October 29, 2025 — 2:21 pm

Chapter 2

Chapter 2 Sumo? Sumo!

Quote:

“Sumo wrestling in the training ground is no different from a public execution. When Li Kui’s tower-like body charged at me, only one thought ran through my mind—is it too late to play dead now?”

—

The morning horn sounded like a death knell, piercing the mist and also the fragile nerves of Yan Qing.

She had barely slept. Fragments of her transmigration since arriving kept replaying in her mind, along with endless worries about the future. The bowl of hangover soup sat on the table, long cold. She hadn’t taken a single sip. The reflection in the mirror showed faint dark circles under her eyes, adding to her appearance of… frailty.

“Little Yi Brother! Little Yi Brother! Hurry up, it’s time for roll call at the training ground!” came an urgent knocking and a familiar gruff voice from outside the door. It was Li Kui.

Yan Qing jolted and sprang from the bed. Roll call at the training ground? And morning practice too?! She looked down at her hands, which had once typed on keyboards and were now expected to wield spears and sticks. Her stomach churned.

She dawdled in opening the door. Li Kui’s dark face immediately loomed in, a wide, honest smile on his face: “Little Yi Brother, you’re finally up! We agreed yesterday, we’re sparring in sumo today at the training ground. I’ve been waiting!”

Sumo?!

Yan Qing’s vision went black, and she almost fainted on the spot.

The original Yan Qing’s sumo skills were legendary, capable of taking down even “Sky-Pillar” Ren Yuan. It was one of the cornerstones of his establishment at Liangshan Marsh. But her? She could barely manage a sit-up in university physical education class!

“Brother Iron Bull… I…” she tried to find an excuse, “I’m really not feeling well today, my head is still so dizzy…”

Li Kui’s eyes widened: “Hey! Little Yi Brother, don’t try to get out of it! You’ve always been the healthiest, how could a little drink take you down? You must be rusty from not moving for a long time! Come on, come on, you’ll feel better after a good stretch!” As he spoke, his palm, as large as a fan, unceremoniously grabbed Yan Qing’s wrist and pulled her outside.

“Wait! Iron Bull! I…” Yan Qing wanted to struggle, but Li Kui’s grip was like an iron clamp. Her meager strength was like a moth trying to shake a tree. Dragged forcefully on the path to the training ground, Yan Qing felt utter despair. This wasn’t going to be a warm-up; it was a rush to her doom!

The Liangshan training ground was a spectacle of fluttering banners and fierce aura.

It was the time for morning practice. Hundreds of robust men, shirtless, were either brandishing spears and clubs or locked in combat, their shouts echoing to the heavens. Their bronze skin gleamed under the morning sun, sweat and dust mixing into a potent, aggressive masculine scent that assaulted the senses.

As Yan Qing stepped into this domain, she felt as if she had fallen into a steamer, her breath becoming difficult. She instinctively held her breath, her gaze darting, afraid to look at the rippling, knotted muscles.

“Esteemed Member Lu! Brothers! Look, I’ve brought Little Yi Brother!” Li Kui shouted excitedly, his voice overpowering the din of the training ground.

Instantly, countless pairs of eyes focused on them.

Song Jiang stroked his beard and smiled: “Good! In the past, I’ve only seen Little Yi sing and play music. It’s rare to see him in the mood to move his muscles today.”

Wu Yong fanned himself, a hint of inquiry in his eyes: “Little Yi Brother’s sumo skills are unparalleled at Liangshan. Today, it’s a good opportunity to broaden the horizons of our new brothers.”

Lu Junyi also stood nearby. His gaze fell upon Yan Qing’s obviously stiff body and pale face. His brow furrowed imperceptibly, but he did not speak to stop it.

Wu Song, Lu Zhishen, and other experts also cast interested glances. They admired Yan Qing’s subtle sumo technique, the principle of “four ounces deflecting a thousand pounds.”

Yan Qing felt like a monkey in a zoo, a monkey about to be placed on a roasting spit. She wished for a hole in the ground to swallow her whole.

“Come, come, Little Yi Brother, I’m tough and thick-skinned, just go all out!” Li Kui, already impatient, kicked off his shoes and tore open his shirt, revealing a hairy, dark, and solid chest like granite. He slapped it twice with a “dong dong” sound and assumed a stance.

To Yan Qing, that stance was no different from a wild bull about to charge.

She stood frozen, her hands and feet ice-cold. Her mind frantically searched for fragments of the original host’s sumo memories—what was “Pigeon Spin,” “Life-Preserving Grab”… the names sounded imposing, but how to exert force, how to dodge, how to use an opponent’s strength against them? It was all blank!

“Little Yi, what are you waiting for?” Lu Junyi finally spoke, his tone calm but with an undeniable sense of urgency.

The arrow was on the string; it had to be fired.

Yan Qing gritted her teeth and, mimicking Li Kui, slowly took off her outer shirt and boots. When only her close-fitting short attire remained, her slender yet strong limbs, her excessively fair and smooth skin, stood out starkly against the surrounding rough men.

Many brothers stared, stunned, and whispered amongst themselves.

“Tsk, Little Yi Brother’s skin is even softer than a woman’s…”

“It’s truly strange, he was always fair-skinned, but not like this…”

“Is he really sick? He doesn’t look like he has any strength.”

These whispers pricked Yan Qing like fine needles, making her extremely uncomfortable. She took a deep breath, walked to the center of the ring, and imitated the sumo poses she had seen on television, crouching slightly, extending her arms forward, and striking a pose she thought was “professional.”

However, the posture was soft and unstable, her stance unsteady, her center of gravity floating. To experts like Lu Junyi and Wu Song, it was full of flaws.

Li Kui, however, paid no mind. Seeing Yan Qing ready, he roared, “Here I come!” and charged like a bull, head lowered, creating a gust of wind!

Yan Qing was terrified, and all the “techniques” in her mind vanished. Only her survival instinct remained. She let out a sharp cry of “Aiya!” not a steady shout, but a distinctly feminine, high-pitched scream, instinctively trying to dodge to the side.

But her steps were unsteady, and her movements were a beat slow.

Li Kui, though clumsy, was powerful when charging. Yan Qing had intended to sidestep and use some “Pigeon Spin” to trip him, but her feet tangled. Not only did she fail to trip Li Kui, but she was also thrown off balance by his immense momentum!

“Thump!”

Under the dumbfounded gaze of all the Liangshan heroes, the “unmatched in sumo” Wanderer Yan Qing was effortlessly… brought down to the ground by Li Kui in the first encounter, landing with a solid thud on his backside.

Dust flew.

The training ground fell into dead silence.

Only Li Kui, unable to stop his momentum, charged a few more steps before halting. He turned back, looking at Yan Qing, who was sitting on the ground, grimacing. His dark face was full of bewilderment: “Little… Little Yi Brother? Why aren’t you using any force? I haven’t even exerted myself yet!”

Yan Qing’s backside hurt, and her tailbone hurt even more, but none of it compared to the burning sensation on her face. She wished she could die on the spot and be buried.

“I… I slipped…” she struggled to get up, her voice as faint as a mosquito’s, filled with obvious embarrassment.

Song Jiang and Wu Yong exchanged glances, both seeing surprise in the other’s eyes.

Lu Junyi’s brow furrowed even tighter. He had personally taught Yan Qing martial arts and was very familiar with his sumo techniques. Yan Qing’s move just now could not be explained by “slipping”; it was completely unskillful, like an ordinary person who knew no martial arts!

“Again!” Li Kui was straightforward, thinking it was a genuine accident, and roared again, charging forward.

This time, Yan Qing learned her lesson. She didn’t dare to meet him head-on and relied entirely on dodging. But her movements were clumsy, her footwork chaotic. Under Li Kui’s stormy onslaught, she was left scrambling, in precarious situations. Several times she narrowly avoided him, her posture utterly disheveled. Where was the grace and ease of the former “Wanderer”?

“Huh?” Lu Zhishen rubbed his bald head and grunted, “Why is Brother Yan Qing’s footwork so sluggish today? It’s like he’s a different person!”

Wu Song also said in a low voice: “His stance is weak, his breathing is disordered. It doesn’t look like he’s faking it.”

The surrounding whispers grew louder.

“What’s wrong with Little Yi Brother?”

“Could he really be sick?”

“I don’t think it’s sickness, it looks more like… his martial arts are gone?”

The words “martial arts are gone” exploded like thunder in the crowd.

Yan Qing listened to these discussions, her heart sinking to the bottom. She knew that if this continued, her cover would be blown sooner or later. In a moment of desperation, she remembered that the original host seemed to have a final move called “Life-Preserving Grab,” a close-quarters grappling technique.

Seeing Li Kui open his arms to embrace her again, she gritted her teeth, advanced instead of retreating, and attempted to slip into Li Kui’s embrace to use a clever lock.

The ideal was plump, but reality was bony.

She did slip in, but Li Kui’s burly body was like a bronze wall. She felt like she had bumped into a mountain. The intended locking technique couldn’t be applied at all. Instead, because they were too close, she was dizzy and weak from the strong smell of sweat and body odor.

Li Kui felt something soft and fragrant (?), like a treasure, added to his embrace. He instinctively closed his arms, hugging Yan Qing tightly like iron hoops.

“Heh! Gotcha!” Li Kui shouted triumphantly.

Yan Qing was squeezed so hard she almost suffocated. The immense force pressed on her chest, making it difficult to breathe, and she clearly felt the despairing gap in strength. She struggled in vain; her meager strength was like tickling for Li Kui.

To the onlookers, the scene was extremely bizarre. The exceptionally handsome Yan Qing was tightly embraced by the bear-like Li Kui, struggling desperately but unable to break free, his face flushed red from suffocation and shame…

“Cough cough!” Lu Junyi couldn’t stand it any longer and said sternly, “Iron Bull! Let go! What kind of behavior is this!”

Li Kui then reluctantly released his grip.

As soon as Yan Qing was free, she staggered back several steps, bent over, supporting her knees, and gasped for breath, her cheeks flushed, and tears of distress even welling up in her eyes due to the pressure. She looked, in every way,… pitiable?

The atmosphere on the training ground became very subtle. The gazes of the crowd on Yan Qing were filled with confusion, surprise, and even a trace of imperceptible… pity?

“Little Yi,” Lu Junyi walked up to Yan Qing, his voice low, “come with me.”

Yan Qing’s heart was filled with misery. She knew the “interrogation” moment had arrived. She lowered her head, not daring to look into Lu Junyi’s eyes, like a child who had done wrong, and followed him, escaping the training ground that had caused her so much shame.

Behind her were countless probing glances and hushed discussions.

“Wanderer Yan Qing… has he become so incompetent?”

“Perhaps he’s contracted some strange illness?”

“Alas, what a waste of his good skills…”

The title “Cold, Enchanting, Arrogant, and Useless” was likely to be thoroughly solidified after this morning’s “public execution.”

And Yan Qing’s path to survival at Liangshan Marsh seemed, from the very beginning, to be heading towards a desperate situation.

—

(End of Chapter 2)