Li Daoxuan's thoughts were still drifting in the direction of the entertainment industry—capitalism in its larval, village-fair form—while inside the wooden crate, the so-called "contest for marriage"… well, remove the "marriage" part and it was basically a brawl, was about to begin.
Xing Honglang lowered her right hand ever so subtly, tucking it behind her back. She only raised her left hand and held it straight out in front.
Gao Chuwu, who had recently learned the fundamentals of Hongquan, saw this stance… and immediately felt something was off. Which form is that supposed to be? Laoshi He never taught me that! Those Guanzhong routines he drilled into me—none of them start like this. Is her Jin Hongquan really that different from our Guanzhong Hongquan?
"Here we go!"
Xing Honglang knew Gao Chuwu would never strike first, so she lunged in aggressively. One huge step forward, her left fist whipping straight toward Gao Chuwu's face.
She already had her follow-up plan ready. A whole sequence of fancy moves just waiting for this big oaf to block her fist, after which she'd combo him into the dirt.
But Gao Chuwu truly was no longer the same man as last time. Instead of blocking like a dopey ox, he twisted aside, dodging her strike—and countered with a punch of his own.
Xing Honglang's heart jolted. Hongquan!
The movement wasn't perfect, sure, but unmistakably Hongquan.
She blocked left-handed—bang, bang—deflecting two of his punches, and her arm almost went numb. This guy hits like a runaway bull… I can't beat him with just my left hand!
The worst sin during combat is thinking too much. Had she not been worrying, she might've lasted a few more exchanges. But the second her mind wandered—bam!—Gao Chuwu swung a heavy fist straight toward her shoulder. Flustered, she raised her left forearm vertically to block.
Crack—
Pain shot up her arm as she stumbled back several steps, tripped, and fell flat on her back. Gao Chuwu let out a "hoo!" and pounced like a giant Saint-Bernard, slamming her to the ground and pinning her.
And once that mountain of a man pinned you, you weren't getting up.
Xing Honglang was certainly tall and muscular for a woman, but compared to Gao Chuwu—who was built like an ox cart wrapped in human skin—she was still outmatched. She struggled several times but couldn't overturn him; her right arm brushed the ground and pain flared so badly she nearly groaned.
She exhaled in resignation. "I lose."
"Wow! Gao Chuwu won!" the villagers cheered.
"He won!"
"He beat his wife!"
The entire village erupted in celebration.
One of Xing Honglang's salt-smuggler men, however, shouted, "This doesn't count! This ain't right! Boss—"
"Shut up," Xing Honglang snapped. "Say one more unnecessary word and I'll shut your mouth myself."
Gao Chuwu beamed like a two-hundred-jin toddler. "Haha! I won! I can finally give you the chocolate! And you can't pay me this time, haha!"
Xing Honglang silently clenched her left fist.
The salt-smuggler lowered his head, miserable.
Li Daoxuan frowned.
Something was wrong.
This wasn't the cheerful, post-sparring excitement from last time. The salt-smugglers all looked strange—there was definitely something behind this "friendly duel."
He was about to intervene when Cheng Xu suddenly stood and barked:
"This match does not count!"
Boom.
Everyone turned toward Cheng Xu.
Even Xing Honglang snapped her head around.
Gao Chuwu blinked. "He Laoshi, why doesn't it count?"
Cheng Xu strode into the center. "Your right hand is injured."
The crowd blinked—then gasped as they recalled she had kept her right hand behind her back the entire fight, using only her left.
Gao Chuwu's face drained of color. "You're injured?! Your arm—did something happen?!"
Xing Honglang snorted. "My injury is my business. Winning or losing has nothing to do with it. I roam the jianghu—never once have I made excuses for myself."
"Ah?! And I still hit you?! I—I—ahhhh…"
Gao Chuwu suddenly barreled through the crowd and ran off like a guilty rhino. He vanished in seconds.
The villagers: "…"
The leadership of Gaojia Village sprang to their feet. Gao Yiye rushed over first—being a woman, she could handle a woman's injuries more properly. She grabbed Xing Honglang's hand. "Sister Xing, what happened? I have all kinds of heavenly medicines—bone bruises, blade wounds, all treatable."
Xing Honglang sighed. The secret was out. "Blade wound. Upper arm. Not fit to display here."
In this era, a woman showing her upper arm was basically like showing half her reputation. Forbidden territory.
Gao Yiye whispered, "Come to my house later. I'll apply the medicine. With heavenly herbs, it'll heal fast."
Xing Honglang nodded.
Cheng Xu asked, "With your skill, how did you get injured?"
Xing Honglang replied, "Passing through Heyang County, we ran into bandits—two or three hundred of them. I only had thirty-eight people. We won, but everyone took some damage."
"Heyang County?!"
The villagers blanched. Heyang was close—too close.
Gaojia Village was already on the edge of Chengcheng County, practically touching Heyang. Zhengjia Village was even closer—one step east and you were in Heyang, one step west back into Chengcheng.
Hearing Heyang was crawling with bandits, everyone turned grim—especially the Zhengjia villagers.
Zheng Daniao shouted first, "This is bad! If Heyang's got bandits, our home's in danger! The barley's almost ready for harvest!"
Li Daoxuan frowned.
Zhengjia Village was six li away. He could teleport his viewpoint there with the quick-switch feature, but he mostly watched Gaojia Village. He couldn't keep switching constantly—he wasn't some omnipresent Dao Xuan Tianzun… yet.
Bandits might come—or not.
Might arrive tomorrow—or tonight.
Might be twenty—or two hundred.
If he missed a single moment, Zhengjia's beautiful fields—finally thriving after a year of drought—might be trampled or burned.
This wasn't "losing some grain."
This was a direct slap to everyone's spirit.
And Li Daoxuan absolutely could not accept that.
Fine.
Time to deploy… modern solutions.
Li Daoxuan hailed a taxi and sped toward the largest flower-pet-fish market near his home. This place sold every bizarre little creature known to mankind—and all the gadgets required to raise them.
---
Footnotes
1. Hongquan – A northern striking art famous for big power and straightforward techniques; perfect for smashing people and impressing nosy villagers.
2. Heyang Bandits – Historically, county-border bandits popped up like mushrooms after rain in troubled times. Most were poor farmers with weapons and questionable life choices.
3. "Two hundred jin child" – A phrase indicating a big, goofy adult acting like an overgrown kid.
4. Female upper arm taboo – In many late-medieval rural customs, a woman showing her upper arm was roughly equivalent to showing lingerie in public.
5. Flower-pet-fish market – Modern China's semi-mythical hubs of chaos where you can buy goldfish, parrots, questionable electronics, and possibly a divine artifact if you know the right vendor.