The Tournament at Quewu Square
You decide that your strengths are in combat, not poetry. After all, given the reputation of Luoying Manor as a hall of scholars, the competition in the poetry contest should be much tougher. With that optimistic thought in mind, you head to Quewu Square.
Despite the cold, stalls have been set up all around the arena to cater to the large number of spectators. The hawkers call out their goods with gusto. There are the usual mantou, candied fruits and fried cakes being sold, but the hot pot vendors are also out in full force today. The stage for the competition is a large, raised square platform. It seems big enough to fit thirty people, though there isn’t much room for manoeuvring with all thirty there. Making your way to the registration table, you find that most of the slots have already been taken up.
Before you write your name down, you look around you; your arrival hasn’t gone unnoticed by the other competitors. Between the public appearances you have made with Master Yao in the city, and your reputation as his apprentice, attempting to register under a false name would be a waste of time.
You confidently write your name in ink, completing the registration.
The rules of the tournament are as follows:
One must not touch the ground outside the stage with any part of his body.
One must not use any weapons, whether openly or concealed.
One must not strike to kill or to maim.
It appears that to lose, the participant must be thrown out of the ring. You continue to sniff about for more information. Most of the participants are in their late twenties, and probably more knowledgeable than you are in the field of martial arts. You spot a couple of thugs, a monk, and a few priests, though most of the participants appear to be scholarly in background
After a while, you manage to strike up a conversation with a warrior-poet from Changsha, far to the south. His name is Ling Tong, a member of the Zifu Hall, a small gathering of gentlemen scholars in that city. According to him, the competitions do attract participants, but not as many as one would think. A good number of the fellows of the manor will pass their invitations on to worthy disciples or friends during a trial year, so that they may have a chance to be accepted. Others trade it for favours, though outright selling the invitation for money appears to be a taboo and could lead to a revocation of their fellowship.
“By the way, young master Xu, I will say that many of the competitors here will be looking to come to an understanding before the battle starts. Do you know what I speak of?”
You nod, rubbing your chin – a habit you have started to pick up from Master Yao stroking his beard all the time. It only makes sense. “A non-aggression pact? That would make things neater.”
Ling Tong beams at you. “Exactly. This is not my first time participating, and I happen to know a few familiar faces. If you like, I could spread the word that you will be in on the pact. Your, ah, reputation for defeating the heir of Songfeng precedes you. I think I would rather you direct your ability at others, at least for the initial minutes of the match,” says the man honestly.
“My reputation, eh?” you say, curious. “What have you heard, by the way?”
“Well,” the man speaks carefully with a smile, “two tales. One where you are the villain, and one where you are the hero. In both, you strike down the young Rong with a single blow. I believe that, at least, is the truth. To be honest, after talking with you I would prefer the heroic tale of ‘The Apprentice Defends His Beautiful Physician’.”
“Beautiful… wait, never mind.” You have no idea what that old drunk Qi Liuwu told his beggars, but the results are certainly terribly embellished. Perhaps you should tell Master Yao to send a note to Qi about this.
“So,” says Ling Tong brightly, “Will you accept my offer, young master Xu?”
***
A. You accept his offer.
B. You accept his offer, but see if you can secretly form other pacts on your own.
C. You reject his offer.
***
After your conversation with Ling Tong, you begin to wonder if there are any more things that you can do to increase your chances of victory…
A. It’s time to get sneaky. You haven't lived this past year without learning a thing or two about the concept of 'fairness'.
1. You’ve come prepared with a powder from Cao’er. It is a fast-acting laxative which you will introduce into the shared jar where the fighters drink from. They can’t fight you when they are fighting their stomach.
2. You gently and surreptitiously prick whatever lax fighters you can find with a needle lightly coated with Three Poison Powder. At these quantities it will not kill them, but it will likely cause nausea and dizziness after they take to the stage.
3. You begin spinning a sob story, complaining about Master Yao forcing you into this competition. Though there are some ruffians here, many of them appear to be honest gentlemen. You hope to gain sympathy and make the other fighters lower their guard in the ring afterwards.
4. You attempt to divide and conquer, following the precepts of the great strategists of old. Walking from one fighter to another, you begin to spread vague insinuations that certain fighters might resort to cheating, or have made rude comments about the other.
(Pick at least one from the above choices, all A votes will be considered as one bloc in voting.)
B. You do all of the above. If you’re going to cheat, you should give it all you’ve got.
C. You… try not to cheat. Let this be a fair and honest match!
place has fairly honest judges. Can't be letting just any rabble in 
