Black Belly Wife

After the gong was beaten twice and was about to be hit a third time, suddenly, a white shadow flew into the ring and landed opposite the head of the Kunlun Sect. He folded his fan and said, "I, Huo Zhantang, would like to see the swordsmanship of the Kunlun Sect."

"Huo Zhantang? I've never heard of you. What school and sect are you from?" The head of the Kunlun Sect asked.

Huo Zhantang smiled elegantly and answered, "No school, no sect."

When the head of the Kunlun Sect heard his words, he burst into laughter. "No school, no sect. So you are a young man who has just started out. Young man, here is the tournament ring for the Martial Arts Assembly. You should just enjoy watching the show by staying down below. Jumping in at random can get you killed."

Huo Zhantang snapped his fan closed, and his expression changed abruptly as he said, "I'm here to kill."

The head of the Kunlun Sect Head was startled. This person just now seemed to wave his fan without thinking but, in fact, carried profound internal strength. According to his judgment, this person's inner strength was definitely not below his. "May I ask who your master is?" He asked.

Huo Zhantang asked in return. "Is there ever a rule stipulating that one must report one's eighteenth generation of ancestors first before participating in the Martial Arts Assembly?"

Having met with a soft nail, the head of Kunlun Sect's face sank slightly and said, "Since you won't tell me, let me test you. We will know who your teacher is once I'm done." After talking, he raised his sword and had a go at him.

Huo Zhantang smiled gently and single-handedly responded with his folding fan while looking relaxed and at ease. In less than ten moves, the head of the Kunlun Sect was defeated. The only sound that could be heard throughout the process was the folding fan hitting someone. The head of the Kunlun Sect failed to hurt even a single hair on Huo Zhantang until he put his fan on the head of the Kunlun Sect's throat. The strength disparity between them was evident.

This duel was not long nor intense, but the crowd was thrilled, and each of them secretly speculated what kind of person this hidden Huo Zhantang was.

Huo Zhantang ignored the audience's inquisitive gazes. He gracefully retrieved his folding fan and cupped his hands in obeisance. "You let me win."

The head of the Kunlun Sect seemed to have not yet accepted that he was defeated by a mere nobody. He looked at Huo Zhantang in a daze for a long time, when suddenly, as if he had awoken from a dream, his eyes turned red, and he stabbed Huo Zhantang with his sword.

The crowd gasped. Everyone secretly broke out into cold sweats for Huo Zhantang. However, they saw his body move, dodging the head of Kunlun Sect's attack effortlessly. With a flick of his folding fan, the head of Kunlun Sect's knife somehow stabbed into his own chest. In an instant, his blood flowed out without end until the white on his eyes flipped over. With the shocked expression on his ashen face, he collapsed with a bang.

The whole room fell into dead silence. Everyone looked at this scene in shock, unable to speak for a long time. This also included Murong Yunshu and Li Wunai. Murong Yunshu was shocked that Huo Zhantang dared to openly kill the head of the Kunlun Sect. At the same time, Li Wunai was surprised that Huo Zhantang's martial arts were this high.

It was unknown how long it took before everyone saw Huo Zhantang unfold his folding fan and speak. "Indeed, you cannot jump randomly into the Martial Arts Assembly tournament ring. A mere nobody should have enjoyed watching the fun from down below. Otherwise, you can get yourself killed."

Huo Zhantang's words completely enraged the people of Kunlun Sect. "I want to take revenge for the Sect Master!" A Kunlun disciple rushed towards the ring but was pulled back by several other Kunlun disciples, mouthing the words 'ten years is not too long for a gentleman to take his revenge'.

Huo Zhantang smiled disdainfully while shaking the opened folding fan in his hand and asked, "Anyone else want to come up and compete with me?"

In short, his words practically frightened the whole audience. No one came up to the stage to meet him head-on. In the witness area, Sect Master Mo whispered worryingly to Murong Yunshu, "This man is cruel and ruthless. If we let him assume the Great Leader of Martial Arts, the consequences are unthinkable."

Murong Yunshu responded, "Sect Master Mo's words are reasonable. Why don't Sect Master Mo send a Wudang disciple to the stage to kill this impressive person?"

Sect Leader Mo was slightly embarrassed, "This old Taoist is incompetent. No disciple in my sect is above him in martial arts."

Murong Yunshu smiled faintly and said, "I have many capable people under the Murong Mansion, but it is a pity that once they get involved in the jianghu dispute, Sect Leader Mo will threaten the world's heroes to eradicate them for the sake of heaven. I dare not let them out to save the martial arts circles."

Once these words were out, she could see the corners of Sect Leader Mo's twitch a few times as his face turned red.

"Madam, I am not afraid of being eradicated. Let me go up and chop off that dog's head!" said North Guardian, standing behind Murong Yunshu.

Murong Yunshu: "Have you recovered your martial arts skills?"

North Guardian replied, "I recovered seventy to eighty per cent last night, and I have fully recovered this morning."

It seemed that what Mister Shi Er said was true, and the antidote did play a role. Raising her eyebrows to glance at Huo Zhantang, Murong Yunshu said, "Let's find another day that is a fine time and lucky day to kill him. Today is quite terrible for us, so we should not kill him. It's good for us to watch the battle from the sideline."

North Guardian was rendered speechless. What does killing have to do with being inauspicious? He had killed countless people, but he had never become inauspicious and somehow managed to live until now?

Western Guardian rolled his eyes at him and said, "This is the matter of the upright and prestigious sects. We, the former members of the Mojiao Sect and now Murong Mansion guards, should not interfere. So as to not let Madam be implicated."

"But that Huo Zhantang is too arrogant. If he hadn't interfered yesterday, how could we have been besieged? And Leader wouldn't have disappeared." The more the North Guardian said, the angrier he became. He was disappointed that he could not take Huo Zhantang's head immediately.

"Did I tell you not to kill him? Didn't Madam say to find another day that is a fine time and lucky day to kill him?" Western Guardian was getting impatient with North Guardian's sluggishness.

In response, North Guardian tactfully shut himself up. Although he did not understand why Madam had to find an auspicious day to kill Huo Zhantang, since Madam said so, he could only obey. After all, from past experience, Madam's words were bound to be justified.

East Guardian patted his shoulder and said comfortingly, "Don't be discouraged. With our Madam's vengeful character, it is only a matter of time before she kills Huo Zhantang. If he doesn't die, Madam will definitely ensure he won't be able to eat."

"Yes. Madam has always kept a low profile and does not like to attract attention. How can she turn it into something well-known by killing someone on the tournament stage? If you want to kill a person, you should wait until it was sunset and dark, then do it quietly." South Guardian said.

On the side, the corner of Sect Leader Mo's forehead twitched wildly, and his face was full of black lines. "Miss Murong, please control your guards."

Murong Yunshu raised her eyebrows, "You have a problem with them?"

Sect Leader Mo: "A little."

"Go on with your talk."

"......" This was really undisguised protection of their shortcomings. Sect Leader Mo raised his sleeve to wipe away the sweat on his forehead as he looked at all the experts from the major sect who lost one by one on the ring, feeling worried. "Brother Shenji, what do you have in mind?" He turned to ask Old Man Shenji.

At that time, Old Man Shenji was watching the match with great interest, and his eyebrows were jumping around. When he heard Sect Leader Mo's question, he hastily put away his vigorous interest and said with a grim face. "The situation is dire, but I have no idea to share."

"......" Isn't this the same as not saying anything? Sect Leader Mo felt extraordinarily helpless and asked Li Wunai, "Does Abbot's have a clever remedy for dealing with this?"

"There is no clever remedy, but there is a folk remedy." Li Wunai said, "If Sect Leader Mo does not mind, I would like to lead the Shaolin disciples to besiege him."

"......" Great Leader Mo suddenly felt that out of these four people on the witness side, only he was the most reasonable one. [+]

Huo Zhantang was cruel and ruthless as he killed everyone in the ring at every turn. The ring was bloodstained in less than half a column of incense. No one else dared to go up to face him head-on. To be precise, no one dared to throw away their lives just like that.

Hearing the sound of gong and drums, the symbol of winning once again, Li Wunai could not sit still. As the abbot of Shaolin Temple, he could not stand by and watch helplessly as evil people do evil to the martial arts circles. However, all the various sects present were frightened by Huo Zhantang's imposing manner. Since Murong Yunshu insisted on letting the Mojiao Sect sit on the sidelines, it was challenging to find someone for fighting Huo Zhantang at that moment. As a last resort, he had no choice but to go on the ring himself.

Before the gong and drum were beaten for the third time, Li Wunai slapped his chair, rose up, made an overhead flip, and landed in front of Huo Zhantang. "Li Wunai." He introduced himself.

Huo Zhantang stated, "As the Abbot of Shaolin Temple, you cannot participate in this match."

Kasaya

Image Credit | 古月探秘 (佛教禅宗真的有木棉袈裟吗, May 26th, 2019)

Hearing this, Li Wunai pulled open his kasaya and threw it into the air, saying, "Then I will return to my secular life!"

As soon as these words were uttered, the audience was in an uproar.

"How can the Abbot of Shaolin announce he will return to his secular life just like that?"

"That's right. For a monk to return to his secular life is a big deal. You can't just throw away the kasaya and call that as returning to secular life."

"Having said that, no one but him can compete with Huo Zhantang right now."

"If you can't fight against him (Huo Zhantang), you can just not do it. Today, I came to see who will be chosen as the Great Leader of Martial Arts. Isn't it just as well that someone has already won?"

"But that Huo Zhantang is too cruel."

"Called a king if successful, called a bandit if defeated. If you dare to come out recklessly, you must be prepared to die."

......

......

All sorts of comments came from off the ring. Some people favoured Li Wunai's return to the secular world to compete with Huo Zhantang for the Great Leader of Martial Arts position, while others opposed it. The two sides argued endlessly, with the potential of a brawl happening if they could not come to an agreement. The Martial Arts Assembly had entered an unprecedented deadlock.

On the witness' area, Sect Leader Mo rebuked, "Nonsense. This is such truly nonsense. As the Abbot of Shaolin Temple, what is the decency of such a reckless act!"

When Old Man Shenji heard this, he waved his hand indifferently and said, "Old Man Mo, you should try to loosen up. What is it to you if a young man wants to return to the world and get married? No matter how unethical it is, it is also a matter of Shaolin Temple, and it has nothing to do with your Wudang. We're better off watching the show in peace. At your age, you shouldn't worry too much. Just be careful not to shorten your life before its time."

Sect Leader Mo was left speechless. He originally wanted to discuss this issue with Murong Yunshu. Still, seeing her face full of interest, he suddenly felt it was unnecessary. Nothing more. As long as people with sinister intentions were not allowed to become the Great Leader of Martial Arts, they could do whatever they wanted.

No one objected on the witness side, and the opposition from the stage was no longer valid. So Li Wunai successfully returned to the secular world.

Huo Zhantang clapped his hands with his folding fan and smiled smugly, saying, "Alright, since there are no objections from the witness side, then I will not be polite."

Li Wunai sneered. "You'd better not be polite with me. Otherwise, I'll have to be polite with you in return, then it won't be a satisfying fight."

"It just so happens that I also want to fight satisfactorily!" Huo Zhantang smiled angrily and used his fan as a weapon to attack Li Wunai.

Li Wunai's eyes became deep as he received the attack with his bare hands.

After a while, the two of them were locked in a fierce battle until they came to a deadlock. In the witness area, everyone was watching the match with amusement. Of course, except for Sect Leader Mo, who was worried about the realm.

"In my opinion, I'm afraid we won't be able to tell the outcome of this match for a while." Old Man Shenji said.

Murong Yunshu raised her eyebrows. "Why do you think so?"

Old Man Shenji: "Li Wunai is the main defender. He wins through his ever-changing moves, but his internal strength is a little weak. Huo Zhantang is the main attacker. His internal strength is slightly better, but his moves are simple and easy to be broken. The two are evenly matched, with each has its own merits."

"What if Li Wunai counterattacks?" Murong Yunshu asked rhetorically.

Old Man Shenji froze at her words and then laughed. "That depends on how strong he is. Suppose he can maintain his physical strength for a long time to finally attack. In that case, he will be able to achieve the final victory."

Murong Yunshu nodded in understanding and said, "I should have let him eat the remaining two steamed buns in the morning before setting out."

On the side, Feng Cheng spoke regretfully, "If I had known this, I should have let him take two stamina-enhancing pills beforehand."

"Fortunately, that didn't happen." East Guardian countered with a grateful face. "If he had taken your elixir that couldn't work properly, he might not have been able to fight halfway through the match."

"......" He had just ruined his lifelong legendary reputation over a few pills!

East Guardian ignored Feng Cheng beating his chest and stamping his feet as he asked Murong Yunshu, "Madam, in case Great Master Li can't do it either, what should we do next?"

Murong Yunshu thought about it and said, "If he really can't, we'll fight him using wheel tactics. There are many of us anyway."

"Don't count me in." Feng Cheng hastily made his attitude clear. Even if they beat him to death, he would still refuse to go on stage just to be abused.

Murong Yunshu glanced at him and said, "Don't worry. I don't even treat you as a person."

"......" Feng Cheng's fragile little heart shattered into small pieces.

At this time, Yun Si Niang suddenly shrieked. "Not good. There is a hidden weapon in that folding fan!" As soon as these words were out, everyone could hear a miserable cry. Li Wunai was seen kneeling on the ground while holding his left knee with his face showing how painful it was.

Feng Cheng jumped into the ring to take his pulse when he saw this situation. South, East, North, and West also followed and gathered around them. "Is Great Master okay?" East Guardian asked.

"There is no poison on the concealed weapon. But he hurt his kneecap. So I'm afraid he won't be able to get out of bed for 10 days to half a month." Feng Cheng answered while quickly bandaging Li Wunai. Finally, he helped Li Wunai up and said, "I can only stop the bleeding for the time being, and I can only take out the hidden dart that penetrated into the bone after we return to the inn."

Li Wunai nodded as he endured the pain. His forehead was covered in a cold sweat, and his face paled.

Feng Cheng took Li Wunai out of the ring, while North, South and East remained while looking coldly at Huo Zhantang. "You are despicable for injuring him using underhanded mean!" North Guardian barked.

Huo Zhantang just shrugged it off. "My weapon is this folding fan. What hurts him is also this folding fan. How can it be considered injuring him using underhanded means? There is no rule saying you can't put darts in a folding fan."

North Guardian laughed coldly at his words as he waved out his red tasselled spear and shouted, "Madam, I am sorry. I can't wait to kill him before choosing an auspicious day. Now I'm going to take this dog's head to vent my hatred!"

On the witness seats, Murong Yunshu did not make a sound, which could be considered her giving tacit approval.