Those things that happened in those years

Chapter 10 A Generous Farewell

After discussion, they decided to accept Sun Changlin's challenge.

Lunch break was over. Hong Liguo and his classmates finished their simple meals brought from home (because the middle school was far from their homes, most of them brought their own lunch from home in lunchboxes, eating whatever they could, regardless of whether it was hot or cold. Those who were better off brought steamed buns or flatbreads, while those from poorer families could only bring millet, corn stalks, cornbread, or pickled vegetable strips. Often they were too embarrassed to eat in the classroom and would sneak out to find a secluded corner to eat). Then they rode their bicycles to the agreed-upon place.

When they arrived there, Sun Changlin, Yi Jianping, and Liu Lianbo had already arrived ahead of them.

Seeing that Zhang Qiaoyun wasn't there, Hong Bo whispered to Hong Liguo and the others, "Where's one of the Four Evils? That's no fun. I was planning to... her... where is she?"

His words amused Hong Liguo and the others, who all said, "Hong Bo, you're such an annoying guy. Aren't you afraid that Zhang Qiaoyun will find out about what you said and tear off your 'cow'?"

Before they set off, Hongbo said that if a fight broke out, he would beat up the villain Zhang Qiaoyun, and he would make sure she got a good beating.

Hong Liguo and the others parked their bicycles by the roadside and then slowly walked up to Sun Changlin and the others.

Sun Changlin, his face full of fierce features, glared at them with his leopard-like eyes and said, "Fine, you've got guts. Tell me, how do we plan to play?"

Hong Liguo stepped forward and said, "You can do whatever you want, it doesn't matter. However, we want to know, we originally had no grudges against each other, so why are you causing us trouble?"

Liu Lianbo stepped forward and said, "Do I need any grand reason? Can't I just spar with you because I don't like you?"

Jun Ge was an impatient and fearless man. He stepped forward to make a move, but Hong Liguo and Fa Zi pulled him back at the same time and whispered, "What's the rush? Let's see how things go."

Seeing Jun Ge step forward, Liu Lianbo also took a step forward. At this moment, Sun Changlin grabbed Liu Lianbo and said, "You know Wang Fugui and Liu Zhonghai from Team Seven, right?"

As soon as Sun Changlin said this, Hong Liguo and the others understood most of it. This was because these two had a past conflict with Hong Liguo and his group.

Today's events have nothing to do with the conflict between them at the beginning of the school year; they were all the work of Wang Fugui and Liu Zhonghai behind the scenes.

Wang Fugui and Liu Zhonghai were from neighboring villages of Hong Liguo and his friends. They were troublemakers since childhood. Once, they got into a fight with some elementary school students in front of the supply and marketing cooperative in Hong Liguo's village. Hong Liguo and his friends happened to be there when they ran into them. Without saying a word, they beat the two of them up until they were convinced of their mistake. The two of them kept this incident in mind.

The two of them disciplined the two elementary school students because the kids called them by their nicknames.

In those days when people were given nicknames without restraint, being called by a nickname to someone's face was not a glorious thing. Moreover, Wang Laoba's nickname was particularly unpleasant (the specifics are not allowed to be said, but those who know will understand). It contained the characters for "big," "king," and "eight," so the two of them got into a conflict with those elementary school students.

Just then, Hong Liguo and Jun Ge came to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy things and saw this scene. They had a sparring match with the two of them, and the result was predictable (as the saying goes, those who know, know). They then warned the two that if they dared to come to their village to show off again, they would be crippled, which scared the two of them so much that they ran away as fast as they could.

After the two men had run a distance, they turned back and said viciously, "Hong Liguo, you just wait, this isn't over. We'll get someone to deal with you sooner or later."

As luck would have it, one day on their way home from school, Wang Laoba and Liu Laohai's bicycles collided with Jun Ge's bicycle, and the two started arguing. When they saw Hong Liguo and the others arrive, they realized things were getting out of hand and quickly ran away.

The next day, Wang Laoba and Liu Laohai came to school and told Sun Changlin and the others about the car accident the day before. They also embellished the story of the argument they had had in front of the supply and marketing cooperative, and begged Sun Changlin and Yi Jianping to stand up for them and help them save face.

Sun Changlin originally didn't want to provoke Hong Liguo and his group, because he had already learned that these people were not easy to deal with. However, he was worried about trouble, and with Wang Laoba and his companion stirring things up, he finally decided to fight Hong Liguo and his group to the death. So he sent Yi Jianping to deliver the challenge.

Sun Changlin looked at them and said, "I heard you're all Jin Yong fans? You even boasted that you call yourselves the Six Swordsmen of Jin Yong. Tell me! Which masters from Jin Yong's novels are you? Let me see if you're enough to make a whole pot of them."

The soldier spoke first, his eyes revealing a hint of heroism: "I am the ever-victorious general Zhao Yun, Zhao Zilong!"

Upon hearing his words, Yi Jianping immediately burst out laughing, then said with a disdainful look, "Holy crap! You call yourself the ever-victorious general Zhao Yun, Zhao Zilong? What does that have to do with Jin Yong? What makes you think you can call yourself one of Jin Yong's Six Swordsmen? It's absolutely hilarious."

Sun Changlin stopped Yi Jianping's questioning and continued, "Everyone has their own ambitions, you can call yourself whatever you want, but what about you guys?" Sun Changlin pointed at Fa Zi and the others and pressed them for an answer.

Not to be outdone, Fa Zi stepped forward and shouted, "Snow Mountain Flying Fox!"

Hong Bo raised his head slightly and said jokingly, "Starry Sky Immortal!"

Yanbin gave himself a thumbs-up and said, "I am Qiao Feng."

The three villains sneered, "I'm afraid it's all talk and no action, isn't it?"

Seeing that Hong Liguo and Jie remained silent, Sun Changlin asked, "What about you two?"

Jay stammered timidly, "I, I, I'm just a nobody."

Seeing Jie's cowardly appearance, Hong Liguo was furious. What was there to be afraid of? They weren't three heads and six arms.

Hong Liguo pointed to himself with his thumb up, held his head high, and said, "Duan Yu of Dali."

Although Hong Liguo and his group called themselves the Six Swordsmen of Jin Yong, it was only because they were all fans of Jin Yong that they corresponded to the characters in Jin Yong's novels. Therefore, Brother Jun always referred to himself as the ever-victorious general Zhao Yun.

The moment he uttered those words, Sun Changlin threw his head back and burst into laughter, his laughter filled with mockery and disdain: "Damn! I thought you were some kind of formidable character, but you're just a pretty face! The most useless thing in Jin Yong's novels!"

As Sun Changlin spoke, the others burst into laughter.

These words were like a sharp blade, deeply wounding Hong Liguo's pride. A surge of anger welled up within him, burning away his reason, and he secretly vowed to make Sun Changlin pay the price for his mockery today.