Chapter 23
T/N: While I’m proficient in casual Chinese, I’ve never learned martial arts in Chinese, so today, I finally figured out that he was talking about a spin kick rather than a tornado kick . Honestly, Tornado kick? Hurricane kick? Those were originally various spin kicks translated for coolness factor and popularized by street fighters and other games .
Feng Nuo and Cheng Cheng also made their way by asked around for Li Yundong’s location . When they arrived at the school gate, it just happened to be break time between lessons . There were many students out for fresh air in the school building directly facing the school gate . There were also some students who were going to the department store just outside the school for snacks . The entire place was bustling with activity .
Cheng Cheng’s eyes were sharp . She nudged Feng Nuo who was beside her and pointed to a place not far away . “Ai, look who that is . ”
Feng Nuo’s gaze followed Cheng Cheng directions and landed upon Zhou Qin and Ding Nan, each of whom held a parasol, as they headed out of the school .
Of the two girls, one wore fashionable attire that was sexy and in good taste, the other wore simple clothing that seemed youthful and pretty . They truly were like a moving piece of scenery . They attracted gazes from the surroundings wherever they walked .
Even though Feng Nuo was a beauty, but in terms of appearance and demeanor, she was far from comparable to Zhou Qin . She said in a considerably sour tone, “Why look at her?”
Cheng Cheng spoke as if there was something she really could not understand, “Normally, beautiful girls mostly like to find a not so pretty girl to hang out with . Why does Zhou Qin like to hang out with Ding Nan, this kind of top-notch beauty?”
Feng Nuo sighed and said, “A beauty like Zhou Qin does not require any green leaves to act as her foil . *1 Only a poor broken flower withered willow like me would require a girl like you to give prominence to my beauty!*2”
As Feng Nuo spoke melodramatically, she posed exaggeratedly in a pitiable manner . Cheng Cheng burst out in laughter .
The two were just joking with each other, when they suddenly heard clamoring from the school gate .
Cheng Cheng looked toward the sound . She instantly jump up and exclaimed, “Li Yundong!”
Feng Nuo glanced over and also received a scare . She saw a bunch of gangsters armed with steel rods charging toward Li Yundong .
Feng Nuo immediately screamed aloud, “Li Yundong, run away quick!”
However, just after her scream, she saw Li Yundong choosing not to run . Not only that, on the contrary, he rushed the gangsters head on . His entire person was like a windmill . One leg stayed on the ground while his other leg waved around like a battle ax . His spin kick knocked down the gangster furthest in front .
In classical combat, acknowledged by the masses: The fists are like two doors, all else is based on kicking feet . *3
During combat, legs will always be longer than arms!
Li Yundong swept his leg through the air, ruthlessly hitting one of the gangsters . Before that fellow’s steel rod even had a chance to touch LI Yundong, he was sent shooting outwards like a sandbag .
That was the effect of ‘one inch longer is one inch stronger’ .
After sending that one gangster flying, Li Yundong had no intention of stopping . His entire person was like a spinning top . With each rotation, he performed a spin kick . With each kick, a person would be sent flying without fail!
The surrounding students who were already frightened into a daze could only hear the whooshing of the wind caused by Li Yundong’s kicks . This sound made their hairs stand on end . If they closed their eyes, they could even mistake this sound for a strong man swinging an ax with all his strength .
Feng Nuo and Cheng Cheng were both stunned by what they saw . Cheng Cheng pulled on Feng Nuo’s arm, “Hey, are you sure they aren’t shooting a kung fu film?”
These days, the gangsters together with Xie Fei had been looking for a chance to cause trouble for Li Yundong . Today, they finally found their chance, but they did not predict that Li Yundong, this fellow, would suddenly become violent like this, as if he had taken drugs .
Li Yundong executed several spin kicks in a row . These kicks made the gangsters tremble with fear . Some of them closed in from the sides, but did not dare to attack . They repeated peeked at their fallen comrades moaning on the ground . Some of them were full of regret inside . ‘If I knew this fellow was so difficult to deal with, I would have brought a blade!’
Xie Fei stomped his feet in anger . “What are you hesitating for? Attack! We have more people . There’s no need to fear them!”
The gangsters who had surrounded Li Yundong from all directions, front, back, left, and right, let out a roar . They waved their steel rods and charged .
Li Yundong let out a sneer . Unintentionally, an image of the leg techniques Zhao Yujian used during their duel surfaced in his mind . Whereupon, he advanced rapidly, raised his foot high, such that the bottom of his foot was above his head, and then slammed his foot down like an ax .
Feng Nuo exclaimed, “Dropping Ax Kick!”
Just after she spoke, she saw a gangster get smashed so hard that he was thrown onto the ground, despite defending with his arms in front of his head .
Li Yundong smashed over one person . The gangsters on all sides had already closed in on him . He immediately turned around . His feet took small quick steps to exhibit lightning fast movement . His two feet moved like a butterfly flitting between flowers . Bam . Bam . Bam . Bam . A series of stifled impact sounds could be heard . The crowd could not even distinguish which leg Li Yundong used to kick whom . They could only see a number of gangsters already on the ground, moaning in pain .
Cheng Cheng was stunned from watching . “I think I recognize this move . Isn’t this Zhao Yujian’s ultimate technique, the butterfly flitting flower double flying kick?*4”
Feng Nuo had a shocked expression on her face . “This bastard was pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger earlier! He’s this good and he dares say that he doesn’t know taekwondo!”
Zhou Qin and Ding Nan were currently also standing not far away . The two of them were rendered completely speechlss . Ding Nan stupidly said, “Str-strong!”
While Zhou Qin did not say anything, but her widened eyes already expressed her astonishment .
Last time, when Li Yundong fought Zhao Yujian, Zhou Qin had clearly observed that the Li Yundong’s fighting skills were still clumsy and awkward . There had been no way for him to dodge Zhao Yujian’s aggressive assault . He was only able to defeat Zhao Yujian due to his overwhelming brute force .
However, with the passing of only one day, Li Yundong had suddenly become skillful at combat . Every kick was elegant and at ease yet firm and ferocious . Every technique was performed freely and naturally . Compared to Zhao Yujian who had been immersed in martial arts for many years, Li Yundong looked stronger by far!
“How is this possible?” Zhou Qin was secretly astonished . “He clearly did not know any taekwondo a day ago!”
Even though taekwondo was truly as the little fox said, possessing enormous innate flaws—lots of weakness and defect, making it difficult to use in real combat—but this kind of combat technique was very beautiful to watch . Furthermore, if someone learned it in order to cope with hoodlums and gangsters, there was absolutely no problem .
Taekwondo could be used for self-defense and its technique was beautiful to look at . It was only because of these reasons, plus the fact it could temper the body, that Zhou Qin would learn taekwondo .
In her eyes, Zhao Yujian was already considered a pretty good expert . However, from what she just saw, if Zhao Yujian and Li Yundong dueled again, perhaps Zhao Yujian would not even last a single blow!
Xie Fei was dumbstruck as he looked at his companions rolling on the ground moaning in pain . He looked at Li Yundong with widened eyes . Even if you beat him to death, he would not believe that the guy he chased until desperate like a cornered dog and forced to climb a wall would be this violent!
“W-Who the heck are you? State your name!” Xie Fei wanted to retreat inside, but he still had to say something to keep up appearances .
Li Yundong smiled coldly and said, “What does my name have to do with you?”
Xie Fei sneered and said, “Good . Very good . I see that you don’t intend to stay around here anymore!”
Li Yundong thought to himself that he already beat down this many people anyways, so beating up one more was not a big deal . He gave a cold smile . Just as he prepared to advance, he heard a shout from behind .
“Mud grass horse!*5 If you move, the great me will slaughter her!” roared Er Lu . Unnoticed, he had somehow circled around behind Su Chan’s back . Then he had suddenly used his arm to restrain her neck .
Li Yundong turned around and took a look . Anger erupted inside of him . A vigorous heat charged up from the center of his chest . A pop could be distinctly heard from there, as if a cork had been removed from a bottle .
This heat surged straight from Li Yundong’s chest to the top of his head . Every strand of his hair abruptly stood on end . His eyes were so intense they nearly popped out . His entire person appeared like a raging beast . He roared in anger, “If you touch a single strand of her hair . The great me will separate you into eight pieces!”
Li Yundong exhibited a terrifying presence . The surrounding students were aghast without exception . They only felt that the person in front of them was like a fierce tiger standing on two feet, capable of eating humans at any time .
Er Lu felt his heart beat in alarm and his body shudder . He subconsciously wanted to turn around and run away . However, he reminded himself that he had a hostage, calming himself down . He smiled coldly . “The great me will hurt her . What can you do!”
Xie Fei saw that the tides had turned . He burst into laughter and said, “Er Lu, good job . In a bit, we’ll bring this chick back and us brother will really enjoy ourselves!”
Li Yundong was so angry he was going insane . He was just about to advance when he saw Su Chan suddenly elbow Er Lu in the solar plexus . Er Lu’s body bent over in pain . Su Chan immediately followed up with a high kick . The tip of her toes reached about the height of her shoulder . This kick landed on Er Lu’s forehead, sending him rolling in a terrible state .
Su Chan’s technique was neat and efficient, so fast that it was too much for the eye to take in . The crowd still had not managed to react, yet they saw Su Chan defeat the gangster behind her back in a blank of an eye .
The people in the surroundings exclaimed in admiration . “Screw . That move was too cool!”
“These two are both martial artists, right? They’re all so awesome, one after another!”
“Are they shooting a movie? Where’s the camera? Where’s the director?”
Li Yundong hurried to Su Chan’s side . He nervously asked, “Are you okay?”
Su Chan sweetly smiled . “I’m fine!”
After she said that, she turned around and kicked Er Lu who was lying on the ground twice . Her kicks were aimed at his vitals without fail . “You actually dared to get fresh with me . You’re looking to die!”
The male classmates in the vicinity saw this and all of them felt chills inside . They could not help but clench their legs together .
In particular, Zhou Yu who had come to cause trouble, upon seeing Su Chan’s gaze land near him, he subconsciously tried to avoid her gaze . Internally, he felt balls-hurt!*6
Li Yundong hurriedly stopped Su Chan . “Enough . Enough . You’ll cause problems if you keep kicking . Then won’t I end up paying medical fees?”
Li Yundong finished speaking . He turned his head and looked, only to find Xie Fei trying to sneak away and escape . He instantly exploded in anger . He pursue at once and caught the fellow with a head of golden hair . He maliciously said, “What did you say just now?”
Xie Fei had been caught by Li Yundong . He did not dare attack, so he could only tense his neck and shout, “You dare to attack me? Do you know who I am?”
Li Yundong smiled in anger . He slapped the punk . “The great me doesn’t care who you are! Your mother, what the heck did you just say? Say it again for the great me!”
Li Yundong’s slap had caused one of Xie Fei’s teeth to fly out . He roared loudly, “You dare to hit me . You’re dead for sure . You’re dead for sure!”
Li Yundong was angry to the extreme . A series of cracks . Left, left, right, right, four slaps were delivered to Xie Fei’s face, filling his mouth with blood . A number of teeth fell out at once . After Li Yundong finished dealing blow, he lifted Xie Fei and said, “What did you just say? Say it again, if you dare .
Xie Fei’s mouth was filled with blood . He could only shout indistinctly, “Good, good! Your attack is excellent . Keep it up until I die, if you dare . Otherwise, the great me will not let you rest . ”
The essence, qi, and blood in Li Yundong’s entire body were already flaring to the limit . This state could be considered ‘three splendor congregate on top’, which just happened to be the time when one’s boldness is at its peak . He was also infuriated . When he heard what Xie Fei said, his anger rose from his heart, and viciousness was birthed from daring . His hand pressed down on the top of Xie Fei’s head . A malevolent smile appeared on his face as he spoke with murderous intent, “You want to die? That’s simple . ”
With those words, he planned on twisting Xie Fei’s neck until it broke .
Li Yundong currently had his back to the crowd . The no one in the surroundings could see his face full of malevolence and desire to kill . They still thought he was trying to scare Xie Fie . However, Xie Fei could clearly see the viciousness and murderous intentions in Li Yundong’s eyes . This scared him so badly that his entire body shook!
He was too familiar with this kind of eyes . These eyes definitely reflected heartfelt desire to murder . This kind of gaze only shows up when a person decides to commit murder .
Xie Fei was scared . He was truly scared . ‘No matter what background I have, no matter who is supporting me, all of that required me to survive this day! This fellow, he definitely wanted to kill me for real!’
He could only feel Li Yundong’s hand press down on the top of his head . Black as if even the sky above his head had been covered . There was only the darkness of death’s descent in front of him .
Xie Fei was scared out of his wits, so scared that he suffered from urinary and fecal incontinence . He started screaming sharply, “Don’t . Don’t kill me! I was wrong! I was wrong! Please let me off!”
Li Yundong stopped his hand . His eyes were fixed unwaveringly on Xie Fie . “You know you’re wrong?”
Xie Fie glimpsed Li Yundong’s electric gaze and his heart shuddered . He lowered his head and said, “I know I was in the wrong . Please let me go this time . I absolutely will not dare to come again . ”
Li Yundong was not a ruthless person . His rage came quickly, but it also went quickly . He loosened his hand at once and stood back up . He gave Xie Fie a kick and said, “Take your them with you . Get lost!”
Xie Fei did not dare to even look at Li Yundong . He only compliantly lent a hand to his subordinates who were moaning on the ground in pain, while his other hand held onto his face . He was prepared to leave .
Li Yundong looked at their departing backs . He suddenly shouted, “Hey!”
Xie Fei heard his voice and his entire body shuddered . His turned his head around while trembling, his eye deeply hid his feeling of sense of shame, “Is-is there anything else?”
Li Yundong took out all the money he had on him, which came to a bit more than five hundred kuai, and threw it over . “I only have this much on me . Bring them to see the doctor . ”
Xie Fei looked at the stack of bills that fell at his feet . He clenched his teeth and crouched down to pick it up . He said quietly, “Thank you . ”
After he finished speaking, he brought along his subordinates and hobbled away .
~~~
*1 green leaf: Girls are green leaves and flowers . Of course the beauty of flowers become more beautiful when paired with green leaves . It shows off how special and colorful they are in comparison . Obviously, there are more leaves than flowers .
*2 broken flower withered willow: a fallen woman . A woman who fell from grace or was defeated in some way .
*3 拳经中有云：拳是两扇门,全凭脚踢人 – lit . In Classical Fist there are clouds: fists are two doors, all is based on kicks by the feet: What that means is Acknowledged by many classical styles, the hands are for defending, offense will depend on kicks .
*4 I have no idea how to translate this poetically… it should probably be ‘Taekwondo butterfly kick’ but that would lack the fanciness and cool factor this move is supposed to have .
*5 Yes, it’s the infamous mud grass horse (caoni ma), which sounds exactly the same as screw your mom (cao ni ma), making it a real swear, on a higher level than the various forms of ‘your mother’, which is only implicit and does not include any actual swear words . Due to Chinese river crab (he xie) or rather censoring a . k . a . Harmony (he xie), real swears cannot be used resulting in things like ‘Grass’ . This in turn gave rise to the 10 divine animals, of which River Crab (censorship) and Mud Grass Horse are two . Now if you really want to learn more about this issue, wait until Omni-Magician is translated, then you’ll encounter all of the divine animals in the Divine Church of Iron (Swords)Man… that’s where I learned about them .
*6 balls-hurt: Like pain in the balls seen in the earlier chapter . It’s different from butt-hurt . Your butt isn’t as important as your balls after all . If your butt hurts, you’re just complaining . If your balls hurt, you been hit in the vitals . Of course, this only applies to male characters .