Martial Arts: Starting from a Seemingly Real System

The evening sun was no longer as hot as it was in the afternoon, and it reluctantly left with its remaining power. The temperature was no longer scorching, but the air seemed to be filled with a sense of restlessness and uneasiness. The pedestrians on the road had all kinds of strange expressions, some were alert and nervous, some were greedy and tyrannical, some were arrogant and cold, and some were arrogant and domineering.

More and more crazy people are going crazy, and the scope of looting is getting wider and wider. Some are looting food and water, some are looting gold and jewelry, and some are targeting women. There is rape, looting, burning, killing, and smashing. What a chaotic scene!

This was an abandoned restaurant, with tables and chairs toppled over, broken glass bottles scattered all over the floor, and the bar counter where various drinks were placed was empty, obviously having been robbed a long time ago.

Qiao Rui and Liu Xinyue went up to the third floor and found a set of intact tables and chairs near the window facing the street and sat down. After leaving Aunt Yan's place, the two of them had been running around looking for something. Now they were tired and hungry, so they found a place to eat and take a break. Liu Xinyue found a clean plate from the backstage and placed it on the table. She wiped it carefully with a paper towel, and then took out the food and two pairs of chopsticks from Qiao Rui's backpack. Two large pieces of bread, each with a peeled ham sausage, a bottle of canned fish, a few vacuum-packed marinated eggs and chicken legs, and finally took out two ready-to-eat secret sauce pig's trotters.

"How much food did you take?" Qiao Rui asked in amazement.

"Bread, biscuits, ham and sausage!" Liu Xinyue quickly opened the bags and put the food on the plate. She smiled sweetly at Qiao Rui and said, "I was afraid you would get tired of it, so I found some more canned meat and ready-to-eat braised meat dishes."

"You are so thoughtful! I give you ninety-nine likes!" Qiao Rui said with a smile.

"Humph, I just found out!" Liu Xinyue rolled her eyes at him and said, "Do you want to light a candle?"

"No, it's too conspicuous and will easily attract people. It's troublesome! Besides, candles are easy to get but matches are hard to find nowadays. We have to use them sparingly."

"That's right!" Liu Xinyue nodded. She didn't care about matches and candles. She could just use them up after they were used up. She was mainly afraid that others would disturb her and Qiao Rui from enjoying the carefully prepared dinner.

"Then please enjoy your meal quickly, Mr. Qiao!" Liu Xinyue smiled and made a gesture of invitation.

"Thank you, Miss Liu, for your hospitality. I won't be polite!" Qiao Rui jokingly returned the gesture with a fist salute and lowered his head to eat, devouring the meal with relish.

Liu Xinyue ate slowly and leisurely, looking up at Qiao Rui from time to time, with the corners of her mouth slightly raised, her round almond eyes bright and energetic.

Soon, all the plates were empty, most of which were eaten by Qiao Rui. Liu Xinyue handed Qiao Rui an apple at the right time, put away their chopsticks, poured some mineral water and wiped them carefully.

At this moment, Qiao Rui stopped after taking a few bites of the apple and listened attentively. Seeing this, Liu Xinyue slowed down her actions and quietly put away her things.

There were some faint noisy sounds, like someone chasing and fighting, which came from far away and gradually got closer.

Pointing to the other side of the restaurant, Qiao Rui whispered, "It seems to be coming from that side."

Liu Xinyue nodded, and the two hid their backpacks. Then they quietly walked to the other side of the restaurant and secretly looked down through the window.

The area below might be the restaurant's kitchen. The yard was dirty and greasy, not as shiny as the main road in front of it. There were some pots and pans scattered around waiting to be washed.

Two gangs were fighting fiercely in the yard, each holding a weapon. On one side was a young man and woman. The woman looked pretty and charming in a blue floral dress, while the man looked tall and handsome in black trousers and a white shirt. They were probably a couple. The man was holding a sword, while the woman was holding a pointed steel bar that she had taken from some fence. I don't know if she was using it as a sword or a stick, which was a bit weird. On the other side were three young men, one holding a knife and two holding swords. The man holding the knife was tall and thin, and looked like a bamboo pole. He was struggling with the young girl and seemed to be at ease. The other two men holding swords, one fat and one thin, were both relatively short. They besieged the girl's male companion together and also had the upper hand.

"Why are there swords? It's just like in a martial arts movie. Where did they get them?" Liu Xinyue asked curiously.

"Some enthusiasts collect swords through various channels. They are not handicrafts for performances, but are made of real fine steel. The prices range from a few hundred to hundreds of thousands! The weapons in these people's hands are probably stolen or robbed from the homes of those enthusiasts." Qiao Rui explained.

"Oh, you see those guys are not good people at first glance, so why don't we go down and help that couple? By the way, take away the weapons of those bad guys. I, the female hero Liu from Huashan, am just in need of a good sword!" Liu Xinyue has never found fist and palm martial arts, and she has an advanced sword technique but cannot use it. So every time she faces the enemy, she can only use Qinggong to cover for Qiao Rui.

After observing from the window for a while, Qiao Rui had a plan in mind. He said to Liu Xinyue, "Let's ambush at the back door downstairs. You can come out after I have the situation under control!"

"I can help you restrain one person!" Liu Xinyue said hurriedly.

"No! Don't come out until the situation is under control. I will act according to the circumstances!" Qiao Rui looked at Liu Xinyue seriously, his tone firm and unquestionable.

Liu Xinyue bit her lower lip with her pearly teeth and cursed Qiao Rui in her heart, "Macho chauvinism! One-man rule! Fascism!" Although she was unwilling, she could only nod. She knew that the reason Qiao Rui didn't let her cover him this time was because the other party had weapons and she was afraid that she would be injured by the weapons. But wasn't she worried about him too?

Seeing that Liu Xinyue agreed, Qiao Rui smiled and patted Liu Xinyue's shoulders, took her hand and secretly went downstairs, hiding in the shadow of the downstairs door and waiting for the opportunity.

In just a moment, the scene changed again. The thin bamboo pole man made a feint, swung his knife, knocked the iron pestle out of the young woman's hand, and rushed forward, grabbed the woman's wrist and pulled her back, then hugged her from behind with one hand.

"It smells so good! Hahaha!" The skinny man held a knife in his right hand and strangled the woman's neck from behind with his left arm. He lowered his head and sniffed the woman's neck near her ear, letting out a hearty and obscene laugh.

"Ah, let me go!" The woman screamed subconsciously and twisted her body to avoid the attack of the skinny man.

"Let her go, you beast!" The woman's companion, the man in the white shirt, roared in anxiety. He was already unable to fight two men alone, and this distraction made him even more dangerous. Fortunately, the martial arts he learned were quite advanced, and his internal strength was also at a certain level. He managed to escape danger several times and barely avoided the deadly moves of the two men, one fat and one thin. However, it seemed that he could not hold out for a few more rounds.

"Fat Fish, Monkey Six, why have you become such wimps? It's been two against one and you still can't take her down after so long? Did you two go and mess with that girl again last night without telling me? Why did that girl die in the morning? It must be you who did it... If you don't stop it, I'm going to take this beauty in to have some fun first!" Skinny Bamboo Pole was getting more and more distracted by the resistance of the woman in the blue skirt and couldn't help urging the two short young men, one fat and one thin.

"How dare you! We agreed that it was my turn to go first today." The short and skinny young man named Hou Liu was anxious. As soon as he withdrew his move, he was about to go to the skinny young man and said, "You go help Fatty Fish, I'll take this girl out to have some fun first!"

Just when these two men were distracted and arguing, a man suddenly jumped out from the dark back door of the kitchen. He used mysterious footwork and swung his palm to hit the thin bamboo pole.