The Jianghu

Ding-a-dang! Ling-a-ling-dang!

"Ah! The winds and clouds of the Jianghu rise and stir. The Three Religions and Nine Schools take the stage. Warriors test fists and feet, scholars debate principles, mystics display their divine skills, each showing what they can do and yielding to none..."

Ding-a-dang! Ling-a-ling-dang!

"Behold! The Red Fist masters strike swiftly, Xingyi is domineering, and Eight Trigrams Palm is dark and fierce. The Three Religions and Nine Schools, dragons and snakes gathered together—the Jianghu is perilous, so beware. The clappers ring out across the land, singing of the splendor of the human world..."

At the entrance to Paifang Street, the crowd roared with noise as a Quick Story performer sent his Mandarin Duck Clappers flying.

The so-called dragons, snakes, rats, and ants all had their own paths.

A Life and Death Arena concerned the lives and deaths of both combatants, with all kinds of disputes over interests behind it. Yet to ordinary commoners and Jianghu people, it was still a grand occasion.

The people of the Divine Land loved watching a spectacle. It had been so since ancient times.

Even when someone was beheaded in the marketplace, plenty of people would gather to watch. Vendors selling food would scurry everywhere, so how much more lively would a martial arts challenge be?

It was livelier than watching a major opera at a temple fair!

It was one thing for ordinary commoners. Having heard that the challenge would begin during Shen Hour, they came running over early after lunch to claim spots, lest they be unable to squeeze in later.

But for ordinary Jianghu travelers, it was a fine opportunity.

As the saying went, "Anyone who greets you with 'Thanks for your effort' must be a Jianghu person." Those troublemaking daredevils were only a minority. Most people merely labored and rushed about for a few scattered silver coins.

Before the sky had even brightened, a group of people came running to "draw the circle."

What did "drawing the circle" mean? When Jianghu performers set up on the street to sell their arts, they would use white sand to draw a circle on the ground. This both claimed the territory and marked off the performance area, making the spectators step back and leaving room to perform.

But this group clearly had not come to perform.

They were members of Xianyang's Evergreen Society.

Whenever there was a temple fair or some other grand celebration, Jianghu performers and vendors were always indispensable. Yet everything had its rules. If matters were not settled in advance, people would inevitably fight over the space.

The Evergreen Society was an organization specifically responsible for this.

It was usually made up of respected Jianghu performers. They were responsible for planning out the territory in advance and maintaining order at the scene.

Naturally, they also had to pay tribute to the local gangs, while taking a cut from small merchants, peddlers, and street performers to earn the difference.

Just after noon, the crossroads were already packed so tightly that not even water could pass through.

On one side, people played the clappers, their instruments known as "Short Instruments." On the other, people played the Erhu, known among insiders as "Long Instruments." There were also Fengyang Flower Drum performers dragging their families along...

There was no need to mention the vendors selling all kinds of snacks. People from the Leather Gate had also come to join the excitement.

Those who set up stalls and used iron files to grind fake rhinoceros horns were called "Setting Up Four Corners."

Those who bared their torsos and whipped themselves with iron rods while selling salves for bruises and injuries were called "Releasing Border Han." Those even more ruthless ones used small knives to cut their arms and sell medicine for knife wounds. They were called "Green Mark Picture"...

In the distance, there was also a gang of porters from the Carriage Guild.

Unlike Du DaYa of Li Family Fortress, a marginal figure, these porters were all strong and muscular, their muscles knotted like coiled ropes. In the bitter cold, they rolled up their trouser legs, exposing sturdy calves with thick bones. Every one of them was a skilled practitioner of Poking Foot...

In short, this martial arts challenge had stirred waves in the Jianghu of what had originally been peaceful Xianyang City.

"Why haven't they come yet?"

"Are they still fighting or not?"

"What are you in such a hurry for? It isn't Shen Hour yet..."

As the crowd continued to swell, quite a few idlers were visibly growing restless.

The entire old street at the Paifang Street crossroads was already packed with people. Fortunately, the wooden arena had been built nearly three zhang high, so no matter which corner one stood in, one could see it just by looking up.

The taverns and teahouses along the surrounding streets naturally offered the best positions.

As long as one secured a private room on the second floor, opened the window, brewed a pot or two of tea, and invited three or five friends over, it was a display of immense prestige.

Of course, ordinary people could not reserve such a place even if they had the money.

Everyone who occupied a good position was a person of standing in Xianyang City's Jianghu circles, and the sides were clearly divided from one another.

On the eastern tavern's upper floor sat the people of Zhou Pan's faction from the Divine Fist Society. Apart from several senior martial arts hall masters, all Eight Great Vajras had also arrived.

Zhou Bai was conspicuously among them.

He looked at the arena outside, his eyes alight with eagerness, and said, "How about I go up first? We can't let the place go cold."

He was young, after all. Although he often sparred with others, this was his first time challenging someone before so many people. To say he was not excited would have been an outright lie.

"What do you mean, let the place go cold?"

A middle-aged man with black hair, white sideburns, and a walrus mustache coldly rebuked him. "Do you think this is a street performance? Sit there properly. Steady your mind and nurture your battle intent!"

The speaker was Zhou PeiDe, the leader of the Eight Great Vajras.

He was the oldest and a rigid man. His martial arts were only middling among the eight, but he was Zhou Pan's younger cousin—and Zhou Bai's father.

It was only because of this connection that he occupied the foremost position.

At those words, Zhou Bai shrank his neck and did not dare speak again, but his eyes were filled with defiance.

Seeing this, Yuan Qu smiled and said, "Zhou Bai, don't be anxious. This isn't a matter of who came first. That boy sent a Visiting Card and has to go up first. You'll go up afterward, which will make your status appear more distinguished."

"Oh, so that's how it is."

Zhou Bai immediately understood.

Beside him, Zhou PeiDe's brows knitted slightly when he saw this.

To be honest, he had always looked down on Zheng HeiBei and Yuan Qu. Those two ruffians had done no shortage of evil outside while trading on the Zhou family's name.

Unfortunately, his elder brother Zhou Pan needed to stabilize the Divine Fist Society and cultivate connections in Chang'an. Money was indispensable everywhere, so he could only pinch his nose and acknowledge the two men.

Once this is over, I'll have to remind Zhou Bai to keep his distance from them...

On the western tavern's upper floor sat Zhang YuanShang and several old men.

Compared with the eastern tavern, this place was much quieter.

At last, someone could not help saying, "Elder Zhang, you personally arranging this has completely fallen out with that Old Monkey. It isn't worth it."

Zhang YuanShang's expression did not change. He calmly filled his Water Pipe, lit it, and took several puffs. "For a family or a sect, the old men are the foundation at the bottom of the chest, but the truly important ones are still the young."

"If the children of a family have promise, even a poor and broken household will be treated with respect. But if the descendants are useless, even a high family and grand household cannot avoid falling into decline..."

"In this generation of the Zhou family, there is only Zhou Bai. The rest are either wine sacks and rice bags or greedy, lustful fools."

"Don't be fooled by how the Zhou family is flourishing like the sun at midday. Old Monkey is old, after all, and his life has stopped at Transformed Strength. If Zhou Bai loses, some people will naturally reconsider matters in their hearts..."

Everyone nodded, deeply convinced.

Although the Jianghu emphasized having hard fists, in the end everything was driven by profit. The Divine Fist Society in particular still survived within the rules of the Great Xuan Dynasty; they could not rampage about slaughtering people and seizing territory like bandits.

Even among bandits, when virtue did not match one's position, disaster was bound to follow.

Over the past decade or more, Zhou Pan had gone too far in some matters.

In Xianyang City, there were plenty of people waiting to push down the wall.

"Do you have a chance of winning?"

"Two or three parts out of ten."

Zhang YuanShang took several puffs of his Water Pipe and said indifferently, "I'm old. Trading this old face for a two- or three-in-ten chance isn't a loss!"

"Father, they're here!"

At that moment, Zhang ShiTong, who was watching from the window, reminded him in a low voice.

Everyone looked outside. There was a commotion at the northwestern end of the street, and then, under the shouts of several instructors from Zhang Clan Martial Hall, the crowd split open, forming a gap.

A young man strode down the street.

He wore a black, coarse-cloth martial uniform with leggings tied around his calves, dressed like a country bumpkin. Yet with his tall, straight figure, fair skin, and a pair of dragon eyes and phoenix pupils, he stood out sharply among the crowd despite his rustic clothes.

Following behind him were a Daoist and a large bald man with a full beard. They were Sha LiFei and Wang Dao Xuan.

"Is that Li Hu's son?"

Inside the teahouse, an old man looked somewhat surprised. "Li Hu has the appearance of a bear or a tiger, so how did he produce such a handsome child? He'd make a fine seedling for playing a dan role..."

The others laughed awkwardly and shook their heads.

This was Luo ShiHai, a senior master of Eight Trigrams Palm in Xianyang City and also the troupe leader of the Longsheng Opera Troupe—a complete opera fanatic.

Had a promising female disciple not been violated by a descendant of the Zhou family and then hanged herself, creating a blood feud, he would not have become involved in Jianghu disputes or stood together with them.

Leaving everyone's differing thoughts aside, Li Yan arrived at the center of the crossroads. Ignoring the gazes of the surrounding crowd, he focused entirely on the arena.

When he saw the arena, his eyes narrowed slightly.

Beside him, Sha LiFei sneered. "The Zhou family really is every bit as shameless as ever. All they know is how to play dirty tricks."

The arena had indeed been built rather strangely.

Ordinary arenas, even if they had no Plum Blossom Poles for climbing onto them, would have layers of round wooden frames for people to climb.

But the Zhou family's arena had wooden boards on every side, with nowhere to gain purchase. They even shone with a glossy luster under the sunlight, clearly coated with tung oil.

This was a warning shot.

With so many people watching, if he could not even get onto the arena, he would probably lose all face and have no reason to remain there before his opponent even appeared.

"No matter. It's only a petty trick..."

Li Yan swept his gaze over the arena and looked around.

He saw that around the arena were several lengths of hemp rope as thick as an arm, used to pull and secure the central pillar. They were tied to iron rods driven into the ground and stretched taut.

Without another word, Li Yan walked to the hemp rope.

When the watching commoners and Jianghu people saw this, their eyes widened.

The hemp rope was thick, but its incline was quite steep, and it only reached halfway up the arena. Could he be planning to climb up along the rope?

Although it would not be difficult for a martial arts practitioner, it was somewhat inelegant.

In terms of imposing presence alone, he would already be a little weaker.

Unexpectedly, Li Yan did not use his hands. Instead, he stepped onto the hemp rope, alternating his left and right feet as he walked up steadily, one step at a time...

"Good!"

The watching commoners immediately applauded and cheered.

"What's so impressive about that?!"

There were quite a few ruffians from the Iron Saber Gang and White Ape Gang in the crowd. Seeing this, they mocked him. "Isn't that just the Acrobatic Arts Sect's Wire Walking? Could this boy have been a street performer before?"

"What do you know?"

An old man beside them immediately snorted when he heard this. "Wire Walking is performed on a soft rope, and it has its own techniques for applying force. This boy clearly has excellent lower-body skill and is forcing his way upward."

"If you don't understand, then stop spouting nonsense here."

Several ruffians grew furious from embarrassment. With a curse, they moved to surround and beat him. "You old bastard..."

But before the words had even left their mouths, their heads tilted to the side and they fainted.

There were quite a few young people in the crowd who had struck from the shadows, knocking them all unconscious before viciously kicking them several times in the ribs.

The gang of ruffians had simply been unlucky enough to run into a senior of the Acrobatic Arts Sect.

The scene below was in an uproar, but Li Yan's expression did not change. He followed the rope to the middle of the arena, then suddenly stopped. Borrowing the rebound of the hemp rope, he leaped into the air and caught the arena's edge with his right hand.

Then, with a Leap of the Falcon, he landed steadily on the arena.

Another wave of cheers rose from below.

Li Yan cupped his fists toward the four directions, then out of the corner of his eye surveyed the area around the arena, gauging its size and checking for any smooth or uneven sections.

Swish!

Zhou Bai across from him had also long since been unable to hold back. The instant he saw Li Yan get onto the arena, he leaped down from the second-floor window of the tavern.

He rolled forward to dissipate his momentum before reaching the edge of the arena. Facing the smooth wooden wall, he merely reached out and hooked his fingers into it. His five fingers sank straight into the wood. Like a gecko scaling a wall, he climbed up in a series of rapid scrapes and reached the arena...