"Then let’s toast with tea instead of wine; let it be settled thus," Li Banfeng lifted his teacup.
Wu Decheng also raised his teacup. "A gentleman’s pact, a gentleman’s tea. Let’s drink it down in one gulp."
Li Banfeng downed his cup of tea in one gulp.
Wu Decheng drank the tea and then spat it out.
"This tea, is it still poisoned?"
"That’s impossible!" Li Banfeng was quite surprised.
Wu Decheng sneered, "I’ve stumbled and crawled through the Jianghu for decades and seen all sorts of scenes. I’ve tasted it. Will you still not admit it?"
Li Banfeng was still shocked. "When I bought the poison, they told me it was tasteless and colorless. Theoretically, you shouldn’t have been able to taste it!"
"I..." Wu Decheng was too angry to speak for a while.
Li Banfeng tried to console him. "Don’t be angry. I’ll have someone change it for another cup. Try this one and see if it’s poisoned."
Wu Decheng laughed angrily. "Young man, I really like your temperament, but we’ve made an agreement, and we cannot go back on it."
"Rest assured, I will absolutely not go back on it," Li Banfeng stood up to see his guest off.
After leaving the Night-blooming Jasmine newspaper office, Wu Decheng went to Tang Peigong’s residence.
"Peigong, I met with the Shopkeeper of the Night-blooming Jasmine, exchanged a couple of moves with him, and gave him a beating. I had the urge to beat him to death but feared others would accuse me of bullying the younger generation and damaging my reputation. I showed some leniency and left him barely alive, yet he refused to accept it, claiming I was bullying the weak by relying on my strength, and insisted on challenging us to a competition—a literary one at that."
"When does the battle commence?" Tang Peigong was excited.
The Strict Law Society is a paragon of morality, known for their open and upright actions. They usually don’t play dirty, and resorting to a competition is their common means of resolving conflicts.
But Tang Peigong had no cultivation level. What was he excited about?
Because Wu Decheng mentioned that the challenge they had arranged was a literary one, akin to a debate.
Wu Decheng said, "Peigong, you know I’m not good with words, and this young Shopkeeper Ye is eloquent and persuasive. I fear being at a disadvantage on the platform and losing face."
Tang Peigong got off the bed. He had been bedridden for days and unable to get up, but today he had risen from his bed.
"Decheng, you’re talking like we’re strangers! Do you really need to be involved in this sort of thing? Am I, Tang, possibly afraid of him!"
When he said "afraid," Tang Peigong sprayed spittle, which the wind carried onto Wu Decheng’s face.
Wu Decheng forcibly held back from retching, adjusted his footing to stand upwind, and sighed, "Then I’ll have to rely on you for this matter."
"What’s the need for such courtesies between us!"
Wu Decheng nodded with a smile.
Tang Peigong gathered four disciples with the best oratorical skills; with him, they formed a team of five, ready for the competition. This was a great opportunity for a turnaround. Tang Peigong specifically asked his disciples to contact the press to make a spectacle of it.
Black Stone Slope was bustling once more; someone was challenging the Strict Law Society!
"Do you know what this Shopkeeper Ye does?"
"I heard he’s involved with the newspaper; that Night-blooming Jasmine is their creation."
"A newspaper owner challenging the Strict Law Society? What a daring move!"
"We must go see this. Those bastards of the Strict Law Society beat up an old woman in the street. I don’t think they’re that capable!"
"Hold on, don’t just talk about capability. Are they competing in a literary or martial competition?"
"The paper didn’t say, but whether it’s literary or martial, Night-blooming Jasmine is likely in for bad luck..."
The day before the competition, Wu Decheng handed a list to Tang Peigong. These individuals were all reputed figures from Black Stone Slope and would also serve as witnesses to the competition. For a literary competition, witnesses held significant importance because, unlike a martial contest, the outcome is not so clear-cut. Oftentimes, the witnesses have to act as judges.
Tang Peigong reviewed the list. He knew all of them; upon seeing him, they all had to be exceedingly respectful. As long as appearances were maintained, the verdict would surely be in his favor.
"Old Wu, well done with the arrangements. I won’t need to greet these people individually, right?" Tang Peigong was quite satisfied with the list.
"No need, the greetings have all been made."
"Good, I can always rely on you."
「The next day, the competition began.」
Tang Peigong, bearing the flag of the Strict Law Society, led four disciples and took their positions on the stage first.
Li Banfeng didn’t quite understand the rules.
Bai Qiusheng felt something was off and whispered to Li Banfeng, "Seventh Master, is this a literary contest?"
"What’s a literary contest?" Li Banfeng was utterly confused.
While they were talking, Wu Decheng had someone sound the first steam whistle, a reminder for both sides to prepare for battle.
Bai Qiusheng asked, "Seventh Master, what should we do now? Who do we send up?"
Li Banfeng replied, "Let’s stick to our original plan. The people we chose are also good with words."
On the Night-blooming Jasmine’s side, Zuo Wugang went up, along with Cao Zhida, Zhen Jincheng, and two new Supports brought by Ma Wu.
Bai Qiusheng was very anxious. "Seventh Master, are these guys really cut out for a battle of words?"
Li Banfeng said, "They’re all equipped for a verbal battle. Zuo Wugang especially—he’s a real expert when it comes to mouths."
While Bai Qiusheng was still worrying, the second steam whistle sounded on the stage. The second whistle meant that the participants were decided, and no one could back out.
Bai Qiusheng paced back and forth in distress, and in a blink of an eye, the third whistle blew. According to the rules of Black Stone Slope, this signified the official start of the battle.
Tang Peigong stepped forward first, stood in the center of the stage, and glared at Zuo Wugang, saying, "Audacious scoundrel, spouting nonsense, spreading rumors, utterly shameless..."
Look at this eloquence, four words per phrase, so nicely put together.
The several witnesses below covered their noses and exclaimed,
"The Elder speaks well."
"It’s just that the smell is too strong."
Zuo Wugang was taken aback by the speech, turned to Li Banfeng, and asked, "Have we started fighting?"
Li Banfeng said, "We’ve started already!"
Zuo Wugang turned his head to see Tang Peigong still shouting angrily, "Red-mouthed Poisonous Snake, your intentions are so sinister, brutal to the extreme, your actions are so..."
BANG!
Zuo Wugang punched Tang Peigong right in the mouth, knocking out his front teeth.
Tang Peigong, his front teeth knocked loose, looked at Zuo Wugang and then turned to Wu Decheng.
Wu Decheng remained expressionless and did not speak.
The disciples were stunned, shouting loudly, "This is a literary contest! Why are you hitting people?"
The group of witnesses paused for a while, looked at Wu Decheng, and asked, "Elder Wu, is today’s match a literary or martial contest?"
Wu Decheng’s expression was complicated, a mix of astonishment and confusion, as if something had gone terribly wrong.
Tang Peigong didn’t want to fight anymore. He felt like he could barely stand.
"You lot..." He intended to argue a few more points with Zuo Wugang, but Zuo Wugang swung another punch to his face, followed by two kicks to his chest and stomach, tossing him right off the stage.
That was a heavy beating. Zuo Wugang could have knocked him down with one punch, but he had been annoyed by the tongue-lashing and used a bit of technique to let Tang Peigong suffer a couple more kicks.
"With such a stench, and you just keep yapping!" Zuo Wugang spat at Tang Peigong.
Tang Peigong lay on the ground, his jaw shattered, his sternum fractured, and his ribs broken, unable to speak.
The remaining four disciples were still protesting, "In a literary contest, you can’t hit people!"
The cheering from below drowned out the voices of these four disciples.
"Good! Well done!"
"These Bird People really needed a beating!"
"Elder Tang, share a few of your mistresses with me, since you won’t be needing them anymore!"
Amid the applause, Cao Zhida, Zhen Jincheng, and others held down Tang Peigong’s disciples and unleashed a flurry of punches, each blow aimed at the mouth.
Li Banfeng said to Bai Qiusheng, "See? I told you they are all good at fighting with mouths."
Bai Qiusheng didn’t know what to make of it.
Li Banfeng gave a slight bow to Wu Decheng.
Wu Decheng also returned Li Banfeng’s bow.
PS: This Elder Wu is very cunning, but Ban Feng is an honest man. He shouldn’t hold a grudge against him.