Little Abacus

In the middle of the two groups, two barehanded youths were testing their martial skills. One was fat but steady on his feet, and his punches and kicks were powerful. He was Wang Dapang, a good friend Han Li had made before. Fat as Wang Dapang was, his skills were not weak. He shouted as he fought, and every punch stirred up a whistling wind, making him look mighty and imposing. The other youth was short and agile as a nimble mouse. Rather than parry Wang Dapang's punches, he kept leaping and dodging, apparently intending to exhaust Wang Dapang before launching a desperate counterattack.

Seeing a good friend fighting in the ring, Han Li naturally found himself favoring him.

After watching for a while, Han Li saw that Wang Dapang was still fighting with fierce momentum. Though Han Li knew little martial arts, he could tell that Wang Dapang would not lose anytime soon, so he relaxed.

He glanced around, hoping to find someone who could tell him what had happened.

Not far from his tree, beside a rock, a youth was gesturing as he watched, muttering, "Hit his head, kick his waist. Ah! That was so close! Yes, yes, kick his backside, harder..."

The youth watched with animated delight, talking all the while.

From the way he spoke, he seemed to be on Fatty Wang's side.

Han Li found him rather interesting, so he slowly climbed down from the tree and walked over.

"Senior brother, do you know both of the people fighting? Why are they fighting?" Han Li asked, looking thoroughly honest and simple.

"Do you even need to ask? Is there anyone I, Little Abacus, don't know? Of course they're fighting over... Huh? Who are you? How come I've never seen you before? Did you just join the sect? No, that's not right. It'll be more than half a year before new disciples can join. Who are you?" The youth had been about to answer in a distracted manner, but he suddenly realized he had never seen Han Li before and immediately came to his senses.

"I'm Han Li, a good friend of Wang Dapang, the one fighting so bravely out there," Han Li answered solemnly.

"Wang Dapang's good friend? I know all his friends, and you're not one of them!" The youth remained wary.

"Oh, I've been in seclusion somewhere these past few years and haven't come out for a long time. It's only natural you don't know me," Han Li said, mixing truth with lies.

"Really? So you're also a disciple who joined four years ago. I never expected there to be someone on the mountain that I, the know-it-all, didn't know." The youth glanced at Han Li's clothes and seemed to believe him.

After chatting with Han Li for a few more moments, he could no longer hold back and volunteered the reason for the contest.

"Junior brother, you don't know, but this was all trouble caused by a beautiful woman. It started with..." Little Abacus truly lived up to his claim of being a know-it-all. He told Han Li the whole story from beginning to end, leaving out nothing.

As it turned out, the matter began with two people. One was Wang Dapang's younger male cousin, Wang Yang; the other was Zhang Changgui, the son of a money shop owner. Both were disciples of the Seven Mysteries Sect, but one was an outer disciple and the other an inner disciple.

Though the two lived in the same town, their paths would not have crossed otherwise. It had all been caused by a girl from another town, who had been betrothed to Wang Yang since childhood. But some time ago, while she was out, Young Master Zhang had taken a fancy to her as he passed through on his way home. Under his onslaught of money, both the girl and her parents had fallen, and she had been betrothed to Zhang Changgui instead. Wang Yang's betrothal gifts had also been returned. The news that the girl had spurned the poor for the rich and been promised to another had dealt Wang Yang a heavy blow. He had long been infatuated with her, and after hearing the news, he spent his days talking of death. In the end, he truly could not get over it and jumped into a river to his death.

The matter could have ended there, a tragic story brought to a close.

But Wang Dapang had been close to his cousin since childhood. When he heard what had happened, he naturally refused to let the matter rest. He went to Zhang Changgui and challenged him to a duel. The loser would have to serve tea to the victor, bow, and kowtow to admit his wrongs.

Though Zhang Changgui was proud and arrogant, he knew his martial skills were a little inferior to Wang Dapang's. So he demanded that friends be allowed to take part and that several bouts be held, with the winner determined by the overall result. Wang Dapang agreed at once. Zhang Changgui then relied on his wealth, scattering silver by the handful to recruit skilled fighters among the rich disciples of the sect. Wang Dapang had no money, but he was well liked among his fellow disciples and had many friends from the middle and lower ranks. Many of them, skilled in martial arts, volunteered to help.

As a result, many fellow disciples who heard about the contest also came to watch and cheer, creating a heated scene with two clearly divided sides full of hostility toward each other.

From the youth's words, Han Li gathered that the conflict between the wealthy disciples and those from the middle and lower ranks seemed to have grown even greater.

A single contest had drawn so many people to watch and cheer.

"You're here to help Wang Dapang too, right? If they don't follow the rules, we'll all charge in and beat those young masters until they piss and shit themselves. Then they'll never dare bully us again." The youth's mouth had not stopped moving since the start.

Han Li gave a wry smile. What did the conflict between the two sides have to do with him? Besides, it was hard to say who was right or wrong in this matter. After these years of cultivating Qi and meditating, the hot-blooded impulses of his youth had all but worn away. Moreover, he had never trained in unarmed combat or weapons, and now he was certainly no match for any ordinary fellow disciple. Once the contest was over, he had better go back to the valley and keep to himself.

"Good!" The youth suddenly shouted, his face lighting up with joy.

Hearing him, Han Li hurriedly turned to look at the ring. Wang Dapang's opponent had ultimately failed to hold out until the end. Unable to dodge Wang Dapang's enormous fist in time, he had taken a punch to the forehead and fallen unconscious.

At once, some of the crowd shouted, "Good!" while the faces of the others turned ugly.

Looking immensely pleased with himself, Wang Dapang cupped his fists toward the crowd. Then, sticking out his big backside, he waddled back to his own side, the ferocity he had shown in the fight completely gone.

Two people also stepped out from Zhang Changgui's side and dragged the unconscious disciple back.

Next, another person stepped out from each side, one carrying a saber and the other a sword.

Both seemed to have fiery tempers. Without a word, they swung their weapons and began fighting with a series of clangs and clashes.