But then he remembered—Mingyi’s meridians were damaged. This was the only way she could circulate her Essence Power again; she had no other choice.
It was like drawing water: while others used wooden buckets, Mingyi used a bamboo basket. She had to expend twice the effort and wait ten moves before she could unleash her Essence Power.
Chu He couldn’t help but look at her with admiration.
Mingyi, however, remained utterly unbothered, as if this were no hardship at all. She was even reflecting on the flaws in her earlier techniques.
Just then, the door to the front chamber creaked open, and Ji Bozhai let out a muffled groan as he leaned against the doorframe.
Her expression softening, she hurried over to support him, pressing her lips together. “I said I’d come for you. Why did you rush out?”
Glancing outside, Ji Bozhai replied with pale lips, “That man isn’t easy to deal with. If he’s seriously injured, Gong Wang won’t be pleased.”
“I’ll handle Gong Wang,” Mingyi said calmly. “If you injured him, it would be seen as an insult to Gong Wang’s dignity. But if I injured him, it’s just because he was incompetent.”
Everyone knew she was the Golden Hairpin Fighter personally appointed by the Minister Superior—a woman. Given Muxing’s disdain for women, the Tan family would be too ashamed to even demand an explanation if their man lost to her.
Ji Bozhai chuckled but then coughed lightly twice, startling Mingyi into quickly guiding him away while fussing over him.
Yan Xiao trailed behind, his healer’s conscience itching to remind Mingyi that external injuries didn’t cause coughing this quickly—he wasn’t feverish or suffering from a cold. This coughing was nothing but shameless sympathy-seeking.
But Mingyi only had eyes for Ji Bozhai. Even if he spoke up, she wouldn’t listen.
Yan Xiao rubbed his face and suppressed his conscience.
After settling Ji Bozhai back, feeding him medicine to protect his wounds, and reapplying his external treatment, Mingyi finally headed to Qin Shangwu’s courtyard.
News of the Tan family’s young master being severely injured spread quickly. The Tan family and Gong Wang’s people seemed to have been waiting, soon gathering in the main hall.
But they hadn’t expected Mingyi to be the one to show up.
Qin Shangwu was initially troubled—Mingyi had struck too hard, leaving the man bedridden for possibly half a year. Yet the moment Mingyi entered, she dropped to her knees, covering her face and sobbing, “Master, what should I do? Will they come after me? I—I really didn’t mean to! Who knew he’d go flying so high after just one palm strike—”
Qin Shangwu coughed pointedly. “The esteemed guests are present.”
Mingyi turned, as if noticing them for the first time, her face instantly paling. She scrambled to her feet, sighing repeatedly. “How improper of me. My apologies.”
The Tan family’s expressions darkened, while Gong Wang’s people bowed politely. “We hadn’t expected the Golden Hairpin Fighter’s Essence Power to grow so swiftly in just half a year.”
“I merely visited Sunspire City and broadened my horizons,” Mingyi said pitifully. “My Essence Power hasn’t improved much.”
Tan Zhongyue had also been to Sunspire City—and had always prided himself on it.
The Tan family wanted to speak, but her words left them speechless. After a long silence, they finally spat out angrily, “He’s severely injured. What do you propose we do?”
Mingyi blinked. “What else can we do? He’ll just have to rest and recover. After all, there’s a Challenge Certificate involved—you wouldn’t want to break the Fighter’s code and force accountability on me, would you?”The people from Prince Gong's residence turned back in surprise to glance at the Tan family members behind them: "They issued a Challenge Certificate?"
"Yes... but logically speaking, sparring within the Academicians' Court shouldn't require a Challenge Certificate. This was clearly intentional grievous harm."
Mingyi shook her head: "Injuries during sparring are common occurrences for Fighters. How does someone getting hurt suddenly become my intentional grievous harm? Lord Ji was also injured and bedridden—does that mean Young Master Tan intentionally harmed him too? As for the Challenge Certificate, I'm just a woman who only knows the rules of rural sparring and rarely engages in combat within the Academicians' Court. How was I to know a Challenge Certificate isn't needed for sparring?"
As she spoke, she patted her chest: "Luckily, I issued the Challenge Certificate at the time. Otherwise, with both Prince Gong's residence and the Tan family coming after me, what would a helpless young girl like me do?"
She had Ji Bozhai's favor and was personally appointed as a Golden Hairpin Fighter by the Minister Superior—yet she called herself a "helpless young girl"? The Tan family was furious, but with the Challenge Certificate in hand, they truly couldn't hold her accountable. They could only demand an explanation from Ji Bozhai.
Unfortunately, Ji Bozhai had been injured by Tan Zhongyue.
Remembering this, Qin Shangwu's expression darkened: "The Six Cities Tournament is in half a month. What exactly was your family's young master thinking, injuring Bo Zhai at this time? I'll have to report this to the Minister Superior."
The earlier arrogance instantly deflated. The Tan family members looked helplessly at Prince Gong's people, who could only rise and clasp their hands toward Qin Shangwu: "With the tournament approaching, news like this would inevitably unsettle the city. We ask for your understanding, Master."
The implication was to downplay the matter.
Qin Shangwu nodded grimly, then turned to Mingyi: "You should be more careful next time. How could you use so much force in a spar?"
"I understand," Mingyi replied obediently.
With that, she smoothly left the hall. On her way back, she even stopped by the kitchen to grab a plate of pastries, sharing them with the other young maids and keeping only one for herself.
"What about me?" Ji Bozhai's dark eyes held a hint of grievance.
Mingyi nibbled on her pastry: "You never liked these before."
"I do now," he pouted. "I want some."
Mid-bite, Mingyi frowned at him. Before she could chide him for being so fussy, he leaned in and pressed a light kiss to the corner of her lips.
The pastry's subtle sweetness lingered. Ji Bozhai licked his lips contentedly before lying back down, only to wince and clutch his wound, hoping for sympathy—but all he got was an eye-roll from Mingyi.
Serves him right.
"Could you not do that in front of us?" Luo Jiaoyang's face scrunched up in distaste.
Mingyi continued eating her pastry impassively: "This lord has never cared much for dignity—where were we earlier?"
"We were saying the Tan family won't be able to follow us to the Six Cities Tournament," Fan Yao clenched his fist.
Chu He was also pleased. Without these nobles causing trouble, they could fight properly.
"The Six Cities Tournament isn't as simple as you think. Compared to all previous matches, it's the most complex and time-consuming, so you need to be prepared," Mingyi told them. "Forget about whether you can actually win. Even if you do, there will be even greater challenges waiting afterward."
Here, "challenges" definitely didn't just refer to sparring matches.
Ji Bozhai understood, but Luo Jiaoyang and the others only grasped it vaguely. They hadn't even seen the tournament grounds yet—how could they think so far ahead?However, no matter what, the Six Cities Tournament is just around the corner, and experts from each city are emerging one after another. They don't want to embarrass Star Yearn City either.
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