It felt as though the woman in the white skirt wanted to shake off the hand of the woman in the yellow skirt, but the latter was holding on tightly and refusing to let go.
The woman in the yellow skirt blinked her large eyes and looked at him, seeming to smile at him. Yu Qing did not know who this overly familiar person was. He politely nodded in a courteous manner, having no interest in looking at her even a second time, and turned his head back. Crucially, he did not want others to have a deep impression of his appearance.
The woman in the yellow skirt seemed to want to lean in and say something. At this moment, the woman in the white skirt appeared to be angry and gave the woman in the yellow skirt a sharp pull. “If you mess around again, do not come out with me in the future.”
The woman in the yellow skirt froze, then sighed helplessly. Her shoulders slumped, but she quickly straightened them again.
This was because Yu Qing had turned his head back and was looking at them again.
Yu Qing had only turned back after hearing the angry words from behind. He took an extra look at the woman in the white skirt, not understanding why she was getting angry out of nowhere. His gaze met hers, and her eyes instantly panicked, quickly looking away to avoid his.
Then he saw the veiled woman in the yellow skirt seemingly chuckling at him.
She really was an overly familiar woman, Yu Qing muttered in his heart. He felt that this kind of woman might easily suffer losses out in the world, but it was none of his business. He turned his head to look forward again.
However, a hesitant expression appeared on his face again. His eyes flickered, and he raised his hand to scratch his small moustache, seeming to have thought of something.
He soon turned back again. This time, he took the initiative to speak and tried asking the woman in the yellow skirt, “Can one still wear a veil when participating in the Chaoyang Assembly?”
The woman in the yellow skirt raised her hand to touch her veil and chuckled, “What, do you want to see what I look like?”
She clearly put on an attitude of being ready to cooperate at any time.
The woman in the white skirt behind her immediately squeezed her hand hard, but this time she seemed too lazy to pay attention to the opinion from behind.
Yu Qing was rendered speechless by her antics. Heaven and earth be his witness, he truly had not a single ounce of interest in what she looked like.
He now realised that this woman was not overly familiar at all. He gave her another evaluation in his heart, fickle and frivolous.
Long Xingyun, who was waving a folding fan ahead and considered himself dashing and elegant, heard the commotion from behind. He stretched his neck to look back, amused, and tapped Yu Qing’s arm with his folding fan. “The one on the stage is still sitting there, and you have already found a new one. Do you flirt wherever you go?”
The attitude of the woman in the yellow skirt immediately changed completely. She glared with wide eyes and fiercely scolded, “You little vixen, believe it or not, I will tear your mouth apart.”
Long Xingyun’s face instantly darkened. He snapped his folding fan shut. “Come on, try tearing it and let me see.”
Hearing this, Yu Qing immediately perked up. He stepped aside, hoping the two would violate the competition rules and fight on the spot. As long as Long Xingyun disrupted the assembly and was kicked out, Yu Qing would be considered the winner just by winning any single match. It would be even better if the Daye Division could cripple this fellow.
The woman in the white skirt gave Yu Qing a cold stare for his troublemaking behaviour, and at the same time, pulled the woman in the yellow skirt hard, reminding her, “This is the Chaoyang Assembly.”
Long Xingyun saw Yu Qing step aside to let them fight and immediately understood Yu Qing’s sinister intentions. He snapped his fan open, fanned himself vigorously, and threw a harsh word at the woman in the yellow skirt. “You little slut, just you wait.”
Even while being pulled, the woman in the yellow skirt refused to show weakness. “You little vixen, I will wait for you to come. If you do not come, you are a bastard.”
Long Xingyun gave a cold snort, turned around, and fanned himself vigorously to cool his anger.
The woman in the yellow skirt also snorted coldly and lifted her chin, looking disdainful.
Although neither would yield to the other, neither dared to act recklessly. As the woman in the white skirt said, this was, after all, the Chaoyang Assembly.
Is that it? Yu Qing felt a bit regretful. He moved back into the queue, not forgetting to point at Long Xingyun’s back and provoke the woman in the yellow skirt. “This guy holds a grudge very much. He will definitely target you by any means necessary.”
His idea was very simple. Even if this person could kill Long Xingyun afterwards, that would be fine.
Long Xingyun in front gritted his teeth and said, “Shut your dog mouth.”
The woman in the yellow skirt scoffed. “Should I be afraid of him? If he can enter the challenge match, I will beat him to death.”
The woman in the white skirt pulled her again, and she finally stopped speaking, puffing her cheeks in anger.
Seeing that they would not fight, Yu Qing felt regretful again. He did hope this person could truly beat Long Xingyun to death in the challenge match, but that was a matter for later. He still wanted to clear up his current confusion and said, “I have no other intention. I am just asking you, can one still wear a veil when participating in the Chaoyang Assembly? With you doing this, has the assembly authority said anything?”
The woman in the yellow skirt’s face instantly changed from gloomy to cheerful. She giggled, “What is wrong with wearing a veil? They still verify our identities before the match, do they not? The sun is too strong, is it not allowed for me to be afraid of sunburn? Wearing a veil does not affect the match, so why is it not allowed? Will they also have to manage what colour of clothes I wear?”
Yu Qing immediately gave her a thumbs up. “Makes sense.”
After speaking, he turned his head back, his face full of joy. He had actually found a solution to his previous worry. He could just cover his face directly. What was there to fear about being recognised?
He wondered, after covering his face, could he go all out to strive for that five hundred million reward?
However, he felt he might be overthinking it. The one hundred people participating in the match now were not comparable to those from earlier. The difference was like heaven and earth. There were hardly any easy opponents. Thinking about the five hundred million was indeed overthinking it.
The large circle of a hundred people gradually took shape. Chan Shaoting in the middle was still occasionally observing the reactions of the group around Yu Qing. He naturally noticed that the people he was paying attention to had gathered together again.
He was actually not far from Yu Qing and the others, only separated by about a dozen people ahead.
He had originally wanted to follow behind the women in the white and yellow skirts. He had intended to deliberately get closer to them. Who knew that after queuing behind the two women, before he could even greet them, a sudden change occurred. The woman in the yellow skirt suddenly grabbed the woman in the white skirt and ran. The two women stubbornly pulled and dragged each other until they queued in their current position. Thus, he could only occasionally look back.
He was not the only one intentionally paying attention to the women in the white and yellow skirts. His mother, Yong Zexue, was also exceptionally attentive to the two women. In many ways, she had been constantly keeping an eye on their every move, with much meaning in her eyes.
Thump, thump, thump, thump…
The large circle formed, the pole for casting the shadow was inserted, and the drumbeat sounded loudly once again.
Those who could be in this circle had all gone through multiple rounds of drawing lots. They knew what to do without much instruction and began to walk around the circle.
While walking in the circle, Yu Qing occasionally examined the background wall of the main stage, repeatedly confirming whether the on-site environment was favourable for the execution of his character-observing technique.
Kunling Mountain had not omitted the grand ceremony of worshipping heaven and fortune. They seemed to be very particular about this. The sacrificial altar with the three animals was still there, the incense in the burner was still burning continuously, and the smoke was still faintly drifting on the stage. Yu Qing secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Before coming, he feared Kunling Mountain might suddenly not set up the altar. After arriving, he feared a sudden strong wind might blow the smoke into chaos. Now, everything seemed normal, and he could rest assured.
The hundred or so people walked around the circle again and again. After walking for a long time, the drumbeat suddenly stopped abruptly.
The crowd walking in the circle also stopped urgently. It was still the old rule. The one where the pole cast its shadow first would go first.
The shadow of the pole fell on the person two places ahead of Chan Shaoting. That meant he was the fourth.
That meant the starting position was not far from Yu Qing’s side. Yu Qing secretly felt much more relieved. According to previous experience with drawing lots, being close to this side meant there were more unselected number plates on the wall. Long Xingyun would have more room to choose, making it less likely for him to draw the same number as the people before him. Naturally, it would be easier for Yu Qing to draw Long Xingyun.
In truth, he was still somewhat apprehensive. Although he had confidence in himself, he dared not absolutely guarantee that he could definitely defeat Long Xingyun. The young master of the Chilan Pavilion would certainly not be weak. The fact that he could advance all the way to this stage was proof enough.
Regarding the decision he made last night, he now wavered. He was a bit hesitant. Should he first find an opponent he was confident of defeating, strive for a chance to win a match, and see how Long Xingyun fought with others first?
This hesitation arose because he had just found inspiration from the faces of the two veiled women. He was no longer worried about being recognised, so delaying a bit would not matter.
After the Kunling Mountain disciple on site confirmed the first participant, he made a starting gesture to him.
The first participant immediately threw his dart. After hitting a number plate, he was promptly asked to step out of the line and went to the designated area below the stage to wait for assembly.
The latter continued to walk in the circle. They stepped forward one by one and shot their darts one by one. Chan Shaoting was the fourth.
While Yu Qing followed the people ahead and shuffled forward step by step, his eyes were fixed tightly on the wooden plates on the background wall. His character-observing technique continuously focused on the scattering of the forceful energy impact produced when each dart hit the background wall and caused the wooden plate to strike the wall. He observed the changes in the airflow overflowing from beneath each plate.
He repeatedly confirmed the impact of each shot on the changes in the smoke, estimating and secretly memorising the number behind each plate.
The dozen or so people passed quickly. He soon walked up to the standing pole. He watched helplessly as Long Xingyun ahead threw a dart and pinned it onto a wooden plate.
As soon as Long Xingyun threw the dart, he elegantly waved his folding fan and stepped out of the line, heading generously towards the assembly waiting area.
Yu Qing, however, stood dumbfounded on the spot. Because Long Xingyun’s casual throw had actually hit a plate with the same number as the previous person. That meant he could no longer choose Long Xingyun.
In previous match sessions, even when drawing lots relatively late, his chosen target had never failed. Now, drawing lots earlier had instead resulted in failure. What was going on? Where had his luck of drawing an empty number plate gone?
“It is your turn.”
The woman in the yellow skirt behind him reminded him in a low voice, and even reached out an index finger to gently poke Yu Qing’s back.
Qin Fujun, who was hosting on the stage, frowned. She already had no good impression of Yu Qing. Seeing this fellow delay so publicly made her even more disgusted. If not for so many distinguished guests watching, she would definitely have said some harsh words.
The Kunling Mountain disciple supervising beside the standing pole also gave a reminder. “Next.”
“Hmm?” Yu Qing came back to his senses. He subconsciously glanced at Tie Miaoqing and Sun Ping in the distinguished guest seats, somewhat worried about being recognised. He then examined the number plates on the background wall again, and quickly surveyed Long Xingyun and the others who had already finished drawing lots and were waiting on the other side.
With just that one glance, he was not only speechless verbally but also speechless internally. He discovered that among those dozen or so people, the only one whose skills he had witnessed was Chan Shaoting. Among the people from the Ding sector, apart from Chan Shaoting, there was temporarily no one else.
What should he do? Long Xingyun had been paired with someone else, and he was unclear about the background of the others.
Stepping forward to the standing pole, he did not have time to think much about the consequences. This was not a place for him to stay and ponder carefully. He could only make a decision based on a momentary feeling. He quickly locked onto a number plate, threw the dart from his hand, hit his choice, and then stepped out of the line.
As he walked out of the line, he put on an act as if the sun was very glaring. He held his hand like a canopy over his eyes, trying his best to conceal his small moustache, hanging hair, and face.
This time, Long Xingyun was a bit surprised. The folding fan in his hand seemed unable to wave. He noticed that Yu Qing, who was walking over, actually walked past him and did not stand by his side, despite having stubbornly followed him before. He was somewhat stunned.
Yu Qing no longer had any use for him and did not pay attention to him. Instead, he took a few extra looks at Chan Shaoting. He had not thought much about it just now, but he had chosen the same number as Chan Shaoting.