**Chapter 449: Wing Chun**
Qiao Jiajin was quick-eyed and quick-handed. Just as Qiu Ershi was about to crash into the handcart, he reached out and grabbed his leather jacket.
Before everyone could react, Qiu Ershi was casually pulled aside by Qiao Jiajin like a rag, then steadily supported.
"Angry Kid..." Qiao Jiajin looked at the still-shaken Qiu Ershi and laughed. "Your reaction was fast enough, but your body is too unstable..."
"N-no, Brother Qiao..." Qiu Ershi shook his head. "My footing was indeed a bit slippery... Next time I'll be more careful."
Qiao Jiajin nodded after hearing this. "Keep a tight watch on the opening, and lower your center of gravity while you're at it."
Qiu Ershi rubbed his forearm, feeling as if he had been punched hard. "Okay, Brother Qiao."
The two began to guard the side of the cart, moving forward slowly with its speed.
Meanwhile, the people pushing the cart gradually found their rhythm and started to speed up.
When they reached the finish line, everyone was once again at a loss.
According to Di Ma's description, they needed to push the cart back and forth once. The best way, of course, was to push it to the finish line and then pull it back to the starting point exactly as it was. But that would change their action from "pushing" to "pulling." With no other choice, they had to turn around—but turning around was not as simple as everyone imagined.
Because the track was narrow and the cart was long, everyone had to dodge the glass pieces on the ground while turning the cart. Almost everyone had to try to step across these sharp objects on the icy surface.
In the process, Ning Shiba nearly slipped and fell, but luckily Luo Shiwu beside her steadied her.
If someone fell here, it wouldn't just be their feet that got injured; their entire body could be cut by the glass.
While everyone was turning the cart, Qiao Jiajin and Qiu Ershi kept a careful watch on the wooden box in the distance. But the box made no other move; it just kept rotating, always aiming its opening at them.
"Damn..." Qiao Jiajin shielded the members of "Cat" behind him and looked at the wooden box with slight confusion. "What's the principle behind this damn thing? It's just wood, but it can keep turning its head?"
It took about ten-plus seconds for the entire "Wooden Ox and Flowing Horse" to complete its turn. Everyone now faced the starting point, where Di Ma was watching them expressionlessly.
Everyone understood that the first round was probably the easiest in the entire game. If they couldn't even get through this round, they might as well concede the rest of the game.
"Same tactics," Qiao Jiajin said. "Angry Kid and I will block the ice balls; the rest of you just focus on pushing the cart."
"Good!" Everyone agreed in unison.
The cart had moved less than half a meter when "Po Jun" immediately made a move.
With a muffled "clack" sound, the ice ball inside seemed to have been reloaded.
But for Qiao Jiajin, this was not good. Because of "Po Jun"'s special position, the wooden box was closer to the finish line than to the starting point, so at this moment they were very close to "Po Jun."
In an instant, Qiao Jiajin raised both hands in front of his face, stood firm in the Yee Jee Kim Yeung Ma stance, and with a calm upper body, assumed the Wing Chun upper and lower double guard hands.
"I don't know if the knowledge I've learned will be enough..." Qiao Jiajin took a deep breath. "Being this close to the opponent, it has to be Wing Chun."
"J-Joe Brother..." Bai Jiu looked at the distance with some worry. They were at most three to five meters from the wooden box.
With a high-speed sphere flying out at such a distance, could an ordinary person really block it?
"I'll handle it," Qiao Jiajin said. "No one get distracted. Just focus on pushing the cart."
"Huh...?" Everyone looked at him incredulously.
"Just pretend the 'ball' rule doesn't exist," Qiao Jiajin said. "I think I've found a way to crack the game..."
He slowly revealed a faint smile, gradually understanding the confident expression that Qi Xia wore every time in the game.
As long as he was sure he could handle all the problems in front of him, he could indeed be that confident.
"Swoosh!"
With a dull sound, the ice ball shot toward them at extreme speed. Because of the short distance, it was impossible to estimate its landing point.
Qiao Jiajin took a light step forward, raising both hands simultaneously. One hand performed a bong sao (wing arm) block to protect his head, while the other executed an outer gate horizontal palm strike. While defending his face, he struck out a palm toward the ice ball by instinct.
Since Qiao Jiajin had no experience hitting a ball with his palm, this strike was a bit off, but it still directly changed the ice ball's flight path.
Coincidentally, after changing direction, the ice ball flew straight toward Di Ma in the distance.
Di Ma snorted coldly and did not move. The ice ball shattered against her body.
"Crack!"
Countless sparkling fragments exploded around Di Ma, like a brief blizzard.
"Attacking the referee...?" Di Ma wiped the ice fragments off her hand and asked in a very serious tone. "Do you know what you're doing?"
"Who?" Qiao Jiajin also shook his slightly aching palm. "Who attacked the referee?"
"You tell me."
"Me?" Qiao Jiajin scratched his head. "If you ask me, it's 'Po Jun'... How can this thing hit randomly? Should we dismantle it?"
"What...?" Di Ma was clearly taken aback, feeling she couldn't understand this man's logic. "What nonsense are you talking? Didn't the ball come from you?"
"Really?" Qiao Jiajin also blinked in surprise. "The ball came out of 'Po Jun,' so I had no choice. The rules say 'the rider cannot be knocked down,' so I'm just following the rules."
Di Ma felt she really couldn't talk to this person. She could only shake her head helplessly. "This time I'll consider it an accident. If this happens again..."
"Then I'm still very sorry," Qiao Jiajin interrupted. "When that happens, I will sincerely apologize to you again."
"You...!" Di Ma gritted her teeth and stopped talking. To be precise, she didn't want to deal with this tattooed-armed man anymore.
The cart continued to move slowly forward, gradually moving away from "Po Jun." After advancing about five or six meters, the ice ball flew again.
This time, Qiu Ershi stepped forward and blocked it with both arms.
It was, after all, an ice ball. Although it hurt to get hit, at least it wouldn't cause injury.
Qiao Jiajin had thought Qiu Ershi would fall again from the impact, but it seemed he was gradually getting used to the slippery ground. It just went to show that the people in the "Cat" team were indeed no ordinary folks.
Bai Jiu saw this and nodded with slight relief. At any rate, there should be no casualties in the first round; only then could they maximize their chances of passing.
She was sitting on the "Wooden Ox and Flowing Horse," about to cheer everyone on, when a familiar voice came to her ear.
"Xiao Jiu, where are you?"
"Sixth Sister?"