Noticing the tension on stage, an excited whisper clouded over the crowd.
"Ah, what did this poor fool do to piss off the Masked Fighter?"
"Ay, whatever it is, this kid is done. No one offends the Masked Fighter and gets away with it."
"Poor kid, it's better for you to lay down and hope the Masked Fighter will grant you mercy."
Noticing the tension between the two, the referee decided to cut in and start the show. "Contestants, are you ready?"
"Uh, yes," Zhu Na Ran nodded nervously. 'Ah, I might have to give it my all this time.
"Eh," the Masked Fighter grunted as his eyes narrowed down at her figure: as if he wished to swallow her whole.
'Geez, this is not going to be good.'
At the sound of a gong, the battle commenced. Instantaneous, the Masked Fighter charged towards her, with deadly murderous intent.
Noticing a spinning silver gleam from her opponent's sleeve, Zhu Na Ran narrowly dodged his attack. 'An emeici[1]! Are you kidding me!'
Quickly changing his approach, the Masked Fighter continued with an onslaught of attacks, while Zhu Na Ran could only dodge, barely scraping past the sharp blades.
Meanwhile, the excitement in the crowd continued to buzz as the fight prolonged.
"Ah, who do you think will win?"
"Aiyah, isn't it obvious? Of course, the Masked Fighter will win! When has he lost in all of these years."
"Yes, that right," the crowd nodded with a collective hum of agreement.
"Blah, the kid will wear out soon enough. I bet ten silver taels that the kid will lose in the next five, no two minutes."
Soon enough, a sizable portion of onlookers started to place bets as to who would win. Seizing the opportunity at hand, the hosts of the contest, quickly set up a bidding booth. "Bets, place your bets here! Who do you think will win?"
"I bet twenty silvers that the Masked Fighter will win!"
"I bet two silvers that the newcomer will win!"
The bets started to climb as the battle between the two prolonged.
'Aiyah, am I worth so little?
If they knew that I was the martial aunt of Yun Cai Peak, I wonder how much money would be placed on me, ah.
Perhaps, I should've placed a bet on myself or something.'
As the battle progressed, the results became more skewed. The audience wasn't sure who was going to win; in fact, a few hypothesized that there would be a new reigning champion.
However, those thoughts were brushed away in an instant when a stinging sensation came from her side.
'Aiyah, you've got to be kidding me!' Holding her side, she could see red gradually weeping from her waist.
"Finally," he muttered under his breath as a slight smile come onto his face. Now that he had landed a hit, his confidence grew as he became more aggressive on his attacks.
"Ah, at this rate, he'll kill the poor guy."
"Aiyah, we'll have to burn some incense for this poor kid after the fight."
The crowd grew quiet as the fight intensified, becoming a mere blur on stage. No one was entirely sure as to who would win.
'Ah, I better end this quickly, or else I'll be eating dirt later,' Zhu Na Ran acquired a few more cuts as she struggled to dodge the Masked Fighter's oncoming attacks.
As her wound wept more blood, so did her speed of attacks. 'Aiyah, I may have bitten more than I could chew with this one.'
So far, Zhu Na Ran had been relatively successful with her previous opponents, ending each fight in a reasonable time. However, this was one tough guy.
Suddenly, she noticed something off about the Masked Fighter. After fighting him for some time, she began to pick up patterns in his body language.
One of those happened to do with his right leg. Whenever he put some weight on it, there was a flash of pain in his eyes, though he tried to hide it.
'Ah, hurry up and give this auntie an opening, will you?'
Finally, the opportunity presented itself, and in an instant, the fight came to an end.
"Gotcha!"
Pinning the Masked Fighter onto his back, he struggled to fight against Zhu Na Ran's iron grip. "Y-you, get off me!"
"Hehe, I don't think so~" (◠‿◠✿)
While struggling to fight to get Zhu Na Ran off of him, he realized something
'Why does this kid not have an adam's apple!'
"Y-you're a woman!"
"Shush," Zhu Na Ran giggled. "No one needs to know, buddy~" She wasn't ready for her 'secret identity' to be exposed yet. It would cause more trouble than good for her.
|･`)Hides♪
"Y-you," under the mask, the Masked Fighter began to grow red. "Shameless!" What kind of woman steals people's clothes, crossdresses, joins a martial arts contest, and then proceeds to pin men down!
Even the women under his command wouldn't do such shameless tactics!
"I get that a lot." (oᴗo✿)
"Three, two, one! Contestant 203 wins!"
Instantly, the force the pressed him down onto the ground was alleviated as Zhu Na Ran cheered for her victory.
While he watched her prance around in glee, a common thought formed in those who witnessed that strange end to the battle:
'Just who is this person?'
"A-Zhan, what you do you think of my next opponent?" Quan Gu Mei asked excitedly at the bodyguard beside her.
"This servant thinks that that boy will be a formidable foe."
"Eh, I think so too," Quan Gu Mei nodded as she watched Zhu Na Ran leave the stage. "It will be one interesting fight, won't it!"
"Yes, Young Miss Quan."
---
Hopping off the stage, Zhu Na Ran pulled out a healing pill and plopped into her mouth like candy although it had a bitter taste at first, a refreshing taste came when it reached the back of her throat.
In no time, the horrid gash on her waist and scratches disappeared, with the only evidence of their existent being the bloodied tears on her clothes.
"Wait."
"Ah, it's you," flashing a smile at her defeated foe, she held her hand out. "That was an amazing fight out there."
"Y-yes," the Masked Fighter nodded, unsure of how to respond to this spontaneous woman.
"Well," grabbing onto his hand, she gave it a firm shake. "It was nice meeting you," before disappearing into the crowd.
"Wait-" suddenly, he felt something in his hand. Slowly opening the palm that Zhu Na Ran shook, it was his interspatial bag.
Quickly checking its contents, he found that the Tiger Seal remained untouched as well as a small note that read:
Hey, benefactor, sorry I stole your clothes… m(￢0￢)m
And other stuff…
Hopefully, you'll find this note and realize my sincerity. (・ω・)b
"Tch, what a strange girl." Stuffing the note into his jacket, the Masked Fighter disappeared into the shade of the city.
---
After a brief break, the fighting commenced once more, this time with Zhu Na Ran in one corner and Quan Gu Mei in the other.
Unlike the fight with the Masked Fighter and Zhu Na Ran, the audience wasn't too sure as to who would reign victorious in this last battle. Mixed thoughts floated around as to who would be the final winner of this contest.
Already in a short period, so much had changed! An unknown newcomer who defeated the reigning champion of three years and a young miss with a sizeable reputation were the only ones left in the running.
Who would win, only Heaven would know.
"Hey, you're pretty good," Quan Gu Mei smirked. "However, perhaps not as good as this young miss."
"Eh," Zhu Na Ran nodded. "I agree. Why doesn't Young Miss Quan teach this one a few things?"
"Gladly."
At the sound of a gong, the fight started with Quan Gu Mei flickering her deathly weapon towards Zhu Na Ran.
Dodging the snaking ribbon, she tried to get close to Quan Gu Mei, as a ranged weapon, her ribbon wouldn't be able to do much in close combat.
Seeing Zhu Na Ran attempt this, Quan Gu Mei tried to create some distance between the two, much to Zhu Na Ran's growing annoyance.
'This young miss is a lot slippery than I expected.
But this auntie is up for the challenge!' (✧ᴗ✧✿)
Quan Gu Mei continued to avoid Zhu Ran while giving her a few lashes here and there, much to her chagrin. 'Looks like they're not that much of a challenge than I thought. I must have miscalculated.'
Suddenly, Quan Gu Mei felt her whip torn out of her hand and herself trapped on the floor
From above, Zhu Na Ran smiled down on the young girl. "Had enough fun yet?"
[1] Emeici - also known as Emei Daggers/ Piercers, they are a traditional Chinese martial arts weapon. They are a pair of metal rods with sharp ends used for stabbing; they are typically mounted on a detachable ring worn on the middle finger, allowing them to spin and be elaborately manipulated. These weapons originated at Mount Emei (hence the name). They are a piece of equipment used in wushu to this day. These weapons are used for 'open palm' techniques, and are similar to 'judge's pens.' The general idea of this weapon is to confuse the attacker by spinning the blades, thereby providing a distraction while trying to get close enough to stab. Also, emeici can be concealed easily for surprise attacks.