Chapter 5 - Sticks and Gamble

"This is bad! I've heard that Huo Zhong has recently broken through into the third level of the Qi accumulation realm, while we are only at the first level. Why is he targeting us?" Guo Pang panicked as he whispered to Feng Qian. Even though he was scared of the perverted ghost, he feared getting beaten up more.

"You know quite a lot about him. What more do you know?" Feng Qian asked curiously. Before setting the trap, he needed information so that he could use it in his favour.

Initially, he was jealous of his advances towards Yan Xiuying and wanted to teach this kid a little lesson, but he hadn't thought that Huo Zhong would start the fight with him on his own.

"Of course I know him. Every successful merchant needs to have information to build connections, especially about nobles. This guy from the Huo family is the son of one of the elders in the main branch. His talent is in the top five of all the third generations in his clan, and he has even cultivated the Huo family's Qi breathing technique. Huo family specialises in fire techniques, so most of them have a short temper," Guo Pang explained.

Feng Qian frowned as he looked at the three lackeys following behind Huo Zhong. If he's only at the third level of Qi accumulation, then Feng Qian could handle him.

"We are going to play Sticks and Gamble; follow my lead," Feng Qian whispered back to Guo Pang with a mischievous smile.

"Sticks and Gamble? Are you sure? Huo Zhong is at the third level, and his lackeys are on the second level. We can't even handle a single one of them one on one," Guo Pang was unsure as beads of sweat rolled down his chubby face.

Feng Qian frowned a little, and after taking a deep look at Huo Zhong, who was walking towards them, he nodded affirmatively at his friend. If it was someone at their level, he could handle them even with his current weak body.

Guo Pang sighed for Huo Zhong's future, today yet another person would suffer harshly.

Sticks and Gamble was a game they had come up with in order to deal with and benefit from a crisis.

Usually, Feng Qian will be the stick and grab the attention of their prey, blowing a small matter out of proportion, making it such that the other party would stake a bet. And then, Guo Pang would gamble on it, resolving the issue and benefiting immensely from it.

It's just that this was one of the riskiest situations they were in, and their chances of losing were very high. Still, Guo Pang had great faith in his brother and decided to play along with him.

Even though it takes a long time to explain, everything occurred in a few breaths of time as Huo Zhong and his lackeys came closer to the two of them.

Seeing the two friends ignore him and whisper to each other, Huo Zhong was angry.

One of his lackeys found this opportunity to get on Huo Zhong's good side and yelled, "Did you not hear what our boss said?"

He wanted to show off his strength, so he ran towards them and tried to grab Feng Qian's collar. But before he could do that, Feng Qian had already grabbed his wrist.

He tried to pull back, but to his horror, he was unable to generate any strength.

Feng Qian had gathered immense knowledge about the parts of the human body and had pressed the meridian in his hand such that the lackey was not able to generate any strength.

Feng Qian looked back at Huo Zhong and a childish idea came to his mind. He punched the lackey around his navel, and as his fist touched the body, he forced a little amount of Qi into it.

The lackey slid through the floor due to momentum, walking two steps back before maintaining the balance. He felt weakness spread all over his body and couldn't control his Qi flow. He tried his best to stand straight and fight back, but before he could do anything, he suddenly felt nauseous and farted loudly.

His fart was loud and roaring just like thunder, making others in the hall nauseous and wanting to throw up because of the stinking smell.

Many wanted to laugh at the scene, but they held it back because the lackey was farting right in front of Huo Zhong, standing just two steps ahead of him.

Because Huo Zhong and his other two followers were standing behind him, all the fumes got into their noses as they felt a gush of warm air, making them so nauseous that the other two lackeys passed out instantly.

Huo Zhong somehow managed to keep his senses, but the nauseating feeling and smell made him vomit vigorously.

After Huo Zhong controlled his nauseous feeling, he found others giggling and laughing at the actions of his lackey, which made him lose face.

He wanted to mock Feng Qian to prove that this plebian had no future so that Yan Xiuying wouldn't care about him, but instead, he was put in a shameful situation by one of his own followers.

It is all because of this kid. Huo Zhong gritted his teeth as he stared at Feng Qian. He had already marked him as his enemy.

Feng Qian, on the other hand, looked shocked and confused as if he was unaware of what had transpired. As if realisation had struck him, Feng Qian slapped the side of his right fist into his left palm and said innocently, "Ohh, you were suffering from excessive flatulence, so you came to me to cure it. You could have said so earlier, we could have gone somewhere else. You ruined the appetite of other apprentices."

Hearing Feng Qian's reply, other students rolled their eyes at his third grade acting.

After listening to this, the lackey who got punched spat out blood and fainted.

"And who are you?" Feng Qian looked at Huo Zhong with a hint of provocation.

Guo Pang started sweating by seeing the way Feng Qian responded. This guy had already made it a big issue and started the fight. Fatty Guo was unsure if Feng Qian could really win. But now. it was time to bait the fish into gambling so he could only go with the plan.

Looking at his followers fainting without a proper fight and his reputation damaged, Huo Zhong was already livid with rage.

"Do you have to be so malicious and low handed? We just came to have a conversation, and is this how you treat your fellow disciples?" Huo Zhong gritted his teeth and asked angrily. He had to retaliate for the sake of his face otherwise, his reputation would dwindle and his position in his family might also take a hit. After all, their position in the clan depends on how capable they are.

"Malicious? I don't understand what you are talking about? I just helped him release some gas so that he could feel better." Feng Qian said innocently, "And if you don't like it, then bite me!"

Feng Qian didn't bother to be polite. The more polite you are in front of them, the more they'll try to walk over you. It's better to slap them so hard that they start to fear you.

Huo Zhong was confused whether the person in front of him was overconfident in his abilities or just plain stupid and didn't realise his situation. Did he have some sort of hidden card up his sleeves, or was he trying to bluff?

He was in the third level of the Qi accumulation realm, and has the backing of his family's cultivation technique, making him stronger than an average martial artist.

Meanwhile, this cheeky boy had only entered the first level. There was a great chasm of difference between their strengths, especially when he cultivated a much better breathing technique and had all sorts of guidance and resources from his clan. He could crush him with just one arm.

"What are you looking at? Want to fight?" Feng Qian said aggressively as he rolled up his sleeves like a street thug when he saw Huo Zhong staring at him with disdain.

Seeing no response from him, Feng Qian provoked him again, "Are you scared? HUH?"

Huo Zhong finally couldn't handle the provocation and agreed to fight. If he still refuses after multiple provocations, then he will be seen as chicken hearted.

Seeing Huo Zhong agree, a wide grin appeared across Feng Qian's face.

Feng Qian could already hear the clinking sound of money.

"Are you sure about fighting me?"

"Are you 100% sure you will win?"

"Do you even know who I am?"

"You look weak, are you sure you can handle the pain?"

"You won't cry like a baby right?"

He started making crude remarks at Huo Zhong to make him angrier.

Huo Zhong wanted to trample on Feng Qian's proud face and show him the difference between them so that he could never raise his head in front of him.

Even Yan Xiuying and others frowned looking at Feng Qian's weird behaviour.

Guo Pang was becoming more and more anxious watching Feng Qian make the situation more chaotic. He feared that if Feng Qian lost then they both would be beaten black and blue with at least two broken bones.

Thinking that the provocation was enough, Feng Qian proposed an offer.

"How about we make a bet?" he said with a wide smile reaching across his face. He tried to look friendly, but his smile made him look like a bandit trying to act like a monk.