"A duel?" Hearing this, Huang Donglai looked the dark-faced fellow up and down once more, asking suspiciously, "And who might you be, sir? Do I know you?"
Brother Huang was a shrewd man. Instead of immediately denying that he was "Sun Yixie," he asked questions first, aiming to fish for information.
To his surprise, the dark-faced fellow was completely straightforward. He immediately replied, "My name is Lei Buji. You don't know me, but I've heard of you." Pausing, he added, "I already asked the innkeeper which room you're staying in, so don't bother pretending. You're Sun Yixie from Hangzhou, aren't you?"
"Heh..." Huang Donglai neither confirmed nor denied it, merely smiling. "Even if I am... what reason do I have to duel you?"
"Uh..." Lei Buji was momentarily stumped by the question. He racked his brain for a moment before blurting out, "Because I want to take part in the Youth Heroes Assembly too."
"Say what?" Huang Donglai raised an eyebrow, took half a step back, and scrutinized the man's face—which looked to be in its thirties—before asking, "Brother, just what venerable age might you be?"
* * *
*Thud, thud, thud—*
A moment later, a flurry of pounding at the door jolted Sun Yixie from his slumber.
Nursing a hangover headache, he stumbled groggily to the entrance and swung the door open.
The moment it opened, Huang Donglai barged right in. Brushing past Sun Yixie, he tossed out casually, "Brother Sun, you've got a guest."
Before Sun Yixie could even register what was happening, Huang Donglai had already sat down inside. Right behind him, a dark-faced fellow trailed along into the room as well.
"Hey, hey... what's all this first thing in the morning? You just walk into my room whenever you please?" Sun Yixie looked between the two, then turned to Huang Donglai, pointing at Lei Buji. "And... who is this guy?"
"First of all..." Having settled into his seat, Huang Donglai picked up the teapot on the table to pour himself a cup, responding as he poured, "...it's almost goddamned noon. Second, Brother Sun, open your eyes and look around. This is *my* room; yours is next door. Third... this brother here is named Lei Buji. I ran into him while he was blocking your door. He says he wants to challenge you to a duel, and if you lose, you're to hand over your spot in the Youth Heroes Assembly to him."
"Huh?" Hearing this, Sun Yixie narrowed his beady eyes and swept a glance over Lei Buji, immediately asking the very same question Huang Donglai had asked earlier: "Brother, how old are you?"
Before Lei Buji could answer, Huang Donglai cut in, "Sixteen."
The moment those words left his mouth, Sun Yixie leapt backward in shock, his eyes bulging wide. "This is *fucking sixteen*?"
"Yeah," Lei Buji answered earnestly. Thinking it was a genuine question, he immediately replied, "I turned sixteen this past spring, just in time to meet the age requirement for the Youth Heroes Assembly."
"Whoa..." Sun Yixie stared at him, unable to resist quipping, "Brother, you're certainly well developed. Skipped straight from puberty into a midlife crisis, did you..."
Lei Buji didn't understand what any midlife crisis meant, nor did he care. In just a couple of sentences, he looped right back: "You're Sun Yixie, right? Alright, duel me. If I win, you give your spot in the assembly to me."
"Heh..." Sun Yixie was genuinely amused by this blockhead. Chuckling, he replied, "Brother, setting aside the duel itself, even if we take a step back... even if I willingly gave up my spot in the heroes assembly to you, the organizers wouldn't necessarily let you compete."
"I already told him that earlier!" Huang Donglai chimed in. "I told him the invitation list was jointly decided by the major sects, and even if someone on the list didn't show up, it would just be considered a forfeit—nobody can attend as a substitute. But he claimed that you, Sun Yixie, were 'specially invited' by Sect Leader Shen and were never on the official list to begin with. So as long as he beats you, it proves he's more qualified to participate than you are."
"That's right!" Lei Buji chimed in. "That's exactly how it works."
"Bullshit!" The word flew out of Sun Yixie's mouth before he even started thinking about how to refute it. "By that logic, if I sleep with your wife first on your wedding night, does that prove I'm more qualified to marry her than you are?"
It was an utterly crass analogy and a blatant false equivalence, but against Lei Buji's intellect, it was more than enough to baffle him.
"Uh... that..." Choked by Sun Yixie's shout, Lei Buji found himself at a complete loss for words.
Seeing that the fellow had been cowed, Sun Yixie sneered inwardly and pressed his advantage: "Besides... does being a 'hero' depend entirely on martial arts? Does winning a duel make you more entitled to be called a hero? If that were true, could any evil demon or crooked path just waltz into the Youth Heroes Assembly as long as their kung fu was good?"
Cornered by the barrage of questions, Lei Buji was left speechless, his dark face flushing a deep shade of purple from sheer embarrassment.
"I... I... Fine, never mind. Farewell..." After struggling for words with nothing left to say, Lei Buji actually turned to leave.
"Hold on!" Sun Yixie called out, stopping him. "Not so fast. I still have questions for you."
In the span of that sentence, Lei Buji had already reached the doorway. But having been called back, he couldn't just pretend not to hear and run away... So, keeping his head down and his back turned to Sun Yixie, he muttered, "What... what else do you want?"
At that moment, the smile on Sun Yixie's face took on a sharp edge. "Who told you I was 'specially invited' by Sect Leader Shen?"
Sun Yixie might usually seem reckless and irreverent, but when it came to matters that could threaten his safety, his mind was exceptionally sharp. According to Huang Donglai's account earlier, Lei Buji had brought up the special invitation of his own accord. By rights, only a handful of people knew about it—so how had it reached the ears of an unpolished kid like him?
Unless this suspicion was cleared up, Sun Yixie had no intention of letting him walk away.
"Huh?" Puzzled by the question, Lei Buji turned his head around and replied, "It's all over the streets! Everyone knows about it."
"What?" Sun Yixie exchanged a glance with Huang Donglai before pressing Lei Buji, "What exactly are they saying? Make it clear."
Gruff and blunt as Lei Buji was, he still had manners. Knowing he shouldn't keep talking with his back turned to them, he turned around somewhat awkwardly and continued, "When I was eating noodles at an eatery, all the martial artists, waiters, regular customers, and street storytellers around were talking about how the two of you 'wreaked havoc at Bugui Tower' last night. Part of it mentioned that you weren't actually on the assembly's invitation list, but that Sect Leader Shen personally paid a visit to invite you."
"Holy shit?"
"Holy shit?"
At these words, Sun Yixie and Huang Donglai blurted out the exact same expletive in one voice—or rather, barked it out in unison—their tones perfectly matched.
"No way... they dragged me into it too?" Huang Donglai grew nervous now. "Besides Brother Sun, did they say anything about me?"
"Yeah," Lei Buji said. "They said the young master of the Huang Clan of Shu is a master of both the literary and martial arts, a towering genius of peerless talent, who humbled 'Little Dezu' of Zhixian Pavilion so thoroughly that the man even wanted to take you as his master."
"Oh? Well, that's actually quite fair." Hearing this, Huang Donglai felt a mix of joy and concern: pleased that people were singing his praises, but worried that being put on such a high pedestal might make him a target for everyone.
"Get lost." Sun Yixie rolled his eyes at Huang Donglai. "You told *The Tortoise and the Hare* and now you're a towering genius? Have you no shame?" Not even waiting for Huang Donglai to shoot back, he turned straight back to Lei Buji. "Hey, brother, what did they say about me?"
Lei Buji replied, "They said you're the Fish Market Tycoon of Hangzhou, with bottomless connections and wealth, unfathomable martial arts and erudition, a master of the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and that even your culinary skills made the 'Southern Culinary King' hold you in awe... It's just that you keep a low profile and never sought fame in the jianghu, which is why Sect Leader Shen brushed aside all objections and personally lowered himself to travel to Hangzhou to invite you to the assembly."
"Ha!" Sun Yixie's expression grew even more smug than Huang Donglai's. "Well... that's a bit flattering, isn't it?"
"'A bit'? 'Flattering'?" Huang Donglai had nearly spat out his tea when listening to Lei Buji's description, and hearing Sun Yixie's shameless response pushed him over the edge. "Brother Sun, why don't you just give that Body-Protecting Armor of yours to me? With a thick skin like yours, you're already invulnerable to blades and spears!"
The two launched into another round of bickering like street fishwives, slinging modern slang and banter back and forth, leaving Lei Buji completely bewildered.
After a while, Huang Donglai finally remembered there was another person in the room. "Brother Lei, from what I can see... you're not a bad guy, just a bit dense and muddle-headed. We won't hold today's business against you, but let me give you some friendly advice. The jianghu is perilous, and you must never let your guard down around strangers. Acting like this is bound to cost you dearly. In the future, keep your wits about you."
A second later, worried that Huang hadn't made it plain enough, Sun Yixie added, "In short, stop charging around like a clueless fool. If it had been anyone else today, you'd probably have been hacked to death already."
Their words were blunt, but the truth in them was undeniable.
If Sun Yixie and Huang Donglai truly were as formidable as the rumors made them out to be, they would not be figures just anyone could challenge—let alone provoke.
The jianghu had its rules. It wasn't as though people were obligated to indulge you just because you were a newborn calf who knew no fear or knew nothing of the world. If that were the case, venerable figures of the martial world would probably have hundreds of people knocking on their doors every single day demanding duels.
In the martial world, challenging someone of far greater fame and status required proper protocol. Typically, you had to deliver a formal challenge, agree upon a time, place, and general rules, and the duel was only valid if the other party accepted. Of course, in most cases, seeing that you were a nobody, they wouldn't give you the time of day at all.
So your only option was to build up your reputation first, make a name for yourself in the jianghu, or start by challenging peers of similar or modest standing. Only once you had gained some renown could you send formal challenges to top masters.
If you disregarded all of that, just like Lei Buji did today—barging straight onto someone's turf, cornering them at their door, and demanding a fight right off the bat—they wouldn't just refuse the duel; they could treat you as a troublemaker looking for a brawl, have their entire sect swarm and destroy you, and after wiping you out, you'd only have yourself to blame while they claimed legitimate self-defense.
"Th-thank you for the advice..." Dull-witted though he was, Lei Buji was reasonable enough to recognize good advice when he heard it. After being dressed down, he didn't get angry; instead, he stammered out his thanks. "Then... I shall take my..."
"Wait!"
They had indeed intended to let him leave, but right at that moment, Sun Yixie had a sudden spark of inspiration and struck upon a wicked scheme.
"Heheh... Brother Lei, if this elder brother may make bold to ask..." Sun Yixie naturally assumed the role of his elder brother. "How good are your martial arts?"
He asked so bluntly because he knew Lei Buji was honest and wouldn't lie.
"Great!" Lei Buji indeed spoke the truth. Patting his chest, his face immediately swelled with confidence again. "When I was five, my dad started teaching me martial arts. Last year, he told me that among my peers, there are no more than five people who could beat me."
Lei Buji naturally wasn't lying. His father's assessment was just slightly off—in terms of pure martial skill, Lei Buji was easily among the top three of his generation.
His father, "Eight Desolations Fist Saint Lei Buwei," had been a peerless master before retiring from the jianghu. Legend had it that there wasn't a boxing style under heaven he hadn't mastered—though such legends were mostly exaggerations; for instance, he certainly didn't know the Sun family's Dragon Dog Fist. Yet not only did he know countless styles, he mastered them, and on that foundation synthesized their strengths into his own unique martial art, with routines ever-shifting and matchless under the sun.
Not until age fifty, when Lei Buwei's wife died in difficult childbirth, did he retire from the jianghu and retreat into the mountain forests, having been blessed with a son late in life and determined to raise him in safety.
Lei Buji had grown up in the mountains from infancy, only occasionally accompanying his father to town markets to barter for supplies. Having had little contact with people, he was rather naive in the ways of the world.
In terms of martial arts, however, Lei Buji had inherited his father's true teachings: setting aside his foundation of top-tier internal energy, when it came to forms and techniques... he had already mastered fifty percent of the "Lei Family Fist," which his father had created by distilling the essence of a hundred fist styles.
Had that not been the case, his father never would have felt safe letting him venture out into the jianghu on his own.
Of course... Lei Buwei only knew that his son was heading to Luoyang to *watch* the Youth Heroes Assembly; he never imagined that once Lei Buji arrived and saw how laughably weak the other young heroes were, the boy would get the urge to enter the competition himself.
Truth be told, one could hardly blame him, because throughout this entire assembly, there were only two people on par with him in martial arts.
Yes, without my having to say it, you already know that those two people were definitely not Huang Donglai and Sun Yixie... but just in case there are any titans among the readers whose intellect matches Lei Buji's, I shall mention it anyway.
Those two were Lin Yuancheng, "Young Hero of Cangzhou," a rising star of Cangzhou's Xingyi Sect; and Song Zhixiu, "Peak-Ascending Saber," the eldest young miss of Liaodong's Shendao Mountain Villa.
Apart from those two, among the young people who had come to Luoyang for the assembly, none could match strength with Lei Buji.
"Oh?" Hearing Lei Buji's words, Sun Yixie rolled his beady eyes and asked, "May I ask who your esteemed father might be?"
"My dad told me not to use his name," Lei Buji answered.
The more he said so, the more Sun Yixie felt that this fellow's origins were anything but ordinary.
"Heh..." With a soft chuckle, an idea formed in Sun Yixie's head. "How about this: I'm quite close with Sect Leader Shen. Why don't I put in a word with him? If there's an extra spot in the heroes assembly, I'll have him let you fill the vacancy... What do you say?"
"Are you serious?" Lei Buji stepped forward excitedly, his face full of anticipation.
"Why would I lie to you?" Sun Yixie said. "Don't you worry, brother. Meeting today was fate. Leave this matter entirely to me."
In the past, he had said these exact words to many people in the fish market. Some of them later became his lackeys, while others were already at the bottom of West Lake... Naturally, they had all slipped and drowned entirely on their own.
Hearing this from the side, Huang Donglai nearly burst out laughing. He had to turn his head away and pretend he was choking on his tea.
"Brother Sun... er... Big Brother!" In the next instant, thoroughly duped, Lei Buji even changed how he addressed him. "Then I'll be counting on you completely!"
Chapter 38