Dong Ping said, "I have to win another match tomorrow. My opponent is Tiger."
I asked in surprise, "Tiger made it to the round of 16 too?"
Dong Ping laughed and said, "You don't know, this kid's kung fu is pretty good."
I said, "We have to win. He knows us inside and out. It wouldn't make sense to lose to him."
Duan Jingzhu shouted, "Xiao Qiang, just let me play well, anyway I can't get first place."
Seeing his face covered in bruises, I knew he had worked his way up to where he was today entirely through hard work. I knew he wouldn't be willing to give it up, so I said to him, "Well, you decide what to do."
I ran into Tiger in the hotel restaurant. The guy was all smiles. I asked him what he was so happy about, and he said, "You don't know, do you? My opponent tomorrow is Brother Dong."
I asked in surprise, "He promised to let you have more water?"
Tiger glared at me and said, "I know Brother Dong doesn't think much of me. He can refuse to take me as his apprentice, but he has to have a good fight with me tomorrow."
I rolled my eyes and said, "I think I should give you a good beating."
Tiger didn't seem to care at all: "You wouldn't understand even if I told you. Oh, by the way, why were you always following along during the team competition?"
"What? What's going on? I'm the team leader."
"You? Team leader? Come on, let's spar a bit!"
I jumped back more than two zhang in fright. The tiger chuckled when it saw me: "Oh, you've actually trained?"
...
Back in my room, I sighed and groaned all night. Baozi poked her head out from the bathroom and said, "What's wrong with you? You look like you've lost your wallet."
"...It's even more heartbreaking than losing your wallet."
While continuing to brush his teeth, Baozi stammered, "Uncle, tell me, how did you get into this mess?"
I lit a cigarette: "I can't explain it, and I can't really explain it."
Baozi spat out the toothpaste foam: "Then give me an example."
“…Okay, then I’ll give you an example. For instance, you, Xiang Baozi, earn 800 yuan a month.”
Baozi said, "This is not a metaphor, it is a fact."
"...Don't interrupt!"
"Okay, go on."
"You earn 800 yuan a month but you want a dress that costs 1000 yuan. What should you do?"
"If you really like it so much, just borrow 200 from someone else."
Hmm, that's definitely Baozi's style. She's done things like this before, so this analogy isn't quite accurate. So I said, "What if that dress cost 8000 yuan?"
Baozi said, "Bullshit, where would you find a dress that expensive?"
Yes, that's Baozi's style too. She has plenty of dresses that cost 8,000 yuan, but she can pretend she's never seen them.
I slapped my thigh and exclaimed, "Simply put, it's like someone who everyone knows only earns 800 yuan a month has his eye on something that costs 8,000 yuan, but he actually has 80,000 yuan. The problem is: this person clearly has money but doesn't dare to buy what he likes, and he feels frustrated."
Seeing that I was a little agitated, Baozi asked in confusion, "What are you saying? I don't understand a word. What does it have to do with you?"
Honestly, I'm a bit frustrated. The competition has gone on for so long, and now it's suddenly ending without any benefits. Even practicing breath-holding in a basin for so long would increase lung capacity!
After getting into bed, Baozi habitually switched the TV to a local channel. The screen showed a packed stadium, and just as the announcer said, "...the newly selected top four include our city's..." Baozi didn't even glance at it before changing the channel, saying:
"See? Ever since motorcycle taxis were banned, there are more and more idle people."
The next day, the first thing I noticed when I opened my eyes was the light filtering through the swaying curtains, indicating it was probably late. Sure enough, it was almost 9 a.m. This time, I wasn't in a rush. I calmly brushed my teeth, washed my face, and changed my clothes, suddenly feeling a sense of relief. Perhaps it was better to end things sooner; at least I wouldn't have to be so anxious every day. After seeing everyone off, I could finally focus on my wedding preparations. Besides, I rarely saw the other five members of the group anymore. Liu Bang and Black Widow were inseparable, and I wondered what Ersha and Fatty were up to. Li Shishi would occasionally peek at the venue, dressed like a white-collar worker; I wondered if she'd managed to hook up with some second-rate director or something.
When I arrived at the venue, I immediately saw the heroes gathered around a ring to watch a fight. On the ring, Dong Ping was battling a tiger—or rather, beating it mercilessly. It was clear that the tiger's eyes and nose had been treated; the wounds were obvious. I don't know how long the fight had been going on, but its movements were erratic, and the only thing it could do was charge fiercely only to be effortlessly kicked down by Dong Ping, or to dodge and fall to the ground.
I joined the heroes and chuckled, "This guy's really fearless! What round is it?" Lin Chong, closely watching the situation on the platform, replied, "The second round." I then noticed the heroes' solemn expressions; they stared silently at the tiger on the platform. I quietly patted Zhu Gui and asked, "What happened?"
Zhu Gui said admiringly, "Tiger is a real tough guy. Even though he knew it was no use, he kept attacking."
At this point, the second round ended, and the referee pulled Tiger, who was staggering, aside and questioned him in a low voice for a long time before reluctantly agreeing to let him continue the match.
After Dong Ping stepped down from the stage, wiping his sweat, he said to me, "Xiao Qiang, go and persuade Tiger to stop hitting him."
I shrugged and said, "It's your fault for ignoring him. He thinks it's a rare opportunity for you to beat him up."
Dong Ping was a little stunned and said, "Did I?"
Despite saying that, I still circled around to Tiger's side. This usually imposing man was now panting heavily, with thin trickles of blood constantly flowing from his nose. Dong Ping was really ruthless, hitting him so hard. I approached him and said jokingly, "Tiger, how about we stop fighting? If you like this kind of thing, I'll find you two leopard-skinned women to whip you with, that'll be more fun than this." Tiger's chest heaved violently, his eyes were already somewhat unfocused, and he forced a smile, saying, "He finally considers me a worthy opponent..."
Later, I understood Dong Ping's helplessness. At the start of the third round, Tiger, having recovered his strength, launched another reckless attack. Unless you knocked him down, he would relentlessly harass you, rolling and crawling. In this situation, only a heavy punch to the ground could give him a moment's peace. But Tiger seemed to understand his time was running out; every time he fell, he immediately got up, and we could only watch helplessly as Dong Ping repeatedly knocked him down. By the end, Dong Ping was almost in tears. Hu Sanniang inexplicably cursed, "Damn it, you son of a bitch!" but her eyes were already brimming with tears.
Just as Dong Ping was about to collapse, the final whistle blew, and Tiger's body went limp, about to fall. Dong Ping scooped him up and asked, "Do you still want to become my apprentice?" Tiger smiled shyly, aggravating his wounds and wincing in pain. He weakly said, "I...can I do it?" Dong Ping hugged him tightly: "I've decided to take you as my apprentice!"
From below the stage, Lu Junyi pointed at the tiger and said uneasily, "This guy is like Xiao Qiang. His martial arts skills are a bit mediocre, but he can be a brother to us."
Chapter Twenty-Four, Hero No. 109
That evening, I convened another meeting of all Liangshan heroes in the hotel's conference room. This meeting had two main characteristics. First, it was complete. To achieve this, I urgently recalled Li Yun, who had helped me decorate the house, and stopped Hu Sanniang, who was about to go shopping for discounted goods with Tong Yuan. This resulted in the first time that all 54 people who were supposed to attend were present. Second, it was simple. I specifically instructed the hotel staff not to enter the meeting room at will, sent away Tong Yuan and Tiger who was following Dong Ping, and even kept Ni Siyu, who was used to joking with the heroes, out of the room. The only outsider in the meeting room was Li Bai, who was holding a copy of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and laughing foolishly.
The heroes seemed to know I had something important to announce, and something rather serious, so they showed no relief at Dong Ping and Duan Jingzhu's victory during the day, each with a solemn expression. Duan Jingzhu's leg was swollen from being kicked by his opponent during the day's match. He cut open his trouser leg and fanned himself with a piece of paper he had picked up from somewhere, filling the venue with the smell of safflower oil.