These kinds of challenges in the street, under the gaze of the masses, are the most forthright and the most public. The parties involved basically have no chance to avoid battle. Anyone who avoids a fight under these circumstances would really never be able to mix in the Worldly Society again; they’d have a worse reputation than Sect Hierarch Xue. Google seaʀᴄh novèlfire.net
Although this was the most spirited way in keeping with Martial Arts, and every Martial Artist greatly admired it—when Cui Yuanyong went to Beimang to challenge Yue Hongling, it was exactly this way, and Yue Hongling was full of praise for him.
But the Worldly Society is, after all, full of human relationships and worldly wisdom. Generally speaking, if the two parties are familiar with each other, they will not choose such an irreversible approach. If they want to contest in martial arts, they can privately send an invitation, and win or lose without losing face.
Wan Dongliu and Zhao Changhe were quite familiar, having been guests at each other’s tables, whooped it up together, and faced provocations from the barbarians together. The Xiao Xiang Inn where Zhao Changhe was staying was opened by the Cao Gang; now they hadn’t taken a single copper coin from him, had fed his horse the best fodder, and let him enjoy the top courtesans for free.
Not to mention the passersby on the street; at this moment, Xuan Chong and Tang Buqi were scratching their heads, finding it very baffling.
Under the watchful eyes of the public, Wan Dongliu truly had no choice but to decline, and he also briskly leaped down from the upstairs, cupping his fists and saying, "I didn’t expect Brother Zhao to hold me in such high regard; it would be disrespectful to decline. To battle with a hero such as Brother Zhao is also my desire."
Zhao Changhe also made a gesture of courtesy, smiling, "Don’t say that, Brother Wan; you’re twenty-three, older than me. If I call you ’younger brother’, it would shorten my own life."
’You’ve called Yue Hongling ’sister’, and I haven’t seen your life shortened...’ Wan Dongliu muttered to himself, feeling that Zhao Changhe’s attitude wasn’t too bad. What on earth was he up to?
So he asked, "If Brother Zhao wishes to contest in martial arts or test his blade with me, why not extend a private invitation and avoid such public spectacle?"
Zhao Changhe smiled and said, "Since arriving in Yangzhou, always in the play, others’, my own, over and over, it’s quite tasteless. Why not be more straightforward?"
Wan Dongliu frowned, "I don’t quite understand Brother Zhao’s words."
"The Maitreya Sect has quite a knack for bewitching the hapless populace; the Cao Gang consists mostly of those who sell their physical labor and can hardly resist, leading to a messy infiltration. That must have been quite uncomfortable for Brother Wan, wasn’t it?"
Wan Dongliu replied indifferently, "Indeed."
"So you play along superficially, as though you’ve bought into their ideology, when in fact you’ve been looking for the right opportunity... like assassinating the Magistrate and framing Maitreya, so that the Imperial thunderous blow collapses Maitreya, and you, Brother Wan, using this momentum to clean up the association, reorganize the Cao Gang’s conduct, and from then on, Yangzhou is without opposition, and the Cao Gang reigns supreme, and yet, you still manage to be seen as someone the Imperial power can rely on... Who will command Yangzhou in the future, it’s really not easy to say."
The onlookers were quite far away, and couldn’t hear the conversation over here; the expressions of Xuan Chong and Tang Buqi upstairs changed.
This line of reasoning was indeed logical; the real culprit must have their own goals and not just be delivering a gift to the Demon Suppression Department. It seemed that the one to benefit the most was indeed the Cao Gang, and Wan Dongliu had enough motive.
Even the Magistrate’s habits and whereabouts, Wan Dongliu knew them better than others—after all, the Cao Gang had always been closely affiliated with the officials. Didn’t you see the Magistrate attending his banquets...
But you can’t just make baseless accusations without evidence, can you? The Cao Gang wasn’t one of those you could slander at will.
With his expression unchanged, Wan Dongliu shook his head and chuckled, "If Brother Zhao has any other thoughts, feel free to share. I’m quite interested to hear an outsider’s perspective."
Zhao Changhe said, "The barbarians had no reason to gratuitously come and provoke us. Chi Li asking for Miss Yue’s name shows he didn’t know she would be there, meaning originally, this Hidden Dragon number one actually made a special trip to challenge us, a bunch of insignificant names—what’s the point? If he wins, does it prove how capable Chi Li is? Besides, Chi Li killed quite a few people along the way; he should have been covert in his actions, and the First Hidden Dragon isn’t the first on the Heavenly List, so why the high-profile suicide mission? The only possibility is he was drawn here by someone."
Wan Dongliu nodded, smiling, "Makes sense."
"They know there’s Xuan Chong, Tang Buqi, and I, Zhao Changhe, at the scene but didn’t know Yue Hongling would be there, which means the guest list was leaked to the barbarians ahead of time—there’s a very high chance that provocation was made at the same time with the leak, like saying the Central Plains Hidden Dragon thinks Chi Li is unworthy of his reputation and could be felled with a single blow. With his pride, Chi Li naturally came to retaliate, so his first words of insult were about being unworthy of reputation, otherwise what business is it to him if a bunch of names ranked behind him are unworthy—would they even merit a glance from him?"
Wan Dongliu’s expression betrayed a trace of admiration, "Now this is becoming interesting. Would Brother Zhao continue?"
"The Magistrate wouldn’t be bored enough to go to such lengths just to wipe the floor with the Central Plains Hidden Dragon’s faces on behalf of the barbarians, eagerly coming uninvited, just sitting there idly... He could only have attended at someone’s request, just happened to be present."
"Oh? And why would someone do that?"
"Brother Wan’s grand show was solely for the sake of letting everyone, especially the Tang family, see the collusion between the Magistrate and the barbarians. Especially if Miss Yue hadn’t been there, and we’d all been humiliated, our hearts would only be filled with extreme hatred. Tang’s nephew would be only too happy to sling mud when he got back. I always thought it made no sense not to invite Miss Yue to such a gathering; now think about it, isn’t that just to be expected..."
In the distance, on the rooftop, Yue Hongling was sitting on the eaves, tilting her head back for a drink, her beautiful eyes gazing in this direction, full of amusement.
Zhao Changhe concluded: "Although Miss Yue held off Chi Li, thus the antagonistic and hateful emotions did not reach the expected level, it was almost there. The time to assassinate the Magistrate would be now. Wait a few more days and his death would be just that, a death, without achieving the desired effect. The night’s events then would seem only natural, and in the end, Brother Wan’s plan would be smoothly realized."
Wan Dongliu clapped his hands and laughed, "An interesting thought. Even if it’s as Brother Zhao suspects, it seems to have no impact on Brother Zhao. Some things, doesn’t Brother Zhao himself also want to do them? So why such aggression?"