Although this was already the interstellar era, the ancient tradition of dueling had still been preserved. Whenever powerful imperial nobles argued to an impasse, a duel was the ultimate means to solve the spat and defend their honor.
Duels initiated by aristocrats were taken very seriously and protected under imperial law. Once one began, it couldn’t be stopped easily. It was an extremely sacred act.
Every duel would be broadcast live across the whole network, and attract the entire empire’s attention.
That’s why, even though the tradition was preserved, nobles would never initiate a duel casually unless their hatred was really deep. If they lost, they’d lose their reputation and, in severe cases, even their lives.
Even for nobles ranked very high, a duel was a battle they bet their lives and reputations on. It was a very serious affair to put all their eggs in one basket.
With Ji Ling's highly distinguished status and...infamous reputation, him challenging a civilian, who was a national idol of the people and star of tomorrow no less, created seismic waves of shock on the net! If you first looked at it from the perspective of their class, it was like a powerful noble bullying a weak civilian. However, looking at it from the combat side, Ji Ling was just asking to be humiliated. Adding on to that, gossip on the love affair between Jing Sui and Ning Yu, there was enough love/hate material there to write tens of thousands of words. The twists and turns on this ride were full of drama. Everything was a topic in itself, and there were more and more new things to discuss every second.
Ji Ling didn't care about these things. Only when he saw Ning Yu’s reply did he finally breathe out a sigh of relief. He went offline, ignoring the big commotion everyone was making, and happily prepared to dish out his plans.
However, just because Ji Ling didn’t care about the public’s remarks, that didn't mean the people around him didn’t care.
His parents were the ones who came knocking first.
As soon as Madam Marina entered, she said anxiously, “What are you doing, precious?”
Grand Duke Ji Ting looked solemn and said in a serious voice, "Xiao Ling, you’re being too impulsive."
Ji Ling bowed his head down and didn't say a word. At least the original’s parents truly loved him no matter what he did. Although he was just following the plot as written in the original book, he still felt a little guilty looking at the mother and father pair like that.
Doing this wouldn'’t hurt anyone, except probably his parents.
Madam Marina looked at her son's dejected appearance, and felt extremely distressed. Her beautiful eyes were filled with worry as she said to her husband, "You’re making things too serious. Look how scared our poor baby is!”
Grand Duke Ji Ting's expression wasn’t good, and for the first time, he didn’t heed his wife's words. Instead, he accused her with a heavy tone: "You spoiled him too much. That’s why he could do something so irresponsible.”
Madam Marina glared at him unhappily. "Why don't you say that that lower link is too arrogant? What is he planning by accepting the duel? He wants to step on our baby's reputation, doesn’t he? I think he’s too ambitious and power-hungry!"
Grand Duke Ji Ting said, helplessly, "Xiao Ling was the one who publicly provoked him first. If he refused, other people would say he was afraid."
Madam Marina became even angrier: "I don't care. Tell me what we're going to do now then!!!”
Grand Duke Ji Ting rubbed his temples, extremely worried. It was absolutely impossible for his son to beat Ning Yu, but it would be disgraceful to run away from the fight.
It was extremely difficult to dissipate the situation at this stage.
After all, this wasn’t a small matter that could just be solved by pressuring someone. This was a sacred and just duel! Even with his powerful position as a grand duke, he had no right to stop it.
Ji Ling looked at his parents’ gloomy expressions, and stayed silent for a while. Looking up, he said with dedication in his eyes: "I'm sorry. Mom, Dad, I’ve made you worry… but no matter if I win or lose, I want to solve this problem myself with him face to face. Please forgive me for my willfulness."
Although he felt guilty, he had to go through with it.
Grand Duke Ji Ting and Madam Marina looked at him silently. Finally, Madam Marina sighed and said, "Don't worry, Mom won't let anything happen to you."
Their son was so determined, so what could they do? In fact, they were most concerned about the safety of his life, not whether his behavior would embarrass the Ji family. This was their darling, and they couldn’t let a single hair on him get hurt.
As long as Ji Ling could come back safely, they could follow-up on the rest.
Ji Ling pretty much had to swear that he would be careful. It took him half the day to convince his parents and send them away. Heaving a sigh of relief, he looked towards the direction of the door in a daze.
Ji Ling: [System, tell me. If I go home one day, what will they do...]
System: [I think you’re overthinking it. 】
Ji Ling: [? 】
System: [As long as you complete the mission and put this world back on track, naturally, everything will be fall into place easily. There will always be a solution to everything, but…are you sure you have the means to complete the mission? 】
Ji Ling: [...]
What was wrong with his brain? He even went to confide in this insensitive system who always poked at his sore spots :)
………………
The duel was scheduled for three days later, but Ji Ling was doomed to be unable to spend these three days in peace.
Early the next morning, Ji Ling had to welcome Wen Yan, who had come to persuade him.
Ji Ling was a little surprised by this. Wen Yan didn't reproach him on this matter last time. This big villain was the most cunning. He’d only say the words you’d want to hear. While appearing respectful, he’d gloat at your misfortune secretly behind your back. How could Wen Yan have risked losing favor with him to come and persuade him?
But Wen Yan did come this time.
Wen Yan entered the room. He was dressed in a black robe with his long silver hair tied behind his head. Complex emotions were hidden in his black eyes as he said: "Do you really wish to duel Ning Yu?"
Ji Ling was determined, and nodded vigorously: "Yes!"
Wen Yan looked at the boy's dedicated expression, and heard his stubborn tone. His mood was incomparably heavy as he thought of what happened last life. He didn't want Ji Ling to duel against Ning Yu no matter what. Ji Ling was just bringing humiliation to himself... in the end, he had still arrived at this point.
Some things were inevitable. Even if he was reborn, he couldn’t stop this from happening.
Thinking of this, strong resentment and bitterness towards Jing Sui arose in Wen Yan's heart. The youth loves you so much. Why couldn’t you just have cared a little bit about his feelings? Why did you have to drive him to this point?
His clenched his right hand tightly. After a long while, he finally took out the box he had in his arms, and bent down to open it respectfully in front of Ji Ling.
Ji Ling looked at it, puzzled. There was some kind of purple herb inside. Its crystal-like leaves were quite beautiful.
Wen Yan's thin lips parted slightly, and he said slowly: "This is a herb that grows in geothermal currents on Reza. If someone takes it, even if they’re a powerful evolver, they’ll give off the illusion of being terminally ill. It’s undetectable by any medical testing, and doesn’t do any harm to the human body. The effect will naturally wear off after two months.”
Ji Ling looked at Wen Yan in confusion, and didn’t understand until a few seconds later. So he wanted to hinder him from dueling against Ning Yu! Ji Ling suddenly put on an enraged expression and shouted, "What do you mean by this? You want me to fake illness to avoid the fight?!”
Wen Yan saw Ji Ling's angry expression. Although he knew that his next words might make the boy even angrier, he looked up and stared into his eyes. Emphasizing each word, he said clearly, “By using this, you will have a good reason to postpone the duel. When the situation calms down, I will naturally have a way to settle it quietly.”
Ji Ling suddenly waved his arm and knocked the box in Wen Yan's hand to the ground. There appeared to be anger burning in his eyes. He stared at Wen Yan and shouted: “Are you looking down on me? So you also think I’m inferior to that lower link? "
Wen Yan watched the herb he had painstakingly procured tumble to the ground. He raised his head to see the youth looking stubborn and defiant, deep bitterness in those eyes. He slowly said, "I didn't mean it like that. I just ..."
Ji Ling was afraid that he’d continue saying more, and angrily shouted: "Get out! You get out!"
After he said that, he used all his strength to push Wen Yan out, and slammed the door shut.
You want to ruin my plans? Dream on!
No one can stop me from getting beat up!
After he closed the door, he carefully peeped through the crack, and found that Wen Yan was still standing outside. He had refused to leave, looking solemn. His eyes were a complex mix of worry and helplessness.
Gee, it actually looks like you really care about me.
Even if you were reborn as well, don’t think for one second that I’m gonna believe you. Last life, you were a rascal full of ulterior motives, and evil tricks who set me up without hesitation. Besides, I hurt your pride and treated you like a servant, ordering you around, so how could you actually care about me? Even if you were reborn, you’d only hate me more, right?
Wait... This bastard wasn’t planning to trick me into eating a poisonous herb to get revenge, right?
He’s just becoming more and more venomous!
Ji Ling glanced at the herb on the ground cautiously. He used some paper towel to pick it up carefully with two fingers, and quickly threw it into the trash can. Then, he stopped caring about Wen Yan and went back to sleep.
………………
It was already the afternoon when Ji Ling woke up. He got up and saw that Wen Yan had left in the end… But before he could breathe a sigh of relief, he heard a servant rush over and announce: “Young Master, Marshal Brandon has come.”
The servant looked terrified and his footsteps were hurried. He’d just finished speaking when Ji Ling saw Brandon walking as fast as the wind, striding forward in large steps. The tall, burly man looked cold, and his icy expression seemed as if he were on desolate battlefield. No wonder the servant was so scared.
Ji Ling suddenly stood up, looking equally surprised. How could Brandon come over to see him? They weren’t close at all!
Nothing made sense.
Brandon stood in front of Ji Ling with an extremely complicated expression. His gaze was completely fixed on the youth in front of him. So Ji Ling hadn’t listened to his advice after all, and still went to challenge Ning Yu. Was there no way to stop his actions? Brandon opened his mouth and said in a low, rough voice: “So you’re dueling Ning Yu."
Ji Ling suppressed the surprise in his heart, and looked up at him with his head held high. Raising his eyebrow, he said: “Yeah, what of it?”
There were thousands of words in Brandon’s mind to discourage the boy, but he knew Ji Ling wouldn’t listen to him. Of all those words, he was left with just one sentence in the end: “A duel is a fair and honorable battle. It doesn't matter if you lose."
Ji Ling thought to himself, A fair and honorable battle won’t be able to display my despicable maliciousness. How could I show off Ning Yu's extraordinary courage like that? With a cynical sneer, he laughed: “You sure think highly of your good subordinate, huh? You’re convinced he can beat me."
Brandon had a helpless expression on. He’d long become accustomed to Ji Ling's style of speaking. In actuality, the youth was just jealous. That’s why he didn’t hold a grudge and let it go in one ear and out the other. "I will stand on your side."
Ji Ling snorted: "I think you want just want to watch me make a fool of myself!”
Brandon shook his head. "No."
Ji Ling’s face was full of disbelief. Only after a heated debate could he finally send Brandon away.
He watched Brandon as he left, but didn't dare relax. Who knew when Carlos would decide to come? Wasn’t that old fox pretending to care about him the whole time?
Ji Ling waited about nervously, and kept thinking about how to deal with Carlos. However, Carlos didn't come...
………………
The Archduke's residence…
Carlos sat in his study holding a black-covered book in his hand. It was the one Ji Ling often read when he stayed at his house. If you looked closely, however, you’d see that his eyes weren’t on the book. Instead, they looked dark and gloomy.
Actually, he had heard the news that Ji Ling challenged Ning Yu right away, but didn't go see him…
Because he was very clear that Ji Ling wouldn’t change his mind.
The boy seemed to be weak, willful and arrogant... but, in fact, he was more persistent and determined than anyone else. That’s probably why he could love a person so passionately without any regrets.
Sometimes, Carlos thought that it might be a good thing if the boy’s heart was more fickle.
Unfortunately, he had the most steadfast heart.
It pushed him to be so attached to his love, but also suffer because of his powerlessness.
Anderson looked down and stood to the side respectfully. He breathed very lightly and quietly, as to not disturb the duke who was deep in thought.
After a long while, Carlos finally put the book in his hand down slowly. His brown pupils flashed coldly. In a low voice, he said slowly: "Kill Ning Yu. Remember to do a clean job.”
Since he couldn’t stop the boy, the problem would naturally be solved as long as Ning Yu was killed.
He originally hadn’t planned to touch Ning Yu yet, but he couldn't let Ji Ling's public reputation fall to rock bottom. As long as Ning Yu happened to meet an "accident,” even if people had their doubts, what could they dare to say?
Anderson looked at the duke as he gave the order indifferently, but he could feel the killing intent in that calm speech. He bowed and said: “Understood.”
Carlos nodded and said, "Go then.”
Ji Ling knew nothing of this. Seeing that Carlos hadn’t come to persuade him, he was happy and relaxed instead. Very soon, the day of the duel had arrived.
Although this was already the interstellar era, the ancient tradition of dueling had still been preserved. Whenever powerful imperial nobles argued to an impasse, a duel was the ultimate means to solve the spat and defend their honor.
Duels initiated by aristocrats were taken very seriously and protected under imperial law. Once one began, it couldn’t be stopped easily. It was an extremely sacred act.
Every duel would be broadcast live across the whole network, and attract the entire empire’s attention.
That’s why, even though the tradition was preserved, nobles would never initiate a duel casually unless their hatred was really deep. If they lost, they’d lose their reputation and, in severe cases, even their lives.
Even for nobles ranked very high, a duel was a battle they bet their lives and reputations on. It was a very serious affair to put all their eggs in one basket.
With Ji Ling's highly distinguished status and...infamous reputation, him challenging a civilian, who was a national idol of the people and star of tomorrow no less, created seismic waves of shock on the net! If you first looked at it from the perspective of their class, it was like a powerful noble bullying a weak civilian. However, looking at it from the combat side, Ji Ling was just asking to be humiliated. Adding on to that, gossip on the love affair between Jing Sui and Ning Yu, there was enough love/hate material there to write tens of thousands of words. The twists and turns on this ride were full of drama. Everything was a topic in itself, and there were more and more new things to discuss every second.
Ji Ling didn't care about these things. Only when he saw Ning Yu’s reply did he finally breathe out a sigh of relief. He went offline, ignoring the big commotion everyone was making, and happily prepared to dish out his plans.
However, just because Ji Ling didn’t care about the public’s remarks, that didn't mean the people around him didn’t care.
His parents were the ones who came knocking first.
As soon as Madam Marina entered, she said anxiously, “What are you doing, precious?”
Grand Duke Ji Ting looked solemn and said in a serious voice, "Xiao Ling, you’re being too impulsive."
Ji Ling bowed his head down and didn't say a word. At least the original’s parents truly loved him no matter what he did. Although he was just following the plot as written in the original book, he still felt a little guilty looking at the mother and father pair like that.
Doing this wouldn'’t hurt anyone, except probably his parents.
Madam Marina looked at her son's dejected appearance, and felt extremely distressed. Her beautiful eyes were filled with worry as she said to her husband, "You’re making things too serious. Look how scared our poor baby is!”
Grand Duke Ji Ting's expression wasn’t good, and for the first time, he didn’t heed his wife's words. Instead, he accused her with a heavy tone: "You spoiled him too much. That’s why he could do something so irresponsible.”
Madam Marina glared at him unhappily. "Why don't you say that that lower link is too arrogant? What is he planning by accepting the duel? He wants to step on our baby's reputation, doesn’t he? I think he’s too ambitious and power-hungry!"
Grand Duke Ji Ting said, helplessly, "Xiao Ling was the one who publicly provoked him first. If he refused, other people would say he was afraid."
Madam Marina became even angrier: "I don't care. Tell me what we're going to do now then!!!”
Grand Duke Ji Ting rubbed his temples, extremely worried. It was absolutely impossible for his son to beat Ning Yu, but it would be disgraceful to run away from the fight.
It was extremely difficult to dissipate the situation at this stage.
After all, this wasn’t a small matter that could just be solved by pressuring someone. This was a sacred and just duel! Even with his powerful position as a grand duke, he had no right to stop it.
Ji Ling looked at his parents’ gloomy expressions, and stayed silent for a while. Looking up, he said with dedication in his eyes: "I'm sorry. Mom, Dad, I’ve made you worry… but no matter if I win or lose, I want to solve this problem myself with him face to face. Please forgive me for my willfulness."
Although he felt guilty, he had to go through with it.
Grand Duke Ji Ting and Madam Marina looked at him silently. Finally, Madam Marina sighed and said, "Don't worry, Mom won't let anything happen to you."
Their son was so determined, so what could they do? In fact, they were most concerned about the safety of his life, not whether his behavior would embarrass the Ji family. This was their darling, and they couldn’t let a single hair on him get hurt.
As long as Ji Ling could come back safely, they could follow-up on the rest.
Ji Ling pretty much had to swear that he would be careful. It took him half the day to convince his parents and send them away. Heaving a sigh of relief, he looked towards the direction of the door in a daze.
Ji Ling: [System, tell me. If I go home one day, what will they do...]
System: [I think you’re overthinking it. 】
Ji Ling: [? 】
System: [As long as you complete the mission and put this world back on track, naturally, everything will be fall into place easily. There will always be a solution to everything, but…are you sure you have the means to complete the mission? 】
Ji Ling: [...]
What was wrong with his brain? He even went to confide in this insensitive system who always poked at his sore spots :)
………………
The duel was scheduled for three days later, but Ji Ling was doomed to be unable to spend these three days in peace.
Early the next morning, Ji Ling had to welcome Wen Yan, who had come to persuade him.
Ji Ling was a little surprised by this. Wen Yan didn't reproach him on this matter last time. This big villain was the most cunning. He’d only say the words you’d want to hear. While appearing respectful, he’d gloat at your misfortune secretly behind your back. How could Wen Yan have risked losing favor with him to come and persuade him?
But Wen Yan did come this time.
Wen Yan entered the room. He was dressed in a black robe with his long silver hair tied behind his head. Complex emotions were hidden in his black eyes as he said: "Do you really wish to duel Ning Yu?"
Ji Ling was determined, and nodded vigorously: "Yes!"
Wen Yan looked at the boy's dedicated expression, and heard his stubborn tone. His mood was incomparably heavy as he thought of what happened last life. He didn't want Ji Ling to duel against Ning Yu no matter what. Ji Ling was just bringing humiliation to himself... in the end, he had still arrived at this point.
Some things were inevitable. Even if he was reborn, he couldn’t stop this from happening.
Thinking of this, strong resentment and bitterness towards Jing Sui arose in Wen Yan's heart. The youth loves you so much. Why couldn’t you just have cared a little bit about his feelings? Why did you have to drive him to this point?
His clenched his right hand tightly. After a long while, he finally took out the box he had in his arms, and bent down to open it respectfully in front of Ji Ling.
Ji Ling looked at it, puzzled. There was some kind of purple herb inside. Its crystal-like leaves were quite beautiful.
Wen Yan's thin lips parted slightly, and he said slowly: "This is a herb that grows in geothermal currents on Reza. If someone takes it, even if they’re a powerful evolver, they’ll give off the illusion of being terminally ill. It’s undetectable by any medical testing, and doesn’t do any harm to the human body. The effect will naturally wear off after two months.”
Ji Ling looked at Wen Yan in confusion, and didn’t understand until a few seconds later. So he wanted to hinder him from dueling against Ning Yu! Ji Ling suddenly put on an enraged expression and shouted, "What do you mean by this? You want me to fake illness to avoid the fight?!”
Wen Yan saw Ji Ling's angry expression. Although he knew that his next words might make the boy even angrier, he looked up and stared into his eyes. Emphasizing each word, he said clearly, “By using this, you will have a good reason to postpone the duel. When the situation calms down, I will naturally have a way to settle it quietly.”
Ji Ling suddenly waved his arm and knocked the box in Wen Yan's hand to the ground. There appeared to be anger burning in his eyes. He stared at Wen Yan and shouted: “Are you looking down on me? So you also think I’m inferior to that lower link? "
Wen Yan watched the herb he had painstakingly procured tumble to the ground. He raised his head to see the youth looking stubborn and defiant, deep bitterness in those eyes. He slowly said, "I didn't mean it like that. I just ..."
Ji Ling was afraid that he’d continue saying more, and angrily shouted: "Get out! You get out!"
After he said that, he used all his strength to push Wen Yan out, and slammed the door shut.
You want to ruin my plans? Dream on!
No one can stop me from getting beat up!
After he closed the door, he carefully peeped through the crack, and found that Wen Yan was still standing outside. He had refused to leave, looking solemn. His eyes were a complex mix of worry and helplessness.
Gee, it actually looks like you really care about me.
Even if you were reborn as well, don’t think for one second that I’m gonna believe you. Last life, you were a rascal full of ulterior motives, and evil tricks who set me up without hesitation. Besides, I hurt your pride and treated you like a servant, ordering you around, so how could you actually care about me? Even if you were reborn, you’d only hate me more, right?
Wait... This bastard wasn’t planning to trick me into eating a poisonous herb to get revenge, right?
He’s just becoming more and more venomous!
Ji Ling glanced at the herb on the ground cautiously. He used some paper towel to pick it up carefully with two fingers, and quickly threw it into the trash can. Then, he stopped caring about Wen Yan and went back to sleep.
………………
It was already the afternoon when Ji Ling woke up. He got up and saw that Wen Yan had left in the end… But before he could breathe a sigh of relief, he heard a servant rush over and announce: “Young Master, Marshal Brandon has come.”
The servant looked terrified and his footsteps were hurried. He’d just finished speaking when Ji Ling saw Brandon walking as fast as the wind, striding forward in large steps. The tall, burly man looked cold, and his icy expression seemed as if he were on desolate battlefield. No wonder the servant was so scared.
Ji Ling suddenly stood up, looking equally surprised. How could Brandon come over to see him? They weren’t close at all!
Nothing made sense.
Brandon stood in front of Ji Ling with an extremely complicated expression. His gaze was completely fixed on the youth in front of him. So Ji Ling hadn’t listened to his advice after all, and still went to challenge Ning Yu. Was there no way to stop his actions? Brandon opened his mouth and said in a low, rough voice: “So you’re dueling Ning Yu."
Ji Ling suppressed the surprise in his heart, and looked up at him with his head held high. Raising his eyebrow, he said: “Yeah, what of it?”
There were thousands of words in Brandon’s mind to discourage the boy, but he knew Ji Ling wouldn’t listen to him. Of all those words, he was left with just one sentence in the end: “A duel is a fair and honorable battle. It doesn't matter if you lose."
Ji Ling thought to himself, A fair and honorable battle won’t be able to display my despicable maliciousness. How could I show off Ning Yu's extraordinary courage like that? With a cynical sneer, he laughed: “You sure think highly of your good subordinate, huh? You’re convinced he can beat me."
Brandon had a helpless expression on. He’d long become accustomed to Ji Ling's style of speaking. In actuality, the youth was just jealous. That’s why he didn’t hold a grudge and let it go in one ear and out the other. "I will stand on your side."
Ji Ling snorted: "I think you want just want to watch me make a fool of myself!”
Brandon shook his head. "No."
Ji Ling’s face was full of disbelief. Only after a heated debate could he finally send Brandon away.
He watched Brandon as he left, but didn't dare relax. Who knew when Carlos would decide to come? Wasn’t that old fox pretending to care about him the whole time?
Ji Ling waited about nervously, and kept thinking about how to deal with Carlos. However, Carlos didn't come...
………………
The Archduke's residence…
Carlos sat in his study holding a black-covered book in his hand. It was the one Ji Ling often read when he stayed at his house. If you looked closely, however, you’d see that his eyes weren’t on the book. Instead, they looked dark and gloomy.
Actually, he had heard the news that Ji Ling challenged Ning Yu right away, but didn't go see him…
Because he was very clear that Ji Ling wouldn’t change his mind.
The boy seemed to be weak, willful and arrogant... but, in fact, he was more persistent and determined than anyone else. That’s probably why he could love a person so passionately without any regrets.
Sometimes, Carlos thought that it might be a good thing if the boy’s heart was more fickle.
Unfortunately, he had the most steadfast heart.
It pushed him to be so attached to his love, but also suffer because of his powerlessness.
Anderson looked down and stood to the side respectfully. He breathed very lightly and quietly, as to not disturb the duke who was deep in thought.
After a long while, Carlos finally put the book in his hand down slowly. His brown pupils flashed coldly. In a low voice, he said slowly: "Kill Ning Yu. Remember to do a clean job.”
Since he couldn’t stop the boy, the problem would naturally be solved as long as Ning Yu was killed.
He originally hadn’t planned to touch Ning Yu yet, but he couldn't let Ji Ling's public reputation fall to rock bottom. As long as Ning Yu happened to meet an "accident,” even if people had their doubts, what could they dare to say?
Anderson looked at the duke as he gave the order indifferently, but he could feel the killing intent in that calm speech. He bowed and said: “Understood.”
Carlos nodded and said, "Go then.”
Ji Ling knew nothing of this. Seeing that Carlos hadn’t come to persuade him, he was happy and relaxed instead. Very soon, the day of the duel had arrived.
