Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2590 Atonement for Crimes 53.0
The contest between Eagle Leopard, Falcon, and Shao Bai ended in a draw, but none of them were willing to concede defeat.

In this match, neither side gained an advantage over the other, and their mutual dislike for each other's playing styles deepened.

They won't dislike the other person as a person because of this, but they will feel extremely disgusted by the other person's style and have a strong competitive spirit.

The eagle wanted to win over Shao Bai's heart and reach the highest peak, just as Shao Bai wanted to.

Although he had watched some tournament matches and learned about Shao Bai's fighting style, Eagle Falcon couldn't help but complain after experiencing it firsthand. He commented that Shao Bai was a model of tormenting opponents, gradually wearing down their patience before delivering a fatal blow.

He didn't know if Shao Bai was going through a lot of suffering during the process, but anyone who fought Shao Bai was going through an extremely difficult time. After the fight, they would need to rest for a few days to recover.

Shao Bai showed no mercy to Eagle Leopard and Falcon either. He knew his fighting style was slow and tedious, very grueling, and admittedly a bit unkind, but at least each move had its own pattern, and a discerning person could find some clues. But Falcon was different; he fought haphazardly, without any method or strategy, attacking whatever came to mind without any discernible pattern. If one didn't know who he was, they would think he was just a self-taught, rough-and-tumble martial artist.

Both sides disliked each other's styles and wanted to conquer the other, so they agreed to a second match. This time, it wouldn't be a private sparring match, but a showdown on the ring.

Shen Haolin, Shen Cha, and Song Yaojia, who had just returned from visiting the Third Master and Madam Ning at the Marquis of Wuding's residence, had barely entered the flower hall and hadn't even had time to hang up their cloaks when they heard Meilin tell them this rumor.

After listening, the three looked at each other in bewilderment. Eagle Leopard, Eagle Falcon and Shao Bai had been chatting happily and seemed to have hit it off immediately during lunch, as if they wanted to swear an oath of brotherhood on the spot. How could they have changed like this after just one afternoon?

“A childish competitive spirit!” Merlin shook her head helplessly. “However, Shao Bai’s fighting style would drive anyone crazy. Even the most good-tempered person couldn’t withstand such a grind.” She took the cloaks from Shen Haolin, Shen Cha, and Song Yaojia, hung them all by the door, and said, “But, is General Eagle’s fighting style really that…wild?”

"Do you think the falcon is called a falcon?" Song Yaojia washed her hands and face, and smiled at Merlin. "It's because once it sets its sights on a goal, it won't let go and will stop at nothing to achieve it. And what those means are, only the falcon itself knows."

“That’s right.” Shen Cha nodded, glancing at Merlin. “You went to see it?”

"Looking at them, one is slow and deliberate, while the other is like a raging storm. It's really worrying for them. It's possible that one will devour the other." Merlin thought for a moment, "However, there's one strange thing."

"Strange? Tell me about it."

“I’ve fought against General Eagle and the Boss and the Duke, and I’ve seen it with my own eyes. I feel that,” Merlin shook his head slightly, “General Eagle didn’t go all out; he was holding back a little.”

“He wasn’t holding back; he just changed his strategy.” Shen Cha took the hot tea Merlin handed over and presented it to Shen Haolin, saying, “As I said before, although Shao Bai and I both use a slow-and-fast approach, we are completely different. Shao Bai focuses entirely on dragging things out, exhausting his opponent’s stamina and energy until their patience runs out and they lose their composure, at which point he will launch his attack. And to launch an attack, you need to understand your opponent’s attack patterns and tactics in order to deliver a fatal blow. But this time, Eagle Falcon didn’t give him that opportunity, attacking haphazardly and making it impossible for him to find any patterns or understand his own tactics.” "Moreover, if the opponent is like Eagle and Leopard, whose style is to overpower the master with a flurry of punches, Shao Bai's fighting style would be like shooting himself in the foot, doing him no good whatsoever." Shen Haolin chuckled, seeing the puzzled looks on Mei Lin and Song Yaojia's faces, and explained, "He wants to exhaust his opponent's patience and stamina, but Eagle and Leopard are one step ahead. Once his patience and stamina are exhausted, he will panic. Once he panics, it will be difficult for him to achieve a good result. So, rather than being forced into a draw, it's more accurate to say that he has no choice but to draw. If this continues, Shao Bai will undoubtedly lose."

"You're still too young and inexperienced. You'll realize there's always someone better when you spar with the best."

“Boss, it feels a little strange coming from you to say something like ‘too young.’” Merlin sat down, raising an eyebrow slightly. “If I remember correctly, Shao Bai is a few years older than the Duke!”

"That's the gist of it. As long as you understand, don't take it too seriously."

Shen Cha yawned, glanced at Song Yaojia who was almost asleep, and gestured to Meilin.

Merlin nodded gently, stood up, took a blanket, carefully walked to Song Yaojia, and gently covered him with it.

Song Yaojia was so sleepy that he couldn't stay awake any longer. It was really not easy for him to stay awake until now. He barely opened his eyes, looked at Merlin who had covered him with a blanket, said thank you, and then closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Shen Cha glanced at Song Yaojia, raised an eyebrow slightly, and said softly, "He must be exhausted today."

"It's mainly mental exhaustion." Shen Haolin nodded, looked at Song Yaojia, and sighed. "The matter of Miss Zeng has taken a lot of his energy."

"Old Zeng," Shen Cha stretched and leaned against Shen Haolin, saying, "Are you sure it wasn't because he offended someone that your uncle had no choice but to transfer him?"

“I don’t know, but what you said is also possible.” Shen Haolin sighed. “Although Elder Zeng always focuses on the matter and not the person, when he submits a memorial to the throne, it’s a big deal. Although there are occasional cases of unfounded accusations, most of them are based on evidence. So,” he took a sip of tea, “it’s hard to guarantee that we won’t offend some people.”

"The Empress Dowager." This was the only one Shen Cha could think of. "At that time, she was at the height of her power, and many people in the court followed her lead. If Elder Zeng investigated her or her henchmen, it might be okay once or twice, but if he found out about someone important, I'm afraid..." She shook her head slightly, "staying away is the best course of action."

"We'll know when we get back." Shen Haolin thought for a moment. "It's almost time for me to come back." He looked at Song Yaojia. "Whether it works out or not depends on this year."

Shen Cha nodded and looked at the sleeping Song Yaojia, sincerely hoping that the lovers could be together forever.