"Brother Xiang, you and Sister Gu just now..." Xiao Shan asked, looking at me.
I told them the whole story. Fatty burst into laughter after hearing it, "Lord Xiang, you're too much! You were completely handled by a woman?"
I said with annoyance, "You try it. That woman is clearly a martial artist."
Xiao Shan chimed in, "Sister Gu's husband used to be in the army and learned a lot of combat techniques. He was even an instructor. Sister Gu learned all her skills from him... When I was young, I also learned some Krav Maga from her husband."
Hearing this, Fatty stopped smiling, "That capable?"
"In any case, you'd better not provoke her. If you provoke her..."
"What happens if I provoke her?" Fatty asked.
Xiao Shan pursed his lips and said, "Last year, a gold prospector climbed to Sister Gu's place in the middle of the night, wanting to steal gold. Sister Gu found out, and the next day she had someone tie the thief up on Hekou Street. Every day she would go there, cut a piece of flesh from the man, then find someone to stop his bleeding, and also not let him starve. That man lasted for half a month before he couldn't take it anymore and went completely insane... Later, he climbed into a water mine and drowned himself."
"That brutal?" Fatty blinked a couple of times.
Xiao Shan shrugged, "That's why I said, it's best not to offend her."
Fatty pursed his lips, "That thief was really something else. Climbing into someone's house in the middle of the night just to steal gold, so pathetic. If it were me..."
"What if it were you?" I asked.
"Of course, I'd capture the person first! If the person is captured, wouldn't the gold be his?" Fatty said with a smile.
Xiao Shan quickly covered his mouth and made a 'shush' gesture, "Don't talk nonsense..."
Fatty pushed his hand away, "I was just kidding."
"Sister Gu hates it most when people talk about her in that regard behind her back... If she heard it, it would be troublesome. There was a person who spoke about her behind her back before..."
"Say what?"
Xiao Shan carefully stood up, walked to the door, opened it, peeked outside, then closed the door and came back, whispering, "Someone said she slept with several mine owners... You guess what happened to the person who said that?"
"What happened?" Fatty asked.
"One night, after drinking too much, when he went to find a woman, his lower body part went missing."
"Missing?"
"Yes... Not long after, that person died of illness in bed."
"Sister Gu did it?"
Xiao Shan smiled and said nothing.
I didn't expect this woman to be so ruthless. I suddenly felt fortunate that I hadn't offended her much earlier, otherwise, it would have been really difficult.
But similarly, I also learned about the situation around Hekou from Xiao Shan. It seemed this place was truly a lawless zone.
The next morning, Xiao Shan took us around the nearby mines. Since everyone knew him, no one bothered us.
There was nowhere else to go. At noon, Xiao Shan brought back a wild chicken and stewed it for us to go with our drinks.
After lunch, I was about to take a nap when a commotion erupted outside.
Then someone came to find Xiao Shan and spoke a lot of gibberish, which Fatty and I couldn't understand at all.
Xiao Shan then seemed quite excited and asked if we wanted to go watch the fun.
I asked what fun.
"A duel!"
"Duel?" I didn't quite understand what he meant.
Xiao Shan said, "You're not afraid of seeing blood, are you?"
"Of course not," Fatty said.
"That's good. You'll know when you go see it."
Soon, Xiao Shan led us to a clearing by the river. When we arrived, a crowd had already gathered, all looking excited. Some people even spread a cloth on the ground nearby, as if setting up a betting operation.
They were betting on everything. Some used cigarettes to bet, while others used instant noodles and bread as chips.
We squeezed through the crowd to the front and saw two people standing face-to-face, full of anger. Between them stood a skinny, bare-chested old man, seemingly the referee.
The two men about to duel looked to be around twenty years old, similar in height. One had a rather gentle appearance but had a scar on his face, while the other looked ferocious with a tattoo on his forehead.
I asked Xiao Shan why they were going to duel.
Xiao Shan pointed to a woman sitting on a rock not far away and said, "They both fell for that girl. Whoever wins gets to marry that girl."
I was amused, "Does the girl agree to it?"
"Whether she agrees or not, she has to," Xiao Shan said. Here, dueling was a serious matter. It was usually chosen when facing irreconcilable disputes.
Moreover, if someone died during a duel, no one would be held accountable.
Before I could say more, the skinny old man shouted something, and the two young men started fighting.
They clearly didn't know any martial arts. Their fighting was like two calves butting and pulling at each other.
The onlookers seemed a bit unsatisfied. Some shouted loudly, while others, with red faces, wished they could rush up themselves.
This kind of duel was truly unwatchable. I got bored after watching for a few minutes.
But unexpectedly, at this moment, the scarred man, who was being beaten, pulled out a dagger from somewhere and stabbed his opponent directly in the leg, instantly escalating the fight.
This was no longer a wrestling match but a fight to the death!
Someone seemed to accuse the scarred man of using a knife, but it was only an accusation, and no one stepped in to stop it.
The man who was stabbed picked up a rock from the ground and violently smashed it at the scarred man. Blood and flesh flew everywhere, making me feel a bit uneasy.
Upon seeing blood, everyone seemed to become a bit frenzied, and the shouts grew louder.
One stab and one stone clashed. In a moment, both men were injured.
The ground where they were standing was also dyed red.
The man holding the stone was agile. With a swift step, he reached the scarred man and smashed the stone directly into the scarred man's nose!
Looking at this, I could feel the pain.
The scarred man was sent reeling by the impact of the stone. He fell backward instantly, and the man with the stone pursued his advantage, straddling the scarred man and raising the stone to strike again.
Just then, the scarred man raised his hand and made a sweeping motion. The man with the stone froze as if petrified, completely motionless.
At this moment, everyone present fell silent, only to hear a "hiss..." and blood sprayed from the stone-wielding man's throat like a bursting dam, instantly drenching the scarred man's upper body in red.
The stone in his hand then dropped to the ground. The instant the stone hit the ground, the onlookers erupted in beast-like cheers once more...