Chapter 46: Two Tigers on One Mountain
Seeing that Qi Xia had no follow-up moves, he immediately took a big stride forward and charged at him.
Qi Xia didn't hesitate either. He pushed the two chairs beside him forward again, placing them between himself and Zhang Shan.
The tall, burly Zhang Shan was naturally slow in his movements. Now, blocked by these two chairs, he nearly tripped.
"A dragon fighting in the wilderness—its path is exhausted."
Qi Xia took a running start, stepped onto a chair, and leaped up. Before Zhang Shan could steady himself, he pounced directly onto him, straddling him.
He knew Zhang Shan was fundamentally different from Little Glasses and Old Lü—there was no way intimidation alone would make him yield. So, before the other could react, he rained down wild punches on Zhang Shan's face while riding on top of him.
Zhang Shan immediately bent his arms to protect his chin and cheeks, while keeping his eyes fixed on Qi Xia's shoulders. By judging the direction of the punches, he continuously blocked Qi Xia's attacks.
Qi Xia's fists fell like raindrops on the other's arms, feeling as hard as striking a wall.
"Kid... you're asking for death!"
Taking advantage of the moment Zhang Shan spoke, Qi Xia drove his fist down between the man's arms, aiming straight for his nose.
But Zhang Shan seemed to have anticipated this. He clamped his arms together, trapping Qi Xia's fist so it couldn't advance an inch. He locked Qi Xia's joint, then grabbed his arm and twisted it sideways, sending Qi Xia rolling to the side. Zhang Shan broke free from the hold.
"I really underestimated you..." Zhang Shan slowly stood up, brushing the dust off his clothes. "Were you a killer before you came here? Who fights like that?"
Qi Xia also rose to his feet with a grim expression, breathing heavily.
That assault had been his all-or-nothing gamble, yet the other man had barely been affected.
"Hey, hey, hey!!" Little Glasses ran over, his face full of urgency. "Why are you two suddenly fighting... Calm down, both of you..."
"I can't calm down anymore." Zhang Shan laughed angrily. "Today, I have to beat this kid until he's completely convinced."
Before Qi Xia could come up with another countermeasure, Zhang Shan had already flung all the chairs aside and charged at him. His thick arm swung like a pillar toward Qi Xia's face.
At that critical moment, Qiao Jiajin reached out and hooked his arm.
"Big guy, you can't hit him."
Zhang Shan, finding himself blocked, increased his strength, only to realize that this lean, tattooed man was surprisingly strong—he couldn't move him at all.
"Another one sticking his neck out." Zhang Shan snorted coldly. "Why can't I hit him?"
"Because he's my 'brain,'" Qiao Jiajin said with an innocuous smile. "If you smash his head, we'll both turn stupid."
"He's your 'brain'?" Zhang Shan found the man before him somewhat interesting. "Then what are you?"
"Me..." Qiao Jiajin released Zhang Shan's hand, took off his jacket, revealing a body full of tattoos and well-trained muscles. "If I have to say, I'm his 'fist.'"
Zhang Shan raised an eyebrow and said, "Interesting. Then I'll spar with you, this 'fist.'"
With that, Zhang Shan assumed a boxing stance, one arm curled to protect his chin, the other swinging at Qiao Jiajin with a twist of his hips.
Qiao Jiajin lunged forward, ducking under the punch as he closed the distance. He swung his right fist in an uppercut.
Zhang Shan tilted his head back, dodging it as well, then quickly adjusted his stance, placing his right hand in front to create distance between himself and Qiao Jiajin.
In that brief exchange, both knew the other had definitely trained—otherwise, they wouldn't have such skills.
Zhang Shan barely hesitated half a second before stepping forward again and throwing a heavy punch with his left hand.
This time, Qiao Jiajin didn't dodge. Instead, he caught Zhang Shan's entire arm, leaped into the air, spun around, hooked one leg around the man's neck, and used his own weight to pull him to the ground.
He held Zhang Shan's arm between his thighs, pulling it back continuously while his feet searched for the right position—one pressing down on the other's neck, the other preparing to press on his chest.
Zhang Shan was incredulous, but he quickly came to his senses. This was a common ground technique in mixed martial arts: the "armbar." If the other managed to straighten his arm, he would be finished.
Thinking this, he reached out with his right hand and clasped it tightly with his left, interlacing his fingers so that Qiao Jiajin couldn't pull his arm straight for the moment.
He couldn't figure out for the life of him how a thuggish punk could execute such a textbook move. Fortunately, he himself had some knowledge of fighting techniques. Though he hadn't broken the armbar, he hadn't let his opponent succeed either.
Qiao Jiajin found that Zhang Shan's left arm wouldn't budge, so he planted one foot on the other's right arm, using the strength of his thigh to force the two hands apart.
By now, Zhang Shan was sweating profusely. After all, his hands were only interlaced by the fingers—the grip wasn't stable.
Soon, Zhang Shan's hands separated, and his left arm was instantly straightened. The immense pain made him cry out.
But given his large build, he quickly twisted his body and threw a right punch at Qiao Jiajin's abdomen.
Qiao Jiajin pulled back his right leg—which had been pressing against the other's neck—and used his knee to block the blow.
Zhang Shan seemed to find a way out. He kept punching Qiao Jiajin with his right fist, and Qiao Jiajin could only keep blocking with his knee.
For the "armbar" to succeed, there were two key points: first, to firmly control one of the opponent's arms, and second, to pin down the opponent's neck and chest with both legs.
To defend against the attacks, Qiao Jiajin had to pull his leg back. Without the restraint of his right leg, Zhang Shan could get up.
So Zhang Shan yanked his left arm free, flipped over, and tried to reverse the situation by pinning Qiao Jiajin down.
Seeing his opponent break free, Qiao Jiajin immediately extended his right foot to block him.
Unable to close in, Zhang Shan kept throwing punches at Qiao Jiajin.
Qiao Jiajin tucked his arms in, blocking left and right, while maintaining distance with his right leg.
Taking advantage of Zhang Shan's lapse in attention, Qiao Jiajin's raised right leg suddenly dropped, kicking hard into the other's shin.
Zhang Shan lost his balance again and was about to fall. Qiao Jiajin seized the moment, circled behind him, extended his right arm to choke Zhang Shan's neck, locked his left hand with his right arm for added force, and leaped backward, pulling them both to the ground in a "rear naked choke" guillotine hold.
Just as Qiao Jiajin was about to tighten the choke on the other's neck, he suddenly sensed something off.
Looking closely, he saw that Zhang Shan had slipped one hand in front of his neck, preventing the choke from fully forming.
Though he had blocked Qiao Jiajin's attack, Zhang Shan wasn't doing well either. He had protected his vital point, but his hand was now trapped as well.
At this moment, neither could break free; they were locked together.
"Hey... big guy..." Qiao Jiajin said through clenched teeth, "How about you give up? Call me boss, and I'll let go right now..."
"Damn it! Even if I die at your hands, I'll never admit defeat..." Zhang Shan kept tensing his muscles, looking for a way out, but Qiao Jiajin's hold was very stable, and for now, there were no openings.