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“This place looks like the forest and foothills of Jinzhou, but why does it all feel so foreign to me……..”
Lingyang wonders almost lost in thought as he walks down the path in front of him. He was just lazing around sleeping at his usual spot of relaxation in the forest, but when he awoke he found his surroundings had changed to something he didn’t recognize. Bewildered he began walking down the first path he saw hoping it would take him back to Jinzhou. However, even after an hour of walking, there’s still no sign of where this path is taking him.
“I have to get back soon, If I don’t my old man would have an absolute earful for me…..”
He mumbles to himself, he might have got up to some wild shenanigans while out of the city walls in the past but this felt so odd to him unease is all he can feel within his mind. He has so many questions regarding this situation, however before he can ponder on it further he sees the path is leading him to a clearing in the vegetation. This already catches his attention with immediate effect, but then beyond it he spots something else which intrigues him even more.
“Wait a second, am I really seeing this?”
He said as he reach the end of the path and the start of the clearing. He can see that it’s a pretty sizeable clearing with ample open space opened up between the lush forest. What’s more however, in the middle of the clearing is something he has been hoping to see. Ever since he begin to realize something was wrong he has been dying to see someone else he can ask to regarding where is he. Now it appears his hopes has finally come through.
“Oh finally another person, I finally have someone else-“
Before he finishes that sentence he has to stop himself, this is because of his now clearer initial observation of this person suddenly intrigued him immensely. The person appears to be a young boy of similar height and proportions as him. He appears to sport a reddish-orange top with metal clippings of silver on the collar, and baggy dark grey pants with golden engravings with intricate lion designs. He also wears a grey jacket which has a hoodie with similarly intricate lion designs on it. Overall this look intrigued Lingyang as it is so similar and yet not the same as what he and his dancing troupe usually wears.
“Hey there! Are you from-“
Filled with curiosity, he called out the man he saw in front of him, looking to strike up a conversation in case he knew anything about where they were. Unfortunately, he caught the man by surprise, and his response was knee-jerked but understandable given the circumstances.
“Who’s there?!”
He immediately turned in a snap second and pulled out a massive greatsword. This stunned Lingyang for a moment. He had never seen anyone his size choose to wield such a massive weapon since it usually was too much to handle. And yet, the man before him held his with resolute strength and alertness, the grip of his hands firm and steady indicating he’s ready to strike at any moment.
“Whoa whoa calm down now just a minute, I’m not here with malicious intentions”
“Are you sure about that?”
Lingyang tried assuring him he was not here for a fight, it appeared to be working as the man slowly lowered his great sword as he tried getting closer to him. With the situation calming down Lingyang decided to restart his attempt at engaging the man in small talk.
“So uhm hello there, my name is Lingyang I have been lost here and have been looking for a way out currently”
“Huh, well I’m Gaming and funnily enough I am in the exact same situation as you”
“Oh, what a coincidence! Guess I’m not the only one who wakes to feel that their surroundings are off huh?”
“It appears so hahahaha”
It appears that despite the initially tense first meeting the two boys have quickly come to understand each other, Lingyang’s effort proved successful and now he at least has someone else to talk to regarding the current predicament he’s in and how it could be solved. Despite the diplomacy however, they’re both still boys who like nothing more than championing what they love more than anything else. Soon enough this newly kindled friendship will unfortunately be interrupted as an example of this fact emerges to the surface and into both of their attentions.
“So, the styling and patterns of your outfit look vaguely familiar to me. Are you from a Wushou dancing troupe?”
“Uhm, a what sorry? If you mean lion dancing troupe then yes I am a part of one”
Gaming’s eyebrow raised in intrigue, he placed his right hand on his chin eyeing up and down this new friend he just met. He doesn’t look much anything like him at all, and yet he can feel a sense of familiarity suggesting that he does perform a similar craft to him even if he calls it differently. Lingyang looks on in puzzlement, he thinks he has made it clear that he’s not a threat so he’s unsure as to what is this supposed to be about. Thankfully he won’t have to wait long to find that out.
“Say, are you the stand-out performer of your troupe?”
“Oh yes, I am! I always dazzle the crowd and the moves and techniques are so ingrained within me now that I use them also when I have to fight haha”
“What a coincidence, I am exactly the same!”
“Huh, guess we’re both very similar to each other aren’t we?”
The two laugh together finding amusement in finding out they share so many traits with each other. The feelings of warmth and friendliness appear to be mutual between the two. As they finished laughing a silent smirk flashed across their faces, as they turned to look at each other both felt they knew what the other was thinking to say regarding this new fact they just found out.
“Would you mind if I suggest we put that to the test? Just a little sparing for us to feel who really is the best here haha”
“Oh of course don’t worry I am all for it, I don’t usually say this but I’m looking forward to getting my fighting chops tested today haha”
They both cackled for a little bit before without a word readied themselves the best they can do. Gaming immediately pulls out his great word again ready to fight, but then he notices Lingyang simply standing there with a hand-to-hand combat stance. He realizes that Lingyang doesn’t fight using weapons and so in that moment he decides to do what he thinks is best for the sake of fairness……….
THUMP
“Wait, why are you doing that? That greatsword is supposed to be your main weapon of choice is it not?”
“Indeed it is however, I don’t think it would be fair for you to fight using punches and kicks while I’m out here throwing around a giant sword”
“But don’t you think I will have the advantage on you now because of that?”
“Oh don’t worry I’m plenty confidence I can beat you just like this”
And with that Gaming and Lingyang both enter a hand-to-hand combat stance. At first, Lingyang felt hesitance about this new development. However, after seeing Gaming’s resolute stare it left him with no doubt that the stage is now set for action. After exchanging a final nod to each other they waste the moment no longer, charging full speed ahead into each other until they inevitably clashed.
WHACK
Gaming wasted no time and immediately swung a punch towards Lingyang’s head, he saw coming however and blocked it with his forearm. A considerable rush of air rushed away from the point of impact, a clear sign of the power both put forward in their respective moves. They stare at each other smiling widely as if to acknowledge each other’s strength and toughness. Not a moment too long afterwards however Gaming moved back a step and took another angle of attack.
For a while after the two of them have a good time exchanging blows with each other, trading punches and kicks looking for a way to knock each other off balance. They exchange nimble moves of the hands to stop and deflect away punches, as well as acrobatic maneuvers showing the flexibility of their upper bodies and legs showing how their dancing routines lent itself well to fighting. All the while the smiles never went away from their faces, it’s apparent that both are having a joyous time testing themselves and the other in their abilities to fight. Sometimes chuckles and cackles can be heard in the midst of the fighting, indicating that they’re also able to find amusement from all this.
BAM
Another flurry of dodged and blocked attacks ensues with great pace. At the end of it, their fist clashed sending a lot of energy either way. Feeling this neither held onto this position for very long, they both soon jumped away and stepped back a little to keep their distance from each other. Huffing and puffing it was a great opportunity to take a little break from the breakneck action they’d been engaged in over the past several minutes.
“Well, that was certainly quite something wasn’t it? Been awhile since someone has given a tough exciting fight like that you know?”
“You’ve put up a good fight so far Gaming, but I can sense that you’re tired already, can you continue?”
From Gaming’s current posture and rate of deep breaths, Lingyang senses that he’s tiring from the fighting so far. He felt perfectly fine himself, then again he’s a beast folk and Gaming is but an ordinary human so this should be quite expected. Gaming however seems undeterred, at Lingyang’s question he just laughs. Yes he is indeed tiring, but he’s been in similar situations before and he’s confident that he’s not done for just yet.
“Oh don’t worry Lingyang, I’m just taking a breather it’s fine”
“Are you sure about that?”
“I can assure you I don’t want any complicated solution, I either win or I lose simple as that”
“Alright then, if you say so then I have no reason to have any more reservations about this haha”
They both laughed and exchanged smiles with each other once again. As they say, there’s no stopping young boys when they’re set on doing something. Soon enough break time was over and they returned to their battle stances. Their footing might not be as firm as before, but the stare out of their eyes is as resolute as ever more than ready to settle this contest.
“Ready to continue this?”
“I’m ready whenever you are my friend”
POW
Without wasting even another second they charged at each other once again, and again they clashed with quite some power behind them. The force of the impact knocked them both back s few steps, however they went right back into it immediately as if nothing happened. At first, you might think that the fight is settling into the dynamic that happened before, but if you look closely you will realize something is different now. That becomes very evident with what would happen a few exchanges later…..
WHAM
“Ack-“
BAM
Lingyang landed two precise blows on Gaming causing him to recoil and stumbled back a few steps. Despite what he had said earlier, Lingyang cannot help but notice that he has tired a lot. His movements are not as agile as before and the energy he emits while he attacks has grown weaker. Perhaps he should’ve seen this coming since he appears to be just a normal human, a human who is clearly adept at the fighting arts yes but a normal human nonetheless. Compared to his kind human’s limits of ability are quite lower, as Lingyang realized this he decided he shouldn’t let this drag on too long and hence the measured strikes, strong enough to stop him but not yet strong enough to knock him out.
“You got me there Lingyang hahaha”
“Hey Gaming, we don’t have to do this until someone is out, if you don’t feel it anymore we can just stop this here and now”
Lingyang decided to offer his new friend a way out, he didn’t want to continue this since the danger of actually hurting Gaming has become quite high. And after all, there is still the business of figuring out where the hell they are. Pushing each other beyond the limit now will only make that task harder. But little did he know, this new friend of his is not the kind to take the easy way out like that.
“You don’t need to worry about that man, I will not hold this against you at all trust me on that”
“But you will-“
“What matters now is that I’m still standing right now and I will only accept defeat when I am not!”
Without giving time for Lingyang to speak another word Gaming charged him with a scream, his resolve and passion still obvious despite his weakened state. Lingyang could only sigh, he has given him the easy way out and yet it seems he will only accept the hard way. He has encountered many people like that, but for whatever reason this time it felt different it felt just a little bit special in his mind.
“Guess there’s no way around this now…….”
Thought Lingyang as he swiftly entered his fighting stance. Gaming’s charge might be spirited, but he can see that he left himself open in some areas. And thus his focus his mind and body to do the only thing he could do now.
POW WHAM BAM
THUD
In one graceful maneuver, Lingyang hits Gaming 3 times in the vital areas, being careful to hit him hard enough to put him down but not hard enough to hurt him. And it works just as he had hoped, Gaming recoils hard from each strike before collapsing down flat on his back. In an instant he’s put in a daze, looking up into a hazy vision and numbness to his limbs. Exiting his stance Lingyang looked over to him and sighed, it was now done he had won. He doesn’t celebrate or do anything like that however as there is no need for it, instead he simply goes over to Gaming to see if he’s alright.
“Hey, are you good there”
“As good as anyone who has just been Knocked out I suppose”
“I gave you a chance to quit it before it got to this but you refused”
“Sorry but that’s just not my style Lingyang”
Both laughed loudly, perhaps from the outside perspective it’s hard to see what’s so funny about the situation. But frankly none is needed, sometimes when you’ve done something that’s probably stupid in hindsight with someone you’ve bonded with you just can’t help but laugh it off. That’s what they did until eventually, Lingyang lent his hand to gaming to help him up to his feet. Gaming accepted it without hesitation, at first he was a bit unsteady almost falling down again. But with Lingyang’s help, he is able to stabilize himself and stood upright again.
“Well well that was quite something wasn’t it haha”
“Indeed it was my friend, I think enjoyed it a lot”
“I do too, now let’s get to somewhere else to rest shall we?”
“Good idea, we still need to discuss our overall situation here after all”
RUMBLE RUMBLE
Before they can do that however the ground beneath them began to shake violently. The shaking is far stronger than anything they have ever felt before in their lives. They tried to stand firm and maintain their balance, but it was futile and soon they both fell down to the ground. Lingyang felt a sharp pain as he felt his head hit the ground but then, nothing everything just turned black and nothingness…….
“HAAAA!!!!!”
Screamed Lingyang as he jolted awake, as he came to he could feel an intense rush of adrenaline and sweat rushing down his body. He closed his eyes again and took a few deep breaths to calm down. After feeling relaxed enough he opened his eyes again, and he saw that he was in his usual retreat spot on the Jinzhou foothills. Everything is as he knows once more, and then he notices the sun setting on the horizon.
“Crap, I need to get back now or my old man would chew me up!”
He jumped down from the rock he was resting on and began sprinting as quickly as he could back towards Jinzhou city. As he did he imagined how angry his old man would be when he saw him back after yet another day of running off into the foothills. But he also thinks back to what he thinks he had just gone through, upon doing so he could only wonder to himself…….
“Was that just an extremely vivid dream? Or did I just experience something beyond comprehension…..”