Losing and Winning

Although the wager was "Huan Nu knocking Young Master Yu down in three moves," Shangguan Yushi struck first—and her very first move caused Gu Shenwei to misjudge her.

Her left shoulder dipped slightly. Gu Shenwei thought she was using Flat Ground Thunder, in which both fists were feints and the true attack came in the following kick. His counter was to lean his upper body back while catching her foot with his hand and throwing her away.

Instead, Shangguan Yushi used Left Sweep Right Brush. Both palms, front and back, were solid strikes, swift as lightning. Gu Shenwei had lost by a single move and nearly suffered a complete defeat.

Fortunately, after spending more than ten days exchanging moves with He Nu, his reactions were far quicker than before. He seized the opportunity and immediately retreated. Although he avoided being hit, he looked thoroughly disheveled.

The spectators were no longer shocked—they were completely bewildered. Huan Nu had spoken so arrogantly that everyone had assumed he was truly hiding his abilities. No one had expected him to be so incapable of withstanding a single blow. Some quick-witted people could not help thinking that Huan Nu had deliberately humbled himself to curry favor with Shangguan Yushi after being humiliated.

Shangguan Fei turned his head and glared angrily at Shangguan Hongye. Shangguan Hongye was dumbstruck as well, his fists clenched and his face flushed bright red. No one could tell whether he wanted to keep cheering Huan Nu on or rush up and beat him senseless.

Shangguan Yushi gave her opponent no chance to catch his breath. She was burning with fury and had resolved to knock down—or even cripple—this dog slave within three moves. Before the force of her punch had run out, she suddenly leaped into the air and kicked backward while turning.

This was Turn Heaven Pull Sun, one of the five moves Xue Niang had guessed. Gu Shenwei had long since practiced its counter until he knew it by heart. The only problem was that he had lost the initiative with his first move. His body had not yet steadied, and responding calmly would be difficult.

He should have lowered himself into a bow stance, letting his opponent pass over his head, then used her momentum to push her away.

If the counter was executed perfectly, Shangguan Yushi would have flown out of the crowd and fallen to the ground. But Gu Shenwei was a split second late, and his posture was not quite in place. He failed to push her away and instead had his arm seized as she turned.

The crowd cried out in alarm. Everyone thought Huan Nu was about to suffer terribly. Shangguan Yushi's attacks were vicious, and she had never shown mercy. This time, she would surely use a brutal move to sever his tendons and dislocate his bones.

What happened next changed in the blink of an eye. Huan Nu's steps grew chaotic and his hands flailed wildly. He looked as though he was about to be injured and thrown down, but in the time it took to blink, it was Young Master Yu—who had held the overwhelming advantage—who fell.

Gu Shenwei held one of Shangguan Yushi's arms. Without waiting for his master's command, he immediately released her, took three steps back, and stood with his hands hanging at his sides, signaling that the match was over.

Shangguan Fei and the others immediately jumped up in excitement. "We won! We won!"

Although Shangguan Yushi had fallen, she was completely unharmed. She planted her palm on the ground and sprang up, but her face was so red it looked ready to bleed. She shouted harshly, "You cheated! Again!"

Before Gu Shenwei could speak, Shangguan Fei rushed forward. "All's fair in war. A win is a win. Don't you dare go back on your word."

Shangguan Yushi was furious. She rolled up her sleeves and advanced, ready to trade blows with Shangguan Fei. Shangguan Ru hurried over and reached out to separate them. "Wait, wait! The winner hasn't been decided yet?"

"How hasn't it? Didn't she fall?"

"But which move was that?"

Shangguan Ru's question silenced everyone around them. The two had fought too quickly, and no one had paid attention to the count.

Shangguan Fei grabbed Huan Nu from behind and pulled him out. "Was that the third move? Hurry up, tell me—is it?"

"No. I knocked Young Master Yu down on the fourth move. I lost."

Gu Shenwei was telling the truth.

When Shangguan Yushi had seized his arm, she had used Break Gold Hand. Her two hands had exerted force in succession, and once the move was completed, one of Gu Shenwei's arms would have been crippled beyond repair.

Break Gold Hand was extraordinarily vicious, yet it happened to be one of the five moves Xue Niang had selected. Gu Shenwei did not even need to think. He lowered his head and slipped out from beneath his own arm, dissolving Shangguan Yushi's chain of force. At the same time, he stood before her and reached for her chest with his other hand.

Countering Golden Peng Fortress martial arts was no easy matter. But Shangguan Yushi was a young woman. No matter how much her clothes and personality resembled a boy's, she was still a girl at heart. For that reason, Xue Niang had devised several "dirty tricks" specifically for her.

This move, Chest Attack, had left He Nu flustered during practice. Every time it came to this, she released her grip and retreated. Gu Shenwei had always used only half the move and had never truly followed through. Xue Niang had even scolded them both over it.

But Shangguan Yushi was not He Nu and knew nothing of this move. Gu Shenwei's turn and evasion of Break Gold Hand had already caught her off guard. Thus, when he reached for her chest, she unexpectedly failed to leap backward as He Nu had.

This time, it was Gu Shenwei who was caught off guard. In the split second between lightning and flint, he could only withdraw his hand. But taking advantage of the moment Shangguan Yushi froze, he caught her arm with his other hand.

Shangguan Yushi had nearly suffered humiliation because of one careless move. Furious, she reacted and immediately advanced instead of retreating, using the vicious close-quarters move Shatter Ladder Kick.

This move treated the opponent's body as a wooden ladder. By gripping the enemy's wrist and borrowing that leverage, the attacker kicked repeatedly from bottom to top. With enough force, every kick could break a person's bones.

Although the move was cruel, opportunities to use it were rare. Xue Niang had deliberated for a long time before including it among the five moves.

The instant Shangguan Yushi exerted force with her hand, Gu Shenwei guessed that she was about to use this move. This time, he had seized the initiative and could no longer afford to hold back. Before her first kick had fully begun, while her lower body was unsteady, he pulled hard. The two brushed past each other, Shangguan Yushi lost her balance, and Gu Shenwei had already turned around and pinned her down.

These moves had happened too quickly, and the two had been entangled with each other. To an onlooker, it seemed like a single move, but in truth the fight had already reached the fourth. Only Shangguan Ru had seen the sequence clearly.

The winner and loser had been reversed in an instant, sparking a major dispute. Gu Shenwei was only a slave, and his admission of defeat was not enough. Shangguan Fei glared at him, shoved him aside, and said, "That's not right. They never separated, so it counts as one move."

"Four moves is four moves. What does separating have to do with it?"

The Twins seized control of the argument and began quarreling on behalf of their respective sides. Shangguan Ru forgot that she and her brother were on the same side of the wager and argued wholeheartedly for Shangguan Yushi.

The two protagonists of the match were separated by a group of noisy schoolchildren. They stared at each other from opposite sides, one with a blank expression, the other forcing down her anger.

Gu Shenwei had essentially achieved his goal. The outcome of the wager was unimportant. He had knocked Shangguan Yushi down, which was certain to leave a deep impression on everyone. Shangguan Ru was standing on her cousin's side at that moment, but afterward, her impression of Huan Nu would be even deeper.

The schoolchildren on both sides argued without end. In the end, the old teacher of the school personally intervened, waving his ruler and sending some indoors and others out into the courtyard. Order was finally restored.

Qing Nu's face had gone dark. "You really don't fear death, do you? Fine, your bones are hard. Young Master Yu spared your life last time. Let's see whether you'll be that lucky again."

Gu Shenwei lowered his head and said nothing. There was no point arguing with Qing Nu. This man was on his revenge list, but nowhere near the top.

"Get out! Get back to your bandit den!"

In his fury, Qing Nu was even less courteous toward the Eighth Young Madam.

Gu Shenwei left "obediently." Shangguan Yushi and Qing Nu both did not want him near the Ninth Young Master, but he was confident that Shangguan Ru would call him back to her side.

He returned to the stone house and lay down on the heated brick bed, reviewing what had happened that morning. He had taken a small revenge on Shangguan Yushi, but it was far from enough. A deeper, greater hatred lay hidden in his heart. One day, he would personally kill this little demoness—and the Twins as well.

When he thought of killing Shangguan Ru, he hesitated for a moment. But he quickly turned cold. His heart held nothing but hatred; there was no room for the slightest mercy or sympathy.

That morning's match caused a series of aftershocks. The first person on the verge of madness was Shangguan Hongye. Before class had even ended, he ran to the stone house. Not only had he lost the wager, he had also offended Shangguan Fei, and all the fury in his chest had to be vented on Huan Nu.

"You dog slave! You little bastard! How dare you trick me? I'm going to beat you to death right now!"

Shangguan Hongye rolled up his sleeves and prepared to attack. He did not care how strong the slave's martial arts were. A slave was a slave; if the master wanted to hit him, he could hit him.

Dealing with someone like Shangguan Hongye required no counter taught by Xue Niang. Gu Shenwei did not even need to judge his opponent's move in advance. With a single move, he forced him to bend over, his cheek pressed against the edge of the heated brick bed.

Shangguan Hongye had not brought Little Book Boy. Coming alone to face the enemy had been a tremendous mistake.

"You—you—you, let go of me!"

Gu Shenwei released him, stepped back two paces, and stared coldly at the cowardly bully. He had already thought of a way to deal with him.

"How dare you hit me?" Shangguan Hongye turned around, his arms braced against the edge of the bed, half crouching and half standing, his face filled with terror.

Gu Shenwei pulled a bundle from the roll of bedding and threw it at Shangguan Hongye. "How much did you lose? I'll cover it for you."

Shangguan Hongye opened the bundle and hurriedly glanced inside. There was white and yellow, gleaming brilliantly. It was more than enough to pay off the wager, with plenty left over. But the one offering the money was a slave, and for a moment he did not know how to respond.

"This—it's not about the money. The Little Young Master said he was going to teach me a lesson. And you too. He won't let you off." Shangguan Hongye clutched the bundle tightly, his tone no longer as furious as before.

Gu Shenwei was not worried about the Little Young Master. In less than three days, Shangguan Fei would forget about the matter.

"The estate knows something has gone missing and is conducting a strict investigation."

Shangguan Hongye was startled. He was the Unrivaled King's nephew. If people found out that he had taken silverware from a slave—and that the silverware had been stolen at that—he would be humiliated beyond measure.

He began regretting his participation in Huan Nu's little scheme, but he could not bring himself to let go of the bundle now that it was in his hands.

"The things are in your possession. Use them as you like, but leave some for me too."

Shangguan Hongye stuffed the bundle into his robes, making no effort to hide the bulge. "Don't worry. Once the gambling debt is paid, we'll split the rest fifty-fifty."

Once Shangguan Hongye decided that money came first, Huan Nu no longer seemed quite so hateful to him. Afraid Gu Shenwei would change his mind, he ran out in a stumbling rush before being told to leave, nearly knocking Old Zhang over as the latter entered the room.

Old Zhang stared in astonishment at the boy fleeing in panic. "Isn't that... Isn't that..." But his cautious principles, cultivated over many years, made him shut his mouth in time. He set down the lunchbox, took out his own portion, asked nothing, and left the stone house again. He went to the stable and ate with his precious horses.

Though he had dealt with one problem, Gu Shenwei was still not entirely at ease. Shangguan Yushi would not let the matter rest. If not today, then tomorrow, she would come demanding an explanation.