chapter 54

Yun Xie commented, “This kid is quite smart. Actually, I think that although he is weak, his movements are quite methodical. He shouldn’t have collapsed just from this little amount of beating, but because he doesn’t want to be beaten too much, he would rather just pretend to die.”

But by doing this, it wasn’t entertaining for the crowd, so a young man in a luxurious dress smiled and said, “Hey, Qi Shijiu, don’t be so listless. How about this, if you win today, I’ll let you be free, how about it?”

This person was obviously pretty powerful. After hearing his words, everyone started to coax, “Qi Shijiu, did you hear that? Since Young Master Gao said so, it must be true!”

“Get up, get up, come on!”

Qi Shijiu moved and raised his head violently from the ground. His face was covered with dirt, but his eyes were astonishingly bright, as if two clusters of small flames were burning in it.

Jiang Xunyi saw his eyes and froze for a moment.

“Is what you said true?” Qi Shijiu asked hoarsely.

Young Master Gao laughed and scolded, “So you really didn’t die, hurry up and fight! I don’t even wish to deceive you.”

Qi Shijiu wiped the blood on his lips with his sleeve, clenched his fists, and rushed up again.

Someone smiled and said, “Do you want to gamble?”

Young Master Gao shook his head and said, “We won’t be able to gamble, Everyone will probably bet on Liu Bo. This bet has only one side. After all, who wants to lose money for no reason?”

Jiang Xunyi suddenly said in a loud voice. “Let’s gamble. I’ll bet on Qi Shijiu.”

The people around him looked at him in surprise. They didn’t expect that a fool who loves to lose money would be let out to gamble in broad daylight. Even Qi Shijiu couldn’t help but look back at him. Jiang Xunyi smiled at him.

Although the bulky wooden mask blocked his face, Qi Jiu could still see a thin, slightly raised lip from the gap of the engraved oversized cat’s mouth. He was momentarily distracted, and his chest was suddenly slammed with a punch. He shouted again and turned to meet him.

Jiang Xunyi looked at the battlefield intently, and then commanded without looking back. “Give money.”

It was obvious who this was directed to. Yun Xie distressingly clicked his tongue and pretended to look reluctant. Just as he was about to open his wallet, Jiang Xunyi snatched it backhandedly. The entire thing was thrown to the bet collector.

Yun Xie lamented, “That’s the money I saved for my wife…”

Jiang Xunyi chuckled lightly. “Yun Xie, are you willing to follow me in believing that there will be a miracle?”

He didn’t realize, but in fact, every time he spoke, Yun Xie would look at his side-profile with a smile. This type of smile was so faint that maybe even Yun Xie himself didn’t notice it. It wasn’t that something interesting happened, but it was a heartfelt smile that appeared because he was content.

But Yun Xie’s tone still wasn’t very serious. “A’Xun, you are really a loser. Fine, I’ll treat this as giving you face. If you don’t win, you will have to pay me with a wife.”

Jiang Xunyi’s eyes were still on the field, and he said casually: “Even ten or eight is nothing difficult.”

Yun Xie laughed softly. “That’s not necessary, I only want the best. Don’t eat your words.”

Based on the many years he spent with Yun Xie, Jiang Xunyi instinctively felt that there was a hidden meaning behind his words, and he was wary. “Maybe I’ll just steal it back for you later. After all, no one can beat us here.”

Yun Xie made a “pei” sound and turned his head to watch the battle.

The temptation to be free was too great. Qi Shijiu obviously tried his best. There were more and more wounds on his body, and his clothes gradually turned into the color of blood. However, he rushed up again and again and was knocked down again and again.

The large, tall figure and the short, thin figure wrestled with each other. Gradually, the previously excited and screaming people fell silent, and several girls covered their eyes. Liu Bo raised his fist then lowered it, stepping back. “Admit defeat. I won’t fight.”

Qi Shijiu’s voice was hoarse. “No!”

Liu Bo shouted, “You definitely can’t beat me, and I won’t go easy on you! Do you know that because you are a slave, even if I kill you, I won’t be detained by the government?”

Qi Shijiu did not speak and rushed up again.

He did not know how many times he was thrown out by Liu Bo, but every time, he climbed up without hesitation and rushed up.

After being beaten so much, his body gradually became numb. The pain was not as obvious, but his energy gradually ran out.

At this time, Qi Shijiu saw the image of his parents before they died, the many years of swearing and contempt, the darkness, the blood, the longed for sunlight, and the smile just hidden under the mask…

Someone thought of him as a person, so he must live like a person!

Finally, blood began to appear on Liu Bo’s body. When he was punched again on his abdomen, Liu Bo took a step back and sat on the ground with a wry smile. “This kid is really a crazy dog, I lost.”

Qi Shijiu stood silently, blood and sweat dripping onto the mud. It took a long time before he reacted and suddenly turned back to look at Young Master Gao.

Cheers rang out around him. In this world, there are many people who were evil or had an innate desire for violence and blood, but there were even more good people who feel pleased at the victory of others because enthusiasm and undying hope have always been the most infectious emotions in the world. Seeing his success, everyone seemed to feel that they had also overcome the hardest and most difficult challenges in life.

Someone said cheerfully, “Young Master Gao, can you tell your father to set him free?”

Young Master Gao met the expectant gaze of the person in front of him, his eyes fierce and eyes flashing with interest. He slowly unbuttoned his coat and replied with a smile. “Of course. But only if he wins against me.”

The person who asked the question was stunned. “You didn’t say that!”

“I only said that I would give him freedom when he wins, but I didn’t say how many matches he had to win, did I?” Young Master Gao threw his gorgeous coat to a servant. “Ah, but this time I can make it clear. If he can win against me, I will definitely let him go.”

Compared to the indignation of the people around them, Yun Xie and Jiang Xunyi were still very calm. Jiang Xunyi glanced at Young Master Gao and found that he had bulging muscles under his tunic. “I didn’t expect that although he looks like he is just the son of a rich family, he actually practices martial arts.”

As he said this, he himself had taken a step forwards. Right when he was about to speak, he was dragged back by Yun Xie, who grabbed Jiang Xunyi’s right hand and pressed it onto his chest. With a wronged voice, he said, “Feel it. Is his body better than mine?”

Yun Xie looked thin, but after all, he was still a martial arts student. Jiang Xunyi’s hand could clearly feel his strong muscles through the thin cloth. However, what the other had, he had too. He didn’t feel anything special.

“Don’t make trouble.” Jiang Xunyi was fired up. “I want…”

“What are you going to do?” Yun Xie interrupted him unkindly. “Are you going to help Qi Shijiu? If you fight for him, taking care of the one with the surname Gao is indeed not a problem. But if that’s the case, then you might as well have stopped him from fighting in the first round and saved yourself the effort you spent to gamble. Whether we buy him or take him away forcibly, it’s all a piece of cake to us, but in the future? You can’t always take care of him and keep him from being bullied by others. A’Xun, I’m not berating you. There are so many unfair things in this world. The unfortunate are always running around. Will you take care of everyone you see?”

What Yun Xie said did make sense. He would always be the most sober and calm person. The reason Qi Shijiu attracted Jiang Xunyi at the beginning was his patience towards his fate. It was a fierceness that refused to admit defeat no matter what. Jiang Xunyi felt as if he saw another caught in a chaotic struggle with fate. But if he helped Qi Shijiu, what was the point of all of this? Perhaps he will only destroy him.

“Okay, I understand.” Jiang Xunyi lightly punched his chest before he pulled his hand back. “What you said makes sense.”

When Yun Xie finished speaking, he was a little afraid of Jiang Xunyi’s anger and added, “Actually, anything is okay as long as you’re happy. I don’t care what happens to him, but I think you seem to hope that the kid can win. Since this is so, we can give him a chance.”

He had noticed that there seems to be an unresolvable knot deep inside Jiang Xunyi’s heart. Although he cannot touch it, he can feel that he seemed to be struggling and searching for something, and he hoped to find some sort of verification through Qi Shijiu.

Qi Shijiu seethed at Young Master Gao’s rogue-like back and forth behavior. His fists were tightly clenched, and his eyes were fierce, but a kind of tiredness spread from his heart to his body. The overuse of physical strength caused the muscles of his entire body to tremble slightly.

Young Master Gao smiled. “What, are you angry? I’m not someone who likes to force others. You don’t have to fight. It’s good to go back and be a little slave, isn’t it?”

The joy of knocking a hopeful person into the dust can easily make people feel the illusion that they are powerful, causing their tone to be full of excitement.

Qi Shijiu shouted, strode up a few steps, and both of his hands hit the opponent’s lower abdomen at the same time. His body was bleeding, his physical strength was depleted, and he must think quickly in order to end the fight.

Yun Xie made an “Yi” sound, and straightened slightly. “I underestimated him. I didn’t think this kid still has a move. His martial arts is a bit interesting.”

“Stop pretending; you noticed before, right? You spoke so impressively before. I was wondering why you stopped me from helping him. Well, you turned out to have a well thought-out plan.”

Jiang Xunyi glared at Yun Xie. When Yun Xie only smiled and did not refute, he shrugged and continued, “But the one surnamed Gao learned moves for display only. His bottom half is weak and his feet are not steady. Looking at it, in normal conditions, Qi Shijiu might really be able to win. But now, he probably doesn’t have much energy left. The two men are just competing to see who can persevere the longest.”

Yun Xie’s lips turned up unconsciously. “But I understand why you noticed the kid with the surname Qi – do you remember, back when we were kids, we had a fight the first time we met. At that time, I was clearly a lot more powerful than you, but every time I felt that I’ve beaten you down, you always rushed up again and completely exhausted me. This kid is a bit like you.”

He reached out and moved his index finger. “But he is only slightly similar in this one regard. He is far worse than you.”

Jiang Xunyi split his focus. While paying attention to the situation in the field, he listened to Yun Xie bragging about the two’s childhood. Although he didn’t answer, the corner of his eyes curved.