A short while later, Tiger's men brought breakfast: fried dough sticks, rice noodle soup, and two large pots of eggs. The heroes slurped down their food, stood up abruptly, bid each other farewell, and then went off to gather information. I suddenly felt my blood boil; these were the true heroes of Liangshan, facing battle with boundless passion, like wild boars injected with 5000cc of chicken blood… uh, I won't use that adjective.
I feel honored to be one of the 108+1.
Wu Yong finished his fried dough stick in small bites, adjusted his glasses, and said, "Xiao Qiang, let's go."
Lu Junyi said, "Which brother do you think should accompany us?"
Wu Yong waved his hand and said, "No need, that would be worse."
We left Zhu Gui and An Daoquan to take care of Zhang Shun, while Wu Yong and I set off alone.
Finding Duan Tianlang wasn't difficult; the Martial Arts Tournament had information on every contestant's whereabouts. I took the opportunity to inform the chairman about his forfeit of the singles match. I initially thought he would get angry with me again, but to my surprise, he accepted the situation after only asking a few casual questions. Thus, the semi-final that day turned into the final—it seemed the two finals of the Martial Arts Tournament were going to end in such an anticlimactic manner.
I drove Wu Yong to the guesthouse where Duan Tianlang and his group were staying, which showed that Duan Tianlang and his group weren't very wealthy. However, this was also related to the large number of people they had brought. It was a place near the outskirts of the city, consisting of a ring of small two-story buildings and a large courtyard. As soon as I entered, I saw two very familiar Tianlang disciples squatting on the steps brushing their teeth. Upstairs, there was a large crowd of people, all of whom were their people.
I didn't know them well, but they all knew me—the kind of people who would recognize me even if I were ashes. The two disciples immediately stood up in surprise when they saw me enter, one of them even instinctively striking a fighting pose. I started to regret it—I should have at least brought Dai Zong with me; if even the weakest of them had charged at me, I would have been helpless.
Wu Yong smiled and clasped his hands in a fist salute: "We've come to visit Master Duan."
The man on the steps, seeing that there were only two of us and seemingly no ill will, didn't even bother to wipe the toothpaste foam off. He said in an unfriendly tone, "Wait, I'll tell you." With that, he ran upstairs and a moment later stood on the second-floor balcony, calling out to us, "Come on up."
His shout brought a dozen or so heads popping out from upstairs and downstairs, including the short, fat guy we'd fought before, all glaring at us defiantly. Wu Yong calmly went upstairs, and I followed him meekly into the middle room. Duan Tianlang was sitting in a chair, his face sallow and his expression blank. He didn't look injured at all, but the room reeked of Chinese medicine. He waved his disciples away and said indifferently, "What brings you two here?"
Wu Yong chuckled and picked up a small pinch of dregs from the corner, smelled it, and said, "Hmm, this is a prescription personally prepared by our Brother An. What do you think, Master Duan?"
A blush flashed across Duan Tianlang's sallow face, but he quickly regained his composure, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Please thank him for me. He's fine now."
Wu Yong found a chair and sat down, his smile fading. He said, "Brother Duan, to be honest, were you already injured before the match that day?"
Duan Tianlang didn't mince words, glancing at Wu Yong and asking, "How did you know?"
Wu Yong tapped the table lightly with his hand, then pointed at me and said, "Our brother here is very loyal, but everyone knows his own limitations in martial arts. If Master Duan hadn't been injured, he'd probably still be lying in bed right now."
I said in surprise, "Just get to the point, why are you trying to disgust me?" Then I added, "Even though what you said is true."
Wu Yong's words were ostensibly praising Duan Tianlang, but also subtly mocking his ruthless methods. However, Duan Tianlang's expression softened upon hearing this, and he stared at me, saying, "I truly didn't expect you to be completely ignorant of martial arts." It seemed that although my punch had forced him to vomit blood, he had still managed to see through my disguise.
Wu Yong asked, "How did Master Duan get injured? Could you please tell me the details?"
Duan Tianlang said expressionlessly, "Why are you asking this?"
Wu Yong said bluntly, "One of our brothers was also seriously injured, and there are very few people in the world who can injure Master Duan. We want to use this to determine whether our enemies have mobilized all their forces."
Duan Tianlang shuddered and said, "You mean your enemy is even more skilled in martial arts?" He paused and said, "Actually, I've always wondered where all these powerful people came from in this world. Who exactly are you people?"
Wu Yong smiled but remained silent.
Duan Tianlang sighed and said, "Telling you is no big deal. The guy who injured me was indeed a master of martial arts. I'm a loner, and the day before the match, I was in a bad mood and went to a small restaurant to drink alone (you all know why he was in a bad mood, right?). Coincidentally, the TV was showing my match against the Crescent Moon team (you all know which match, right?). There was a guy in that restaurant who was already drunk and flushed. When he saw the last part (you all remember what happened, right?), he actually clapped and cheered, saying something about how a real man should act (you all know who he was talking about, right?). I got angry and scolded him. I didn't expect this guy to have such a fiery temper. He looked at me and suddenly threw a bowl at me. We martial artists shouldn't fight with people casually. I was also very angry and had been drinking, so I thought I'd teach him a lesson. But when I started fighting, I realized how sharp his fists and feet were. In less than fifteen moves, he had a palm strike on my chest and left."
Wu Yong and I were both stunned. What kind of terrifying person could inflict internal injuries on Duan Tianlang in just fifteen moves after getting drunk?
Wu Yong asked, "What did that person look like?"
Duan Tianlang picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said, "Nothing special, just a tall, imposing figure with thick eyebrows and big eyes."
Wu Yong then asked, "Are there any special features?"
Duan Tianlang thought for a while and said, "It was hot at the time, and this person was wearing a short-sleeved shirt. You can see a black mole on his left arm."
Wu Yong's expression changed drastically, and he appeared at a loss.
Duan Tianlang asked, "So they really are your enemies?"
Wu Yong protested, repeatedly saying "No" before realizing he had lost his composure. After a short pause, he stood up and said, "Thank you, Master Duan. We'll take our leave now." He then slapped me hard and quickly walked out.
I followed behind him and noticed he was acting very differently than usual. Only after we walked out of the compound and got into the car did I ask, "What happened? Do you know who that person was?"
After a long silence, Wu Yong finally said in a low voice, "The person Duan Tianlang mentioned—it seems to be Wu Song!"
I was also taken aback, and quickly started the car. After driving for a while, I asked, "Could it be a coincidence? There are quite a few people with moles."
Wu Yong remained silent, and I immediately realized that the possibility of coincidence was very small. It was not uncommon to have a mole on one's arm, but only Wu Song could defeat Duan Tianlang with just a few punches and kicks. Hey, look at my writing skills!
I said, "If it really is my second brother, there's no reason for him to see you on TV and not come to acknowledge you, is there?"
Wu Yong frowned and said, "I still can't figure it out. Let's go back to your place first and talk about it then."
While I was waiting at a red light at an intersection, someone from the martial arts tournament organizing committee called me. Before I could even ask what was wrong, they hurriedly said, "One of your contestants has been injured. Come quickly!" They added, "You usually have a lot of people, where have you all gone today?"
I asked, puzzled, "Our people aren't playing today."
The other party said impatiently, "Is Zhang Xiaoer (Duan Jingzhu's competition name) one of your contestants? He has blond hair."
Now it's definitely Duan Jingzhu. As soon as the light turned red, I turned around and headed towards the stadium. Wu Yong asked me what was going on, and I only said three words: "Duan Jingzhu!"
When they arrived at the stadium, the match had already ended, and only a few cleaners were tidying up the stands. They learned from a staff member that the injured player had received basic treatment and had been taken by Tong Yuan to the New Moon team's VIP section.
Wu Yong and I rushed over to Tong Yuan's place, and what we saw almost made us furious. There was Duan Jingzhu, that bastard, with his leg bandaged, leisurely lying in the arms of two beautiful female team members, eating a banana and looking completely content, while flirting with the girls around him.
I stepped on his stomach, and Duan Jingzhu groaned as the banana fell to the ground. The girls giggled and ran away. Tong Yuan smiled at us and said, "Should we go outside for a bit?"
I said, "Thank you, girl."
After Tong Yuan and the others left, I threw Duan Jingzhu on the ground, plopped down in a chair, casually peeled a banana, and snapped, "Didn't we tell you not to come? What's going on?"
Duan Jingzhu said with a grin, "Give me another banana."
I threw a banana peel in his face and yelled at him, "Speak up!"