Song Jiasen returned to his residence and handed two pills to Song Zhiyi. "These pills boost your strength. Take them and go right to sleep."
Song Zhiyi said, "Dad, this is my first time entering the arena. Let me stretch my muscles and get some practice in."
Song Jiasen frowned. "The fight is tomorrow. What practice could you possibly need now?"
Song Zhiyi scratched his scalp. "Dad, my master always said that grinding your spear right before battle might not sharpen it, but it'll at least make it shine!"
He had apprenticed away from home since childhood, spending far more time with his master than with his father, and "my master always said" was forever on his lips.
Song Jiasen utterly despised that catchphrase. "Cut the useless nonsense! When I tell you to sleep, you go to sleep!"
Not daring to disobey, Song Zhiyi ate his lunch, took the pills, and turned in early.
The medicine took effect swiftly. Song Zhiyi slept soundly until one in the morning, when Song Jiasen woke him.
Upon rising, Song Zhiyi felt an inexhaustible surge of vitality coursing through his limbs. "Dad, what kind of pill was that? How come I've never taken it before?"
Song Jiasen gave a dry snort. "Even I can hardly bear to use that pill. If you weren't going into battle tomorrow, I wouldn't have brought it out."
Hearing this, Song Zhiyi felt immensely cheered.
In truth, Song Jiasen had indeed been reluctant to take it.
It wasn't the pill he was reluctant to part with; it was himself.
This was a Marrow Venom Pill. After taking it, one's combat power was boosted by an entire tier for a short period. Song Zhiyi was a first-tier Martial Cultivator; over the next two days, his combat power could barely rival that of a second-tier Martial Cultivator.
Yet this came at a steep price.
Once the medicine's effects wore off, Song Zhiyi would lose a full two years of cultivation. His natural talent was mediocre to begin with, so this setback made any advancement to the second tier all the more distant.
"Pack your things and come with me." Song Jiasen led Song Zhiyi out of the house. They brought no retainers and avoided the front entrance, father and son slipping quietly out through the back door.
Song Zhiyi was perplexed. "Dad, where are we going?"
"Quiet. Just follow me."
The two took back alleys all the way to the north side of the village. Hearing the chugging roar of a steamroller still at work paving the road, Song Jiasen deliberately took a detour and led them into a patch of ruins across the way.
Xiao Chuanzi shoveled another scoop of coal into the steamroller, licking the cut on his lip.
...
Deep inside the ruins, once Song Jiasen saw that no one was around, he turned to Song Zhiyi. "Look closely. This is the arena I picked for you. I've already arranged men to seal off the grounds first thing tomorrow morning. Until they do, no one will know that you and Ma the Fifth are dueling here."
The area was cluttered with broken bricks, shattered tiles, and half-demolished walls. Song Zhiyi was not particularly pleased with such a fighting environment.
"Dad, why pick this place? I'm a Martial Cultivator, and Ma the Fifth is a Joy Cultivator. Close-quarters combat is my advantage. It's so messy here that closing the distance will be tough. If he kites me, I'll be the one at a disadvantage."
"Bullshit! Would your old man ever let you take a loss?" Song Jiasen pulled a silkworm cocoon from his robe and set it down on a piece of broken tile.
A white silkworm crawled out of the cocoon.
The silkworm began spinning silk over the broken tile while Song Jiasen watched quietly from the side.
Judging that it had spun enough thread, Song Jiasen transferred the white silkworm to a disorderly pile of lumber beside the tile.
The pile contained dozens of wooden beams dismantled from old houses, stacked haphazardly. A collapse here would seem entirely natural.
The white silkworm chewed a hole into one of the beams, burrowed inside, and began devouring it ravenously.
After waiting nearly two hours until the most critical support beam had been hollowed out, Song Jiasen finally retrieved the plump white silkworm, placed it into a hemp sack, and slung it over his back.
"Listen to me and remember this well. When the fight starts tomorrow, lure Ma the Fifth onto this broken tile. The moment he steps on it, the pile of lumber beside it will come crashing down on top of him. Even if the logs don't crush him, he'll be forced to dodge. While he's scrambling to get out of the way, beat the living daylights out of him. Don't kill him—leave him with half a breath, and beat him until he begs for mercy."
Song Zhiyi stood dumbfounded for a long moment. It was true that he hadn't spent much time at home, but he had always believed his father was a respected, dignified figure in Lanyang Village. He never imagined his father would resort to such underhanded methods in a duel.
"Dad, playing dirty like this... isn't that improper? If anyone finds out..."
Song Jiasen slapped Song Zhiyi across the face. "Why the hell do you think I brought you out alone in the middle of the night? Isn't it so nobody finds out?"
He hadn't even brought bodyguards; not a soul could know about this.
Clutching his cheek, Song Zhiyi protested, "Dad, I took the pill! I'm a first-tier Martial Cultivator, and I've been in the first tier for years. Taking on a first-tier Joy Cultivator like Ma the Fifth is child's play for me. There's no need for such tricks. A real man should act open and aboveboard..."
Song Jiasen spun around and landed another slap. "You've studied away from home so long your brain has turned to mush! What the hell do you know about being open and aboveboard? You think you're the only one with pills? What kind of background does Ma the Fifth have? He's the fifth young master of the Ma family! Do you think he has fewer pills than you do? You think just because you reached your tier a few years before him that you're guaranteed to win? You really think too much of yourself! Tang Tianjin went to ambush him on the road this morning and still hasn't returned. I've had men scour the entire village, and there's no trace of him, dead or alive. Do you have any idea how much worldly experience Ma the Fifth has? Do you know what he's been through, or the kinds of people he's dealt with? You haven't even stepped outside Lüshuiwan in your entire life, and you dare compare yourself to him?"
Song Jiasen made Song Zhiyi firmly memorize the location, and then the two turned back along the same path.
On the way, Song Zhiyi couldn't help but grumble, "Dad, if I can beat Ma the Fifth with real skill tomorrow, I won't use that trap. If anyone notices, it'll disgrace our family."
"Why would you let anyone notice?" Song Jiasen snapped in fury. "You keep talking about real skill—do you even know what real skill is? You think martial arts and throwing punches are real skill?"
Song Zhiyi asked in surprise, "Isn't an open-ground duel all about fists and feet?"
"That's why you're a thick-headed fool, nowhere near as sharp as your brother! Your father has watched over Lanyang Village for over twenty years. In all these twenty years, whether in the daytime arena or the night arena, which duel ever came down to fists and feet? Can't you see how the game is actually played?"
Song Zhiyi could hardly be blamed; having spent years apprenticing outside, he had barely witnessed any duels.
Knowing his son lacked experience, Song Jiasen explained with forced patience, "Take the match between Old Wei and Pockmark Yu. Do you think Old Wei could have won that on his own? If he hadn't slipped me a thousand silver dollars in advance, how could Pockmark Yu have tripped over a stone halfway through the fight? And what about that hulking brute hired by Huaxuan Inn? Couldn't he fight? How did he lose his duel? Why did that wall just happen to collapse? Their inn hired a few girls to work as pleasure girls on the side, keeping it off the books and failing to hand over my cut. Do you think I'd tolerate that? Would I let him win? In an open-ground duel, who wins and who loses is decided by your old man! Forget about playing dirty or playing fair. The winner stands, and the loser lies down—that is my rule! The Song family's domain was carved out precisely this way. Sooner or later, this domain will be passed down to you two brothers. If you can't even learn the rules, how are you going to run the family?"
Song Zhiyi lowered his head. "But if it ever gets exposed, where am I supposed to hide my face? I'm the second young master of the Song family, after all..."
Song Jiasen was thoroughly exasperated. All these years, he had kept certain things from this boy precisely because his mind was too stubborn.
"You simply don't understand how the world works. You're far behind your brother. If you tomorrow..." Song Jiasen froze. His foot planted on the ground, and he suddenly couldn't lift it.
"Bonding mud!" Song Jiasen gasped in alarm. "An ambush!"
"What is it, Dad? Who's ambushing us?" Song Zhiyi was truly dense; seeing his father unable to lift his foot, he actually walked right over.
"Stay back, you damn—!"
Song Jiasen's warning came too late. Song Zhiyi had already stepped up beside him, and his own feet were instantly rooted to the spot.
"Dad, what's happening?"
"You useless fool, what the hell did you come over here for?! If your brother hadn't been injured, I never would have brought you along for this! Take off your shoe! Once it's off, don't let your bare foot touch the ground—step on the shoe and jump clear! Don't brace yourself with your hands, and don't let your other foot touch the ground either!"
Song Jiasen was experienced. He rubbed his foot inside the shoe and swiftly pulled it free.
His other foot was harder to extricate. Just as Song Jiasen was straining with all his might, a sound echoed from the distance.
*Chug! Chug!*
What was coming?
Song Jiasen looked up and saw a massive beast hurtling toward them, belching thick plumes of smoke.
Li Banfeng was driving the steamroller straight at them.
Putting Xiao Chuanzi on the work crew had been meant specifically to monitor Song Jiasen's movements.
The moment Xiao Chuanzi spotted Song Jiasen and his son, he had immediately sent word to Li Banfeng.
In the dead of night, the wasteland was utterly still. As a third-tier Dwelling Cultivator, Li Banfeng was extraordinarily easy to overlook. Relying on the Clairaudience of the Thread-Hook Earring, he had tracked the sounds of the Song father and son, fetched Xiao Chuanzi, and laid an ambush on their return path.
Back when he watched the duel between the two inns, Li Banfeng had already seen through the game.
In an open-ground duel, the contest was never about martial arts; it was about eloquence, mechanisms, and deceit.
The middle-aged man hired by Liuyuan Inn had spoken a string of high-minded words and ultimately won the duel. A win was a win. No one cared how he had won; people simply felt he was in the right, so he deserved victory.
As for why the brick wall had suddenly collapsed, or how it had so conveniently crushed the hulking brute—no one probed into such matters.
Even if someone wanted to press the issue, what could they do?
Pockmark Yu had died in the night arena; even if he had complaints, dead men tell no tales.
Huaxuan Inn had crossed Song Jiasen. Whether they could even stay in business was up in the air, so how would they dare make an issue out of the duel?
Would the spectators care?
Once they had enjoyed the show, they couldn't be bothered with anything else!
Song Jiasen's mindset was correct: whether fair or foul, winning was all that mattered. On this point, Li Banfeng's thinking was largely aligned with his.
Yet in the details, there was a distinction.
Song Jiasen had never intended to fight a fair match.
Li Banfeng had never intended to fight a match at all.
What was the point of a contest?
Did settling a score really require stepping onto a stage?
Who ever agreed to duel you in the first place?
Even with the father and son trapped in the bonding mud, Li Banfeng had no intention of engaging them in close combat. Bonding mud did not stick to iron, making the steamroller's heavy iron wheels the ideal tool for the job.
As the steamroller bore down on Song Jiasen, Song Jiasen drew a dagger and hurled it straight at Li Banfeng's face.
For a third-tier Martial Cultivator, the throw was deadly accurate.
Yet Li Banfeng, possessing the abilities of a third-tier Dwelling Cultivator combined with a second-tier journey cultivator, ducked his head and dodged it with ease.
Song Jiasen tried to reach for another weapon, but it was already too late.
The colossal iron roller crushed directly onto Song Zhiyi. From the knees down, his lower legs were dragged beneath the wheel, tearing a bloodcurdling scream from his throat.
Song Jiasen, having freed one foot from its shoe, used the opening to step back. Marshalling every ounce of strength in his body, he threw himself forward, desperately bracing against the roller.
A third-tier Martial Cultivator truly possessed formidable strength; he managed to force the steamroller to a halt.
Li Banfeng cranked the steam valve wide open, gazing placidly down at Song Jiasen.
His face flushed a bruised purple, Song Jiasen raised his head, glaring at Li Banfeng. "You bastard... you... you ambushed me!"
Li Banfeng chuckled. "I actually quite admire those two lines you said earlier: 'The winner stands, and the loser lies down.' Allow me to offer you one more: 'The dead shut their mouths.'"
With that, Li Banfeng turned to Xiao Chuan. "Didn't he want to take one of your legs?"
"Yeah!" Xiao Chuan stood behind him, nodding through clenched teeth.
Li Banfeng drew his Tang dao and handed it to Xiao Chuan.
"Brother, time for work. Take Master Song's leg for him."
Gripping the blade, Xiao Chuan hopped down from the steamroller, raised the sword, and brought it down against Song Jiasen's right leg.
He barely needed to exert any force. With the supreme craftsmanship of the Tang dao, a single strike sheared through Song Jiasen's right leg clean at the hip.
Now Song Jiasen could no longer hold his ground. The steamroller rolled directly over both father and son.
When the vehicle came to a stop, Li Banfeng looked at the ground, realizing the mess would be troublesome to clean up.
Xiao Chuan said, "Seventh Master, leave this to me. In a bit, I'll cover it with some asphalt and roll it flat. Go tend to your business."
Now this brother was sensible!
Li Banfeng smiled, pulled his hat down low, and slipped away from the wasteland.
The following day, twelve-thirty in the afternoon.
The men sent by the Song family to seal the grounds arrived early, but Song Jiasen and Song Zhiyi never showed up.
Having waited in the wasteland for half an hour, Ma the Fifth shouted toward the onlookers:
"I, Ma Junyang, may be down on my luck, but standing right here, I'm a man of honor! Song Jiasen called for an open-ground duel, and here I am! I didn't hire anyone—I came on my own! At worst, I'd leave my life on this ground, but I, Ma Junyang, never back down! I'm going to stand right here and wait all day, and I want to see whether Song Jiasen and his son have the guts to show their faces!"
Li Banfeng watched with a smile as Xiao Chuanzi led the cheering from within the crowd.
Just as they said, when it came to an open-ground duel, it all came down to eloquence!
Chapter 124