Chapter 12 Tournaments

He Yongfu took the children to warm up by the brazier, and said with a smile: "Ling'er, our martial arts competition here is organized by the hunters in our vast mountainous area, and the competition is until the point is reached, it is just an annual lively gathering in our mountains, and men, women and children can participate or watch. He Yongfu paused and said: "The martial arts conference on the rivers and lakes is different, ordinary people don't dare to see the excitement, the people in the rivers and lakes are not only strong in martial arts, but also most of them are ruthless, plus there are many grievances in the rivers and lakes, they will fight each other if they don't do well, and ordinary people don't know what's going on when they lose their lives." ’

It turns out that this place is a vast mountainous area, the people in this mountain are mainly hunting and farming as a supplement, the hunters live very scattered, some one or two households live in a mountain col, some two or three households, some five or six households, the most people's Orion Village is Feiyun Valley, there are more than 30 families in the village, and there is a small river flowing out of the valley in the south of the village. To the west of the village is an open field on which the jousting tournament takes place. The competition is a fist and foot competition, and those who get the first place can be exempted from paying taxes for one year, and a tiger head bronze medal will be issued to show that the king is the first.

He Shouyu rested for a while after dinner and went to the practice shed to practice boxing. He Yongfu took the child to guard the brazier, and Lianxiang said, "Grandpa, what story do you want to tell today?" Grandpa said: "I won't tell any stories today, I'll teach you Brother Ling to learn martial arts after a while." Lianxiang said, "Grandpa, then I have to learn too." Grandpa said, "You're too young, wait two years and then study." Lian Xiang was unconvinced and said, "Isn't Brother Ling a year older than me, why can't he learn if he can learn." Grandpa said, 'Is he a boy?' Lianxiang pouted and said, "Grandpa is eccentric, grandpa doesn't care about Xiang'er anymore, Xiang'er ignores grandpa." Grandpa smiled: "Xiang'er is really angry, but you can't ignore grandpa, then grandpa will suffocate to death, okay, if you really want to learn, then the three of you will teach it together, first say which one is not good at learning, you will be beaten with your palms and spanked, and you are not allowed to cry your nose." When Lian Xiang heard that her grandfather agreed to let her learn martial arts, she immediately smiled and said, "Let grandpa deal with it, and never cry." ’

He Yongfu rested for a while and began to teach in the hall. He Yongfu first moved the brazier aside and said to the children, "You three stand up, listen carefully and remember." As the saying goes, if you don't practice martial arts until you get old, do you know how to call it practice?' Boer immediately replied: "I know, it's just a few sets of punches a day." He Yongfu said: "Wrong, it's not as simple as fighting those sets of boxing techniques every day. Kung Fu is divided into internal and external, but it is still one when it is really used. Internal strength is the practice of qi, which is the skill of standing and sitting on the pile, which must be practiced every morning and evening, and the external skill is the practice of hands, waist, legs and feet, that is, squatting steps, lower waists, punching sandbags, and kicking sandbags that must be practiced every day. Only by practicing these basic skills can we stand firmly, and the moves can be fast, accurate and ruthless, so from today onwards, we must study hard and practice without interruption, and kung fu can be continued gradually. ’

He Yongfu paused and said, "Let's learn internal skills today and teach you to practice the method of breathing and breathing. So He Yongfu taught them the mantra of practice, and Bo Erjue had already memorized the rolling melons, so he was not interested in looking around. He Yongfu said: "If Bo'er doesn't want to hear it, go and practice with your father." Boer said: "I have long wanted to leave, I have already known this, and I will listen to it." After saying that, he ran away, He Yongfu continued to teach Ling'er and Lianxiang, and when they memorized the mantra, they explained the meaning and the method of breathing to them, Ling'er and Lianxiang listened to the lecture while learning their grandfather's jiashi breathing.

The weather is clear, the sun is shining on the earth, and the white earth reflects the dazzling golden light of the sun. Because the snow is deep and inconvenient to go into the mountains to hunt, so the adults have nothing to do, He Shouyu is also preparing to participate in the martial arts competition this year, and he is also practicing every day to prepare for the war. The children also practice every day, and when they are tired, they run to play. Ling'er refused to let go of such a good opportunity to practice, he spent most of his time practicing qigong, and on the surface he did it was taught by He Yongfu, and he was familiar with the mantras. The qigong he really practiced was not the one He Yongfu taught, but the Nine Heavens Wuji Divine Skill that he practiced. He basically doesn't play, only Lianxiang stubbornly pesters to play for a while, and plays some games of hide and seek, wolf chasing sheep, and blind people touching catfish.

A good life is fast, and it has come to the eighteenth day of the lunar month in a blink of an eye. He Yongfu's family got up early and prepared to go to the martial arts competition after eating. Bo'er and Lianxiang both put on new clothes and shoes, and Ling'er also put on the tattered cotton clothes with new gowns and new pants, and also put on new shoes. He Shouyu and Qingju were also dressed neatly, He Yongfu and his wife were guarding at home, and the children were all following to see the excitement, Ling'er was reluctant to go at first, but then his grandfather forced him to go before agreeing to go, and he was ready to leave after eating.

He Shouyu put the three children on horseback, and led the horse and Qingju on the ground by himself. The snow has melted, and the road has dried seven or eight floors, and it is quite refreshing to walk. They walked for a while before they reached Feiyun Valley, and as soon as they entered the valley, they saw that the field was already crowded with people, and there were already a lot of people gathered. Boer was pleasantly surprised, "Oh, there are a lot of people over there." Lian Xiang smiled: "I have never seen so many people, Brother Ling, have you seen it?" Ling'er said: "Of course I have seen it, and I have seen more people than this." Lian Xiang suddenly realized: "Oh yes, Brother Ling turned out to be from outside the mountain, and he must have seen many people partying. Ling'er said: "If you catch up with the temple fair, there will be even more people, even tens of thousands." Lianxiang smiled, "It must be fun." They talked about it and came to the side of the competition venue, He Shouyu found a place outside the field to tie the horse, and then went to the conference organization office to sign up, Qingju took the three children to look around.

On a flat field, a large competition platform was erected with wood, and on the other side, some businessmen from outside the mountain brought daily necessities and placed them in a row, all of which were goods that were not available in the mountain, and on one side, several temporary rice shops had set up, and had begun to stew meat and boil fish.

The tournament starts on time, and the registration deadline also starts at the same time, and it is not allowed to participate in the tournament later. The head of the conference was Li Feiyun, the village head of Feiyun Valley, and he was also the head of the Orion in the Vast Mountain, and he was the leader.

A row of high seats was set up on the north side of the martial arts competition, which was for Li Feiyun and a few respected people to sit on, who were the supervisors and referees of the martial arts competition. A young man named Cai Wu rang the gong with a gong, and everyone knew that the competition was about to start, so everyone gathered in front of the stage. I saw Li Feiyun standing on the supervision platform and signaling that the gong could stop, and then said loudly: "Now that the martial arts competition has begun, I will read the names of those who participated in the competition now, and those who read the names will all go to the stage, and wait for the competition to draw lots." Li Feiyun breathed a sigh and said: "I will read the names now, Zhang Dachuan, Wang Gaoshan, Liu Decao, Zhu Changrui, Yang Shanggao, He Shouyu, Cui Yongping, a total of twenty-eight people. After Li Feiyun read the names, the twenty-eight people all stood on the stage, and then drew lots to return to the stage.

It turns out that the contest draw is 28 people draw 28 lots, but there are only 14 numbers, if any two people draw the same number, these two people are opponents. After the first round of the competition, there are 14 people who won, and then draw lots for the second round of the competition, and seven people will win in the second round, after the draw of lots, the third round of the competition, the seven people can only be matched into three pairs, and the remaining one person will be matched with the three people who won the third round of the lottery, until the winner of the zuihou becomes the champion of the competition, not only can get a tiger head bronze medal, but also can be exempted from paying taxes for the next year.

After the draw, the competition begins, and the competition is one-on-one according to the lottery number. Li Feiyun took the slip and shouted: "No. 1 Zhang Dachuan and Wang Gaoshan have come to power. Zhang Dachuan is in his twenties, with a tiger's back and a bear's waist, and first came to the stage to play a few tricks to show his strength. Followed on the stage was Wang Gaoshan, a medium-sized man in his thirties, who practiced two tricks to split his palm. As soon as Cai Wu's gong sounded, the two of them fisted together, Zhang Dachuan's blood and qi just made a move to attack, and a black tiger hit Wang Gaoshan's chest directly, Wang Gaoshan was experienced and did not show weakness, and a move Jiaolong went to sea to open Zhang Dachuan's fist with his left palm, and the two of them punched back and forth non-stop, and after a while, they fought for more than ten rounds. Wang Gaoshan slashed Huashan with a move and slashed at Zhang Dachuan's shoulder and neck, Zhang Dachuan sat backwards, and grabbed Wang Gaoshan's wrist with his left hand with a tiger claw. Seeing this, Wang Gaoshan immediately withdrew his palm and kicked Zhang Dachuan in the chest, Zhang Dachuan staggered back a few steps, Wang Gaoshan followed up with a move to swing his tail, and swept Zhang Dachuan off the stage with one leg. Cai Wu's gong sounded, and the game stopped, announcing that Wang Gaoshan had won, and the audience cheered.

Then the gong sounded again, and the second, third, and fourth went to the stage one by one, and some of them could distinguish the winner from the loser with three or five moves, some with seven or eight moves, and some with twenty or twenty moves. The audience cheered continuously, Qingju and the three children all looked at the stage intently, especially when He Shouyu was playing against others, he was even more nervous. At noon after the end of the first round of the competition, Li Feiyun announced the winners, and then drew lots, and after the draw was made, Li Feiyun shouted: "Now stop the game for the time being, everyone go to eat and rest, and continue the game after noon." So everyone dispersed, and they all went to eat and rest, especially those who participated in the martial arts competition, and they had to keep their spirits up and fight again in the afternoon. Some people go to the side to eat their own dry food, and some people want to eat hot food in front of the restaurant, but the front of the restaurant is very crowded, and it is not easy to walk over and eat and drink immediately. Fortunately, those who participate in the competition can eat and drink first, and they can also bring their families to eat together.

He Shouyu was also among the fourteen winners, and Qingju and the children came to him to congratulate and encourage. He Shouyu and Qingju walked to a restaurant with the children, he took out his number plate, and the shopkeeper immediately gave priority to the seats. The meal came up quickly, He Shouyu drank a little wine and ate, and after the family finished eating, He Shouyu and Qingju took the children to see the stalls outside the mountain again to see what they needed to buy.

There are one or two thousand people in the entire Feiyun Valley martial arts arena, doing buying and selling, and there is food that is useful. He Shouyu's family walked in front of the stall for a while, and Qingju said: "Bo'er and his father, I think you should find a place to rest for a while, and you will have to compete in the afternoon." He Shouyu said: "I don't feel tired and don't need to rest, I want to play with the child for a while." Ling'er said: "Godfather, you have to rest if you are not tired, only by recuperating can you play a greater role." Qingju smiled: "What Ling'er said makes sense, you can go and rest for a while." He Shouyu smiled and said, "Okay, let's go over there and rest for a while." After saying that, the family walked towards the place where the horse was tethered, and when they came to the tethered horse, He Shouyu found a flat stone and sat down, and his eyes were slightly closed to adjust his breathing.

Ling'er saw that there was nothing to do now, and sat down to practice, Bo'er smiled and said, "Ling'er, what kind of skill do you practice, do you also have to compete on stage in the afternoon?" Ling'er said: "Anyway, it's boring to have nothing to do now, so it's better to practice Huigong to pass the time." Boer pouted and said, 'Look at you like an old elf.' Qingju stopped: "Don't say any more, it's not good to disturb your father's practice." Lianxiang also felt bored, and said to her mother, "Mother, I want to buy two little red lanterns to play at home." Boer said, "Mother, I want to buy that little clay trumpet." Qingju smiled: "Okay, I'll take you to buy it, Ling'er, what do you want to play." Ling'er smiled and said, "Godmother, I'm not going, I don't want anything, I'll just accompany my godfather here to practice." Qingju smiled: "Okay, Bo'er Xiang'er, let's go, let Ling'er accompany your father here." After that, he took Boer and Xiang'er to go shopping.

Time flies, noon is soon past the time has not started, the competition is continuing, Li Feiyun read the list of fourteen people who won the competition, and the fourteen people have long been waiting in the audience. Li Feiyun shouted his name according to the lottery pairs and went to the stage one by one to compete, and every time there was a victory, there was a burst of cheers from the audience. Whenever there is a substitution competition on the stage, there is a lot of discussion in the audience, some say that Wang Gaoshan is expected to win the first place this year, some say that Zhu Changrui is more hopeful, and some people say that He Shouyu has greater hope. In the second round, the Zuihou pair came to the stage with He Shouyu and Liu Decao, and Qingju and the children watched nervously from the audience.

He Shouyu and Liu Decao came to the stage, hugged their fists and saluted each other, waiting for the host to say start, and after Cai Wu's gong sounded, the two made a move. Liu Decao stepped forward and punched He Shouyu in the chest, He Shouyu was not in a hurry to block the punch with his left hand, and hit Liu Decao's face with his right fist, Liu Decao saw that the punch was fierce and hurriedly retreated to avoid it, He Shouyu saw that the punch was empty, and then flew up and kicked towards Liu Decao's lower abdomen, Liu Decao had to retreat by mistake. As soon as He Shouyu fought, it was a fierce attack of punches and kicks, and Liu Decao, who was attacking, only had the ability to retreat and parry, and had no power to fight back, and he was forced to the edge of the stage, He Shouyu swept Liu Decao off the stage with a lotus leg in the air. The audience cheered and cheered, Qingju was full of smiles, the children were cheering, the second round of the competition was over, and the seven winners were moving their muscles and bones to prepare for the next round of fighting.

Li Feiyun shouted the names of the seven winners again, and all seven of them went to the stage to draw lots and match, seven people with three pairs and one person left, and then the remaining person and the three pairs of winning three people matched with each other, so that this person would have one less fight, and this was a lottery decision and they all accepted their fate. After several battles, the fourth round of the competition has ended, and the two winners are He Shouyu and Zhu Changrui. Zhu Changrui is in his twenties, tall and very burly, he is the winner of the tiger head card last year, and his strength is quite strong.

He Shouyu and Zhu Changrui stood opposite each other on the stage, clasped their fists and saluted each other, Cai Wu rang the gong, and the two of them fought. These two people can be described as rivals, the fight is very intense, the fists and feet are inseparable, the people watching the audience are silent and very silent, the two fought to more than 70 moves, He Shouyu kicked Zhu Changrui off the stage with a flying foot, He Shouyu really narrowly won. The audience was cheering and cheering, and Qingju and the children were even more happy.

After a gong sounded, the court fell silent again, and Li Feiyun announced: "This year's No. 1 tiger head medal winner is He Shouyu of He Jiaao. After Li Feiyun finished speaking, he personally handed the tiger bronze medal to He Shouyu, and said with a smile: "Congratulations on winning the first place, I hope you will win the first place next year." He Shouyu said with a smile: "This time it was just a fluke victory, and I don't dare to have extravagant hopes next year." Then Li Feiyun announced that this year's martial arts competition was over, and everyone dispersed.

The tournament was over, and at this time, just over half of the time of Shen, those who were on the short road were rushing home to buy some things that should be bought, and those who were far away were going to spend the night in the village. Hejiaao is not too far from here, only more than 20 miles, and you can rush home at night. He Shouyu said goodbye to Li Feiyun and his acquaintances one by one, and then put the children on horseback and went home happily with Qingju, talking and laughing along the way. By the time they arrived at home, it was already dark, He Yongfu and his wife He Yushi had already cooked the meal, and when they heard that their son had won the first place, they couldn't stop smiling. In the evening, the family drank wine and ate meat, laughing and laughing.

Ling'er lived very comfortably in He Yongfu's house, usually in addition to practicing, it was to play, and sometimes she went to herd horses with Bo'er. He spent most of his time practicing, because he knew that this was a hard-won opportunity, and he couldn't let it go. Only Bo'er and Xiang'er pestered him to play before they went to play with them for a while. Bo'er and Xiang'er were not to be outdone when they saw Ling'er working so hard, and they had to practice for a long time every day. In this way, the carefree period is three years. One autumn morning when Ling'er was ten years old, Ling'er and Bo'er were sleeping in the West Wing and were woken up by a rapid cough.