Chapter 9

Shen Yao Xing tried to explain to her.

“Big sister, you’ve got it wrong, I’m not participating in the competition.” She said, forcefully pulling her hand back.

Having gained freedom, she tried to walk around her, but was blocked again.

“Miss, since you’re standing on this arena, you’re already considered a participant. Please don’t make things difficult for me.”

Shen Yao Xing couldn’t help but roll her eyes. This wasn’t making things difficult, it was clearly making things difficult for her: “Big sister, please move aside, I have matters to attend to at home.”

Shen Yao Xing impatiently pushed the person aside, but saw Meng Xin Yi below the arena giving her a meaningful look. The big sister behind still wouldn’t let her go, annoying her to the point of wanting to hit someone.

“Wait a moment!”

Meng Xin Yi couldn’t hold back anymore and walked out from the audience. She raised her hand to stop Shen Yao Xing, who was about to jump off the arena, and said to the middle-aged woman behind her: “Please let me have a few words with her.”

The middle-aged woman hesitated, glancing at Ye Xi Feng in the tower. Only after receiving permission did she step back.

Shen Yao Xing squatted at the edge of the arena with a gloomy expression, glaring at the woman below: “You’re not thinking of making me continue participating in this competition, are you?”

The two had known each other for nearly a year, sharing both joys and sorrows. Shen Yao Xing knew this woman all too well; she could tell what kind of fart she wanted to let out just by the way she stuck out her bottom.

Sure enough, Meng Xin Yi swiftly opened her folding fan, shielding their faces from the side, and said in a low voice: “This is a good opportunity. As long as you win the competition, you can get that deer skin map.”

“What do I need that deer skin map for?” Isn’t that just looking for trouble?

“Have you forgotten what I told you that day? The deer skin map cannot fall into the hands of Changsheng Pavilion.”

“Huh, you make it sound so simple. Why don’t I see you going up?” Acting like some kind of military advisor, always telling her to do this and that, while just sitting there sipping tea and pointing fingers. Shen Yao Xing was really annoyed.

“I’m injured.” Meng Xin Yi innocently spread her hands, pointing at her shoulder, and then honestly said: “Besides, I can’t beat him either.”

“Then why are you so confident that I can beat him?”

“You can.” Her voice was extremely certain.

“……” Such a confident answer made Shen Yao Xing feel a bit embarrassed. She felt a bit inflated, raising her chin arrogantly: “Alright then, I’ll give it a try. But I want a weapon.”

Actually, she rarely used weapons when fighting with others, but she felt a bit inflated now, feeling that having a weapon would make her look cooler.

Meng Xin Yi smiled, walked to the audience stand, and borrowed a large chopping knife about three feet long from the closest woman. The blade was narrow at the base and wide at the tip, gleaming coldly in the sunlight.

“Catch.” Meng Xin Yi threw the knife over.

Shen Yao Xing caught it steadily, tossing it in her hand, and then walked satisfied towards the center of the arena.

The girl’s figure was smaller and more delicate than ordinary women, seeming so weak that she couldn’t withstand a single blow. Yet in her hands was a heavy chopping knife that greatly contrasted with her appearance, creating a striking visual disparity.

The starting horn sounded, and a man dressed in black stood expressionless not far in front of her. Upon closer inspection, Shen Yao Xing realized that this person was truly pale, pale to the point of being bluish, and his pupils were terrifyingly black, without a trace of light.

He looked eerie from every angle.

Just as she was still observing, the black-clothed man suddenly vanished from his spot with a “whoosh”. Shen Yao Xing’s eyes narrowed slightly, instantly turning around and holding the knife horizontally above her head, blocking a sword strike aimed at her head.

The “clang” of the blades colliding gave people goosebumps.

The black-clothed man reacted extremely quickly, his movements ghostly. The long sword in his hand was like a spirit snake, each strike aimed at her vital points. Even more eerie was that Shen Yao Xing couldn’t sense his aura. He was like a specter, constantly appearing and disappearing, moving at an incredible speed.

A chill swept towards her neck. Shen Yao Xing dodged backward, gathering strength in her feet, swinging the long knife in her hand upwards across half of the man’s body. As he dodged, she raised her foot and kicked him hard in the chest with a side sweep. The man was kicked back quite a distance, but didn’t fall down. His face remained expressionless, standing straight, seemingly unharmed.

How is this possible?!

That kick had used internal force; even if he didn’t cough up blood, he should at least have been unsteady on his feet. Shen Yao Xing, who had been feeling inflated just a moment ago, began to doubt herself the next second. Was she really that weak?

Before she could finish her self-pity, the black-clothed man lunged forward, thrusting his sword at her. Shen Yao Xing blocked the blade with her knife held in front of her body. She dodged to the side, and with a “clang”, the large knife scraped along the sword’s blade. She swung horizontally at the man, who leaped backward. The knife’s edge grazed his neck, leaving a white mark.

No blood…

Shen Yao Xing leaped backward as well, distancing herself a bit. Her gaze fixed on the knife mark on his neck. There was no mistake, she had definitely hit him, but why was there no blood? And there wasn’t even a trace of blood on her knife’s edge.

Her gaze moved upward to the man’s colorless face, and a possibility flashed through Shen Yao Xing’s mind, making her shudder involuntarily.

The black-clothed man, as if tireless, continued to launch attacks at her. Shen Yao Xing dodged while pondering this hair-raising possibility. The two fought evenly, neither gaining the upper hand.

In the tower, Ye Xi Feng’s interest grew. She leaned slightly towards the side, as if chatting with a friend, and discussed with him: “What does Ming Yue Gongzi think? Who will win between these two?”

Jiang Ming Yue stared at the girl’s agile figure and said flatly: “Ming Yue does not possess the ability to predict the future.”

His demeanor clearly showed he didn’t want to chat much, but Ye Xi Feng seemed not to notice. Looking at the two on the arena, she rubbed her chin: “Changsheng Pavilion truly lives up to its reputation as a treasure trove. Such skills are rare even in the jianghu.”

Jiang Ming Yue’s long fingers lightly tapped the armrest, his eyes following the figure, his words neither cold nor warm: “Young Master Ye is being modest. Everyone knows the Four Directions Association is full of experts. If we’re talking about skilled individuals, your gang has plenty.”

Ye Xi Feng hooked the corners of her mouth, staring at him steadily, suddenly asking: “Does Ming Yue Gongzi like Western cakes? My mother has hired a highly skilled Western cake chef. After the competition ends, shall I bring some for you to taste?”

The eyes that had been fixed on the arena finally turned towards the woman, but only for a glance before moving away again. His thin lips parted slightly: “Thank you for Young Master Ye’s kind intentions, but Ming Yue does not like sweets.”

The man was like an iceberg, unmovable no matter what you did.

Ye Xi Feng’s smile faded a bit. She looked at him for a while, then turned her gaze back to the arena.

At this time, the two on the arena were still evenly matched. Shen Yao Xing realized that continuing like this would only waste her energy. They had been fighting for so long, yet the man showed no signs of fatigue. On the contrary, his attacks were becoming increasingly fierce.

Shen Yao Xing became increasingly certain of her thoughts. This person was probably no longer human. She forcefully kicked the man away, holding her large knife, her breathing slightly ragged. Her gaze scanned like a scanner, constantly looking for a place to strike on her opponent.

Finally, her gaze settled on the man’s pale blue neck.

Although she had been in this world for a long time, had seen dead people, and had witnessed others kill, she had fought with many people but had never killed anyone herself. Shen Yao Xing looked at the black-clothed man not far away and suddenly realized that if she didn’t kill him, she might die here herself.

Meng Xin Yi’s words floated through her mind: Sometimes, killing is also a form of self-preservation.

Shen Yao Xing’s eyes darkened as she gripped the long knife tightly. The incoming blade seemed to move in slow motion. She dodged to the side, suddenly raised her foot to kick the man away again. She charged forward with her knife, and as the man had just regained his footing, she swung the knife across.

There was no gush of blood as imagined. The head quietly fell from the neck, rolling once on the ground. The pale blue face’s expression never changed. The body, as if losing its support, fell forward stiffly, raising dust.

Shen Yao Xing stared blankly at the body on the ground, her shoulders slumping as if extremely tired. She silently dragged the long knife towards the edge of the arena, returned the knife to the dumbfounded woman, walked over and lay on Meng Xin Yi’s back.

“My legs are weak, carry me back…”

“……”

…

It wasn’t until nightfall that Shen Yao Xing woke up in the inn. She stared at the ceiling for a good while before propping herself up on the bed and slowly sitting up.

“You’re awake? Are you hungry? I’ll ask the waiter to bring in some food.” Meng Xin Yi, sitting at the tea table, asked with concern.

Shen Yao Xing stretched lazily and nodded. Catching sight of something in her hand from the corner of her eye, she asked curiously: “What’s that?”

“This?” Meng Xin Yi waved the thing in her hand: “The deer skin map, don’t you remember? You won the competition.”

But it’s no wonder, after winning today, this person had fallen into a daze and slept. This deer skin map was actually delivered by people from the Four Directions Association.

Shen Yao Xing walked over and sat opposite her, drinking tea while examining the skin map in her hand. She reached out: “Let me have a look.”

“You look at it first, I’ll go call the waiter.” Meng Xin Yi handed the deer skin map to her and turned to leave the bedroom.

Shen Yao Xing spread the skin map on the table, casually examining it in the candlelight. The entire map was brown, soft to the touch, indeed made of skin. But the things on it looked like scribbles, not resembling a map at all no matter how she looked at it.

When Meng Xin Yi came back in with food, she saw the girl holding the deer skin map over the candle flame. Her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly went over to snatch the map: “What are you doing?”

Seeing her so nervous, Shen Yao Xing pouted: “What are you so nervous about? I just wanted to see if there was some kind of trick to it.”

That’s how it always happened on TV, keep heating it and words would appear.

Meng Xin Yi’s fingers brushed over the slightly heated part of the skin map. Seeing no issue, she sighed in relief and pushed the food in front of her: “Eat quickly.”

Already starving, Shen Yao Xing didn’t stand on ceremony. She grabbed a chicken leg and started gnawing. With food to eat, her spirits improved considerably: “Didn’t you say this thing was harmful? Wouldn’t it be better to burn it?”

Meng Xin Yi shook her head and sighed: “It’s not that simple. If you burned it, I’m afraid all the major factions wouldn’t let you off.”

There are still two deer skin maps whose whereabouts are unknown. If one map is missing, the other four maps become useless. This is also the reason why the current competition isn’t so fierce. If the whereabouts of the other two deer skin maps were known, this map would become a death warrant.

Shen Yao Xing didn’t take it seriously. Her cheeks were puffed out full, when she suddenly thought of something and turned her head to ask indistinctly: “By the way, how’s that person?”

“That young gentleman?” Meng Xin Yi raised an eyebrow.

“Mm.”

Meng Xin Yi rolled up the skin map and put it into a long black box: “He’s already gone to see a doctor. The injury on his shoulder is quite severe. I’m afraid his left hand won’t be able to exert much strength in the future.”

Shen Yao Xing breathed a sigh of relief. As long as he’s not dead, it’s fine.

Early the next morning, as soon as Shen Yao Xing opened the door, she was blocked by two door gods standing at the doorway.

“Miss, our young master requests your presence.”

“……” So early in the morning.