🐲 Dragon and Phoenix (Path of Light and Fire Book #2) (Completed) 🐲

Chapter 17.2

"She betrays you again," the voices said.

Yulan gritted his teeth. "Why would you stay in this place? To become ugar fodder? You saw how his warriors fared."

Aissata clinched her fists. "My sister is here, Reincarnation. My sister! They told me she died fighting the Acadians; it's why I joined the army. Yet she's here and alive. You ask me why I should stay. I ask you why should I leave?"

"This is why you do not get attached, Yulan."

He nodded. "It is all right, Fifth Blood Aissata. I do not require your assistance."

"Listen, sire-"

Yulan turned his back to Aissata and walked away. "There is nothing left to say, Fifth Blood."

He did not go far before Davaa approached. The hulk stood in his path with his hands on his hips and a giant smile on his face. "I saw you work with those warriors. I wanted to tell you you did wonderfully. You have a teacher's knack about you."

Yulan exhaled. "It is easy to teach someone with poor technique. I am not in the mood for conversation. Move."

Davaa frowned and scratched the stubble on his cheeks. "You seem agitated. Would you like to blow off some steam?"

Yulan pushed the man out of his way and kept walking. "You're not my type."

"I am not offering to sleep with you, though you are a handsome man. I am offering you a wrestling partner. The Chanyu says you enjoy a challenge. I apologize if I misheard."

Yulan stopped and went for the Blood, but held his just at the edge. His body begged for its release, so he could show this Davaa his place.

"If you want to die this day, I am happy to oblige." Yulan unsheathed his ngulu.

Davaa wagged his finger. "We do not fight to the death, Reincarnation. Master warriors such as ourselves test our skill against each other. We wrestle to show respect."

What is your game, Chanyu?

"Wrestle?"

"It is simple. We grapple until one of us falls to the ground."

"We fight in the clinch?"

Davaa ran a hand through his cropped black hair. "We do not get many kele-bolo masters here, so I am not sure what you mean. Can you show me?"

Yulan grabbed Davaa behind the head with his forearms on both sides of his face. "We fight like this."

I could crush his nose now.
Davaa nodded and Yulan released him. "Yes, like this. I would like to test my mettle against you. It is all right if you have more important matters to attend."

Yulan gave Aissata a sidelong glance. "I have nothing else of import to do here."

"Then it is settled! The first one to touch the ground with something other than their feet or hands loses."

"The Tanyu is about to bökh!" Someone shouted.

Tanyu?

The lines of warriors scattered, forming a circle around Yulan and Davaa. The shouts cascaded across the frozen tundra and people dropped their training as if this was a significant event.

"What is a Tanyu?" Yulan removed his ngulu and placed it on the ground. "It almost sounds like Chanyu."

"Do not bother yourself with such things. In this competition, I am just a man."

The body heat of the entire village warmed the air around them. Yulan took off his cloak and hat, tossing it next to his ngulu. "Why do they stop their training?"