The Self-Proclaimed Descendant of the Chu Hegemon-King
The self-proclaimed descendant of the Chu Hegemon-King was not actually named Xiang Yu. To be precise, the historical Xiang Yu had the surname Xiang and the given name Ji, with the courtesy name Yu. So his full name was Xiang Ji, and he was more widely known by his courtesy name. But that was the story from the original history. The Xiang Yu standing here, the one who called herself the descendant of the Chu Hegemon-King, was indeed named Yu.
She claimed to be the scion of a prestigious clan, yet in truth she was nothing more than a bottom-tier commoner. With both parents dead and no other living soul bearing the Xiang surname, there was no one left to grant her a courtesy name. Besides, courtesy names were something you received from an elder of the family once you reached a certain age. None of this mattered to Yuan Shu, who wasn’t exactly a walking encyclopedia of the Records of the Three Kingdoms or the Annals of Chu and Han. So when his interest was piqued, he simply marched straight over and punched her in the face.
“That girl was supposedly born into the greatest noble house in the land, yet she doesn’t feel noble at all. Sometimes she seems even more feral than I was back in the wild.”
Richard, who had already suffered the same treatment once before, simply chuckled.
“That’s exactly why her accomplishments are so special.”
Yuan Shao didn’t try to stop him either. She simply watched with a smile. Who would dare restrain the rampaging Yuan Shu? In the first place, Yuan Shao didn’t even think what he was doing was wrong.
“Hah, this is ridiculous. The one who came looking for a fight after hearing my name wasn’t some famous wandering hero or an imperial officer, but the young master of the Yuan family?”
Xiang Yu could tell at a glance that his luxurious robes and the well-groomed, glossy horse belonged to someone from an extraordinary background.
“A brat who still smells of milk dares to challenge this Xiang Yu??”
Just by looking at his face, she could tell he wasn’t that old. But with those clothes and that aura, it was only natural to assume he was the young master of some great clan. As for why she called him a milk-smelling brat? That was pure pride talking from someone who had grown up running wild like a weed in the wilderness.
“You should consider yourself lucky that I came instead. If the government troops had shown up, you’d be nothing more than a vagrant.”
“Ha! As if those pathetic imperial dogs could ever stop this Xiang Yu!”
“Sure, you could probably slaughter them all. But then what? You’d be branded a rebel against the state. After that, your only options would be to spend the rest of your life hiding your identity and running, or becoming a bandit. Is there any other choice?”
“...Uh, well, that’s...”
Yuan Shu’s sharp words left Xiang Yu momentarily speechless. The difference in status was indeed a difference in status. If Yuan Shu beat a soldier to death, the local magistrate would probably come crawling to apologize and declare the incident never happened. But Xiang Yu, no matter how strong she was, was not Yuan Shu. She might be stronger than the government troops sent to capture her, but her lowly birth meant she could only ever be a fugitive. Even if a bandit killed imperial soldiers with raw power and seized a region to declare herself a governor, she would still be nothing more than a rebel playing at being a warlord.
Besides, Xiang Yu had never been particularly bright. At best, she might end up like Zhang Yan, the Black Mountain bandit leader who boasted about commanding a million-strong army before being defeated and quietly joining Cao Cao to save his own skin. In the first place, Xiang Yu was the type of person who would self-destruct the moment she sat on the throne.
“Anyway, I’ve taken a liking to you! Come under my command, and I’ll make sure you never have to live such a pathetic life again!”
“What? You ignorant little bastard, who do you think you’re—”
“But if I just say that, there’s no way you’d follow me. So let’s settle this! We’ll see which one of us is the greater hero!”
Yuan Shu threw off his outer robe and laughed boldly.
“What the… You’re not seriously suggesting we compete with poetry or Confucian maxims in a situation like this, right? Don’t tell me you actually want to throw down with me?”
“Then should we compose a poem and see who’s better instead?”
“This guy’s insane… The Yuan family must have their hands full with you.”
The appearance of true madness—a noble scion who had ridden all the way here on horseback just to brawl with a lowborn thug—left even Xiang Yu momentarily stunned. Anyone with that kind of status coming to pick a bare-knuckle fight with a neighborhood bully was clearly not your average lunatic.
Still, she wasn’t about to back down. Xiang Yu straightened her expression and spoke with confidence.
“Ha! Fine. If you’re that sure of yourself, let’s do this properly. The rules are simple: we take turns trading one punch each. The first one to fall loses!”
Xiang Yu was proposing a pure slugfest. No guards, no dodging—just standing there and honestly trading blows. It was a fight where only the stronger and tougher would prevail. The thugs she had already crushed with her bare hands were scattered all around them, and the fact that she showed not a single wound despite having faced armed opponents made her monstrous strength easy to imagine.
Any ordinary man standing before her would have refused such a proposal. But Yuan Shu was no ordinary man.
“Good! I accept!”
It was an offer to fight on the opponent’s terms. In essence, he was willingly stepping into a disadvantageous arena. Yet Yuan Shu didn’t hesitate. It wasn’t just confidence or bravado; the truth was that he was also quite skilled at this kind of brawl.
‘He’s actually accepting this? What the hell kind of guy is he?’
Xiang Yu was taken aback again by how readily he agreed, but it didn’t matter.
“By the way, if I lose, I’ll become your subordinate. But if I win, what will you give me?”
“You seem eager to restore your family’s glory. If I win, I’ll arrange a high official post for you and a marriage into a prestigious family with a solid pedigree. Since you’ll need to continue the family line, I’ll even take you in as a son-in-law.”
“Oh…?”
The offer was tempting for someone who claimed to be the descendant of the noble Xiang clan and the royal bloodline of the Chu kings. Her genealogy and bloodline were real, but hundreds of years had passed since the fall of Chu, and the Xiang family had been unable to raise its head during that time. Even if she insisted it was true, who would believe a troublemaking commoner who spent her days beating up local thugs?
Though she lived like a pauper, Xiang Yu was filled with pride in her family, her bloodline, and her own abilities. For her, the proposal that the greatest noble house in the empire would personally help restore her clan if she won was impossible to ignore. Ever since the day she couldn’t even properly build a tomb for her parents who had died young, she had sworn to live loudly and proudly.
The Four Generations of Three Dukes. Unless one was from the imperial Liu clan, who could possibly surpass the prestige and influence of the Yuan family?
“You’re not lying, are you?”
“Would the legitimate heir of the Yuan family—one of the Four Generations of Three Dukes—go back on his word over something so trivial? If you prove yourself superior to me, I will honor the promise if only because it would be a waste to let such talent go unused! Make sure you remember the terms, Xiang Yu!”
“Hmph! If a pampered young master like you can actually knock me down with those two fists of yours, I’ll swallow my pride and serve under you! And if you beat me, I’ll even crawl between your legs without complaint!”
“Good! Then let’s begin immediately! As the legitimate heir of the Four Generations of Three Dukes, I’ll generously let you have the first strike! Come on!!”
“How did a noble house like that produce a freak like you… Well, fine. If you’re offering the first move, it would be rude to refuse!”
When Yuan Shu offered to let her strike first, Xiang Yu didn’t hesitate. She took the offer without reservation.
BOOOOM—!!!
The sound of a fist striking was like a boulder launched from a catapult smashing into a castle wall. If Richard represented speed, then the field Xiang Yu took pride in was none other than her insane physical strength! Her power was enough to uproot mountains, and her spirit was enough to cover the world. It was only natural that the protagonist of the phrase strength to uproot mountains, spirit to cover the world possessed strength that defied common sense.
Of course, that history didn’t exist in this world… but regardless, up until now Xiang Yu had never met anyone who could withstand even a single one of her punches. But the world was wide, and today she finally met one.
“Not bad at all! Wahahaha! So the rumors were true!”
‘This… was endured by nothing more than a noble young master…?’
Even after taking her unguarded punch, the man only staggered slightly. Instead of falling, he was laughing. The fact that the person who had withstood her fist was a pampered young master who probably had never been hit even once in his life left Xiang Yu even more shaken.
“My turn!”
This time, Yuan Shu’s fist flew toward Xiang Yu.
CRAAAAACK—!!!!
A powerful yet precise punch.
“Khup?!”
Xiang Yu was the owner of a body that had never bled even when struck by blades, spears, or arrows. Naturally, she had never once felt the impact of someone else’s fist…
‘I’m in pain from a punch like this?!’
It was a blow that defied common sense. And it was the first pain she had ever felt.
“You bastard!!”
THUD!!
Her pride wounded, Xiang Yu roared and swung her fist wildly.
“Nice!!”
CRACK!!!
Laughing as if he were thoroughly enjoying the situation, Yuan Shu threw his own punch.
A primitive brawl between two people whose strength was almost unmatched in the world, deciding superiority in the most brutish and crude way possible! Since word of Yuan Shu’s arrival had already spread and the streets had been cleared, and since neither Yuan Shao nor Richard had any intention of interfering with his fight, no one stepped in to stop them.
And so the exchange of fists continued endlessly, truly without end. They struck each other’s faces, then bodies, raining blows all over in an attempt to bring the other down, yet neither would fall easily. This battle of pure stubbornness showed no sign of ending anytime soon.
THUD! THUD! The sun set.
CRACK! SMASH! CRUNCH! BANG! BOOM! The moon rose.
CRUNCH! KABOOM! CRACK! MUNCH! SMACK! THUD! THWACK! THUMP! BOOM!! CRACK!!
Even after the moon set again and the sun of the next day had risen, neither backed down, and neither fell.
“Hek! Hah! Khup…! Hah! Haaah…!”
“Huuu…! Haaah…!”
Both of their bodies had long since become tattered wrecks.
“UAAAAAAAAAAH!!!”
SMAAAASH!!
Even though strength barely remained in her limbs, Xiang Yu poured everything into a roar and swung her fist. Blood sprayed from Yuan Shu’s face. Yet he only grinned wider.
‘Fuck, fuck…! Why, why won’t he fall…! Why!! This can’t be happening…!!’
At this moment, Xiang Yu had been pushed to her absolute limit. She had never fought someone on her own level before. Compared to Yuan Shu, who ate well and trained diligently, her stamina was lacking. And at the very least, in the realm of bare-knuckle fighting, Yuan Shu’s strikes—refined by techniques from another era—sank deeper and hit harder.
But the fundamental difference was something else. If Richard’s specialty was speed and Xiang Yu’s was monstrous strength, then Yuan Shu’s greatest advantage, strangely enough, was his durability. The moment this bare-knuckle fight turned into a war of attrition, it had already become Yuan Shu’s home ground!
‘My body… I can’t put any strength into it…’
In that instant, as she was pushed to the very edge of her limits, Xiang Yu saw Yuan Shu. He looked like an impossibly distant giant…
“Ah…”
Soon, Yuan Shu’s fist came swinging, and a single thought settled in Xiang Yu’s mind.
Defeat.
“Goddammit…”
She couldn’t deny it.
‘You were better than me…’
BOOOOOOM—!!!!!
The fist that carried the acknowledgment of defeat slammed into Xiang Yu’s face. She fell headfirst to the ground. There was no denying it—Yuan Shu’s victory!
“Khehehe…”
Of course, although he had won, Yuan Shu was equally battered. Still, his eyes sparkled as he laughed.
“From now on, you’re my subordinate number two…!!”
Even though there wasn’t a single uninjured spot left on his body, Yuan Shu proudly declared his victory.