Chapter 95

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Chapter 95: The Contest

In the middle of the crowd was a spacious open area. The people here were accustomed to challenges and matches, so the space they left was just right. If it was too big, it would be hard to see clearly, too small, and they could easily get hurt. This size was the best result after many bloody lessons.

In the open area, Yu Deyi had already prepared himself and was proudly greeting familiar faces, waiting for Zhang Xiaohu to arrive. Upon seeing Zhang Xiaohu squeeze his way in, Yu Deyi immediately dropped his smile and became serious.

Zhang Xiaohu looked around and said to Zhang Xiaohua: “Xiaohua, stand back a bit. In this match, I will not be able to take care of you, and there’s a chance you could get accidentally injured.”

Zhang Xiaohua smiled and said: “Okay, Second Brother, I’ll stand over here with them.”

After saying that, he pointed to where Shangguan Yun and Yu Lun were standing and, pulling Li Jinfeng along, went to stand with them.

Yu Deyi and Zhang Xiaohu exchanged glances and cupped their fists simultaneously, saying: “Please.”

Both then assumed identical opening stances.

Zhang Xiaohua also practiced Six Harmonies Fist before, but unfortunately, he only remembered a few of the moves. He recognized the familiar opening stance. He wondered, was Yu Deyi planning to use his Six Harmonies Fist to compete against Zhang Xiaohu’s Six Harmonies Fist?

When the match began, Zhang Xiaohua realized he was right. The proud Yu Deyi indeed couldn’t stand hearing others praise Zhang Xiaohu as a genius and deliberately chose Six Harmonies Fist to challenge Zhang Xiaohu’s Six Harmonies Fist. The two exchanged punches and kicks over several rounds, both of them extremely skillful and fluid in their movements. They knew every more by heart. When they fought, it was really beautiful, it was as if they were fellow apprentices putting on a coordinated performance.

The spectators were dazzled, cheering and applauding. Some even remarked: “These two are putting on quite a show, it’s like they’ve been practicing together for years.”

While these comments were meant to praise Zhang Xiaohu, they turned into sarcasm in Yu Deyi’s ears. For Zhang Xiaohu, who had only been practicing for a month, such comments were genuine compliments. But for him, who had been immersed in martial arts for years, to be compared equally with Zhang Xiaohu was far from satisfying. Realizing this, he put away his contempt, tightened his fists, and accelerated the pace of his attack. His punches and kicks rained down on Zhang Xiaohu like a storm.

The sudden increase in pace put Zhang Xiaohu at a disadvantage and flaws appeared from time to time. Fortunately, his deep familiarity with the Six Harmonies Fist allowed him to quickly cover these gaps before Yu Deyi could exploit them. Zhang Xiaohu was like a lotus leaf in the rain, swaying under the onslaught but never falling.

Yu Deyi, seeing that his set of Six Harmonies Fist was nearly exhausted and Zhang Xiaohu was still handling the situation well, narrowed his eyes. He switched tactics, moving his left hand up and his right hand down, forming a virtual hold in front of his chest. He shifted his footwork and abandoned Six Harmonies Fist in favor of Bagua Palm, which uses softness to conquer strength, and his figure began circling Zhang Xiaohu. Zhang Xiaohu was also amazing. Seeing Yu Deyi changing his martial technique, remained composed. He steadied himself with the horse stance and guarded his center with Six Harmonies Fist, probing Yu Deyi’s new form while waiting for an opening.

Zhang Xiaohua had never learned Bagua Palm, so at first, he was quite worried for his second brother. But seeing Zhang Xiaohu remain composed in response to the new style, holding his ground, he felt more at ease. As Zhang Xiaohu seemed to regain his rhythm, defending and attacking according to the situation.  Zhang Xiaohua realized that his second brother might be struggling to counter this technique, so he focused on observing the moves of the Bagua Palm

Unfortunately, after observing for a long time, when Yu Deyi was about to change his martial technique, Zhang Xiaohua still couldn’t remember any of the moves. He couldn’t help but feel disheartened, thinking his talent might indeed be subpar. Fortunately, Yu Lun next to him was unaware of his thoughts, otherwise, he would surely mock him as a country bumpkin. How could a martial art be so easy to learn? Otherwise, how could anyone dare to fight in the martial world? Their unique skills would be stolen right after fighting, leaving no place in the Jianghu the original practitioner.

Before Zhang Xiaohua’s bad mood could dissipate, Yu Deyi had already switched through several fist styles, yet none posed a substantial threat to Zhang Xiaohu.

At that moment, his eyes shifted, a plan forming in his mind. As he changed his moves, he deliberately left an opening. Zhang Xiaohu didn’t seem to notice the trap and continued with a move from the Six Harmonies Fist, punching towards Yu Deyi’s left rib with his right hand. Seeing the punch coming, Yu Deyi was not only delighted but also used his left hand to perform a silk-winding move, catching Zhang Xiaohu’s wrist. Taking advantage of the situation, Yu Deyi’s right hand reached for Zhang Xiaohu’s collar. Witnessing this, Zhang Xiaohua almost cried out, wasn’t this the same using four ounces to move a thousand pounds move that Nie Xiao’er used to toss him out that day? Zhang Xiaohua couldn’t help but clench his fists, worrying for his second brother.

Zhang Xiaohu, seeing his wrist caught and Yu Deyi’s right hand reaching for his collar, knew he couldn’t let him succeed. He immediately turned his left fist into a palm, pushing towards Yu Deyi’s right hand. Yu Deyi, seeing Zhang Xiaohu’s left palm coming, smoothly changed his grab into a fist, pressing against Zhang Xiaohu’s palm. His left hand continued the motion without altering Zhang Xiaohu’s punch direction and even added more force. Using his right fist as a pivot, he threw Zhang Xiaohu to the side.

Zhang Xiaohua cried out as he saw his second brother seemingly following in his footsteps. However, before his voice landed, the situation in the training ground changed. Zhang Xiaohu, while in mid-air, bypassed Yu Deyi, flipped several times to dissipate Yu Deyi’s force, and even borrowed some of the momentum to kick toward Yu Deyi’s shoulder.

Yu Deyi hurriedly used his hand to block but lost the initiative, getting kicked back a few steps.

The spectators around the arena cheered loudly at this exciting turn of events. But to Yu Deyi, these cheers were irritating, like needles pricking him, causing his anger to rise. He stomped his right foot, utilizing his lightness skill to swiftly approach Zhang Xiaohu, who had just landed. Taking a deep breath, he channeled his inner energy to his palm, which turned a faint purple color. Drawing a strange arc, his palm struck towards Zhang Xiaohu. Seeing the faintly purple palm, Shangguan Yun’s face changed as he shouted: “Purple Sand Palm?!” It turned out that in his haste, Yu Deyi had resorted to using his inner energy!

Hearing the words “Purple Sand Palm”, Zhang Xiaohua knew things were bad. He quickly ran towards the field, without having time to consider what he could do once he got there.

Zhang Xiaohu had just steadied his stance when he saw Yu Deyi approaching like the wind. He was taken aback, and as the purple palm reached in front of his eyes, he dared not block it with his fists. Hastily, he shifted his stance, narrowly dodging the purple palm, however, his arm brushed against Yu Deyi’s arm. In front of Yu Deyi’s inner energy, he was unable to maintain his balance. Zhang Xiaohu staggered and fell towards Zhang Xiaohua. Before Zhang Xiaohu could regain his footing, Yu Deyi’s palm was already striking towards his face like a shadow!

At that moment, Shangguan Yun shouted loudly: “Yu Deyi, Purple Sand Palm, stop immediately!” He also hurriedly ran into the field.

Shangguan Yun’s shout reached Yu Deyi’s ears, jolting him awake. This was a martial arts match, and his opponent, Zhang Xiaohu, was just someone who didn’t know internal energy and only practiced a basic fist technique. If Yu Deyi’s Purple Sand Palm landed on him, it could result in broken limbs at best or death at worst. Filled with regret, Yu Deyi wanted to withdraw his inner energy, but once the force was released, it couldn’t be retracted. What… what was he to do? Yu Deyi’s expression shifted from pride to anxiety.

Zhang Xiaohu saw the purple palm descending towards his chest while his own fists were still in the process of rising, he knew he couldn’t block it in time. At this moment, his mind was exceptionally calm, his eyes staring at the increasingly large hand, waiting for the moment of impact.

Suddenly, a small white fist appeared in his field of vision, yes, a small white fist, coming from the gap under his right rib. In the split second before the purple palm could hit his chest, the white fist intercepted it perfectly.

The purple palm and the white fist collided instantly.

Yu Deyi had thought he was about to cause a great disaster, but to his surprise, at the last moment, a fist blocked his palm. Overjoyed, as he struck the fist, he used the opportunity to retract seventy percent of his inner energy. Although such a large-scale reversal of internal energy could easily damage the meridians, at this time, he had no choice but to deal with it.

Once the inner energy began to flow back into his meridians, Yu Deyi felt greatly relieved and was preparing to slowly withdraw his remaining internal energy when something unexpected happened. The moment the remaining thirty percent of his internal energy struck the small fist, he heard a series of cracking sounds followed by a loud, pained scream next to his ear. The scream was so loud that it seemed extremely painful. Yu Deyi found the voice somewhat familiar but couldn’t immediately recall who it was. He silently thanked whoever had intervened and planned to express his gratitude later. Just as Yu Deyi thought he had the situation under control, a fierce force erupted from the fist that had met his palm. This force was not inner energy but pure strength. The impact was so strong that Yu Deyi lost his balance and fell backward. The retracted seventy percent of inner energy broke beyond Yu Deyi’s control, flowing back like a tide. Yu Deyi’s face turned ashen with fear. In mid-air, he tumbled several times to dissipate the backward force. At the same time, Yu Deyi quickly focused his mind, secretly channeling his internal energy technique to bring the uncontrolled internal energy back into the normal meridians.

Fortunately, the force that struck Yu Deyi was purely physical strength rather than inner energy, so it didn’t invade his meridians but only disrupted his internal energy without causing real harm. After a few more somersaults, Yu Deyi managed to land and stabilize himself. However, the uncontrolled internal energy had already caused damage to his meridians. Before Yu Deyi could fully steady himself, he coughed up a mouthful of blood, indicating internal injuries.

The owner of the fist fared even worse. After a pained scream, he fell silent. Under the impact of 20% of Yu Deyi’s inner energy, his body flew backward, tracing a graceful arc before crashing to the ground at a distance and not getting up again.

Zhang Xiaohu, on the other hand, witnessing the fist and palm clash and hearing the sound of bones breaking along with the familiar scream, was horrified. Could it be Zhang Xiaohua? His body was already out of balance, and when he stumbled and fell, his small body was already lying far off without moving.

Zhang Xiaohu quickly got up and shouted, “Xiaohua!” as he rushed over.

By the time he reached Zhang Xiaohua, Shangguan Yun had already arrived. Without hesitation, Shangguan Yun quickly picked up the small body of Zhang Xiaohua and checked his breathing by placing his fingers under Zhang Xiaohua’s nose. Only then did he release a long sigh and tell Zhang Xiaohu, who had come running up: “Zhang Xiaohu, don’t worry. Zhang Xiaohua just fainted.”

Zhang Xiaohu was still anxious and carefully took Zhang Xiaohua from Shangguan Yun. He pressed his ear close to Zhang Xiaohua’s face until he heard the faint sound of breathing, which reassured him a little. As long as there was no threat to life, other problems could be dealt with.

However, when Zhang Xiaohu’s gaze fell on Zhang Xiaohua’s broken hand, he was filled with immense pain. The hand was not only covered in blood but also swollen purple and blue, the whole hand looking like a steamed bun. Zhang Xiaohu’s heart was filled with hatred as he looked up at the person responsible for all this.

But soon, Zhang Xiaohu’s anger dissipated.

Yu Deyi, who was walking towards them with unsteady steps, had a pale face with traces of blood around his mouth and his clothes stained with blood. It was evident that his internal injuries were more severe than Zhang Xiaohua’s.

In an instant, Zhang Xiaohu’s anger subsided. Perhaps this was the harsh reality of the martial world. What was supposed to be a friendly match, a simple exchange, had easily turned into such a devastating scene. What if it were a real life-or-death battle? A shiver of coldness ran through Zhang Xiaohu’s heart.

Yu Deyi walked up to Zhang Xiaohu, feeling deeply remorseful as he looked at Zhang Xiaohua’s appearance. He cupped his hands to Zhang Xiaohua and said: “Brother Zhang, I lost this match. I am truly sorry. I got carried away and forgot that this was just a sparring match, foolishly using internal energy. I will take full responsibility for all the damage caused, and I will ensure that Xiaohua receives the best treatment. Please rest assured.”

Zhang Xiaohu, seeing this genuinely apologetic young master, found himself at a loss for words. He said: “Young Master Yu, let’s not talk about winning or losing right now. The priority is to find a doctor to treat Xiaohua’s injuries. It looks like you’re also seriously hurt, so you should get treated as well.”

Shangguan Yun, standing nearby, said: “Brothers, there’s no need to rush. Little  Brother Xiaohua shouldn’t be moved much due to his injuries. Young Master Yu should also sit down quietly and not move. I’ve already asked Yu Lun to fetch a doctor from West Martial Hall. They should be here soon.”

By this time, the crowd had started to disperse, understanding the severity of the situation. A few concerned onlookers remained, hoping to help if needed.

Before the doctor arrived, a stern voice rang out: “Yu Deyi, what trouble have you caused now? Did you injure Zhang Xiaohu this time?”

Upon hearing this, Yu Deyi, like a mouse seeing a cat, stood up obediently and replied: “Uncle Qu, you’re here.” His honest look resembled that of a schoolboy meeting his teacher, devoid of his usual arrogance. Anyone who looked at him would praise him as an exemplary, well-behaved child.

The crowd turned to see it was none other than Third Master Qu from the Lotus Escort Agency. Judging by his hurried and angry demeanor, it was clear someone had reported the incident to him.

When Third Master Qu approached and saw Yu Deyi’s condition, he couldn’t help but frown and ask: “How did you sustain internal injuries? Weren’t you just sparring with Zhang Xiaohu in martial arts?”

He then looked at Zhang Xiaohu behind Yu Deyi, and questioned: “And Zhang Xiaohu isn’t hurt? What’s going on here?”

Yu Deyi quickly stepped aside to reveal Zhang Xiaohua, who had been hidden behind him, and sheepishly said: “Uncle Qu, please check on Zhang Xiaohua first.”

Third Master Qu, seeing Zhang Xiaohua’s condition, was furious: “Yu Deyi!! How dare you use the Purple Sand Palm!”

He pushed Yu Deyi aside and grabbed Zhang Xiaohua’s wrist to check his pulse, channeling his inner energy into Zhang Xiaohua’s body: “Moreover you used it on such a small child? How could you be so cruel? I never saw this side of you before. Were you trying to kill this child?”

Yu Deyi hung his head low, his face turning slightly red from the scolding from Third Master Qu.

After his internal energy circulated through Zhang Xiaohua’s body for a while, Third Master Qu’s expression softened a bit. He gently told Zhang Xiaohu: “The child is alright, he’s just unconscious. He will wake up soon.”

Master Qu then examined Zhang Xiaohua’s injured hand carefully, even sniffing it. He then sighed and asked: “Zhang Xiaohu, who is this child?”

Zhang Xiaohu respectfully replied:  “Third Master Qu, this is my younger brother, Zhang Xiaohua. He came with me when I joined the escort agency as a porter last month. Didn’t you also see him during the test?”

Third Master Qu, recalling the event, glanced at Zhang Xiaohua again and sighed: “Yes, now that I think of it, isn’t he the little fellow who lifted the 500-pound stone lock that day? Wasn’t he sent to Huanxi Villa with Qiu Tong? Why is he back at the agency?”

Zhang Xiaohu explained: “Xiaohua works at Huanxi Villa. He came to visit me at the agency today, and this happened on his first visit. Third Master Qu, how bad is my brother’s injury?”

Master Qu replied: “Zhang Xiaohua’s injury should be thoroughly examined by a doctor when they arrive. But, Zhang Xiaohu, you should be prepared for the worst. From what I can tell, Zhang Xiaohua’s hand is completely ruined. The bones in his right hand were shattered by Yu Deyi’s inner energy. Even with miraculous medicine, it’s unlikely that his hand will heal perfectly. Fortunately, Zhang Xiaohua doesn’t practice martial arts, so if treated properly, his hand might still be functional and will not affect his daily life. But he won’t be able to do farm work or heavy labor. Yu Deyi, come here.”

Yu Deyi, with his head still lowered, walked over. Third Master Qu said: “Yu Deyi, you know the extent of Zhang Xiaohua’s injury. There will be problems for the rest of his life. You must compensate Zhang Xiaohua well to ensure that he doesn’t have to worry about his well-being for the rest of his life.”

Yu Deyi didn’t dare object and quickly said; “Uncle Qu, rest assured. This nephew promises to take full responsibility and ensure that Zhang Xiaohua will have no worries about food or clothing for the rest of his life.”