Chapter 4

Early the next morning, Shen Yao Xing wanted to drag Meng Xin Yi to see a physician, but the latter was completely unconcerned about her own injury, with a calm and indifferent expression, which made Shen Yao Xing break out in a sweat.

“My injury really isn’t a big deal, there’s no need to go through so much trouble. Even if we go see a physician, the medicine they prescribe may not be as good as my own,” Meng Xin Yi explained in a soft voice, struggling to put on her outer garment.

Having wandered the jianghu for so many years, she had suffered injuries of all sizes. Some of the deeper scars were branded onto her skin, unable to fade, and she had long gotten used to it.

Shen Yao Xing looked at her, gritting her teeth. This was truly a case of the empress not being anxious while the eunuch was, ah, pfft, she was not a eunuch!

“Fine, don’t see one then!” Having said that, she angrily turned and left the bedroom, only to return after a short while, her expression extremely sour: “Do you want breakfast or not?”

Meng Xin Yi tried hard to hold back the smile tugging at the corners of her lips, coughing lightly and nodding: “Let’s go together.”

The two of them went directly to the main hall on the first floor of the inn. There were quite a few people at this time, both men and women, each with their own weapons beside them. Meng Xin Yi silently surveyed the room and said in a low voice: “It seems the reputation of this treasure hunt competition is indeed not small, people from all walks of life have already started gathering in Taizhou City.”

Shen Yao Xing ate her steamed bun expressionlessly, not uttering a word, looking like she didn’t want to pay attention.

Seeing this, Meng Xin Yi didn’t say anything more, occasionally glancing at her from the corner of her eye, thinking that even her angry appearance was extremely similar to those young masters.

A sudden argument broke out at the next table, causing Shen Yao Xing, who was eating her steamed bun, to frown slightly, feeling very annoyed. Couldn’t people let her eat breakfast in peace first thing in the morning?

The argument at the next table gradually escalated into a physical fight, with the sound of bowls and plates falling to the ground incessant. The innkeeper’s earnest persuasion was completely ineffective, and the other people in the inn started to cheer them on, turning the scene into a mess. Only Meng Xin Yi’s table remained extremely quiet.

In fact, Shen Yao Xing had been enduring the whole time. She was really fed up with this kind of noisy scene. Food and dishes kept brushing past her ears, until one of the people fighting bumped into her back.

Her hand that was tearing the steamed bun paused, and her already foul mood made her want to turn around and crush that person’s skull.

And the woman behind her was still cursing and swearing. Shen Yao Xing slowly turned her head, pulling out a smile that didn’t reach her eyes, and said extremely gently: “Big sister, be careful now.”

The woman took one look at her delicate appearance and immediately thought she was easy to bully. Glaring, she broke into a torrent of abuse: “I’ll be careful with your whole family!”

Spittle sprayed all over Shen Yao Xing’s face like raindrops. She closed her eyes, the steamed bun in her hand squeezed into a ball. Opening her eyes, she took the handkerchief Meng Xin Yi handed over and wiped her face: “Just talk, do you have to spit…”

The woman had already felt embarrassed by the earlier shove and was angry. Now that she had a pushover, she naturally wouldn’t let the opportunity pass. Raising her hand, she was about to slap her, but her vision suddenly blurred and her hand met empty air. The person who had just been wiping her face had disappeared without a trace.

Just as she was about to turn around, her head suddenly felt heavy, and her entire face was pressed onto the table.

The woman’s eyes widened, completely unaware of when this person had gotten behind her. After reacting, she struggled desperately, her hands flailing about, but unable to break free.

This scene was somewhat comical. A young girl who looked like she hadn’t even come of age easily pressing down a sturdy woman, and the key was that the woman seemed unable to break free. The people in the inn looked at each other, then suddenly burst into laughter.

The person who had been arguing with the woman earlier laughed the most arrogantly: “What’s the matter, Xiao Jiu? Weren’t you quite capable just now? How come you can’t even deal with a little kid now?”

The woman, who was called Xiao Jiu, turned red in the face, but no matter how hard she struggled, she couldn’t break free. She could only use cursing to regain some face, spouting some words that were too obscene to hear, causing Meng Xin Yi to frown. She quickly tossed over a steamed bun to stuff her mouth.

At the same time, Shen Yao Xing let go of her hand and kicked her stomach hard, sending her flying a good distance.

The woman, now free, turned red with anger. She got up from the ground, picked up a knife from the table, and slashed at her. Shen Yao Xing leaned to the side, easily dodging, then bent her knee and struck the woman’s stomach again. This time, she used internal force, causing the woman to bend over in pain, clutching her stomach with one hand. She glared hatefully at the person who had humiliated her, randomly grabbing a plate and throwing it at her, while her other wrist twisted, slashing horizontally with the large knife.

The cold gleam approached, this slash carried murderous intent, clearly intending to kill her. Shen Yao Xing’s eyes narrowed slightly, her body leaning back to dodge the incoming knife, then tilting to the side, her knee kicking the woman’s elbow. With a clang, the knife fell to the ground. The bent knee straightened, directly kicking the woman in the face. The movements flowed smoothly, causing the woman to stumble back several steps and sit down on the ground, blood flowing from her nose, looking a bit dazed.

At this moment, the inn was quite quiet. They were surprised by the girl’s speed, the people who had thought they would see a good show didn’t seem to expect it to end so quickly, and the process was so effortless.

Shen Yao Xing slowly picked up the knife from the ground and glanced at the person on the floor. Seeing the fear on her face, she found it a bit funny and very kindly placed the knife back in front of her: “Here, returning it to you.”

The sound of the knife hitting the ground startled the woman, her appearance like a frightened bird in stark contrast to her previous arrogance, somewhat ridiculous.

Having said that, Shen Yao Xing didn’t pay any more attention to her. She turned her head to the side and looked at Meng Xin Yi, who was still eating: “When you’re done, go upstairs and rest by yourself, I’ll eat outside.” It was quieter outside than in here.

Meng Xin Yi glanced at the person on the ground whose half face was stained red with nosebleed, and lightly nodded.

It wasn’t until the girl had left the inn that the people started whispering.

“Did you see the speed of her moves just now? I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me!”

“Who is that young lady? Her skills are truly remarkable.”

“I don’t know, I thought she was the young miss of some family out for fun, she looks really young…”

Meng Xin Yi lowered her eyes and took a sip of hot tea, her gaze falling on the steamed bun that had been squeezed into a ball on the table. Although the two of them had a good relationship, she knew nothing about this good friend’s background, and couldn’t help but feel a bit curious.

Shen Yao Xing, who had left the inn, searched for food. The sky had already brightened, and the stalls on the street had gradually been set up one after another. She sat at a small stall and ordered a portion of wonton, eating while observing the people on the street.

Taizhou City was different from the capital. The people gathered here were all from the jianghu, regardless of gender, their attire was more practical, much more pleasant to look at, unlike the men in the capital who wore complicated clothes and went out wearing veils.

Suddenly, the image of the man with a face powdered white the other day appeared in her mind again. The wonton she had just swallowed threatened to climb back up her throat. Shen Yao Xing shuddered and quickly shook off that eyesore of an image.

“Boss, give me a bowl of clear soup noodles.”

The clear and pleasant young man’s voice beside her caused Shen Yao Xing to glance over. A youth in an apricot-colored robe was sitting at the next table, facing her. Shen Yao Xing stared at his face, feeling it looked a bit familiar.

Perhaps her gaze was too direct, causing the youth to look over in puzzlement. However, what he saw was a pitch-black top of a head. He blinked, was this person that hungry that they had to bury their face in the bowl?

Shen Yao Xing ate a few big mouthfuls voraciously, slapped the silver taels on the table, casually wiped her mouth, and got up to leave.

“Wait.” The youth called out to her from behind.

Shen Yao Xing didn’t stop, feeling the person behind her following. She quickly ducked into a small alley. By the time the youth caught up, the alley was already empty, with no sign of the girl.

As the competition drew near, Taizhou City became even more crowded. Shen Yao Xing was bored out of her mind. Every day, apart from eating, she would only enter the city after the sun had set, spending the rest of her time in the trees outside the city.

On the day of the competition, the venue was already packed with people. The contestants and spectators were separated on either side, surrounding a huge arena in the middle, much larger than Shen Yao Xing had imagined.

But she didn’t care about that. What she cared about now was that the sweaty smell coming from the big sister standing next to her was too strong!

There was also a faint, indescribable odor mixed in.

She was also freakishly tall, a full head taller than Shen Yao Xing. Her nose was right at the level of the person’s bare armpit, the sour freshness.

The key was that this big sister was unaware of her own destructive power, laughing merrily: “There are so many people!” She seemed to find the sun too glaring, raising her hand to block it, wanting to see more clearly.

Shen Yao Xing’s face beside her had turned green.

“What’s wrong?” Meng Xin Yi beside her was in a leisurely mood, but seeing the girl’s unsightly expression, she felt a bit worried.

Shen Yao Xing didn’t speak, nor did she dare to. She was afraid that if she opened her mouth, she would vomit.

At this moment, she clearly felt the originally noisy environment suddenly turn eerily quiet for an instant.

“Hey.” Meng Xin Yi beside her nudged her with an elbow. Shen Yao Xing glanced at her with a gloomy face and, following the direction she indicated, raised her head. On a high platform pavilion beside the arena, three people were seated, among whom the most eye-catching was undoubtedly Jiang Ming Yue in white. At this moment, he wasn’t wearing a veil on his face, and almost everyone’s gaze was glued to him.

The overwhelming smell made her in no mood to pay attention to the people above.

Shen Yao Xing quietly shifted her gaze to the big sister beside her. Good grief, her mouth was open so wide she was almost drooling.