vrcanaries Chapter 445: The Council Before Battle
Chapter 445: The Council Before Battle
“Uh...no, never...” Bai Nine shook her head. “We usually don’t practice these things, since we don’t need to participate in games.”
“That’s really troublesome,” Qiao Jiajin said. “You lads rarely exercise, and you don’t have much coordination or teamwork. If anything goes wrong, we’ll only find out once the game actually starts.”
Qiao Jiajin thought for a moment, then suddenly had an idea.
“Hey!” he called out to Terrestrial Horse from a distance. “Can we give it a test run first?”
“A–A test run?” Terrestrial Horse looked a little stunned. “Test run for what?”
“Can we try pushing that ox-horse first?” Qiao Jiajin asked. “We need to see if it’s easy to push. If it’s too hard, how are we supposed to play?”
“There’s no such rule!” Terrestrial Horse retorted. “I’ve never allowed anyone to test push my {Wooden Ox and Flowing Horse} before. Don’t push your luck.”
At this moment, a tall, stern-faced man beside Qiao Jiajin let out a cold laugh and spoke. “Terrestrial Horse, you put so much care into making the {Wooden Ox and Flowing Horse}...yet its sole purpose is to kill people on ice?”
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Qiao Jiajin turned to look at the man. If he remembered correctly, he was {Mighty Gale} Qiu Twenty.
“Of course not!” Terrestrial Horse replied, slightly displeased. “I’ve told you over and over! This is a long lost invention that I carefully restored!”
Qiao Jiajin gently nudged Bai Nine with his elbow. “What’s he doing? Looks like he has beef with Terrestrial Horse.”
Bai Nine gave a mischievous grin and whispered to Qiao Jiajin, “Leave this kind of thing to Twenty—he’s an expert.”
“Then why won’t you let us try pushing it on flat ground?” Qiu Twenty adjusted the collar of his leather jacket and said, “Let me guess—your {Wooden Ox and Flowing Horse} has a sphere instead of a wheel because it can’t be used at all on flat ground?”
“What?”
“No wonder... no wonder...” Qiu Twenty nodded. “Apologies, we shouldn’t have made such a request. We get it...you come from a family of craftsmen so it’s better if word doesn’t get out...”
Every word of his hit Terrestrial Horse’s sore spots, leaving her visibly unsettled. “Are you provoking me?! Even though I know this is your trick, no one can insult a {craftsman}!”
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“So...?” Qiu Twenty scratched his ear with his eyes half closed. “I am provoking you. Are you falling for it or not?”
“It doesn’t matter whether I {fall for it} or not,” Terrestrial Horse said. “You can try pushing this wheelbarrow now, but I’ll increase the difficulty later. Do we have a deal?”
“How will you increase the difficulty?” Qiao Jiajin asked, frowning.
Terrestrial Horse pointed to the wooden boxes along both sides of the track and said to the group, “Do you see these boxes?”
“Of course we see them,” Qiao Jiajin replied. “What do you got stored in those boxes?”
“These boxes will shoot {balls} at you while you traverse the track.”
“Balls?” Qiao Jiajin raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “What kind of {balls}? Handballs or baseballs?”
Bai Nine looked at the wooden boxes—three on the left, four on the right—with words like {Greedy Wolf} and {War Conqueror} written on top.
(TLN: These are the ancient Chinese names for two of the seven stars that make up the Big Dipper. An expanded explanation will be provided in the TL Note below.)
“What kind of {balls} will be shot... that depends on your luck,” Terrestrial Horse said. “Each box contains different {ammunition}, and the {balls} flying toward you come in seven types of materials.”
The game hadn’t even started, yet everyone was convinced that the seven materials were a setup.
“What’s the purpose of these {balls}?” Bai Nine inquired.
“Obviously, to hit you to death,” Terrestrial Horse answered. “Each {ball} can reach a speed of eighty kilometers per hour. Anyone sitting on the {Wooden Ox and Flowing Horse} who gets hit is immediately eliminated, but the ones pushing the wheelbarrow aren’t affected.”
Yun Nineteen nodded. “So the people pushing the wheelbarrow can help shield the ones riding it from the {balls}.”
“Not only that,” Terrestrial Horse continued. “If your skills are good enough, you might even catch these {balls}. Some of them even have items written on them as rewards, which can help you move better on the ice.”
Bai Nine twirled a strand of her ponytail, interjecting, “Then, who gets to catch the ball, the {rider} or the {pusher}?”
“Either can.” Terrestrial Horse paused, then added, “If any of you are bold enough, anyone may catch the balls.”
“I see.” Qiao Jiajin nodded. “But if we go by what you’re sayin... doesn’t that decrease the difficulty level? A ball at eighty kilometers per hour, over this distance...”
Qiao Jiajin nonchalantly cracked his neck. “I might just be able to catch one.”
“That would be ideal,” Terrestrial Horse replied. “I’ve heard lines like that many times, but I still advise you to avoid them whenever possible.”
“How, then, will you increase the difficulty?” Bai Nine asked.
“If you insist on testing the wheelbarrow beforehand...” Terrestrial Horse stepped forward two paces and continued, “in the final round I will serve as the {Pitcher}.”
“What?” Qiao Jiajin blanched. Though he had not personally fought a Terrestrial-grade before, he knew well enough how formidable they could be. “You’ll be the one pitching the balls? Isn’t that murder?”
“Indeed,” Terrestrial Horse said. “My original intent was to kill. This is simply a fair bargain.”
Qiao Jiajin felt caught between two equally perilous choices. If they declined to try the {Wooden Ox and Flowing Horse} now, they might spend the game’s duration learning how to manage a wheelless wheelbarrow on ice. But if they agreed, this monster could very well smash their teammates to death with those balls.
“What should we do...?” he asked, glancing back.
“Of course we have to agree,” Bai Nine said with a smile. “Qiao ge, let’s just go along with her.”
“I want to too,” Qiao Jiajin replied, “but didn’t you hear just now, leng-mui? She’s going to pitch the balls...”
“Whether we agree or not, she’ll still pitch them.”
“Ah?”
Bai Nine stepped forward slowly, her petite frame forming a stark contrast with Terrestrial Horse’s towering figure.
“Jie jie... you lied,” Bai Nine giggled.
“Oh?” Terrestrial Horse’s lips curved slightly. “Did I? Xiao mei mei, how did I lie?”
“Even though I haven’t partaken in games for a long time...” Bai Nine’s sweet smile accompanied a playful flick of her hair. “You {Terrestrial-grades} can change the rules depending on the situation, no?”
“You really are clever, xiao mei mei,” Terrestrial Horse flatly remarked.
“So no matter whether we push the wheelbarrow now or not, in the final round you’ll always act as the {Pitcher}, right?”
Terrestrial Horse did not reply, her gaze fixed unblinkingly on the petite girl before her.
“So we get to push the wheelbarrow before the game, and jie jie let us do it without paying a thing.” Bai Nine remarked coquettishly, holding Terrestrial Horse’s hand. “How could you be so sweet, jie jie?”
TL Note: The Big Dipper holds profound significance in Chinese metaphysics and is used in many fortune-telling systems (i.e. ‘San Yuan Xuan Kong Flying Stars (三元玄空飞星)’ and ‘Purple Star Astrology (紫微斗数)). In these systems, the positions and movements of the seven stars guide the analysis of time, space, and Qi, helping practitioners discern auspicious and inauspicious energies. Each star embodies unique cosmic qualities, influencing aspects such as wealth, career, intellect, justice, and personal destiny, and informing the strategic placement of remedies to harmonize a space and promote prosperity.