Cheng Mo did not pay attention to what Yue Chaosong was saying, he only caught his closing statement where he said: “These past few days we have neglected all of you, we have a little token of appreciation here, you don’t have to stand on ceremony.”
After saying that, he clapped his hands and ten maids entered the hall, all of them holding trays with white pearls on them. They distributed the pearls to every person there. The pearls were round and bright, it was clear that it was no ordinary pearl. In saying that, it was not a rare treasure either, but the Jiang family gave away a hundred pearls at once, which was still extremely generous. Xue Tinghua held the pearl in his hand and chuckled softly: “The Jiang family is definitely showing off their wealth with this.”
Yu Xiaoshan said: “This is to tell everyone that Miss Jiang has a lavish dowry and that everyone should not miss out.”
Xue Tinghua said with a smile: “Then you should make good use of this opportunity, Yu xiong.”
Yu Xiaoshan laughed: “I think it’s better for you to say that to Leader Cheng.”
Hearing this, Cheng Mo smiled and replied: “I don’t dare.”
He was not in the mood to joke with the two of them, he was only thinking about how to prevent Hui Ji from ruining the Jiang family’s Miss’ reputation while at the same time preventing Jiang Wanrou from finding someone to help her deal with Hui Ji. Cheng Mo felt a throbbing pain in his head and hit his head with his fist lightly. The Jiang family left after giving their speech, thus concluding the meal. When Cheng Mo stood up, he heard Xue Tinghua ask: “Has Taoist Zi Xiao still not returned?”
Hearing someone ask about Zi Xiao again made Cheng Mo feel that he missed Zi Xiao even more. He shook his head and answered: “He should be back by tomorrow.”
The night was peaceful, but Cheng Mo knew in his heart that because Hui Ji did not show up, it meant that he was still angry. It was likely that he would not give up his original plan for tomorrow’s competition. He should have had a good rest in preparation, but Cheng Mo’s thoughts were jumbled and he was unable to fall asleep the entire night.
The next morning, everyone was brought to the competition venue outside the city via carriages sent by the Jiang family. The venue was a spacious manor, but there was a large open space in the middle. An arena had been set up and chairs were placed around it. Cheng Mo’s position was very close to the platform and he had a good view. However, Yu Xiaoshan and Xue Tinghua were not seated with him. Instead, there was an empty chair next to him. Cheng Mo asked: “Whose seat is this?”
The servant who led him to his seat replied: “Mr Yue specifically left this seat for Taoist Zi Xiao when he heard that Taoist Zi Xiao was travelling with Leader Cheng.”
Cheng Mo nodded and thanked him. Zi Xiao still had not returned and Cheng Mo couldn’t help but worry that something had delayed him. He said that he was visiting an old friend, but that might have just been an excuse, Zi Xiao might have gone to do something that he did not want to tell him about. Cheng Mo stared at the empty chair blankly for a moment before looking around the venue. Of all the people present, there were only two people Cheng Mo was concerned about, one was Hui Ji and the other was Qin Fangchuan. The former made him worry while the latter made him afraid for his safety. At that time, both of them were very calm. Hui Ji’s bamboo hat was lowered so much that his expression could not be seen, while Qin Fangchuan held a small smoker in his hands and placed it in front of his chest as if he was smoking medicinal plants.
Yue Chaosong said that there were no rules for this martial arts competition and the last person standing would be the winner. Due to this, the first person to volunteer would look ridiculous to others. The atmosphere at the scene was tense as no one was willing to volunteer to go up first. Suddenly, Yu Xiaoshan stood up and jumped into the arena. He cupped his hands as a greeting to Jiang Wanrou who was seated on a high platform and said: “In this case, let me help you filter out the contestants.”
Yu Xiaoshan smiled calmly, Cheng Mo knew that he had no intention of participating in the competition for her hand in marriage, but he was the first one to volunteer because he did not want Miss Jiang to be too embarrassed. However, after Yu Xiaoshan volunteered, no one else entered the arena. Yue Chaosong frowned, he stood up and addressed the crowd: “If no one challenges him, then it would be considered Qingcheng Sect’s Yu Xiaoshan’s victory!”
Yu Xiaoshan’s smile froze. Cheng Mo couldn’t help but secretly laugh. At this time, he suddenly saw Hui Ji getting up and stepping towards the arena with a steady pace. Cheng Mo clutched the armrest and sat up straight. He did not know what Hui Ji meant by this.
Cheng Mo did not pay attention to what Yue Chaosong was saying, he only caught his closing statement where he said: “These past few days we have neglected all of you, we have a little token of appreciation here, you don’t have to stand on ceremony.”
After saying that, he clapped his hands and ten maids entered the hall, all of them holding trays with white pearls on them. They distributed the pearls to every person there. The pearls were round and bright, it was clear that it was no ordinary pearl. In saying that, it was not a rare treasure either, but the Jiang family gave away a hundred pearls at once, which was still extremely generous. Xue Tinghua held the pearl in his hand and chuckled softly: “The Jiang family is definitely showing off their wealth with this.”
Yu Xiaoshan said: “This is to tell everyone that Miss Jiang has a lavish dowry and that everyone should not miss out.”
Xue Tinghua said with a smile: “Then you should make good use of this opportunity, Yu xiong.”
Yu Xiaoshan laughed: “I think it’s better for you to say that to Leader Cheng.”
Hearing this, Cheng Mo smiled and replied: “I don’t dare.”
He was not in the mood to joke with the two of them, he was only thinking about how to prevent Hui Ji from ruining the Jiang family’s Miss’ reputation while at the same time preventing Jiang Wanrou from finding someone to help her deal with Hui Ji. Cheng Mo felt a throbbing pain in his head and hit his head with his fist lightly. The Jiang family left after giving their speech, thus concluding the meal. When Cheng Mo stood up, he heard Xue Tinghua ask: “Has Taoist Zi Xiao still not returned?”
Hearing someone ask about Zi Xiao again made Cheng Mo feel that he missed Zi Xiao even more. He shook his head and answered: “He should be back by tomorrow.”
The night was peaceful, but Cheng Mo knew in his heart that because Hui Ji did not show up, it meant that he was still angry. It was likely that he would not give up his original plan for tomorrow’s competition. He should have had a good rest in preparation, but Cheng Mo’s thoughts were jumbled and he was unable to fall asleep the entire night.
The next morning, everyone was brought to the competition venue outside the city via carriages sent by the Jiang family. The venue was a spacious manor, but there was a large open space in the middle. An arena had been set up and chairs were placed around it. Cheng Mo’s position was very close to the platform and he had a good view. However, Yu Xiaoshan and Xue Tinghua were not seated with him. Instead, there was an empty chair next to him. Cheng Mo asked: “Whose seat is this?”
The servant who led him to his seat replied: “Mr Yue specifically left this seat for Taoist Zi Xiao when he heard that Taoist Zi Xiao was travelling with Leader Cheng.”
Cheng Mo nodded and thanked him. Zi Xiao still had not returned and Cheng Mo couldn’t help but worry that something had delayed him. He said that he was visiting an old friend, but that might have just been an excuse, Zi Xiao might have gone to do something that he did not want to tell him about. Cheng Mo stared at the empty chair blankly for a moment before looking around the venue. Of all the people present, there were only two people Cheng Mo was concerned about, one was Hui Ji and the other was Qin Fangchuan. The former made him worry while the latter made him afraid for his safety. At that time, both of them were very calm. Hui Ji’s bamboo hat was lowered so much that his expression could not be seen, while Qin Fangchuan held a small smoker in his hands and placed it in front of his chest as if he was smoking medicinal plants.
Yue Chaosong said that there were no rules for this martial arts competition and the last person standing would be the winner. Due to this, the first person to volunteer would look ridiculous to others. The atmosphere at the scene was tense as no one was willing to volunteer to go up first. Suddenly, Yu Xiaoshan stood up and jumped into the arena. He cupped his hands as a greeting to Jiang Wanrou who was seated on a high platform and said: “In this case, let me help you filter out the contestants.”
Yu Xiaoshan smiled calmly, Cheng Mo knew that he had no intention of participating in the competition for her hand in marriage, but he was the first one to volunteer because he did not want Miss Jiang to be too embarrassed. However, after Yu Xiaoshan volunteered, no one else entered the arena. Yue Chaosong frowned, he stood up and addressed the crowd: “If no one challenges him, then it would be considered Qingcheng Sect’s Yu Xiaoshan’s victory!”
Yu Xiaoshan’s smile froze. Cheng Mo couldn’t help but secretly laugh. At this time, he suddenly saw Hui Ji getting up and stepping towards the arena with a steady pace. Cheng Mo clutched the armrest and sat up straight. He did not know what Hui Ji meant by this.
