Ink Burns

Chapter 180 The Fisherman's Winter (Part 2) - Fatty Chapter
As darkness fell, the hexagonal pavilion was brightly lit. With a piercing gong sound, the black cloth in the center of the pavilion was ripped off, revealing a birdcage-like cage made of wire!
"Oh oh oh--"

"Fight! Fight! Fight!"

The onlookers erupted in excitement, raising their fists and waving them in the air.

A ring of yellow cattail powder was sprinkled inside the horn cage, and outside the yellow ring, hundreds of sharpened halberds extended from the horn cage in an uneven and dense manner.

Ru Chun turned her head to the side, her face hidden under the black veil, and asked innocently, "Why are there so many thorns in the cage?"

Xue Chen glanced at it briefly: "Once a boxer steps out of the yellow line, these spikes will pierce his body—if he goes forward, he'll be killed by his opponent; if he goes backward, he'll be stabbed to death by a thousand arrows. Either way, it's 'death.' This cage either lets you out standing up or carries you down. Tsk—"

Xue Chen clicked her tongue, her fair face showing not regret, but disgust.

He hated seeing this scene: the thugs were driven to the brink of death, pierced by a thousand arrows, and he, sitting in the front row, was sprayed with blood that was as hot as fire and had a sweet, fishy stench.

But Henan and Jiangsu provinces really like it.

The two scenes that boxers from Henan and Jiangsu love to see most are: first, the sight of a boxer's head being smashed by his opponent, his skull cracked, and his brains squeezing out from the gaps; and second, a boxer pierced by a thousand arrows, hanging in the air like a toothpick.
Recalling that scene made Xue Chen feel nauseous.

What you dislike, happens to be the very thing you want to do.

In this arena, the fighters' strengths were vastly different. Before long, the smaller fighter was forced into a corner. As his opponent made a feint, the smaller fighter leaned back and tilted his head to avoid a heavy punch aimed at his face. With a "thud," the halberd pierced through the back of the smaller fighter's head, its sharp point protruding straight through his left eye socket, leaving his eyeball hanging in the air!

A burst of enthusiastic cheers erupted from the audience.

Shui Guang's gaze remained fixed on the man who sat firmly in the center of the row, with no one daring to approach him.

As the boxer's eyeballs exploded on the platform, the man stomped his leg on the ground and excitedly threw two punches into the air: "Damn it! I'll smash his head in!"

Shui Guang took half a step back, her voice trembling as she said, "Ah—".

They seemed terrified.

Xue Chen was confused and peeked out. When he saw the scene below, he felt a wave of nausea and vomiting surge up his throat. He then vomited, but nothing came out. It felt like a strong force rushed to the top of his head, and he was thrashing around under his skull like a headless fly. He felt a burning sensation all over his body, and his fingertips, mouth and feet went numb from holding it in!
Xue Chen raised his hand and slammed it heavily on the table.

Wei Ruchun quickly took out silver needles from his sleeve and inserted them into several acupoints on Xue Chen's head, including Tian Ding, Feng Fu, Feng Chi, Wangu, and Er Men.

Her technique was extremely fast, and in no time Xue Chen's purplish lips regained their color.

"Did you stay up late again last night?" Wei Ruchun asked Xue Chen with a frown as she put away the silver needles.

Xue Chen frowned and shook his head: "The clapper hadn't even sounded before I was put on the bed, and I couldn't sleep well as I tossed and turned."

“It’s hot, that’s why.” Wei Ruchun didn’t wait for Xue Chen to finish speaking. Her voice was crisp, yet firm and unquestionable: “You were in the heat at the medicine room that day, and the weather hasn’t cooled down. You have a lot of heat toxins in your body, which is called summer heat toxins in ancient times. The only way to get rid of them is to rest and recuperate, and add detoxifying and heat-dispelling herbs such as astragalus, honeysuckle, and agastache. But you’re a grown person and you’re afraid to drink medicine, so I’ll have to administer the acupuncture and decoction myself. It’s a 28-day cycle, and a 7-day cycle. It’s normal for you to feel dizzy, have insomnia, and palpitations before the 7 days are up.”

Xue Chen smiled and raised her eyebrows: "It's not that I refuse to take the medicine."

I just wanted her to help me with the acupuncture.

Only when administering acupuncture would Ru Chun allow her fingertips to touch his skin. Aside from that, although Ru Chun would gaze at him tenderly and coax him with sweet words, she was too shy to overstep any boundaries with him even for a moment.
Wei Ruchun smiled, pursing her lips. As she stood up, she glanced out the window and noticed that the man in the middle of the first row was nowhere to be seen. She immediately looked away and asked casually, "Is this considered the end of the show?"

"His brain has been pierced, the winner and loser are decided, it's over."

"Where have all the people on the first floor gone?"

Xue Chen's mind was still blank, and he didn't want to look at the terrible scene in the lobby. He casually said, "Before the gong is struck, if you want to gamble, go to the northeast corner to place your bets for the next round."

Wei Ruchun gave a casual "Oh," poured Xue Chen a cup of tea, chatted with him for a few more minutes, then fanned himself with his hand and complained, "It's so hot upstairs." He pouted, "And so stuffy. I don't want to stay here anymore. I saw a rouge shop across from the hexagonal pavilion. I want to go there and have a look."

Xue Chen's hands and feet were still numb. He waved his hand casually and called over a familiar servant in the private room: "Take the young lady to the opposite door to take a look. There are all sorts of scoundrels outside. All the scoundrels in the capital are here to watch the show. You must protect her carefully. If the young lady gets even a hair on her head, I won't let you off easy."

The servant, all smiles and bowing obsequiously, escorted Wei Ruchun to the door of the private room on the second floor, then chuckled obsequiously, "Young Master Xue truly treats you like the apple of his eye. Who in the capital doesn't know that the eldest son of the Xue family is a ruthless devil, while the second son is a gentle and refined gentleman—"

Before he could utter the word "elegant," a silver needle had already silently pierced his neck. The servant, head tilted to the side, slumped against the wall and fainted.

Wei Ruchun lowered her veil, looked around to make sure no one was watching, and immediately and decisively lifted her skirt and ran towards the northeast entrance.

Outside the northeast entrance of the hexagonal pavilion, there were two low bungalows with blue bricks. Inside, there was a lot of noise and commotion. Chang Yusu had just placed two hundred taels of silver to bet on Li Huiying, the iron hammer. Zhuang He, who served him closely, bowed and helped lift the curtain: "Young Master Chang's eyes are sharp! Last time you said that He the Cripple was going to die, hey, guess what? Sure enough, He the Cripple got beaten so badly that his intestines came out!"

Chang Yusu raised his head: "I'm only 30% accurate in judging people, but 70% skilled in judging martial arts. The lame guy injured his ankle in the previous match, so he definitely won't be able to run fast in the next match. And isn't the next match Huang Ergou with Iron Hook Hand? Huang Ergou doesn't have hands, but he has iron hooks on his arms. With a flick of his wrist, he can pull the lame guy out of his anus, not just his intestines and stomach, but also his heart, liver, spleen, and lungs!"

As Chang Yusu spoke, he smugly grabbed the gambling tickets and went out.

As soon as they stepped outside, they heard a woman sobbing from the bushes behind the low archway.

Chang Yusu felt annoyed and spat on the ground: "I heard crying as soon as I stepped out of the casino! What a damn woman! Crying and crying! What a despicable person!"
Chang Yusu strode towards the bushes, where he saw a figure wearing a black veil hat crying outside the archway.

“Sister, don’t try to persuade me. Once you’ve chosen a path, you have to go all the way. Chen Lang said he would divorce his wife and marry me, so I’ll just wait. What’s my background? What’s Chen Lang’s background? The Xue family is a family of great wealth and honor, with generations of distinguished figures. I’m already incredibly lucky to have gained Chen Lang’s favor. What more could I possibly hope for?”

Chang Yusu paused in his tracks.

Chen Lang?
Xue family?
Xue Chen?

Is this woman Xue Chen's woman?

Chang Yusu was instantly enraged: Once Xue Chen's mourning period was over, his sister was going to marry him! After so many years of brotherhood, Xue Chen was simultaneously carrying out his sister's engagement and flirting with another woman?!
"What are you hoping for?! You're hoping Xue Chen will marry you soon!" another female voice rang out. "Don't be fooled by his lavish clothes and extravagant lifestyle. If he doesn't marry you, you'll have nothing! If you ask me, the Chang family is not to be trifled with. You might as well ask Xue Chen to give you a thousand or eight hundred taels and come back with me. If the Chang family finds out, do you think you'll survive?! Do we?!"

Chang Yusu's arms were already tense, but upon hearing this, his anger subsided by a third.

A woman.

Who doesn't have a few women?

Let alone playing around with women, he's so skilled at it that he's slapped women to death.

If Brother Chen really likes her, it wouldn't be a big deal to take her home as a concubine.

The woman in the black veil was still sobbing: "He said he would marry me. He said that girl from the Chang family was no good. She was no good in appearance, no good in stature, and her hair was all yellow and withered, like a cat's burnt whiskers. He said that the Chang family girl had nothing but her family background. He said that once he married her and established himself, he would drive her crazy and force her to become a nun at Hanshan Temple. Then he would make me his official wife. He promised so readily. I won't leave! I won't leave!"

Chang Yusu looked at the bushes in disbelief, her eyes twitching involuntarily a few times.

"Aren't you afraid of the Chang family?!" the "younger sister" in the bushes asked anxiously.

The woman in the black veil cried her heart out: "I'm scared! How can I not be scared! But no matter how scared I am, I can't leave! There's no turning back! If I leave, what will happen to the child in my womb!"

Chang Yusu stood with his hands hanging at his sides, his fists clenched, his eyes fierce. He lifted his foot and headed toward the bushes. Just as he took a step, he heard three drumbeats from the hexagonal pavilion. A line of gamblers who had just placed their bets poured out of the bungalows in the northeast corner that were being used as gambling dens!

Gamblers rushed inside, not wanting to miss a single movement in the new arena. They stood shoulder to shoulder, one group after another, squeezing Chang Yusu so much that he couldn't move.

Chang Yusu sidestepped and shoved one gambler after another who tried to rush past him to the ground, shouting, "I'm Chang Yusu! If you don't want to die, get the hell out of my way!"

The crowd, which resembled a school of fish, paused for a moment.

Chang Yusu abruptly pushed aside the chests and backs blocking his way and strode around the archway—no one was there.

There was no one behind the archway.

Those two damned women, I don't know when or where they went!

The woman ran away, but the man is still here!?
When Chang Yusu got emotional, his lips twitched like a dying fish, and without looking to the side, he grabbed Zhuang He, who had rushed over in a hurry: "I'm asking you, did Xue Chen come today? Is he here?"

Zhuang He was grabbed by the neck and dragged inside, struggling in vain in a panic: "They're here! They're here! In the Chunfen room on the second floor! Please, Master Chang, don't kill me! Please, Master Chang, don't kill me!"