The Caston Hotel is located by the sea in the southwest of Kowloon. From the guest rooms, the vast Victoria Harbour is in full view.
As the two swaggered into the hotel, preparing to check in, Luan Jiping suddenly remembered she didn't have Director Zhao's ID.
Long Xiao produced two ID cards and booked a room. As they went upstairs, Luan Jiping whispered, "Brother, if your wife knew you were checking into a hotel with me, would she break your legs when you got back?"
"Probably not. Would you tell my wife about this kind of thing?"
"Of course not. I'm just asking hypothetically, if she found out, would she beat you up?"
Long Xiao shook his head and said, "I've never really considered that."
While they waited for the elevator, Luan Jiping habitually linked arms with Long Xiao. The elevator soon arrived, and as a few people exited, they all looked at them with odd glances.
Once inside the elevator, with only Long Xiao and Luan Jiping, she said, "Brother, why are they looking at us like we're freaks?"
Long Xiao gently pulled his arm free and said, "Sister, if we walk around arm-in-arm, people will definitely think we're freaks."
"What's wrong with linking arms? What are two men afraid of?"
"Sister, stop teasing me. If two men walk around arm-in-arm, people will speculate wildly about our relationship."
Luan Jiping looked at Long Xiao's flustered expression and burst into loud laughter.
Long Xiao felt that this sister was like a sorceress; he dared not get too close to her, yet he wanted to be with her.
Long Xiao breathed a sigh of relief upon entering his room. After washing up and lying on the bed, he habitually began to ponder the "Dragon Scripture."
In the morning, bright sunlight shone on the curtains early. Just as Long Xiao opened his eyes, he heard a knock on the door.
"Brother, there's a match today between the Martial Alliance and a dojo opened by the South Koreans. Shall we go?" Luan Jiping asked from outside the door.
"Of course, we'll go. I have nothing else to do today anyway," Long Xiao said, rolling out of bed.
The hotel was not far from the Kowloon Stadium. As they drove to the vicinity of the stadium, they found it was already a sea of people. It took them an hour to find a parking space.
"Brother, with so many people and no reserved tickets, how will we get in?" Luan Jiping asked, looking at the swaying crowd with a troubled expression.
"Sister, I'm a member of the Martial Alliance. This is a Martial Alliance competition; they can't refuse to let me in, can they?" Long Xiao said.
They reached the entrance, where hundreds of security guards were maintaining order. Several channels were orderly checking tickets for entry.
Long Xiao walked to the front and asked a security guard, "I'm from the Chinese Martial Alliance. Are there any people from the Hong Kong Martial Alliance here?"
The guard looked at Long Xiao and asked, "Do you want to sneak in? You outsider, don't say I didn't warn you. You'll be arrested if you cause trouble."
After being brushed off by the guard, Long Xiao went to ask at the entrance again, only to be rebuffed once more.
Luan Jiping chuckled, "Brother, your status as a Martial Alliance big shot doesn't work here, hehe."
As Luan Jiping was joking with Long Xiao, someone behind them said, "Sir, may I ask if your surname is Hu?"
The person speaking was a middle-aged man in his thirties. He had a sharp-mouthed, monkey-like face, thin and gaunt, with dark, tough-looking skin.
Long Xiao nodded and said, "Yes, do you know me?"
"Of course, I do. You are Elder Hu Lei. I've watched your epic battle more than fifty times. Your footwork is so exquisite."
Long Xiao smiled and said, "I used the Luo family's 'Gui Xuan' step at the time, also known as the legendary corpse-herding steps."
The middle-aged man was very excited to see Long Xiao. After a brief chat, he asked, "Are you here to participate in the competition? Now our Hong Kong Martial Alliance is saved."
Long Xiao shook his head and said, "I just arrived in Hong Kong yesterday and only found out about the competition this morning. I came to take a look."
"Elder Hu, I'll call my master immediately and ask them to come and welcome you."
After the middle-aged man made the call, he continued chatting with Long Xiao. About ten minutes later, a group of people wearing uniforms with the words "Martial Alliance" on them walked over.
Seeing Long Xiao, an elder walking in the center quickened his pace, clasped his hands in a salute, and said, "Qian Luo, President of the Hong Kong Martial Alliance, greets Elder Hu."
Long Xiao clasped his hands and said, "Greetings, President Qian."
With people from the Martial Alliance escorting them, entering the stadium was much easier. They used a special passage and soon arrived at the preparation area near the arena.
As the pre-match performers went to prepare, Long Xiao asked Qian Luo about the competition.
Qian Luo informed Long Xiao that this was a death match. The challengers were from a dojo opened by the South Koreans in Hong Kong.
A while ago, people from the Martial Alliance had injured a young member of the Park family at a South Korean association. Since then, conflicts had been constant, with casualties on both sides.
A few days prior, a dojo from the Island Nation mediated negotiations between the two parties. They finally agreed to resolve the matter through a death match.
"How is the death match fought?" Long Xiao asked.
"Best of three rounds, no-holds-barred arena match. Fight to the death."
"Meaning, any method can be used to attack the opponent, and the match ends when one of them dies. Am I right?"
Qian Luo nodded and said, "Yes, you can understand it that way. If one side concedes, and the opponent is willing to spare them, the opponent can live."
"Do we have a chance of winning?" Long Xiao asked.
Qian Luo shook his head and sighed, "It's difficult. Someone introduced us to a master yesterday. Apart from this master, everyone else has no chance."
"If we lose, what will be the consequences?" Long Xiao asked again.
Qian Luo told Long Xiao that if the Martial Alliance lost, all their martial arts schools would be closed, and all their facilities would be gratuitously handed over to the South Koreans.
"If they lose, we take over their dojos?" Long Xiao asked.
Qian Luo nodded and said, "Yes, that's what was decided."
Luan Jiping nudged Long Xiao's arm and said, "Brother, do you want to step in?"
Long Xiao nodded and said, "Let's seize the South Korean dojos and let them know that China is not to be trifled with."
Luan Jiping took Long Xiao's arm and said, "Good, I support you."
Seeing the two grown men acting intimately, Qian Luo got goosebumps all over and quickly turned his face away.
With Long Xiao participating, Qian Luo relaxed. Although the South Korean dojo had a few masters, their strength was by no means comparable to Hu Lei's.
At nine o'clock in the morning, the stadium was already full. The master Qian Luo had mentioned walked over, swaying his head.
He wore a stylish, light yellow suit, and his handsome face was full of arrogant expressions. The only incongruous item was a small ladies' backpack slung over his back.
"This young man is so beautiful. Why does he, like Xiao Ming, also like to carry a backpack?" Luan Jiping asked curiously.
Seeing the person arrive, Long Xiao almost burst into laughter and whispered, "He's not like Xiao Ming, he *is* Xiao Ming."
"What, he's Xiao Ming? I didn't recognize him," Luan Jiping said, looking at Xiao Ming in surprise.
"I taught him the art of disguise, so of course, you wouldn't recognize him," Long Xiao said smugly.