Chapter 80 - 79: Ginseng and the Rooster

Chapter 80: Chapter 79: Ginseng and the Rooster ... At this moment, the score was 11 to 7. Yan Xiaobao had scored ten consecutive points, while Li Zhigang was honestly in a miserable state... He had three large bumps on his forehead—one on each side and one in the middle. His lips had taken such a heavy smash from Yan Xiaobao’s powerful attack that, while his teeth weren’t knocked out, his lips were swollen like sausages. He could easily play a monster in *Journey to the West* without needing makeup... "Huff... huff..." Li Zhigang was breathing heavily, like a wounded beast, his eyes fixed furiously on Yan Xiaobao. At this point, he had forgotten about the match score and the bet involving Ye Shanshan. The only thing consuming his chest was a thick sense of humiliation and hatred. As a promising professional badminton player with a chance at joining the provincial team, not only was he unable to beat Yan Xiaobao, this newbie, but he was also battered black and blue with badminton hits. It was utterly infuriating and disgraceful! Yan Xiaobao, on the other hand, looked relaxed and cheerful. After scoring ten consecutive points, if he got ten more, he would crush Li Zhigang with a score of 21 to 7. Of course, the score wasn’t the main thing for Yan Xiaobao—it was finding such an entertaining "game" for the first time since coming to the mortal world. He was simply ecstatic. ... The match resumed. Yan Xiaobao sent the shuttlecock flying with a loud "bang." Li Zhigang raised his hand to prepare for a shot, but his eyes gleamed with malicious intent as he suddenly swung his arm aggressively. "Whoosh!" Li Zhigang didn’t hit the shuttlecock with his racket. Instead, he let the racket fly from his hand like a thrown dagger, targeting Yan Xiaobao directly. "Watch out!" Li Zhigang called out hypocritically, pretending he had accidentally lost his grip on the racket. But no one present was foolish enough to believe him. They all saw that he had intentionally flung the racket to hit Yan Xiaobao as revenge. After all, this was during a high shot. If the racket had slipped out of his hand, it should have flown upward. Instead, it flew straight and directly toward Yan Xiaobao, clearly on purpose. Too bad for Li Zhigang—he had no understanding of Yan Xiaobao’s true skill. Even bullets might struggle to hit him, let alone a big badminton racket. Yan Xiaobao casually stretched out his hand and caught the incoming racket with ease. "Here, have it back. Catch!" With a flick of his wrist, Yan Xiaobao sent the racket hurtling like lightning. "Bang!" "Thud!" Li Zhigang collapsed instantly, face down on the ground, motionless. "You want to play tricks with me? Come back after training for a hundred years." Yan Xiaobao curled his lip disdainfully. "Looks like he broke three ribs. You’d better take him away quickly." Li Zhigang’s two teammates rushed to carry him off. "Ow! Easy, easy, it hurts so much..." Even then, Li Zhigang shouted at the referee, "Referee, this was intentional assault! He should be penalized! Foul! I win... ow..." "Even if it was an assault, you were the one who attacked first." The referee shot Li Zhigang a cold glare and announced the end of the match. Due to injury, Li Zhigang forfeited the game, awarding victory to Yan Xiaobao. "What a disgrace! A professional player losing to someone who just picked up the game is bad enough, but flinging a racket to hit his opponent? He lost the match and his dignity." "What’s even funnier is that he failed to hit his opponent with the racket and ended up hurting himself. Unbelievable." "That fair-skinned guy is really incredible. He looks like he’s never played badminton before, but his speed and strength are just insane!" "Yeah, if he were to train systematically, he could probably become a world champion without a doubt." ... Amidst the chatter, Yan Xiaobao didn’t leave the court. Instead, he excitedly waved at Ye Shanshan. "That guy was useless. Reserve Concubine, come play badminton with me!" Ye Shanshan retreated repeatedly. "My badminton skills are bad. I can’t beat you. Go find someone else." "Alright then." Yan Xiaobao then began looking for someone else to play badminton with him. "I don’t know how to play badminton. Don’t pick me..." "I’m on the judo team. I don’t play badminton. See him; he’s on the badminton team." "Uh... well... I didn’t bring my racket or shoes today. Maybe next time..." Everyone around him scattered as if avoiding a plague. Play badminton with Yan Xiaobao? Do they have a death wish? Everyone else played badminton, but he was just hitting people with it... "I’ll play with you for a bit." Yao Hongtao stepped forward with his own racket. "But remember, friendship comes first in sports, competition second. It’s not right to use badminton to hit people for fun, so don’t aim the birdie at me." "If I can’t aim at you, then what do I aim at?" Yao Hongtao: "..." Thinking quickly, Yao Hongtao came up with an idea. "Just aim at the top edge of the net, the white band. If the shuttlecock hits and crosses the net, you score. If it doesn’t, I score." "Alright." Yan Xiaobao nodded in agreement. After merely seven or eight shots, Yao Hongtao was thoroughly convinced. In badminton, if you’re lucky, you might hit a net shot or rolling shot that leaves your opponent defenseless. But this is largely based on luck, and no one deliberately aims for the net. Yet Yan Xiaobao deliberately aimed for the white band at the top of the net. Except for the first two shots that didn’t cross and the fifth one that rolled off the net, every other shot was a rolling net shot. It was simply miraculous, almost unbelievable. Yao Hongtao couldn’t return any of Yan Xiaobao’s shots, and after three more rolling net shots, Yan Xiaobao lost interest. "Not hitting people and just hitting the net is boring. No fun." "Then let’s take a break," Yao Hongtao suggested. His goal wasn’t to play badminton with Yan Xiaobao but to recruit him for the badminton club. "Your shots are astonishingly precise. Would you like to join our club and play with us in the future?" "Can I hit people?" Yan Xiaobao only cared about this. Yao Hongtao joked, "Your shots are so fast and accurate that if you targeted humans, no one would dare play with you!" "Then I won’t join." Yan Xiaobao rejected him immediately. If badminton didn’t involve hitting people, where was the fun in that? Since Yao Hongtao didn’t know Yan Xiaobao well, he didn’t press the matter but still got his phone number. "If someone’s willing to play next time, I’ll give you a call." "Sure!" Yan Xiaobao agreed enthusiastically. He’d long grown bored of hitting people with fists, but hitting people with badminton was fresh and exciting. He wouldn’t mind trying it again. freёwebnoѵel.com "Honey, since you had so much fun playing today, don’t you think you should reward me?" Ye Shanshan clung to Yan Xiaobao’s arm, coquettishly seeking credit. "How about officially making me your wife and teaching me Martial Arts now?" ... [Please collect, recommend, tip, and support!]... ...