Chapter 4

Early the next morning, Shen Yao Xing wanted to take Meng Xin Yi to see a doctor, but this person was unconcerned about her injuries, appearing calm and composed, which only made Shen Yao Xing more anxious.

“My injuries are truly not serious, there’s no need to go to such trouble. Even if we see a doctor, her medicine might not be as good as my own,” Meng Xin Yi explained softly as she struggled to put on her outer garment.

Having wandered the jianghu for so many years, she had sustained all kinds of injuries, big and small. Some of the deeper scars were like brands on her skin, impossible to erase, and she had long since grown accustomed to them.

Shen Yao Xing looked at her, gritting her teeth. This was truly a case of the emperor being less anxious than the eunuch—ah, no, she was definitely not a eunuch!

“Fine, don’t see a doctor then!” she said, turning angrily to leave the bedroom. But after a moment, she returned, her expression sour: “Do you want breakfast or not?”

Meng Xin Yi tried hard to suppress her smile, coughing lightly before nodding: “Let’s go together.”

The two went directly to sit in the ground floor hall of the inn. There were quite a few people at this time, both men and women, each with their weapons by their side. Meng Xin Yi discreetly surveyed the room before saying in a low voice, “It seems the reputation of this treasure-hunting competition is indeed significant. People from all walks of life have already started gathering in Taizhou City.”

Shen Yao Xing ate her steamed bun expressionlessly, not saying a word, appearing as if she didn’t want to engage.

Seeing this, Meng Xin Yi said no more, but occasionally glanced at her, thinking that even when angry, this person looked extremely like those young gentlemen.

Suddenly, an argument broke out at the next table. Shen Yao Xing, eating her steamed bun, frowned slightly, feeling extremely annoyed. Couldn’t people just eat their breakfast in peace early in the morning?

The argument at the next table gradually escalated into physical confrontation. The sound of bowls and plates crashing to the floor was incessant. The innkeeper’s earnest persuasions had no effect. Other guests in the inn began to join in the commotion. The scene was chaotic, with only Meng Xin Yi’s table remaining exceptionally quiet.

In fact, Shen Yao Xing had been enduring all along. She truly despised such noisy scenes. Food and plates kept flying past her ears until one of the fighting individuals bumped into her back.

Her hand paused in tearing the steamed bun. Her already foul mood now made her want to turn around and crush that person’s skull.

The woman behind her was still cursing loudly. Shen Yao Xing slowly turned her head, forcing a smile that didn’t reach her eyes, and said in an extremely gentle voice, “Sister, please be careful.”

The woman, seeing this person’s delicate appearance, immediately thought she was easy to bully. Glaring, she began to curse loudly: “I’ll be careful with your whole family!”

Saliva sprayed all over Shen Yao Xing’s face like raindrops. She closed her eyes, the steamed bun in her hand crushed into a ball. Opening her eyes, she took the handkerchief Meng Xin Yi offered and wiped her face: “If you want to speak, speak. Can you not spray saliva…”

The woman, already feeling embarrassed from the earlier push and harboring anger, now saw an easy target and naturally wouldn’t let it go. She raised her hand to slap, but in a flash, her hand met empty air. The person who had been wiping her face a moment ago had vanished.

Just as she was about to turn around, she felt a weight on her head, and her entire face was pressed against the table.

The woman’s eyes widened, completely unaware of how this person had gotten behind her. When she realized what had happened, she struggled desperately, flailing her arms wildly but unable to break free.

The scene was somewhat comical—a girl who looked barely of age easily pinning down a burly woman, who seemed unable to break free. The people in the inn looked at each other, then suddenly burst into laughter.

The person who had been arguing with the woman earlier laughed the most mockingly: “What’s the matter, Xiao Jiu? You were so capable earlier, how come you can’t even handle a little girl now?”

The woman called Xiao Jiu’s face turned red, but she still couldn’t break free. She could only try to save face by cursing. Some of her words were so vulgar that Meng Xin Yi frowned and quickly threw over a steamed bun to stuff her mouth.

At the same time, Shen Yao Xing released her hand and forcefully kicked the woman’s stomach, sending her flying quite a distance.

Freed, the enraged woman got up from the ground, her eyes red with anger. She grabbed the knife from the table and swung it at Shen Yao Xing, who easily dodged by tilting her body. Shen Yao Xing bent her knee and struck the woman’s stomach again, this time using her internal energy. The woman doubled over in pain, clutching her stomach with one hand. She glared hatefully at the person who had humiliated her, grabbed a plate and threw it, while her other hand twisted, swinging the large knife horizontally.

The cold glint of the blade approached, carrying killing intent. It was clear she wanted Shen Yao Xing dead. Shen Yao Xing’s eyes narrowed slightly. She fell backwards, avoiding the horizontal slash, then side-stepped and kicked the woman’s elbow with her knee. With a clang, the knife fell to the ground. Her bent knee straightened, kicking the woman directly in the face. The movements were smooth and continuous. The woman staggered back several steps and fell to the ground, blood flowing from her nose, looking somewhat dazed.

At this moment, the inn was very quiet. They were astonished by the young girl’s speed. Those who had expected to see a good show hadn’t anticipated it would end so quickly, and so easily at that.

Shen Yao Xing slowly picked up the knife from the ground and glanced at the person on the floor. Seeing her fearful expression, she found it a bit amusing and very kindly placed the knife in front of her: “Here, I’ll return this to you.”

The sound of the knife hitting the ground startled the woman, who trembled. Her appearance, like a frightened bird, was somewhat laughable compared to her earlier arrogance.

After speaking, Shen Yao Xing paid her no more attention. She turned her head to look at Meng Xin Yi, who was still eating: “When you’re done, go upstairs and rest. I’m going to eat outside.” Outside would be quieter than in here.

Meng Xin Yi glanced at the person on the ground, whose face was half-red with blood from her nose, and nodded slightly.

It wasn’t until the young girl left the inn that people began to whisper among themselves.

“Did you see how fast she moved? I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me!”

“Who is that young lady? Her skills are truly remarkable.”

“I don’t know, I thought she was just some family’s daughter out for fun. She looks so young…”

Meng Xin Yi lowered her eyes and took a sip of hot tea. Her gaze fell on the steamed bun on the table that had been crushed into a ball. Although their relationship was good, she knew nothing about her friend’s background. She couldn’t help but feel curious.

After leaving the inn, Shen Yao Xing looked around for food. The sky was already bright, and the street stalls had gradually set up. She sat down at a small stall and ordered a bowl of wonton, eating while observing the people on the street.

Taizhou City was different from the capital. The people gathered here were mostly jianghu wanderers. Regardless of gender, their attire was more practical, which was much more pleasant to look at, unlike the men in the capital with their complicated clothing who all wore veils when going out.

Suddenly, the image of that man with his face painted stark white flashed in her mind. The wonton she had just swallowed threatened to climb back up her throat. Shen Yao Xing shuddered and quickly shook away that eye-searing image.

“Boss, give me a bowl of clear noodle soup.”

The clear, pleasant voice of a young man caught Shen Yao Xing’s attention. She saw a young man in an apricot-colored robe sitting at the table next to her, facing her direction. Shen Yao Xing stared at his face, feeling it looked somewhat familiar.

Perhaps her gaze was too direct, as the young man looked up quizzically. However, what he saw was a black head of hair. He blinked, wondering if this person was so hungry that their face was almost buried in the bowl.

Shen Yao Xing wolfed down several large mouthfuls, slammed some silver on the table, hastily wiped her mouth, and was about to leave.

“Wait,” the young man called out behind her.

Shen Yao Xing didn’t stop. Feeling the person behind her following, she quickly turned into a small alley. When the young man caught up, the alley was empty, with no trace of the girl.

As the competition drew near, Taizhou City became increasingly crowded. Shen Yao Xing found it bothersome. Every day, apart from eating, she would only enter the city after sunset, spending the rest of her time in trees outside the city.

On the day of the competition, the venue was already packed with people. Participants and spectators were divided into two sides, surrounding a large arena in the center, much bigger than Shen Yao Xing had imagined.

But she wasn’t concerned about that. What she was concerned about now was the strong body odor of the woman standing next to her!

There was also a faint, indescribable smell mixed in.

The woman was exceptionally tall, a full head taller than Shen Yao Xing. Her nose was right at the level of the woman’s bare armpit. The stench was overwhelming.

The key was that this woman seemed unaware of her own destructive power, laughing cheerfully: “There are so many people!” Apparently finding the sun too bright, she raised her hand to shield her eyes for a better view.

Beside her, Shen Yao Xing’s face had turned green.

“What’s wrong?” Meng Xin Yi beside her was quite relaxed. Seeing the young girl’s unpleasant expression, she felt somewhat concerned.

Shen Yao Xing didn’t speak, nor did she dare to. She feared that if she opened her mouth, she would vomit.

At that moment, she clearly felt the originally noisy environment suddenly fall eerily silent for an instant.

“Hey,” Meng Xin Yi nudged her with an elbow. Shen Yao Xing glanced at her with a gloomy face, following her gaze upward. At a high pavilion next to the arena, three people were seated. The most eye-catching among them was Jiang Ming Yue in his white robes. At this moment, he wasn’t wearing a veil, and almost everyone’s gaze was fixed on him.

The overwhelming smell meant she had no interest in noticing the people above.

Shen Yao Xing secretly shifted her gaze to the woman beside her. Good heavens, her mouth was open so wide she was almost drooling.