Yang Zhi volunteered to go first, followed closely by Zhang Qing. Lin Chong wanted to avoid giving his opponents any chance and went third himself. Shi Qian said in a high-pitched voice, "Brother Bie Jia, let me go up and show off too!"
I whispered in Lin Chong's ear, "Let him go. We need to lose a match anyway..."
Our match was scheduled for 8:40. A match had just finished at our arena, number 5, between Cangzhou Hongri Martial Arts School and Shanxi Datong Yucai Martial Arts School. If it weren't for the Cangzhou people's kindness, the Shanxi guys would have been badly beaten. These bruised and battered Shanxi guys, upon hearing we were also from Yucai, cheered us on: "Come on, brothers, try to drag it to the fifth round..." It seems those named Yucai are a bit unreliable; the referee even remarked, "Another Yucai? Four Yucais in the first round alone."
I asked, "How is the battle going?"
As the referee took away our list, he said, "We've already eliminated three people. Now we'll add you as the fourth."
I:"……"
The referee set the list aside and announced loudly: "The two sides in the match are Jingwu Free Fighting Association and Yucai Martial Arts School. The list of participants has been verified. Team leaders, please greet each other. The match will begin immediately."
The burly chairman opposite us, clad in black armor, sneered as he clasped his fists together. Although Lin Chong was our leader, I was still the official team leader for Yucai, so I could only step forward and give him a perfunctory fist salute. On the stage, Yang Zhi and the Jingwu Association members were already in position. The referee, having seen everyone leave, waved his hand to signal the start of the match.
After exchanging greetings, the big guy didn't immediately return to his team. He nudged me with his shoulder, turned his back to the referee, and whispered, "You guys surnamed Xiao, you're dead meat!"
I said, "I don't think so?"
The guy chuckled maliciously: "Do you believe your people won't even see the fourth one of us?" The implication was that Yu Cai would definitely be struck out.
Before I could even speak, I heard the referee behind me shout: "Jingwu Free Fighting Association vs. Yucai Martial Arts School, first match, Wang Quansheng from Yucai Martial Arts School!"
I glanced at the burly man with his mouth agape, then turned around and said disdainfully to the referee, "That character is pronounced 'tong'!"
Chapter Nine Doraemon
Actually, I don't know what happened. From the moment Yang Zhi stepped onto the stage to the moment "Wang Quansheng" was announced, it was less than 30 seconds. He hadn't even taken off the tag on his boxing gloves yet. At that time, Yang Zhi's opponent was lying on the stage, clutching his legs and unable to stand up. That's when the referee declared him the direct winner.
"...I kicked a nerve in his leg," Yang Zhi said when I asked him what happened.
It's quite disappointing to hear a master like me say, "I kicked his nerve ending." Even someone like me, who has only read a few martial arts novels, can name several acupoints.
Next up is Zhang Qing, and I have complete confidence in him. When I read the original novel, I had no idea what Zhang Qing was; I only knew him as Zhang Qing from the vegetable garden. Later, I learned that compared to Zhang Qing, the vegetable garden was just a steamed bun seller, and because it sold human flesh buns, it was at most an ethical drama like "Sweeney Todd." Zhang Qing, before he surrendered, used his flying stones to defeat 15 Liangshan generals, truly awe-inspiring, almost saving the world like the Americans. Although he didn't save the world in the end, it was still a blockbuster, incomparable to Zhang Qing.
After Zhang Qing took the stage, he fought against his opponent. He was very disciplined in terms of both tactics and moves. However, he had a subconscious little gesture that was hard to understand: whenever he separated from his opponent by a certain distance, he would always swing his hand at them.
I was just worrying about the teacher's situation when I heard about this, and without hesitation, I replied, "A warm welcome!"
After the first round, I asked him, "Brother Qing, why are you always shaking your hands like that?"
Zhang Qing said with a hint of helplessness, "I'm never used to wearing these gloves. I keep thinking I'm carrying a hidden weapon and want to throw it at someone."
I watched for a while, then got really bored and started wandering around the nearby arena. Tiger and his group were on the other side of the arena; their first match wasn't finished yet. Tiger saw me wearing a helmet and armor and chuckled, "What are you doing?" I gave him a knowing smile.
On the stage, representing Tiger's side was a burly, unfamiliar man. His punches were powerful and fierce, and he was cornering his opponent and beating him mercilessly. Tiger told me that he was his junior brother. I knew that Tiger had a very high seniority in the "group," so it was quite strange that a junior brother would appear at this time. Looking at his teammates standing next to him, they were all unfamiliar faces. It seemed that Tiger had kept a backup plan after all. In fact, the 12 Bodyguards were really useless in this kind of situation. As I was watching, I felt someone tug at my clothes and said, "Don't block my way."
I turned around and chuckled to myself. I saw Grandpa Gu sitting on a small stool, thoroughly enjoying the opera. There was an erhu (a two-stringed bowed instrument) beside him. I greeted him, "Grandpa Gu, you're here too?" Grandpa Gu casually replied and asked, "Those two lads who fought with you last time, are they carrying the load this time?"
I said, "Those two..." Just then, Li Jingshui and Wei Tiezhu walked past us in a small group, so I quickly called them over to chat with Grandpa Gu. Grandpa Gu asked in surprise, "You two didn't have a match?"
Li Jingshui smiled and said, "Our kung fu is too bad, we'd only embarrass ourselves if we went up there." Wei Tiezhu nodded. Seeing that they weren't joking, Grandpa Gu looked up and asked me, "Where are your people competing?" I pointed to him, and the old man stood up, picked up his stool, and swaggered over.
I looked around and saw that two arenas far away from me were surrounded by people. Ordinary spectators couldn't get in now; everyone inside was a professional, which meant that the matches on those two arenas were definitely high-level. I eagerly ran over to watch.
One of them, no wonder, had a large number of people; Tong Yuan was leading her women's army in the fight. Moreover, these girls were all incredibly beautiful, with rosy lips, white teeth, and charming smiles. Now, wearing armor, they had a unique charm, and even a casual pose looked like something out of an advertisement.
I tried my best to squeeze in, but to no avail. Those blocking my way were all burly men, the ones furthest inside being the most muscular. I guessed the group closest to Tong Yuan and the others were either martial arts masters or, as the legends say, had climbed over others to get in. I jumped up and down outside the circle, shouting, "Girls..." A group of men suddenly turned around, and Tong Yuan glanced back and smiled at me. I stepped onto the stage, my eyes burning with jealousy. Tong Yuan was also in full protective gear, surrounded by her sisters, even the assistants were all pretty young women.
I glanced at the stage and saw a contestant from the Hubei team exchanging punches and kicks with a girl from Tong Yuan's team. The girl had delicate features and a slender figure, but her face was flushed red, whether from the fight or from exhaustion, I couldn't tell. Her punches and kicks were all incredibly vicious, and every time she landed a blow, the spectators cheered and jeered; when she was hit, everyone booed the man, and some even yelled, "A good man doesn't fight with a woman!" "Are you even a man?"
The Hubei man, under immense pressure, landed a powerful punch that was about to hit his opponent, only to be met with a chorus of curses from the crowd. He hesitated, and the punch was dodged, leaving him vulnerable in the process. He then tried to exploit an opening to sweep his opponent down, but countless狰狞 (zhengning - ferocious/hideous) faces suddenly appeared in the crowd, forcing him to hold back some of his strength. His opponent, however, took the hits without a scratch. After a while, the man couldn't take it anymore. Taking advantage of a moment when he shifted his position, he leaned against the ring railing and yelled at the crowd, "Why don't you come up here and try?" As he spoke, he slowly raised one fist to his face; anyone with a discerning eye could immediately recognize it as a habitual middle finger gesture.
After the Hubei contestant received a warning from the referee, the all-female team won the first round on points. The pretty girl on stage kept winking at the audience, even striking a pose with one hand on her hip, then taking off her gloves and poking her cheek with two fingers. There was no doubt that if a cheap car like the Alto was placed behind her, it could easily sell for the price of a Ferrari. The male contestants below went crazy taking pictures. Many of them, who were about to compete and already wearing boxing gloves, were fiddling with their phones with just one finger, more skillfully than Doraemon.
I shook my head and sighed, "Isn't this one of your strategies?"
Tong Yuan sensed the sarcasm in my words and said coldly, "How you fight is entirely up to you. If you care so much about the gender of your opponent, you're not worthy of learning martial arts." She looked me up and down before asking curiously, "What are you up to? Trying to sell protective suits?"
I slapped my forehead: "Oh right, I still have a competition, you go ahead and do your thing."
Tong Yuan couldn't help but laugh and said, "Your team wouldn't send someone like you up here, would it?"
At this moment, the second player from the Hubei team also nervously stepped onto the field, and it was clear that he was doomed to fall. As I squeezed my way out, I joked with Tong Yuan, "Don't forget you still owe me a favor. If you ever run into our team again, remember to go easy on them." Tong Yuan smiled and said, "Okay."
I really don't understand this woman. She's as cunning as a little fox, sometimes as cold as a wolf, and most of the time she can be so nonchalant. It's probably related to her profession. Anyway, if I'm ever chased by recruiters again, I'll definitely hire a bodyguard like her.
In just a short while, the next arena became even more lively, almost more popular than this one. I wondered to myself, had the Charlie's Angels teamed up with Lara Croft for a fight? I grabbed one of the 300 patrolling soldiers and asked him, "Why is it so lively over there?"
The young soldier smiled at me first and said, "Everyone is here to see the Tianlang Martial Arts School. Their master, Duan Tianlang, used to claim that he was invincible throughout North China, and then he said he wanted to take this opportunity to change the name of the school."
"Change it to 'All Under Heaven'?"
The young soldier asked curiously, "How did you know?"
I was also taken aback; I hadn't expected this guy to be on the same level as me. But to make so many people ignore the beautiful women, he must have some real skill. I was too lazy to squeeze through the crowd, and besides, I wouldn't understand it anyway, so I scurried back to my own lines. Just then, Zhang Qing was winning a decisive victory. This win was unremarkable; aside from trying to throw his glove at his opponent, Zhang Qing's movements were textbook precise.
Grandpa Gu sat on a small stool, his eyes half-closed. I leaned closer and asked, "How's it going, old man? Have you found anything good lately?" Grandpa Gu didn't answer, just stared at Zhang Qing. My heart skipped a beat. This old man was a connoisseur of antiques; could he be recognizing these people as artifacts themselves?
Grandpa Gu pointed at Zhang Qing and asked me, "Who's that young man? He's got some serious arm strength!"
I casually blurted out, "I used to be a cook."
Grandpa Gu shook his head and said, "No, a chef usually has more strength in his right hand, but he has the same strength in both wrists."
I didn't expect Zhang Qing to be able to throw a broken stone with both hands, so I could only say, "He's in charge of chopping filling."
Grandpa Gu then nodded in realization.