Chapter 52: That’s The End

Gao Pan completed his fascinating turn. What greeted him was most unforgettable. An old, tattered shoe flew past his eye.

His face was slapped by the shoe.

Before he could respond, Xu Yi arrived in the nick of time for the kill. He held his left hand and twisted it.

With a loud click, Xu Yi broke Gao Pan’s index finger on his left hand. He quickly threw it into his waist pouch. He abruptly released his right palm and hit Gao Pan’s forehead.

Gao Pan collapsed feebly towards the ground. There was utter silence everywhere.

“Why did you spare my life?”

Gao Pan lay on the ground. Suddenly he felt relieved.

“We’ve no feud between us. Why do I need to take your life?” Xu Yi answered casually as he picked up his broken shoe and put it on.

His earlier blow was to end Gao Pan’s retaliation. It was not meant to injure him.

Just as he had responded to Gao Junmo earlier, he was not a monstrous murderer. He only killed those who deserved to die.

The Zhou family were his arch enemies. He had to kill them. The youth in black was a town bully. He had humiliated Uncle Mu and threatened Little Qiu’s life. That infuriated Xu Yi, and once again, his hands had to be stained with blood.

In regards to Gao Pan. How was he as a person? What his life was like? Xu Yi did not know, and he too did not wish to know. Xu Yi was full of admiration for his opponent’s pugilistic prowess. How could he have the intention to kill him?

“Even if you spare me, I can live no longer.”

Gao Pan understood outcome he had to face. The Ultimate Hall Master and the ten thousand taels of gold!

“I do not kill you simply because I lack a reason to do so. Whether you live or die, it has absolutely nothing to do with me!”

After picking up the silver spear, Xu Yi turned to leave. Initially, he had intended to remove the golden armour worn by Gao Pan. However, he was unable to do so in front of such a huge crowd. If he had done so, it would’ve been his latest personal achievement.

“Last question, how do you know that there’s something funny with the ring?” Gao Pan’s curiosity was piqued. He had to find out before he died.

“It’s a sense I have!”

Xu Yi was honest and told him the truth.

At that time, Gao Pan pursued the silver spear swiftly. Even Xu Yi had thought that he had wanted to make a last effort in a bid to turn things around. However, during the pursuit, Gao Pan’s movements seemed somewhat hesitant. Those few seconds of slowness could have gone undetected, but Xu Yi was able to detect the subtle change. He was endowed with superb supernatural senses to perceive his surroundings.

Even though he had not witnessed Gao Pan’s actions, he was able to feel that Gao Pan was moving the ring on his finger.

It was a moment of life and death, yet Gao Pan decided to let go of the silver spear and slowed down to adjust his ring. There was only a simple logical conclusion; he had sensed death in the ring.

Once the plot had been exposed, its effectiveness was compromised. Xu Yi was able to come up with a solution very quickly.

Since the sneak attack had been seen through, it completely lost its effectiveness. Xu Yi thought of a quick and easy solution. He planned to break off Gao Pan’s ring finger when he nabbed him. That would have put an end to any killing.

“You sensed it? Yeah, okay. That’s the only reasonable explanation.”

Gao Pan’s voice sounded hollow and empty. He felt satisfied and he closed his hand.

Click, click. Gao Pan took his own life by breaking his own neck.

Strangely, his face was filled with a deep sense of satisfaction and conceit. His mouth was wide open as if he were mocking at the crowd. My life’s come with a hefty price tag. It’s worth several tens of millions taels of gold!

Gao Pan’s death didn’t slow Xu Yi’s footsteps. He ignored both the humiliating abuse and supportive cheering. Nothing could get to him.

Clang! The large gong sounded for the second time. It had first sounded before the duel. The host announced, “I declare that the winner is Constable Yi Xu from Furong Town! In addition, the second duel between the Black Dragon Hall and Xu Yi will be held seven days from now!”

Suddenly, Xu Yi vomited blood before he collapsed to the ground!

…

The moon was bright, and the stars were few. It was already midnight. The gardenia flowers swayed and stirred in the late night breeze, sending their fragrance into the rooms.

Since his collapse on the duel platform, Xu Yi had been carried away. Yuan Qinghua was flustered, and he was jumping up and down. He fetched the physician at lightning speed. The physician came to the conclusion that Xu Yi’s internal organs were injured and needed to recuperate for some time.

Xu Yi was fed two huge bowls of a bitter-tasting medicinal concoction. Worried for his master’s injuries, Yuan Qinghua decided to leave Xu Yi at the medical centre while he darted out to run several errands. He returned at dusk to ferry Xu Yi back home on a large carriage.

Once they were back home, Yuan Qinghua gave instructions to two servants. After he had settled his master on his bed, he led the two servants away. There seemed to be many urgent chores to be taken care of.

Once the door was shut, Xu Yi lifted his quilt and sat on the bed. Despite the chilly late night’s breeze, Xu Yi was boiling with rage.

He had pretended to be unconscious at the duel venue.

Yuan Qinghua had hired a physician and checked his medicine. Xu Yi was initially moved by his genuine concern for him. He was upset that he had abandoned him at the medical centre after he feeding him two bowls of the unpleasant concoction. He thought the physician was a quack.

If only he could sleep in peace. He had intermittent visitors, mainly the gamblers who had made some winnings due to his victory at the duel. They came to ask Xu Yi about his chances of winning at the second duel.

He was barely able to manage his fury over such incessant inconsiderate acts.

He was miserable in his pretense. He had to tolerate this for several hours before Yuan Qinghua returned to take him home on a huge carriage.

Once they made it home, Yuan Qinghua rushed off to run his errands after settling him on his bed with two other servants.

Xu Yi had no one to confide in. He was thirsty and hungry. However, it seemed that no one was bothered about his needs.

While Xu Yi was fuming, he heard some movements outside his door and immediately pulled up his quilt and lay still.

The door was pushed open. It was Little Qiu. She tiptoed stealthily towards his bed after carefully closing the door. The short-legged girl climbed onto his bed with some difficulty.

She nudged her way to Xu Yi’s head. She touched his forehead and flipped open his eyelids. She stared at Xu Yi for a long time, and after she had made up her mind, she moved her fair, chubby arms to Xu Yi’s mouth and whispered, “Uncle Beardo, wake up and buy me many many super big succulent chicken drumsticks.”

They snuggled for a while. Xu Yi opened his eyes and held the girl in his arms. He chided, “All you can think of is food. How come you are always hungry?”

The little one was caught by surprise. Soon, she was giggling. She clapped. “Oh, Uncle Beardo is awake! Uncle Beardo is awake. Oh…”

“Sshhh, lower your voice. Uncle Beardo’s pretending to be sick. Only family members shall know the truth. Please do not tell others.” Xu Yi covered Little Qiu’s mouth.

“Uncle Beardo is cheeky.” The dainty darling yawned as she spoke. She looked tired. “I’m sleepy, and I’m going to bed. Tomorrow morning I want to see a big meat bun, osmanthus jelly, chicken drumstick, desserts…”

The kid counted with her fingers. She was busily counting.

“Alright, alright. I’ll buy all of them for you. Go sleep now. Do let Grandpa know secretly, lest he worries about me.”

Xu Yi patted Little Qiu on her head before putting her on the floor. He watched those dainty short legs creep out through the door.

Several minutes elapsed. The door was opened again. Yuan Qinghua was carrying a large bowl. Before his entry, the aroma of the bitter-tasting medicinal concoction had already permeated the air in the room.