More than a few people had pricked up their ears at Ruyan Kehui’s words. Every person in Jiankang who’d happened to hear him sat up in surprise and then hastened to follow. Even though they didn’t know who Ruyan Kehui’s opponent was, they knew it had to be someone extraordinary to have warranted a personal invitation.
Witnessing such a sensational duel was the opportunity of a lifetime. No one wanted to miss out.
However, following the combatants to the battlefield wasn’t a simple matter. The moment Ruyan Kehui had spoken, he and Yan Wushi swept out toward the outskirts, one in the lead and one behind. They drifted gracefully, so swift that they only left twin afterimages in bystanders’ eyes—and in another blink, even those silhouettes disappeared. Many people with inferior qinggong could do nothing but gape in the direction they’d gone, then stomp their feet or wring their hands in frustration.
Still, a fair number managed to keep up. For example, Liuhe Guild’s leader Dou Yanshan had heard the commotion by sheer fortunate coincidence. He was following right behind them at the moment and was even able to call to Yan Wushi: “Sect Master Yan, do you remember the trouble you caused our Liuhe Guild that night in Chuyun Temple? Well, today this Dou wishes to challenge you too!”
Not many people in the world were worthy of Yan Wushi’s attention, and Dou Yanshan definitely wasn’t one of them.
Hence, the moment after Dou Yanshan had spoken, he heard Yan Wushi’s sneering laugh. “I, Yan Wushi, do not fight with nameless juniors!”
He’d also channeled internal energy into his words, and they traveled far. Not only did Dou Yanshan hear it while he chased after them, but even Shen Qiao, who hadn’t moved from their original spot, heard him too. Without a doubt, so did others.
Many people laughed secretly in their hearts.
And the less virtuous ones laughed immediately, out loud.
Dou Yanshan’s expression darkened.
Few in the jianghu had seen Dou Yanshan fight. After all, he was the leader of the largest guild in all the land and wielded great status and authority. His would be a terrible failure of a guild if they required him to personally take action on every little thing. Even so, and even if his skills didn’t place him among the top ten, he was still a first-rate martial artist.
And yet, he’d been deemed unworthy of Yan Wushi’s attention.
The sheer, imperious egotism of the man spoke volumes.
But Yan Wushi had both the qualifications and the strength, so what could anyone do? Other than Dou Yanshan, no one else found his words particularly inappropriate.
Dou Yanshan stayed in pursuit and shouted again. “Has Sect Leader Yan ever heard the saying that ‘pride goes before a fall?’”
He channeled nine-tenths of his internal energy into this jab. Everyone nearby him was blasted by the shock waves, their ears buzzing, heads swimming, and nauseated.
They shuddered involuntarily. They didn’t dare look down on Dou Yanshan anymore.
Shen Qiao didn’t give chase.
He knew that any gap between Yan Wushi’s and Ruyan Kehui’s strength had to be minimal. When you were a martial artist of their level, victory or defeat lay not in the slight disparities between internal energy or moves but in the ability to understand their opponent and seize opportunities when they arose. A hair’s breadth of difference was sometimes enough to overturn the outcome.
Yan Wushi and Ruyan Kehui knew this well. That’s why they threw most of their strength into this fight, if not absolutely all of it. Given Shen Qiao’s current abilities, even catching up to them would be difficult. And making the attempt would cost him a great deal of true qi.
In any case, a duel between those two was sure to take a while. As long as he went in the direction everyone else had taken off in, he’d find the location eventually. He wasn’t in a rush. First, he helped the peddler up and walked him to the end of the street before entrusting him to the care of the other stallkeepers. Then he headed for the city gates.
He’d just gone through them when he heard Bai Rong’s laugh. “Walking like this, Shen-lang? So slow and plodding—how long will it take to get there?”
Shen Qiao raised an eyebrow. “Why hasn’t little Bai-niangzi gone to watch the fight?”
Bai Rong pouted. “What are we, strangers? You keep calling me little Bai-niangzi, little Bai-niangzi! If you don’t want to call me Rong-niang, you can at least call me Peony!”
When she saw Shen Qiao ignore her and carry on walking, she stomped her foot. “Fine, keep loafing around. Maybe you’re not worried, but I’m worried for you! With such a rare battle, many people have put their all into chasing after them. If you get there too late, you won’t be able to find a good spot!”
She reached out to grab Shen Qiao. He was about to flinch away when he heard her sweet cry. “Oh! I’m only taking you there, so why are you dodging! Don’t tell me you’re still afraid of my flirting?”
Shen Qiao was left speechless. In his moment of distraction, Bai Rong grabbed him.
Tucking his arm against her side, she applied her qinggong. She soared onward with him effortlessly, no slower than Dou Yanshan had been, like the powerful movements of a swimming dragon.
Still, getting a lift from somebody else was much more convenient than walking by yourself, so Shen Qiao expressed his gratitude. Bai Rong giggled. “‘Thank-yous’ are so cold! If you want to thank me, how about letting me sleep with you for a night? Yan Wushi hasn’t slept with you yet, right? Your body, full of primordial Yang, is the absolute best gift I could receive. Yes, your martial arts have suffered some damage, but I’m not picky! I’ll teach you how to pair cultivate—perhaps there’s even hope you’ll recover your strength! No need to practice with that nuisance of a Zhuyang Strategy anymore!”
Shen Qiao did not deign to reply.
Still, Bai Rong earnestly went on trying to persuade him. “How about it? It’s a deal that benefits us both! I’ll gain something, and you won’t lose anything! Why not think it over, Shen-lang?”
“…No need,” said Shen Qiao. “Thank you for your kindness.”
Bai Rong pouted but relented.
“Who do you think will win and lose in today’s battle?” she asked after a while.
It was an excellent question.
The people who’d dashed over to spectate were pondering the same question.
Some of the well-informed gambling dens in Jiankang were probably taking bets right at this moment.
Shen Qiao gave it serious consideration. “If all goes as expected, Yan Wushi will probably win,” he said.
Bai Rong giggled. “You really do look out for your lover! Ruyan Kehui isn’t just some puffed-up nobody. I infiltrated Linchuan Academy once—I wanted to disrupt their lecture the day before it started. But then Ruyan Kehui discovered me and he personally chased me around half of Jiankang. I suffered some serious injuries, and it took everything I had to escape. Ever since then, I’ve been too frightened to rashly provoke that guy anymore. A great and honorable grandmaster like him, splitting hairs with a weak woman like me? How petty and unbecoming of him!”
You’re not a weak woman, thought Shen Qiao. Furthermore, you were the one who snuck into someone else’s territory. If they let you come and go as you wish, what’s the point of Linchuan Academy’s gates? Might as well let people barge in every day.
As Bai Rong pulled him along, the stockings on her feet gathered nary a speck of dust. Her speed never slowed in the slightest, and she spoke with no shortness of breath. “How I see it, even if Qi Fengge and Cui Youwang came back to life, Ruyan Kehui might be their match. And this time the duel will be in Jiankang’s outskirts, so he’ll be on familiar ground. Your dear lover may not be able to win!”
Back in the beginning, when people had misunderstood Shen Qiao and Yan Wushi’s relationship, Shen Qiao had still felt the urge to explain. But later, he realized that such explanations were completely unnecessary—people believed whatever they wanted to believe. Whether he explained or not had no effect on their self-serving misunderstandings.
And when it came to someone like Bai Rong, who was purely messing around, deliberately misunderstanding in order to tease him, Shen Qiao could be bothered even less. He simply let her words breeze past him like the wind.
Bai Rong heaved a sweet-sounding humph at his nonreaction and said no more.
After leaving the city and traveling about fifteen kilometers, going from field to forest then from forest to another road north, they arrived at a stream at the bottom of a canyon. Here they saw two silhouettes in the distance, standing upon the mountain cliffs and dueling atop those sheer walls.
The ground beneath their feet was no more than a few rocky crags jutting up from the precipice, some no longer than a handspan. An ordinary person would have been terrified to the core just looking at them, let alone landing atop them in the middle of a duel. A moment of carelessness would mean a straight plummet down.
However, Ruyan Kehui and Yan Wushi weren’t ordinary people. As they darted about, their movements showed no hint of awkwardness or hesitation—instead they flowed as smoothly as drifting clouds or a babbling stream. It was almost impossible to see them alighting on the stones at all—their figures soared and flitted, their true qi flooding the surroundings and sending fine rubble flying. Where the blasts from their palms struck, clouds seemed to billow from their sleeves as waves the height of men swelled. It was a dazzling sight to behold.