by Wong, Tao
“It is good training, to understand what each fighter brings to the table. It could be a useful skill for you in the future,” Yu Kun said to Wang Min.
Lei Hui could not help but nod, stroking his chin. Then, catching himself agreeing to something that Wang Min disagreed with, he stopped, a stricken look crossing the apothecarist’s face. However, none of that seemed to have caught Wang Min’s attention as she sniffed at Yu Kun.
“And what is being bet?” Fa Yuan said curiously.
“Coins, taels obviously. But also spirit beasts cores, some natural meats, even a few equipment treasures,” Yu Kun said. “It all depends on the bettors.”
“And are there a significant number of such bets?” Fa Yuan said. At Yu Kun’s nod, she leaned back, picked up her teacup, and turned it around in her hand. She sipped on the drink, letting herself enjoy the warm comfort before her gaze fell on Wu Ying again. “And they want to fight our little dragon.”
“Yes,” Yu Kun said, the grin that he’d been trying to hide creeping up on his face.
Wu Ying looked back and forth between the pair before he shook his head. He was not particularly enthused by where this conversation seemed to have gone. But he caught Fa Yuan’s gaze going to her spirit ring, where the accumulated wealth between her and his Master rested. It was a lot, though not as much as he would have believed. After all, part of the problem of not wanting any ties with anyone was that you also missed out on a number of opportunities. Between that and his earlier year’s quest with Fa Yuan, Elder Cheng had depleted his meager resources. Or at least, as Fa Yuan had expressed as being true for an Elder. To Wu Ying, the amount mentioned was astronomical.
“I’m going to be fighting again, aren’t I?” Wu Ying said grumpily.
Fa Yuan offered him a small smile, though Wu Ying caught the glint of greed and amusement in her eyes. Yu Kun, on the other hand, was chuckling and rubbing his hands together. Tou Hei stared between the group before shaking his head and uttering a prayer under his breath. And Lei Hui was stroking his beard as he leaned forward, ready to begin plotting Wu Ying’s future.
***
“Are you sure this is going to work?” Wu Ying muttered, walking alongside his companions.
Fa Yuan had left earlier to join the other sect Elders who had made their way to Hinma. All of them, as reported by Yu Kun, had taken residence in a private room of a restaurant overlooking the central fighting stage to watch for good seeds and watch how their own harvest had grown.
The stage itself and the surroundings had changed in the light of day. Rather than the initially bare square, it was now packed with onlookers. Multiple members of the guard moved around the crowd, keeping the peace and an eye out for the pickpockets who worked the crowd. Along the edges of the square, enterprising food hawkers had set up, offering food and drinks to the audience. And along three cardinal points, local gang members had set up stalls, taking wagers from commoners and nobles alike as the fights went on.
All of that paled to the main spectacle, which was the pair of cultivators fighting on the main stage. To Wu Ying’s surprise, they both used polearms. One, a long spear. The second was more unusual, wielding not an actual weapon, but a giant oar. The wooden implement, weighted toward the end, was capped with metal, giving the entire wooden tool a deadly edge.
Wu Ying took a deep breath, extending his senses as he made a quick judgment of the pair. They were only Body Cleansing cultivators, not yet at the stage of Energy Storage. If he had to guess, Wu Ying would place them in the top edge of Body Cleansing. More interestingly, Wu Ying turned his head and spotted the large clusters of cultivators that had gathered at either end of the stage, where the two staircases that led up to the stage were located.
The groups were split between sect members and wandering cultivators. In between were a few enterprising individuals, making their way between each group, small pieces of paper clutched in their hands.
“Those are the brokers?” Wu Ying asked Yu Kun.
The ex-wandering cultivator nodded, his gaze raking over the pair. He sniffed, seeing that one was a wandering cultivator, the other a sect member, before he straightened his robes, conjuring up his own slips of paper and a pen. “I need to get to work. Remember, hold off on joining immediately.”
As a group, they pushed to the edge of the crowd and broke into the clear no-man’s-land around the arena’s edge. This space was as much a matter of practicality as courtesy. If one stood too close, it would be impossible to catch all the action on the raised platform.
A slight decrease in the volume of conversations arose as both mortals and cultivators noted the presence of the Verdant Green Waters Sect cultivators. There was a brief hesitation before the group was waved over to join the sect cultivator group.
Without a better option, the group, sans Yu Kun, walked over as the battle between the two Body Cleansing cultivators approached its end. As strong as the larger, oar-wielding cultivator might be, the hardwood weapon he wielded was riddled with tears, its edge blunted and chipped by the fast-moving spear. A crack resounded through the square as the oar finally gave way, leaving the panting, weaponless cultivator at the mercy of the spear-wielder sect cultivator. Rather than lose without grace, the wandering cultivator raised his hands, indicating his loss.
All around, his loss was met with muttered groans and cries of celebration from the crowd as the pair left the stage and cultivators rushed to charge the protective enchantment around the stage.
“Seniors!” Shouted greetings from the various sect cultivators arose from the crowd once the loss had been assessed and absorbed.
Wu Ying and his friends passed on their own greetings, offering martial hand clasps and bows, all the while making the necessary introductions.
“Are you here to fight?” one of the new cultivators asked Wu Ying, her eyes gleaming with interest. A quick recollection placed her name—Cultivator Liu Fan Yi.
Another cultivator, clad in light yellow and white, on her way to the staircase for her fight, paused. She turned as her senior held up a hand to make her wait for Wu Ying’s answer.
“Not at all. I have had my turn.” Wu Ying gestured to the waiting cultivator in yellow, offering her an encouraging smile. “I’m just here to watch for now.”
“A pity.” Fan Yi batted her eyelashes at Wu Ying before she waved her junior on.
Across the stage, another cultivator had managed to ascend. Wu Ying ignored the glares and the considering looks he received from the other side of the stage. The divide between wandering cultivators and sect members was a longstanding divide born of the fates of the gifted, the lucky, and the hard-working.
“How are we doing?” Lei Hui asked, one corner of his mouth turned up in a sneer as he stared at the wandering cultivators.
Yu Kun had joined the group of wandering cultivators, plying his trade, making bets.
“Obviously, we are winning,” Fan Yi said. Wu Ying considered briefly before he recalled that she was from the Eternal Spring Crane Sect. “We have won a total of seven out of the twelve matches this afternoon.”
“Only seven?” Lei Hui said with distaste. “Why so low?”
“We did not bring many Body Cleansing cultivators.” Fan Yi shrugged. “Those who are here weren’t necessarily chosen for their fighting ability.”
“Then what were they chosen for?” Tou Hei asked guilelessly.
Wu Ying could not help but wince a little, having already guessed.
But Fan Yi did not seem to have any compunction in explaining the matter. “Status and money. After all, we are here for the auction. There is little use in bringing those who could not afford to shop.”
And, Wu Ying added in his mind, for the wandering cultivators who came, it was those who could fight who could afford to buy anything. After all, the vast majority of such cultivators made their money hunting spirit beasts or hiring themselves out to local nobles and magistrates.
“Then why are we not fighting their Energy Storage culti
vators?” Lei Hui asked, his gaze roaming over their competitors.
Wang Min snorted, cutting in before Fan Yi could reply. “Can you not sense the difference? Unlike us, the wandering cultivators have fewer such cultivators.”
“Oh!” Lei Hui said, realization dawning.
At least in the square, the wandering cultivators were heavily weighed toward those in the first stage of cultivation.
“What I don’t understand is why we are separating in this manner,” Wu Ying said, gesturing. “Surely it would make more sense for us to just practice against those of the same cultivation level. Whether they are wandering cultivators or sect inductees.”
Fan Yi and a few of the other more senior sect cultivators shot Wu Ying an incredulous look. Eventually, realizing that he really did not know, they answered.
“We are fighting for the right to use the stage entirely. We must show them the difference between us and them,” another cultivator—this one sporting an exemplary beard, large and bushy that almost covered half of his blue and black striped robe—spoke up. From his introductions, Wu Ying recalled that he was of the Greater Tiger Ridge sect. Their headquarters were just a couple hundred li from Hinma actually, which resulted in a larger number of members than the other sects being present. “It was they who laughed at us, saying that it’s no surprise our sects were beaten so badly. They taunted us, saying that other than the Verdant Green Waters, the rest of us might as well be wandering cultivators.”
Wu Ying winced. Though he did feel a bit of pride upon hearing that statement. The Verdant Green Waters Sect was the premier sect in the kingdom for a reason.
“Bah! I do not believe they are that good,” another voice said, this one high and scratchy. Clean-shaven, the youth in his purple and white robes glared at the Verdant Green Waters group. “I would like to test them out.”
“Perhaps after the most recent group of bouts is finished,” Yu Kun said, having made his way over.
Above them, the young lady used a pair of short swords, each of them barely longer than three feet. The shortened jian were wielded in quick succession to beat against her opponent’s paired axes. Like the previous opponents, they were both Body Cleansing cultivators, and as such only had their skill of arms to showcase. Even so, they moved faster and hit harder than any low-level Body Cleanser could hope to replicate.
What was particularly interesting were the flashes of aspected chi that Wu Ying sensed being wielded by the pair. The woman utilized air chi, gifting herself greater speed in quick bursts. Her opponent, the wandering cultivator with the axes, was unaspected, but his axes had hints of fire and metal chi imbued in the blades. Small, runic scripts on the heads indicated that the weapons were probably enchanted rather than being manipulated by the cultivator directly.
More importantly, it was quite clear that the sect cultivators were about to lose another fight. As skilled as the female cultivator was, she lacked experience. Too often, she left herself open to a follow-up attack and her dodges were growing ever more erratic.
A quick engagement and the end appeared in short order. Low cries of warning erupted, but too late to do any good.
The axe-wielder’s most recent retreat was but a feint to draw in the overly aggressive jian-wielder. He had shifted his upper body but not his legs, giving the impression of movement without adjusting his measure. When she slipped into range, he kicked upward. He caught her between her legs, striking the upper portion of her thigh with a resounding crack. The nerve that ran on the inside of the thigh was vulnerable and rarely trained.
She crumpled and an axe whistled through the air. It stopped a bare half-inch from her face, flickers of chi along its edge sharpening the weapon to an unnatural edge. The woman whimpered, dropping her swords to indicate her loss.
“I believe they might be open to another form of competition. The red flag?” Yu Kun said.
Wu Ying rolled his eyes but said nothing. He knew this had been set up by the other cultivator even as he collected bets from the wandering cultivators.
“And who will hold the flag to begin with?” Shen Wei, the bushy-bearded cultivator from the Greater Tiger Ridge sect, asked.
“If this humble one could offer, he would advance his name,” Tou Hei spoke.
The group looked at the ex-monk and frowned, eyeing the muscles in his arms, on his legs, and the staff propped on his shoulder. Eventually, they nodded. After all, he was from the Verdant Green Waters. He should be able to offer a decent showing.
Wu Ying, of course, knew that Tou Hei would do more than that. Even if he might not be a martial cultivator, he had the skills to be acknowledged by them. Having advanced his plan, Yu Kun quietly cajoled the various sect members to make bets on how long Tou Hei would last.
“Three opponents to win,” Fan Yi said, handing over a tael and receiving back a jotted down script of paper from Yu Kun.
“Two,” the clean-shaven youth spoke next, offering a pair of taels. He sent a challenging glare at Tou Hei as he made the prediction.
If Tou Hei was concerned, he did not show it.
With the floodgates opened, the bets poured in. When it began to slow, as the cultivators paid attention to the new fight going on on the stage, Wang Min spoke.
“Seven.”
A hush dropped over the crowd at her bold bet.
“Foolish girl!” the clean-shaven youth, who Wu Ying finally recalled was named Lu Ren, snapped. “Seven is too many.”
“Then will you take my bet?” Wang Min challenged.
Lu Ren growled and fished in his pouch. He pulled out not a tael but a large beast core. A quick pulse of chi from Wu Ying told him it was no demon beast core but the more expensive, rare spirit core. This one was at the Energy Storage stage.
Rather than take the core, Wang Min snorted. “Just one?”
Rankled, Lu Ren glared at her, but still did not move to offer another beast core. Instead, he spoke. “You can just offer a small Body Cleansing core.”
Before she could speak, Lei Hui interrupted the pair and shoved a core at Yu Kun. “Here. I will pay for her.”
Wang Min froze then sniffed, turning away from Lei Hui. Grinning, Lu Ren handed Yu Kun the core to hold as well, receiving in return a written note. Of course, neither bettor paid attention to Yu Kun as he grumbled about not receiving anything for his troubles. Seeing Lu Ren make the bet, others streamed over, passing over small beast cores to Yu Kun, who in turn adjusted the bet, taking counter bets from Lei Hui, who fished from his pouch in increasing unhappiness.
By the time they were done, two more sets of cultivators had finished their matches above. Wu Ying had paid only slight attention to the betting, having let his gaze roam over the surroundings, taking in not only the cultivators, but the crowd and the Elders above. When he caught sight of his martial sister staring at them, he offered her a nod.
A few more minutes, as word was passed and agreements made, before Tou Hei made his way up, staff on his shoulder. In the short delay, Yu Kun spoke with the other two betting agents, adjusting the odds between each other and passing on bets, all to earn a little coin playing go-between.
Once all three were satisfied, they waved to the two groups. In turn, a heavyset female strode onto the stage, bearing an overly long jian, to face Tou Hei.
Licking his lips, Wu Ying cast his gaze around one last time. Hopefully matters would play out as they’d planned.
Chapter 20
“Liu Tou Hei, inner sect cultivator of the Verdant Green Waters Sect.” The ex-monk announced himself to his opponent, placing both hands together in a prayer pose as he bowed to his opponent. He did this while cradling his staff on one arm, balancing the entire thing expertly while never bowing so low that he lost sight of her feet.
Wu Ying knew the last fact since he had once seen another martial specialist try to surprise his friend to give him a “lesson” on proper bowing procedures. That he then ran into the tip of Tou Hei’s staff and ended up vomiting his breakfast had been qui
te amusing to Wu Ying.
“Lin Lan Ying, wandering cultivator,” the female cultivator called out in return. Unlike Tou Hei, she’d placed the blade of her long jian along her right arm, allowing her to clasp her fist and hand in the usual formal martial bow.
“Thank you for the pointers you will bestow upon me,” Tou Hei said as he shifted his stance. Setting oneself in guard with a staff was a simple matter. A case of taking the weapon in both hands and pointing it at your opponent. You could spin it—and Wu Ying knew Tou Hei could do that with ease—but for standing in guard, you just needed to keep it still. Until your opponent committed.
Lan Ying grinned good-naturedly and stomped forward. Or, Wu Ying had expected her to stomp. She had when ascending the stage. But the moment the fight started, she floated, moving with a grace and a lightness of foot that belied her size. It was as though she danced and the sword but an extension of her arm.
“Sense of the Sword,” Wu Ying breathed in surprise out loud.
“And very good qinggong skills,” Fan Yi added. “Impressive. For a wandering cultivator.”
Wu Ying nodded, having already sensed her stage of cultivation. Unless they had suppressed their auras, most cultivator levels were simple enough to gauge. Lan Ying was in the middle stages of Energy Storage, like Tou Hei.
Even as the pair talked, the first exchange had finished between the combatants. A couple of quick strikes at Tou Hei’s weapon had set it moving, and the ex-monk never let it stop after that. Around and around his hands, twisted from his wrists and elbows, around his body. He showcased his monastery’s resident style—the Mountain Resides—and batted away her attacks.
Once the first exchange had finished, Tou Hei moved forward, never letting his weapon stop. Meeting the challenge, Lan Ying threw herself at him, only for her lighter weapon to be deflected. Underhand strikes, over-shoulder swooping angles, it all threatened her and her balance after each aborted attack. Again and again, Lan Ying retreated.