Black Pearl Chapter 15

"Eh, how can you know?"

"I just know. Do you think you're the only one aware of their trickery?"

They exchanged glances, frowning because the bet made it seem like they were taking sides. However, the youth smiled, offering the packet of peanuts again.

"These peanuts are delicious, aren't they? Of course they are, these peanuts were specially made for the royal palace."

He laughed ha-ha-he-he, then continued.

"However, the King and the Princes might not necessarily have a mouth like mine, so I feel that my mouth is not too low to taste these palace peanuts, and I stole some. He-he-heh."

Kwi Lan also smiled widely and took another handful. The two of them were now silent, feeling the tension of the increasingly fierce match. They seemed to forget themselves, eating peanuts while watching below, exactly like the behavior of spectators at a lively soccer game. They were like two naughty children who had been playmates since childhood.

Indeed, the match was getting more intense. Just as the youth had said, the movements of the raggedly dressed beggar holding the staff were extremely agile; his body often leaped high and struck out with his staff. The bald beggar in clean clothes seemed overwhelmed and pushed back, only able to dodge and parry, finding it difficult to counterattack. However, it had to be admitted that his sword defense was quite strong, so all the attacks of the skinny beggar always missed their target. Suddenly, the dirty-clothed beggar let out a loud cry and his staff technique changed, forming circles that grew narrower and narrower, trapping his opponent's body.

"Hah, now your champion is dead."

Said Kwi Lan.

"Heh, not necessarily."

Just watch, replied the Youth.

"Look, there... hit!"

Coinciding with Kwi Lan's exclamation—who could clearly follow the match and even predict the development of every move—it was true that the dirty-clothed beggar's staff managed to pierce the bald beggar's neck. However, as the bald beggar tried to parry in vain, suddenly a black light shot out from the hilt of his sword, and the skinny old beggar cried out in pain and collapsed along with his opponent. If he managed to stab his opponent with the staff, hitting the neck precisely, he himself became the victim of three poisoned needles that flashed out from the sword hilt when his opponent pressed a secret mechanism on the hilt. Three venomous needles entered his stomach. The three skinny, dirty-clothed beggars became extremely enraged. But at that moment, their four opponents, who had also been watching, rushed forward with cheers and attacked the three of them. These three beggars quickly moved their staffs to fight the pincer attack of the four opponents.

However, it turned out that the skill of the four opponents, especially the one dressed like a martial arts expert, with a face full of thick beard (*brewok*) and heavy eyebrows, tall and large-bodied, was extremely formidable. This tall, large-bodied Brewok used a pair of swords, and his movements were like a raging tiger. The three dirty-clothed beggars were greatly overwhelmed and pushed back, retreating. Yet they continued to fight desperately while cursing. The match did not last long because suddenly the three skinny beggars shouted loudly and tumbled down, collapsing. It turned out that their four opponents had secretly used *senjata rahasia* (secret weapons) and struck their opponents down with them. And apparently, all their secret weapons contained poison; the proof was that as soon as they fell, just like the first beggar, these three dirty-clothed old men stopped moving, dying instantly.

"Hah-ha-ha, you lost the bet. Didn't the stinking, foppish beggars win?"

The youth beside Kwi Lan cheered. Kwi Lan frowned, then shouted loudly downwards,

"The foppish tramps and their lackeys are indeed cheating. Are there any members of Bu-tek Siu-lam who aren't treacherous and cowardly?"

Remembering the events of five years ago, Kwi Lan deliberately mentioned that name. Who would have thought that upon hearing this name mentioned, the Youth beside her was startled, cried out loudly, and tumbled down the tree.

Kwi Lan was shocked and only then realized that as the youth tumbled, several types of *senjata rahasia* shot up from below. Quickly, she used the edge of her sleeve to sweep, and... all the secret weapons fell down. With a flushed face, Kwi Lan leaped up onto the tree branch. She saw the four men staring in surprise, but one of the two clean-clothed beggars, who was short-bodied and had a fierce face, drew his sword with his right hand, while his left hand again threw a secret weapon—an iron bracelet—that spun and flashed towards Kwi Lan's abdomen. The girl's anger peaked. She leaped down, knocking the iron bracelet weapon downwards, and half-intentionally, she knocked the iron bracelet towards the Youth who had already gotten up.

"Ouch!"

Cried the Youth, jumping up and rubbing his head, as if his head had been hit by the secret weapon. However, his wide, slicked-back forehead was not injured, not even scratched.

Kwi Lan ignored the youth, then glided towards the clean-clothed beggar who met her arrival with a sword thrust. This attack seemed impossible for Kwi Lan, whose body was gliding in the air, to evade, and indeed the girl did not try to dodge. Her left hand, with an open palm, performed a pushing movement, and... the sword was struck by the force of this palm strike and rebounded. Then, quick as lightning, Kwi Lan flicked her index finger towards the wrist holding the sword, and... the sword flew out while flipping, stabbing the base of the short beggar's own arm, splitting the skin and flesh and exposing the bone of his arm. Meanwhile, somehow the sword had transferred to Kwi Lan's hand, who used the captured sword to point threateningly.

"Ha-ha-ha-heh-heh."

The Youth cheered while playing with the iron bracelet that had struck him earlier in his right hand. "The foppish old tramp has lost his act now. That's why you shouldn't act tough. Already so old, pretending to be a beggar but his clothes are clean and new, just to look impressive and handsome. Wow, this is what you call an old dog learning new tricks."

Of course, the short beggar Kwi Lan had struck down glared at the Youth with overflowing anger, but was also astonished why his secret weapon, which was usually potent and even contained poison, was now being played with by this Youth. At that moment, the second beggar, whose body was small and thin like a starving cat, pointed his index finger at Kwi Lan and roared, his voice large and hoarse, truly contrasting with his small, skinny body.

"Eh, you demonic woman, where are you from, daring to oppose Hek-coa Kai-pang and utter insults against the *ciang bujin* of Bu-tek Siu-lam? Are you tired of living?"

Kwi Lan turned her body, turning her back on the injured short beggar to face this new opponent. She smiled sweetly as she said,

"You stinking tramps, even if you are not the same as Hek-peng Kai-pang, you are apparently just as rotten, especially since you are both under the leadership of Bu-tek Siu-lam, who, even though I have never met him, must also be rotten."

"Eh, you wretched woman. In our lives, we have never met you and never had a conflict, so why do you come today insulting and antagonizing us? Are you taking the side of those ragged tramps?"

The small, skinny beggar roared again, pointing towards the corpses of the four raggedly dressed beggars. The small mustache on the right and left of his nose twitched, but not symmetrically, making it look like a pair of butterfly wings resting there, which amused Kwi Lan and widened her smile.

"Your business with those raggedly dressed tramps has absolutely nothing to do with me. However, it just so happens that I am someone who strongly dislikes treacherous and cowardly acts. In the match just now, you struck down your opponents relying on secret weapons in a very deceitful manner. Then you also attacked me with secret weapons. Do you still want to say there is no conflict between us?"

Saying this, Kwi Lan glanced at the two others who were not dressed as beggars—the one with the thick beard (*brewok*) and his other companion. It was clear they were not of the same faction as these two clean-clothed beggars, and they did not interfere in the debate, only watching with wide, astonished eyes and furrowed brows.

"Arrogant brat. Stealing a sword and injuring my brother is not yet a great sin, but mentioning and insulting the name of our *ciang bujin*..."

Kwi Lan held the tip of the sword with her left hand and, with a single bend, the captured sword broke into two, and she threw it onto the ground.

"The sword is broken. If I kill your brother and curse that stinking Chief Villain, Bu-tek Siu-lam, what will you do?"

"Demonic woman, taste my hand!"

Suddenly, the small, skinny beggar drew his sword and moved to slash. His movement was not only fast but also extremely powerful, much stronger than the movement of the beggar who was already injured. At the same time, as Kwi Lan turned her body to face the attack of the small, skinny beggar, the second beggar, whose arm was already injured, now moved his left hand, throwing an iron bracelet secret weapon towards the girl's back.