Chapter 296

He He Lingchuan didn't answer and ordered the old woman who had just brought in hot water: "Go and get a portion of hot food for her, and say it's for Young Master He." After saying this, he nodded to A-Jin and got up to leave. After he left, the soldier on duty also ran to He He Chunhua's tent to report the conversation.

He He Chunhua smiled when he heard it: "This kid isn't acting foolish again?"

￥￥￥￥￥

For the next three days, the rain was continuous.

He He Lingchuan tossed and turned at night, unable to sleep, so he simply got up and told his personal guards to set up a larger, more spacious tent for him. The specifications were almost catching up to the prefect.

He practiced sword in the tent.

The sword energy of "Floating Life" was overly sharp, and He He Lingchuan didn't want to leak rain everywhere when he slept, so he whittled a simple wooden sword and practiced "Wave Slash" every day except for eating. Besides eating, he practiced "Wave Slash." Due to the limited space, he didn't combine the sword technique and body technique, but practiced the sword style repeatedly, one by one. Occasionally, soldiers passing by his tent would see Young Master He using the most basic footwork to slash out the most basic sword style.

However, for He He Lingchuan, ever since he jumped into the river to face the water waves, he had a sense of sudden enlightenment about this sword technique, and he knew how to swing the sword for things he couldn't figure out before.

His body had initially remembered this "feeling."

If it weren't for the fact that the Hanhe River was already surging and people couldn't survive in it, he would have loved to jump in and try repeatedly.

The sound of rain was endless, covering the faint sound of wind and thunder on the wooden sword.

This movement was sometimes loud, sometimes hidden.

When Shan Shan Youjun passed by, he saw He He Lingchuan slash out a plain and unremarkable strike at the ground. He had already sheathed his sword, but the ground suddenly had a sword mark.

He noticed that the tip of the sword hadn't touched the ground. However, the sword mark was neat and entered the ground by an inch.

A few hours later, Shan Shan Youjun came again, and the rain had already lessened. Young Master He was standing at the tent door yawning, and when he saw him, he asked: "Do you know under what circumstances drawing a sword can cut water?"

Shan Shan Youjun was very cooperative: "Please enlighten me, Chief?"

"Just now."

He He Lingchuan suddenly drew his sword.

The seven raindrops falling in the air, whether near the ground or just about to fall on Shan Shan Youjun's forehead, suddenly turned into fourteen drops.

All were cut from the middle.

Shan Shan Youjun felt his forehead cool twice in a row.

Looking at the tip of He He Lingchuan's sword, it was dry and clean, without any water dew.

He had struck it with sword force.

"Chief, this is very dangerous!" When He He Lingchuan drew his sword, Shan Shan Youjun felt his forehead go numb, and a chill went straight to the back of his head.

He knew clearly that although the wooden sword hadn't touched him, if that strike had been intended to take his life, he would likely have already fallen to the ground.

"Happy, happy!" He He Lingchuan whistled, his whole body clear and refreshed.

The result of this meditation was consolidated, and he threw the wooden sword aside, shook his neck, and the sound of clicking and clacking was endless.

Only then did he realize that he had been practicing diligently and hadn't closed his eyes for two days and two nights. The fatigue of body and mind came like a mountain and sea, wanting to knock him down.

"I need to sleep." He told Shan Shan Youjun, "Don't disturb me if there's nothing."

After saying this, he strolled to the bed, fell down, and fell asleep.

…

Why was it so noisy in the dream?

He He Lingchuan rubbed his eyes and found that he seemed to be standing in the military camp again, surrounded by tough men.

Shouting, applause, or booing.

He looked around.

Hmm? The Martial Arts Hall? How did he stand by the edge of the largest martial arts arena in Panlongcheng as soon as he entered the dream?

He He Lingchuan turned his head and found that Sun Sun Fuling was standing beside him, looking up at the arena.

Before he could speak, his back was patted, and the thin man's voice was nearly drowned out by the surrounding noise: "Broken Blade, are you going to place a bet or not?"

"Which bet?" He He Lingchuan asked and turned his head, only to see Hu Min standing beside the thin man. "Eh, why are you here too?"

"Nothing to do, so I'm playing a few hands, wanting to see if there are any dark horses to explode here." Hu Min pointed at the thin man. "I just placed a bet with him."

"Betting on which arena?"

"Which one else?" The thin man pointed to the south. "Seventh Arena, Wild Boar vs. Meng Shan!"

He He Lingchuan was surprised and turned to look, and sure enough, two big strong men were standing on the arena, one of whom was the familiar face, Meng Shan.

Meng Shan, who had beaten him out alive in the previous few dreams.

Meng Shan's opponent today was also a muscular man over eight feet tall, with a face full of flesh.

From the bulk to the viciousness of his face, the two were evenly matched.

And the Seventh Arena was located at the southernmost end of the Martial Arts Hall, with half of it hanging over the street center. The commoners of Panlongcheng only needed to stand on the street to watch the arena.

So the battle taking place on this arena was highly watchable, and it attracted the most attention.

Now, the street center was packed with spectators, men and women alike craning their necks to wait, and even people dared to stand on the iron railings at the edge of the arena to watch.

The boring daily life of the city people needed a fierce fight and blood splashing all over the screen to adjust.

He He Lingchuan asked the thin man: "Who has the higher odds?"

"Of course it's Wild Boar." The thin man pointed to the strong man on the stage, who had an oily face and big ears, and a chin that was gold-in-the-ground; this nickname was truly not for nothing. "Meng Shan is the ever-victorious general of the South Courtyard of the Martial Arts Hall, and he has only lost once after going to the North Courtyard."

"Then what's there to bet on in this match?" He He Lingchuan was disappointed. "Everyone is buying Meng Shan to win."

"Not necessarily, I bought Wild Boar to win." Hu Min chuckled. "This guy looks quite promising. Besides, if he wins, it's winning big with a small bet."

Sun Sun Fuling beside him also smiled: "I also bought Wild Boar."

"You are a people's teacher, a diligent gardener…" Is it appropriate to gamble so openly?

Sun Sun Fuling frowned: "What gardener, I don't hoe grass!"

He He Lingchuan turned to the thin man and said, "Fine, I'll buy Wild Boar to win, half a tael of silver."

"Tsk!" The thin man spat at him. "Stingy."

He carried a huge leather bag on his back, filled with loose money; clearly, an unusually large number of people had placed bets today, and even commoners from outside the field had joined in one after another.

Then the rapid drumbeat sounded.

This was the preparation drum.

As soon as the drum stopped, the two strong men collided like fighting bulls.

Two commoners standing on the railing were instantly shaken off by the aftermath of the collision, and the surrounding audience shouted and cheered.

Meng Shan's usual opponents would adopt a strategy of Mobile Corps Commander fighting, but after Wild Boar went on stage, he started fighting head-on, and the fight was truly fist-to-flesh.

The people under the stage were extremely satisfied, and applause thundered from time to time.

After a few rounds, He He Lingchuan saw that Wild Boar was good at wrestling, and twice he grabbed Meng Shan and gave him a back-slam. Even Meng Shan, who was thick-skinned and fleshy, couldn't bear it, lying on the ground and breathing evenly for several mouthfuls before climbing up.

This Wild Boar nickname was misleading; He He Lingchuan heard someone nearby say bitterly: "Pigs shouldn't be used for rooting? He should be called Wild Bear instead."

This was probably someone who bought Meng Shan to win.

However, Meng Shan learned his lesson after eating two losses, and every time he was caught, he would lock the opponent's joints, not letting Wild Boar use his specialty skills again.

Hu Min cupped his hands into a trumpet and roared: "Counter-lock, counter-lock! Hey, so stupid, slow by another step!"

Amidst the shouts of thousands, He He Lingchuan heard Sun Sun Fuling's sigh: "It's over, Wild Boar is going to lose."

Sure enough, after Meng Shan locked Wild Boar, he smashed a head-butt fiercely on the opponent's forehead.

That dull vibration made He He Lingchuan's back teeth ache.

It seemed Meng Shan's skull was harder; the opponent was dizzy, and his hands loosened.

Meng Shan stood firm, stomped on the opponent's instep with one foot, and hit Wild Boar's diaphragm between his chest and abdomen with the other fist! Wild Boar was hit so hard he couldn't breathe.

In the blink of an eye, he had taken three heavy hits.

Although he regained his senses later and tried hard to fight back, the trend of victory or defeat had been set.

The two pulled for another fifty-odd breaths, and Wild Boar finally fell down; his entire head was swollen, which was quite like the nickname.

Several Martial Arts Hall soldiers climbed onto the arena and carried Wild Boar down for medical treatment. Meng Shan wiped the blood from his nose, patted his chest again, and let out a roar toward the surroundings:

"Who else?"

The roar shook the sky, and even the enthusiastic applause couldn't cover it.

"My half tael of silver." He He Lingchuan was glad he hadn't invested more; it was just to join in the fun. He asked Sun Sun Fuling, "How much did you lose?"

Sun Sun Fuling sighed long and hard: "Three taels."

"Wow, you bet so big?" Three taels of silver was enough for him and Hu Min to drink a dozen meals at the Shuanghe Restaurant.

"Gamble a bit, and hemp cloth becomes silk." Sun Sun Fuling's voice sounded unhappy. "I wasn't looking at the high odds; if Wild Boar won, I wouldn't have to worry about food for the second half of the year."

He He Lingchuan was immediately impressed. He had always thought Sun Sun Fuling was pure-hearted and had few desires, but he didn't expect this neighbor who didn't eat the fireworks of the human world to hide such a gambling nature.

This point seemed a bit like her brother, Sun Sun Jiayuan.

She added: "Just this one time, two years of salary money is gone." Burning firewood and charcoal for two years wouldn't use that much money.

Hu Min watched others go to the thin man to exchange money, stomped his feet and said: "Lost, lost, should have followed the crowd."

He He Lingchuan watched Meng Shan being proud on the stage and was a bit puzzled: "The North Courtyard of the Martial Arts Hall has many good hands, why don't they go up and grind his prestige?"

"Meng Shan has only been in the North Courtyard for a short time, but he is a strong newcomer, and ordinary Great Wind Army soldiers can't beat him. If the leaders go up, winning doesn't look glorious, and losing is even more shameful."

Honestly, Meng Shan's performance in the Yanliang River Valley was obvious to all; they had fought with the two armies at that time, and many Great Wind Army soldiers had fought with him, knowing deep down that they couldn't get any advantage in front of this human-shaped violent rhinoceros.

Furthermore, the rules of the Martial Arts Hall overall favored these power-type athletes.

Besides, the leaders like Commander Xiao couldn't fight in the Seventh Arena against soldiers.

"Why?"

"Unfair. Not to mention that the leaders' combat skills are more refined, the pressure on soldiers to fight their direct superiors in public is great." Hu Min shrugged. "If you let me fight the boss in the Seventh Arena, I'd also be a bit afraid."

Soldiers always listen to the orders of the leaders, and the latter's majesty is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Once they stand on a public arena, this psychological pressure becomes an advantage, which will somewhat affect their performance.

However, at this time, someone still couldn't hold back the excitement and jumped onto the arena to challenge Meng Shan.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 297 =====

(End of chapter)