Chapter 38: Martial Arts Gathering (Part 2)

  Victorious in the martial contest, the red-clad girl smoothed her slightly disheveled hair and retreated to the flagpole. It was only then that Ling Mu Yun had a chance to carefully examine the girl's appearance. He saw that she was probably seventeen or eighteen years old, slender and elegant, with a face that showed signs of wind and dust, but with bright eyes and white teeth, her features were delicate and lovely, making her a rare beauty.

  The young girl retreated to the edge of the flagpole and whispered a few words to a middle-aged man with a weathered face. The man nodded, stepped forward to the center of the arena, bowed his fists to the surrounding crowd, and said in a loud voice: "My surname is Mu, my name is Yi, I am from Shandong Province. I have traveled through your land, not seeking fame or fortune, but because my young daughter has come of age and has yet to be betrothed. She once made a vow that she would not seek a husband with wealth or prestige, only one who excels in martial arts. Therefore, I am bold enough to hold a martial arts competition to find her a suitor. Any man under the age of thirty who is still unmarried and can defeat my daughter in a fight will be granted her hand in marriage by me."

  He paused for a moment, then continued: "My daughter and I have traveled from south to north, covering over a thousand miles. We've been searching for a suitable match, but unfortunately, all the famous heroes are already married, and the young ones aren't willing to look down on us. That's why we still haven't found a good match. I've heard that Zhongdu is a place where heroes and extraordinary people gather, so I hope you can forgive my foolish behavior."

  Ling Yun knew that the man who called himself Mu Yi was actually Yang Kang's father, Yang Tie Xin. Mu Yi was just an alias. He wore a coarse linen jacket and pants with patches on them. He had a thick waist and broad shoulders, but his back was slightly hunched, his temples were gray, and his face was full of wrinkles. Although he should have been in the prime of life, he already looked old, clearly having had a very hard time in recent years.

  Yang Tie Xin, also known as Mu Yi, finished speaking and waited for a while. He heard some hoodlums in the crowd making fun of him and evaluating the girl's appearance, but no one dared to take action. Yang Tie Xin looked up at the sky and saw that the clouds were getting thicker and the north wind was howling, indicating that it might snow soon. He sighed, turned around, pulled out the flagpole, and was about to roll up the "Martial Arts Competition" banner, preparing to pack up and leave.

  Just then, suddenly someone on both sides of the crowd shouted in unison: "Halt!" Immediately after that, two people rushed into the circle at the same time.

  Everyone looked and burst out laughing. It turned out that the one coming from the east was a stout old man, with a thick beard, half of which was white, and at least fifty years old. The one coming from the west was even more ridiculous, actually a bald monk with a scar on his forehead.

  That fat old man saw everyone laughing and immediately showed a displeased expression, shouting at the crowd: "What are you laughing at? He's marrying through martial arts, I haven't married yet, can't I compare to him?"

  That monk smiled and said: "Old man, even if you win, this flower-like maiden will be made a widow as soon as she crosses the threshold?"

  That fat old man angrily said: "Then what are you running here for? People are having a martial arts competition to recruit a son-in-law, what does it have to do with a thieving bald donkey like you?"

  The monk said: "How can I be compared? If I could marry such a beautiful wife, I would immediately return to secular life."

  The onlookers burst into loud laughter after hearing the two men's words, and Ling Mu Yun also found it quite amusing. The martial arts gathering to find a spouse had actually attracted such two extreme characters. However, compared to Ling Mu Yun's calm demeanor, Guo Jing appeared less composed, muttering under his breath: "Truly shameless, neither of them is a decent person!"

  Ling Yun heard Guo Jing's words and suddenly had an idea, turning his head to urge Guo Jing: "Brother Guo, have you taken a liking to the young lady? Otherwise, go down and chase away that old fellow and that monk, with your skills, those two are no match for you."

  "Ah?" Guo Jing was shocked by Ling Yun's words and immediately blushed, shaking his head repeatedly: "No way, no way, this is absolutely not possible. I already have a marriage agreement with Huang Rong, how can I participate in the martial arts tournament to find a wife again?"

  "What's wrong with that? Who says you can only marry one wife? Look at those big families, aren't they all three wives and four concubines? Not to mention far away, even your idol Genghis Khan, didn't he have more than one wife?" Ling Yun continued to tempt Guo Jing with a hint of mischief.

  Actually, Ling Yun also did it for Guo Jing's own good. He was very clear that Guo Jing and Huang Rong would never end up together in the end. Now, although he has met Huang Rong, perhaps due to the influence of this unexpected factor, judging from her behavior when they first met, Huang Rong didn't show any signs of having feelings for him either, so it's probably hopeless. Therefore, Ling Yun thought of pushing Mu Nianci onto Guo Jing as compensation, after all, he couldn't let such a good kid like Guo Jing end up alone because of his own reasons.

  Moreover, if there were no unexpected interventions, Mu Nianci would inevitably be misled by that scoundrel Yang Kang and end up dying alone and in misery, still worrying about her child with Yang Kang until her last breath. It can be said that she was extremely unfortunate. If it were possible to let Mu Nianci and Guo Jing become a couple, it could also be considered a kind of salvation for Mu Nianci.

  However, Ling Yun's induction seemed to have failed. Guo Jing shook his head like a rattle drum: "No way, no way... I can't do that kind of thing, otherwise if my mother found out, she would be furious."

  Just as Ling Yun was still deeply discussing with Guo Jing whether to have one wife or multiple wives, Mu Nianci could no longer bear the two shameless men on stage, her face flushing red and her eyebrows furrowed in anger, she took off the cloak she had just put on and was about to take action.

  Yang Tie Xin hastily pulled her and gave her a signal, telling her to calm down, then reinserted the flagpole into the ground, indicating that the martial arts competition should continue.

  At this time, the monk and the fat old man were arguing over who would fight Mu Nianci first. The two of them were already in a heated argument, with each trying to outdo the other. The onlookers, a group of idle men, laughed and cheered: "You two should have a match first, whoever wins goes up!"

  The monk said, "Alright, let's go with the majority. Old man, you and I will just have some fun!" As he spoke, he suddenly took a step forward, closed in on the fat old man, and threw a punch at him with a "whoosh".

  "Then I'll accompany you, Flower Monk, for a trip. After sending you off, it's not late to go and compare with my little wife." The fat old man snorted coldly, turned his head to avoid him, and then returned a punch without courtesy. The two of them immediately became entangled in a fight, exchanging blows.

  The monk and the fat old man were both using external skills, the monk was agile and nimble, with quick movements. The fat old man, on the other hand, had a powerful and majestic fist and footwork, despite his age, every move was fierce and powerful, not weaker than a young man, each had their own strengths, for a time they were evenly matched.

  Guo Jing watched as the two men fought, each displaying their skills. He recognized that the monk was using Shaolin Arhat Fist, while the fat old man was using Five Elements Fist. As a disciple of the Jiangnan Six Freaks, Guo Jing had learned various martial arts and often heard his masters discuss and teach about different styles, so he could recognize the techniques used by these two men. However, this was the first time he had seen people actually use these skills in combat, so although their abilities were not high, he still watched with great interest.

  Ling Yun was not as enthusiastic as Guo Jing, although he didn't see the fat old man and the flower monk's martial arts like Guo Jing did. With his level of martial arts, he could already see through their actual abilities. In Ling Yun's opinion, these two people's martial arts couldn't even be considered third-rate. After just a few glances, Ling Yun couldn't bear to watch anymore. And yet, with such mediocre skills that could only be considered fourth or fifth-rate, they still had the nerve to come here and compete in martial arts to win someone's hand in marriage, truly shameless.

  Although the fat old man and the monk were not in the same league as Ling Mu Yun, they both considered each other to be formidable opponents. The two of them exchanged dozens of moves without gaining the upper hand. Just when it seemed like the fight was reaching its climax, the fat old man's movements slowed down slightly, revealing an opening that the monk quickly seized upon. With a swift motion, the monk landed three consecutive punches on the fat old man's waist, causing him to grunt in pain. Refusing to back down, the fat old man raised his right fist high into the air, like a massive hammer, and brought it crashing down onto the monk's bald head.

  The monk couldn't bear it and sat down on the ground with a thud, slightly stunned. Suddenly, he took out a knife from his monk's robe and swung it at the fat man's calf. The fat old man jumped up to avoid it, reached into his waist and pulled out an iron whip, which was hidden on their bodies. In an instant, the knife came and the whip went, the whip went and the knife came, killing each other in a lively manner.

  The onlookers saw the two men make their move and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, retreating backward with quick steps, fearing that the weapons might be blind to distinction and accidentally harm themselves. However, after withdrawing to a safe distance, they cheered even louder, as if hoping that the two men would fight more fiercely and brutally.

  Yang Tie Xin saw the two men drawing their swords, and a look of worry appeared on his face. He was afraid that if they fought in the street, it would attract the attention of the authorities and bring trouble to him as well. So he walked up to them and loudly advised: "Gentlemen, please stop this! This is the imperial capital, you can't draw swords here."

  At this moment, the fat old man and the monk were already fighting fiercely, who would care about him? Still, the knife and whip danced rapidly, burying their heads in a fierce battle. Yang Tie Xin saw that it wasn't working out, suddenly rushed forward, kicked the monk's hand with his foot, making the monk drop his knife, then grabbed the head of the iron whip, pulled and snatched it away, the old man couldn't hold on, had to let go. Yang Tie Xin heavily threw the iron whip to the ground. The monk and the fat old man saw that Yang Tie Xin was formidable, also felt embarrassed, didn't dare say more, quickly picked up their weapons from the ground, slipped into the crowd and left. The surrounding crowd burst into laughter again.

  Just as everyone was laughing and jeering, the sound of horse bells was heard, and dozens of strong men escorted a young nobleman on horseback.