"Wait a second, Hualing!" Quang walked in front of the singer, stopping her short from getting any closer to the kitchen. She paused, looking at Quang from the bottom up before reaching into her purse and withdrawing another fan. With a flick of her wrist, the metal weapon expanded, showing off the intricate decorations and typography printed onto it.

"Don't get in my way!" she said sternly. Quang put his hands up in front of his face, ready to block any potential strikes.

"Can't you just hear me out? It wouldn't take more than a minute."

"Fine. That's exactly what you're getting!" She lifted up a single finger. "One minute."

"Thanks. Now... Selene really needs this job. You shouldn't let some goof like Vic get in the way of that. He's not the one getting hired, remember?"

"Bro!" Vic called out from his lounging position at the table. He had pulled Hualing's fan out of the wall and began tossing it up and down, catching it over and over. "Weren't you the one that was trying to make her backout from applying before we even got in here?"

"I had a change in mind, okay?"

"Or... you don't want her to know that you're the reason she didn't get the job," Hualing said smugly. "Either way, I don't want her working here if it means that there's a chance that bum might tag along!" Hualing gestured towards Vic with her thumb. She quickly turned around when she realized that he was holding her fan. "And give that back to me! That costs more than what you make in a month!"

"I don't have a job," Vic rebutted.

"Exactly!" Hualing extended an open palm. "Now give it back!"

Vic clutched the weapon against his chest and turned his body away. "No way! You threw this at me!"

"Those are custom made! Not like I can just stop by the mall and pick up another one! Now hand it over!"

Vic shook his head and pressed the weapon against his chest even harder. "Nope. You'll have to come and take them from me."

"Fine! You don't know who you're messing with." Hualing moved her arms in a loose and fluid manner while her legs spread apart. "I'll have you know that I'm adept at Baguazhang."

"Nice!" Vic replied. He sat up straight in his seat and smiled. "You incorporate these fans into your fighting style?"

"Of course!" Hualing took the fan she had and put in front of her face. She followed up with a series of dance-like movements, gracefully twirling while moving her fan in a swift and accurate manner. "It's even deadlier with two."

[https://i.imgur.com/2t0S1r4.png]

"Here, catch." Vic threw the fan across the table. Hualing snatched it out of the air with her free hand. She took it while still looking at Vic, confused.

"Thanks?" Hualing spread out her other fan. "You didn’t require must convincing."

"It's because I've never fought a Baguazhang practitioner before. Let alone that one uses fans in their style."

"Wait. Don't tell me—" Quang said as he put his open hands up, trying to stop Vic.

Vic darted up from his seat and unzipped the nylon bag he brought with him. He pulled out his sanjiegun and held the two opposing rods. With a smile he pointed one of the rods towards the singer. "She's the one that wanted to fight. And I'm more than willing to accept that offer."

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

Hualing raised an eyebrow, turning her head away while keeping a look of disgust. "You're that eager to fight a woman, huh?"

"Gender doesn't matter to me. A good fight is a good fight."

"Vic!" Quang barked. "You're not going to fight in the middle of someone else's bar! And especially not now when Selene's new job is on the line."

"It won't have to be a real fight, bro. Just some friendly sparring." Vic directed his attention to Hualing. "What say you? You down for a friendly skirmish?"

"You're crazy. You know that?' Hualing folded her fans up and stashed them back inside her purse. "I'm going to tell Lorenzo. And calling the police." The singer turned around and continued to the kitchen's backroom.

"Aww! I knew you couldn't back up what you said." Vic shouted. He shrugged his shoulders, still holding both ends of Shondell. "You can talk the talk, but like every other two-bit wannabe in this town, you can't actually back it up."

Hualing paused mid-step. With fists clenched and shaking, she kept her back towards Vic. "I'm not falling for your trick!"

"It's not a trick! If you don't think you can actually back up what you say, don't say it. That's one of the first rules of martial arts here in Isla Lucrecia! You gotta be able to follow through with your trash talk. But hey, if you wanna go crying to your manager, I won't stop you."

"You have a real knack for getting on someone's nerves, you know that?" Hualing replied, her head turning around over her shoulder just enough to let Vic see the anger in her eyes.

"I've been told that before."

Quang slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand. "Why did I ever think it was a good idea to bring you in here?" he muttered underneath his breath.

"If you want, it doesn't have to be a full-on brawl," Vic said to the singer, ignoring Quang's statement completely. "All you have to do is hit me. Just one good hit! Kick. Punch. Smack of the fan whatever. I won't even try to hit you."

"Oh yeah?" Hualing turned around. She took out one of her fans again, holding it low at her side. "You really think you're that great of a fighter, huh? Some kind of martial arts prodigy?"

Vic laughed. "You know, that's not the first time someone has called me that, either."

"I wasn't calling you that. It's only in your head." Hualing tapped the side of her head with her fan. “A hobo with a three-section-staff that you probably stole? I doubt there’s much more to it than that.”

"Wanna see? My defense is on point. If you manage to land a single hit within... let's say... five minutes, me and Quang will book it and never comeback."

"And what do you want if you win?"

"How about you buy me lunch?"

"A date?" Hualing's face briefly turned into a look of horror.

"What?" Vic's expression became equally horrified. "No way. Just give me some fast-food money. I don't wanna eat in here. Or with you!"

"Oh. I'm fine with those terms. And it's not because I think the stakes are fair. You should be leaving, regardless I accept your challenge or not. But the real satisfaction comes from showing you a thing or two about manners!" Hualing took out her other fan and flung her purse to the side. One of her arms went over her head, her elbow bending so that that the open fan was pointing down. Her other arm reached across her chest. "This won't take long at all."

"You've got confidence. Gotta say I'm impressed by that." Vic kicked his chair to the side as he walked around the table. He stood roughly two yards away from the singer and took an almost-matching pose with his sanjiegun. "Oh, and if you decide to throw one of your fans, I just want to let you know that I'm not going to give back it to you this time."

"Right. Didn't expect you to."

Quang ran in between the two fighters, spreading his arms apart in both directions. "Wait just a second now. Hualing, Vic and I can leave. Just give Selene a fair shot at a new job. She's going through a rough time right now and really needs the mon—"

"Come on Quang, you're standing in the way!" Vic shook one of the rods to his sanjiegun, implying that he wanted him to step to the side. "If you get hit, don't blame us."

"For once, your friend is right!" Hualing called out. "There's no turning back now. And if you get hurt, I won't feel bad for you."

With a groan, Quang stepped back. He took one of the chairs and plopped himself down, resting his cheek in the palm of his hand while balancing his elbow on his knee.

"Why do I have a feeling that this isn't just going to be some 'friendly' sparring match?" he said to himself.

He then looked up and saw the two staring at each other, maintaining offensive stances. Both inched their lead forward a few inches. Vic looked calm, almost confident. There was a small smile on his face as the rest of his body moved in short and rhythmic bursts.

Hualing’s demeanor contrasted with her opponent’s. She was still, almost like a statue while she carried determination in her eyes with a pinch of rage. “Could you two at least try to keep it down?” Vic said in a low voice, barely audible between the pair of soon-to-be combatants. “I don’t want Selene’s training to go south if it doesn’t have to.”