"Then I'll treat myself." As we said this, we both remembered how we first met at the swimming pool and laughed.
Ruan Xiaoer and Ruan Xiaowu grabbed her arms on either side and lifted her up: "Let's go!" Ni Siyu exclaimed: "I didn't bring any money."
"Then I'll keep you at the tavern..."
It's clear that Zhang Shun and the Ruan brothers really love their little apprentice and are happy for her achievements, even though they still think it's a boring thing for a group of people to jump into a big puddle and see who can swim the fastest.
Drinking is a must, of course, at a bar. It's worth mentioning that the Reverse Time Bar is now open all day. Just as Li Yun said, large strings of lanterns hang on either side of its entrance, and a huge "wine" character, as big as a 28-inch TV, is pasted on the large earthenware jar at the entrance, becoming a scenic spot. People constantly stand on the rim of the jar, taking photos with spoons in hand. If this martial arts tournament stimulated consumption in the city, then the biggest beneficiary is undoubtedly our bar, thanks to Zhu Gui's promotion. Everyone who stayed, whether competitors or martial arts enthusiasts watching, would come to Reverse Time in their spare time to sit and drink a few bowls of "Five-Star Juniper." Its interior is also decorated in a log cabin style, serving as a teahouse during the day without interfering with performances at night.
I asked Sun Sixin to open a small private room for us, and someone brought over some appetizers. I checked my watch and it was only 11 a.m. I hadn't even had breakfast because of the competition, so what appetizers were we talking about? I asked the waiter, "Do you have anything that will keep you full?" Sun Sixin laughed and said, "That's why we keep getting complaints from customers. They say they wanted to eat here but all they have is alcohol." I waved my hand and said, "Let's talk about that later. Isn't it ridiculous to turn a bar into a restaurant? It's not right for one table to be drinking Hennessy while the other is eating beef noodles."
After everyone else left, Ni Siyu cleverly poured us some wine, stood up, and said sweetly, "This bowl of wine is to thank my three masters for their painstaking guidance..." I looked at her with a displeased expression, and Ni Siyu giggled, "And also for Xiaoqiang's encouragement." Zhang Shun and the others exclaimed, "You absolutely have to drink this bowl of wine!" Ni Siyu downed her drink in one gulp, then suddenly fell silent. She refilled the bowl and picked it up again. Zhang Shun noticed something was wrong and said, "Xiaoyu, what's wrong? If you're not feeling well, don't drink it."
Ni Siyu's eyes reddened, and she choked out, "Thank you again for the second bowl—you're all such good people." She then downed another bowl in one gulp. We exchanged glances, knowing she was a little emotional, and quickly changed the subject to make lighthearted remarks, which livened up the atmosphere again. The drinks went down quickly; everyone was drinking on an empty stomach and soon felt tipsy. The three brothers, arms around each other's necks and shoulders, were loudly boasting when Ni Siyu suddenly patted me and asked softly, "Why did big brother leave?"
"He was angry because of me." I briefly told her what Xiang Yu had said.
Ni Siyu's eyes lit up: "I think what big brother said makes sense. I do lack the fighting spirit."
"How does this have to do with hard work? This is risking your life!" I saw her eyes were watery and her cheeks were flushed, so I knew that this girl was probably about to get her period and was in heat. I teased her, "Your big brother already has a girlfriend."
"We're not married yet, are we? Besides, does she like older brothers as much as I do?"
"...It's hard to say now, but they used to be madly in love."
Ni Siyu poured herself the last bowl of wine and said with great pride, "We are all human, there can only be one winner, so why can't that winner be me?" With that, she tilted her head back, downed the bowl of wine, slammed the bowl on the table, and stood up abruptly.
Sanxiong and I immediately fell silent, looking up at her expectantly. We had already won the provincial championship, and we wanted to see what she would say this time.
“I like…big brother so much.” After saying that, Ni Siyu fell backward.
Ruan Xiaowu, who was prepared, caught her and turned to us, saying, "She has a new target..."
...
Today is a day that martial arts fans have been eagerly anticipating: the Round of 16 finals, which is also the first major battle after the only break in the entire Wulin Tournament. Those who enjoy watching the World Cup might have this feeling: the Round of 16 and Quarterfinals are often more exciting than the finals. At this time, the teams are at their most motivated and can fully demonstrate their skills and tactics, unlike in the finals where they are more hesitant and fearful.
Therefore, the venue was particularly full today, and the five judges were already seated on the stage. The playground had been divided into two sections, with two arenas in each section, but one was reserved as a backup. The conference would hold two matches simultaneously, and all eight matches would be completed by noon.
After the draw, we'll be competing against a Taekwondo gym from Northeast China in our first match. In the other half, the Hongri Martial Arts School, composed of rural athletes, will face a Bajiquan team. I'm glad I didn't draw strong teams like Hongri and Duan Tianlang. It's not that I'm afraid of them; without our Yucai team, they might have won the championship. But whether it's the rural athletes or Duan Tianlang, they seem slightly inferior to Lin Chong and his team. Since we're aiming for fifth place, there's no need to upset them. If we were to meet in the round of 16, I'd be in a very difficult position.
Two teams from our old friends are still in the top 16: Tiger and Tong Yuan. Tiger's teammates were originally skilled fighters that Gu Ye (a famous Hongmen martial arts school) found for him within the Hongmen organization, so in terms of their connections, it's not exactly cheating. I think Tong Yuan's team of beauties has made it this far 70% through strategy; it would be very difficult for them to get into the top 8 by luck alone.
We arrived at the venue on time, and all the heroes came out to cheer us on. Li Kui carried a large flag with a sunflower and two triangles painted on it—that's what most people thought. Wherever we went, people paled. Many of them had witnessed the prowess of Lin Chong and Yang Zhi, and some were our defeated enemies. Now they all knew we were a powerful team, so that school flag represented a kind of strength. Therefore, what was painted on the flag didn't matter. Hitler carrying a Donald Duck flag during the Blitzkrieg at the beginning of World War II would still have inspired fear.
I walked at the back of the line with my head down, and I heard the audience members near me talking: "That's the leader of Yucai."
"Yes, they haven't made a move yet!"
"I can tell he's an expert without even looking at him."
"Tch, how did you know?"
"Look at that... Can you fall so gracefully on flat ground?!"
I scrambled to my feet. I'd gone to bed late last night and was exhausted this morning. During the long walk from one end of the playground to the other, I started dozing off. I didn't even see the person in front of me stop, and I walked right up to Zhang Qing. He was probably still half asleep and thought someone was attacking him, so he kicked backward, causing me to tumble and spin around, my body completely airborne for a moment. To others, it just looked like I was walking along when I suddenly flipped over and fell flat on my face—it was certainly a mess, but it also amazed them.
At this moment, all four teams had assembled. Next to us was the Red Sun Martial Arts School; the rural expert who had lost to Zhang Shun was indeed among them. Seeing that I had suddenly bent over and landed on my bottom, he asked with concern:
"Team Leader Xiao, has he gone mad again?"
Chapter Seventeen: The Extra Match
I have nothing to say about our opponents. Taekwondo athletes who have reached this point must be incredibly strong. Even competitive Sanda (Chinese kickboxing) seems to focus more on practical application than Taekwondo, which is why many people say Taekwondo is all show and no substance. That's nonsense. I still believe in the adage, "There is no strongest martial art, only the strongest person." I don't think an elementary school teacher can necessarily be weaker than a bricklayer, or a clarinet player can necessarily be weaker than a protection collector. I even witnessed a big guy on our middle school sports team getting beaten up by a pianist from the music group. Later, the big guy called his brother to avenge him; his brother was a cotton fluffer. This reminds me of Pushkin's duel. For a poet to be unable to handle even a junior officer is incredibly shameful. This shows that the poets of that time were a mixed bag, with many declaring themselves poets before even having been thugs.
I looked around; all four participating teams were there. I recognized the people from Hongri, but I couldn't tell which of the remaining two teams our opponents were from. They were all around 30 years old, and one team had all five members bald. I guessed it was the other team, because I'd never seen bald people practicing Taekwondo before.
As a result, all the bald guys stood opposite us on the first round of the match. The referee read out the match-ups, and Bald Guy A and I bowed to each other. It wasn't until I returned to my team and the match started that I confirmed the bald group was our opponent. I had a general impression of the teams that made it to the top 16, and I had watched a few matches from this martial arts school called "Beidao." In my memory, they all seemed to have long, flowing hair and wore black belts with varying numbers of gold trims, which indicated that they had high ranks. I stared at them for a while and vaguely recognized a few of them; they were indeed from Beidao. But why were they all shaved bald today? I couldn't figure it out at all.
Zhang Qing will be the first to go. Our roster is: Zhang Qing, Yang Zhi, Shi Qian, Lin Chong, and then me. This arrangement is what we've been using most often lately—it's safe and reliable.
My opponents were generally quite old. As far as I know, to advance to a higher level in Taekwondo, one not only has to pass numerous tests, but there are also strict age requirements. Even if an 18-year-old is invincible, they cannot possibly reach the black belt. From its inception, this martial art has emphasized the cultivation of "Tao" (the Way). In essence, it means prioritizing restraint and forbearance while remaining unafraid of powerful evil; more bluntly, it emphasizes the all-round development of "morality, intelligence, and physical fitness."
They sent a well-dressed bald man to fight Zhang Qing. Right from the start, the bald man yelled and delivered a powerful side kick, sending Zhang Qing staggering. Zhang Qing was mainly startled by the kick; he'd never seen someone yell and scream like they had a deep-seated grudge from the very beginning. But that wasn't the end of it. The bald man went on a rampage, unleashing a flurry of kicks—side kicks, vertical kicks, hook kicks—kicks with all his might, like his legs didn't belong to him. Zhang Qing was a little confused; every time he got close, his opponent would jump away and continue kicking him.
After the game, we didn't know how many points Zhang Qing had lost. Although he blocked most of the shots, he lost a lot of momentum. Zhang Qing wiped his face with a towel and cursed, "Damn, that's disgusting, those big feet kept poking my face." Shi Qian laughed and said, "We should really let Tang Long play, let him get athlete's foot."
I went up to him and asked, "Brother Zhang, what's going on? You can't do anything about him, can you?"
“Without this damn thing,” Zhang Qing said, glancing at the boxing gloves, “it would be so easy to grab his foot. But now we can only block. That guy’s feet stink; they’re so smelly they’ll pungent once they pass his chest.”
I said, "Keep an eye on his shoulder. He'll kick with his shoulder first, right? That way you can be prepared."
Zhang Qing looked up at me, as if he didn't recognize me, and said, "Well done, Qiangzi, you've come up with this idea."
This isn't my idea; anyone who's watched Hong Kong martial arts films from the 90s has this kind of bizarre theory. I personally don't believe it. How can an average person have such quick eyesight? By the time you see his shoulder move, his foot might already be in your crotch. Besides, what if you run into someone doing a Xinjiang dance?
However, Zhang Qing is not me. The reason he couldn't come up with such an idea is because he was a general on horseback. On the battlefield, he rarely had the opportunity to use his flying kick. So when fighting on flat ground, he always had a subconscious slashing motion and always wanted to throw his gloves to hit people.
The battle resumed, and after a brief adjustment period, Zhang Qing quickly gained the upper hand. The word "Tae" in Taekwondo implies kicking, highlighting the emphasis on footwork. The bald man, purely out of habit, still intended to attack Zhang Qing with his feet, but every time he raised his shoulder, Zhang Qing's leg blocked it. Their legs clashed with dull thuds, sounding incredibly painful. Unable to lift his leg, the bald man could only use his fists. However, Taekwondo has many taboos regarding punches, including never striking the opponent's head. Although they were now practicing Sanda (Chinese kickboxing), the bald man's habits were ingrained. For him to engage Zhang Qing in a boxing match was like a rabbit standing upright trying to box against a bear—he would only be utterly defeated.
The second match was between Yang Zhi and Er Tu Zi. Er Tu Zi was kicking his legs near his ears at the edge of the stage, showing off his impressive legwork. I glanced at Er Tu Zi, put my arm around Yang Zhi's shoulder as he was about to go on stage, and whispered, "Step on him."
Then, at the start of the match, Yang Zhi pretended to stumble and landed on Er Tuzi's foot with a low kick. Er Tuzi's kung fu was indeed better than Yi Tuzi's; at least his shout was much louder. I noticed someone in the audience laughing particularly heartily. This guy was also bald and had once represented the Red Dragon Dojo to challenge Tiger...
Although Er Tuzi put on a pair of shoes during halftime, it was still too late to turn the tide. At this point, I, as the team leader, finally made some difference.
As soon as Shi Qian came on stage, I understood why they had shaved their heads... I understood when Shi Qian leaped up and almost slipped off the three bald men's heads with his fist.