Those things that happened in those years

Chapter 44 Hong Bo's Clever Tactics

Seeing that Hong Liguo wasn't falling for the trap and Hong Bo refused to admit defeat, and with little time left in the match, Lao Shisan panicked—he didn't want the match to end in a draw.

The thirteenth brother began to speed up his offensive pace. Hong Bo was still suffering more losses than gains, but he had a way to deal with it: as long as the opponent took the initiative, he could use his agility to lead the thirteenth brother by the nose and continue to wear down his opponent's stamina.

When people are anxious, they're prone to making mistakes. The people on the other side, including Longhu, realized time was running out, and Hong Liguo and his group weren't falling for their tricks. They had no choice but to settle for a quick victory. So they all shouted around the arena, "Time's almost up! Quickly throw him down! If you throw him down and hold him down, we win!"

The thirteenth brother panicked even more from the shouts, completely losing his patience. He started chasing after Hongbo... but he couldn't catch up no matter what he did. Frustrated, he yelled and shouted, "If you've got the guts, stop running! What kind of skill is it to keep running like this? Stop right there!"

Hongbo sneered inwardly, "Not running? You're just waiting to fall! Kid, today I'll give you a good tumble, you big dumb dog!"

Before long, Hongbo had left Lao Shisan breathless, but Lao Shisan hadn't even touched the hem of his clothes.

Just then, Hongbo suddenly squatted down, and Lao Shisan couldn't stop in time, so he tripped over Hongbo and fell heavily to the ground. Hongbo was also pulled down to the ground.

Before Hongbo could even get up and hold down Lao Shisan, Lao Shisan's two thick, pillar-like thighs clamped down on him, locking him firmly beneath him and rendering him immobile. Just by looking at this movement, one could tell how experienced Lao Shisan was in sparring.

At this point, if the thirteenth brother struggled to sit up, Hong Bo would be completely defeated—the thirteenth brother's thighs were very heavy, and even if Hong Bo used all his strength, he wouldn't be able to break free.

Hongbo originally intended to use this sneak attack to knock down Lao Shisan and then straddle him so he couldn't get up. Unexpectedly, he was locked down by the other party instead. Now, even if he didn't want to admit defeat, he had no other choice.

After some effort, the thirteenth student finally sat up and waved to the senior referee, signaling him to come over and count.

The senior referee walked over and saw that Hongbo was stuck between the thirteenth brother's legs and couldn't move. He could only helplessly start counting: "One..."

As the senior student counted to "two" and was about to say "three," Lao Shisan and He Yunlong, among others, wore smug smiles, confident of victory. But at this critical moment, Hong Bo suddenly launched a counterattack—he swiftly struck, scratching Lao Shisan's navel, the back of his legs, and other areas.

This time, the thirteenth brother couldn't take it anymore. It felt like a million ants were crawling all over his body, making him so itchy that he had no strength left. He leaned back and fell to the ground, and his legs, which were holding Hongbo, loosened.

Taking advantage of the situation, Hongbo flipped himself up and straddled Lao Shisan. He continued to tickle every part of Lao Shisan's body that tickled him, leaving Lao Shisan unable to fight back except for laughing uncontrollably.

The senior student couldn't help but laugh when he saw the thirteenth student's body twitching from the itching. He even forgot to continue counting. Hong Bo's antics caught everyone present completely off guard.

Upon seeing this, Hong Liguo shouted, "He can't get up! Quickly count! He can't get up, why aren't you counting?"

The senior student in charge of judging squatted down and asked the thirteenth student, "Can you still get up?"

How could the thirteenth son possibly get up? He was laughing so hard he could barely breathe and couldn't even speak.

At this moment, He Yunlong shouted, "That doesn't count! Yu Hongbo is just tickling people; that doesn't apply!"

Hong Liguo retorted, "The rules of the sparring match don't say you can't tickle someone! Why doesn't it count?"

Just as the two sides were arguing, several senior referees loudly announced, "The sparring time is up. Old Thirteen has been on the ground for more than three seconds and has not gotten up. Yu Hongbo wins this match."

The He brothers, Yunlong and Yunlong, were not surprised by this outcome and were indignant, shouting that the game didn't count and that winning by tickling someone was dishonorable.

The senior student in charge of judging said, "The rules of the competition don't say you can't tickle someone! So, whether it's honorable or not, they won, so just accept the loss."

The students watching also said, "You have to accept the consequences of your bet. Competition is always unpredictable. If you lose, you lose. Don't be upset."

At this point, even if the He brothers were unwilling, they had no choice but to accept their defeat.

In a fit of anger, He Yunlong and his brother turned and left without even helping the thirteenth brother up, which made the thirteenth brother feel very uncomfortable.

Originally, the thirteenth brother was fully capable of winning; it was all He Yunlong's idea to make him tease Hong Bo in order to provoke Hong Liguo and his group, so that they would break the rules first and then achieve their... goal. Now, his plan has backfired, and he's being blamed for the loss in the sparring match.

The thirteenth brother got up from the ground and slunk away.

Hong Liguo and his brothers came up and hugged Hong Bo, overjoyed.

Jun Ge said, "Hey kid, how did you come up with that clever idea?"

Hong Bo calmed down and said, "When I was trapped between his legs and couldn't move, I thought, 'This is it, I can't even move, I'm sure I'll lose this match.' But, just as I was frantically grabbing at him, I accidentally touched the thirteenth brother's navel. As soon as I touched it, I saw his body tremble, and his legs immediately loosened up a lot. I knew that this guy was ticklish, so I started tickling him wherever he was ticklish..."

Hong Liguo said, "You're really something. You managed to turn a match that was bound to be lost into a victory. Hong Bo, you're really something." As he spoke, he gave Hong Bo a thumbs up.

Sun Changlin also came over and grabbed Hong Bo's hand, saying, "Hong Bo, you're really something, you've got guts, I admire you. Your scratching has really tormented He Yunlong and his brother."

At this moment, Zhang Qiaoyun came over and said, "It seems that even with high martial prowess, victory is not guaranteed. Victory or defeat also depends on one's intelligence. If we hadn't listened to Xiao Guo's arrangements this time, I think we probably wouldn't have even won a single victory."

Although this victory was somewhat unfair, Sun Changlin was still very happy and said, "Qiaoyun is right. Relying on brute force alone is really not enough."

By this time, many of the students who had been watching had already run back to school for class. A few ninth graders checked the time and said, "Let's hurry back too, or the teachers will be frantically looking for us."

Sun Changlin said dismissively, "It's so late. Whether we go back or not, we'll get criticized. Why don't we go to the supply and marketing cooperative together, buy some good food, and celebrate?"

Fa Zi didn't really want to go, but Sun Changlin said, "There's only one more class before school ends. Whether you go back or not won't make a difference."

Fa Zi looked at Hong Liguo, who thought for a moment and said, "The rest of us won't go. You guys go and celebrate."