chsdbacks Chapter 91 Martial Champion
Chapter 91 Martial Champion
When the two woke up again, several incense sticks had already burned.
Lin Yan opened his eyes first.
He lay face down on the sand, his mouth full of the metallic taste of sand.
He tried to stand up, supporting himself on his arms, but failed twice.
Murong Chong stood three zhang away from him, bent over, hands on his knees, panting heavily.
Blood was seeping from the wounds on his right rib and chest, and his face was as white as paper.
No one spoke in the stands.
Minister Zhou stood at the sidelines, glancing at Lin Yan, then at Murong Chong, and finally at the emperor sitting on the stage, unsure whether he should announce the result.
Murong Chong straightened up and glanced at Lin Yan.
Lin Yan also looked at him.
The two stared at each other for a few moments.
Murong Chong suddenly smiled, a smile with a hint of self-mockery.
"I've seen a few people like you in the border army," he said in a hoarse voice. "They're not afraid of death, pain, or defeat, but you're different from them."
He paused, then raised his hand to wipe the blood from his face.
"You've been plotting against me, you've been plotting against me since the very first stab you made."
Lin Yan remained silent.
Murong Chong picked up the curved sword; the blade was covered in blood and sand. He wiped the sword on the hem of his robe twice and sheathed it.
"I'm not playing anymore."
Vice Minister Zhou was taken aback: "Commander Murong, the outcome is still undecided..."
"Then it's a draw," Murong Chong interrupted him. "If he hadn't been injured, I might not have been able to hold on until now."
He turned and walked towards the sidelines, but stopped after a couple of steps and looked back at Lin Yan.
"You win."
This time he didn't say it was a draw.
After a eunuch hurriedly ran down from the stands and whispered a few words to Vice Minister Zhou, he announced, "In this Imperial Guards Grand Martial Arts Competition, Lin Yan and Murong Chong have tied; they shall both claim the title of Martial Arts Champion!"
……
On the stands, Crown Prince Li Zhengxin put down his teacup, a slight smile playing on his lips.
Steward Feng leaned closer: "Your Highness, according to the rules..."
"A draw?" Li Zhengxin interrupted Steward Feng. "According to the competition rules, if there is a draw, both sides are eliminated without another round? No, in the final, there is neither advancement nor elimination, only victory and defeat. A draw means there is no winner."
He picked up his teacup and added, "But everyone saw how he hit him."
On the west side of the stands, the Second Prince Li Zhengming stood up and angrily stormed off.
Zhou Moushi followed behind him, and when they reached the exit of the stands, he secretly turned around and glanced at Lin Yan in the arena.
Lin Yan remained standing in the sand, supporting himself with his knife. The bleeding from his leg had stopped, congealing into a dark red blood clot.
Zhou the strategist withdrew his gaze and followed the Second Prince.
Cao Yan sat on a chair in the corner of the stands, without moving the entire time.
After watching Lin Yan's fight, Cao Yan had a clear understanding of the situation.
He stood up and walked outside, pausing at the exit and glancing back at Lin Yan.
Lin Yan was being helped out by Xiong Kuo and Sun Dayong, but as he looked down, his eyes sharply glanced in the direction of Crown Prince Li Zhengxin.
Standing in that direction were the Crown Prince's officials, the Eastern Palace's secret guards, and several other faces that Cao Yan did not recognize.
Lin Yan was watching them.
A person who has truly pledged allegiance to the Crown Prince will not observe the Crown Prince's people after winning a match.
Cao Yan's lips curled up slightly. This Lin Yan was really cunning; he had no real intention of assisting the Crown Prince.
It seems the Crown Prince paid a price for letting Lin Yan follow him.
Cao Yan turned and left.
On his way back, Cao Yan inexplicably thought of Gu Changshan. Three years ago, Gu Changshan had also become famous in the Imperial Guards' martial arts competition, and was valued by the Crown Prince and taken under his command.
Then, with the Crown Prince's support, Gu Changshan quickly rose to the third rank and did many things for the Crown Prince.
Finally, the Mountain Battalion was purged, and Gu Changshan was hunted down by the Crown Prince's men. He eventually died tragically in an unnamed cave, his body lying in the wilderness.
Is Lin Yanyan following in Gu Changshan's footsteps?
Cao Yan didn't know.
But he knew one thing: Lin Yan had been holding back in the previous Imperial Guard competitions.
A person who truly wants to serve the Crown Prince needs no hiding.
Cao Yan walked back to his residence, pushed open the door, and found the room to be dark.
He didn't turn on the light, but sat in the chair watching the light outside the window gradually dim.
Lin Yan is definitely not a member of the Crown Prince's faction now.
He is using the Crown Prince, just as the Crown Prince is using him.
Cao Yan closed his eyes.
Shanzi Camp, Gu Changshan.
The events of twenty years ago and the events of today are like two lines that intersect at some point.
The intersection is Lin Yan.
Cao Yan opened his eyes, stood up, walked to his desk, spread out a sheet of paper, and picked up a pen.
The ink was fully applied, and the brush tip hovered above the paper, not falling for a long time.
He thought about it for a long time, and finally put down his pen, crumpled the paper into a ball, and threw it into the wastebasket.
Now is not the time.
hold on.
……
It was already dark when Lin Yan was carried back to the courtyard.
Chen stood at the gate of the courtyard, holding a basin of hot water in her hands, the water steaming.
She saw her son, pale-faced, being carried in by the crowd, his clothes covered in sand and blood.
Her eyes instantly welled up with tears, but she didn't cry.
She placed the basin on the ground, walked over, and took Lin Yan from Xiong Kuo's hands.
Lin Yan leaned on his mother's shoulder, and the smell of soap brought him back to his senses.
"Mother, I'm alright."
"Yan'er, stop talking, let me take you to rest."
Mrs. Chen responded and helped him walk inside.
Lin Xiu ran out of the house and saw Lin Yan's appearance. Her lips trembled, her eyes immediately reddened, and large tears streamed down her face.
She followed behind, clutching Lin Yan's clothes with one hand and the bamboo whistle with the other.
She took the bamboo whistle off Lin Yan's neck, afraid he would lose it during the martial arts competition.
She shoved the bamboo whistle back into Lin Yan's hand.
"Brother, you promised me."
"Promise what?"
"Promise me you'll teach me martial arts, and I'll protect my brother too."
Lin Yan thought for a moment and nodded slightly.
"Xiuer, be good. Once my injuries have healed, I'll teach you."
Old Meng settled Lin Yan on the kang (a heated brick bed) and began to examine Lin Yan's wounds.
The broken bone in his chest was dislocated again, and the old wound on his left shoulder was reopened by Murong Chong's knife. He had more than a dozen wounds of various sizes on his body, among which the knife wound on his thigh was the deepest, almost hitting the bone. The flesh wound on the tiger's mouth was not a problem.
"The broken bone needs to be set again. You'd better take the last bone-healing pill." Old Meng breathed a sigh of relief. "Your efforts to recover over the past two weeks have been wasted. This time you need at least a month of rest. There can't be any more mishaps."
Lin Yan didn't speak, and closed his eyes.
He was thinking about Murong Chong's last words.
"You win."
For someone as arrogant and conceited as him to say such things is harder than winning against him.
He won this match, so he should be able to get a brief respite.
We still need to improve our strength as soon as possible and break free from the Crown Prince's control.
Lin Yan suppressed these thoughts, closed his eyes, and silently began to practice his skills.