Twilight Boundary

Hu Ma was a bit taken aback after hearing Er Guotou talk about the Blood Food Gang's duel rules for the first time.

This was completely different from the kind of duel he imagined. How did it become a game of ruthless courage?

Each side sent out ten people, deciding on the time and participants, and then met here. In each round, both sides sent out one person, drawing lots to determine who would issue the challenge first.

When the time came, someone would step forward and call out a challenge. They would politely invite the opponent's representative forward, perform a task themselves, and then ask the opponent to do the same. They competed round by round until one side couldn't keep up or endure any longer, at which point they would lose.

The Red Lantern Society lost this particular round to a Shousui man.

That person was the Shopkeeper of Gou'er Mountain and had been with the Red Lantern Society for seven or eight years; he was already a renowned Shousui man. In terms of reputation, he was even stronger than Shopkeeper Wu Hong in Green Stone Town.

His skills were better than his opponent's. Coupled with the fact it was the Red Lantern Lady's Club's turn to issue the challenge, he was the one who first posed a difficulty to the opponent. Winning this round seemed certain.

But unexpectedly, he first picked up a jar of Blood Wine, invited one of the opponent's men over, and said, "The night is cold. I brought a jar of wine for you brothers to warm up. Is anyone interested in coming up to join me for a drink and a good chat?"

This jar of wine was mixed with Black Tai Sui; it couldn't be more poisonous.

Another man from the opposing side came up. Once the two were seated, the Shopkeeper of Gou'er Mountain first took a large gulp and then offered the jar to his opponent.

The man from the Green Clothes Gang also knew the danger. He took the jar and, after a long pause and some hesitation, drank it down. His face immediately turned blue, and he remained silent for a long time.

Both sides watched tensely. If the man from the Green Clothes Gang had collapsed, they would have won this round. But unexpectedly, the opponent remained silent for a long time, surprisingly enduring the fierce poison, although he looked half dead.

The Shopkeeper of Gou'er Mountain was surprised to realize his opponent was also a Shousui man, but he wasn't flustered. He had taken an antidote beforehand to counteract the poison in the jar, so the backlash he suffered was far lighter than his opponent's. This gave him a significant advantage.

The opponent's complexion was already darkening, but he managed a smile and said, "A drink without food is no feast!"

"Someone bring a pot of oil! I'll fry a meatball for elder brother to eat."

At his words, someone brought over a pot of oil, and another brought a basin of dough.

He scooped lumps of batter from the basin, dropped them into the hot oil, and fried them to a golden crisp. Then, rolling up his sleeves, he retrieved them and placed them one by one on a plate in front of the Shopkeeper of Gou'er Mountain, inviting him to eat them with the wine.

Even then, the Shopkeeper of Gou'er Mountain didn't take him seriously. For a Shousui man who had entered the Path, retrieving things from a pot of boiling oil was a fundamental skill.

He just smiled, glanced at the fried dough, and said, "Radish stuffing? I prefer meat."

As he spoke, he played his trump card. He drew a knife, chopped off his own arm, and threw it into the pot of oil.

Those in the crowd who didn't know what was happening turned pale with fright.

But this was his trump card, his ultimate hidden technique.

Although he hadn't yet entered the Mansion, he had lingered at the Shousui Ascension stage for a very long time. His power was profound, and he had mastered the art of detaching limbs.

If his limbs were chopped off, he had no ability to regrow them. However, he could take a limb from another person, or from someone recently deceased, and attach it to himself. Then, using dharma methods to refine life, he could make it as usable as his own.

Therefore, he claimed he could detach not just an arm, but even his legs, confident that his opponent couldn't match him.

However, he didn't expect that the other person, upon seeing this, would merely frown slightly, borrow a knife, and say with a smile, "I'll add a bit myself."

Saying this, the other man gritted his teeth and also chopped off an arm, throwing it into the oil pot.

The Shopkeeper of Gou'er Mountain saw this and knew the man hadn't trained in the art of detaching limbs because the bone stump was fresh. This meant that although this man had also used refining life on his limbs, now that he had lost an arm, it was truly gone—it couldn't be regrown.

More importantly, his opponent had matched his bet with an arm, but now he would have to raise the stakes further.

Could a Shousui man really do without both arms? Even if he doesn't need them, I still have my legs to spare. How long can he last?

But just as the Shopkeeper was mulling this over, the other man, though pale-faced, was already smiling and chatting casually. He said, "Originally, I was going to add another dish, but with just two arms, whatever I add won't be enough to divide..."

"Elder brother offered a hand, so I must offer a dish and not disappoint. How about this: let's fry up a pair of 'lanterns,' one for each of us brothers!"

With that, he picked up the knife again, gouged out his own eyes, and threw them into the oil pot.

WHOOSH!

Seeing the opponent's bloodied, empty eye sockets, even the Old Shopkeeper of Gou'er Mountain's expression changed drastically. His own abilities hadn't progressed to his eyes. Besides, even if they had, he had only learned to detach limbs, not replace eyes. This was a move he couldn't easily match. He remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he felt immense pressure.

Just then, the man who had thrown his eyes into the oil pot was still smiling as he said, "Elder brother, please..."

"I can't see right now, so I must rely on you to bring out the dish."

So, the Shopkeeper of Gou'er Mountain also steeled himself and laughed heartily, "You're right, brother! That was my oversight."

"If you can't see, then let's drink this soup so you can feel where the dish is."

"I'll drink half the pot first!"

Saying this, he reached out with his one remaining hand, lifted the pot of oil—which was boiling furiously over fierce flames—brought it to his lips, and began to guzzle it down.

If even a drop of blood fell into the hot oil, it would sizzle loudly, a testament to its extreme temperature. Yet, relying on having refined his internal organs, he managed to force down half the pot. He then placed the oil pot back on the fire in front of him and smiled, "I left half the 'soup' so that elder brother won't say I'm too greedy."

"Such a big pot, you surely can't miss it. Otherwise, I can help bring it to your mouth?"

"So, please..."

Seeing this move, the Red Lantern Society contingent cheered unanimously, already certain they had won this round.

The opposing Shousui man clearly lacked the cultivation of the Shopkeeper of Gou'er Mountain and was only holding on through sheer bravado. But with half a pot of boiling oil in his stomach, bravado alone wouldn't be enough to sustain him. All eyes were on the Shopkeeper of Gou'er Mountain, anticipating his declaration of victory.

However, just as the opponent's face contorted, looking as if he were about to concede defeat, this Shopkeeper of Gou'er Mountain, who was speaking slowly and deliberately, suddenly toppled from his chair before he could finish his sentence.

Those beside him cried out and rushed onto the stage, only to discover he was already dead.

Although he had refined his internal organs, he had clearly pushed himself beyond his limits and couldn't withstand half a pot of boiling oil.

"Just missed it by a moment…"

Manager Xu, when recounting this matter, still shook his head and sighed, "Had he held on for just a little longer, the opponent would have conceded."

"Everyone clearly saw that the one they sent out was too scared to drink."

"But with just that momentary lapse, Old Shopkeeper Yang toppled to the ground."

"One was dead, the other alive but unable to respond. And so, a round we were certain to win was lost, just like that."

What kind of evil spirits are these?

Though Hu Ma had heard Er Guotou mention such things, he hadn't known these details. Hearing them now, he was caught off guard, and his scalp tingled.

Is this really called dueling? This is clearly staking one's life…

So, Shopkeeper Yang of Gou'er Mountain lost and paid with his life. And the Worship from the Green Clothes Gang? He lost an arm and both eyes, didn't he? Moreover, after enduring that jar of Black Tai Sui wine, it was uncertain if his body could ever recover. In the end, one died and the other was gravely maimed; neither side gained anything.

It's no wonder Er Guotou insisted I hide. If I hadn't, and had heard I'd have to participate in this kind of contest, I probably would have run off myself.

"If that's the case…" Hu Ma listened and hurriedly said, "Then how did it fall to newcomers like us? Every one of these contests involves people using their trump cards. Wouldn't it be better to send up those who are truly skilled?"

"If you think of it that way, you still don't understand this Path."

Manager Xu waved his hand, sighed, and said, "The difficulty with these duels lies in the rules for issuing challenges."

"Both sides take turns issuing challenges. Whoever's turn it is to challenge gets to set the terms, naturally choosing something advantageous to themselves. If the other side can't follow, they lose that first round."

"Therefore, when it's our turn to challenge in a duel, we always send up someone reliable, someone with a trump card, aiming to make the opponent collapse or concede in a single round."

"As for when we're the ones being challenged... well, then it hardly matters who goes up."

"You either send up someone younger, someone with spirit, to try and out-tough the opponent, hoping they can endure."

"Or you concede."

"Heh, there's no such thing as just 'conceding,'" Yang Gong interjected at this point. "If you go onto the stage and the opponent lays down a challenge, it's acceptable if you can't handle it and collapse after, say, drinking poisoned wine. But you absolutely cannot refuse to even try and just admit defeat…"

"…How could the Lady be pleased with that? Even the brothers in the society would look down on you!"

Hu Ma understood now. In this kind of duel, winning or losing was secondary; the only truly shameful thing was to show cowardice.

This was why all the chosen Shopkeepers treated it with such gravity, preparing themselves to lose their lives. After all, just participating once could easily lead to being crippled, and that was considered getting off lightly.

No wonder Er Guotou was so giddy when he heard Sweet Potato was coming…

Amidst this bizarre and terrifying account, Hu Ma connected it with the information he already possessed and suddenly grasped a crucial point about these duels: The challenge! The challenge is paramount. If one could know the opponent's challenge in advance, victory could be assured!

"Incense Master Zheng is here…"

Just as he was pondering this, a joyous shout came from outside the door.