NOVEL NEXT Chapter 52—Beatings, beatings, and more beatings!
Chapter 52—Beatings, beatings, and more beatings!
By Bocchan13
Weapons chosen, Lan Zhou and Xiao Zi decided to go first. Having chosen batons, it was going to be a whirlwind of a fight. Wang Cheng and Song Yu set up the mats so that the arena could accommodate the duel.
Lan Zhou picked up the baton. It was similar to police-issued ones, except the insides were reinforced with steel, giving it a heavier feeling and was slightly longer extended at 30 inches long. He gave it a few test swings and had to whistle at how impactful it could be. If they weren’t ability users, then someone could definitely get a concussion.
Lu Jingxiu was helping Xiao Zi with his shoelaces while giving him some headers.
“Lan Zhou favors his left side, check his blind spots and don’t forget to provoke him. The more agitated, the more he loses focus.” Xiao Zi pinched Lu Jingxiu’s nose and pecked his mouth.
“Don’t worry. It’s just a sparring match. Besides, there won’t be full on contact.”
Lu Jingxiu sighed and let him be.
Lan Zhou and Xiao Zi got into ready stances. Song Yu and Wang Cheng were the referee’s and waited until everyone was ready.
“The rules are the heart and head, the moment those parts are touched, a point is given. Those areas can only be tapped. This isn’t a full on hitting spree, are we clear?”
“Clear.”
“Clear.”
“Ready, set, FIGHT!”
The last syllable hadn’t even been spoken before the two of them at rigorous speeds collided with each other. Batons blocked each other as their strength took priority.
Lan Zhou smiled as the batons trembled and grinded against each other. Xiao Zi was the first to separate, turning his body around like a figure skater. The baton was lightning fast as he tried to come into Lan Zhou’s blind side.
Erring on the side of caution, Lan Zhou never let Xiao Zi closer than 2 feet. Lan Zhou blocked more until he saw an opening. Raising his baton, he feinted until Xiao Zi took the bait. Once his arm was raised, Lan Zhou immediately put him into an elbow lock, directing his baton straight to his head.
“Point to Lan Zhou!”
Xiao Zi’s eyes narrowed. “I’ll get that point back.”
Lan Zhou who was grinning from ear to ear responded nonchalantly, “I’m looking forward to it.”
The next set continued on, Xiao Zi going faster and faster. He was flexible enough to block and dodge while still on the offensive, whilst Lan Zhou was more defined in his approach, not striking until he was 100% sure of impact.
Xiao Zi got in a few more hits, the baton swings making whoosh noises as it danced in his hands. Lan Zhou winced as the baton hit his fingers, almost dropping the baton. As each line of impact connected again and again, Xiao Zi won a point.
Song Yu watched carefully at Xiao Zi’s fighting prowess. Unlike first impressions of him being a sheltered white lotus/ geeky biochemist, Xiao Zi had internal power. Like his strength came from his sinews instead of explosive brute power. Flexible, cautious, and light. His style was similar to Song Yu’s who had to adjust his fighting style according to his body. Xiao Zi must have been the same.
Lan Zhou on the other hand, had learned western style fighting including fencing, swords and military tactical training. His power was strong, overwhelming, and impactful. Each swing of the baton was purposeful and heavy, unlike Xiao Zi’s adjustable style.
It was interesting to watch. Song Yu had to give props to the both of them. Lu Jingxiu sidled up next to him and commented,
“They’ve know each other the longest. Xiao Zi and Lan Zhou were childhood neighbors and learned from the same martial arts instructor. Xiao Zi had to change because of his physique, but they remember each other’s weak points.”
Song Yu nodded gently.
“Who do you think will win?”
At the moment, Lan Zhou had kicked Xiao Zi in the shin, causing him to roll and get out of the strike zone.
“…I’m not sure.”
Lu Jingxiu smirked,
“Of course, it’s going to be Xiao Zi.” He said with such triumphant absolution, it made Song Yu grind his teeth. Song Yu smiled once Lan Zhou got another strike in.
“Point to Lan Zhou!”
Lan Zhou and Xiao Zi were both at 2 points each, huffing and sweat soaked. The batons were now slippery, but the two gazed at each other like enemies, fire lighting their eyes. Xiao Zi grinned when he saw Lan Zhou’s condition.
“Not doing so good eh?”
“Shut it.”
Xiao Zi chuckled and caught Lu Jingxiu’s blown kiss. Lan Zhou seeing this expectantly looked towards Song Yu. His puppy eyes clearly stated what he wanted.
Song Yu looked away, bright ears showing. “What?”
“Kiss.”
“No.”
“No?”
“No.”
“If I win, will I get a kiss?”
Song Yu hesitated and tilted his head in affirmation. Lan Zhou grinned and like a jumbo battery had charged him, he went straight for the heart. Xiao Zi was unafraid as each baton hit and collided, sparks seeming to fly from the friction.
Song Yu watched enraptured as these two holy monsters fought insanely. The gym was quiet as their fight reached a crescendo. Xiao Zi was almost at his physical limit, so his fighting stance slackened. Lan Zhou took this as a sign and fiercely invaded to the point where batons were almost unnecessary as they grappled.
Lan Zhou was just about to win, when he heard Xiao Zi speak,
“Song Yu, are you okay?” Immediately, Lan Zhou whipped his head around to see if Song Yu was okay. His eyes barely managed to see Song Yu’s smiling face before he felt a cold object pressed on his heart.
Lan Zhou looked back at Xiao Zi and the baton that was delicately on his chest.
“Point to Xiao Zi. Xiao Zi wins!”
Lan Zhou knelt on the floor in defeat as Xiao Zi jumped around happily. Everyone was clapping and laughing at Lan Zhou’s crestfallen face.
“That’s cheating!”
“Not cheating, just fighting dirty.”
Lan Zhou cried unwillingly in his heart and ran to Song Yu. Pressing his face in his shoulders, he shuddered.
“That’s not fair!”
Song Yu patted his back tenderly, chuckling. Although a low blow, it was very effective against him.
“It’s okay. You did your best.”
Wang Cheng and Yu Ci were sneakily chuckling in the background. Lan Zhou glared at them.
“Let’s see who will win next huh?”
Wang Cheng froze and pursed his lips.
“Our fight isn’t going to be interesting at all! It’ll be a one sided massacre”
They cleaned the mats while Wang Cheng and Yu Ci stretched. Their chosen weapons were hand-to-hand combat. Unlike batons, in order to get points, they had to smear red paint over the head and heart. Song Yu had leftover acrylic paint that would work for this.
Yu Ci was extremely large with bulging muscles. But he wasn’t a muscle head. Silly, yes. But he wasn’t a high level military man for nothing. Wang Cheng was similar in build to Song Yu, just slightly more so. As a space ability user, he also had to deal with zombies the traditional way and couldn’t rely on his powers.
Wang Cheng put on fingerless gloves and sighed, whining.
“We had to choose hand-to-hand. C’mon, is the world going against me? Yu Ci, let loose a bit, huh? Gimme a point, why not two?”
Yu Ci grinned as he flexed his muscles.
“No way in hell.”
“C’mon! We’re friends right?”
“Not right now.”
Everyone laughed at their conversation and waited for them to finish prepping.
Wang Cheng sullenly took position. Song Yu was surprised that Wang Cheng’s stance was the standard ATA Poomsae Taekwondo first stance which wasn’t popularized in the east but the west.
Did Wang Cheng live abroad?
ATA Poomsae taekwondo was infamous for its kick forms and hardly used in B Country, but Z Country where it took inspiration from. Song Yu was interested in all forms of martial arts and fascinated that Wang Cheng was the one to show it to him.
He didn’t look awkward whilst doing it either. His lithe figure was graceful and solid.
Yu Ci on the other hand had lived in a military family. He adopted military training at a young age and was proficient in mixed martial arts. His stance was a mixture of east and west, but didn’t collide with each other as Yu Ci spent a long time using them cohesively. This mix enabled him to be decisive in movements similar to Lan Zhou.
“Ready, set, FIGHT!”
Unlike Lan Zhou and Xia Zi’s explosive start, both Yu Ci and Wang Cheng checked each other out, rounding around each other in a circle, trying to bait the other. This feint and growing tension blew up as Yu Ci started. In sync, Wang Cheng avoided the hit but jumped backwards, his kick rounding around to hit Yu Ci’s stomach.
There was no impact as Yu Ci easily blocked. The acrylic red paint smeared from Wang Cheng’s foot, a place no one would think to put. Wang Cheng was unperturbed as he continued to let loose. Returning to first stance, Wang Cheng immediately threw some punches. Yu Ci, now on the defensive blocked quickly before counter-attacking.
It wasn’t long before Yu Ci won a point. Wang Cheng was too obvious as each hit was aimed directly to the head or heart. Yu Ci could read him like a book and easily dealt him a tap on the head, smearing red paint on his hair.
“My hair!! No!!!”
The next set took a little longer, and Wang Cheng almost had him before he was smeared with red once again.
“Are you a mind reader? How do you know what I’m going to hit you there?”
“Obvious. Way too obvious.”
Wang Cheng cried as he got ready for the last round. All of a sudden, Wang Cheng stopped moving and stared in the distance. It only took a few seconds but it was enough for Yu Ci to ponder.
“Wang Cheng?” Wang Cheng shook his head and looked back at him,
“Hmm?”
“You okay?”
“Yeah. Let’s do it!”
Surprisingly, Wang Cheng was more unpredictable this time around. Yu Ci was having a hard time finding an in, while Wang Cheng was going harder and harder. All of a sudden, Wang Cheng lowered his body and wheel kicked Yu Ci just when he was about to move, surrendering his balance.
Wang Cheng huffed, eyes wide in surprise as he touched Yu Ci’s head.
“I won? I won! YEAHHHHHHHH! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!!!”
Yu Ci and everyone else was just as surprised. It wasn’t that Wang Cheng won, but it was how different Wang Cheng’s fighting style had changed within that short 2 minutes.
Yu Ci patted the acrylic paint on his head and chuckled.
“Nice one.”
“Woah, Wang Cheng when did you learn how to do that? That’s awesome!”
Wang Cheng sheepishly rubbed his neck.
“I don’t know. It was like a voice guided me. My subconscious must be helping me! Hahaha!”
Albeit a bit strange, everyone chalked it up to a fluke and the next round started. Yu Ci was more cautious and quickly adjusted himself to Wang Cheng’s new fighting style. Once again, Wang Cheng was spaced out for a few seconds before he started fighting.
Yu Ci was more prepared and in 3 minutes, another red mark was on Wang Cheng’s heart. Huffing in exhaustion, Wang Cheng floundered on the mats, breathing heavily.
“Ugh! I’m never fighting against you Yu Ci. You suck! Not even letting me win!”
Yu Ci grinned as he wiped the paint from his hair with a towel.
“You’ve gotten better. Next time, I’ll help you with your predictable moves.”
“Fuck you!”
Song Yu was silent as he observed Wang Cheng. The tingling feeling of something not right was coming down on him. He didn’t have proof, but he felt after observing Wang Cheng’s fighting style that there was something off about the last two fights.
He was about to ask, when Lu Jingxiu came up to him. Smiling arrogantly, Lu Jingxiu beckoned to Song Yu.
“You ready?”
Song Yu looked at the wooden staff, (AKA Bo). Eastern styled martial arts that focused on extension. If you didn’t have a strong martial foundation, then the Bo would be difficult to use. And Song Yu, who excelled in both mixed martial arts and assassination techniques derived from eastern martial arts, the Bo was just an extension of his body.
This was the perfect weapon for him.
And he was gonna screw Lu Jingxiu up.
