Yun Chunfeng lightly waved his feather fan, a faint, strategic smile playing at the corners of his lips.
He had long known about Xiao Chonghua’s rotten heart and foul intentions, so he had deliberately set up this kind of mechanism to test him.
If he focused on himself and didn’t try to harm the young lady, both of them would have been safe and sound.
But he just had to try to harm others for his own gain—so don’t blame him for using a little trick to make him lose face in front of everyone.
Xiao Chonghua hung his head in embarrassment, secretly clenching his fingers inside his sleeves.
He had made several moves against Huo Ci, but none of them achieved his goal, and instead, he ended up covered in trouble.
Could it really be that his own scheming nature was too deep, and this was his punishment?
Xiao Chonghua didn’t have time to dwell on it; the third round of the competition was about to begin.
At this moment, he felt a twinge of regret. Why had he suddenly decided to compete against Huo Ci?
He was the only one getting hurt!
Jiang Xingyan picked up the spear shaft—its tip removed and coated with lime powder—and felt a little uneasy inside.
What Huo family spearmanship? She didn’t know a thing about it!
The first two events could still be fudged, but for the third, the soldiers all thought it was a guaranteed win. If she lost, wouldn’t that make the soldiers doubt her for nothing?
She lifted her head and looked earnestly at Xiao Chonghua, hoping that, in light of how much she had taken care of him in the first two rounds, he would voluntarily suggest calling off the third.
Xiao Chonghua had actually been thinking the same thing. He turned around and was about to speak when he saw “Huo Ci” gazing at him with burning intensity.
Suddenly, he felt that if he were to suggest not competing in the third round and just concede directly, it would be such a disrespect to his opponent!
Even if he was going to lose, he wanted to lose with conviction, to give it his all and let “Huo Ci” claim a well-deserved victory.
He composed himself and solemnly clasped his fists toward “Huo Ci” in a salute. “General Huo, please!”
“I appreciate your kindness in the first two rounds, General. For this final round, I beg you not to hold back—please give it your all.”
“Even if I lose, my dignity will remain intact.”
Jiang Xingyan thought: Well, my dignity is the one that’s going to be bruised!
Despite her inner turmoil, she maintained a perfectly measured, polite, and graceful smile on her face.
Xiao Mi leaned over to Old Zhang’s ear and whispered, “Look at our general—so unfathomably profound!”
Old Zhang nodded repeatedly. “No kidding! I just can’t stand the look of that Third Prince.”
Xiao Mi patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. The general’s gonna poke him till he looks like a two-faced spotted deer!”
The two of them seemed to picture that scene, exchanged a glance, and burst out laughing.
Clang!
Before Jiang Xingyan could come up with a plan, the clash of weapons signaling the start of the third round rang out.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Xiao Chonghua really was giving it his all. He started with a flashy twirl of his spear and then launched three consecutive attacks.
Jiang Xingyan was still dazed and took all three hits squarely.
Xiao Mi and Old Zhang both froze for a moment, then quickly covered it up with forced laughter:
“Haha, the general’s just going easy on the Third Prince!”
“Exactly! It wouldn’t be good to just knock him flat right from the start.”
“Don’t worry, the general’s next move will be a killer blow!”
“Ah, but you can’t just take him down in one hit—gotta poke him a few more times.”
“Oh, right, right—it’s all about the number of points!”
Xiao Chonghua, worried that “Huo Ci” still had a lethal move in store, quickly retreated a step and waited for “him” to make a move.
When he looked back, he saw “Huo Ci” standing there blankly, holding the spear in the wrong stance.
A wave of irritation surged in Xiao Chonghua’s chest.
“General Huo, if you keep holding back, I won’t go easy on you anymore!”
Jiang Xingyan quickly snapped out of it and casually replied, “Sorry.”
“Take this!”
With a shout from Xiao Chonghua, the spear tip was already swinging toward her face.
Jiang Xingyan hurriedly raised her spear to block, but his spear had already changed direction, sweeping toward her side.
Thud! Bang! Smack!
In an instant, three white dots appeared on Jiang Xingyan’s arm.
The crowd erupted in murmurs.
What was General Huo doing?
Even if he was strong, this was way too reckless!
“General, fight back!”
“This is the last round, General!”
Jiang Xingyan was also sweating with anxiety.
She had barely ever handled any weapons.
She forcefully parried Xiao Chonghua’s overhead strike, but she was already running on fumes.
With only the time it takes to drink a cup of tea left, she couldn’t just wait around to lose.
Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Huo Ci in the crowd.
His expression was calm and gentle, as if winning or losing had nothing to do with him.
When their eyes met, his gaze was full of affection, as if his only concern was that she not tire herself out.
Jiang Xingyan suddenly felt a surge of anger.
She was competing on his behalf!
What was with that indifferent attitude?
Hmph!
Out of spite, Jiang Xingyan stopped racking her brain over all those complicated moves.
She’d just go with the flow.
To her surprise, the moment she let go, her body moved on its own, relying on muscle memory to dodge Xiao Chonghua’s combos.
Jiang Xingyan: It can work like this?!
Since she probably couldn’t win anyway, she might as well try a desperate measure!
She closed her eyes, emptied her mind, and thought of nothing at all—complete blankness.
Xiao Chonghua: ?
Fine, fine, fine. So this is how you mock me, huh!
He was so furious that his rage seemed to shake the heavens, and his attacks grew faster and fiercer.
But just when everyone thought that “Huo Ci” was deliberately throwing the match today, they were astonished to find that ever since “he” closed his eyes, not only did Xiao Chonghua fail to land another hit, but he was instead overwhelmed by “his” relentless, densely packed counterattacks, left with no room to fight back.
The disappointment on Xiao Mi’s face hadn’t even fully faded before it was replaced by sheer shock.
“The legendary technique of reading positions by sound and moving with the body—it’s actually real?!”
Old Zhang, despite being a few years older than Xiao Mi, had never seen the general use this move before. He stood there stunned, unable to even respond.
Jiang Xingyan’s moves grew faster and more precise. Xiao Chonghua could barely hold on—he was at his limit.
Several times, he was pushed so hard that he nearly resorted to using his inner energy.
This match had truly given him a deep and terrifying understanding of “Huo Ci’s” prowess.
Finally, Yun Chunfeng’s voice called out to stop them.
“Time’s up. General, Third Prince—stop immediately.”
At this moment, Xiao Chonghua heard that voice like a divine melody, saving him from the brink of disaster.
He feinted with his spear, quickly jumped back, and clasped his fists toward “Huo Ci.” “General Huo, you’re too kind.”
Jiang Xingyan was still immersed in this miraculous muscle memory and didn’t open her eyes.
She even recalled the scene in Jiangnan when Huo Ci was practicing his sword in the courtyard.
Beneath the falling flowers, the gentleman stood tall and elegant.
She sat on the porch, resting her chin in her hands, gazing at him in a daze.
She thought to herself, how could there be such a flawless man in this world?
As she watched intently, she ended up memorizing some of those moves without even realizing it.
“Miss, if you keep daydreaming like that, Brother Yun is going to get jealous.”
Jiang Xingyan snapped back to reality and immediately looked at Yun Chunfeng.
He was looking back at her with a pitiful, wronged expression, as if he had suffered some great injustice.
Jiang Xingyan couldn’t help but smile.
She hadn’t used the soul-summoning technique last night, so she’d have to make it up to Brother Yun properly today.
Xiao Chonghua sent a close attendant to join the camp soldiers in checking the number of spear marks on the armor both of them were wearing.
The two suits of armor were almost identical—both nearly entirely white.
In the end, Yun Chunfeng announced, “The third round—still a draw!”
……
