See You at the Usual Place

 Chapter 7

Once everything returned to normal, the martial arts competition continued smoothly.

In previous years, only forty to fifty people typically participated in the martial arts competition. This time, with Du Yinyun's appearance and the addition of various elements, the number of participants doubled to about eighty.

Therefore, the preliminary selection rounds increased from one to two.

It was a one-on-one match, where the winner advanced, and the loser was eliminated.

After two rounds of selection, about twenty people remained. These participants then competed in round-robin matches to determine the final ten who would participate in the next event, "Falling Flowers."

This competition format was actually quite unfair. Each match even had a time limit of at most half a quarter of an hour, seven to eight minutes, and if no winner was decided within that time, it was considered a draw.

The skill levels of the participants varied greatly. Their goal wasn’t really to fight to the death or to distinguish themselves in combat, but rather to showcase their martial or financial prowess, earn a smile from the "Leading Flower", and become her first patron.

For the idle noble sons, a Leading Flower that could possibly remain popular in the aristocratic circles of Yinjing for six to seven years , becoming her first patron, would naturally give them bragging rights among their friends for those years.

The competition progressed quickly because not everyone fought like Chu Fan and Liu Kaixiong. Many matches were decided in just a few moves, or some participants conceded at the start and bought eleven golden flowers for 110 taels of silver, thus winning against their opponent’s ten flowers.

[T/N- They Just bought golden Flowers aka points from other participants and didn't bother to fight]

Watching this competition, He Yunxiao was quite emotional. The power of money was effective both in the past and in the future.

The first round ended quickly, and the remaining forty participants moved on to the second elimination round.

In the first match of the second round, the protagonist Chu Fan was up again, making He Yunxiao's heart uneasy.

According to the original novel, he would be decapitated by Chu Fan in this very match.

Watching Chu Fan take the stage with his sword from the viewing platform on the second floor, He Yunxiao felt fortunate to have decided hold the thighs* of Chu Xiaoxiao early on; otherwise, he wouldn’t have the chance to be close to Sister Jiang now.

[T/N- align himself with her despite the humiliation]

Chu Fan’s opponent soon took the stage, and to He Yunxiao’s surprise, it was Liu Kaixiong again!

He Yunxiao felt a pang of sympathy: Brother Xiong was really unlucky, buying someone else’s spot only to end up wasting his money. Not only that, he would also get beaten up. With his martial skills at around the sixth or seventh rank, he could normally make it to the top ten. But encountering Chu Fan, the cheat, every time was just unfortunate. Brother Xiong, it’s not that I don’t want to help you; I can't beat the cheat either.

Despite the apparent sympathy, there was a sense of relief and schadenfreude in his thoughts.

However, He Yunxiao couldn’t stay happy for long before he felt a sharp gaze on his back.

A piercing look passed through the hall and landed on his face.

Chu Xiaoxiao was watching him.

He Yunxiao quickly glanced to his right at Du Yinyun and, not paying attention, noticed that the unfortunate girl was watching Chu Fan again!

'Oh no!'

Ding!

A bell rang that ordinary people couldn’t hear.

The Soul-devouring Pill was instantly activated, and countless insects began gnawing at He Yunxiao’s bones and flesh.

In an instant, He Yunxiao gritted his teeth and broke out in a cold sweat.

Fortunately, Sister Jiang’s enhanced “poison resistance” significantly weakened the pain from the Soul-devouring Pill, making it barely tolerable for He Yunxiao.

He had narrowly escaped disaster for now, but not entirely. 

He Yunxiao's unusual behavior also caught the attention of Jiang Wuyou beside him.

"Young Master He, I left a sachet in the room. Could you please retrieve it for me?"

The bell rang only once, and He Yunxiao recovered before long after enduring the pain.

He knew that Sister Jiang was giving him an excuse to leave, so he leaned close to her ear and whispered, 

"Sister, I'm fine."

As he pulled away, he couldn't resist stealing a kiss on her fair cheek.

Jiang Wuyou wasn't a shy little girl; on the contrary, she was quite experienced and could match He Yunxiao's teasing. However, a lady's reputation mattered, and while she didn't mind in private, public displays were different.

He Yunxiao often liked to make small gestures in public, like holding hands or brushing against her, which made Jiang Wuyou uncomfortable. She couldn’t exactly scold or hit him, so she had to pretend not to notice and let him be.

Occasionally, when he crossed the line, she would give him a stern warning.

Like this time, she gave him a fierce glare.

He Yunxiao chuckled.

"Sister, I was wrong, but I'll dare it again next time."

However, the lingering pain in his body made He Yunxiao not in the mood for jokes, so he deliberately said loudly, "Sister, you want candied fruit? I'll go buy some right away!"

With that, he got up from his seat and asked the girls on the viewing platform.

All of them blushed and said, "Thank you, young master."

Finally, when he asked Du Yinyun, He Yunxiao deliberately smiled.

"Miss Du, I'm going to buy some candied fruit. Would you like some? I'll bring you a portion."

He was bold with Sister Jiang but polite and distant with Miss Du, showcasing his emotional management skills.

Du Yinyun had known that Young Master He would ask her, but she only turned her face toward him when he got close and spoke.

Although she was somewhat looking forward to speaking with He Yunxiao, Du Yinyun naturaly was a cold and indifferent person, never showing too much eagerness.

Her face remained expressionless as she slightly nodded, "Yinyun thanks the young master."

He Yunxiao nodded and, without any courtesy, said, "Alright, since you want candied fruit, pay for it first."

Jiang Wuyou secretly laughed at this. She was asked to compete with Du Yinyun for the limelight so she knew her mischievous younger lad was trying to catch Du Yinyun’s attention.

She didn’t expect his straightforward tactic to provoke the aloof beauty's emotions.

Seeing Du Yinyun's stunned expression, He Yunxiao laughed heartily. He gently tapped her pert nose and said affectionately, "Just kidding. I'm off."

[Du Yinyun's favorability decreased from 66 to 65]

As expected!

Seeing Du Yinyun's decreased favorability, He Yunxiao confirmed her personality.

She had a dismissive type of personality, maintaining a distance from everyone. If one became too intimate too soon, it would backfire. But once her favorability crossed a certain threshold, she would become very attached.

Now wasn’t the time to worry about a slight decrease in favorability. He had to distract her from Chu Fan; otherwise, if Sister Xiao got angry, things would go south quickly.

He Yunxiao analyzed the situation as he descended the stairs.

Currently, Du Yinyun’s favorability toward Chu Fan was very high, at 70. No matter how much he increased her favorability toward him, her 70 favorability for Chu Fan wouldn’t change.

As long as this 70 favorability remained, she would continue to focus on Chu Fan. To break her connection with the protagonist Chu Fan, he had to lower her favorability toward Chu Fan!

Though anxious, He Yunxiao maintained a composed demeanor.

He even stopped to chat with several of his familiar idle friends.

After a few exchanges, He Yunxiao approached Chu Xiaoxiao.

Only when he was close enough did He Yunxiao dare to use his internal energy to send a whispered message to Chu Xiaoxiao.

If he were too far away, his internal energy transmission could be easily detected.

He said, "Meet at the usual place."

Chu Xiaoxiao showed no reaction, but He Yunxiao was confident she heard him.

After boasting a bit more with his friends, He Yunxiao left Spring Breeze Tower and stepped into the night.

A moment later, Chu Xiaoxiao stood up, dusted off her dress, and jogged out.

Everything was done very discreetly, making it impossible for anyone to guess or see any connection between Chu Xiaoxiao and He Yunxiao.

One was a recently arrived, unknown commoner girl in Yinjing City, and the other was the infamous noble son He Yunxiao.

There should have been no intersection between them.

Not even ordinary people, but even He Yunxiao, who had read the novel, didn’t know that Chu Xiaoxiao was a hidden boss. Ordinary people couldn’t fathom it.

But the protagonist Chu Fan wasn’t ordinary.

He was the only person in the world who cared about both Chu Xiaoxiao and He Yunxiao.

Despite He Yunxiao’s secretive actions, Chu Fan had been watching him from the beginning. With his ninth-rank peak cultivation, he was close to becoming a grandmaster. He Yunxiao’s eighth-rank strength, gained through the Soul-devouring Pill, was no match for him.

The internal energy transmission was clearly noticed.

His sister Chu Xiaoxiao’s departure only confirmed his suspicions.

“Brother Liu, good luck! Make Chu Fan regret it this time!”

“Yeah! Liu Kaixiong, don’t lose! I bet on you to win!”

“Old Xiong, if you win, you don’t have to repay our loans!”

The crowd was excited, and Liu Kaixiong had to fight hard.

However, this time Chu Fan’s aura suddenly became incredibly fierce.

It was like a cat turning into a man-eating tiger!

"Annoying."

Chu Fan, irritated by the noise, slashed his sword, sending out a dazzling blade light. Liu Kaixiong’s sword was split into two thin pieces along the blade.

The aura of a ninth-rank sword cultivator was fully displayed.

The two pieces of iron clattered to the ground.

The hall of Spring Breeze Tower fell silent, so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.

~~~End~~~