Volume 2: War Chapter 15: Making Friends
Dugu Baitian walked into the main hall in the rear courtyard. He saw five King-level experts sitting right in the center, surrounded by crowds of people on both sides, much like stars surrounding the moon. This was hardly surprising; having five King-level experts gathered together was a rare occurrence in recent years. It wouldn't be long before this became the hottest news on the continent.
The five experts were clearly already accustomed to such occasions, chatting and laughing with ease and composure. Li Fang, the host, sat accompanying them. Li Fang was extremely happy today, grinning from ear to ear. Not only had his sworn father recovered his health, but the grudge between Li Chang and Li Lin had also been settled today. One could say it was a double blessing, joy upon joy.
The great battle had excited everyone immensely; they realized martial arts could reach such heights. They saw hope, they saw a goal, they found objects to surpass. Especially the young people, who were full of aspirations for the future, as if they could roam the world unchallenged and dominate the continent tomorrow.
Dugu Baitian casually found a seat and sat down, coincidentally right next to that short, thin fellow Ding Ping, who always loved to boast about meeting many important figures. A few young men sat beside him, seemingly his loyal audience, listening intently as he bragged about his "legendary experience" of how he coincidentally met a certain King-level expert.
After a short while, Ding Ping finished recounting his "legendary experience" vividly, leaving the few youths utterly enthralled. He looked up and noticed another tall, sturdy young man had joined them. His spirits immediately lifted, and he said, "Brother, new to the scene, huh? What's your name?"
To Dugu Baitian, it sounded awkward, feeling like two gangsters had run into each other. "Your little brother is Dugu Baitian. I've indeed just started venturing into the world. May I ask your name, Big Bro?"
Ding Ping said, "I am the one they call the Invincible Xia, the great Ding Ping." Dugu Baitian nearly laughed out loud. How dare someone like him call himself invincible? He looked every bit like a third-rate fighter. If he didn't know his background, he might have actually been intimidated.
Dugu Baitian said, "I've long heard of your great reputation." Hearing this, Ding Ping was even more delighted. He grabbed his hand and said, "Brother, let me introduce you to a few friends. They're just like you, new to the world."
Ding Ping pulled Dugu Baitian over to a few young men and said, "Brothers, let me introduce a new friend." He pointed at Dugu Baitian and said, "This young hero is called Dugu Baitian. Like you, he's just started out."
The others nodded slightly towards Dugu Baitian. Then Ding Ping said to them, "Why don't you each introduce yourselves."
The first to speak was a young man who seemed somewhat delicate. He had fair skin, wasn't very tall, but had very pretty features. Indeed, very pretty. If not for his Adam's apple, Dugu Baitian would have thought he was a woman.
The pretty man said, "I'm Liu Yifeng, a disciple of the Great Dao Sect." The second young man who stood up had a sturdy build, thick eyebrows, tiger-like eyes, a straight nose, and a square mouth, appearing very heroic and giving off a sense of righteousness. "I'm Zhou Tianzheng, no sect or school."
The third young man seemed very reserved. He was quite short, with dark skin, somewhat resembling Ding Ping. "I-I'm Wang Zi." Dugu Baitian almost laughed out loud. Such a strange name, no wonder he was so reserved. So that was it. But he held back his laughter.
Although the seated young men already knew his name, hearing him introduce himself again, they couldn't help but laugh. Moreover, Ding Ping and the others kept glancing at the fourth young man, whose face was bright red, but he didn't laugh.
Seeing that Dugu Baitian didn't laugh, Wang Zi seemed grateful. At the same time, he shouted at the other youths, "What are you laughing at? My parents gave me this name. What's so funny about it?"
When it was the fourth young man's turn to introduce himself, he seemed even more awkward. This was a handsome young man with sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, but his voice clearly lacked confidence. "I'm Wang Fei." "Boom!" Everyone burst into laughter again. Dugu Baitian also laughed. No wonder everyone's expressions were strange. First a 'Wang Zi', then a 'Wang Fei' – this world really is too small.
Their table was laughing incessantly, drawing constant looks from the neighboring tables.
After a while, everyone returned to normal. Ding Ping said, "Now that everyone knows each other, we're friends from now on. If friends are in trouble, draw your sword to help. We should get closer and support each other."
Everyone was a bit reserved at first, but after chatting for a while, they became familiar. At first, they talked about everything under the sun, local customs and practices, but eventually, even topics like what size shoes you wear or what size pants he wears became part of the conversation – nothing was off-limits.
Dugu Baitian found these guys very talkative. Ding Ping, who originally thought he had found some loyal listeners, found himself becoming the listener instead.
As they chatted, Wang Fei said, "Brother Dugu, where are you from? There aren't many with the surname Dugu in the Qingfeng Empire." Dugu Baitian was startled. He truly didn't know that the Dugu surname was rare in the Qingfeng Empire. "Oh, my family lives deep in the mountains outside Tongzhou City. According to my grandfather, our ancestors originally lived in the Hantang Empire, but later moved to the Qingfeng Empire for some unknown reason. I grew up deep in the mountains and don't know much about the outside world. I'll need you elder brothers to look out for me in the future."
Wang Zi said, "We're all brothers now, why so polite? Let's venture into the world together. Aren't there the so-called Six Heroes, Seven Wolves, Ten Young Masters, and such in the world? Let's form our own group."
Liu Yifeng said, "Right! Let's call ourselves the Six Little Kings. Watching the fight between the two King-level experts today was just too exciting." Zhou Tianzheng also said, "Good idea. Brother Ding is the oldest, so he'll be the big brother. Let's arrange the rest of us by age."
As a result, Ding Ping, at thirty years old, became the big brother of the Six Little Kings. Old Second: Liu Tianzheng, twenty-three. Old Third: Wang Fei, twenty-two. Old Fourth: Wang Zi, twenty. Old Fifth: Dugu Baitian, nineteen. Old Sixth: Liu Yifeng, nineteen, but two months younger than Dugu Baitian.
The six of them chatted more and more congenially. Dugu Baitian gradually realized that Ding Ping wasn't just a braggart as he had imagined; he had rich experience in the world. He told Dugu Baitian and the other four many taboos of the world: what kind of people you shouldn't provoke; what kind of people you should avoid; and what kind of people are worth befriending.
The others listened and nodded frequently. Dugu Baitian said, "If I had met Brother Ding a few days earlier, I wouldn't have made a fool of myself."
Ding Ping asked, "What fool did you make of yourself?" Dugu Baitian said, "I'm afraid I won't dare show my face openly in Tongzhou City for the rest of my life. If I go, probably all the martial artists in Tongzhou City will be after me."
Everyone was very curious and pressed him for the reason. Dugu Baitian then recounted the events of his first day in the world, but he omitted a lot and didn't mention Xuanxuan.
After hearing it, everyone laughed heartily. Wang Zi laughed and said, "Brother Dugu, I really admire you. You're truly great. On your very first day, you had all the martial artists of an entire city chasing after you alone. Impressive!"
Wang Fei exclaimed in surprise, "Brother Dugu, that person was you?" Dugu Baitian said, "Of course it was me. Who else could be so unlucky?" Wang Fei looked him over carefully and said, "No wonder you looked somewhat familiar when I first saw you. So you're the madman everyone in Tongzhou City was talking about. I happened to be passing through Tongzhou City at the time and saw a large crowd chasing one person. Some said he was a thief, others said he was a robber. They said he had many treasures on him, and whoever caught him would get them. I chased that person desperately, came within a hair's breadth of catching him, but he still got away in the end." As he spoke, he looked at Dugu Baitian.
Dugu Baitian said, "Those bastards are too wicked, slandering me like that. No wonder I noticed more and more people chasing me. On the streets, practically everyone was after me. Even young maidens, married women, ten-year-old children, and seventy-year-old grannies were running after me. I was wondering at the time, does everyone in Tongzhou City know martial arts? So that was the reason. Sooner or later, I'll settle this score with the martial artists of Tongzhou City."
Everyone roared with laughter. Liu Yifeng laughed and said, "Forget it, Brother Dugu. Who told you to shoot your mouth off?" Everyone started sharing their own "heroic misadventures" from back in the day.
Time passed quickly, and soon it was noon. The tea was cleared away, replaced by a sumptuous banquet. Everyone raised their glasses and toasted, enjoying the wine. The hall was extremely lively, filled with sounds of toasts and penalty drinks. The five King-level experts were especially surrounded by people offering toasts.
Ding Ping said, "Brothers, should we go over and offer a toast to the great experts?" Zhou Tianzheng said, "Forget it. Small fry like us can't even squeeze our way in front of them. Didn't you see all the people offering them toasts have white beards?"
Liu Yifeng said, "Exactly, why should we toast them? They're the Great Kings, we're the Little Kings. We're not worse than them at all. Maybe in ten years, we'll surpass them." Wang Fei said, "Well said! They're already old. The future belongs to us. We will surpass them sooner or later."
Wang Zi said, "Right! The waves behind drive on those ahead, the new generation replaces the old. Within ten years, I want to become a King-level expert myself." Ding Ping said, "Brothers, seeing you so full of lofty aspirations and determination makes me very happy. I was once like you too, full of hot blood and passion. But now... Ah, time has worn away my heroic dreams. Now I can only realize my grand ambitions in dreams."
Dugu Baitian said, "Brother Ding, that's not the right attitude. 'It's better to go back and make a net than to stand by the pond and long for fish.' I refuse to believe we can't surpass them. Sooner or later, I'll make the entire continent know the name Dugu Baitian. I'll make this name a belief."
Wang Zi said, "Brother Dugu, you truly have spirit. If anyone else said something like that, I'd think they were crazy. But when Brother Dugu says these words, I have a feeling he will definitely achieve it." Ding Ping said, "Come, let's toast to the brothers soon becoming King-level experts. Bottoms up!" "Gan!" "Gan!"...
Dugu Baitian thought to himself: Youth is wonderful. Although youth may be arrogant, even ignorant, it is filled with passion, hope, and vitality.