Chapter 807: The Final Destination (Part )

The intermittent words were like a thousand arrows piercing his heart, leaving Liu Xunyi heartbroken and terrified, unable to react for a long time.

Liu Xunyi didn't say anything, and the others didn't know how to start. The "Nadam" venue was deafeningly noisy, but the area around Liu Xunyi was as quiet as death.

"Oh!"

I don't know how long the silence lasted before Liu Xunyi uttered a word lightly. His tone was plain, neither happy nor sad.

Quietly looking at Zhao Xin in the distance, the corners of his mouth twitched slightly, as if he was crying and laughing, and seemed helpless.

Li Haitang looked at Liu Xunyi with eyes full of sympathy and pity. She repeated her words in her heart and advised carefully: "In fact, out of sight, out of mind. It's a good thing that you didn't see the princess get married with your own eyes... so that you won't be reminded of the past. After all, some things are destined and no one can change them..."

"What's coming will come sooner or later. Instead of crying and making a fuss, you might as well accept it calmly." Feng Tianba muttered, "A real man will never have trouble finding a wife. Since you two are not destined to be together, it means that you are not her true love, and she is not your confidant and beauty."

"Everything in the world is caused by fate, and it is a cycle of cause and effect." Wuchan put his hands together and patiently advised, "Master Liu, I believe that fate has its own arrangement. You and the princess are not a match made in heaven, so marriage cannot be forced. I hope you don't be obsessed with it. When the time is right, the person you are destined to be with will appear in front of you. Even if you are thousands or tens of thousands of miles apart, there will be a day when you will be together in harmony and shine together."

Hearing this, an indescribable complex look flashed in the depths of Pan Yuyin's eyes, who had remained silent.

"Listen!" Li Haitang praised, "Although the little monk is a Buddhist, he sees the relationship between men and women more clearly than us laymen."

"What little monk? You are clearly a flower monk. I haven't seen you chanting sutras or reciting the Buddha's name these days. I only see that your six senses are not pure and your seven emotions are not letting go. To be honest, you are not worshipping Tathagata at all, but Yue Lao, right?" Feng Tianba teased with a smirk on his face, "If not, you wouldn't have come all the way to Mobei with us."

Having said this, Feng Tianba glanced at Pan Yuyin with a meaningful look. Li Haitang understood what he meant and couldn't help laughing.

"I just want to enlighten Mr. Liu. Why are you..." The little monk didn't finish his words because his eyes accidentally caught the absent-minded Pan Yuyin. His cheeks quickly turned red to his ears and he couldn't say any more.

"I'm fine!" Liu Xunyi knew that they were just making jokes to ease their emotions, so he suppressed his huge grief and pretended to be calm and unperturbed. He smiled and said, "No wonder Miss Pan kept stopping me. It turns out she was worried about this matter."

"Brother Liu, I..."

"No problem!" Liu Xunyi seemed not to want to dwell on Zhao Xin's topic any more. He quickly changed the subject and asked, "How was your competition with the Mongolians?"

"The Mongolian Khan did not agree to the Han people participating in the Naadam. Hu Lie first let the warriors of various Mongolian tribes compete, and when they were done, he sent people to compete with us individually." Li Haitang said contemptuously, "They are afraid that I will steal the limelight from the Mongolians. If I compete, the title of "God Archer" will never go to anyone else."

"Oh?" Liu Xunyi raised his eyebrows, and his heart, which had been hanging high, gradually settled down a little. He asked doubtfully, "How sure are you?"

"I watched their competition clearly. As far as archery is concerned, I wouldn't say I'm 100% sure, but... at least 90%." Li Haitang pretended to be modest, but in fact he was very confident.

"So what? Even if I let you ride away, you can only win one game." Feng Tianba looked at the wounded Liu Xunyi with tangled eyes, and said angrily, "Looking at the state of Lord Liu today, it's really... Alas!"

"Donor Liu, how did you get injured?" Wu Chan couldn't help but wonder, "You went out with Donor Su that night... could this be related?"

"My injury... was caused by Brother Su." Liu Xunyi said bitterly, "That night, he and I got drunk on the grassland, and then we had a good fight."

"This……"

"Don't be impatient!" Liu Xunyi seemed to see what Feng Tianba was thinking, and added, "Brother Su has been chosen by Hu Lie to spar with us. He and I... are just competing in advance."

"Who's winning?"

"I have no idea."

"Forehead!"

Liu Xunyi's answer made Feng Tianba and others stunned. They all looked strange, and it was hard to tell whether they were doubtful or surprised.

"I only remember fighting with Brother Su for hundreds of rounds on the grassland and it was hard to tell who was the winner..." Liu Xunyi frowned and tried to recall what happened that night, but still came up blank. "Maybe it was because of the drunkenness that I was in a daze and slept for three days, and I forgot everything that happened afterwards."

"This……"

"That being said, I feel... I'm 80% likely to lose to Brother Su." Facing the people with different expressions, Liu Xunyi laughed at himself, "I was unconscious when I was sent back. If I had won... why would I be so embarrassed?"

"That makes sense." Li Haitang looked melancholy. "So our last hope still lies with Hu Lan."

"I'm afraid... Hulan's skills may be better than we thought." Wu Chan said worriedly, "He was undefeated in the morning competitions, and no opponent could last more than a stick of incense in his hands." "Hulan won the wrestling, archery, and horse racing competitions most easily." Li Haitang curled his lips and said, "The other two competitions were very fierce. The strength of the top few was comparable, and the first place was a narrow victory. Only Hulan won easily with a overwhelming momentum, almost without any effort."

"The Mongolian Khan personally conferred rewards just now. The other two champions were rewarded with pastures and sheep and horses, and were given the title of 'hundreds of households'. Only Hulan... was rewarded with ten thousand taels of gold, and was promoted to the position of Vanguard Deputy General of the Southern Army. I just inquired about it, and the Vanguard Deputy General is equivalent to 'thousands of households', which is three levels higher than the other two, and the starting point is higher than Wang Dechen back then." Feng Tianba's tone sounded both emotional and envious, "It seems that the Mongolian Khan likes this 'dark horse' that showed up halfway."

In fact, he was not envious of Hu Lan's rapid rise, but of his meeting his mentor in time. As a military veteran, Feng Tianba knew best what a broad and unlimited future Hu Lan's starting point today meant.

In contrast, Feng Tianba was upright and loyal, and after years of hard work, he was still a sixth-rank captain, and it was difficult for him to be promoted. Later, because of a small matter, he offended Lu Tingxiang and was kicked out of the Quanzhou camp by Xu Guangsheng. If it weren't for Liu Xunyi's sympathy and strong recommendation, he might still be an unknown little head constable in the Pingjiang government office today, living a regretful life.

Although both had great ambitions, one rose to prominence while the other had a rough life. Rather than saying "same people but different destinies", it is better to say that the Song and Mongolia countries had a world of difference in how they valued talents.

Thinking of this, Feng Tianba became more worried and felt mixed emotions.

"Since the Mongolian Khan has made an exception and reused him, Hulan's future is limitless." Li Haitang said with a wry smile, "Maybe one day in the future, he will be the general who leads the troops to conquer Lin'an City."

Li Haitang's unintentional words made Liu Xunyi's eyes change quietly, and a strong idea emerged in his mind. At the same time, his eyes looking at Hu Lan, who was in high spirits, gradually became treacherous and cruel.

"Master Liu, you are not in good condition today. How about I fight Hulan for you?" Wuchan summoned up his courage and volunteered. "Although you have an appointment, you are seriously injured now. I believe that the Mongolian Khan and the prince will not bully the weak in public and force you to do something against your will."

"Young Master, without using internal energy, how confident are you that you can beat Hulan?"

“This…” Wuchan hesitated and said, “Maybe 50%…”

"No!" Liu Xunyi shook his head cautiously. "Shaolin martial arts emphasizes the utmost masculinity and strength, and has very demanding requirements for internal strength. Hu Lan's moves are wide-open and wide-closed, with fierce power. If you fight him, it will be a hard fight, with fist for fist. Without using internal strength, you and he will win or lose 50%, with almost no advantage. If you were a Wudang disciple, relying on the Tai Chi Bagua Palm that combines hardness and softness... maybe you could have a fight."

"Practice Dantian internally and muscles and bones externally. Most 'external skills' are based on extreme hardness and extreme yang. Even if there are some martial arts that combine hardness and softness, they are one in a million and very difficult to practice." Li Haitang interrupted helplessly, "Now the situation is urgent, where can we find a master who is proficient in combining hardness and softness?"

Liu Xunyi smiled slightly and said jokingly, "I am not very talented, but I know some fierce techniques and some soft skills. As for the martial arts you mentioned that are one in a million and very difficult to practice, I also happened to have learned a few moves."

"Brother Liu is going to fight in person?" Li Haitang was horrified, "But your injury..."

"Miss Pan, most medical practitioners know that as long as a person's eight extraordinary meridians are temporarily blocked, they can move freely for a period of time without using internal energy, and will not be affected by their own injuries." Liu Xunyi said with a hint of meaning, "I can't use internal energy to fight Hu Lan. Isn't it God's help?"

"Blocking the meridians will temporarily stop you from feeling weak and painful... I can use acupuncture to achieve this miraculous effect." Pan Yuyin could not deny it, but she hesitated. "The essence of this method is to overdraw potential, which is extremely harmful to the body. Moreover, the duration of the effect is difficult to control. It varies from person to person and from physical condition to physical condition. It can be as long as one or two hours, or as short as... maybe even less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea."

"I disagree! Hulan is a master, and we can't beat him in just a cup of tea." Li Haitang's face changed, and he retorted hastily, "What if it suddenly fails during the duel, wouldn't Brother Liu be in danger?"

"A cup of tea is the shortest time, how could it be such a coincidence?" Feng Tianba hesitated again and again, and finally spoke with difficulty, "More importantly, Lord Liu is personally taking action, so his chances of winning are definitely higher than those of the little monk..."

"Feng Tianba, what do you mean?" Li Haitang looked at Feng Tianba, who was feeling guilty, in disbelief, and sneered, "For such a tiny chance of winning, you don't even care about Brother Liu's life?"

"The stakes are a prefecture of the Song Dynasty, and the lives of millions of people. This is by no means insignificant!"

"That won't work! Even if he can hold out for an hour or two, the damage to Brother Liu's body cannot be underestimated..."

"Everything is interdependent and mutually exclusive. Today's damage can be made up tomorrow. But once the Song Dynasty is lost, I'm afraid it will take a hundred years to recover!"

"you……"

"Boom!"

When Li Haitang and Feng Tianba were arguing with each other, a loud and high-pitched gong sound suddenly resounded in the "Nadam" venue, shocking everyone and the noisy scene gradually quieted down.

For a moment, everyone was watching with eager anticipation. Hu Lie slowly stood up under Zhao Xin's anxious gaze, bowed to the Mongolian Khan, and then strode to the center of the venue. He looked around with a sharp gaze, and finally landed on the pale-faced Liu Xunyi, with a hint of a mysterious smile on his lips.

Seeing this scene, Liu Xunyi's heart, which was half hanging in the air, seemed to be pressed down by a huge rock falling from the sky, causing him to swallow his saliva subconsciously. He held his breath, and was solemn and nervous. He couldn't express it in words.

"Finally...it's our turn."

……

(End of this chapter)