Four Competitions of Wine, Lust, Wealth, and Anger: The Wealth Challenge
Only one cup of wine remained—the Wine, Lust, Wealth, and Anger contest had reached its final showdown. Yang Qi and North Youth had been neck and neck the whole way, each taking turns in the lead, and now it all came down to this last cup. The crowd below was dazzled, watching the bamboo rafts above spin and dip at breakneck speed, like a storm-tossed sea. In the midst of all this chaos, Yang Qi and North Youth weaved and darted, trading blows so quickly that no one could tell what was happening anymore.
“What’s going on up there?” Fang Lingji asked, unable to hide her anxiety.
East Youth stared unblinkingly upward and replied, “Shh, don’t talk. It’s almost over.”
West Butter shook his head in admiration. “That last cup’s been in the air for three whole breaths and still hasn’t landed. That’s just incredible! For that alone, big bro deserves a silver thumb!”
South Uncle Qi scratched his head. “Where’d he come from? Never heard of him before. The world really is a big place.”
At that moment, Madam Dai’s eyes widened slightly. “Here it comes.”
Bang! There was a loud noise from above as both contestants went flying backward, tumbling out of the bamboo raft area and plummeting from the fourth floor toward the ground below.
North Youth spun through the air in a triple somersault, finally stretching out flat midair, head resting on his arms as he fell.
“Eh?” The two girls gasped and rushed forward to catch him, but it was too late—North Youth was about to hit the ground. Their pupils shrank, dreading the sight of blood. But just three feet from the floor, North Youth suddenly slowed, drifting down like a leaf on a breeze, landing gently and drunkenly muttering, “Lost... I’m drunk... I’m going to sleep first...”
The guy wasn’t hurt at all—he just started snoring away right there on the floor.
“His lightness skill is that good?” To pull that off without even using his legs, relying purely on internal power—now that’s downright legendary.
On the other side, Yang Qi landed smoothly and stood perfectly still. His left hand was behind his back, right hand holding a wine cup—except the cup was empty. Drops of water fell from above, and without even looking, Yang Qi swept his hand to catch them, not missing a single drop. By the end, the cup was perfectly full—not a drop more, not a drop less.
He tipped his head back and drank the wine in one gulp, his eyes shining. “Now that’s good wine! And what a match!”
Madam Dai’s calm voice rang out: “The challenger has one more cup. Challenger wins.”
“Waaaah!” In an instant, cheers and applause exploded from the crowd. All the girls on the fifth floor waved and screamed, and even the trio of goofballs joined in with gentle claps. East Youth laughed heartily and shouted, “Nice! Your lightness skill is something else—you’ve really opened our eyes! And you even broke through mid-fight, congrats!”
That’s right—Yang Qi, pumped after beating North Youth, had just smoothly broken through to the second level of the Postnatal Realm, reaching the ten-year mark. Of course, for him, that was just a small step, so we’re not going to make a big deal out of it in the chapter title.
“That was an awesome match! So, what’s next?” Yang Qi was riding high. The Four Vagabond Knights each had their own tricks, and this contest had taught him a lot. Even if he got nothing else out of this trip to Eight Directions City, it’d still be worth it—this was his martial arts adventure, after all.
“You beat one of us, so you’ve earned the right to stay. However long you want, we’ll welcome you. But—” East Youth grinned mischievously. “Things are just heating up. If we don’t keep competing, nobody’s going to be satisfied, right?”
“Of course!” This time it wasn’t Yang Qi who answered, but Fang Lingji, who was getting fired up. “No matter what the contest is, we’re in! Next up in Wine, Lust, Wealth, and Anger is—” She trailed off, suddenly deflated. Compete in lust? How would that even work?
“Hahaha!” The three goofballs knew exactly what Fang Lingji was thinking and burst out laughing. East Youth shook his head. “Forget it, let’s save the Lust contest for last. We’ll skip it for now and move on to Wealth! Madam Dai, if you please.”
With a calm wave of her hand, Madam Dai set everyone bustling again. While the others got busy, Fang Lingji asked, “So how’s this contest going to work? We’re not just seeing who’s got more money, right?”
“Wealth, naturally, means fortune. Sure, gold and silver count as wealth, but for people in the martial world, that’s not the most important kind. Our greatest assets are our bodies,” South Uncle Qi explained. “Hands, feet, elbows, knees, head, and waist—these are the six treasures of martial arts. Join hands and feet, elbows and knees, head and waist as one, and your strength flows through all six harmoniously. That’s what this Wealth contest is about.”
He leapt down from the second-floor balcony, his burly frame radiating power. With one hand, he grabbed the still-snoring North Youth and tossed him back up to the second floor like a sack of sand—didn’t even worry about breaking the kid. Clenching his fist, he declared loudly, “No internal power, no weapons—just a showdown using our natural-born bodies!”
“Uh...” The two girls moved in perfect sync—first a gasp, then leaning back, then wide-eyed, then glancing at each other, and finally cracking up. “You sure you want to do this?”
“You two good at this? Doesn’t matter! It’s only fun to compete with experts. And me—Old South—never slacks on the basics. Who knows who’ll win!” South Uncle Qi said confidently.
By then, the arena was ready. The big bamboo raft from before was lowered to the ground, propped up by four bamboo poles, with red strings hanging down. Each string had copper coins dangling from it, forming a little pavilion more than ten feet tall, festooned with coins.
“Let me show you how it’s done.” South Uncle Qi stepped under the pavilion, standing among the hanging coins. He placed twenty copper coins on top of his head and started a round of shadowboxing. As he moved, he explained, “The twenty coins on your head can’t fall, and you can’t use your hands to catch them—anything else goes.” The coins slid from his head to his shoulders and chest, but never scattered.
“Also, don’t touch the red strings.” The big guy advanced and retreated among the lines, somehow never touching a single one.
“If a coin hits the ground, or if you touch a string with your hands or feet—once you hear the jingle of coins, that’s it, match over.” South Uncle Qi finished his set and said confidently, “I’m pretty darn good at this.”
The two girls just laughed even harder, shaking their heads as they giggled.
“This contest? That’s just bullying you!” Fang Lingji pointed her thumb at Yang Qi. “You know our master’s nickname, right? ‘Where the peach blossoms pass, not a blade of grass remains; where coins fall, heads roll.’ When it comes to not dropping coins, we’re pros! Mehahaha!”
Fang Lingji was being so cocky, it was almost over the top—even the trio of goofballs felt a bit nervous. But she wasn’t wrong—if Yang Qi went up against South Uncle Qi in this contest, it’d be like a martial arts master steamrolling a bunch of bandits. The world of national arts and the world of wuxia have different skill trees—even in the national arts world, Yang Qi could take on all comers. No need to show off here.
So, seeing his disciple laugh so gleefully, the master couldn’t help but go a little dark: “Lingji, you’re right—we’re pros. So you go up and take this one.”
Fang Lingji’s laughter froze, and her face instantly fell. “Uh...” Being told to fight herself, she wasn’t so sure. She’d had some national arts training, but her wuxia roots ran deep—her skills were half-and-half, and pure hand-to-hand wasn’t her strong suit against the Four Vagabond Knights.
“What’s wrong, scared?”
“Not scared! Just... what if I lose and embarrass you...” She tried to sound brave, but the thought of going up against a big guy like South Uncle Qi made her a little nervous.
Yang Qi turned to his other disciple. “Yuxi, you go.”
“Yes, Master.” Rachel Luo didn’t hesitate. The senior disciple wasn’t much of a talker, but when it mattered, she always stepped up. She rolled up her sleeves and stepped into the pavilion, picking up twenty copper coins. Instead of putting them on her head, she placed them on her shoulders—ten on each side.
Rachel Luo wasn’t dumb—she knew she couldn’t pull off those high-level tricks with coins all over her body. Unless you’d practiced for ages or were a real master, nobody could just do that on the spot. But she had her own method—something only a modern person would think of.
“I lost weight just to show off my collarbones, but before I could, I ended up in another world—and now I’m using them for this!” That’s right, Rachel Luo tucked the coins into her collarbone hollow. And that hollow? South Uncle Qi, big and burly as he was, didn’t have it at all. In fact, ninety-nine percent of tough martial artists wouldn’t have it either.
South Uncle Qi’s eyes went wide.
“Let’s get started.” Madam Dai gave the order, and the cheering began again—the Wealth contest was on. Yang Qi told Fang Lingji to watch closely, while he sat off to the side, overseeing things. Two out of the four contests—Wine and Wealth—had already been revealed, and both were clever and meaningful.
The first contest, Wine, was all about lightness skills and observation. In the martial world, the most important thing is being quick on your feet and sharp-eyed. Good judgment keeps you from offending the wrong people, and fast footwork lets you escape when you do. These are the must-have survival skills for anyone in the martial world—just like when Yang Qi led the girls through the forest at the start.
The second contest, Wealth, tested basic martial arts skills. The six treasures—hands, feet, elbows, knees, head, waist—aren’t called that in national arts, but they’re all equally important. No matter what weapon you train with or what internal power you cultivate, you can’t skip the basics. From this, you can tell the Four Vagabond Knights are clever and perceptive weirdos.
“Yep, Yuxi’s a quick learner and smart, too.” In just a short time, the match had already seen several exchanges. Rachel Luo knew her strengths and weaknesses—she hadn’t trained long, and couldn’t pick up martial arts as fast as Yang Qi had with Prāṇa Technique. Facing South Uncle Qi head-on was impossible, so she made full use of her small, agile frame, circling with Bagua steps.
“Advance, retreat, hard and soft, up and down—Master already taught me the Eight Forces. I can do this—I have to!” Rachel Luo recalled the feeling of practicing push hands with Yang Qi: gentle, light, and focused. She wasn’t the most talented or the fastest learner, but she was willing to reflect, push herself, and work hard. Compared to a few days ago, her Bagua steps had improved leaps and bounds.
She focused so intensely that she tuned out the cheers and shouts around her. All she could sense was herself, her opponent, and the dangling coins. Before she knew it, she’d entered a state of total immersion.
“Oh, interesting,” East Youth nodded at Rachel Luo. “She’s got talent.”
No one knew how much time had passed when a sudden jingle rang out—the contest was over. A coin had dropped, but it wasn’t Rachel Luo’s; it was South Uncle Qi’s. But the big guy hadn’t lost by accident—he’d stepped out of the arena, taken the coins from his head, and handed them to Madam Dai. “I concede.”
Yang Qi rose and cupped his fists. “Thank you for letting us win.”
He meant letting Rachel Luo have the win. The girl was still standing dazed in the pavilion, clearly having an epiphany. From the start, South Uncle Qi had plenty of chances to win, but he kept going until Rachel Luo got into the zone.
“No big deal—the more strong folks in the martial world, the more fun it gets.” South Uncle Qi might have a funny name, but he was all business now. “And it’s not really letting you win. If your disciple can reach this level, you must be even better than me—so losing’s no shame. But you owe me a favor now.” He raised his hand.
“Sure.” Yang Qi didn’t hesitate, raising his right hand. “Let’s have a match.”
South Uncle Qi took a deep breath and locked eyes with Yang Qi, his whole presence sharpening. Even the usually laid-back weirdos perked up, and North Youth, who’d been asleep, opened his eyes. Madam Dai straightened in her seat, her beautiful eyes fixed on the two of them. For everyone present, the real contest was just beginning.
Thud—both men stepped forward at the same time. The step was silent, but to the crowd it sounded like a drumbeat. To their eyes, the two seemed to move in slow motion.
First strike: fist to fist.
Second strike: elbow to elbow.
Third strike: knee to knee.
Fourth strike: foot to foot.
Four simple clashes, but they were anything but simple. No one could say if Yang Qi’s moves were hard or soft, strong or gentle, offensive or defensive. To the crowd, the four strikes looked like slow motion, but the feeling was pure awe—they couldn’t make sense of it at all.
Fifth move: shoulder to shoulder, then they passed each other. Yang Qi pushed South Uncle Qi’s arm like turning a millstone, both circling with their footwork. Their clothes stirred the air, their gazes collided—in that moment, everything was crystal clear. The crowd felt like they’d entered a soundless world, and only when Yang Qi finally stood still did they snap back to reality, shaking their heads in amazement.
“Whoa...” The three weirdos on the second floor exchanged glances, whispering in shock, their eyes wide. “The gap’s huge...”
Bang—South Uncle Qi cupped his fists and bowed. “There’s always someone stronger—thanks for the match. I lost!” He might’ve lost, but he looked genuinely happy. “May I ask your name, sir?”
Yang Qi cupped his fists in return. “I wouldn’t dare—I’m Yang Qi.”
Just then, Rachel Luo, who’d been zoning out in the pavilion, suddenly snapped out of it. She had no idea what had just happened, looked around in confusion, then stared at herself in amazement. Finally, she said to Yang Qi, “Master, I don’t know how, but I just found my qi sense! And I’ve mastered the first level of Prāṇa Technique!”
All the girls who’d been clueless up to now finally realized who’d won, and the cheers and screams erupted again.
“Nice, Yang Qi!” The three weirdos didn’t stay on the second floor—they all jumped down (North Youth was still asleep and had to be hauled down by his collar). East Youth came over and gave Yang Qi a good look, like he was seeing him for the first time. “Winning two contests in a row—hasn’t happened in years! Impressive! We lost the Wealth contest, but next up, you’re in for a challenge.”
Wine tests lightness, Wealth tests basics—so what do you think Qi will test next? Pretty obvious, right?
“One of the four essentials in the martial world: internal power! For the third contest, Qi, my third brother will take the stage.” With that, he patted West Butter on the shoulder. West Butter stepped forward. “Yang Qi, let’s see whose internal power is stronger.”