Kongkong'er staggered, angrily saying, "The thorn has already been pierced, what do you want now?"
Zhao Bai, looking up at the sky at a 45-degree angle (he learned this from Er Sha), thought for a while and said, "How about you kneel down and kowtow three times to Xiao Jing to ask for his forgiveness?" He then asked Er Sha for his opinion, "What do you think?"
Before Ersha could speak, Kongkong'er, unable to bear it any longer, finally took flight, her short sword flashing like a ball of lightning as she thrust it towards Zhao Bailian. The crowd gasped in shock; Zhao Bailian was even staggering as he walked, how could he possibly dodge this thunderous attack?
To everyone's surprise, Zhao Bailian dodged it—before Kongkong'er even moved, he took two steps to the side without warning, and Kongkong'er, as if cooperating with him, thrust his sword into the air where he had just stood.
Zhao Bailian said unhappily, "You're already challenging me. Fine, then I'll accept your challenge."
Chapter Sixty-Six: Top Master
Kongkong'er was a man of some stature after all. He stepped aside and said to Zhao Bailian, "Go and choose your weapon."
Zhao Bailian looked around and said, "I need a sword."
Mulan pointed to the longsword next to her armor on the living room wall and said, "If you don't mind, use mine."
Zhao Bailian went into the room, took it down from the wall, held it under the lamplight, and pulled out a section of it. The blade flashed with a few points of cold light, and I couldn't help but exclaim, "What a fine sword!" Well… although I don't know if it's truly fine, it's customary to give a compliment, and besides, the sword Mulan used wasn't just for show; it must be exceptional.
Unexpectedly, after Zhao Bailian drew his sword, he weighed it in his hand and slowly planted it in the ground. Holding the scabbard, he said, "The sword is too heavy. I'll fight you with this."
Kongkong'er held her breath and stared intently, then suddenly raised the short sword in her hand and said, "This sword is called Ningkongxing. It is 1 foot and 3 inches long and weighs 1 jin and 4 liang. It is forged from cold iron from the bottom of the sea. The seventy-three souls that have perished under its blade were all renowned swordsmen..."
Zhao Bailian looked at the scabbard in his hand and slowly said, "This is a scabbard, quite long, made of wood, not as good as yours."
us:"……"
Kongkong'er said, "I respect you as the world-renowned Sword God, and I will show no mercy when we start fighting."
Zhao Bailian suddenly said, "Wait a minute."
Kongkong'er said solemnly, "What's wrong? Is your heart still not at peace?"
"No, I need to pee first."
us:"……"
Zhao Bailian tucked the scabbard into his collar and went around to the back of the house. Soon after, the sound of rushing water could be heard. Several girls blushed. After a long while, Zhao Bailian straightened his trousers and came back out, saying to Jing Ke, "Little Jing, return his sword to him."
Ersha gritted his teeth, pulled the short sword from his shoulder, and threw it to Kongkong'er. Zhao Bailian took the scabbard in his hand and said, "Now we can begin."
Kongkong waved his hand: "Wait!"
Having waited for ages and lost all patience, we shouted in unison, "What's wrong with you now?"
Kongkong said shyly, "...I'll pee too."
Wu Sangui said sullenly, "That's probably how it is when top masters duel. You know, if you have a pee in your body, you'll be at least half a pound heavier, which will greatly affect your performance."
Liu Bang said, "Isn't there something in common between a duel between masters and a lazy donkey grinding grain, which produces a lot of excrement and urine?"
Wu Sangui laughed and said, "I don't know about top-tier experts, but you can ask Xiaoqiang about the latter."
I yelled at him, "Then you're a top-tier master! Your whole family are top-tier masters!"
Wu Sangui: "..."
After Kongkong'er finished relieving himself, he came out with his twin swords in his hands and said, "Now we can begin."
Suddenly, a voice boomed from the darkness: "Wait!"
We all yelled in utter frustration, "Who is it now—"
An old man with neatly combed hair walked up to us from the night; it was He Tiandou.
He didn't look at us, but stared at Kong Kong'er and said, "Why did you betray me?"
When Kongkong'er saw that it was its old master, it began to look away, but then it raised its head and said loudly, "I want to be as rich as you."
He Tiandou paused and said, "Are you short of money?"
Kongkong'er exclaimed excitedly, "You didn't hear me clearly. I said I want to be as rich as you—I have absolutely no interest in your messy affairs with that Xiao guy, but I just can't stand seeing you spend money on inexplicable things. I've been with you for so many years, that money should have been mine!"
He Tiandou seemed stunned and speechless for a long time before he finally smiled bitterly and said, "I never thought that the famous Kongkong'er would betray me for money. I have been an immortal for so many years, and I have even forgotten the basic human emotions and desires."
I interjected, "So you're not as sensible as Ying Ge. He understood things within days of arriving. In this world, money makes you a god. Wasn't Lü Bu only helping you for money?"
Kongkong'er said, "There's nothing strange about that. I'm a thief, after all. I grew up in an orphanage, so I know all too well the importance of money. You can't expect me to treat money like dirt and to bravely forge ahead for your great cause without expecting anything in return..."
I clapped my hands and said, "That really resonated with me."
Kongkong'er continued, "All those foreigners want are a few pieces of scrap metal. They're willing to pay a high price for them, so why should we go against them? Those things can't be drunk when thirsty or eaten when hungry. Even if we treat them as treasures, they'll still inevitably turn to dust in a few thousand or tens of thousands of years. Why not exchange them for foreign currency now?"
I stared in disbelief and said, "You really are influenced by your surroundings; you've even learned macroeconomics from the Mafia."
He Tiandou said regretfully, "You're now hopelessly trapped in your desires. These past few days, I've developed a new medicine to save you..." He Tiandou pulled a small, olive-shaped pill from his pocket and held it in his palm. The pill was the same shape and size as the one that restored memories of past lives, only it was bright red and looked somewhat frightening. He Tiandou slowly walked towards Kong Kong'er, holding it. "This medicine also contains a small amount of alluring herbs, but its effects are opposite to those of the Blue Medicine; you could say it's the antidote to the Blue Medicine. Once you take it, you'll forget your past life and everything you did after regaining your memories. In other words, you'll become an ordinary person again, no longer Kong Kong'er..."
Kongkong'er retreated with a hint of fear, muttering, "Don't come any closer, I will never eat that ghoul. With my current skills, I could easily make a fortune doing anything else."
He Tiandou said, "Then you have to eat even more. I can't just stand by and watch you go down the wrong path. Don't worry, once you've forgotten all of this, I'll arrange your future life. You won't have to worry about food and clothing; in fact, in most people's eyes, you'll be a small-time millionaire..."
Kongkong'er retreated repeatedly, and said sternly, "Don't go any further, or I won't be polite to you. Don't think I don't know your secret. Even immortals in the mortal world can only use self-defense magic. You are no match for me now."
He Tiandou sighed, clasped his hands in a fist salute to Zhao Bailian, and said, "Then I'll leave everything to Gai Jianshen."
Kongkong'er said to Zhao Bailian, "I just want to take the things and leave. Are you trying to make things difficult for me?"