Chapter 652

Hu Xiaotian said: "Feigning illness is simple—just say your condition is severe and incurable, wanting to return to your homeland while you still have time left in this world; falling leaves return to their roots is only natural, and I imagine the Da Yong side won't make things difficult for you."

"Er..." Wu Jingshan's face looked somewhat unpleasant; "great luck, great profit"—it's just stepping ahead first, why must you curse me so viciously?

The two were just about to discuss the specific departure route when they heard Zhan Peng's announcement from outside: "Sir Hu, Sir Xiang has arrived."

It turned out that the Dakang resident envoy to Yongdu, Xiang Jimin, had arrived.

Xiang Jimin hurried in with a flustered expression, his voice trembling: "Not good, something serious has happened!"

Wu Jingshan said: "Sir Xiang, why are you so flustered? Calm down—what exactly happened?"

While wiping sweat from his forehead, Xiang Jimin said: "Just now, Yang Fangzheng of the Jingzhao Prefecture came to see me, saying that you two sirs led a crowd to cause trouble at the Rising Dawn Palace, innocently beating Eunuch Fang of the Kunyu Palace; this has already aroused public anger, and he also said the Dong family won't let this rest, urging you two to make preparations..."

Before he could finish, Zhao Chongwu's voice came from outside: "Sir Hu, hundreds of clearly armored warriors have arrived outside, surrounding the South Wind Inn, shouting for you to come out and meet them."

At that moment, a thunderous roar came from outside the South Wind Inn: "Hu Xiaotian! Get out here—I, Dong Tianjun, want to see if you've grown three heads and six arms, daring to beat my family's Eunuch Fang!"

Hu Xiaotian furrowed his brows—who is this Dong Tianjun? I have no impression of him at all!

Xiang Jimin cried out in despair: "It's bad, it's bad! Dong Tianjun is the nephew of Consort Shu, the eldest son of Minister of Personnel Dong Bingtai; he is one of the Ten Great Generals of Da Yong, possessing immeasurable strength and unmatched bravery."

Wu Jingshan had originally prepared to leave Yongdu early, but he hadn't expected an unexpected complication before he could act; he is indeed a civil official, and faced with this matter he was terrified out of his wits, his face turning pale.

Hu Xiaotian smiled calmly: "You two sirs needn't be afraid. I'll go take a look!"

Hu Xiaotian stood up, and accompanied by Zhan Peng and Zhao Chongwu, he came to the main hall. Most of his retainers had already gathered in the hall; if it weren't for Zhou Mo and Yan Fei restraining them, these warriors would have rushed out long ago.

Outside came Dong Tianjun's vulgar shouting, his mouth extremely filthy, filling everyone with righteous indignation; they wished they could go out now and fight him to the death. The most agitated was Xiong Tianba, who was naturally hot-tempered and always regarded Hu Xiaotian as an uncle-generation figure; hearing Hu Xiaotian being insulted outside, his eyes turned red, and he shouted: "Damn it. This old man is going out to cut that brat's tongue!"

Hu Xiaotian smiled: "Good! Then let's go out!" Things unfolded just as he had hoped, gradually escalating—first it was Fang Lianhai of the Kunyu Palace; now it's Consort Shu's nephew Dong Tianjun; next, will Consort Shu herself come?

The doors of the South Wind Inn split open down the middle, and Hu Xiaotian strode out; behind him were Zhou Mo, Zhan Peng, Zhao Chongwu, and Xiong Tianba, while the others remained inside the inn under orders.

Outside the inn stood a towering, iron‑clad man riding a black horse back and forth, wielding two huge iron hammers and shouting abuse. This man was none other than Consort Shu's nephew, Dong Tianjun. Upon hearing that Fang Lianhai had been beaten, he immediately led three hundred personal guards to the Rising Dawn Palace to seek justice, but by the time he arrived, Hu Xiaotian's party had already left; unwilling to let it go, Dong Tianjun brought his troops to the South Wind Inn and had his men surround it.

Seeing five people emerge from the inn, Dong Tianjun fixed his gaze and bellowed: "Who is Hu Xiaotian?"

Xiong Tianba shouted: "Do you know him?"

Dong Tianjun looked at the thin, monkey‑like youth and said: "Who is Hu Xiaotian?"

Hu Xiaotian was about to speak when Xiong Tianba said: "Is he your father? You miss him that much?" Several people almost burst out laughing at Xiong Tianba's remark—this "bear kid" really has a nasty way of talking.

Dong Tianjun shouted in anger.

Xiong Tianba said: "What's your name? I'm asking you—is he your father?"

Dong Tianjun swung his two large hammers once and roared: "No!"

"Then why are you looking for him?"

Dong Tianjun is clearly a reckless brute, while Xiong Tianba is a simple‑minded oaf; when a reckless brute meets a simple‑minded oaf, a clash of sparks and meteors is inevitable, with sparks flying everywhere.

Dong Tianjun shouted again: "Ya ya… I'm furious… you little southern barbarian, I, Dong Tianjun, do not kill nameless foes with my hammer—quickly report your name!"

Xiong Tianba stared at Dong Tianjun's pair of great iron hammers, his eyes lighting up: "Not bad—if I beat you, the hammers are mine!" This kid's mind works differently from most; while others think about how to handle the present situation, he's already fixated on taking Dong Tianjun's hammers.

Zhou Mo whispered: "Bear kid, you might not be his match."

Xiong Tianba said: "Master, how can you boost his morale and diminish my own? I think he's just a good‑for‑nothing." He said this low to Zhou Mo, but then raised his voice to Dong Tianjun: "Good‑for‑nothing! You're on horseback—that's not fair to me!"

Dong Tianjun, fuming with anger from Xiong Tianba's taunts and having forgotten his original purpose, pointed at Xiong Tianba and shouted: "Bear kid! Even if Grandfather doesn't ride a horse today, I'll still crush you!"

Xiong Tianba wondered: "How do you know I'm called Bear Kid? You're not my grandfather—my father is much older than you, so you couldn't have a son as old as my father; you're roughly my father's son's age. No, my father never told me I have brothers in Da Yong—why don't you go home and ask your mother whether she knows my father? Could it be that your mother and my father are lovers?"

The surrounding crowd was dumbfounded by the bear kid's bizarre train of thought.

Dong Tianjun gritted his teeth: "Good! Good! Good! Old man won't take advantage of you!" He then actually flipped off his horse and jumped down.

Xiong Tianba's face broke into a satisfied grin; though he's simple‑minded, he's not truly stupid. He immediately realized that on foot he would be at a total disadvantage—even with a horse he couldn't match Dong Tianjun's divine black steed. That's why he repeatedly provoked Dong Tianjun; seeing Dong Tianjun dismount, Xiong Tianba's goal was achieved.

Dong Tianjun gripped two great iron hammers, each as large as a pumpkin; with his tall, sturdy frame he looked mighty and awe‑inspiring, truly like a deity descending.

Xiong Tianba turned and picked up two objects from the wall corner—these were the large stone hammers from the stone mortar. Since his weapons had been destroyed by Wen Boyuan, he had nothing suitable; upon arriving in Kangdu he temporarily fetched two large stone hammers for emergencies, normally left lying in the stone mortar outside the inn, and now they came into use. Both of his stone hammers are oversized: the hammer heads are larger than a grown man's head, and the handles are as thick as an arm. An ordinary person would strain to lift one with both hands, yet Xiong Tianba wields the two huge stone hammers as if they were light, showing no sign of effort.

Hu Xiaotian sent a mental message to Zhou Mo: "Will the bear kid succeed?"

Zhou Mo's expression remained calm, showing no worry, and he whispered: "From Dong Tianjun's dismounting technique, his martial skill is merely average; like the bear kid, he possesses innate divine strength. If it's purely a contest of brute force, the bear kid won't be inferior to anyone."

Dong Tianjun, whether in height or weight, is a grade above Xiong Tianba, and his weaponry is clearly superior. When the distance between them was about five zhang, they halted, then charged forward simultaneously. Xiong Tianba roared: "Take this! Damn it! Eat my hammer!" He lifted his two stone hammers like a tiger leaping from its cage toward Dong Tianjun.

Dong Tianjun also launched at the same moment, his two great iron hammers whistling with tiger‑like force as they met him.

"Clang!"

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang……"

Sure enough, as Zhou Mo had predicted, both are pure brutes, lacking in martial technique; they launched straight into a force‑on‑force clash, and in the blink of an eye they had already exchanged ten moves.

"Dong… clatter…" The sound changed—after over ten strikes, Xiong Tianba's two stone hammers cracked, stone fragments scattering, dust rising, leaving only two bare handles in his hands.

At first Dong Tianjun didn't even notice this dark, skinny kid, but after a few exchanges he realized the opponent's strength was not inferior to his own; the successive heavy blows numbed his tiger's mouth and made his breathing ragged, while Xiong Tianba remained unfazed—face not flushed, breath not labored, seeming to exert no effort. Unfortunately, Xiong Tianba was at a disadvantage in weaponry; after those dozen heavy blows his stone hammers were completely shattered, leaving only two bare handles.

Seeing his hammers destroyed, Xiong Tianba shouted: "Hold on!"

Dong Tianjun had raised his hammers, but now he truly held back, shouting loudly: "Are you scared?"

Xiong Tianba snorted coldly: "Fear is what you were born with; your weapon is superior to mine—this isn't fair to me!"

Dong Tianjun said: "So what?"

Xiong Tianba said: "You have two great hammers—if you've got the guts, give me one, and we'll have a fair rematch!"

Although Dong Tianjun is hot‑tempered, he also cares about his reputation; others would surely ignore Xiong Tianba's request, yet unexpectedly he nodded, tossed his left‑hand great iron hammer away—it landed before Xiong Tianba's feet, the impact making the very ground seem to tremble. Dong Tianjun said: "I won't take advantage of you; one hammer each, let's start over."

Zhou Mo, Hu Xiaotian, and the others also saw that Dong Tianjun is a reckless brute, yet he does observe propriety; Zhou Mo whispered: "Going by sheer strength, he can't match the bear kid—looks like we're in for a good show today." (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please come)

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