Chapter 37: The Good Fortune of the Jia Family

  In a room not far from the ring, Yamashita Kengo was trying to stop Mutoh Takeshi.

  "Takefuji Watanabe would not accept Kengo Yamashita's dissuasion, he almost shouted at Kengo Yamashita: "No! Absolutely not! The samurai of the Great Japanese Empire absolutely cannot break their promise, I am not injured, I must go to war! For my personal honor, and for the honor of the Great Japanese Empire."

  Yamashita Keigo was at a loss for words, unable to think of a more suitable reason to counter Mutoh's theory, and could only stall until the arrival of Takahashi Shin.

  "Let's respect Mr. Wutong's opinion then!" Five minutes later, Takashi Kobayashi appeared, and his first sentence stunned Yamashita Kengo. "Although Mr. Wutong's physical condition is not suitable for today's martial arts competition, Mr. Wutong's Bushido spirit and attitude of always thinking about the honor of the empire are worthy of my admiration, Mr. Wutong, I believe in you!"

  Seeing Takahashi's confident appearance, Yamashita Kengo said nothing more and waved his hand, indicating that Mutoh Koji could go prepare for the match.

  After Takashi Watanabe left, Nobuo Takahashi whispered to Keigo Yamashita: "I've arranged for someone to inspect the water cup in Takashi's room. Don't worry, we'll definitely find some toxic residue. Let that foolish pig Takashi suffer! Yamashita, your decision was very timely and correct under these urgent circumstances. I believe the head of the dojo will have an objective evaluation."

  Yamashita Keigo didn't say a word, he just nodded thoughtfully.

  Thirty minutes later, Takeshi Kaga climbed onto the stage.

  Wataru Sakata and Nobukazu Hirai also entered the ring with Wataru Fujiwara, but they were not the main event so after entering the ring they quietly went to the judges' seats at the back of the ring.

  As usual, Liu Yuqie should have been the first to take the stage and warm up the audience before Watanabe Naohiro came on, but today was different. Watanabe pulled Liu aside and went straight to the front of the stage, where he gave a speech in stiff Mandarin.

  Takeshi Takeda's speech had many grammatical errors, but the general meaning was still expressed. Takeshi Takeda meant to say that the nighttime explosion case was true, but he wasn't injured, and as a warrior of the Great Japanese Empire, he wouldn't lie, so today's match will go on as scheduled.

  Under the stage, Kanemoto took a deep breath and climbed onto the ring before Mutoh had finished speaking.

  Yes, Zhan Jinbiao indeed climbed onto the stage!

  This was Yatoufei's plan, the purpose of which was to attract Mutou Kaito's attention. A martial artist, especially a good one, would never make his move in such an attitude.

  Yè Tú Fēi's original words were: "First, send a question mark to Mutō Kōji, making him think you're doing it on purpose. Once he has this idea, he'll be very cautious and will come at you with full force from the start. As for you, if you can just hold out for ten minutes, you'll put immense psychological pressure on him, magnifying that hint of worry in his heart and affecting his judgment. Keep an eye on his eyes; as soon as you see a glimmer of doubt, immediately change tactics and engage in a desperate battle with him. If you seize the opportunity well, your chances of winning will exceed 70%."

  Now, Takefumi Muto stared at Zhan Jinbiao in astonishment, he didn't dare to believe his eyes.

  The person who dared to get on stage and confront him was actually a mountaineer!

  The whole showdown lasted for ten minutes.

  Nine minutes earlier, the audience under the ring occasionally let out a cry of surprise or a sigh. What they saw was that Chinese martial artist who climbed onto the ring rolling around on the ground in a sorry state, several times almost being knocked off the ring by the Japanese. The audience quickly adjusted their expectations, shifting from hoping to defeat the Japanese to not being killed by the Japanese.

  Just as all the audience thought that the Chinese martial artist was bound to lose, the situation on the stage changed suddenly. The Chinese martial artist suddenly burst out with great energy, his moves extremely fierce, and Wutong Kōfu's mind was instantly defeated. First, he had to withdraw a punch that could have hit his opponent's chest in order to dodge Xuan Jinbiao's move of inserting two fingers into his eyes. Then, he was forced back three steps by Xuan Jinbiao's move that was almost fatal. Finally, he accidentally got kicked in the groin by Xuan Jinbiao and fell to the ground unable to get up.

  Zhan Jinbiao won!

  A thunderous applause and cheers erupted, Zhang Jinbiao was in high spirits, standing on the stage, he bowed his fists to thank everyone!

  At this time, amidst the cheers and applause, there were a few cries of surprise. Xian Jinbiao's heart tightened as he felt a chill behind him, and he quickly turned around to see a cold light flashing towards him. He subconsciously raised his arm to block it.

  His entire right arm was cut off at the elbow, and Zhang Jinbiao let out a blood-curdling scream as he fell to the ground.

  Takefu Muto grasped his sword with both hands, took a half-step forward and raised it for a downward slash.

  Ye Tufei first issued a warning call to Zhang Jinbiao, but it was too late. In the blink of an eye, Ye Tufei tore off a button from his body and threw it at Wu Tonghou with all his might. Ye Tufei was very particular about his clothes, and the buttons on his shirt were all wrapped in copper skin. The copper button flew rapidly towards Wu Tonghou's face under Ye Tufei's powerful throw.

  Takefumi Muto roared, using all his strength to slash out a second knife! As soon as he made the move, he suddenly felt something coming at him, and before he could dodge, he was hit hard on the mouth and nose. This blow caused Takefumi Muto's second knife to lose its power and accuracy, and Jinbiao rolled with the momentum, dodging this fatal slash.

  At this time, gunshots rang out, and there were three shots in a row.

  Under the intimidation of gunfire, Takeo Muto calmed down, his knife-wielding posture drooping, and the people around him also fell silent.

  Yamashita Keigo has appeared.

  He glared at Muto Kunito fiercely, then ordered his subordinates to send Kanemori as soon as possible to the hospital. He made a brief speech to the surrounding crowd: "Ladies and gentlemen of the Great Japanese Empire, good citizens of the new government, I apologize on behalf of the Imperial Japanese Army. Today's incident was purely personal and has nothing to do with the Imperial Japanese Army or the Empire. I reiterate that the great East Asian co-prosperity sphere of the Empire is unchanging and inviolable. I assure you that this matter will be handled fairly by the Imperial Japanese Army."

  Yamashita Keigo finished his speech, and the Japanese soldiers came over with bayonets on their rifles to clear the area. Following the crowd, Ye Tufei silently left.

  Ye Tu Fei did not want to leave like this, he was still worried about the safety of Zhan Jin Biao, but he had no choice, he had to hurry back to Jiajia Wang, if he couldn't cover up this trip, there would be danger not only for him, but also for the nearly two hundred brothers in the bandit camp.

  Ye Tufei rushed back to Jiajia Village at noon, and unexpectedly, Gao Qiao Xin arrived at the same time as him.

  "Somebody reported to Yamashita Kengo that you went to Xuzhou City, and said that your purpose of going to Xuzhou City was to fight in the arena. I didn't believe it, so I came over to take a look." Takahashi Nobuyuki seemed very relaxed, speaking casually with Ye Tufei.

  Takaashi's feigned nonchalance didn't fool Yè Tú Fēi, and on the way back, Yè Tú Fēi had already guessed various possibilities, but hadn't expected that Takaashi would personally rush over, and so quickly.

  "Your message is very insightful! Well, I did go to Xuzhou City, and I indeed wanted to meet with Takeda Katsuyori. However, after arriving in Xuzhou City, I changed my mind!"

  "Changed your mind? That's interesting, tell me, how did you change your mind? And what did you do after changing your mind?" Takahashi Makoto remained calm as ever, holding a small nail clipper to tidy up his fingernails.

  "The Japanese are holding the lives of over 200 of my brothers in their hands! No matter how suffocated I am, I will not lose my rationality and joke about the lives of over 200 of my brothers."

  "Ah, that makes sense, go on."

  "There's nothing much to say, after calming down, I changed my mind."

  "What did you do after changing your mind?"

  "Ate a bit, drank a bit, then went to the theater to watch a play. Here, I still have the ticket."

  "What's next after watching the play?"

  "Let's find an inn to sleep in! After sleeping, we can just head back."

  "Haven't been back to the arena to take a look?"

  Ye Tu shook his head and said, "What's so good about that? You've locked up all the masters in Xu Zhou City. How can Wu Teng Hou meet an opponent who is evenly matched?"

  Takahashi Shin laughed and said: "You don't say, Kudou Tsukasa that fool actually met a worthy opponent today, and even lost to him."

  "It's impossible! Don't try to fool me!"

  "His name is Zhan Jinbiao! You should know him."

  "Oh, is that him? I know him, I've known him for years. We even had a fight back then... Hmm, not bad, he's indeed capable of exchanging blows with Takeda Kōji. But you're saying Takeda Kōji lost to him? That's kind of hard to believe."

  "Heh heh, you really don't believe me?" said Takahashi Shin, pulling out the copper-plated button that belonged to Yè Tú Fēi.

  Ye Tu Fei looked very happy, stretched out his hand to Gao Qiao Xin and asked for the button, saying: "Huh? How did it end up in your hands, I lost it last night."

  Takahashi's smile was eerie as he said, "There's actually bloodstains on this copper button!"

  This is obviously a lie, as it's impossible for Mutoh to have bled profusely before the button was pressed, so there's no way the button could have had blood on it. Takahashi's move was purely psychological deception.

  Takahashi knew very well that this alone was not enough to break through Ye Tufei's defense, so he didn't wait for Ye Tufei's response and continued to ask: "Don't you care about Zhang Jinbiao's injury?"

  Ye Tu Fei was well-prepared for Takahashi's moves and countered them with ease: "What's wrong with Zhang Jinbiao?"

  Takahashi Shin said: "You are the most difficult person I've met in this life! Alright, I didn't want to make things hard for you either. Let's just leave it at that, I'll be satisfied if I can pass with a decent grade."

  Ye Tu Fei scratched his head, pretending to be confused, and asked: "What's going on with Zhan Jinbiao? Why do you always speak in riddles? Oh, sorry Mr. Takahashi, I'm a bit reckless, please forgive me."

  Takahashi Shinda burst out laughing, and after he finished, he said to Ye Tufei: "You, you, not being an actor is really a waste! Alright, let's not talk about these unhappy things. I'm hungry, hurry up and prepare lunch for me. You come with me to eat, and after we finish eating, take my car and go back to Xuzhou to see your old friends."

  Ye Tu Fei said: "Zhan Jinbiao? I have nothing to do with him, why should I go see him? You know that I have a grudge against the Jia family."

  Takaashi narrowed his eyes and said: "It's not Kanemori, it's Yamashita Keigo. He has something to discuss with you!"

  Ye Tu Fei never saw Zhan Jin Biao again after this.

  Not just Ye Fan hadn't seen him, but all the people in Xuzhou City hadn't seen this hero again either.

  It wasn't until forty years later, in the largest shopping mall in Jia Wang District, Xuzhou City, that two pickpockets targeted a one-armed old man. One created a diversion while the other made a move, but just as they were about to succeed, the one-armed old man used his single arm to brush them off, and with a push, the pickpocket who was making the move collided with the one creating the diversion. The two of them stumbled and fell to the ground in the crowded area, clearing out a small space around them.

  After the news spread, many old people in Xuzhou City were convinced that the one-armed old man was indeed the great hero Xuan Zhanbiao who had once promoted Chinese martial arts. From that day on, the two words "Jia Men" stood up again, and they shone even more brightly than 40 years ago.

  (Today's collection almost didn't rise, Old Smoke is about to collapse. Please, if you think Old Smoke's story is okay, collect it; if you think it's average, please give Old Smoke some advice, thanks)