Chapter 63 - Pillars of the Nine Dragons (1/2)
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The laughter significantly increased in Shu Guang High as its team prepared to enter Xigong Stadium for the first time. It was such a proud moment to enter that field as one of the final four teams in the Luoyang competitive zone, despite Zhongyuan’s stranglehold over the representative spot.
However, the last two years had seen Zhongyuan, Dingding and Tongxing seeding themselves in three out of the four spots. This made the fourth spot both desirable and unenviable at once—to enter Xigong as the fourth team meant being butchered by one of the other three. The year before last, Zhongyuan trampled over Fanglin High School with a score of 7: 1, setting the record for the highest score in a game at that stage.
Nevertheless, this did not scare or discourage Shu Guang. Its players were fearless and they had the grand ambition of advancing to the Nationals; they would never hesitate against any enemy until they reached their goal.
Their semi-final opponent was a powerful one—the “Uncrowned Kings” of Luoyang, Dingding High School.
An old but famous academy, Dingding High School was located north of the intersection between Dingding Road and Zhongzhou Road, the latter being Luoyang’s main arterial road. Every year, the rate of their graduates getting into National Key Universities were only second to Luoyang’s No.1 senior high school.
One kilometer to the east of the school was the Pillar of Nine Dragons—a landmark of Luoyang. A symbol of China’s Bronze Age stood on top of the freestanding rock column where nine mythical beasts soared. It was a Simuwu ding in a 1:1 scale.
The pillar in itself was a display of Luoyang’s grand history, which spanned 13 dynasties. The dragon was a representation of China and royalty, while the Simuwu ding was an emblem of power during China’s Bronze Age. Zhang Jun himself loved to visit the place despite it being quite far away from his house; he would go there for a spin whenever he entered the old city. He always held a special feeling about the pillar as a student of the Arts.
History’s vicissitude, authority and majesty were all embodied in this single pillar.
“Fan Cunjie! You’ve been staring at the column for 10 minutes! We’re going to be late again if you don’t move!” Bin Fei said with one hand on his bike handle and the other waving in front of Cunjie’s eyes.
Fan Cunjie then recovered. He took one more look at the pillar, which stood proudly below the sun before mounting his own bicycle and dashing to school with Bin Fei.
“I really don’t get it. Recently, you’ve been coming here often to ‘admire’ that pillar. It’s been here for years. What’s there to see?” Bin Fei, his best friend and first-choice striker of the Dingding soccer team asked.
“I’m not looking at the pillar.” Fan Cunjie smiled. “I’m looking at the nine dragons.”
“The nine dragons?”
“Let’s hurry, there’s just three minutes left.”
Fan Cunjie gathered himself and accelerated in front of Bin Fei.
…
Wednesday, four days left before the semi-final.
Fan Cunjie gracefully dribbled past a defender with a Pull Turn, and the stands exploded.
“It’s like a walk in the park!”
“He’s the Prince of Soccer!”
“Too good! It was like ballet!”
“One more!”
However, Fan Cunjie did not smile in reply to the praises as usual; instead, he was frowning slightly.
He did not entertain the requests for “one more” either, and quickly passed the ball up front to Bin Fei.
Liu Wei, Dingding’s coach observed each little change silently and he kept a mental note. When the training match got to half-time, he called his key player over.
“I heard that you’ve been frequenting the Pillar of Nine Dragons,” he said candidly. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
Fan Cunjie glanced at his teammates who were fooling around, and then at the raucous fans. He then answere, “Coach, I don’t want everyone to think that I’m an empty vessel.”
Liu Wei watched him quietly, pressing him to continue.
“I know that the fans here enjoy watching my moves. The pundits call me the ‘Master of Tricks’, but I don’t desire such hollow fame. I want to win gold for once and enter the Nationals. Coach, I’m already in my third year, but I’ve never had the chance to play in the Nationals! Zhongyuan’s Zhao Defeng is in the same year as me, and he’s already won the gold and silver at the Nationals! While I have nothing!”