Chinatown, New York.
Evening had settled in.
Inside the hall, Gu Xing sat cross-legged, breathing slowly and steadily as he cultivated. The flow of energy was calmer at night—less potent than the morning—but still enough to refine his control.
Or at least, it should have been.
Now—
He opened his eyes, staring at the battered group sitting in front of him.
Silence lingered for a moment before he spoke.
"…Okay."
He rubbed his temple lightly.
"So you guys fought the Hand… a guy who throws cards, a guy who shoots fireballs, and a group of gangsters?"
The group sat on the ground, bruised and exhausted.
Colleen nodded. "Yes."
Gu Xing stared at them for a second longer, then continued.
"And you managed to save a group of teenagers…"
He paused, eyes narrowing slightly.
"…and none of them thought to take the kids hostage when you left?"
That made the room go quiet again.
Daredevil's head tilted slightly.
"That…"
He paused, replaying the fight in his mind.
"…is strange."
Jessica frowned. "Now that you say it…"
Luke crossed his arms, thinking. "Yeah… they just backed off when the cops came."
Danny looked uneasy. "The Hand doesn't do that."
No one could answer.
Gu Xing let out a slow breath.
A headache was starting to form.
Something was clearly off.
He glanced at Daredevil.
"…Maskman."
Everyone looked at him.
"You should remove your mask."
Daredevil stiffened slightly. "But—"
Gu Xing cut him off with a small shake of his head.
"Don't say something about implicating us and et cetera."
His tone remained calm, but firm.
"The moment you all walked into my hall…"
"…I'm already part of this."
Silence.
Daredevil stood there for a moment, thinking.
Then—
He nodded.
Slowly, he reached up and removed his mask.
Revealing—
A man with short brown hair, a calm but tired expression, and unfocused eyes that didn't quite meet anyone's gaze. Bruises marked his face, but they didn't take away from the quiet intensity he carried.
For a second—
No one reacted.
Then—
"Huh?" Jessica leaned forward slightly. "I don't know him."
"Same," Colleen said.
Luke suddenly squinted, then his eyes widened.
"Wait—aren't you that blind lawyer?"
Danny stayed silent, watching.
The man nodded slightly.
"My name is Matt Murdock."
He paused.
"I'm a lawyer."
A beat.
"And yes… I'm that blind lawyer."
"You might know Nelson. He's my partner."
Jessica blinked. "…Wait, he's blind?"
The others looked just as surprised.
After everything they just saw—
The way he moved.
Fought.
Reacted.
It didn't add up.
Gu Xing glanced at them, then shook his head again.
"…Alright. Murdock."
He looked at everyone this time.
"And the rest of you."
A pause.
"What exactly are you all doing here?"
The group fell silent again.
They exchanged glances.
Then Danny scratched the back of his head, looking slightly awkward.
"…We don't really have anywhere else to go right now."
He hesitated, then continued.
"And… I remembered this place."
He looked at Gu Xing, more serious now.
"You took me in before."
Gu Xing's gaze shifted slightly—toward Colleen.
She stiffened almost immediately.
Because she knew exactly what he was thinking.
That flyer.
"If you have nowhere else to go…"
Her idea.
Gu Xing slowly leaned back, exhaling.
His expression didn't change much—
But internally—
'…Now a group of problematic heroes is inside my house.'
And somehow—
He had a feeling this was just the beginning.
"What a headache."
Gu Xing exhaled, rubbing his temple before straightening his posture.
Then his expression shifted—calm, composed.
Like an instructor.
"So before we start…"
He looked at all of them.
"Let's first introduce ourselves—how we ended up here, and our skills."
His tone was casual, but carried a quiet authority.
Almost immediately—
The group unconsciously sat up straighter.
Even Jessica noticed it, raising a brow slightly.
"…Okay, I'll start."
Gu Xing adjusted his sleeve slightly.
"Name's Gu Xing. You guys can call me Coach Gu."
He glanced at them, making sure they were listening, then gave a small nod.
"I got into this trouble…"
His gaze slowly moved across each of them.
"…because of a group of troublemakers."
A brief silence—
Then a few awkward chuckles slipped out.
Jessica scratched her head. "Yeah… that checks out."
Gu Xing continued as if nothing had happened.
"My skills?"
He smiled faintly.
"Just the bare minimum." Gu Xing smiled.
He then pointed casually.
"Okay. You next."
Colleen blinked once, then nodded.
"My name is Colleen Wing."
She sat properly, her voice steady.
"I use a katana…"
Soon everyone introduced themselves, in summary, they followed a lead and arrived at the port.
Luke is with the drugs circulating in Harlem.
Jessica is with the missing teenagers.
Matt wants to understand the goal of the Hand.
Lastly, Danny and Colleen because they found out that Rand Enterprise is actually being controlled by the Hand secretly.
Gu Xing's eyes scanned the group, calm but calculating. He stopped on Luke. "You… your skin is nearly indestructible, and your strength is extraordinary."
Luke raised an eyebrow. "Thanks… I think?"
Gu Xing tilted his head, pondering for a moment. "Body Cultivation…" he muttered, almost to himself.
"What?" Luke asked, confused.
Gu Xing didn't answer. He turned to Jessica, his gaze sharp. "You… your strength rivals his. Perhaps even other abilities I can't yet discern." He muttered quietly, almost as if thinking aloud.
Finally, his attention fell on Matt. "Your senses… they're incredible. Not normal by any measure."
"Chi Nurturing stage," he added, more to himself than anyone else.
The group exchanged glances, unsure how to respond. Gu Xing said nothing further, letting the weight of his observation hang in the air.
"Coach, you mean?" Danny asked, a hint of curiosity in his voice.
Gu Xing merely smiled, his expression calm but sharp.
He clapped his hands once, the sound crisp in the tense air.
"Good,"
Smoothly, he rose from his seated position.
"Now that we got that out of the way…"
He stretched his neck slightly.
"You guys talk, rest, do whatever you need."
He turned toward the stairs.
"I'll be upstairs."
Before anyone could respond—
He was already gone.
Just like that.
"…Huh."
Jessica blinked.
"Did he just—leave?"
Silence.
Then she looked at Danny and Colleen.
"You sure this guy is reliable?"
Colleen didn't even hesitate.
She nodded while calmly cleaning her katana.
"Don't worry."
"He's very capable."
Danny looked toward the stairs, thoughtful.
"…He might be our only chance at stopping the Hand."
Luke, however, still looked skeptical.
"…We barely know the guy."
He shook his head and stood up.
"I need a shower."
And just like that, he walked off.
Jessica sighed, leaning back slightly despite the pain.
"Yeah… same."
Matt stayed where he was.
Quiet.
Carefully tending to his wounds with practiced precision.
Though his expression remained calm—
His mind was elsewhere.
On the fight.
On the Hand.
And on the one thing that didn't make sense.
"…They let us go."
Upstairs—
Gu Xing stood by the window, looking out into the night.
His eyes slightly narrowed.
"…Yeah."
Something was definitely coming.
The next day.
Kevin was whistling a light tune as he walked up to the martial arts hall, keys spinning around his finger.
He looked unusually proud.
"First day as receptionist… not bad."
Click.
He unlocked the door and pushed it open.
The moment he stepped inside, he reached for the switch and turned on the lights—
And froze.
A group of bruised, messy-looking adults was scattered around the hall as they had just crawled out of a battlefield.
"…!"
"What are beggars doing here?!" he yelped, nearly dropping his keys.
His eyes darted around in panic—
Until—
He spotted a familiar face.
"…Instructor Colleen?"
Relief hit instantly.
Then confusion replaced it just as fast.
"Who are these guys?"
Colleen, who had been resting against the wall, blinked in surprise.
"Kevin?"
She straightened slightly.
"Why are you here this early?"
Her eyes narrowed a bit.
"…And why do you have the keys?"
Kevin immediately grinned, puffing his chest a little.
"Got promoted by Coach."
He raised the keys proudly.
"I'm the receptionist now."
Danny smiled warmly. "That's nice, kid."
Kevin nodded proudly before glancing back at the others again.
Still confused.
Colleen quickly spoke.
"Oh, that's why."
She gestured casually at the group.
"They just… stayed the night here."
A small pause.
"…An accident."
She didn't elaborate.
Kevin looked at each of them one by one—
Bruised. Bandaged. Exhausted.
"…Got it."
He nodded, surprisingly accepting it.
Then—
"Good morning, guys!"
Like nothing was wrong.
He walked past them and started cleaning the gym.
The group exchanged looks.
Jessica raised a brow. "…Kid's chill."
Luke gave a small nod.
"Yeah."
Slowly, they all got up—
With difficulty.
Muscles sore. Bodies aching.
Even simple movements felt heavy.
Still—
They started helping.
Luke lifted the equipment back into place.
Matt carefully organized scattered items, moving with quiet precision.
Danny helped where he could, though he clearly hadn't recovered fully.
Jessica—
Knocked over a bucket.
Water spilled across the floor.
"…Oops."
Kevin turned, stared for a second—
Then sighed.
"…You can just sit down."
Jessica opened her mouth to argue—
Then paused.
"…Fair."
Slightly embarrassed, she walked over and sat down without another word.
After a while, the hall looked somewhat normal again.
The group gathered around a small table near the receptionist's desk, each holding a cup of coffee.
Kevin had gone to take a shower.
The moment the water started running—
They took the chance.
Luke leaned back slightly.
"…Nice kid."
Colleen nodded. "Yeah."
Matt took a slow sip of his coffee.
Then his expression turned thoughtful.
He lowered the cup slightly.
"…Why do you think they let us save the kids?"
The question hung in the air.
No one answered.
Jessica looked down at her cup.
Danny frowned slightly.
Luke stayed silent.
Because they didn't know.
Then—
A voice came from behind.
"It's clearly a distraction."
They all turned.
Gu Xing stood there, holding a cup of coffee, looking completely refreshed.
Jessica blinked, a visible question mark on her face.
"…Distraction?"
She tilted her head.
"What for?"
The group's attention shifted fully to him.
Gu Xing didn't answer immediately.
He took a calm sip of his coffee.
Then glanced at them.
"Well…"
A small pause.
"That's for you guys to figure out."
Jessica stared at him.
"…"