Romance of Dragons and Snakes

Chapter 97: Balance Between Death and Performance

Seeing Liao Junhua send Yagyu Haruko flying with a kick, the entire audience had instantly went up into a commotion!

Absolutely no one had expected to see that the refined boss of such a large company would actually be a princeling that was an expert of the Wulin.

It had been because Yagyu Haruko’s emotions had gone out of control that she had tried to kill Wang Chao. But because she had also threatened the safety of Zhu Jia, Liao Junhua had made his move.

Liao Junhua and Zhu Jia were friends since childhood and their parents had once lived with each other in peace. If something had happened to her while under his protection, just how would he be able to face his elders and bear the responsibility?

Furious, he had decided to hide no longer. The revealing of his strength had seemed reasonable at that time.

He was a master with a skillset one level higher than Yagyu Haruko at the very least. The “Dog Passing Water” was also his strongest move that even when it didn’t kill Yagyu Haruko, it would at least make her life irrevocably damage.

But his leg had still put an extreme amount of force into it.

“So much for being low-key. I’ve exposed my skill at martial arts, that isn’t a good thing.” Liao Junhua’s eyes twinkled before ordering the men next to him, “Send her to the best hospital without interference.”

Originally when Yagyu Haruko had flew over their heads, the Japanese businessmen had been astounded. Each one looked at her and then Liao Junhua without knowing what to do or think.

This was someone else’s territory where they had no control over. And while they weren’t the dragon that can’t suppress the snake, they weren’t the snake either. They had only been here on behalf of the Japanese martial arts world to discuss some matters regarding a competition and other things so bodyguards were arranged for them.

But despite having the responsibility of a bodyguard, Yagyu Haruko had tried to assassinate someone after a battle. Not only had it been in front of plenty of people, but many had even recorded it.

If she had been killed by the opposite side for her behavior, it would be useless to argue. Furthermore, if Liao Junhua were to distribute news of this, then the Yagyu family would lose a valuable member.

Outside of the arena, one was free to plot whatever machination one pleased. Poison, gunfire, anything worked as long as the other side did not gain information from it. One could even use deception to do so, but on the spot assassinations were never well received or a part of the rules.

Whether it was the just or unjust, Wulin or government, it was the face and rules that was what mattered most so one could not do as they pleased when they pleased. Even a bandit of the past would chose his targets on principle.

As soon as Liao Junhua had finished speaking, someone had immediately brought out a stretcher and oxygen mask. Several white-gowned medics had quickly brought Yagyu Haruko onto the stretcher and immediately rushed her to the medical room up above. After the emergency first aid was applied, she was sent away to the biggest hospital in the city by ambulance.

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After panicking and talking amongst each other for a moment, the businessmen had brought Ye Xuan’s body and loaded it onto the ambulance as well.

While Ye Xuan was dead, this was needed so that he could be sent to the hospital as well. From there, they would find a way to transport his body back to Japan where his master would see to his funeral. This too was one of the traditions of the martial arts world.

When a disciple was killed by another, the master would naturally wish to inspect the wounds so that they could determine the level of skill of the other person. From there, they would be able to plan out the appropriate counter-measure.

Ye Xuan had been under the guidance of many martial artists in Japan. Even the personal instructor of the Japanese royal family, Iga Minamoto, had taught him for a month. The entire Japanese martial arts world had even admired him to be the number one youth of the generation. A genius for his age.

But in the end, he had been killed in a fair competition on the ring. Liao Junhua didn’t even need to think to know that there would soon be an explosion between the Chinese and Japanese martial arts world.

“Let’s go, that girl has soured my mood.” Now that Liao Junhua had revealed his strength to the people around him, he had no desire to stay any longer. Whirling around, he looked to several friends, “I’ve still matters to take care of today and master Wang needs to rest. Let us meet at Laoshan School of Internal Martial Arts one day or another and see Master Wang’s skill.”

“That’s fine, master Wang must be tired after killing that youth. I just didn’t think that boss Liao was an expert as well. I really didn’t see that coming. Indeed, I had almost missed that kick of yours, how splendid it was!”

Officer Xu, the other officials, and some businessmen had already begun to flatter Liao Junhua.

Forcing a smile, Liao Junhua gave several words of conversation before climbing into a luxurious looking Lincoln along with Dai Jun, Zhu Jia, and Wang Chao.

“Your arena here has slowly begun to become official hasn’t it. It even has a medical room prepared.”

Wang Chao was thoroughly exhausted and sat on the sofa without moving an inch. When he had seen the emergency treatment given to Yagyu Haruko, he couldn’t help but think about the underground arenas constructed by Wu Yingda in Guangzhou. In comparison, no matter how much one looked at the two, Liao Junhua’s fighting rings were one step higher than Wu Yingda’s in schematics, ideals, service, or anything else.

If one were to use Capitalism as an analogy here, Wu Yingda merely embodied the idea of gaining. That is, gaining wealth built on bloody money.

But Liao Junhua had long since passed that accumulation of blood money and had begun to become charitable.

“Fighting is a part of culture. Despite its natural involvement with blood and violence, it is not cruel. One cannot just wear boxing gloves and hope to have an extremely powerful performance.”

Grabbing a glass of icy red wine, Liao Junhua gulped it down in one go and quickly returned to his regular calm.

The plans of this car had made it resemble a mini-bar. Truly, this car was a symbol of a car meant for pleasure.

“According to the standards of the Japanese K1 Tournament, no matter if it is for fighting or injuring, they have forbidden the usage of grappling techniques. This prohibition was due to the fact that wrestling would ruin the audience’s viewing pleasure. In the end, this tournament becomes one where it is a performance rather than fighting. A free for all, or a competition, what fight doesn’t use grappling techniques?”

Wang Chao nodded his head in understanding.

The most terrifying move of Bagua Zhang was the the Returning Body Palm. On the moment of contact with the other person, the practitioner would use Jin to send the other person to the ground. One of the main fists of Xinyi Quan, the Crossing Fist, was dedicated to sending people falling to the ground.

If one reached the pinnacle of grappling, then no matter whom the person was, all the practitioner had to do was to make contact with just the clothes a single time and could kill a person by dropping them to the floor.

Thus, a style of martial arts called the “Stained Clothes Eighteen Falls”.

Without grappling, the might of Guoshu was considerably weaker. It was equivalent to restricting the arms and legs so one was not able to fight to their strengths.

“Even now, our country has not only forbidden the usage of moves meant to disable in tournaments, but they will cry to stop when the nose or mouth starts to bleed, what nonsense! This is the same way how a child will play house–it no longer has the same essence and spirit of a fight. I involved myself in these fighting arenas not to make money, but to ensure that fighting remains within a positive cycle.”

Liao Junhua continued to speak, “Originally, the underground fighting arenas were far too bloody and cruel; there had been no sense of culture in it. It was merely a fighting match between barbarians. Although this was stimulating, too much of a bad thing is the same as too little of a good thing. It didn’t contain the heart, and only a perverted man would be able to continue with this way of fighting. My ideology is that while fighting must get rid of the false pretense of a spectacular fight, it cannot be too cruel either. There must be a compromise between beauty and cruelty. After that, it will be ready to go out into the open market as a standard way of fighting. This way, it would eliminate those who wish to fight like barbarians in the dark, give those who wish to live by the Martial Way food to eat, and preserve the authentic way of Guoshu. This way of thinking was shared by my master, but unfortunately, he had never been able to carry out his wishes. A fight is either cruel and bloody, or it is peaceful and for the sake of performance. To be able to find a balance between the two is quite difficult. With the strength I have now, I must help my master carry out his feelings as the one responsible for carrying out his legacy.”

“To give martial artists all over the world a way to earn money for food while not throwing away the tradition of Guoshu….a style of fighting like this is truly a difficult thing to accomplish.” Wang Chao replied.

“Right now our nation promotes the nature of performance rather than the way to disable. It is fair and peaceful. You’ve dealt with the underground world, we cannot go above ground and form a name as things stand now.”

As he spoke, a sweet smelling fragrance had entered Wang Chao’s nose from nearby. Turning to look, he saw Zhu Jia sitting closeby him.

“A good battle begets death, but to forget battle begets danger. I believe that this policy must be taken one step at a time. By connecting to the international world, it will slowly come to fruition.” Liao Junhua gave a careless smile to Zhu Jia.

“Wasn’t today quite dangerous? I can see that the Japanese youth was capable of a high level of martial arts if you’re this tired.”

Zhu Jia had remained by Wang Chao’s side ever since she had exited the car. When she saw just how exhausted Wang Chao was, she was clearly hurt.

“Ye Xuan’s skill, wisdom, and willpower was truly formidable! The reason I had won today was due to power alone. If I did not receive that burst of power during the match, then it would be less likely that I would have reached my pinnacle. After expending my energy after that, it is only natural that I am exhausted; this is the same feeling an athlete would feel after the body experiences stimulants. If I rest for a day, I will be fine, so don’t worry too much.”

Wang Chao had naturally never taken stimulants, but he could tell that there was not much difference between the reactions of the two.

“When you were fighting with Ye Xuan, I had felt some sort of illusion that made me feel nervous; so I started to hum to make myself feel better. But who would have expected that the song would echo throughout the entire arena and cause such a display?” Zhu Jia winked. “Because of my contribution, you were able to win, how do you plan to thank me now?”

“Ah, so it was you?” Wang Chao replied, “I owe you another favor it seems then.”

“Hmph, as long as you know it. Who knows just how many favors you owe me? In the future, if I say something, you better listen to me.” Zhu Jia smiled proudly.

“It won’t take more than two days for the Japanese martial arts world to know that you were able to kill Ye Xuan, so you should prepare yourself. My company still has other affairs to take care of, but if you have any problems, be sure to notify me straight away. I know your support will have more than enough power to make this chaotic situation more peaceful, but since someone has died in my venue, I cannot just ignore this problem.”

Liao Junhua had grown serious.

“That’s fine, if I come across anything, I’ll be sure to notify you.” Wang Chao nodded. Having a princeling with a voice that resounded throughout the entire Manchurian area was extremely convenient for Wang Chao if he should ever require it.

After that initial battle, the several days of exchanging tips, and then this battle with Ye Xuan had caused the friendship between Wang Chao and Liao Junhua to improve once more.

“Jia Jia? How much longer are you prepared to stay in Shandong for?” Liao Junhua asked.

“A good while longer for sure.” Zhu Jia glared at Liao Junhua, “What, were you tired of me annoying you? Let me tell you, you are the target for my interview. If I don’t dig you for your help, how could I just leave? But no, I’ll be taking a vacation in Laoshan, so you don’t need to worry about me being an annoyance.”

“Shh!” Liao Junhua let out a sigh, he wasn’t afraid of the Heavens, and he wasn’t afraid of Hell either. He was only afraid of Zhu Jia bothering him for help every day. “She clearly likes Wang Chao. If that makes her stop annoying me, that’s good. I’ll just need to find the time to speak with Wang Chao so that he can help convince her to not go abroad for her documentary.”

After two days, Liao Junhua had returned to Ji’nan. The villa in Qingdao City was only a vacation home for him to relax in.

As before, Wang Chao returned to Laoshan while Zhu Jia found an excuse to vacation in the same area and visit Wang Chao’s school of martial arts.

“Congratulations for accomplishing the organization’s mission, comrade Wang Chao!”

When Wang Chao returned to the school, Lin Yanan had taken advantage of the time Zhu Jia wasn’t there to engage in a secret discussion with Wang Chao. On first glance, Lin Yanan had a loveable smile on her face.

“I’ve already reported the details to the organization. They’ll definitely give you a reward or commendation for this.”

“There’s no need, no need at all!” Wang Chao shook his head, “The act of killing a person isn’t something worth being congratulated over. Ah, could you help make some preparations for me to go to Guangdong tomorrow?”

“Guangdong? What for?” Lin Yanan asked curiously.

“Ai, my battle with Zhang Wei last time at sea had caused him to drown himself in the ocean. Originally, he had already washed his hands of being involved the Jianghu, but because of circumstances, he was forced to return to such a life. In the end, he had been defeated and jump into the ocean. But before he did, he mentioned that he had a family. For my both our sakes, I wish to visit them. Is this in violation of the organization’s rules?”

“Definitely not, I’ll make the preparations for you.” Lin Yanan replied with a refreshed smile.