Beginning with the Ubume Bird

Chapter 17: Chapter 17 Entangling Dragon Eye-Snatch
Editor: Larbre Studio

“Neat?”

“Baijiu.”

“Not many women enjoy drinking baijiu.”

“Bad habit, but hard to quit.”

Li Yan said no more. He just took a longer look at her,

a young woman wearing a tracksuit, with a long ponytail, holding a small bottle of baijiu in her hand.

She was quite eye-catching.

The woman watched the white marble ring calmly, her eyebrows suddenly raised.

At first, Li Yan thought his gaze had displeased her, but he later realized that was not the case; it was Zhou on the platform that had moved her.

The Du Family Fist might not sound famous, but it is one of the four great renowned boxing styles of Shandong, also praised as the Wensheng Fist.

The movements of the Vietnamese fighter were rapid and concise, his fighting style fierce, and his dagger thrusts were both ferocious and swift, narrowly missing Zhou’s vital points, sending chills down the spectator’s spine.

Suddenly, Zhou knocked aside the Vietnamese’s dagger, swayed to the left with slightly bent knees, changing from his original stable and angular steps. His brass knuckles, quick as a specter, swept toward the Vietnamese’s neck.

It was at this moment that the woman’s eyebrows shot up.

The Vietnamese retracted his right hand to strike at Zhou’s wrist, not expecting that when the dagger hit the brass knuckles, Zhou’s wrist trembled ever so slightly, causing the dagger to falter.

The Vietnamese was shocked, a chill passing before his eyes, as Zhou’s other set of brass knuckles had already pierced his eyelid!

“The hand techniques have the vigor of Wensheng Fist, while the steps and moves are from Taiji Plum Blossom Mantis’s Entangling Dragon Eye-Snatch. Wensheng Fist with its long bridge and large stance, and Mantis with light steps and agile movements. To blend the two to this extent indicates mastery, this lad is quite the talent. Red Ghost’s follower who practices Bagua Palm is seasoned and fierce, with more experience than this one, but he is bloated with false strength, nothing but a paper tiger. If this lad discerns the truth and falsehood, victory is still up in the air.”

These were the ponytailed woman’s quiet musings, yet they caused a sudden sinking feeling in Li Yan’s heart.

The woman tilted her head to finish off the neat baijiu, smacked her lips, and got up to leave.

Li Yan suddenly called out to the woman, “Miss, do you enjoy watching boxing that much?”

…

“You lost, step down from the ring.”

The brass knuckles had just scratched the Vietnamese fighter’s eyelid, drawing blood that soaked through his eyelashes. He swallowed hard, his complexion flipping between pale and flushed. Eventually, he put down his dagger, raised his hands high, and walked off the ring, ignoring the boos from the crowd.

Ruan Hongzhi nodded his approval. With this fight, Zhou had achieved ten consecutive victories on the ring, becoming quite the sensation. However, Zhou’s restraint made his fights unfulfilling to many bettors, and the excitement was not high.

The rule for the boxing ring was either to be knocked out cold or to be beaten out of the ring; otherwise, the bout wasn’t considered over. Zhou, however, seemed to hold back just enough in his strikes. Of the ten opponents he had defeated, all suffered only superficial skin wounds, with the exception of a Malaysian who had sneaked an attack after being subdued by Zhou and subsequently lost an eye.

“Mr. Ruan, when can I fight Li Yan?”

After stepping down from the ring, Zhou asked with an indifferent tone.

Ruan Hongzhi cracked a smile, “These days, the ring has seen a surge of talents, and you and Li Yan are not the only fighters with ten consecutive victories. Since Red Ghost stepped back, no one is qualified to be the sixth ring’s champion, and it’s been a long time since the seventh ring was open. Besides, according to the rules, only those with more than twelve consecutive wins are eligible to challenge the seventh ring. So it’s either the next fight or the one after—you two are bound to clash.”

Zhou’s expression softened a lot, “Then that’s good.”

The woman turned to glance at him, her breath carrying the scent of alcohol:

“Are you hitting on me?”

Li Yan touched his nose, “Just making conversation.”

The woman gave a chuckle, “Don’t be nervous, I’m quite happy to have a handsome guy hit on me.”

She scrutinized Li Yan for a while, “You look familiar. Do you come here often to watch the boxing?”

“More or less.”

Li Yan nodded and then asked, “Miss seems to have quite the insight into traditional martial arts?”

That comment seemed to scratch where she itched, and she hooked up the corner of her mouth, saying, “In my youth, I had the privilege to be a disciple of the Bagua Palm master, Zhang Chenjin, making me an heir of the Yi Style Bagua Palm.”

Li Yan said with a smile, “No wonder you could identify Taiji Plum Blossom Mantis at a glance and even name the Entangling Dragon Eye-Snatch technique. If you told me you didn’t understand Northern martial arts, I’d have a hard time believing that.”

“I’m from Tianjin. It’s what my family exposed me to,” the woman replied nonchalantly.

Although Cangzhou is the true home of Northern martial arts, the most prosperous period for Northern martial arts in the Republic of China was indeed in Tianjin. If the woman’s ancestry was tied to the Tianjin martial arts community, it would be natural for her to recognize Wensheng and Taiji Plum Blossom Mantis techniques. She must be the daughter of a grand martial arts academy in Hong Kong, her manner revealing the refreshing aura of a martial artist.

Li Yan tentatively asked, “You mentioned someone fighting with Bagua Palm on the ring earlier, have you seen him box?”

“The one named Li Yan? I’ve watched a couple of matches from the sidelines. He’s quite popular lately, with a beauty named Waterpipe backing him up, drawing a lot of public attention.”

“Who is that? Care to point her out to me?”

Li Yan inquired on purpose.

“He’s not scheduled to fight today, and even if you asked me to identify him, I wouldn’t be able to. I never paid attention to his appearance. I just remember that his technique is not authentic Bagua Palm, likely from one of the scattered Northern masters.”

Since the woman was from the Yi Style Bagua Palm lineage, it wasn’t surprising for her to see through his own background. Li Yan nodded subtly, with a half-smiling expression, “It sounds like the miss doesn’t have much confidence in him. Why don’t you elaborate? I was actually thinking of making some money off him.”

“It’s difficult to say, and I wouldn’t say I lack confidence in him.”

The woman fell silent for a while, “The essence of Chinese martial arts lies in weapon combat. Without weapons, it’s hard to discern levels of skill. However, that person may have some chronic ailment. It may be wise to be cautious if you plan to bet on him.”

“I feel like he’s very formidable, and that Zhou might be no match for him,”

Li Yan responded earnestly.

The woman laughed out loud, “Win or lose, it’s all good.”

Her eyes danced over Li Yan, “We’ve talked so much, yet I don’t know how to address you, sir?”

“Um…”

After hesitating for a moment, Li Yan mused that if Judy saw him having such a merry conversation with a young woman, the scene would indeed be quite amusing. He then asked, “And you, miss, may I have the honor of knowing your name?”

“Me.”

The woman tilted her head, her smile radiant, “My surname is Yu, call me Yu Shu. People in the martial arts community respectfully refer to me as Taishuai.”

…