Observing Wanfa from the martial arts school servants

Chapter 12 Chang Le Gambling House

"Phew~"

The wind swirled fallen leaves, the bamboo leaves by the wall rustled, and the shouts of duck feather collectors on the street in the distance never stopped, yet the air in the courtyard was as thick as burnt rice porridge.

Everyone held their breath, waiting for the coach's reaction.

The instructor glanced at Lin Mu, then continued teaching the Long Wind Fist as if nothing had happened.

"The seventh form of the Long Wind Fist—Wind Brushing Willows—emphasizes the balance of strength and gentleness..."

So Lin Mu was allowed to learn the Long Wind Fist?

Chen Yuan lowered his center of gravity and spread his arms, as if this would block Lin Mu's view;

Cui Mingyue and Ye Lang exchanged glances, and Cui Mingyue frowned slightly.

Yan Hua merely glanced at Lin Mu indifferently, then unconsciously took two steps away from Lin Mu.

Only Lin Mu focused intently on practicing his boxing, and his progress was slowly increasing.

[Long Wind Fist: Beginner 3/100]

After finishing his boxing practice, Instructor Hu returned to the inner courtyard.

The apprentices dispersed in twos and threes.

Chen Yuan tossed his handkerchief onto the stone bench in the southeast corner of the courtyard and said in a muffled voice, "We paid a fee when we came in."

"My dad raised the money over six months."

Zhou Yu glanced in Lin Mu's direction: "They should have handed it in by now."

"I heard that the owner has never compromised on the cost of the renovation."

"However, he only has inferior aptitude, even below average." Zhou Yu patted Chen Yuan on the shoulder. "There's not much point in him learning martial arts."

"They might close down in a month or two."

Cui Mingyue stood beside the weapon rack, her arms crossed over her chest.

Ye Lang stood beside her.

The two looked at Lin Mu with scrutinizing eyes.

"I heard it's inferior physique? Below average?"

"Yes."

"The entry requirements for Changfeng Martial Arts School are getting lower and lower."

"I wonder what the curator is thinking."

"If Yan Hua weren't still here..."

She didn't finish her sentence, and let out a soft sigh.

"Let's see. If Yan Hua is willing to accept our two families' funding, it will be worthwhile," Ye Lang replied.

Under the eaves, Yan Hua stood alone in the shadows, engrossed in his training, occasionally glancing at Lin Mu, seemingly wanting to improve his martial arts skills as quickly as possible and widen the gap between geniuses and menial laborers.

Lin Mu saw all of this.

He ignored them and just kept practicing his Long Wind Fist in the courtyard, his sweat splashing on the ground and leaving a wet patch.

[Long Wind Fist: Beginner 4/100]

......

As night deepened, Lin Mu finished all the chores and then slipped out through the side door of the martial arts school.

Instead of returning to Liuye Village, he walked along the bumpy stone road in the east of the town until it ended.

At the end is the Chang Le Casino.

The gambling den remained as lively as ever, seemingly unaffected by the chaos of the times.

Its signboard hangs between two greasy wooden pillars, and the candlelight illuminates the two characters "Changle" in a dim, yellowish light.

Two burly men stood at the entrance, shirtless with short knives at their waists, their eyes scanning the passersby.

Lin Mu walked in with his head down. The gambling den was filled with smoke, the sounds of dice, dominoes, and cursing all mixed together, and the air was filled with the stench of sweat and cheap liquor.

He didn't linger at the gambling table, but went straight to the innermost iron door.

The iron gate was half-open, behind which was a narrow staircase. The wooden steps were worn smooth and shiny from being walked on, and light shone faintly from the bottom.

As Lin Mu walked down the stairs, the noise around him was gradually replaced by another sound—muffled thuds, roars, cheers, and the clanging of metal clashing together.

The basement was much more spacious than the upper floor, and the heat was intense, carrying with it the smells of blood and sweat.

Several oil lamps hung on the wall, their flames flickering in the wind stirred up by the passing people, illuminating the space in an alternating light and shadow.

In the very center stood five iron cages side by side. Each cage was two zhang square, welded together with iron pillars as thick as a child's arm, and the bottom was covered with rough wooden planks splattered with dark red stains.

The leftmost cage was the smallest, and the iron bars were also thinner. Inside, two people were wrestling with each other bare-handed.

One was as thin as a monkey, the other was more robust but had a protruding belly. Neither of them had any strategy, and they were swinging their fists and feet wildly, like street thugs fighting.

Dozens of onlookers, mostly dressed in rags, surrounded the cage, but a few were laborers in short shirts, craning their necks to look inside, cheering loudly every time a punch landed.

A one-eyed old man stood beside the cage, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Two more to go! The winner gets fifty coins! The loser gets twenty coins! Anyone dare to step forward!"

Behind the one-eyed old man hung a dirty wooden sign with a few crooked characters written in charcoal: "Ordinary Man's Cage - Fifty Coins".

Counting to the right, there are three cages side by side, each a size larger than the ordinary cage, and the iron bars are also thicker.

At this moment, the area in front of the central energy cage was packed with people, three layers deep, so crowded that it was impossible to move.

The two people inside the cage were locked in a fierce battle.

They were all wearing masks.

One is a tiger head, with most of the paint peeled off, revealing the grayish-white wood underneath;

One was a wolf's head, baring its teeth, with two black buttons embedded in its eye sockets, reflecting an eerie light under the lamp.

Both fighters' punches and kicks bore the obvious marks of martial arts schools, their movements swift and powerful, each collision producing a dull "thump thump" sound.

Blood was already trickling from the wolf's mouth, dripping down the bottom edge of the mask onto the wooden board.

Tiger Head fought more and more fiercely, and landed a heavy punch on Wolf Head's temple. Wolf Head staggered, crashed into an iron pillar, bounced back, and knelt on the ground.

The onlookers were in an uproar.

"Kill him! Kill him!" Dozens of voices erupted at the same time. There were merchants in silk robes, soldiers with knives, and several flamboyant women cracking melon seeds, their eyes gleaming with excitement.

The shouts grew more unified and more frenzied, like a pack of wild dogs that had caught the scent of blood.

Copper coins were thrown into the copper basin next to the cage with a clatter, and some people even smashed wine bowls on the cage, splashing wine into the gaps between the iron bars.

Wolf Head struggled to stand up, but his hand slipped on the wooden board, and his palm was covered in blood.

Tiger Head didn't wait for him, strode forward, and kicked him in the chest. Wolf Head fell backward, his head hitting the floor with a dull thud.

His limbs twitched a few times, and his mask tilted to one side, revealing half of his pale face and tightly closed eyes.

"Is he dead? Is he dead?" someone shouted excitedly.

The one-eyed old man, carrying a tin megaphone, squeezed to the edge of the cage, bent down to look inside, stood up, and announced expressionlessly, "Tiger Head wins!"

The onlookers erupted in even louder cheers, and the shouts of "Kill him!" gradually turned into applause and curses.

Tiger Head took the one or two taels of silver from the one-eyed old man and walked towards the corner without looking back.

Two burly men crawled into the cage and dragged the wolf's head out like a dead dog, leaving a long trail of blood on the wooden board.

Several onlookers squeezed past Lin Mu, shouting, "Tiger Head is really ruthless!" and "Wolf Head and the others are useless; they made me lose twenty coins."

The one-eyed old man paced back and forth between the three cages, occasionally shouting through a tin megaphone: "Two more contestants left in the commoner cage! The winner gets fifty copper coins! Anyone brave enough, come on up!"

Lin Mu stood in the shadows at the entrance, his gaze sweeping from the mortal cage to the bright energy cage, and then from the bright energy cage over the bloodstain being wiped away. After a moment of silence, he activated his body tempering technique, filling his body with blood and qi until he felt a little itchy. Only then did he go to the corner to choose a mask—an eagle head—and enter the mortal cage.

"I'll do it."

He paused, then took out a tael of silver from his purse and handed it to the one-eyed old man.

"I'm betting this money on you winning."