MUP: Chapter 82. Connecting the Lines

"Master Ip, someone wants to see you!"

At Chinatown, a few miles away from Hell's Kitchen, New York.

The skinny little girl with two pigtails, holding an old but clean-looking doll, called out to a man dressed in a Tang suit inside the Chinese medicine shop.

Ip Man turned his head and glanced at the little girl standing at the door with a smile on her face.

He nodded and was about to reply when a slightly loud shout of alarm was heard ringing through the streets.

"Watch out, watch out! I can't break!"

Accompanied by the shout, he saw a teenager riding a takeaway bike, rushing in the direction of the little girl.

"Kid, get out of the way!"

"Turn, turn quickly!"

"Oh, no ..."

"Oh my God!"

Seeing that a tragedy was about to happen, many people in the small Asian community covered their mouths with uncomfortable expressions.

The little girl froze in place, like a deer in the headlights, as she watched the bike come rushing at her.

In the next second, a figure swiftly intervened. He picked up the girl with both hands and kicked the front wheel of the out-of-control bike. With one free hand, he grabbed the flying teenager and pulled him off the bike.

Thud --

"Why are you so careless? " Ip Man helped the teenager up with one hand, looked at the bike that had fallen to the side, and scolded him, "You almost caused a big accident."

"I'm sorry... I never thought... it was fine until the bike chain suddenly came loose."

The teenager obviously hadn't recovered from the previous shock. After he had stood there for a few seconds, he suddenly patted his chest. He was scared to death.

"Be more careful in future."

After talking to the teenager, Ip Man turned to look at the little girl in his arms.

The little girl was very well behaved and didn't cry out even after what had just happened to her.

Ip Man: "How are you? Did it scare you?"

Little girl: "Hmm."

Ip Man: "Then why aren't you crying?"

Little girl: "Because I know Master Ip is here. Dad said Master Ip's martial arts is really awesome. You can fight off bad guys that are causing trouble in Chinatown. I know you wouldn't let me get hurt."

Ip Man had only been in Chinatown for the past few days. When he arrived, he fought off a group of thugs who were collecting protection money from the businesses in Chinatown. All the people in Chinatown deeply appreciated it.

When Ip Man heard that, he gently poked the little girl's nose and couldn't help but laugh, "Little smarty pants. Remember, be careful in the future. Master Ip can't always be by your side."

After whispering some advice to the little girl, he asked, "How's your mom doing?"

"She's much better. Mom can get out of bed and cook these days."

When it came to her mother, the little girl had a sweet smile on her face.

Ip Man took out some candy he had prepared from his pocket and placed it in the little girl's hand, "Hmm, you should go back to your mom."

"Thank you, Master Ip."

The little girl cheerfully took the candy, thanked him politely, and quickly popped it into her mouth. When she tasted the sugary sweet candy in her mouth, she realised she hadn't told him why she had visited.

"By the way, Master Ip, there's a guy with curly hair and a guy with dark glasses who said they wanted to see you. They said they knew you."

　　...

In Chinatown, on the second floor of a Chinese restaurant.

Jessica looked at the pedestrians passing by on the street but never spotted the figure in the Tang suit that Danny was talking about. She frowned and said, "I think there's something weird about this. Why aren't we just going straight to that Ip guy or whatever and making things clear?"

Danny withdrew his gaze. Hearing Jessica's complaint from across the room, he turned his head to look at the deserted business on the first floor of the Chinese restaurant and explained, "We have to be careful. I received a tip that the Hand is running a massive operation in Hell's Kitchen, looking for information on everyone, including me."

"Danny's right." Matt also chimed in, "Right now, going against the Hand is a dead end for us. We should stay under the radar."

"All right."

Although hiding like this wasn't Jessica's style, considering the disastrous defeat their group had suffered against the Beast, she had to accept their suggestion.

At this moment, Matt's super senses noticed a somewhat different set of footsteps, "Someone is coming. It may be Master Ip that Danny had told us about."

"You can actually tell people apart by the sound of their footsteps?!"

Hearing Matt's words, Danny couldn't help but feel a bit surprised.

"Not just footsteps, he can hear an insect flying by the sound of their wings," Luke spoke up and casually added.

Suddenly, Danny's expression became even more shocked.

Although Matt couldn't see it, he could still imagine the strange look on Danny's face, but he didn't explain it much. Instead, he added, "The person's footsteps are very different from ordinary people. They're soft, but not slow, as if ..." The lawyer tried to explain, but he couldn't find the right words to describe it.

"Flowing with Qi," Danny spoke up.

"You still speak Chinese?"

Jessica raised her eyebrows and looked at him in surprise.

However, before she could continue to ask, a man in a Tang suit arrived on the second floor of the Chinese restaurant.

"Master Ip."

Seeing Ip Man, who appeared on the first floor, Danny then stood up and clasped his fist.

He clasped his fist and returned the gesture.

Ip Man looked at Danny and nodded his head, "Danny."

With that, Ip Man's eyes swept over the Defenders in front of him and then asked, "And they are?"

"These are the friends I met during my search for the Hand." Hearing the inquiry, Danny quickly introduced them and briefly explained what had happened.

"Master Ip, I've heard your name from Ah Xing." At this point, Matt suddenly spoke up, addressing Ip Man.

Upon hearing that, the otherwise refined expression on Ip Man's face was slightly solemn as he looked at Matt, "You've met Ah Xing."

"... Ah Xing was our friend who once fought with us against the Hand. He fell victim to the Hand's attack because of me."

"No, everything's my fault," Jessica said, looking depressed.

Mentioning Ah Xing, Matt and his group recalled the battle that happened at the port. There was a moment of silence before Matt added, "Master Ip, we came to look for you this time. Apart from Ah Xing's matter, there's an even more important matter that we need your help with."

"Something even more important?" Ip Man frowned at his words.

"Yes, the Beast appeared. "