Chapter 118

In the first year of Jiading, the twenty-third day of the third month of the Chinese calendar, White Tiger Day, presiding over blood-light disaster, and also offending the Grand Duke Jupiter; with the Grand Duke sitting overhead, there is no joy without calamity.

Shi Changxuan's ring fight happened to be on this very day.

The matter of the ring fight had been spread and hyped throughout Gusu City for many days, and with many conspiracies adding fuel to the fire, the restlessness and turmoil in Gusu City for many days finally reached its peak on this inauspicious day rarely seen in a year.

Ordinary commoners knew nothing of the struggles for profit among the upper-class families or the schemes behind them; instead, they had long looked forward to this day, surrounding De Yue Lou to watch the excitement like attending a temple fair, with crowds gathering and all eyes fixed on the ring in front of De Yue Lou.

The open space in front of De Yue Lou was not small; the ring was round, with a diameter of three zhang, and the surroundings were plainly arranged, with only a banner hung bearing the words "Martial Arts for Friendship," and a row of large drums, beside which several burly men wearing red headbands stood bare-chested.

Judging solely by the ring's arrangement, the Shi family people were clearly somewhat inattentive.

At this time, the various families of Gusu participating in the ring fight were all in the private rooms on the second floor of De Yue Lou, including the three stewards of the Wu Family and Wu Chengyu, who was preparing to fight.

Wu Chengyu did not take the upcoming fight to heart at all; his eyes watched the ring outside, but his heart felt somewhat uneasy.

According to news reported by the Wu Family people, Niu Dajie and her group stayed at a manor in the west of Gusu City last night; this manor was usually under the name of a small merchant, and few people lived there.

And early this morning, on Wu Chengyu's way to De Yue Lou, he received news that they had left their residence early in the morning and headed outside Gusu City; moreover, there were far more than twenty people, with more joining the group along the way, and by the time they reached the city gate, there were nearly a hundred people.

Those who met Wu Chengyu at Wumei Tower yesterday were only those seen before; actually, quite a number of people were dispatched this time by the Yue Family Army Descendants.

There is another piece of news: half of the martial artists who appeared in Gusu City in the past few days also left the city, among them mixed with many beggars.

Since Hong Qigong appeared, the beggars in Gusu City kept increasing; today most have disappeared, and Hong Qigong has not shown himself for two days.

Thinking of this, Wu Chengyu's heart stirred; he opened his five senses to construct a three-dimensional stereoscopic map of the front and back of De Yue Lou, and indeed did not find Hong Qigong's figure, not knowing whether he was deliberately hiding; after all, a person of the Five Absolutes level has ways to avoid Wu Chengyu's senses.

But Wu Chengyu was more willing to believe that Hong Qigong should have already left the city at this moment; is he that stubborn?

That day, Hong Qigong had just caught up with Shi Tong when Shi Tong was killed by Wu Chengyu; after Shi Chang stirred up muddy water for so many days, Wu Chengyu did not believe Hong Qigong was completely unaware.

Quite a few beggars were actually found at the scene; one of them carried seven pouches on his back, and seven pouches already counted as a high-ranking member of the Beggar Sect.

Moreover, there were still quite a few martial artists left at the scene; not knowing whether they were righteous men opposing peace talks, or simply subordinates of the Shi Family.

Wu Chengyu calculated in his mind, and was even more worried about the safety of Niu Dajie and others; just then, he heard a burst of drumming in front of De Yue Lou; today's ring fight began.

Shi Chang brought his ring-guarding experts to appear on the ring, a total of five people, two internal practitioners and three external practitioners, none of them ordinary experts.

But that lightness skill expert who had initially aroused Wu Chengyu's suspicion did not appear.

Shi Chang stood in front of the ring and spoke a round of clichés, nothing more than making friends through martial arts, and the Shi Family wanting to make friends with the various clans of Gusu.

He did not waste too many words, or rather just went through the motions, and immediately announced the start of the martial arts contest.

The first to take the stage was the Ling Family; they ran a money shop and had always kept many guards to protect their home and courtyard, but there were not many true experts.

In order to win this fight, the Ling Family people made up their minds and directly chose a son-in-law with the greatest fame from among the experts who came to Gusu, betrothing the Head of the Family's concubine-born daughter to him.

This person's title was far more resounding than Lasa Wuchang; Dragon Chant Sword Client, said to be a wandering great hero who once roamed the Taihang area, with a long sword, once fought for hundreds of miles, consecutively challenging the Taihang Thirteen Bandits, and among the martial artists entering Gusu City, he belonged to the one with the most resounding name.

His opponent was a blade client under the Shi Family, holding a Yanling Blade, with a calm complexion and not the slightest fear.

The two fought on the ring; the Dragon Chant Sword Client launched a fierce attack as soon as he came up, the long sword carrying a sound of breaking air, stabbing at various vital points on the blade client's body; the blade client was unhurried, guarding the three feet of space before him, and no matter how fiercely the opponent attacked, he only parried and did not strike back.

The Dragon Chant Sword Client attacked successively without success, his offensive slowed slightly, and the blade client immediately counterattacked; for a time, neither could do anything to the other.

Wu Chengyu had no interest in the contest in the ring; these two were both skilled fighters, their martial arts probably comparable to Ke Zhen'e, and in the jianghu they could already be called experts.

It was just that the Dragon Chant Sword Client was a bit anxious at the start, and was gradually seized the initiative by the blade client.

Wu Chengyu's attention was entirely on the martial artists watching the fight around him.

After a while, the martial artists watching at the scene, in groups of three or five, slowly withdrew from the ring, and those beggars also gradually disappeared.

But Wu Chengyu immediately noticed that behind these martial artists who left first, tails were clearly following them, and all their movements were exposed.

This was the purpose of Shi Chang organizing the ring fight; the local snakes of Gusu sought experts everywhere to participate, and those foreign martial artists from the moment they entered Gusu had nowhere to hide, and were then comprehensively monitored by the Shi Family people.

Not only those who left after watching the ring fight, but those martial artists who left the city early in the morning were also inevitably followed, and all their actions fell into the eyes of the Shi Family people.

Niu Dajie and those people definitely would not be missed; after all, a single Niu Dajie was conspicuous enough.

Wu Chengyu knew he could not sit by and do nothing; he walked to Wu Zhengliang's side and asked, "Fourth Uncle, which number is our Wu Family fighting today."

Wu Zhengliang replied: "Today there are more than ten families in total; we are the seventh."

"Fourth Uncle, I have important business to attend to; can you arrange me for the next match? After I finish fighting, hand over the rest to you; I must leave immediately."

Wu Zhengliang sized up Wu Chengyu: "This matter is simple, but the atmosphere in Gusu City today is strange; I feel something big will happen. I don't know what you intend to do; you have always been the most resourceful, so Fourth Uncle can only say one thing: be careful in everything."

"However, these two people probably still need to fight for a while; you be patient."

Wu Chengyu shook his head: "This Dragon Chant Sword Client's swordsmanship is not bad, but his Inner Force is floating and his Foundation is not solid; just now his fierce attack came to nothing, and now his strength is failing; he will lose very soon, and the outcome will be decided within three moves."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Dragon Chant Sword Client's steps had already become disordered; under the blade client's fierce attack, he retreated consecutively, and the blade client, seeing the opportunity, gripped his blade with both hands and consecutively struck "Forceful Splitting of Mount Hua."

The Dragon Chant Sword Client reacted slowly at this time, could not avoid the blade's edge, and could only take it head-on.

The blade client struck three consecutive blades; the Dragon Chant Sword Client finally could not support himself, the long sword in his hand was directly chopped away, and then he was kicked off the ring by the blade client.

"The first ring fight; the Shi Family wins."

(Chapter End)