Chapter 47: Challenge

  On the sandy ground, two wrestlers were competing in a sumo match.

  A felt carpet was spread on the sand as a wrestling arena, two wrestlers had a crotch cloth wrapped around their waists, and wore a hood on their heads, nothing else. The two men were stout and powerful, with no end of strength, the thick and heavy felt that was not easy to roll up under their feet also twisted and deformed due to their forceful movements.

  Next to them, several maidservants were watching with great interest. Inside the canopy, Mrs. Yao and her noblewomen friends sat or lay down, eating melons and fruits while laughing and chatting as they watched the performance.

  Liu Junwen and Mrs. Yao's relationship, these women were crystal clear about it, in front of them, the two naturally didn't need to hide anything, so Liu Junwen sat cross-legged on the mat, letting Mrs. Yao rest her head on his thigh, peeling grapes one by one and feeding them into her mouth, serving her with utmost care.

  On Yang Fan's side, several tall and sturdy men who had received Chu Kuang's order gradually gathered around the edge of the arena, chatting and commenting, pointing and gesturing. The two wrestlers, seeing the increase in spectators, fought even more energetically.

  These two men were not professional sumo wrestlers but rather house slaves raised by a wealthy family.

  At this time, playing polo, cuju, sumo wrestling and hunting were all common games of wealthy families, so when the master hired attendants and slaves, they paid great attention to selecting people with special talents in these areas. In order to win favor, those who served as slaves also paid great attention to learning and training in these areas, so these sports were very popular in Luoyang, the eastern capital, and their sumo wrestling was also quite formalized.

  Those rascals just took a look and burst out laughing.

  "Third Brother, look at that guy, his lower body is unstable and his arms are weak. With this kind of quality, he dares to come and wrestle with me? I only have one hand, but I can still flip him three times."

  "Haha, look at another one who's even worse, using all his might and still can't gain half an advantage, what a damn loss of face."

  "This soft-shelled shrimp, if it were on the bed, would definitely not be able to satisfy even a woman, and yet it still has the nerve to come and wrestle. Forget it, let's not watch this, how boring!"

  The two wrestlers grew angrier as they listened, and suddenly let out a loud shout, splitting to either side. The tall, round-faced man glared at the several jeering rascals, shouting: "You think you can look down on our skills? Dare you come down and exchange blows with me?" The other wrestler slowly retreated to the edge of the arena, hugging his arms and sneering coldly.

  Chu Kuang Ge had long been waiting with those few rascals by the side, just for this sentence. As soon as the man's voice fell, he smiled proudly, took off his upper garment and threw it to a brother, kicked away his shoes, swung his shoulders and walked onto the tatami mat, saying: "What, you're not convinced? This kind of three-legged cat's kung fu, I'll come teach you what real sumo is!"

  That guy, seeing his robust physique and bulging muscles, couldn't help but take a step back, eyes narrowing slightly. He cautiously retreated two steps, slightly arched his back, opened his arms wide, and stared intently at his movements.

  The women in the sedan chair, who had been listlessly watching them competing, suddenly became interested when they saw a new pair of opponents and sat up to watch.

  Mrs. Yao also got up from Liu Junwen's leg, took a glance at Chu Kuangge's robust muscles, and her eyes lit up as she exclaimed with interest: "What a fine big fellow!"

  Liu Junbin's heart was filled with jealousy, and he hastily retreated from the tent, shouting loudly: "Who are you people serving? How dare you be so rude! Call your master to come forward and talk!"

  Madam Yao gazed at the muscular physique of Chu Kuang, and burst out laughing: "Xiao Liu, step aside, don't disturb my interest. What's wrong with letting them have a try?"

  Liu Junwen had no choice but to retreat to one side.

  Nalix saw Chu Kuangge's robust physique and knew he wouldn't be easy to deal with. Originally, it was just a matter of pride, but now that even his mistress was paying attention, he couldn't help but worry about his rice bowl. He felt tense in his heart, so he spread out his arms cautiously, waiting for Chu Kuangge to make a move. But unexpectedly, Chu Kuangge didn't make any moves at all; he just stood there steadily and crooked his little finger at him.

  Lishi was enraged by Chu Kuang's contemptuous behavior, and with a loud roar, he pounced on him. Chu Kuang's attitude seemed reckless, but in reality, he was extremely cautious. As soon as Lishi approached, he lowered his tiger-like back and charged forward with a loud roar. The two massive bodies collided with a dull thud,

  Sumo is actually a kind of wrestling, Yang Fan had also learned the art of wrestling when he was in Nanyang. The rules are somewhat different from sumo, but they are similar. Both people in front of him were proficient in sumo and their techniques were excellent. Yang Fan watched with great interest, combining his own learned wrestling skills, and soon grasped the essence of sumo.

  Sumo wrestlers are tall and fat, with great strength, which is certainly an advantage. However, technical movements and physical flexibility are the key factors that determine victory. Being tall and fat does not necessarily guarantee a win; otherwise, there would be no need for competition, and the outcome could be decided simply by weighing and measuring height.

  At this point, Chu Kuangge's strength is not as good as that of the powerful Li Shi, but he has the same infinite strength, and his sumo technique is even more brilliant. The use of whole-body force, good sumo skills, correct grasp of timing, and perfect coordination of leg and waist strength are all key factors that make him take the upper hand as soon as he engages in combat.

  Although Na Li Si was stout and chubby, seemingly able to swallow Chu Kuang Song whole, he couldn't gain an advantage in front of him. If it weren't for Chu Kuang Song not understanding that Yang Fan wanted to make a big deal out of this and didn't want a quick resolution, Na Li Si would have lost already. Even so, Na Li Si flailed about left and right, panting after his exertions, and Chu Kuang Song also started to feel annoyed.

  He stumbled forward, his feet tangled, and with a push of both palms, the sumo wrestler lost his balance and staggered backward several steps. He quickly supported himself with his right hand on the ground, barely managing to steady himself. But in sumo wrestling, this already counted as a loss. The sumo wrestler stood up, his face flushed with shame, and bowed with clasped hands: "I lost!"

  Chu Kuang's song energy stabilized and his spirit was at ease as he stood there, his gaze shifted towards another strongman.

  Nalixi saw Chu Kuangge's sumo skills and was secretly shocked. His skills were similar to those of the wrestler who had just lost, and if he were to go up, he would only lose. However, his mistress and the noblewomen were all watching from inside the tent, finding it entertaining. If he were to withdraw now, he would surely displease his mistress.

  Lishi harbored a deep resentment, but the other side's provocative meaning was extremely strong. At this time, if he pretended to be deaf and blind, not seeing or hearing anything, he would no longer be favored by his master. Under duress, Lishi had no choice but to steel himself and step forward, saying loudly: "Earlier, you uttered arrogant words, mocking my two brothers. Now that one of my brothers has already competed with you, shouldn't it be my turn to challenge one of you?"

  Chu Kuang Ge was taken aback by what he heard, and only then did he realize that the other party had been testing him. Although he had easily gained the upper hand, he had also underestimated his opponent's strength. It wasn't that his opponent was particularly brilliant, but with just a few mediocre followers at his command, he probably wouldn't be able to withstand them. However, since the other party had proposed that he choose an opponent for himself, how could he refuse?

  Chu Kuang Ge thought to himself, "Anyway, Yang brothers just asked us to provoke a conflict between the two sides, without specifying who wins or loses. Since the goal has been achieved, why bother with winning or losing?" He smiled brightly and retreated from the scene, saying: "Alright, my brother, you choose! Who do you want to compete with?"

  As soon as he said this, several brothers under him immediately puffed out their chests. These guys were all good at fighting and eager to start a fight, itching to get into a fierce battle, regardless of the outcome.

  Unexpectedly, however, Lu's words provoked discontent among the servants and maids of their own side. The Tang people valued heroism, and Lu's actions seemed to have a hint of bullying the weak and fearing the strong, which made them feel very unimpressive. They belonged to different masters and didn't care about Lu's face at all, so they immediately started booing.

  Just as Li Shi had just received Chu Kuang's agreement, he was secretly delighted in his heart. However, upon hearing the constant ridicule and sarcasm from the crowd, he felt ashamed and humiliated, and suddenly had the idea of smashing everything to pieces. He had originally wanted to find a strong opponent from Chu Kuang's side to compete with, and if he won, he could at least salvage some dignity. But now, with the jeering sounds all around him, he knew that whether he won or lost, his face was already gone, so he just wanted to vent his anger.

  His gaze swept over the crowd around Chu Tian Ge's body, suddenly pointing out and shouting: "Him! I'll compete with him!"

  Yang Fan was standing in the crowd, smiling and watching the commotion, when that person pointed a finger at him, Yang Fan looked around, then exclaimed in surprise: "Me?"

  "Right! It's you!" Li Si gritted his teeth and said viciously.