klisemfg Chapter 489 Weapons of the Four Seas
Chapter 489 Weapons of the Four Seas
Xu Yiyi's gaze was indifferent as she looked towards the brightly lit front hall, her voice devoid of any inflection.
“He shouldn’t be here at this time. Su Rulan watches him like he’s her own eyes, she would never let him stay in town alone so late. Either something happened at home and she can’t take care of him, or… someone deliberately left him here.”
She paused, then looked at Xu Anyang: "Whatever the reason, it's not good to let him stand at our door like this. Bringing him in, giving him a hot meal, and keeping him under our noses is better than letting him cause any trouble outside or be used by someone. After all... he's still our cousin."
After listening, Xu Anyang suddenly understood, and most of his resistance disappeared.
He nodded: "I understand, Sister Yi. I'll go right away."
However, when Xu Anyang arrived at the door, Xu Yizhi was nowhere to be seen.
He frowned, squeezed through the crowd, walked to the side of the street, and looked around at the left and right intersections, but there was no sign of Xu Yizhi.
He found it strange.
He then turned to ask a few regular customers waiting in line at the door, who were huddled together and whispering about the taste of hot pot.
"Uncles, did you see a boy of about eight or nine years old, wearing a blue cotton-padded jacket, wandering around here just now? He's my cousin."
One of the guests looked up, thought for a moment, and said, "Oh, you mean that kid? I saw him. He was just craning his neck to look inside at the door. But not long after, a woman dragged him away."
"Dragged away?" Xu Anyang pressed. "What kind of woman? Do you recognize her?"
The diner shook his head: "I don't recognize him, he looks unfamiliar. He looks... about thirty years old, dressed very simply, and here on his right corner of his mouth," he pointed to the corner of his mouth, "he has a rather conspicuous black mole, he speaks quite quickly, and he's quite strong. He grabbed the guy's arm and pulled him away, but the guy seemed a little unwilling, muttering something under his breath."
A woman with a black mole on the corner of her mouth?
Xu Anyang pondered to himself, "Isn't this description exactly like Xu Yizhi's mother, Rulan?"
There is a large black mole on the corner of his mouth.
He was overjoyed to hear that Xu Yizhi might have been taken away by his mother.
He immediately thanked the diner and hurriedly returned to the backyard.
Xu Yiyi was preparing ingredients in the kitchen at that moment.
Xu Anyang strode inside. "Sister Yi, that boy is missing. I asked the customers queuing at the door, and they said he was dragged away by a woman with a mole on the corner of her mouth. It sounded like... his mother."
Xu Yi nodded, not paying much attention, and handed over the prepared ingredients. "Take these to the hut, and while you're at it, ask your father if he eats snake meat? Oh... right, and some wine too..."
"Understood," Xu Anyang said, carrying the tray as he walked out.
Before long, Sihai dragged Wen Zaisi into the backyard.
"Miss!"
Sihai greeted her and then led Wen Zaisi to his weapon rack.
"See these? These are all weapons that my old Grandpa Lu made for me. I can use them all... They're not just fancy moves like you described."
Xu Yi looked over and didn't understand why Si Hai had started showing off his weapons.
……
It turns out that while enjoying a hot pot meal in the private room, the teenagers started chatting about all sorts of things.
Somehow we ended up talking about martial arts for health.
Despite his small size, Sihairen immediately puffed out his chest upon hearing this topic, proudly announcing that he also practiced martial arts and possessed many weapons.
Wen Zaisi probably just found it amusing and casually teased, "Martial arts? You're so young, you probably only know some fancy moves, right?"
Who would have thought that these words would stir up a hornet's nest?
Sihai immediately got angry and lost his appetite. He insisted on dragging Wen Zaisi to the backyard to see his armory with his own eyes and prove that he was not just all show and no substance!
At that moment, Sihai quickly took the red-tasseled spear down from the shelf.
Wen Zaisi crossed his arms and looked down at the scene with a leisurely air.
This red-tasseled spear didn't even have a spearhead; the tip was just a thick, coarse cloth wrapped around a knot, with no visible blade.
Wen Zaisi snorted, "Tch... What kind of weapon is this? It doesn't even have a spearhead, and it's wrapped in rags. Is this supposed to be a gun? It probably can't even hurt a chicken. It's still just a child's game."
Xu Yiyi, who was leading people to process the snake meat, chuckled softly upon hearing this.
[This brat can't talk properly, he shouldn't have said anything!]
She was resentful. Sihai was always nagging Lao Lu to replace the tip of his red-tasseled spear, or he would nag Lao Lu to secretly buy him a dagger.
Xu Yiyi managed to suppress it with great difficulty.
Now that Wen Zaisi has said that, the kids are sure to cause trouble again.
She stepped forward and patted Sihai's head, then looked at Wen Zaisi and explained, "Sihai is still young, his bones are not yet strong, and he lacks strength. When he first starts learning martial arts, the most important thing is to build a solid foundation and ensure safety. Using this wrapped spearhead to practice moves and get familiar with the spear's properties is also to avoid accidental injury and to progress step by step. When he gets older and his foundation is more solid, he will naturally use the real weapon."
That's the logic.
To everyone's surprise, Wen Zaisi not only failed to understand, but also showed disdain on his face.
From a young age, he had witnessed his family's guards and elder brothers practicing martial arts, all with real swords and spears, and it was common for them to get hurt and bleed. He had never heard of such a talk about prioritizing safety.
This is simply womanly compassion and utterly ineffective.
He raised his chin and retorted, "How can you learn martial arts without getting injured? My brother has been training with a martial arts master since he was a child, using sharpened short swords and wooden spears. His body is covered in bruises. In my father's words, that's what real skill is! What can you learn with this thing wrapped in rags? It's just self-deception."
"Ouch!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Wen Zaisi felt something flick his forehead lightly, causing a slight pain.
He instinctively covered his face with his hand and looked up.
Old Lu held a tray in his left hand, leaning against the door leading from the backyard to the front hall, tossing a few peanuts in his right hand. He had a roguish grin on his face, but his eyes were gleaming as he stared at him.
"Kid, you've got some nerve, huh?"
Old Lu chuckled, flicked a peanut precisely into his mouth, and chewed it with a crunching sound.
"Sihai is my personal disciple. So what if he's wielding a short sword and a wooden spear? Dealing with a little chick like you who only knows how to talk is a piece of cake... a simple matter..."
Old Lu snorted coldly, "Besides, I taught him the skill of killing, not to kill people right now."
Wen Zaisi was instantly choked by Lao Lu's words and his face turned red. He was speechless for a moment.
It took him a while to come to his senses, and he looked Lao Lu up and down.
There was a hint of disdain in his eyes.
"You?" He scoffed. "Do you know who my master is? My master is Lu Dingyuan, a retired military commander and guerrilla general of the vanguard army! Back then, he was stationed on the northwestern border, where he fought with real swords and spears, beheading enemy chieftains and earning military merits! And you...you...whose disciple are you?"
After Wen Zaisi announced his master's name, he raised his chin, looking slightly smug.
"Looks like you're pretty smug, huh?"
Old Lu spoke slowly, then looked around at the four seas.
"What's wrong? His master is a general, a very important person! How about it, do you dare to have a go at him? Right now, let everyone see whether the general's apprentice is tougher, or whether my little apprentice, who is just a lousy old man working odd jobs at Wufu Restaurant, is better."
Si Hai was like he'd been injected with adrenaline; hearing Wen Zaisi's words, which were laced with disdain, he was itching for a fight.
Wen Zaisi glanced at the short, stocky man standing in front of him. "A contest? Are you two out of your minds? He's four and I'm twelve. If you win, wouldn't it be an unfair victory? You'll just accuse me of bullying him later."
"They're afraid of losing face if they lose, aren't they?"
As soon as Xu Yiyi finished speaking, Wen Zaisi immediately took down another long spear from the weapon rack.
"Let's have a competition! Who's afraid of who! Let's make it clear first, you can't cry if you lose."
A smile spread across Sihai's face.
"It's not certain who will cry yet."
A tall, long-legged twelve-year-old boy wielding a long spear.
A four-year-old kid who was barely taller than a gun barrel.
Everyone else in the backyard watched with bated breath.
Xu Anyang quickly ran to the private room on the second floor and called the people inside down.
"Wen Zaisi, isn't this bullying the weak? Sihai is just a baby, how can you even fight him?"
Misu was still holding a bowl in her hand, and before she could swallow the food in her mouth, she was called down.
He was afraid of endangering himself, so he stayed as far away as possible.
Wen Zaisi shouted without turning his head, raised his gun, and waited for Sihai to make the first move.
The two remained locked in a stalemate for a few moments, but he couldn't stand it any longer. He felt that continuing like this would only make him more humiliated, so he tentatively thrust his wooden spear forward with a very simple, horizontal thrust. He was not fast and he held back his strength, just wanting to touch Sihai's spear shaft to consider it a sparring match.
Unexpectedly, the moment he thrust out the tip of his gun, Si Hai, who had been tense all along, suddenly had a burst of light in his small eyes.
"what!"
A muffled thud.
The tip of the cloth spear pierced solidly into the soft flesh of Wen Zaisi's side.
"Are you serious?" Wen Zaisi put one hand on his waist, his face showing surprise.
Si Hai snorted, "I'm not joking with you."
Upon seeing this scene, Misu immediately spat out the food in her mouth.
Xue Shiyu immediately showed a look of disgust on her face and stood next to Sanchuan.
"I'm not saying this to be mean, but Wen Zaisi, are you even capable? You promised to practice martial arts every day, but in the end, you were defeated by Sihai first," Misu said bluntly.
Wen Zaisi immediately released his hand from his waist and abdomen, "This doesn't count, I'm not ready yet."
Having succeeded in his attack, Sihai gripped his spear, took two steps back, and assumed a defensive stance, his small chest heaving and his eyes shining with an alarming intensity.
The child said confidently, "If it doesn't count, it doesn't count. We'll try again."
The excitement in Si Hai's eyes stung Wen Zaisi's eyes.
Always concerned with saving face, he immediately forgot everything else.
They rushed forward without thinking.
He is stronger than the four seas, but a child is not made of dough.
Soon after, cheers erupted from the backyard.
"Good! Chop him down!" Old Lu stood aside clapping, his eyes full of pride. Sihai was a good prospect for martial arts. Although he was young, he had extremely high talent.
"Bend over!"
Misu shouted excitedly, which made Wen Zaisi's movements even more chaotic.
Seeing Sihai's spear once again pressed against Wen Zaisi's throat, Lao Lu crossed his arms and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.
I thought Wen Zaisi would admit defeat this time, but I didn't expect him to make a new move.
Xu Yiyi clicked her tongue.
It seems that Wen Zaisi is somewhat embarrassed and angry.
Si Hai turned to block, but was still forced back several steps by Wen Zaisi's force.
Wen Zaisi's anger flared even more after his attack failed, and he turned his gun to aim at Sihai's back.
In the blink of an eye, the spear flew out of his hand, but Sihai extended his red-tasseled spear and hooked it back.
Wen Zaisi looked at the spear that had fallen to the ground.
For a moment I was a little confused, not quite understanding how Sihai had managed to do it.
"A bet's a bet, and I won!"
Sihai sheathed his spear, stood in the courtyard with his belly protruding, and couldn't hide his smugness.
Xu Yiyi took out the handkerchief and stepped forward.
This little brat just keeps laughing like an idiot; he didn't even notice when blood gushed from his hand.
"This……"
Wen Zaisi wiped his sweat. "That doesn't count. I'm better at using a broadsword. I'm at a disadvantage fighting you with a spear."
Xue Shiyu curled his lips in disgust. He took two steps forward, his gaze sweeping over Wen Zaisi's flushed face, and then glancing at Sihai, who was obediently standing aside while his older sister bandaged his wounds.
"You were defeated twice by a four-year-old using a weapon you are least familiar with. The first time you could say he took advantage of an opening, but the second time you were forced to charge in and even knocked the spear away. That's embarrassing enough. If you're not as skilled as him, go back and practice more with your general master. Don't make excuses here and make yourself a laughingstock."
"Ha ha ha ha……"
Old Lu laughed heartily, "That makes sense, the more you practice cooking."
Xue Shiyu turned to Xu Yiyi, nodded slightly, and said in a calm and indifferent tone, "Mr. Xu, you flatter me. It's getting late, we should head back. We've troubled you today, the hot pot... was very good."
Clearly, Xue Shiyu no longer wanted to stay here and watch his classmates continue to embarrass themselves.
He took out a money pouch from his sleeve and threw it into Sanchuan's hand, then said goodbye to Xiang Yu.
“Wen Zaisi, you can’t even beat a child. I think you really should practice more.”
Misu patted his shoulder helplessly, said goodbye to Xiang Yu, and went out with Xue Shiyu.
Wen Zaisi blushed with embarrassment, and Sihai, having finished bandaging his wounds, happily put the two spears back.
"Let me tell you, I'm not just a pretty face."
The child stood in front of Wen Zaisi and said something. Wen Zaisi was about to speak when Sihai ran away.
On the way back, Wen Zaisi sat in the sedan chair.
His body swayed slightly with the movement of the sedan chair, his expression blank and conflicted.
His brows were furrowed, and his fingers unconsciously rubbed the tassels of the jade pendant at his waist. His mind was in turmoil, constantly replaying the gestures he had just made.