The woman in the yellow dress, having just finished drawing lots, tried to move closer to Yu Qing again. The woman in the white dress who followed closely behind grabbed her wrist and forcefully dragged her to the other side.
Xiang Lanxuan, standing in the corner of the viewing stand, observed everything from beginning to end, a smile occasionally appearing on her face.
A full circle of a hundred people passed by in succession, and soon everyone had finished throwing their darts.
Qin Fujun on the stage also walked to the background wall covered with plaques and began calling out names starting from the darts at the very bottom and the very end.
The participants who had drawn lots went up to the stage one by one to reveal the plaques, leaving their darts stuck on the numbers on the wall, and took their assigned number plates before stepping down.
When the plaque revealing was almost halfway through, the name Chan Shaoting was called on stage. Chan Shaoting, who went up to reveal his plaque, received number 93.
Seeing this number and confirming that his judgement was correct, Yu Qing breathed a slight sigh of relief.
The dart he had thrown was in the top row, so he was called to the stage at a later position.
Seeing him come on stage, Qin Fujun acted as if he did not know him and proceeded as usual.
As Yu Qing had expected, the number plate he received was also 93.
In truth, he did not really want to be drawn against Chan Shaoting, but it was not easy to just pick anyone at random. He was unclear about the true strength of the others. If he happened to lose to his opponent, he would lose the agreement with Long Xingyun. Since he had accepted Long Xingyun’s challenge, he had to bear the consequences.
“Zhang Zhichen, so he also used an alias…”
Staring at the woman in the yellow dress on stage, she muttered to herself. Having just heard Qin Fujun announce Yu Qing’s name, she had made a note of it.
“Number 93, did that little person draw number 93?”
In the viewing stand, Chan Shaoyun suddenly made a fuss. She might not remember other people’s numbers clearly, but she remembered her own brother Chan Shaoting’s drawn number. She clearly remembered it was 93. After Yu Qing’s drawn number was announced before her eyes, she found it a bit hard to believe.
The disciple of the Guijian Villa beside her responded, “That is right, just like Young Master Chan, it is number 93!”
Chan Shaoyun immediately clapped her hands in excitement. “Heaven truly has eyes. It really fell into my brother’s hands. Now he is going to have a good show of it. Earlier, he got lucky all the way, either drawing an empty number, or facing someone who surrendered, or meeting someone who was injured. This time, he finally bumped into my brother.” She turned her head and chattered to her mother beside her.
This time, however, Yong Zexue frowned slightly. She recalled the scene of Yu Qing conversing with those two masked women and seemed to have some doubts.
“Eh, how did Old Fifteen get matched against Chan Shaoting?”
Nan Zhu on the viewing stand exclaimed in surprise, because he knew Yu Qing had the ability to cheat, and he was a bit slow to realise what it meant.
Mu Aotie also applied his spiritual sight, staring closely at the numbers reflected on the background wall. The distance was too far, and the names on the darts were definitely impossible to see clearly. “The position of the other number 93 seems to be where Chan Shaoting threw his dart.”
Baili Xin spoke up, “That is right, it is Chan Shaoting.”
The two of them, Nan and Mu, immediately turned to look at her in unison. Nan Zhu asked in astonishment, “From this far away, you can still see the names on the darts clearly?”
Baili Xin said, “I can see the number on the plaque in Chan Shaoting’s hand clearly.”
Nan and Mu immediately stared at Chan Shaoting below the stage. They found him holding a plaque with both hands in front of his abdomen. The two of them applied their spiritual sight to look closely and could also make out that it was number 93.
The two of them instantly breathed a sigh of relief. They had just been startled, almost thinking that Baili Xin could see fly sized characters clearly from such a distance.
Xiao Changdao and Wu Ronggui on the viewing stand exchanged a glance. The two of them also discovered that Yu Qing and Chan Shaoting had been matched against each other.
This time, they did not sit together with the people from Guijian Villa. It was not that they did not want to, but the situation did not allow it. Those of them who had been eliminated from the competition had an exclusive area, while the people from Guijian Villa sat in the guest area, and in the front rows at that.
In the VIP seats, Li Chenghu and Zhao Dengzi were both leaning halfway, watching the situation in the arena while leaning in to chat.
Tie Miaoqing, however, sat upright, appearing dignified.
Princess Li Chaoyang, dressed in black martial attire, leaned against the back of her chair, looking listless. She occasionally yawned, her initial high spirits and interest having completely vanished.
She had initially thought it would be a lot of fun. Who would have guessed that after throwing a circle of darts, they would just call out names and reveal plaques one by one. The more she watched, the more boring it became, making her feel sleepy.
Li Chenghu, who was chatting, noticed her slouching posture and knocked his knuckles on the armrest of the chair with a thud. “Chaoyang.”
Li Chaoyang snapped to attention. With just one glance, she understood her imperial uncle’s meaning, which was for her to pay attention to the royal image and not go too far. She had no choice but to straighten her back and sit properly again, casually asking, “Sect Leader Zhao, I heard the fighting will only start tomorrow?”
Zhao Dengzi smiled and said, “Yes. If Princess Chaoyang is tired, she can go back and rest first. It does not matter.”
Li Chaoyang had wanted to leave immediately, but catching a glimpse of Li Chenghu staring at her with a half smile, she shook her head. “It is fine. It is already more than halfway through. I will wait a bit longer. By the way, Sect Leader Zhao, who do you think among these people can take first place?”
“Ah? That is hard to say.” Zhao Dengzi gave a bitter smile, but his gaze subconsciously fixed on the two masked women in the arena.
It was not until almost noon that the entire lot drawing process was finally considered over. As Qin Fujun announced the dispersal, the crowd in the viewing stand boiled over once again, and everyone stood up to leave.
In truth, Princess Chaoyang was not the only one who could not stand the wait and had grown impatient. This lot drawing indeed looked quite meaningless. Many of the audience members present could be described as either rich or noble, and many could not endure such dullness.
After standing up, Wen Xin and Xiao Hong did not follow the squeezing crowd to disperse. Instead, they stayed in their original spot and waited, only leaving after the flow of people had thinned out slightly.
Walking to a certain area of the viewing stand, Xiao Hong pointed at the area before them with her finger and whispered, “Earlier, I heard the person sitting next to me say that those sitting in this section are all people who participated in the competition before and were eliminated. They said there might also be unlucky experts in here. They said those who can obtain information about the various matches will scavenge for some good hands to use from here, as they are both useful and affordable. Unfortunately, our Wen family is considered a competitor to Kunling Mountain to some extent, so they will not give us this kind of information. And Qinglian Mountain… Qinglian Mountain…”
Wen Xin did not know why she suddenly stuttered. Following the direction of her gaze, she saw a fat man waving towards the competition arena, seemingly beckoning someone inside to come over.
The side profile of the fat man looked a bit familiar. Standing beside the fat man was also a large, burly man whose profile also looked somewhat familiar.
This was all Xiao Hong’s feeling, but Wen Xin did not feel anything of the sort.
These two people were none other than Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie. Both had stayed at the Wen family before. Xiao Hong had interacted with them quite a lot, hence the deep impression. Wen Xin, however, had indeed interacted with them very little and had no impression of them.
However, it did not matter. The eyes of the master and servant quickly locked onto a figure that rapidly darted onto the viewing stand. After seeing the person’s face clearly, they both stared in a daze.
Wen Xin’s expression, in particular, was indescribably complex.
Running up to the three of them, Yu Qing subconsciously swept his eyes over the group of people leaving on the steps above. Observing his surroundings was his habit. Seeing no unusual situation, his gaze just returned to Nan Zhu, paused for a moment, and then immediately bounced upwards rapidly.
He saw a familiar face. He saw a face that had once haunted his dreams and left him with lifelong regrets.
He saw Wen Xin and Xiao Hong. He then promptly ignored Xiao Hong and his gaze locked with Wen Xin’s.
Xiao Hong almost let out a gasp. She quickly covered her mouth with her hand, unable to believe it. It seemed she had never dreamed she would meet him here.
“It is not easy for us to make a trip here from the Dingyin District. Not only is the journey long, but we are also not allowed to run around freely. There are people escorting us back and forth, and the escorts should be waiting outside for us to assemble. Let us make a long story short… I say, are you spacing out?”
Nan Zhu, who had been chattering away at Yu Qing, noticed that Yu Qing’s reaction was abnormal. He immediately turned his head and followed Yu Qing’s gaze. After seeing the person not far away, his mouth dropped open, and he was also dumbfounded.
Mu Aotie and Baili Xin naturally also turned their heads to look one after another due to the reactions of the two. Baili Xin was unaffected, but Mu Aotie was also dumbfounded on the spot.
The three martial brothers had never expected to meet this master and servant pair here, and in such a setting.
Obviously, they were also here to watch the competition. It was just that in this vast sea of people, they could still meet among so many. This coincidence left them momentarily unable to recover their senses.
Wen Xin’s expression, however, returned to normal in an instant. Calm and peaceful, she gave a faint smile and nodded slightly to the three of them in greeting. It was like meeting a stranger on the road, a polite courtesy. Then, she turned around and left calmly and composedly.
It was as if the man who had once made her love him to death had never existed. Her departing steps and silhouette were so calm, completely unruffled.
Xiao Hong hesitated to speak. She knew best how difficult it had been for her young miss in the past. She looked around, but ultimately constrained by the rules formed over these years, she followed Wen Xin’s attitude and left, only looking back from time to time.
The three martial brothers, however, found it hard to recover their senses for a long time. Their speed in restraining their minds and emotions was far inferior to Wen Xin’s.
That was because, in terms of human nature, cultivators are not superior to ordinary people.
The three martial brothers had indeed experienced some things over these years. The things they experienced were merely of a higher level, but far less than what Wen Xin had experienced.
After looking around on both sides, Baili Xin finally could not help but ask, “Acquaintances?”
Yet he was not very certain, because the woman’s attitude was like that of a stranger, yet the reactions of the three men were highly abnormal.
Seeing the figures blend into the crowd and disappear, Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie slowly turned their heads. Staring at Yu Qing, who was finding it hard to recover his senses for a long time, they both sighed secretly. The two of them vaguely remembered the scene where Old Fifteen shouted to the heavens that he wanted to become a rich man, and they also knew why he had shouted like that.
Years had passed. Old Fifteen, who had sworn to work hard and strive for success, had not only failed to become a rich man, but in some aspects, he seemed to be regressing. He seemed worse off than before. Not only had he failed to become a rich man, but he was also in deep debt, unable to make ends meet.
The two of them had wanted to say something to Yu Qing. However, looking at Baili Xin beside them, it was not appropriate to discuss Wen Xin any further.
Nan Zhu raised his hand and patted Yu Qing on the shoulder. “Do not lose your head just because you see a beauty. Look at her attire. She is already a married woman.”
Afterwards, Yu Qing, having turned his head, also glanced at Baili Xin and said calmly, “What is the matter?”
Nan Zhu said, “I said it is not easy for us to make a trip here from the Dingyin District. Not only is the journey long, but we are also not allowed to run around freely. There are people escorting us back and forth, and the escorts should be waiting outside for us to assemble. If you have anything to say, say it as quickly as possible.”
Yu Qing said, “I have nothing to say. You were the one who called me over.”
Nan Zhu was momentarily speechless and asked, “You are going to fight Chan Shaoting. Do you have any confidence?”
Yu Qing’s expression was as calm as dead water. “I do not know. If I must fight, I will fight. I have already been drawn.”
Nan Zhu looked at his appearance, could not help but scratch his ear, and finally waved his hand. “Forget it, forget it. Let us go, let us go.”
He beckoned to Mu Aotie and Baili Xin, and they left.