"We've arrived."
As the car slowly stopped before a Chinese architectural style entrance in Chinatown, Wan Yunting and Niu Qiuling alighted with Li Shuyun. They looked at the red gate, above which hung an old plaque bearing the characters "Xing Yi Quan," with the inscription by Yue Jiawei.
"The martial arts school looks quite grand," Niu Qiuling remarked.
"Mhm, let's go inside."
Li Shuyun led them inside. Two young men in gray training uniforms came out and greeted them politely, "Sister Shuyun, you're here."
Li Shuyun nodded and continued leading Wan Yunting and Niu Qiuling into the courtyard. Inside, over a dozen men and women in training uniforms, of varying ages, were practicing martial arts.
Most of them had foreign faces, but there were also Chinese and local Malaysian individuals. They were practicing their moves with precision. Upon seeing Li Shuyun enter, they greeted her, "Sister Shuyun..."
"Shuyun, you're here."
A tall young man with a crew cut, handsome and with well-defined muscles, approached them. He was clearly a martial artist. kanshu伍.ξà
"And who are these two?"
The young man, Yue Wenwu, was the son of the martial arts school's founder, Yue Jiawei, and the senior disciple. He was also pursuing Li Shuyun.
"They are my friends."
Li Shuyun turned to look at Wan Yunting and Niu Qiuling, then decided to introduce them to Yue Wenwu as friends. "They are from China. I brought them to take a look."
Yue Wenwu assumed Wan Yunting and Niu Qiuling were a couple. Upon hearing they were Li Shuyun's friends, he smiled courteously, "Ah, friends from China! Welcome."
Wan Yunting and Niu Qiuling smiled and nodded politely. Li Shuyun didn't elaborate further and asked Yue Wenwu, "Where is Master?"
"He's inside having tea."
Yue Wenwu pointed towards the main hall, where a man in his fifties, wearing a gray Tang suit, was having tea with another middle-aged man. This was Yue Jiawei.
Li Shuyun nodded and then asked, "When are they arriving?"
Yue Wenwu chuckled, "They sent a challenge, saying they'd arrive this afternoon. But it's this late, and I haven't seen them. They're probably scared again." wΑp.kanshu伍.net
Li Shuyun nodded, as someone was indeed coming to challenge their martial arts school that afternoon!
Meanwhile, Wan Yunting and Niu Qiuling, unaware of these events, were looking around the martial arts school with curiosity, observing the disciples practicing. Their movements were precise, indicating they were practicing genuine Xing Yi Quan.
Just as Yue Wenwu was about to introduce them to the martial arts school, a group of people entered. They were all young men wearing white training uniforms.
Their belts varied: some were yellow, some red, and some orange. The six youths at the front were blue, and two were green.
Leading this group was a man in his thirties, whose purple belt signified his rank in Karate!
"They're here."
Upon seeing Jiang Yuan Yilang leading the group from their Karate dojo, Yue Wenwu's expression immediately turned grim. The disciples who were training stopped and gathered to confront the Karate practitioners.
"Who are they?"
Wan Yunting and Niu Qiuling, standing nearby, were taken aback. Li Shuyun explained, "They are people who recently opened a Karate dojo in our Chinatown. They've come to challenge our martial arts school!"
"Oh."
Wan Yunting observed the group of Japanese individuals and chuckled, "This kind of thing usually only happens on TV. I didn't expect to witness it in reality."
Niu Qiuling also became interested and asked Li Shuyun, "Are you going to fight them?"
"Mhm."
Li Shuyun nodded. She was indeed on the list, as she was considered the most skilled female disciple among the many Xing Yi Quan students.
"We have arrived."
Jiang Yuan Yilang, who held a third-degree purple belt in Karate, stood in his white Karate uniform, his sharp gaze fixed on Yue Wenwu and Li Shuyun. He completely ignored Wan Yunting and Niu Qiuling. "Please have your馆主 come out to accept our challenge!"
Suddenly, a foreign young man named Raymond stepped forward and glared at Jiang Yuan Yilang and his group, "If you want to see our teacher, you'll have to get past us first."
Immediately, the disciples behind him started shouting. The two sides confronted each other, and the situation quickly escalated, causing Wan Yunting and Niu Qiuling, who were watching from the side, to exclaim in surprise. This was a rare sight.
"Stop!"
From the main hall, Yue Jiawei emerged. The other middle-aged man was Zhang Tonghe, the master of the Tai Chi martial arts school. Knowing that the Karate dojo was coming to challenge them today, he had come specifically to support Yue Jiawei.
"Master..."
Seeing Yue Jiawei appear, Yue Wenwu, Li Shuyun, Raymond, and the other disciples ceased their confrontation and bowed respectfully to Yue Jiawei and Zhang Tonghe.
Yue Jiawei and Zhang Tonghe walked over. As Wan Yunting and Niu Qiuling were pushed to the outer edge by the disciples, they couldn't see them.
Jiang Yuan Yilang stepped forward and said in broken Chinese, "Master Yue, accept our challenge."
Facing Jiang Yuan Yilang's challenge, Yue Jiawei had received his challenge letter a week prior!
The reason for this was that Jiang Yuan Yilang had opened a Karate dojo in Chinatown, which led to a conflict with the disciples of the Xing Yi Quan martial arts school. Jiang Yuan Yilang, who was always eager for a fight, had deliberately opened his Karate dojo in Chinatown with the intention of challenging all the martial arts schools run by Chinese people in Chinatown!
Besides the Xing Yi Quan martial arts school, Chinatown also had a Tai Chi martial arts school, a Wing Chun martial arts school, and others.
Jiang Yuan Yilang's challenge to the Xing Yi Quan martial arts school was just the beginning.
"Then do you know the rules for challenging our martial arts school?"
Although Yue Jiawei was shorter than Jiang Yuan Yilang by a head, his decades of martial arts training gave him an aura that was in no way inferior to Jiang Yuan Yilang's. He said, "The loser must leave Chinatown!"
Jiang Yuan Yilang stepped forward, his sharp gaze fixed on Yue Jiawei, and said, "Don't worry, I, Jiang Yuan Yilang, will not lose."
"Heh heh, having confidence is a good thing."
Yue Jiawei, on the other hand, seemed assured of victory and showed no signs of apprehension. He smiled at Jiang Yuan Yilang and said, "But blind confidence will only lead to humiliation!"
At this, Yue Wenwu, Li Shuyun, Raymond, and the other disciples behind him stepped forward, confronting Jiang Yuan Yilang and the Karate practitioners.
This scene caused Wan Yunting and Niu Qiuling, who were on the periphery, to exchange glances and smile, "It seems we're in for a show."
"Then let's begin."
Yue Jiawei saw no need for further pleasantries. Faced with the provocation from the Japanese, he naturally wouldn't refuse.
After all, the animosity between the Chinese and the Japanese dated back to the last century. Thus, the Chinese people naturally harbored a dislike for the Japanese, and now that there was an opportunity to teach them a lesson, they wouldn't let it pass.
"According to the challenge rules, it's best of three!"
Yue Jiawei and Zhang Tonghe sat on chairs brought by the disciples. Yue Wenwu and Li Shuyun stood on their left and right sides, respectively. Wan Yunting and Niu Qiuling naturally stood by a pillar, arms crossed, looking like spectators.
Jiang Yuan Yilang stepped forward and pointed at Yue Jiawei, "I challenge you!"
"Heh heh."
Yue Jiawei crossed his legs, took the teacup handed to him by a disciple, and gently fanned it with the lid a couple of times. After taking a sip of tea, he said, "Then let your people win first."