43: Chapter 29: Duel on the Arena 43: Chapter 29: Duel on the Arena Today’s Xuzhou City…
is bustling.
There’s a duel.
Zheng Mukai, the head honcho of Kaifeng Prefecture’s Guangxing Escort Agency, has decided to publicly spar on the city’s arena with Ge Shi, the fifth-ranked master of Huaian’s Heroic Gate.
Both are well-known figures in the Martial Arts community.
Zheng Mukai, at thirty-five this year, is known as the “Kaifeng Three-Ard Sword.” Of course, he’s not so Three Sword Styles practitioner; he wields only one sword.
However, his swift swordplay is so fast that it seems as though he has three arms instead of one.
On the other hand, Ge Shi is no pushover either.
At thirty-one this year, his nickna is “Scorpion Tail Spear,” and his seven-foot spear technique is so versatile and fierce that in the Huai River region, he’s a household na.
These two n…
originally had little to do with each other and had no reason to co to blows, let alone sign a deathmatch agreent and fight on the arena.
But today, they had to fight, and there was no getting out of it.
Why, you ask?
It’s not that hard to guess—most n fight to the death over money or won.
Money—they’ve got plenty of it.
So, the answer must be a woman.
And there are many kinds of won.
Zheng Mukai and Ge Shi both have wives at ho, and their wives are won too.
But they were clearly not fighting over their far-off spouses today.
They…
were fighting over a woman neither of them had ever t.
That woman, with the stage na “Chuxue,” is the top courtesan of “Qiliu Youlan,” the largest brothel in Xuzhou City.
Brothels in those tis ca in different rankings; let’s not even ntion those of the low-class, those typically had fewer rules.
But the first-grade brothels…
visiting one had many more formalities.
Such brothels, renowned enough to send shockwaves through a region, undoubtedly had powerful backers.
Hence, common folk could rarely et the courtesans from such establishnts.
It wasn’t as if you could just throw money around and demand to sleep with the top courtesan.
Sorry, no such deal.
For those with status, even indulging in a brothel required sophistication and class.
They couldn’t just jump into bed like ordinary villagers visiting lower-class brothels—that would be animalistic to them.
What the real dignitaries and learned n sought was not just physical release; they needed to be satisfied spiritually first.
So, to et a top courtesan from a high-class brothel, you’d have to go through a process akin to a job interview: you’d have to “request an audience.”
No matter whether you got to et her or not, you had to shell out the silver first to make sure the madam knew you were willing to spend.
Then, they’d typically invite you into a room for tea, allowing the courtesan to take a peek at you from a concealed spot first.
If you looked unsightly or unrefined…
you’d probably be sent on your way after finishing your tea.
If you looked and acted presentable, there was a next step: the courtesan would co out for a chat…
Of course, just a chat.
If you started getting handsy or acted desperately upon seeing her, she’d turn and leave.
You had to be reserved and courteous, maintaining an unshakeable deanor even in a brothel, engaging in conversations about music, chess, calligraphy, painting, and poetic thes…
Only then would she start offering you tea or wine or flirting with you.
After talking into the wee hours, only if the courtesan herself nodded to her maid to send the signal and close the door, inviting you to join her in the inner chamber for rest, could you proceed to fulfill your actual purpose for visiting the brothel.
This whole series of procedures…
which may seem as superfluous as removing pants to fart to us modern folks, was seen as an essential part of the foreplay, even more critical than the actual foreplay itself in the upper echelons of that era.
Upon closer reflection, there’s a reason behind it.
Getting sothing too easily tends to reduce the pleasure of enjoying it…
Even with sothing as mundane as relieving oneself, the satisfaction of going when you just feel the urge compared to when you’re about to soil yourself is simply incomparable.
The happiness a wealthy and handso man feels after winning over his dream woman in a day cannot be compared to the joy a hopeless admirer feels after doing the sa over a year.
Thus, intentionally creating obstacles for oneself, to relish the anxiety of possible failure or rejection, is a higher realm of existence.
It’s a tactic for cleverly prompting your brain to release more endorphins.
Of course, we have to co back down to earth: you need the ans to engage in such tactics.
Without the requisite capabilities, you’re more likely to fail regardless of your efforts.
I’ve digressed…
Back to the point.
So, what’s the deal with Zheng Mukai and Ge Shi?
Having laid down the context, the explanation is quite straightforward: Both of them went to Qiliu Youlan last night, hoping to et Miss Chuxue.
As a result, they were both invited by the madam to have tea.
Chuxue didn’t show up; she rely had a look at the two n from behind the screen and said, “One flake (of snow) cannot be divided into two halves.”
Then she sent the madam to show the guests out.
Confused by her words, they asked the madam to inquire about Miss Chuxue’s aning for them.
Seeing that they had spent their silver and were n of stature in the Martial Arts community, she obliged and relayed the ssage back, written on a piece of paper.
But what did she really an?
“One flake,” undoubtedly referring to herself, as flake is synonymous with snow.
As for “cannot be divided into two halves,” on the surface, it seed like she was saying, “I, a ‘flake of snow,’ can’t fall into two ‘valleys.'”
But that’s not it…
She was hiding a wordplay there.
“Halves” was not referring to “yu” but to “spouse,” considering there were two “n” sitting there.
Miss Chuxue, astute as she was, could tell from their garnts, boots, and details on their cuffs and belts, understood they were both n with families and their wives took good care of them.
By using the word “spouse,” she was reminding them of their wives, deliberately leaving a radical out as advice for them to be “human” and have a conscience.
The phrase ant to say, “I, Chuxue, do not wish to ‘break apart’ your ‘beautiful couples.'”
That was her intention.
But Zheng Mukai and Ge Shi took it differently.
That’s the trouble with being uneducated—do you think won who beco top courtesans have a low level of education?
If won could sit for civil exams, they’d have beco officials by now.
And yet, folk like you two want to et the top courtesan?
Aren’t you just asking for trouble?
And so, the two interpreted the sentence literally.
According to that interpretation, it seed as if she was hinting, “If only one of you had co, then I, the snowflake, would have fallen there.”
Consequently, they ended up in their own version of “two peaches kill three warriors.”
Both being practitioners from the reputable and upright Martial Arts community, they couldn’t just brawl outside the brothel at night.
What if soone won and then went back?
That wouldn’t look good if word got out.
Thus, they agreed to settle the score today at 1 p.m., on the arena at East Street, Xuzhou City.
As for the reason…
naturally, they didn’t publicly state it was over a courtesan.
They simply said it was to exchange martial arts techniques and determine who was superior.
Considering the unpredictable nature of swords, they also formally notified the local security chief and signed a life-or-death waiver.
That’s what they professed.
But in truth, both had murderous intentions.
Once a life-or-death waiver is signed, how could one hold back?
The agreent essentially functions as a “legal killing contract.” If both parties willingly sign it, then whatever happens afterward is fate, and none of either’s family or friends should seek revenge.
Whoever seeks revenge or engages in reprisals is at fault.
…
After noon had passed, the crowd at East Street began to gather to watch the spectacle.
Casual encounters with Martial Arts feuds scare off ordinary people, as they don’t want to be collateral damage.
But a rule-regulated arena contest?
They loved to watch, and so nosy folks even climbed onto nearby rooftops for a better view.
1 p.m.
arrived in the blink of an eye.
Finally, Ge Shi and Zheng Mukai took center stage.
Both waited until the last mont to show up, a sign of their experience in the Martial Arts world—they knew arriving early at such an event could make them jittery.
The life-or-death waiver was already signed.
The two n briefly saluted the local security chief, who provided a quick overview, and then employed their Qinggong to leap onto the arena, over six feet high.
“Please.”
“Please.”
Holding their weapons and exchanging a salute with clasped fists, they greeted each other for one final ti in the center of the arena before heading to opposite ends.
At that mont…
“Co on, place your bets, make your choice!
The fight’s about to start, last minute to wager—quickly now, what’s that?
What’s a minute?
A minute is when you count seconds, from one to sixty.”
A shrill male voice could boldly be heard selling bets about fifteen ters away from the arena, at the corner of an alley.
Another voice, not far from the “bookie,” was authoritatively instructing a group of locals: “Guys, trust , I’m a pro comntator.
I’m telling you, in today’s match, it’s a 60-40 chance in favor of Ge Shi…
It’s said that it takes a hundred days to practice a knife, a thousand for a spear, and ten thousand for a sword.
At their level…
oh no…
with their mastery, usually the spear practitioner is slightly stronger.
Of course, Zheng Mukai is a few years older than Ge Shi, that’s a factor to consider.
Trust , bet on Ge Shi, you won’t go wrong.”
The owners of the two voices?
Who else could they be but Sun Yixie and Huang Donglai?
These two had also just arrived in Xuzhou yesterday, and as word of the duel was spreading through the streets this morning, they joined in the excitent.
True to his business acun, Sun Yixie thought to set up a “betting stall” near the arena almost imdiately after hearing the news; not that he’s short on cash, but having recently been robbed of two hundred silver taels at Zhu Xiaowan’s scam of an establishnt, he wasn’t feeling great and wanted to make so quick money on the side—it’s just his nature, nothing to do with the money really.
Huang Donglai, on the other hand, had a strong affinity for comntating and decided to help Brother Sun “build a narrative.”
The two started out standing there, chatting away like a comic duo, until an audience gathered.
Then, Huang Donglai took over the monologue like a storyteller while Sun Yixie conveniently whipped out the “chips” he had prepared all morning and began taking bets, creating the scene now unfolding.
Listening to the brazen words and actions of those two lads, Zheng Mukai and Ge Shi on the arena were both visibly embarrassed, their lips twitching.
But the mont of truth had co, and calling a ti-out was hardly an option.
The combatants could only pretend not to hear, assuming their fighting stances, ready for the bout to comnce.
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