Chapter 27 Unexpected

  "Ah Ping, this barbarian is really extravagant and generous, he's not just some rich merchant from somewhere!" Xue Liangyu said enviously by the side.

  "A rich merchant?" Zhou Ping sneered, "I'm afraid it's not just any rich merchant! Look at the small building, four or five people up and down are all dressed as imperial guards, I'm afraid it's some kind of noble from somewhere, or maybe an envoy!"

  "Huh? Ah Ping, how did you know that fellow wasn't a rich merchant but a noble envoy?" Xue Liangyu asked curiously.

  Zhou Ping lazily pointed to the several Han men guarding the building and said, "What's so difficult about this? Take a look at those people downstairs. They're wearing thin-soled official boots on their feet and hanging from their waists are the kind of swords commonly used in the military. They must be Imperial Guards. If they were ordinary Hu merchants, how could they have these people keeping watch for them?"

  Xue Liangyu took a closer look and indeed, just as Zhou Ping had said, the ones guarding the staircase were all dressed as soldiers, only wearing loose robes on the outside. He couldn't help but admire Zhou Ping's meticulous observation, giving him a thumbs up in praise: "Ah Ping, you're so impressive, nothing escapes those eyes of yours!"

  ！”

  Zhou Ping smiled slightly, not saying a word. In fact, he wasn't observing so carefully either. It's just that he had already suspected those two barbarians were envoys of the Jin people, and naturally would pay more attention to that small building. Earlier, when Li Bao was at the corner, several late-arriving rich young masters wanted to go upstairs but were blocked by the few men downstairs. Seeing this, he naturally had a bottom line.

  At this time, two more gongs sounded in the field, and the noise of the onlookers immediately stopped. People's attention was suddenly focused on the second match that was about to begin. A middle-aged man said a few words in the field, announcing the opposing sides of the upcoming match, and the crowd immediately erupted in an even louder cheer, which was at least three or four times louder than the first match.

  Xue Liangyu, startled, patted his own ears and muttered to himself: "Scared someone half to death! Are these people crazy? Why didn't they make such a big fuss earlier!"

  A middle-aged man next to him turned his head and smiled, asking: "If a certain family didn't guess wrong, this young fellow isn't a local, is he?"

  "Not bad, the kid is from Xiangzhou AnYang, and has only been in Tokyo for less than a month!" Xue Liangyu gave a thumbs up to the other party and asked: "But how did you guess it?"

  "Ah, so you're from Xiangzhou!" The middle-aged man chuckled: "Unlike the previous match, this time both sides are local Tokyo residents, and there are many supporters on both sides, so naturally they'll be louder. These two fine gentlemen have quite a reputation in Tokyo; if you were a local, you'd surely recognize them and wouldn't say such things!"

  "So that's the case, young master has just arrived in Tokyo and only knows 'Little Guan Suo' Li Bao!" At this time, Li Bao's opponent had already walked into the arena, bowing to the audience, and the cheers suddenly rose a few more decibels. Especially among the female spectators, they were all shouting at the top of their lungs, as if they had gone mad, which startled Xue Liangyu again. He asked the middle-aged man from earlier: "Looking at this momentum, I'm afraid this guy's skills are even more formidable than 'Little Guan Suo' by three points, it will definitely be a great fight!"

  "That——" The middle-aged man's face revealed a strange smile, pointing to the empty space where the hand was: "This 'Little White Wolf' is also a good hand, but in Tokyo, it can only rank around tenth. I'm afraid it's not even a match for Li Bao, at most it can only last three or four rounds!"

  Xue Liangyu looked at the man in the arena and saw that he had a tattoo of a white wolf on his back, which was letting out a long howl. He must have gotten his nickname from this. "What's going on?" he asked.

  "Haha! This guy's appearance is handsome, and his actions are elegant, quite popular among the young ladies of Tokyo, naturally getting more cheers!"

  At this time, the little white wolf turned around and indeed saw that he had a pair of eyebrows that reached his temples, a nose like a hanging gallbladder, eyes like bright stars, and a preserved plum blossom tucked behind his ear. A handsome face with an unspeaking smile revealed two rows of white teeth, which brought about a burst of cheers from the countless Tokyo girls and young women watching. Looking at this scene, it seemed that Li Bao was inferior to him in three aspects.

  At this time, Li Bao also came down to the scene, and with a sound of gongs, Xiao Bai Lang threw the dried plum blossom on his temple into the crowd, causing another commotion among the women. The two men faced each other, bowed, and began to circle each other. Li Bao was still using his calmness to control the situation, while Xiao Bai Lang circled around him, making occasional feints, but retreating whenever Li Bao made a slight movement. Zhou Ping watched for a while before realizing that Xiao Bai Lang was also an extraordinary person, about half a head taller than Li Bao, but not as robust, with long limbs and quick movements. If he got close to Li Bao, his strength would be inferior, and he would be at a disadvantage; but by keeping a distance and using his feet to kick and hook, he had already gained the upper hand, which was also a good strategy. However, if things continued like this, Li Bao's calmness would conserve his energy, while Xiao Bai Lang was six or seven years younger than Li Bao, so the outcome was still uncertain.

  However, the onlookers nearby did not agree with this kind of exchange. Except for a few women, the rest of the men began to complain and shout, demanding that both sides truly engage in combat rather than one side fighting while the other ran away. But Xiao Bai Lang pretended not to hear them.

  But Zhou Ping secretly nodded in agreement, this little white wolf was not a mere ornament, he would think things through when faced with problems and wouldn't be influenced by others, able to stick to his own methods, he's someone worth getting to know, if there's an opportunity, I'll make contact with him myself.

  Another gong sounded in the arena, indicating that more than half of the match's time had passed. If things continued like this, it would only end in a draw. The surrounding spectators, seeing this, cursed even louder. At this moment, a loud shout was heard, and Li Bao suddenly pounced forward, his arms spread wide, already blocking Xiao Bai Lang. His right arm stretched out, about to grab the opponent's left shoulder. The surrounding spectators saw Li Bao take the initiative to attack, and their cheering grew even louder, almost blowing away the thatched shed beside the arena.

  The little white wolf saw Li Bao pounce towards him, and with a burst of force under his feet, he retreated three feet to the back, just avoiding Li Bao's grab. Li Bao let out a cold hum and took a swift step forward, suddenly faster than his opponent by three parts. He stretched out his hand as if to grab his opponent's chest.

  Just when it seemed like the little white wolf had no way to avoid it, he suddenly leaned back, and Li Bao grabbed nothing but air, momentarily stunned. Suddenly, his hands tightened, and his feet felt a sharp pain, and he fell to the ground.

  It turned out that the little white wolf had just grabbed Li Bao's outstretched right hand, using the momentum to lean back and flip over, while stretching out his right leg to hook onto Li Bao's left leg. Although Li Bao's feet were steady, he couldn't withstand the opponent's weight combined with his own force, and was thrown to the ground.

  The little white wolf didn't wait for his opponent to get up before trying to grab Li Bao's right arm at the elbow joint, wanting to twist it and force him to surrender. But unexpectedly, Li Bao twisted his arm free from his grasp, counter-grabbed his own elbow joint, and with a surge of great strength, threw him to the ground, unable to get up again.

  "Good!" Zhou Ping couldn't help but applaud and cheer, that little white wolf's moves were vaguely the "偶落" in the later generations' Heqidao, not relying on one's own strength, but borrowing the opponent's momentum and changes in one's center of gravity to throw down the opponent. This was nothing special, but Li Bao could still break free from the opponent's grasp after already losing a round, and instead threw the opponent down, that instant's reaction and clever technique were also top-notch, it seemed that this "Little Guan Suo" could indeed hold onto the position of Tokyo's number one corner for a long time, and was not just lucky.

  Li Bao stood up in the arena, bowed his hands to the surrounding crowd and thanked them. The small white wolf also got up, with no sign of disappointment on its face, and made a dignified bow to the surroundings, which brought out a group of women's cheers and applause, and copper coins fell like raindrops. Zhou Ping took out over ten pieces of money from his pocket and threw it into the arena, thinking that tonight's good show had come to an end, and was about to turn around and leave. But suddenly heard someone outside shouting in very stiff official language: "Hey, you man, I want to have a match with you!"

  Zhou Ping looked towards the source of the sound in surprise, and saw a foreigner pushing through the crowd to enter the arena. It was the same person who had been watching the horn-butting match from a nearby small building earlier. He said to Li Bao: "How about you and I have a bout? If you're tired, I can let you rest for a while!"

  The audience thought it was a scheduled program for the evening and applauded loudly. Li Bao looked at the barbarian with a slightly astonished gaze, seeing that he had a shaved head, a short and thick neck, a sturdy physique, and an overall appearance like a square block. Knowing he was a formidable opponent, he replied in a low voice: "If you want to compete, first report your name and origin. Our family does not compete with opponents without a background."

  That barbarian burst out laughing: "Alright, I'm Xiao Sanduo, an envoy sent by the Great Jin State. Are you willing to have a match with me?"

  "Come on, hurry up and stop them!" Ma Kuo, who was on the small building, was anxious. After returning from Liaodong, he had been transferred three times in one breath. The work that followed was to accompany several Jurchen envoys to show them the prosperity of the Great Song Dynasty's capital city, while ensuring their safety. In the words of Emperor Taizong today: "The Master said: If distant people do not obey, then cultivate virtue and morality to attract them. Now that distant people have come, we must show the prosperity, harmony, abundance, and greatness of our dynasty, so as to make them surrender without fighting and use their hearts for the heavenly court!" However, as a military man who grew up in the Western Army, Ma Kuo was somewhat disapproving of the emperor's approach. In his view, these rough and fierce barbarians should be treated like the Khitan envoys of the past, deliberately taking them on winding roads to prevent them from becoming familiar with the roads within the Great Song territory; only providing ordinary coarse objects for their use, so as not to arouse their greed. But the emperor's deeply rooted loyalty made it impossible for Ma Kuo to express his dissatisfaction, and he could only try to minimize the Jurchen envoys' understanding of Dongjing, even if it meant participating in a jousting competition.