Knife splashing

Chapter 45 Jianghu
Dang-li-ge-dang! Dang-li-ge-dang!
"Ah! The Jianghu is in turmoil, and all kinds of people are coming to the stage. Warriors are fighting, Confucian scholars are discussing moral principles, and sorcerers are showing off their magical powers. Everyone is showing off their abilities and not giving in to the others..."

Dang-li-ge-dang! Dang-li-ge-dang!
"Look at this, the Red Fist master is quick in attack, the Xingyi is domineering and the Bagua is black, all kinds of people gather together, the rivers and lakes are dangerous so be careful, the sound of the clappers spreads in all directions, singing out the beautiful scenery of the world..."

At the entrance of Paifang Street, there was a lot of noise and the quick-talking artists were playing the mandarin duck clappers.

The so-called dragons, snakes, rats and ants each have their own ways.

A life-and-death duel involves the life and death of both parties, and there are various interest disputes behind it, but for ordinary people and people in the world, it is a grand event.

The Chinese people have loved to watch the excitement since ancient times.

Even when beheadings were taking place in the vegetable market, there were crowds of people watching, with food vendors running around, not to mention things like martial arts competitions.

That's more exciting than watching a play at a temple fair!
It was fine for ordinary people, but when they heard that the competition was held at 3 p.m., they would come early after lunch to grab a seat to avoid being unable to squeeze in.

But for ordinary people in the world, it is a good opportunity.

As the saying goes, “When you meet someone who talks about his hard work, he must be a man of the world.” Those who stir up trouble are only a minority, and the majority of people are just toiling for a few coins.

Before daybreak, a group of people came to "paint the pot".

What is "painting a pot"? It means that when street performers perform on the street, they use some white sand to draw a circle on the ground. On the one hand, it is to occupy the territory, and on the other hand, it is to mark out the venue so that the audience can step back and have space for the performance.

But this group of people obviously didn't come here to perform.

They are members of the Changchun Society in Xianyang.

Whenever there is a temple fair or various grand celebrations, there are always street performers and vendors, but everything has its rules. If they don’t agree in advance, they will have to fight for the venue.

The Changchun Society is the organization specifically responsible for this matter.

They are usually composed of respected street performers who are responsible for planning the territory in advance and maintaining order on the scene.

Of course, they have to pay tribute to local gangs, and they will also charge small vendors and street artists to make a profit from the difference.

Just after noon, the intersection was already packed with people.

Here, there are people playing the clappers, which are called "short things", there are people playing the erhu, which are called "long things" in the industry, and there are also the Fengyang flower drum artists who bring their families with them...

Needless to say, there are people selling all kinds of snacks, and people from Pimen also come to join in the fun.

Setting up a stall and using an iron rubbing wheel to grind fake rhinoceros horns is called "Bai Siping".

The one who beats himself with an iron bar while bare-chested and sells ointment for injuries is called "Fangbianhan". The one who is even more cruel, who cuts his arm with a knife and sells medicine for injuries, is called "Qingzitu"...

In the distance, there was a group of porters with carriages and horses.

Unlike marginal figures like Du Daya from Lijiabao, these porters are all strong and muscular. In the cold weather, they roll up their trouser legs to reveal their sturdy calves. They are all heroes who have practiced kicking...

In short, this competition caused ripples in the originally peaceful underworld of Xianyang City.

…………

"Why haven't you come yet?"

"Are you still going to fight?"

"What's the hurry? It's not even 3 p.m. yet..."

Seeing more and more people gathering, many idle men were obviously getting annoyed.

The entire Paifang Street Cross Old Street was already crowded with people. Fortunately, the wooden platform was built three meters high, so no matter where you were, you could see it by looking up.

The pubs and teahouses along the streets are undoubtedly in the best locations.

As long as you get a private room on the second floor, you can see the arena by opening the window, then you can brew a pot or two of tea and invite three or five good friends over, it will be so impressive.

Of course, ordinary people can’t book it even if they want to.

Anyone who can occupy a good position is a well-known figure in the underworld of Xianyang City, and they are clearly distinguished from each other.

……

Sitting in the restaurant on the east side were people from the Divine Fist Society, led by Zhou Pan. In addition to a few veterans from the boxing gym, all the Eight Vajras were present.

And Zhou Bai was also among them.

He looked at the ring outside, his eyes eager to try, and said, "How about I go up first? I can't let the fight go cold."

After all, he is still young at heart. Although he often competes with others, this is the first time he competes in front of so many people. It would be a lie to say that he is not excited.

"What a cold scene!"

A middle-aged man with black hair and white sideburns and a mustache scolded coldly, "Do you think this is a sideshow? Sit still, concentrate and calm down to prepare for battle!"

The one who spoke was Zhou Peide, the leader of the Eight Vajras.

He is the oldest, the most conservative, and his kung fu is only average among the eight people, but he is Zhou Pan's cousin and Zhou Bai's father.

Only with this relationship can we be ranked first.

Zhou Bai shrank his neck when he heard this, not daring to speak any more, but his eyes were full of dissatisfaction.

When Yuan Qu saw this, he immediately smiled and said, "Zhou Bai, don't worry. This is not a question of first come first served. The boy who sent the visiting card should go to the ring first, and you should go later to show your noble status."

"Oh I got it."

Zhou Bai immediately understood.

Zhou Peide, who was standing next to him, saw this and frowned slightly.

To be honest, he really looked down on Zheng Heibei and Yuan Qu. These two scoundrels had done many evil things in the name of the Zhou family.

Unfortunately, eldest brother Zhou Pan wanted to stabilize the Divine Fist Society and also had to build connections in Chang'an, and money was needed everywhere, so he could only accept these two people.

It seems that after this incident, I have to remind Zhou Baishao not to associate with this person...

……

Sitting in the restaurant on the west side were Zhang Yuanshang and several old men.

Relatively speaking, it's a lot quieter here.

Finally, someone couldn't help but say, "Mr. Zhang, you took care of it yourself this time, but you completely fell out with that old monkey. It's not worth it."

Zhang Yuanshang remained calm, calmly filled the hookah, lit it and took a few puffs, "In a family, in a sect, the old guys are the bottom of the box, but what really matters are the young people." "If the children in the family are promising, even if the family is poor, they will be looked up to. If the younger generation is not promising, the rich family will inevitably fall..."

"In this generation of the Zhou family, there is only one person, Zhou Bai. The rest are either good-for-nothings or greedy and lustful people."

"Although the Zhou family is now in its heyday, the old monkey is old after all, and he has stopped at the level of transformation in this life. If Zhou Bai loses, some people will naturally be concerned..."

Everyone nodded and agreed with it.

Although the underworld emphasizes the power of fists, it is ultimately driven by interests. Especially for their Divine Fist Society, they still survive within the rules of the Daxuan Dynasty and cannot kill people and seize territory like bandits.

Even if he is a bandit, if his virtue does not match his position, he will surely bring disaster upon himself.

In the past ten years or so, Zhou Pan has done some things that were too extreme.

In Xianyang City, there are many people waiting to push down the wall.

“Any chance of winning?”

"About 20 to 30 percent."

Zhang Yuanshang took a few puffs of his water pipe and said calmly, "I'm old now, so it's not a loss to trade my old face for a 20% to 30% chance!"

"Father, someone is coming!"

At this moment, Zhang Shitong, who was standing at the window watching, whispered a reminder.

Everyone looked outside and saw a commotion at the northwest intersection. Then, under the scolding of some boxers from the Zhang family martial arts school, the crowd opened up.

A young man strode down the street.

He was wearing a coarse black warrior suit and leggings, looking like a country bumpkin. However, because of his tall stature, fair skin, and a pair of pupils, he stood out in the crowd even though he was dressed in a rustic way.

Behind him followed a Taoist priest and a bald man with a beard. They were Sharifei and Wang Daoxuan.

"Is this Li Hu's son?"

Inside the teahouse, an old man was somewhat surprised, "Li Hu looks like a bear, how could he have such a pretty child? He's a good candidate for a Hua Dan role..."

The others laughed and shook their heads slightly.

This person is Luo Shihai, a senior Baguazhang master in Xianyang City. He is also the leader of Longsheng Opera Troupe and a real opera fanatic.

If a promising female disciple had not been raped by the younger generation of the Zhou family, committed suicide by hanging, and created a feud, he would not have participated in the disputes in the martial arts world and stood with them.

Not to mention that everyone had different thoughts, Li Yan came to the center of the cross street, ignoring the gazes of the people around him, and focused all his attention on the ring.

When he saw the arena, his eyes narrowed slightly.

Sharifei on the side sneered: "The Zhou family's people are really like this, they only know how to play tricks."

But the construction of the arena was a bit strange.

Even if there are no plum blossom stakes on an ordinary fighting arena, there are still stacked log frames for people to climb.

The Zhou family's arena was made entirely of wooden boards on all sides, with no place to put pressure on. It even shone brightly in the sunlight, obviously coated with tung oil.

This is just a show of force.

With so many people watching, if he couldn't even get onto the stage, he would be too embarrassed to stay there even before the other party showed up.

"It's okay, just a little trick..."

Li Yan glanced around calmly.

I saw that there were hemp ropes as thick as arms around the arena, which were used to pull and fix the center pillar of the arena. They were tied to iron rods driven into the ground and were stretched straight.

Li Yan came to the hemp rope without saying a word.

When the onlookers and the people from the martial arts world saw this, their eyes widened.

Although the hemp rope is thick, it has a steep inclination angle and only reaches halfway up the ring. Could it be that he wants to climb up along the rope?
Although it is not difficult for a skilled practitioner, it is not very pretty.

In terms of momentum, it is a bit weaker.

Unexpectedly, Li Yan did not use his hands, but stepped on the hemp rope, alternating between left and right feet, and walked up step by step steadily...

"it is good!"

The onlookers immediately applauded and cheered.

"What is this?!"

There were also many scoundrels from the Iron Knife Gang and the White Ape Gang in the crowd. Seeing this, they laughed and said, "Isn't it just the tightrope walking of the Xicai Sect? Was this kid a street performer in the past?"

"What do you know?"

An old man nearby heard this and snorted coldly, "Tightrope walking uses a soft rope and has the skill to exert force. This young man clearly has great lower body skills and is forcing himself to move upwards."

"If you don't understand, stop talking nonsense here."

Several scoundrels were so angry that they shouted and were about to beat him up, "You old bastard..."

But before he could finish his words, his head tilted and he fainted.

However, there were quite a few young people in the crowd, so he attacked them from behind, knocked them all unconscious, and kicked them hard in the ribs several times.

These hooligans were unlucky as they ran into a senior from the Xicai Sect.

There was a commotion below, but Li Yan remained calm. He followed the rope to the center of the ring, paused, and with the rebound force of the hemp rope, he flew into the air and grabbed the edge of the ring with his right hand.

Then, he did a somersault and landed steadily on the stage.

Cheers were heard again from below.

Li Yan clasped his fists and glanced around the ring, measuring the area to see if there were any smooth or uneven areas.

Swish!
Zhou Bai on the opposite side could no longer hold back, and when he saw Li Yan getting on the ring, he jumped directly from the window on the second floor of the restaurant.

He rolled forward to relieve the force and came to the edge of the ring. Facing the smooth wooden wall, he just stretched out his hand and grabbed it. His five fingers were embedded in it, just like a gecko climbing a wall. He climbed onto the ring...

(End of this chapter)