“Damn daoist, I’ll wreck you! Take this! Ada! Wada!”
Try as he may, Green Prince always missed his fly kicks aimed at Elder Shou because Yi Wangyou held onto his collar and persuaded, “Your Highness, calm down.”
“Don’t try to talk me out of it, Patriarch Yi. Are you telling me that not even reason is on my side?!”
“You are in the right, but you cannot beat him.”
Elder Shou probably would’ve reactively whacked Green Prince onto a tree if the latter actually landed his kick, eliminating himself and sabotaging his last chance at winning the tournament. That said, it’d be hard to find someone who couldn’t beat him even if he did get a fair fight.
“What happened, Brother?”
Green Prince turned to Luo Siming, his final ray of hope: “Why are you so late?!”
“Brother, what happened? Why did the tournament start ahead of schedule? Is the first match over already?”
“First match?! The third match is already over!”
“What?” After Green Prince gave a briefing, a very brief one, Luo Siming asked, “Even Empyrean Zha and Elder Shou lost?”
“Don’t mention those flipping daoist, or I’m going to need to hit someone.”
“Sorry, sorry.” Luo Siming understood what the meaning behind Empyrean Zha blithely chilling on the ground was when he saw the latter.
“What are you spacing out for?”
“N-nothing.”
“So young, yet already spacing out all the time. What happened to your second uncle?”
Luo Siming always sighed and shook his head when recounting his uncle’s fate, yet he was all smiles this time. “There is good news amid the bad news. I received a letter from Sword Spirit House a few days ago: my father is finally coming out of seclusion after ten years.”
“I heard about that. Is there a specific day?”
“Not yet, but likely soon. At latest, he’ll be out on the day Refining Divine Convention commences.”
Green Prince wasn’t in such a pleasant mood for today’s defeat would be a monkey wrench in his plans. “Put it all aside for now. I need you, as the host, to rig the matches for me.”
“Brother, Father’s return is good news for all of us. He will see you given how much he has always liked you. Why bother with this contest?”
“Just do as I say, okay?”
“No. This is supposed to be fair and square. I am duty-bound to ensure fair contests as the host and referee.”
Index finger aimed at Elder Shou, Green Prince fumed, “Fair?! Did he fight fair?!”
Smiling, Luo Siming opined, “Even so. If you are worried about not being able to fight the next match, I have a suggestion.”
“What good idea might you have?”
Luo Siming looked over his shoulder to call, “Please come over.”
Upon seeing the individual mummifying themselves in a black robe, Green Prince rubbed his eyes and titled his head side to side: “The hell is that, a zongzi sprite?”
The individual in black threw a kick, spurring Yi Wangyou to swing an arm down to guard Green Prince. The kicker pulled back into chamber, while Yi Wangyou prepared himself for the real kick after the feint. Unexpectedly, the kicker uncorked in the same direction of the first kick, merely using the first kick to use the second chamber as a spring. The kicker ended up throwing three bombs back to back, while Yi Wangyou denied all three with his hand to show that he wasn’t inferior in a strength contest, though neither could prove themselves the superior fighter.
Luo Siming jumped in between the two to break up the fight and explained, “Please cease this. We are on the same team. Brother, this is my friend. As you just witnessed, my friend is qualified to help you in the fifth match.”
“Good recommendation! Way better than those cheating daoists!” Green Prince deliberately shouted for Elder Shou to hear.
Elder Shou chuckled for he already achieved something better than a pointless win number – from his perspective. Others were unaware, but Ming Feizhen and he knew what they were doing. All of the circular motions he performed were to hint at Tai Chi Manual, which Ming Feizhen was in possession of, since Tai Chi works on a circular principle. Ming Feizhen signified five years, and then Elder Shou wrote “two”, demanding the latter return the manual to Wudang within two months. They stopped once Ming Feizhen held up three fingers as Elder Shou accepted three months as the time frame Ming Feizhen was granted when the former meant three years. Should Elder Shou not feel accomplished after achieving what Wudang’s patriarch couldn’t?
“Big Bother Ming, what were you two telling each other with all of your gestures?” Su Xiao queried.
Ming Feizhen shook his head.
Three years? Man, Tai Chi manual keeps my table more stable than “The Forbidden Legend of Sex and Chopsticks – Third Edition”. Man… This sucks.
“Please forgive my tardiness.” Luo Siming took centre stage to apologise with a fist-palm salute then added, “This one has caught up with what has happened thus far. Please send out your contestants for the fourth round.”
As it was a critical round, Yi Wangyou voiced, “Let me handle this round” and entered the arena readily.
“How about you, Young Master Zhong?”
“That should be obvious enough,” Ming Feizhen answered with a smile. “Hey, what are you waiting for? It’s your turn, Tang Ye!”