IV/ The Jade Flower Prince
The Sheido man covered his left eye with one hand, rushed to the side of the woman who was fatally stabbed by Wei Liu right through her solar plexus, even though he was in a very disadvantageous position, he still calmly took a stance. Before the battle, Wei Liu had realized and was very surprised about the fact that this pair of killers had the ability to fight at a great distance. He absolutely did not show disdain, carefully observing the situation.
Wei Liu was highly trained in martial arts from an early age. On the land of Chi, the most commonly used weapon was the spear that he always carried with him. Chi men from a young age followed the master at the dojos in the village, then packed up their robes to take the exam, entered the big dojo, and participated in the annual martial arts contest - taking it as a lifelong aspiration. However, Wei Liu did not have the opportunity to go that route.
When he entered adolescence, when walking on the street, there were many girls who turned to look at him and then blushed and covered their mouths with laughter, but their fathers next to them were extremely angry, dragging their hands away while scolding, "Do not ever laid eyes on the kind of man who looks like that!"
Upon hearing the disdain, Liu was not even ashamed, but proudly spread his fan and waved, seemingly satisfied. Although he had practiced martial arts since he was a child, Liu had a very elegant figure with skin so pearly white like a prince who never knew hardships in life. He always paid attention to his appearance: When he went outside, he would definitely choose a matching belt with his robe, its material was not top-grade but it must always be ironed straight with subtle embroidery that reflected the day’s weather. Such a handsome face shall not walk around carrying a big spear - that mere sight would cause women to stay away from him. Fully aware of the problem, Liu spent many years brainstorming and researching, wielding his own weapon into an item that could be folded and hidden in the hem of his shirt. At first glance, Liu might even look like an aristocratic scholar and not a martial artist.
Wei Liu had a perfectly symmetrical face, with straight black eyebrows that seemed to be gentle but they could not hide his sharp eyes. His lips were thin but rosy, and it was these lips that always made girls turn away, blushing. Every time he smiled, his lips curled into the shape of a crescent moon, both mysterious and seductive.
However, with everyday practice, before the age of 15, this gentleman was able to swing his halberd 3000 times! Wei Liu considered halberd to be a perfect weapon for himself: the flexible spear along with the powerful halberd to finish off enemies quickly – he could fight off an entire army with this weapon alone! Liu was not cumbersome in combat because he believed that in order to finish the enemy as soon as possible, every move needed to be effective, only targeting the fatal points and energy roots. His fighting style was not at all flamboyant like the usual the martial arts crowd.
...
Not wasting a breath, Wei Liu sprinted towards his opponent. He firmly held the halberd in his hand, ready to destroy the enemy.
“Ooooooooooooo!”
Suddenly, from nowhere, a black shadow fell straight onto his face with a deafening cry. Wei Liu took two steps back, his hand warding off the monster that had just attacked him. It had thick black and white feathers, bright yellow eyes, a sharp beak, and shining steel claws. “This is an animal spirit, not a wild bird!” He mused. It must not even be a creature from around here, those shiny feathers indicated that it must had been born in a place where there was only winter, the quality of the steel claw was also not ordinary. Wei Liu quickly turned around for a moment, avoiding a slash from the opponent.
“I was up there and saw it all! You cowards!"
Out of the corner of Wei Liu's eyes was a young man holding a long curved sword, wearing a gray mink hat, fur boots on his feet, sporting a tattoo in ancient language and strange drawing around his arm. This individual's eyes were shining with aura, his whole body filled with a rushing energy like a hurricane, extremely majestic: this seemed like a person who could not hide his thoughts and feelings.
“I thought you were here to help that poor couple over there, who would have thought that you would take advantage of this opportunity to kill them! Where has your noble heart gone?!”
Wei Liu laughed.
“How do you know it's a couple? You up there only witnessed what happened from a distance, if there is an unclear twist in this story and you – who did not know anything – already went ahead and attacked others, didn’t you cross the line? Now what if I say that the woman is already engaged to me, just to throw everything away and run away with her lover, I was chasing them all the way to Viet Quoc to take revenge until you got in the way?!"
The young man froze, confused:
“I… I really don't know…! This, this…”
Just waiting for that, Wei Liu swung his halberd and aimed straight at the throat of the opponent who just appeared without saying a word. Judging from this person's clothing and even his monstrous animal spirit, he assumed that this was the Mogo, living in the territory north of Chi. The Mogo were known for their integrity, using curved sword as their main weapon. Wei Liu didn’t have many opportunities to fight with the Mogo, he did not know their fighting style, so he decided to take advantage of the fact that the opponent was fair and square, took the halberd back, raised his right hand to make a gesture, inviting the other person to fight.
The Mogo straightened up, declaring:
"Even though I don't know about your personal affairs, I can't let you kill that couple over there!"
Wei Liu rolled his eyes, trying not to laugh at the idiot in front of him. Even then, that person still believed in Liu’s blatant lies. But the Mogo lived so far away yet he still found his way to Viet Kingdom, which meant both of them had the same purpose, so one less competitor was one less battle!
He clenched his fist and confronted the young man directly. He attacked continuously but his opponent focused on self-defense: his attacks were not too lethal, but they were very decisive and had power so great that if Liu got hit, the blows would break his bones instead of causing mere scratches. Wei Liu fought with more than a dozen moves, feeling that if he did not use weapons, this battle would never end. The Mogo also began to get impatient, often aiming for his chest.
Wei Liu flipped his halberd, locked his wrist, turned around and changed his position, aiming for the enemy's shoulder socket.
Immediately in the space filled with a crimson smoke, Liu could no longer see anything, nor hear any sound. Just moments ago, he was only an arm away from the Mogo, but now it was as if he were alone on this riverbank.
Last modified 1yr ago