A Bowl of Salt

Li Yangyi tilted his head. This voice was... Uncle Zhang Yong? Why would he say such a thing?

The man in front of him stayed expressionless. "Hoh, and how are you going to do that," he asked.

Li Yangyi clenched his fist and struck it out proudly. "Of course, with force! If she doesn't listen to reason, I won't listen to hers. I might not look like it, but I'm pretty talented. Old man, take it as thanks for the soup."

"Pyahaha." The man suddenly laughed out loud. "You? You are telling me you are going to fight against the witch? Keep dreaming. You stand no chance. Just stay here and enjoy life. You are so young, why waste it?"

"How rude," Li Yangyi humphed, "I doubt a mere farmer would understand the beauty of martial arts. For you people, the witch may seem like something incomprehensible, but I bet you it is no more than a parlor trick she uses to deceive mere mortals like you."

"I'm not a farmer," the man corrected, "I am chef."

"Same difference." Li Yangyi shrugged and punched in the air; his fists flew fast and cut the wind. "I bet they don't teach you that in culinary school."

"Well, aren't you impressive." The man leaned against the table. "Are you sure about it though? You know nothing about her."

"It's never to late to find out. Besides, you told me everything I need."

"I see, I see. So you are telling me I can't stop you from leaving?"

"Haha." Li Yangyi shook his head and took his first steps. "Not with words. No."

The man rolled his head around, seemingly thinking about something. "Well, I am glad to have such kind stranger as you enter my house. If you really wish to go, then it shall be so." He thumped his chin on the wood. "However, before you go, can you pass me the salt?" He directed his eyes at the bowl lying right next to him.

Li Yangyi raised his brows. "Can't you get it on your own?" The thing was an arms reach away after all.

"What you are saying your are willing to risk your life, but can't even pass me the salt?" The man sighed.

"Risking my life... that's not really what was in my mind, but..." He stared at the listless man. "Che, fine." He strolled carelessly and reached for the small bowl resting on the table.

The man swooped in and shoved the salt bowl away, causing Li Yangyi to only grab a handful of air. "..." He tried grabbing it once more, but was prevented again.

"So can you pass it to me?" The man rested his head on one hand and pointed at the bowl with another.

Li Yangyi, seeing that old geezer pretend like nothing happened, felt a radical urge to swipe his leg and trip him. He breathed in to calm himself down. He lurched at the bowl, not waiting for the man to react—this time, he'd get it for sure.

But he didn't. Instead, he could only watch as his hands missed. The man had swiftly swiped the bowl another time. "You!" Li Yangyi didn't let that stop him. he took a step forward and aimed for the bowl. The man similarly stepped forward and swatted his hand away. Li Yangyi stretched his left hand, Li Yangyi stretched his right hand, the man blocked both. He tried many similar methods, a swipe from the side, a chop from above, even a distraction, but nothing worked. The bowl danced around on the table, occasionally in Li Yangyi's hands, but it would be stolen back immediately.

"If you can't even help this elderly, how are you going to fend off the witch?" the man laughed heartily.

Li Yangyi felt the veins on his forehead pop. He jumped onto the table and placed his foot underneath the small wooden bowl. "Hmph," he grunted and shot it up, high into the air, almost touching the ceiling. Li Yangyi followed it with his eyes and stretched his arms out in anticipation.

However, the man grabbed his leg and swiped it away, almost causing him to stumble off the table. He supported himself with his hand and tried regaining his balance. The bowl continued falling; The man moved swift, he jumped lightly, just enough to catch it.

"Seems like thi—" the man tried talking, but was interrupted by Li Yangyi kicking the bowl out his hand, "Woah!" The salt flew out, like a small ghost breaking out of a shell, and separated itself from the bowl.

Li Yangyi jumped forward. He caught the bowl, and with the bowl, he caught the salt. The man grabbed him back. He returned to the table. The man nudged Li Yangyi's shoulder and the bowl flew up again. The man gracefully stretched his hand out, and it landed on his finger—he then gave the young boy a casual smirk.

A this point, Li Yangyi was about to explode. They both still stood on the table. he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then lifted his hand, and bend his knees. He had assumed a fighting position. "All right, let's do this, you damn geezer." There was a cold glint in his eyes.

"Oh, so you were a cultivator? I thought you were joking."

Li Yangyi didn't answer. He shot his hand out, his palm in a claw, not even aiming at the bowl anymore. He simply wanted to get a hit in. The old man smoothly defected his strike. Li Yangyi chopped from above and the man stepped aside. He then sent out a knee, but was pushed down. The two both began to move faster. He performed a high-kick and the man dodged down. But Li Yangyi anticipated that, and immediately continued with a series of kicks, almost looking like he was performing acrobatics. They shifted around on the small table, as if performing an intricate dance. Li Yangyi kept striking, but it was like trying to hit flowing water. Sweat started to accumulate on his brows and he felt his breath growing ragged. Only the sound of their movements resounded in the air.

"Okay, you forced my hand! If you get hurt, don't blame me. Heart of a Gale!" The air seemed to change around him when he said that.

"Is it a special move? It's kind of embarrassing if you scream it out like that."

A small whirlwind appeared around Li Yangyi's fist. He shot it out with all all his might—it was one of his strongest moves. By gathering the wind, he'd use the force of nature to assist him, forming an attack that could blow away wood and pierce metal.

The man casually lifted one hand. In the other, he continued grabbing the small bowl.

"You're seriously underestimating me!" With a huge force, Li Yangyi pounded forward and was about to make contact with the palm.

The wind seemed to scream out, turning and eviscerating everything around it. Li Yangyi pushed, injecting even more power. He'd executed his skill perfectly.

"I think it's you that's underestimating me."

The man grasped Li Yangyi's fist. The turbulent wind surrounding them abruptly disappeared, bursting out of the room. The intense pressure hit Li Yangyis face, and was it not for someone holding him he'd flown away.

Li Yangyi's eyes almost bulged out and promptly broke out in cold sweat. 'What just happened?' He stared at the ordinary man in front of him. The same man that was clenching his fist so tightly; It was as if he had inserted his arm in a dragons maw.

The man held the bowl a bit further away. "Let me show you what a real special move should look like."

He gently twisted his wrist.

Li Yangyi felt a sudden vertigo hit him. Next, he felt very light, and realized his feet had left the ground. He began to spin in the air, just like the whirlwind he had created a moment ago—like a wheel that left its mill—he turned and turned. If the man wasn't still holding him, he was sure he'd have ascended into the sky by now.

It stopped after a few more seconds and he fell to the ground—his body slamming onto the hard wood. The urge to puke overwhelmed him, but he held it in. His legs had given up and he couldn't stand up.

The man squatted right in front of Li Yangyi and placed the bowl on his head. "You just lost against a chef."

Li Yangyi's vision grew blurry, and before he realized it, he had returned to the original Store of Fates.