"Would you look at that," one of the soldiers snorted. "The gutless wonder Decurion is actually picking a fight with his own man."
"I heard he made a bet," another chimed in. "If he loses, Duan Canglong gets his command. Stupid, right?"
"Duan Canglong is a beast," a third soldier added, shaking his head. "Top of the food chain around here, but a real hothead. Probably why Commander Qin didn't give him the stripes in the first place. This new guy, Xiao Ke? He looks like he's never seen a real fight. And next to Duan Canglong, he's a twig. Letting his anger get the best of him like this… It's a mistake. Duan's going to wipe the floor with him."
A crowd of imperial soldiers had gathered outside the abandoned mountain temple, watching the two men square off from a distance, each offering their own take.
Hidden in the shadows, Centurion Qin Bing watched them both. The soldiers' chatter echoed her own thoughts. Xiao Ke was no match for Duan Canglong. Worse, he was fighting angry, letting his rage cloud his judgment. Challenging a stronger opponent out of pure emotion wasn't brave; it was foolish.
Duan Canglong cracked his knuckles and shot Xiao Ke a smirk. "Alright, pretty boy. Show me what you've got."
Xiao Ke didn't waste a second. He launched himself forward like a starved wolf, his right fist a blur aimed straight for Duan Canglong's face.
To everyone's surprise, Duan Canglong just stood there and took the hit. The punch landed with a solid thud, leaving a faint red mark on his left cheek. He didn't even flinch.
Instead, a cruel grin spread across his face. "Heh. That's it? I've been hit harder by a girl."
Shock and fury flashed in Xiao Ke's eyes. He drew his arm back for another swing, aiming to put everything he had into it.
But Duan Canglong wasn't playing statue anymore. Before Xiao Ke's fist could fly, Duan shot a powerful kick straight into his chest. The impact sent Xiao Ke sailing back ten feet, where he slammed hard against the ground.
"Hah!" Duan Canglong roared, flexing his arms over the fallen Xiao Ke like a champion gladiator. He didn't follow up, just stood there, soaking in the moment.
The crowd of soldiers erupted. "Damn! Did you see that? Duan Canglong's a monster. Even stronger than I thought."
From the shadows, Qin Bing watched Xiao Ke go down and shook her head. It was over. A lopsided fight with a foregone conclusion. There was no way Xiao Ke could win this. She started to turn away.
But then, unbelievably, Xiao Ke began to move. He pushed himself up, shaky but determined. With a low growl, like a wounded animal, he charged at Duan Canglong again.
The two collided in a flurry of motion.
Xiao Ke was fighting with pure, raw fury. Every swing was meant to do damage. But Qin Bing could see the flaws in his attack. He had no training, no technique. He was just throwing wild punches, ignorant of even the most basic military combat forms.
Duan Canglong, by contrast, was a trained fighter. Every punch, kick, and elbow was delivered with precision and power.
Xiao Ke managed to land a few more hits, bloodying Duan Canglong's lip, but it cost him. Duan drove a fist deep into his chest. Xiao Ke coughed up a spray of blood and was thrown back again, collapsing in a heap on the dirt.
Duan Canglong wiped the blood from his mouth, his face a mask of anger and surprise. He stared at the broken man on the ground. "It's over, you bastard! You lose!"
But the words had barely left his lips when Xiao Ke, gritting his teeth against the pain, began to push himself up once more.
He could barely stand, swaying on his feet, but his fists were clenched as he staggered toward Duan Canglong.
Duan Canglong stared, a flicker of shock in his eyes. He met Xiao Ke's advance, and the brutal dance began again.
It was short-lived. A lightning-fast high kick from Duan Canglong connected with the side of Xiao Ke's head. The impact sent him spinning to the ground with a sickening crack.
Duan Canglong finally allowed himself to breathe. It's done, he thought. The kid's got guts, I'll give him that. But he's finished.
He was wrong.
Just as the thought crossed his mind, he saw a tremor run through Xiao Ke's body. With trembling arms, Xiao Ke pushed himself off the ground, swaying like a drunkard, and somehow found his feet.
His face was a mess of blood and swelling. His left eye was nearly swollen shut. But he wasn't done. He raised a shaky fist and staggered forward, like a nightmare that wouldn't end.
A mix of awe and fury rose in Duan Canglong. He watched the stubborn, bloody figure approach and finally yelled, "You've lost! Why are you still getting up? Do you want me to kill you?"
Xiao Ke stumbled right up to him and, with a final burst of energy, slammed his fist into the bridge of Duan Canglong's nose.
It's one of the most vulnerable spots on the body. Duan Canglong hadn't seen it coming. He felt a sharp crack, and his vision exploded in a flash of white pain as blood poured down his face.
Rage completely took over. He grabbed Xiao Ke by the throat with his left hand and hammered his right fist into Xiao Ke's face again and again—a dozen times, maybe more—until his own knuckles ached. Then, with a final roar, he hurled Xiao Ke to the ground.
His hand throbbed. Every breath sent a spike of agony through his shattered nose. Covered in his own blood, Duan Canglong looked down at the unmoving form on the ground.
"Crazy," he breathed, his voice shaking. "Absolutely insane." He had never imagined the fight would be this hard, that this nobody could push him this far.
He thought it was finally, truly over. But then, in the corner of his vision, he saw a twitch.
To his utter disbelief, the bloody, broken man on the ground was moving.
Duan Canglong's eyes went wide. He started backing away. "No," he whispered, shaking his head. "Stay down. You're going to die. Don't make me do it."
But it was no use. Slowly, painfully, the figure rose.
Xiao Ke stood there, swaying in the night wind, a grotesque caricature of a man. He lifted a trembling hand and crooked a finger at Duan Canglong. His voice was a raw, broken rasp. "Come on. I thought you were tough. You see a little blood and you freeze up like a girl?"
That was it. To be beaten this badly and still have the nerve to taunt him—to call him a girl—it snapped something in Duan Canglong. "Alright, you asked for this!" he screamed, his voice raw with fury. "You want to die? Fine! I'll grant your wish!"
He had knocked Xiao Ke down again and again, but he just kept getting up. That terrifying resilience was starting to creep under Duan Canglong's skin, planting a seed of fear. He knew he had to end this now, with one final, decisive blow. Otherwise, this relentless monster would break him first.
With a final, guttural roar, Duan Canglong charged.
He planted his left foot and launched himself into the air, twisting his body into a powerful flying kick aimed directly at Xiao Ke's head. It was a kill shot. If it landed, it would be over.
But in his rage, Duan Canglong had forgotten the cardinal rule of such a move: once you're airborne, you're committed. There's no changing course.
As the kick sailed through the air, the bloody, swaying figure of Xiao Ke looked up. The swelling around his eyes was so bad he could barely see, but a cruel, chilling smile spread across his blood-caked lips.
At the last possible second, Xiao Ke ducked.
The kick whistled over his head. Like a predator striking from below, Xiao Ke shot up from his crouch and wrapped his arms around Duan Canglong in a death grip. The two of them hit the ground together, their momentum sending them tumbling end over end, straight toward the edge of the cliff.
They went over.
As they plunged into the darkness, Duan Canglong, in a blind panic, saw the silhouette of a pine tree growing out of the rock face. He threw out his hands and managed to grab hold, his fingers digging into the bark. He and Xiao Ke, still locked together, swung violently, dangling over the abyss.
Xiao Ke's arm was tight around his neck, cutting off his air. Duan's hands were occupied, leaving him defenseless. "Stop!" he choked out. "Let go! We're going to fall! We'll both be killed!"
Xiao Ke pressed his bloody face against Duan Canglong's ear, his voice a hoarse whisper. "Scared now, big guy? The fight's not over. If this were a real battlefield, would you ask the enemy for a time-out?"
Duan Canglong's eyes were wide with terror. "You're insane," he stammered. "What are you doing?"
"I thought you were the tough one. What happened?"
"Screw you! I'm not scared!"
"Oh yeah? How about now?"
With that, Xiao Ke began to violently shake both of them. The pine tree groaned under the strain, the sound of cracking wood echoing in the night. The trunk was beginning to split.
That's when true terror hit Duan Canglong. He knew, with absolute certainty, that he had made a terrible mistake. Xiao Ke wasn't a soldier; he was a force of nature, a madman. He would have never, ever messed with him if he had known.
"Stop!" he screamed, his voice trembling as he clung desperately to the tree. "Stop it! We're both going to die!"
"You think so?" Xiao Ke rasped. "Go ahead and scream, big guy."
"Scream? Why?"
The question was answered by a deafening crack. The tree gave way. As they plummeted into the darkness below, a raw, primal scream tore from Duan Canglong's throat.
They hit the water at the bottom of the ravine with a bone-jarring impact.
Xiao Ke felt like his body had been torn apart. His insides churned, and his vision swam. He was on the verge of blacking out, but he bit down hard on his tongue, the sharp pain a welcome anchor to consciousness.
Duan Canglong had it worse. When he hit the water, his head slammed into the broken tree trunk that had fallen with them. The world went black. His last conscious thought was: That madman killed me. Then he began to sink into the cold, dark water.
Xiao Ke clung to a piece of floating wood, catching his breath. He looked around but didn't see Duan Canglong. He was under.
He hesitated for only a second. Then, setting his jaw, he took a deep breath and plunged beneath the surface.
He found Duan Canglong's sinking form and, grabbing his arm, used the last of his strength to pull him to the surface.
Duan Canglong drifted in and out of consciousness. He vaguely felt a pressure on his stomach, then a painful lurch as he coughed up lungfuls of water. He blinked his eyes open, weak and disoriented. He was lying on the bank of the pool, and Xiao Ke's face was hovering just inches from his.
"Hey," Xiao Ke said. "You're awake."
Duan Canglong tried to speak, but before he could form a word, Xiao Ke's fist shot out and connected with his already broken nose. The pain was excruciating, and he cried out.
Leaning in close, Xiao Ke's voice was low and dangerous. "So, who's the worthless one now? Who's the captain?"
Duan Canglong looked into the eyes of the man who had beaten him, dragged him to the brink of death, and then saved his life. The fear was still there, a permanent brand on his soul. But it was mixed with something else now—a grudging, undeniable respect.
"You are," he whispered, the words tasting like blood and defeat. "You're the captain. I'll follow you."