Absolute Death Game

While two people were chatting in the living room on the first floor, an old man dressed in a long robe walked in. As soon as he entered, Xiao Buli immediately understood what Mr. Bang meant by "Ming-Qing Zombie."

"Young Master, the master heard that you have a guest and invites him to the front hall for a chat." Seemingly oblivious to Xiao Buli's strange expression, the butler with a stern face nodded respectfully yet assertively to Mr. Bang.

Mr. Bang was used to seeing odd things, but the idea of meeting his grandfather made him feel somewhat troubled. He glanced at Xiao Buli, who nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders. Having come to someone's house, it was only natural to meet the host, no matter how big the "house" was.

Following the butler's lead, the two walked across two courtyards and through a moon gate into a garden. There they saw an energetic old man with white hair and beard, exuding an air of an hermit, dressed in Practice Clothes, waving a Pine Pattern Ancient Sword. With every move, he didn't show a trace of old age. Xiao Buli watched the old man, who appeared to be performing an unknown Swordsmanship, moving slow yet fast, enveloped in the light of his sword, flawless. Absentmindedly, Xiao Buli also began to make gestures, starting small and gradually growing larger, but his movements were different from the grandfather's. An expert onlooker would recognize that all were counters. Xiao Buli was crossing swords with the old man from afar.

As the two entered the garden, the old man had already taken note. However, in sword dance, continuity is key. Despite noticing the newcomers, he did not pause but continued until he had completed the set of Swordsmanship, before going over to talk. Watching from a distance with a cold eye, he felt some displeasure. Over the years, Shaobang had been a good-for-nothing, first abandoning the family business to play games, then being dragged back by his father, and later opening a somewhat unsavory bar in the city. Despite advocating democracy and appearing liberal on the surface, at heart the old man was very traditional. He utterly disdained the brightly dyed hair and bare-chested youngsters, so naturally, his opinion of Xiao Buli, a youth visiting his house, was dismissive.

However, as Xiao Buli's movements grew larger, the old man began to discern the subtleties and took interest. After a moment, he stopped and looked at Xiao Buli, asking with curiosity, "Young man, do you also understand Swordsmanship?"

Xiao Buli quickly stopped and with great deference replied, "I have never learned it, but the elder's dance is impressive, and I seem to perceive its brilliance."

This remark lightened the old man's heart. Flattery never goes out of style. Thus intrigued, he pulled out a short stick from a nearby rack and, with a sudden toss, threw his Longsword toward Xiao Buli. This move was extremely dangerous, for despite not being razor-sharp, it could cause injury if it struck. Nevertheless, Xiao Buli almost instinctively caught the hilt and swung the sword in a graceful arc.

"Come," the old man said as he saw Xiao Buli catch the sword, albeit with some hesitation, yet with quite skilled technique. He immediately got excited, drew a stance, and stood ready.

At this point, Xiao Buli was in a difficult position. The person facing him was Mr. Bang's grandfather, someone he should respect, and it seemed improper to cross swords upon their first meeting. However, the old man's stance left him no choice. He steeled himself and entered the ring.

He truly had no experience with Swordsmanship, only vaguely remembering how he had imitated martial arts from childhood movies using a stick. Now holding a sword, he felt somewhat at a loss. But the elder was visibly excited, hard-pressed as he was to find a sparring partner in his daily life, and he certainly wouldn't miss this opportunity.

"Here it comes," the elder shouted, using the stick as in place of a sword, and launched a strike toward Xiao Buli's face. Cautiously, because he did not know Xiao Buli's capability, and also because he genuinely hoped to exchange a few moves, his attack was a slow, leading strike.

As the stick approached, Xiao Buli's hesitant mind suddenly made a decision. He parried, deflecting the stick away.

"Good!" the elder exclaimed with approval. Despite the meeting of stick and sword, they did not clash solidly as he turned the real strike into a feint, flipped like a hawk turning in flight, and pointed the stick swiftly at Xiao Buli's waist. Xiao Buli, seeing the elder changing moves again, clumsily guided his sword down to defend.

Thus, after a dozen or so exchanges, although Xiao Buli still had only the power to counter and no skill to initiate, his movements became faster under the elder's guidance. With a "snap," the elder's stick touched Xiao Buli's wrist, causing the Longsword in his hand to fall to the ground. His wrist went numb, but he knew the elder had shown mercy.

"Kid, are you sure you've never practiced before?" the elderly man's stick still at the ready, he asked loudly.

Xiao Buli hurriedly shook his head.

"Good, another round," the old man seemed to be intrigued by Xiao Buli, flicked the sword hilt with his stick, and tossed the longsword over again. Xiao Buli caught it with much more finesse this time. The two of them engaged in combat once more, completely ignoring Mr. Bang to the side.

At this moment, Mr. Bang was actually enjoying his leisure. His grandfather had also pressured him to practice swordplay since he was young. He sat down by the root-carved tea table set aside, and the housekeeper immediately came over to pour tea for the young master. Mr. Bang cracked sunflower seeds, sipped on Dragon Well tea, and observed the situation on the field.

Even though he meant to go easy, the old man's swordplay still had Xiao Buli scrambling. However, with the warm-up from the previous round, Xiao Buli seemed to slowly grasp some tricks of the trade. His hands became faster, and occasionally he managed to execute a few moves, no longer just defensively as before.

The elder executed "Immortal Points the Way," and Xiao Buli saw the stick pointing straight at his brow. Somehow, a spark of inspiration flashed in his mind. He tilted his head back and, taking advantage of the spent force of the opponent's sword, lunged forward, turning defense into attack. His longsword twined around the stick, coiling three times, completely neutralizing the old man's power and deflecting the stick to the side. With the longsword in hand, he pointed straight forward at the old man's face.

"Ah!" Mr. Bang, who had been watching the scene leisurely from the sidelines, cried out in alarm.

The old man at the center of the field also inhaled sharply. In the blink of an eye, his energy sunk to his dantian, he bent and stepped back, performing an "iron bridge" move, his whole body arching backwards. Despite such a fast reaction, his beard was still grazed by the sword.

As the sword thrust forward, Xiao Buli was also stunned on the spot. But the momentum of the sword could not be stopped. Fortunately, the old man's foundation was profound; otherwise, that strike... Xiao Buli stood still, cold sweat breaking out in the palm of his hand.

The old man managed to touch the ground with one hand, after all he was of advanced years, and it was somewhat challenging. Mr. Bang hurriedly dropped his sunflower seeds to help.

"Good, that 'Triple Wave' was beautifully performed," despite some pain in his back, the old man still praised.

Hearing this, Xiao Buli came back to his senses, quickly clasped his fist, and said, "My apologies, elder."

The old man waved his hand at those words, and with the help of Mr. Bang, he made his way to the tea table to rest.

"Triple Wave? Was that the 'Triple Wave' I just did?" Xiao Buli still couldn't believe it, standing there, looking at the sword in his hand and the beard scattered on the ground.