Chapter 43: I Truly Consider You a Friend Now!

“What if I lose?”

A flicker stirred in Lu Chuan’s heart.

Twenty taels of silver—this was by no means a small sum for him now.

Who exactly was this man before him? He seemed unremarkable in appearance, yet could produce such a large amount of money at once?

“If you lose, as long as I remain in Hongtu County, you’ll have to send me a wild chicken every month!”

“Bring him into this tavern; I want to taste his roasted whole phoenix!”

“How about that?”

Yu Tianrui asked.

Lu Chuan never expected that this man was such a foodie.

However, the deal didn’t quite sit right with him, since he didn’t know how long Yu Tianrui would stay in Hongtu County.

“Forget it!”

“Fifty taels!”

Yu Tianrui proudly held out his palm again.

Lu Chuan’s mouth twitched sharply.

Looking at Yu Tianrui’s expression, it seemed he was eager to fight.

“Don’t worry, I’ll stay in Hongtu County for no more than a year. Even if you lose, you’re still making a great profit—after all, there’s a chance to win fifty taels!”

Yu Tianrui said calmly.

“Alright.”

Lu Chuan nodded.

“Let’s go.”

Without further delay, Lu Chuan stood and walked outside. Soon, the two arrived at the riverbank.

Yu Tianrui stood silently, like an immovable tree, flawless in posture.

He was observing Lu Chuan as well.

At that moment, Lu Chuan felt odd. He stood casually in place, then made a move that seemed weak, but Yu Tianrui sensed a deadly aura within it.

Meanwhile, Lu Chuan carefully studied this man before him.

He needed to find his weakness.

His greatest advantage now was that Yu Tianrui had no knowledge of Xingyiquan.

“Seems there’s a trick to it,” Yu Tianrui smiled slightly, then stepped forward quickly.

He swung a palm strike.

Lu Chuan’s movement was like an arrow piercing through objects.

In an instant, sounds like earth cracking and mountains collapsing seemed to radiate from Lu Chuan’s body!

A half-step explosive punch—immense force—aimed right at Yu Tianrui’s face.

Surprise flashed in Yu Tianrui’s eyes. He tried to dodge, but it was too late; Lu Chuan’s strike came at lightning speed. Although lacking in strength, the punch reached him almost instantly.

“Bang!”

Caught off guard, Yu Tianrui staggered back two steps.

Lu Chuan wasted no time.

A series of explosive punches followed—powerful, fierce, and imposing!

“Damn!”

Yu Tianrui cursed angrily, a flash of fury in his eyes.

He hadn’t expected Lu Chuan to be so troublesome. Instantly, he clasped his hands and unleashed a sharp palm wind, crackling through the air.

Lu Chuan frowned.

Sure enough, there was a significant gap in raw strength between them. Yu Tianrui could single-handedly overwhelm ten men.

Having lost the initiative, Yu Tianrui now had a better understanding of Lu Chuan’s punches.

Victory would not come so easily.

At this moment, Lu Chuan swiftly changed tactics. His hands moved gracefully, like a nimble snake, clinging onto Yu Tianrui’s wrists.

Then, using his opponent’s strength against him, he threw Yu Tianrui with force.

Caught off guard, Yu Tianrui was thrown into the river.

“The outcome is decided!”

Lu Chuan said coolly, watching Yu Tianrui climb out of the water in a disheveled state.

“That’s impossible!”

“If this were a life-or-death battle, you’d be dead already!”

Yu Tianrui said angrily.

He had never been so humiliated, thrown into water by someone else!

“Ha ha ha!”

Lu Chuan laughed twice, then shook his head slightly. “If it were a life-or-death fight, you’d have died countless times already.”

“I won’t accept this—again!”

Yu Tianrui glared at Lu Chuan.

Their eyes met briefly, and Yu Tianrui seemed to sense something. He took a deep breath and said, “I won’t take advantage of you. If I lose today, I’ll give you a month.”

“After a month, we’ll fight again!”

“If you win then, I’ll give you a hundred taels of silver!”

Yu Tianrui said fiercely.

“Fine.”

Lu Chuan nodded.

Though Yu Tianrui was skilled, as long as he didn’t wield a blade, Lu Chuan wasn’t afraid.

The greatest strength of Bajiquan lay in its practicality.

Lu Chuan knew all the power points; right now, he just lacked sufficient strength.

One month later, when his strength was adequate, defeating Yu Tianrui wouldn’t be particularly difficult.

Even without clever tricks, relying on his true skill wouldn’t pose much problem.

“Here!”

Yu Tianrui tossed a large ingot of silver. “A bet is a bet.”

Lu Chuan took the silver, a smile playing on his lips.

This money had come rather easily.

Yet Lu Chuan understood that he had taken advantage today. Yu Tianrui would surely be more cautious next time—there would be no repeating the old tricks.

Then, he would have to rely solely on his true skills.

“In three days!”

“At this tavern!”

“I’ll send you a wild chicken…”

“Let you taste their roasted whole phoenix!”

Lu Chuan smiled as he weighed the silver in his hand.

Yu Tianrui was momentarily stunned, then laughed heartily.

“Good, good, good…”

“You’ve got my temper just right!”

Yu Tianrui said cheerfully, “From today on, I’ll consider you a friend!”

With that, Yu Tianrui strode away, his figure exuding an indescribable ease.

“Master, didn’t you say you weren’t his match?”

At this moment, Sun Laizi looked at Lu Chuan excitedly.

Lu Chuan patted Sun Laizi’s shoulder. “If the fight continues, I’m sure to lose—unless it’s a life-or-death battle, then I might have a chance.”

“But in a life-or-death fight, he won’t be unarmed.”

Lu Chuan sighed.

Yu Tianrui’s strength was formidable.

Yet Lu Chuan couldn’t shake the feeling that something was amiss.

“Enough thinking. Let’s go to Cui’s Grain Shop first, then to the Weaving Bureau.”

Lu Chuan said.

These days, if one wanted to buy a loom, ordinary carpenters didn’t usually have them—they had to be ordered in advance.

But the Weaving Bureau had some unused machines.

Their price was also much cheaper than making a new one from scratch.

“All right, Master!”

Sun Laizi nodded in agreement.