The Human Emperor c1-2382
Page 29
Everytime Youngster Wei crashed onto the floor, the surroundings would roar in laughter.
“…Since you were the one who chose to act so arrogantly, then you can’t blame anyone for this. You were looking for it!”
Wang Chong looked at the sixteen or seventeen-year-old young man and gauged that it was about time for him to make a move.
“Youngster Wei, Horse Stance Crouching Elbow! Sparrowhawk Twist!”
Amidst the bustling crowd, Wang Chong’s voice was neither too loud nor too soft. However, upon hearing his voice, Youngster Wei shuddered. It was almost involuntarily that he followed Wang Chong’s words to execute the moves. He crouched and pulled his legs close to himself. When the sixteen or seventeen-year-old young man charged forward to grab him with a Cloud Hands, Youngster Wei suddenly executed a Sparrowhawk Twist, doing a backflip and kicking the young man on his face.
Peng!
After suffering this kick, the young man fell six to seven zhang away and sprawled on the floor.
1 zhang = 3.33 meters
Weng!
The air of the Eight Gods Pavilion seemed to have been sucked empty in an instant. The cheering crowd suddenly turned completely silent. Seeing the towering young man being sent flying with a kick, every single one of them was flabbergasted.
“Who was it? Who was the one who was spouting nonsense!”
The young man who was sprawled on the floor flew into a rage. He stared at the surroundings with a ferocious glare.
The surroundings were completely silent. No one said anything.
“Hehe, Gao Fei! What are you talking about? If you can still fight on, get up! Otherwise, kowtow to me and admit your defeat.”
On the other end, Youngster Wei was overjoyed. He knew whose voice it was and in that instant, it was near complete instincts that he followed the other party’s words and executed the moves. He didn’t expect that it would be so effective.
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that he had fallen in love with that ‘bastard’ who advised him from the shadows!
“Hmph! Don’t get gleeful! If not for my carelessness, given those amateur martial arts of yours, do you think that you can defeat me?”
The young man named Gao Fei was enraged. Exerting force against the floor, he pushed himself up and charged at Wei Hao.
Boom!
The air boomed and the massive shadow of a fist whipped across empty air, flying straight toward Youngster Wei. The other party had executed Conveying Arm Fist against Youngster Wei.
Having sent flying by a single kick of Youngster Wei in public, Gao Fei felt extremely humiliated. Angered, he finally decided to use his full strength.
“Not good!”
The face of Youngster Wei paled and all the goosebumps on his arms stood on end. The martial art Gao Fei had executed was much more formidable than what he had used previously.
“Coiling Roots of the Old Tree!”
“Green Dragon Crouching on the Bridge!”
“Metal Cable Traversing the River!”
Wang Chong smiled. He had seen the sight before him clearly and immediately offered Youngster Wei pointers. These three were movements which Youngster Wei were adept in.
Boom!
The first move, Youngster Wei bent down, as though an old tree’s roots coiling around the ground. At the same time, the heavy punch grazed his hair.
Youngster Wei could even feel his skin going numb by the shock wave.
Boom!
When Gao Fei switched to another move and a left-hand fist carrying intense strength came flying toward Youngster Wei, the latter’s body became soft as though a strand of noodle and bent backward, as though a green dragon crouching on a bridge, thus dodging another attack.
“My turn!”
Youngster Wei’s eyes gleamed. Even without Wang Chong’s pointer, he would have known what to do. He roared furiously and as though a bent bamboo, he bounced forward and used the momentum to execute Metal Cable Traversing the River.
Boom!
The fist crashed heavily on Gao Fei’s chest. Youngster Wei had used his full strength behind the blow. Gao Fei’s complexion turned pale, then red. Boom, he flew backward as though a cannon ball and crashed through the fence, destroying several round tables before falling to the ground.
“Hahaha, I’ve won! I’ve won! I’ve struck it rich this time! Gao Fei, you bastard. And all of you bastards as well, to dare to bet that I would lose, I’ll see how you will leave without your underwears today!”
Youngster Wei looked at Gao Fei who was sent flying and howled in delight.
That few words caused half of the entire Eight Gods Pavilion to be silenced. All of the eyes glared at Gao Fei in resentment.
“Gao Fei, you trash. You can’t even defeat a Wei Hao?”
“To cause me to lose so much money, you don’t have to bother coming to Eight Gods Pavilion anymore!”
“If I were to see you again, I will have my men beat you up!”
“Pui! How unlucky!”
…
The scions in the surroundings who had lost money ranted angrily. In the Eight Gods Pavilion, Wei Hao was a ‘God of Fortune’. As long as he was involved in a duel gamble, everyone would be able to profit from it.
The stakes involved in this battle was extremely heavy. Initially, they thought that they would be able to earn a small fortune. Never would they expect that Gao Fei would be so useless as to lose against him.
Wei Hao ignored Gao Fei, who was being criticized severely at this moment, turned around and flew toward Wang Chong with his arms wide.
“Hahaha, my good brother. You have finally come to the Eight Gods Pavilion to see me!”
Wei Hao was overjoyed. He hugged Wang Chong tightly and burst into laughter.
“You sure are my good brother. If not for your help, I would have lost tragically this time!”
“Since you know it, you shouldn’t gamble so much next time. At the very least, take a look at your opponent first. This fellow is much stronger than you.”
Wang Chong chided him with a smile.
“Hehe, that won’t do. I have started duel gambling with others since I was five. I would rather lose money and munch on white radishes than to give up on duel gambling.”
Wei Hao grinned.
Wang Chong was speechless, he could only shake his head in disapproval.
“Wait a minute! Wei Hao, this match isn’t counted!”
Suddenly, a fierce roar echoed. Gao Fei had climbed up and howled toward Wei Hao and Wang Chong’s direction.
“Why? Gao Fei, do you want to go against your words?”
Wei Hao heard the roar and his eyebrows shot up. He turned around and look at the other party with a displeased look.
“Who was the one who helped you previously? You have had someone’s assistance and violated the rules of the duel! The heck, who was the one who spoke previously, come out! Get your ass out here!”
Gao Feng bellowed angrily.
If not for the bastard helping him from the crowd, how could that fellow Wei Hao, given his capabilities, defeat him?
“You are looking for me?”
Hearing those words, Wang Chong smiled and walked out of the crowd.
Seeing Wang Chong step out from the sea of silk-robed young masters, Gao Fei’s eyes narrowed. A savage gleam flashed across his eyes. But before he could rage out, Wei Hao had burst into laughter and stepped forward.
“Hahaha, lad! I knew that it was you!”
Wei Hao walked forward and hugged Wang Chong.
“Gao Fei, you can pop whatever you want into your mouth, but be careful of what comes out of it. Which eye of yours saw that I flouted the rules of the duel? Did I gang up with someone else against you? Or did my brother step into the ring? Right, I will tell you now. This isn’t just anyone, he is my good brother, Wang Chong!”
Wei Hao turned around and looked at Gao Fei and the crowd with a proud expression.
“Youngster Wei, you should cut down
on the bootlicking! …”
Wang Chong burst into laughter. Just as he was about to get Wei Hao to keep a low profile, he suddenly heard gasps of shock in the surrounding. Wang Chong lifted his head and noticed that there was something amiss with the gazes the crowd directed toward him. It was totally different from how they looked at him before!
Even Gao Fei’s eyes carried fear and respect, a huge contrast from the furious glare he had on before.
“Hm?”
Wang Chong frowned, taken aback by the changes.
“Hehe! Why are you so surprised! You are already a celebrity in the capital.”
Wei Hao whispered by Wang Chong’s ear:
“That proud and aloof Yao Feng is nicknamed as one of the Eight Talents of the younger generation in the capital. Usually, he wouldn’t even spare a gaze for anyone else. Even if we met with him, we would have to respectfully address him as Yao gongzi.”
“However, such an incredible figure was beaten to a pulp by you, to the point that Old Master Yao went to report the incident up to His Majesty. This matter had caused quite a storm in the capital. There isn’t a single scion who isn’t aware of the matter and everyone is impressed by you!”
“Now, everyone is saying that you are a lion who had been crouching in the shadows, keeping a low profile when you are actually even more impressive than Yao Feng!”
Wei Hao slapped Wang Chong’s shoulders and said proudly.
What lion or whatsoever, Youngster Wei actually didn’t know anything much. All he knew was that Wang Chong was his buddy, and now that his buddy is famous, it meant that he had become famous as well! Hahaha…
Wang Chong was truly astonished!
Before this, Wang Chong was still thinking about how he should work along with his cousin Wang Zhu Yan in dispelling the negative rumors about him in the Great Tang Empire. He didn’t expect that he would reap such an unexpected benefit from the incident.
Sensing the gazes of respect from his surroundings, Wang Chong suddenly felt that the reward the incident in the Vast Crane Pavilion brought him wasn’t just limited to his clan.
The Great Tang Empire had countless scions and every single one of them was incomparably arrogant. They don’t submit easily to anyone.
If he was able to make a name for himself in this circle, it might turn out to be useful for his future plans!
Chapter 26: Borrowing a Chicken to Lay Eggs
“Stop talking nonsense for a moment. I have a matter for you, let’s find a place to talk.”
Wang Chong patted Wei Hao’s shoulders and said.
“Fine! Wait for me here for a moment!”
Upon seeing Wang Chong’s serious expression, Wei Hao also retracted his smile. He had grown with Wang Chong and knew that Wang Chong would not easily ask for another person’s help.
Furthermore, he didn’t like coming to the Eight Gods Pavilion. For him to appear here, it must be some serious affair!
“Gao Fei! There mustn’t be a single cent less for my payment. Pay all of it up obediently later on. Otherwise, you don’t have to dream of living on in the capital!”
Wei Hao threw a sack to him before pulling Wang Chong away.
The scions in the Eight Gods Pavilion were all from respectable families. They couldn’t afford to tarnish their reputation by going against their words and thus, Wei Hao wasn’t really worried about them reneging on the deal.
“Right, Wang Chong, let me ask you something seriously.” Wei Hao abruptly said.
“What?”
Wang Chong turned around and asked.
“Can you don’t call me Youngster Wei in front of so many people?”
Wei Hao suppressed his voice and looked at him with a very bitter expression. Seeing such a sight, Wang Chong burst into laughter:
“You brat! Don’t even think about it! ——”
“…”
…
The Eight Gods Pavilion was bustling and Wei Hao pulled Wang Chong to his seat.
“You fellow, where did you go in the morning? After hearing that you are out of your seclusion, I went to your house early in the morning. Yet, your mother said that you aren’t home. It sure is difficult to meet you.”
Sweating profusely, Wei Hao sipped on the Western Region Pomegranate Juice provided by the Eight Gods Pavilion as he chattered.
“I had something up this morning, so I went out.”
Wang Chong smiled.
Upon hearing Wei Hao’s complaint, Wang Chong felt a surge of warmth. Only after losing it all did he know how to treasure them all.
Only Wang Chong knew how precious this seemingly ordinary exchange was.
Wei Hao would have never known that at this time, Wang Chong had already fallen out with him in his previous life.
In his previous life, Wang Chong felt foreign to everything in this world. This included his parents, brothers, sisters and of course, Wei Hao wasn’t excluded in the list.
Back then, to him, Wei Hao was a good buddy of Wang Chong, not his. Especially during the seven days in confinement, Wei Hao, as a supposed ‘good buddy’, didn’t even come to meet him. What kind of good buddy could this count as? A good friend? A good brother?
Even drinking buddies were better than this!
From then on, Wang Chong cut all ties with him and never met him again.
Only very long later did Wang Chong realize that in the seven days that he was confined, Wei Hao, because of him, was grounded by his family for seven days as well.
Back then, Wang Chong’s reputation was too poor and Wei Hao’s father had forbidden him from coming into contact with him. However, Wei Hao, who was usually obedient, refuted his father for Wang Chong.
This angered his father and as such, Wei Hao was beaten up severely!
In those seven days, he was actually lying on his bed and recuperating from his wounds.
However, Wei Hao had never told this to Wang Chong, not even bringing it up. Only when the great catastrophe came and the two brothers who hadn’t met for a very long time reunited did Wang Chong knew of all these.
Wang Chong also knew that the person who helped him from the shadows ever since the Wang Clan fell into difficult times wasn’t anyone else but Wei Hao.
‘Only with a long journey will one know the stamina of his horse, and only with time will a person’s heart show through’. Only at the final moments of his life did Wang Chong know who were his true friends and brothers.
However, when Wang Chong finally awoke, it was already too late. The world had already been destroyed and the Central Plains no longer existed, needless to say, a Wei Hao.
When Wei Hao finally died before him due to severe wounds, Wang Chong couldn’t help but howl in sadness.
The one thing that he should have never done in his life was to lose this true friend and brother! This had been an ache in Wang Chong’s heart, as well as one of his greatest regret!
“Good brother! Don’t worry. No matter what, I will never leave you to be.”
Wang Chong looked at Wei Hao, who was still rambling on happily. Solemnly, he made a promise.
“…Say, you truly made a big affair over Yao Feng’s affair this time. It is a pity that fellow’s martial arts are too incredible and I’m not an opponent for him. Otherwise, I would have charged in along with you. Speaking of which, Yao Feng really went too far, to actually make use of Ma Zhou against you.”
Wei Hao slammed the table and roared angrily:
“I have already told you about that bastard Ma Zhou long ago. That fellow is a bastard and a hoodlum. He must have vile intentions for hanging out with you. Now, you should believe me right?”
“Yes, yes. I believe you.”
Wang Chong smiled. Looking at his brother complaining to him, he felt a surge of warmth flowing into his heart. This wasn’t his first time listening to him complain about this matter but this time, it felt different.
It had been long since he had seen such an ordinary sight.
“…Brother, o
bjects are differentiated by their types and humans are segregated by their classes. Cats and mouses can never get along and fishes cannot survive out of the water. It is impossible for birds to burrow into the underground like an earthworm. It isn’t a good thing for us to try to escape from our surroundings. Ma Zhou’s affair serves as a good example, don’t hang out with Ma Zhou and that kind of people in the future.”
“Listen to me, come and play at the Eight Gods Pavilion more often. Over here, we are all of the same birth and we will all inherit our family’s heritage in the future. Coming into contact with one another and playing together will have its own benefits in the future.
Wei Hao nagged on and on, but his words were filled with emotions. To his brothers, Wei Hao had always been willing to take a sword them.
Wang Chong had a rebellious personality and Wei Hao was worried when he saw him getting closer with Ma Zhou and his lot. At this moment, he was dumping all of his concerns on him.
It wasn’t the first time Wei Hao had spoken to Wang Chong about Ma Zhou’s matter. In Wei Hao’s perspective, it was likely that Wang Chong would simply brush off his words once more. Yet, Wang Chong’s reply broke all expectations that he had.
“Alright!”
Firmly, Wang Chong said a single word.
“Alright?”
Wei Hao was taken aback. The finger he had lifted up froze in midair and somehow, he was unable to spout the ramblings that had congregated beneath his tongue.
Alright? Just like that?
Wei Hao widened his eyes. For a moment, he was unable to react.
After speaking of this matter to him so many times in the past, why did he take it in so easily this time?
How was this possible?
Wei Hao blinked. His brain was still overloaded by Wang Chong’s response.
“So, you won’t hang out with Ma Zhou and the lot in the future?”
“Un.”
“You will come to the Eight Gods Pavilion with me often in the future?”
“Un.”
Wang Chong nodded his head with a smile.
Wei Hao blinked again. For a moment, he wasn’t able to find a single word to say.