost in thought, through Ip Man and silently remarked.
There was no mistaking that it was the famous Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff, who appeared in front of the clone.
Although, before, Ryan had a hunch that S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn't simply leave things at that, Ryan never expected that the other side would send their iconic agent to carry out the mission and make contact with Ip Man, the clone.
Ryan was flattered that S.H.I.E.L.D. attached so much importance to the clone. At the same time, he also made up his mind that he would have to gather a lot of points from them in order to be worthy of the importance S.H.I.E.L.D. attached to him.
Thinking about it, he started to manipulate Ip Man and asked Natasha, "So, can you tell me who you really are now, Miss?"
As a super-agent who was also famous in SHIELD, Natasha restrained her emotions, glanced down at her colleague on the ground, and immediately asked Ip Man, "Actually, I should ask you that, Mr Ip Man."
"And... why did you come to New York? And, of course, the main thing, where exactly did you come from?"
When faced with Natasha's aggressive way of questioning, Ip Man kept the bland look on his face, "I initially came to New York for answers, but, in the process, something unexpected made me stay for a while longer."
"As for where I come from..."
"I'm from Peng Lai."
[Reputation points from Natasha Romanoff +55]