Chapter 1746 - 1732
Chu Ge listened to Luo Jiu’s words, his gaze fell on Vice General Xing, he scrutinized him carefully, then smiled at Luo Jiu, "Rest assured, Elder Jiu, I will be cautious."
Luo Jiu was still somewhat worried; this Vice General Xing usually had a hot temper, and if someone slightly angered him, he would beat them half to death, his strikes were fierce.
Although he knew that Mr. Chu was not an ordinary person, he was after all not one of them here, and if anything went wrong, they truly couldn’t bear the blame.
Vice General Xing saw them whispering softly and grumbled, "What? Mr. Chu, are you chickening out? If you admit defeat now, it’s still not too late; once you’re on the arena, it’ll be too late to surrender."
Chu Ge slightly curled his lips, "How can you admit defeat before even a fight?"
Vice General Xing looked at him with disdain, "It seems you won’t shed tears until you see the coffin; if I don’t show you my prowess, you won’t know what fear is."
Chu Ge laughed, his face calm and composed in the face of Vice General Xing’s provocations, not getting angry at all, "I wasn’t intimidated into growing up; saying all this is useless, let’s see who’s truly skilled in the arena."
Vice General Xing saw him refusing to admit defeat, snorted disdainfully, then turned and strode towards the arena.
The common people below watched them head to the arena, cheers erupting in a deafening frenzy, excitement palpable.
Ru Xue nestled in Prince He Shuo’s embrace; she wanted Vice General Xing to spar with Chu Ge, and also wanted to use this opportunity to see Chu Ge’s skills. With her current status, it was inconvenient for her to personally intervene, she could only test through others.
"Prince, you must remind Vice General Xing to go easy on..."
Ru Xue said sweetly.
Prince He Shuo appeared expressionless but felt quite pleased inside; he said lightly, "Princess Consort, once on the arena, one must have the spirit of martial arts; if both defer, what’s the point of sparring? Rest assured, Vice General Xing knows where he stands."
Luo Qi and Luo Jiu listened to Prince He Shuo’s words, looking at each other, naturally understanding the implication behind them; on the arena, although the point often was to stop before serious harm, the chance of foul play was not impossible.
There had been instances before where someone was left crippled after fighting on the arena.
"Big brother, what do you think..." Luo Jiu was a bit worried as he approached; he realized that Prince He Shuo agreed to the duel between Vice General Xing and Mr. Chu to give their Beggar Gang a warning.
Their grudges pulled Mr. Chu into involvement, making him feel a bit guilty.
Luo Qi lightly shook his head, "Trust Mr. Chu, he will handle it well."
He didn’t know the depth of Chu Ge’s martial arts, but from the old gang leader’s attitude towards Chu Ge, and the impression from previous sparring, Vice General Xing likely wasn’t Chu Ge’s match.
In fact, he was now more curious about the leading voice earlier; although it was deliberately lowered, it still seemed familiar to him.
Luo Qi scanned the crowd but did not see any familiar faces, still feeling somewhat unsettled.
"Old Nine, did you hear that voice earlier?" Luo Qi asked.
Luo Jiu was closely watching Chu Ge and didn’t hear Luo Qi’s question clearly, "Ah? Big brother, what did you say just now?"
"I asked if you heard the jeering voice earlier."
Luo Jiu perplexedly shook his head, "So many people jeering, how could I keep track? Hey, big brother, look at the arena, it’s about to start. My heart’s pounding fiercely; what if Mr. Chu truly isn’t a match for Vice General Xing?"
They claimed to stop short of serious harm, but who knows if they might cheat; it’s their arena, their rules.
"Big brother, aren’t you worried at all?" Luo Jiu asked, puzzled seeing Luo Qi not showing any anxiety.
Luo Qi looked at him, shook his head lightly, "It’s not that I’m not worried, but worrying is useless. We can’t take Mr. Chu’s place in the arena, but I don’t believe Mr. Chu will lose."
Prince He Shuo saw Luo Qi and Luo Jiu muttering something, lightly frowned, slightly displeased, and said, "Boss Luo seems to have objections to the arena arrangement?"
Upon hearing this, Luo Qi quickly turned around, smiling slightly, "The Prince must be joking, arena sparring can invigorate people; I don’t have any objections, it’s just..."
He paused, hesitant.
Prince He Shuo raised an eyebrow, "Just what? Boss Luo, speak freely."
Luo Qi chuckled, "It’s just there’s so many people present, Vice General Xing has a fiery temper, if he can’t hold back, then it won’t be good."
Prince He Shuo narrowed his eyes slightly, "Boss Luo, are you worried that Chu Ge might suffer?"
Luo Qi lowered his gaze slightly, remaining silent.
"Rest assured, although Vice General Xing has a bad temper, he knows to differentiate occasions; he will stop short, won’t bully Chu Ge too much."
Prince He Shuo’s eyes toward Luo Qi were filled with disdain; it was just a minor spar, yet they were this frightened.
He thought for a moment, deciding to embarrass them further and instructed a nearby soldier, "Go inform Vice General Xing, tell him not to be excessive, to hold back."
"Yes."
After the soldier left, Ru Xue stepped forward, her gaze on the arena, where Chu Ge and Vice General Xing were each standing, waiting for the command.
She turned, smiling at Prince He Shuo, saying, "The Prince is truly considerate, the blessing of the people."
"Honestly, I quite admire this young man’s guts; he just fearlessly looked me in the eye and even directly refuted me, commendable courage; if he’s willing to join the army, I think he’s bound to have a prosperous future."
When Prince He Shuo said this, it was heard by Luo Qi and Luo Jiu; they exchanged glances, wondering whether these words were sincere or merely said for them to hear.
"On the arena, martial arts sparring focuses on skill!"
At this moment, the Judge announced loudly, "15 minutes, stop short of harm!"
Chu Ge was somewhat surprised; what he understood to be stopping short meant calling halt when the combat seemed evenly matched or one side clearly couldn’t handle it anymore.
But now, from his tone, 15 minutes meant allowing free fighting during this period?
Obviously, Chu Ge’s understanding was correct; the Judge seemed aware Mr. Chu was not local, and considering he saved the Princess Consort’s life, kindly explained, "Mr. Chu, our arena rule is within 15 minutes, both parties sparring, whatever consequences arise during this period must be borne by each party; once it reaches 15 minutes, the spar must immediately halt."