When a young lady asks if you'd like tea, does that mean she wants to spar with you?
Ji Bozhai watched from the side, feeling a headache coming on. He really wanted to remind Zheng Tiao but couldn’t find the right words. There was a reason this man had remained unmarried at his age—if he had even an ounce of sense, he wouldn’t think to challenge an ordinary woman to a match.
But, unexpectedly, Xiuyun didn’t get angry. Instead, she just looked a little guilty. "I... I don’t know Combat Skills."
"Oh." Zheng Tiao immediately lost interest and averted his gaze.
Ji Bozhai: "..."
Xiuyun was upset, but since she rarely got the chance to see Zheng Tiao, she mustered her courage, stood on her tiptoes, and asked, "But I know a little about forging Divine Tools. Would you like to compete with me on that?"
She had learned quickly from Mingyi’s teachings and had even been praised for her talent. Xiuyun felt confident in this area.
However, Zheng Tiao didn’t even glance at her before gruffly replying, "True Fighters don’t care about Divine Tools."
Xiuyun: "..."
Ji Bozhai rubbed his face.
He grabbed Zheng Tiao’s shoulder, turned him around, and pushed him toward the door, saying, "You should head back first. We’ll see each other at the competition tomorrow."
"Fine. Tomorrow, I’ll definitely beat you," Zheng Tiao declared, clenching his fist.
Then both he and his fist were unceremoniously shut outside the door.
Ji Bozhai turned back to see Xiuyun standing dejectedly in the courtyard, unmoving for a long while.
If it were anyone else, he wouldn’t care, but she was supposed to look after Mingyi tonight. If she was distracted while they were competing, what would happen to Mingyi?
Rubbing his temples, he walked over and said, "Zheng Tiao wasn’t targeting you. He’s like that with everyone—only Combat Skills matter to him."
"I know," Xiuyun mumbled, her head drooping. "But it’s too late for me to learn now."
Ji Bozhai didn’t quite understand. "If it’s too late, just find someone else to like. It’s not like he’s the only man in the world."
Xiuyun looked up, frowned at him for a moment, then pursed her lips. "It’s always easiest to talk about other people’s problems. If it were you, sir—if Mingyi didn’t like you, could you just switch to someone else?"
"Ridiculous, I don’t even like her—wait, what makes you think she doesn’t like me?" Ji Bozhai took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes. "She used to treat me very well. I just didn’t pay attention at the time."
"So now she doesn’t care about you anymore."
"No, she’s just busy with other things. Besides, we still see each other every day."
"But she still doesn’t care about you."
"If I wanted to, I could win her back. She’d care about me again."
"You’re just saying that."
"..." A vein throbbed at his temple as Ji Bozhai turned and walked away.
He must have been out of his mind to stay up late arguing with a little girl. Whether Mingyi cared about him or not, he knew the answer himself—why bother explaining to someone else? And even if she didn’t care now, who knew what the future held?
With Mingyi’s personality, the fact that she had traveled so far to be with him and had treated him well proved she wasn’t heartless. She probably still had feelings for him deep down—she just didn’t want to say it.
That had to be it.
Nodding firmly, Ji Bozhai strode back to his room.
He paused at the door and looked up, realizing this was the room farthest from the main house.
"..." Silently, he kicked the door open, stepped inside, and slammed it shut behind him.The next day, as they set off for the venue, Qin Shangwu deliberately left some trusted subordinates to guard the courtyard and instructed Xiuyun to take good care of Mingyi before absentmindedly hitting the road.
He had spent the entire night thinking it over, and the more he pondered, the more convinced he became that Mingyi was crucial to Muxing. With Ji Bozhai alone, they could enter the Upper Three Cities—but with Mingyi added to the mix, who else could possibly take the top spot?
Right now, wasn’t Mingyi just after money? And wasn’t money precisely what Star Yearn City lacked the most?
Frustrated, he ran a hand through his hair, already calculating how much gold the Minister Superior’s collection of antiques from the inner court might fetch if sold.
As the group passed by the docks, they happened upon a Beast-drawn carriage docking. A crowd of plainly dressed people disembarked in a flurry, wearing straw hats and keeping their heads low, swiftly dispersing the moment they stepped ashore.
Ji Bozhai glanced at them and suddenly felt something was off. "Master, is there any city among the Six Cities that arrived later than us?"
"No, we were the last to arrive—otherwise, we wouldn’t have been left without even an inn to stay in," Qin Shangwu replied, snapping out of his thoughts. "Why?"
"Those people just now… they didn’t seem ordinary. Most of them had traces of Essence Power." Ji Bozhai turned to look back, but the group had already vanished into the bustling market crowd.
Beast-drawn carriages were expensive, typically only accessible to those from the inner court for travel between the Six Cities. That group had been unnervingly quiet, as if accustomed to riding Flying Beast Carts, yet they wore common attire, as though trying to conceal something.
"The competition is our priority—let’s not dwell on it for now," Qin Shangwu said. "Though today is just the preliminary round, given yesterday’s grudges, you mustn’t go easy on them."
Withdrawing his gaze, Ji Bozhai continued toward the venue in the outskirts.
Mingyi jolted awake from her sleep.
Alert, she glanced at the window, then swiftly pulled Xiuyun—who had been about to pour her water—up onto the rafters without a sound.
Outside, the guards suddenly drew their Divine Tools, but the intruders were numerous, their Essence Power formidable, and their mastery of the tools far surpassed the guards’. In less than the time it took for an incense stick to burn, they broke in and kicked open Mingyi’s door.
The room was eerily silent—not even the sound of breathing could be heard.
The leader frowned and turned to the man behind him, who hastily said, "We confirmed she should be here—otherwise, there wouldn’t have been guards outside."
"Fools, this is Star Yearn City’s lodging. Of course they’d have guards," the attendant Ming An snapped. "Go and gather more intel!"
"Yes!"
The group scattered in a panic, blending into the crowds in all directions.
Ming An remained.
Only when they had all left did he lift his head, gazing at the seemingly empty rafters, and said coolly, "Your Highness’s Essence Power has waned severely. In the past, this old servant would never have detected your presence here."
Xiuyun let out a frightened scream at the sight of his serpent-like pupils, nearly toppling off the rafters. Mingyi steadied her and calmly withdrew the Nether Domain concealment surrounding them. "I’m already a cripple. No need for your concern, my lord."
Though she wore a smile, her eyes were sharp with vigilance, ready to counter any move he made, her peripheral vision already mapping an escape route.
Ming An chuckled. "Your Highness misunderstands. Had this old servant wished you harm, you would have died long ago in Facing Sun City. Why go through the trouble of letting you leave—or just now, diverting those men for your sake?"Mingyi pressed her lips together, descending to the ground with Xiuyun, and narrowed her eyes at him. "That's exactly what I wanted to ask. You are my mother's trusted aide, having served her loyally for years. Why have you repeatedly spared me time and again?"
What's more, when letting her go, he had even revealed a shocking secret to her.
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