Romance of Dragons and Snakes

That was because when man was on the ground, they could borrow power from it. When they left the ground, they could not. Their bodies would be in a moment of sluggishness. And if there came a situation where they could not dodge and strike back, then it would be very easy for them to be killed.

But that didn’t mean there were no methods to kicking. Kicking was tantamount to a nuclear weapon. Upon use, if you didn’t die, then I would be the one killed. It was incredibly fierce, and was a move that could determine life or death in a split-second.

Wang Chao’s “Flying Horse Treading on Sparrow” borrowed the horse stance’s stampeding strength to push out a fierce Pounding Jin one after another in a series of strikes. When the opponent grew weary, then soar up to reveal the scissor kick of the “Sparrow” stance. With the body high in the sky, the kick would break open the enemy’s defenses and kick the opponent to death.

But despite the powerfulness of this strike, danger ran parallel to it. If the three kicks did not kill the enemy, then when in midair, the person would be powerless to move or change his posture. All that was left was to greet the enemy’s strike and die.

Back in his competition with Cheng Shanming in Singapore, Wang Chao had not kicked downwards in the final moment due to a complete bet on Cheng Shanming’s moral character. The ending had been to everyone’s liking, as enemies became friends. Truly a perfect ending.

To be accurate, one of the reasons why Wang Chao had bet on it wasn’t because Cheng Shanming’s moral character. It had been mostly due to the fact of the identity of the ancestor of the Cheng style school of Baguazhang, Cheng Tinghua.

Cheng Tinghua was something like an idol to Wang Chao. A martyr of his generation to his descendants. No matter how much Wang Chao looked at him, there was nothing but appraisal.

But today’s Duan Guochao had harbored some killing intent in him. From the start he had used the “Eagle Claw of the Iron Body”, “Eight Arts of Snake and Crane”, and several other killing moves. How could Wang Chao continue holding back? One more thing, there was no one Wang Chao had particularly respected in the Shaolin Temple.

The second kick of the “Flying Horse Treading on Sparrow” had destroyed the enemy’s Iron Body. As long as the opponent circulated their Jin once more and condensed it, it wouldn’t do much damage over all. That was why Wang Chao had lashed out with a third kick.

The third kick had ended up completely shattering the enemy’s throat and neckbone to the point where the head had nearly been decapitated. Such a tremendous blow like this would make leave even an Immortal hurt. So without even a word from Duan Guochao, his breath left his body and he died.

Like Wang Chao, Duan Guochao was an expert whose fist was fully capable of scooping out a hole in cement thanks to training his body to its limit. When a killing move was made, the afflicted would at the very least be crippled. There was no leeway for mercy.

“Quick, someone go take a look, how are those three? Medic, where’s the medic?”

Lin Yanan had shot Dong Ling, but then the next thing she had seen was him being tossed through the window pane like a scarecrow by Wang Chao. In a shower of glass and blood, the situation was completely fuzzy to her, so she had hurriedly barked out an order.

Although the matters between the two had been bad enough for a fight to start, a result like this was not expected by Lin Yanan.

In a short few rounds, the victory had been made clear. All of those soldiers and workers watching from the sidelines had instantly turned from lively to stunned silence. However, because they were disciplined by the organization, none of them had been panicked.

As soon as Lin Yanan shouted, several white-gowned medic soldiers came forward with oxygen masks, IV drips, artificial pacemakers, and other medical instruments. Arriving at Duan Guochao, Chen Ke, and Dong Ling, they began to apply first aid.

They had been well prepared since they knew that in this match, someone would be injured.

When Wang Chao saw this preparation, he had clicked his tongue several times.

From the end of Wang Chao’s fight with Duan Guochao, three minutes hadn’t even passed but a report had already made its way to commissar Yang’s office.

“Yes, yes yes, senior official. I guarantee nothing will happen, they’re only comparing notes with each other, that’s all. We’ll speak later. But rest assured, with them being such high experts, something like this is within their norms.” Commissar Yang smiled, clearly engaged in a conversation with a senior official. “You needn’t worry, what is an expert? An expert isn’t some sort of street hoodlum who carry knives and kill. By comparing notes, at most there’ll only be a small injury.”

Just as commissar Yang changed the visuals on his TV from several experts to Wang Chao and Duan Guochao to make his report to his higher ups, a knock could be heard on the door.

“Yes, senior official, it’ll be as so. I will make a report to you later.”

“Enter.”

A white-robed medic soldier came walking in.

When he saw the medic soldier wearing two aseptic gloves stained with blood, commissar Yang suddenly felt a sinking sensation in his heart.

“What was the result. Who won and who lost? Were the injuries serious?” The commissar asked in a hurry.

“Commissar Yang, Duan Guochao died on the spot. Chen Ke is suffering from internal bleeding, and is currently in the emergency room. Her ECG looks rather weak since she isn’t in stable condition yet. Dong Ling was shot through the wrist and was stabbed throughout his body with glass. But he is awake, and there is no internal bleeding.” The medic replied honestly without any emotion as if he was a robot rather than human.

“What? One’s dead, and one’s in critical condition?” The commissar had been prepared, but this result had still shocked him nonetheless. However, pondering for a moment, he quickly calmed his heart and asked, “And what of lieutenant colonel Wang, is he fine? How was a gun involved?”

“Commissar Yang, I am not sure of the definite details, but lieutenant colonel Wang is fine.”

“Good. You may leave, save them to the best of you ability! I will get to the bottom of this.” The commissar had suddenly found himself sweltering with heat. His forehead had begun to sweat profusely, and so he had quickly torn off his military uniform. As he walked, he began to brood to himself.

“I only wanted them to fight to poke at their honor and kick the ladder underneath them, how did a gun get involved? With a gun, the nature of this is completely changed. If it was just a fight, using the arms or legs to cripple or kill, that’d be fine. But using a gun to kill? That’d be disastrous.”

Just as commissar Yang was scurrying over, Wang Chao was observing the medic currently trying to attach an oxygen mask to Duan Guochao’s face. Then, checking his pulse, the medic knew that the attempt was fruitless. Slowly closing his eyes, the medic let out a sigh.

“What, did he actually die?” Lin Yanan holstered her gun and looked at Wang Chao as if she had thought something wasn’t right.

Wang Chao nodded his head.

Lin Yanan’s face drained of color for a moment before quickly regaining it. “There’s some trouble, but nothing you need to worry about, it won’t be too major.”

“I’m not afraid of trouble. I just didn’t think that Duan Guochao would try to kill me straight from the start. If someone wishes to kill me, I won’t just stretch out my neck for them. I will kill them first, as common sense dictates before I decide on the consequences. I know that there will be some trouble for me, but in the future, I will also be awarded, a promotion may not be out of the question. You needn’t worry.”

Wang Chao watched as the medics lifted up the three without an iota of panic. His face had unexpectedly been even more transparent than Lin Yanan.

“What’s going on, how did a gun battle take place? I told you before, fighting with the arms or leg is fine no matter what, but a gun battle is a different matter altogether.”

Just at that moment, commissar Yang came striding towards them with a forehead full of sweat.

“It’s like this,” Lin Yanan moved to explain the situation. “After Wang Chao defeated Duan Guochao, Chen Ke moved to fire her gun first. Ah, the monitors we have up around the lounge will tell you what you need to know.”

“Oh, is that it?” When commissar Yang heard Lin Yanan’s explanation, his face had softened up a little bit, “Have the videotapes brought over.”

On the spot, the commissar had inspected the videotapes brought to him on the projector screen in the hall. From start to finish, he had carefully scrutinized everything, and when he saw the not even 10 minute match between Wang Chao and Duan Guochao, he had instead sighed with admiration.

“If you were to film a Hollywood movie, you’d be movie stars for sure. After seeing this battle, even someone who doesn’t understood martial arts like me would have the urge to learn it.”

Wang Chao smiled, “Those who truly practice would find it an extraordinary humiliation to perform. We move to kill our enemies, not perform.”

“What a shame!” After finishing the recording, commissar Yang’s heart had eased up a little. Turning to look at Wang Chao, he spoke, “Youngster, you are quite brutal in your methods.”

“If I was not brutal, then the one laying on the ground would be me.” Wang Chao spoke calmly.

“I was not talking about Duan Guochao, but rather Lin Yanan’s final shot. If she hadn’t fired her gun, then none of you would have to bear any responsibility. But now that a gun was involved, the nature is quite different. No matter who fired, the higher ups won’t look kindly to it!”

Commissar Yang looked to Lin Yanan, “I say, Yanan, you’ve been trained as a soldier, just how were you not able to control yourself?”

“That is?” Lin Yanan muttered, “I violated the discipline of the organization. However, the situation was rather panicked, and I didn’t have too much time to think.”

“That won’t do.” The commissar’s eyebrows narrowed in deep thought.

“Commissar Yang, they had fired the first shot, Lin Yanan had only retaliated. The error is not on us.” Wang Chao pointed out.

“That is the discipline of the organization. If they fired first, then the higher ups will naturally penalize them majorly. But if you return fire, then there will be punishment as well. If you fired, and I returned fire, then wouldn’t it become a huge mess? A fire fight?” Commissar spoke.

“With that logic, should we let them fire? Should we not retaliate? Is that not wrong?” Wang Chao pressed.

“There is no such thing as wrongs or injustice in the army. All there is is strict adherence to the organization’s discipline, and following orders!”

Commissar Yang’s words grew serious, but when he looked at Wang Chao, he softened. “You are a man of the Wulin. Although you hold a military rank, you were not trained for it. To not know is pardonable. In the army, fights are commonplace. But in the case a gun is used, the nature grows extremely serious. This is a rigid provision that has many precedents. To use the arms to fight is a brawl. At most, it is detention for the soldiers. But using a gun is akin to mutiny, or insurrection. That means a military tribunal will be needed. This time if Lin Yanan did not use her gun and all three members were to die, then it wouldn’t be much. However, with that gun used, the situation has gotten worse.”

“Was there a clause like that?” Wang Chao thought for a moment, but then realization had hit him.

“I’ll have to send this tape to the higher ups and report it. You two, stay here in the military district and don’t even make a single step out. Wait for the higher ups to deal with this.” The commissar sighed, “What a shame, if only a gun wasn’t used.”

“However, you don’t need to be too worried. I say this to you as a friend, rather than a boss. Lighten up a bit. That is my opinion.” Commissar Yang had seen the light in Wang Chao’s eyes and comforted him, “You have contributed greatly. We will do our best to guarantee your safety. You are a talent, we cannot so easily throw away such a talent. I estimate that after the higher ups make their investigation, they will at most hand over a punishment in name with no real substance. Afterwards, your military rank will raise again. You’re a lieutenant colonel now, but in two years, you’ll be a colonel, or senior colonel, then a major general, the same as me. But the troubles Lin Yanan might face will be bigger than yours.”

“What troubles will she face? At most what will it be?” At commissar Yang’s words, Wang Chao had felt more amiable than before. With a smile, he said, “Would it be possible for me to help her fight it? I am but a man of the military in name only, she is different.”

“How have you not realize it yet? You are still speaking as a man of the Jianghu.” Commissar Yang laughed, “What do you mean by fight it? Using scapegoats are what the criminal world uses. We are the government, how we deal with it is how we will deal with it. Whomever makes the mistake, they will be investigated. If we were to substitute them for someone else, can you imagine the mess? Your way of thinking needs to change.”

“Well then, you two should go and rest. Ah, I’ll loosen the restriction. You may leave the compound as you wish, but not Hong Kong. If something happens, come straight back. Since this is our internal department, things will be more lax.”

Commissar Yang had loosened the conditions, “This is my personal initiative as reciprocation for you giving us some air to breath. How unfortunate.”

“I was talented, and Duan Guochao was talented. That is the true misfortune.” Wang Chao suddenly spoke.

“The death of a talent means he was no talent. He has no worth. As a friend, that is my warning to you.” Commissar Yang suddenly spoke, “So you must remember, no matter what happens, you cannot die.”

“Thank you.” Wang Chao nodded.

After exiting the office, Lin Yanan suddenly grew gloomy, “I didn’t think that after coming to Hong Kong, so much trouble would occur. Ah, I’m sure in two days, the higher ups will have some men come down to investigate. I don’t know what trouble will happen at that time, but it won’t be good for me.”

Wang Chao smiled, “Don’t think too much about it for now. We haven’t died yet, we are talented. We still have worth. That means there is no major trouble yet. Although I came to Hong Kong once before, I wasn’t able to take a stroll. Why don’t we do that today?”