Liu Bei POV

Are you sure?! At this point, no one knows who will be deployed yet she has already decided to bet on this. Guan Ping really is devoted huh? To be thinking of being deployed as a lieutenant even now.

“… My lord, will this be fine?”

Un? When I looked down, I saw Gong You looking at me with worry and concern in her eyes, mixed in with hope for this to swiftly come to an end so we can return to our lessons. I shared her first 2 emotions, but not the last, but…

I looked at Guan Ping’s stubborn look and felt that her will to join Yun Chang in battle had been set in stone.

“It’s fine, Gong You.” I smiled stiffly and patted her shoulders as I sat down beside her to spectate, “Let them have their fun.”

This duel will allow all of us to see the difference in strength between them. If Guan Ping’s strength is vastly inferior to Zhou Cang’s, then she will have no choice but to accept Yun Chang’s prevailing decision not to allow her on the battlefield.

“Hu…” Gong You sighed in resignation. However, it does not seem like Gong You had any intention of mounting a serious protest from the very beginning anyway.

“… Umm, please make your final preparations then.” Gong You announced as she raised her hand above her head, “When my hand falls, the duel will commence. When I give the word, the duel will be over and the victor will be the one with the most points. Is that acceptable?”

“Sure. I’m interested to see how Lord Guan Yu’s disciple is like.”

“Mother taught me well!”

They were both energetic and raring to go and had already gotten into positions. With both of them adopting positions where their center of gravity was near the ground, it was clear that they both intended to charge out right from the start, as befitting of their styles and personalities.

“… Be–”

“Aya!”

“Hah!”

Gong You’s arm descended but her mouth a little slower as they both charged at each other and roared as though the other side was an enemy general.

*Dong*! *Dong* *Dong* *Dong*! *Dong*!

When they both went past each other, they exchanged multiple, rapid blows that made loud, dull thuds reverberate in my ears. As I looked at them, I found that my eyes could barely keep up with their movements. If I focused on their hands, I would miss out their footwork. If I really wanted to get a full picture, I would have to see if there were any unnatural movements which would occur after they got hit.

*Dong*! *Dong* *Dong*! *Da*!

“Yaaa!”

“Haaa!”

However, both of them had tense and ferocious looks on the entire time so I was beginning to suspect if it would ever be obvious in their expressions if they ever got hit.

I leaned over to Gong You and asked, “Gong You, are you sure you can see everything?”

“… I try my best.” Gong You said after a long while. I looked at her face and saw that she stared unblinkingly at the 2 of them. The brush in her hand was moving between the 2 names but there was nothing written yet. Looks like neither side has landed a hit yet.

*Ta*

“Waaaaaaah!!”

A heavy footstep was made on a rock as Zhou Cang was sent flying over 5 paces. She managed to somersault in the air and land on the ground before immediately charging at Guan Ping like a whirlwind yet again.

*Dong* *Dong* *Dong* *Dong* *Dong*!

Zhou Cang’s mini-whirlwind continued to spin over and over again as she exch

anged countless blows with Guan Ping.

“Wu!” “Kuh!”

Guan Ping was forced back but she grit her teeth and stabbed viciously into the whirlwind, breaking Zhou Cang’s momentum, sending her tumbling backwards.

But when Zhou Cang tumbled backwards, her feet began to move and they both began brawling in the middle yet again as they charged at each other. They were exchanging blows so fast that the sticks were a blur and all I could see was the white cloth at the end. In total, they exchanged about 20-30 blows in no time at all.

“Wu…” I looked down and saw that Gong You’s brush had not made any mark on the silk yet which means they have yet to land a blow on either side.

“Yaa!”

“Wu!”

Just then, Guan Ping suddenly applied a great amount of strength in her swing which Zhou Cang was not able to match, forcing Zhou Cang to bend backwards.

But just as her legs bent, she leapt backwards about 10-20 paces with the eyes of Gong You and I following her. Looks like she is going to charge out right away again.

Eh? But when I looked over, I saw another person standing in the path of Zhou Cang’s charge. Looks like Zhou Cang leapt over this person just now.

Eh, Yuan Zhi?!

Her red bandana allowed me to easily recognise her. But when did Yuan Zhi get there? Did she come to spectate the duel too?

“Yaaa!!” Before I could figure out what was going on, Zhou Cang had readied her stance and begun her charge. However, what was immediately in front of her was not Guan Ping but Yuan Zhi.

“Yuan Zhi! Watch out!” I yelled out. But from where I was, Yuan Zhi had her hands to her back and was looking ahead in a daze.

By now, the wooden stick was already just a few paces away and I could already foresee the wooden stick being covered with blood. I tried to save her but the distance was too great and I was unable to get there in time. All I could do was close my eyes and avoid seeing what would happen next.

“– Ah!” In the next instant, Yuan Zhi’s voice would be heard.

“Wu!” And another one right after hers. This one was heavier and rougher so it cannot have been Yuan Zhi’s. Was this from… Zhou Cang?

I was surprised by what I heard and moved my hands away to see what had happened. Yuan Zhi had taken a single step back and dodged Zhou Cang’s charge. It seemed like Zhou Cang had realised that Yuan Zhi was standing there at some point, and might have panicked or wavered, and tried desperately to decelerate, sending her tumbling forward in the process.

*Ta*!

After tumbling forward for about 5-6 paces, she came to a stop and used her foot to get up but because the ground was soft, her hard step resulted in her entire foot sinking into the mud!

“Kuh!” Zhou Cang grimaced as she tried to pull herself out–

*Dong*!

Just then, a dull thud filled the air. Unlike the sounds from before, this one was made by the stick connecting with bone. This means that victory has been decided.

“Alright! That’s it!”

This could possibly be the first, and last, time seeing Gong You quickly raising her hand and speaking at the same time.

Yes, I too think that the duel has been settled with this.

Guan Ping’s stick had landed on Zhou Cang’s shoulders. I do not know if it is because of the physical or mental effect of the attack but Zhou Cang had sunk further into the ground and her eyes looked listless.

“I… Won?” Guan Ping expressed disbelief at her sudden victory and in the next instant, she tossed her stick aside

“– I won!” Guan Ping leapt into the sky and cheered just like a normal adolescent would to celebrate her victory.

I looked at Guan Ping, feeling happy for her. I then looked at Zhou Cang and saw that her eyes were bulging. Looks like she is unable to accept at once that she got hit and Gong You had called for the duel to stop.

“Oi! T-this can’t count right?!” Zhou Cang exclaimed when she finally realised that she had lost, “Do you have to stop it now? Give me a little more time, I’ll definitely–”

“…” However, Gong You merely wordlessly shook her head, “– If it were one of your limbs that were hit, I could allow it to continue. But you were hit on your shoulders. If this were an actual battle, that would have been a fatal wound and Lord Zhou Cang would have been dead or dying now.”

As Gong You said so, she patted her own shoulder. In my mind, I replayed the scene from before again. Yes, the strength from the blow before was enough to force Zhou Cang to her knees. If it had been a bladed weapon, Zhou Cang would have been cut in half by now.

When she heard this, Zhou Cang frowned and pouted, “Even though Lord Xu Shu caused a mess halfway…”

“No, I was just standing there…” Yuan Zhi said with her eyebrows raised and was scratching her face with a finger. Though she said as much, she must have felt that she had caused trouble nonetheless.

“… A loss is a loss.” Gong You did not pay any heed to Zhou Cang’s protests and continued writing on the silk. When I looked over, she had drawn a lin under Guan Ping’s name and circled her name, “Lord Guan Ping is the victor of this duel.”

“Ohhh~~~” Guan Ping happily exclaimed as she bounced over to Gong You, who handed the piece of silk to her.

Guan Ping initially wanted to receive it with 1 hand but then muttered ‘Ah, no can do, I must follow the rules’ and then took it with both hands, “Many thanks to Lord Sun Qian for today.”