The masked boy clicked his tongue and said with a headache, "It's all because he has a mother who's not easy to fool. Anyway, he's not that powerful, he just makes it sound amazing. Besides, it's easy to deal with him. He can knock people out, so we just need to lure him to a crowded place."

Shen Jiao hadn't expected that this young man would even know the Southern Border Whip King's fatal weakness. Although she didn't know if it was true or not, this weakness reminded her of a passerby.

On the day she first arrived at Cloud Mist Sword Pavilion, there was a guy who was dizzy, but he was climbing trees so skillfully that she didn't get a good look at him.

He just didn't seem like the kind of person who could whip three heads off with a single lash.

"Sigh, let's not talk about this anymore." The masked boy finished eating the sunflower seeds and politely put the shells in his pocket.

Seeing the masked boy's hesitant expression, Shen Jiao suddenly realized something and simply poured all the melon seeds in her purse into his hands.

He accepted it with both hands and said "thank you".

Shen Jiao said it was okay, since she was tired from all the stumbling anyway, and to be honest, she was feeling a bit thirsty.

The masked youth asked again, "I've told you about the Whip King of Southern Xinjiang, so could you tell me about Miss Shen who's by His Majesty's side? If you know her, please let me know."

These past two days, everyone has gotten used to calling her that dancer. Hearing the young man address her as "Miss Shen," Shen Jiao's politeness towards him deepened even further.

"Sure, what do you want to know? Feel free to ask."

The masked boy probably didn't know what to ask, and after thinking for a while, he could only come up with a very simple question: "I heard that Miss Chen is very beautiful, is that true?"

The question was simple, and Shen Jiao nodded without any pressure or guilt. "Yes, it is indeed very beautiful, just as beautiful as me."

The boy, wearing a mask, turned his head to look in her direction when he heard the voice, his movements perfectly executed, but he only saw nothing.

Despite seeing nothing, he still praised her very earnestly: "Really, you are really beautiful, just like a fairy from the Nine Heavens."

Hearing such compliments occasionally would make her happy, but thanks to Liang Heng and Li Wanglai, she had become somewhat immune to such simple praise.

Shen Jiao: "Thank you, your eyesight is pretty good too."

The masked boy smiled shyly, "Really? You're the first person to praise me like that. My family always says I have bad eyesight."

Shen Jiao: "..."

The masked boy was really fast at eating sunflower seeds; they were gone in no time. She reasonably suspected that his family might be selling roasted nuts and seeds.

The boy put away the sunflower seed shells and asked her again, "I also heard that she bullies others and is arrogant and domineering. She even crippled that Wang Rourou."

"She wasn't really that arrogant or domineering," Shen Jiao kindly reminded her. "Oh, I think her name is Hu Rourou."

She remembered the big customer who had paid nine hundred taels of silver very clearly.

The masked boy didn't care whether it was Wang Rourou or Hu Rourou. He nodded in agreement, "I also think so. If I were her, and she wanted to bully others, I would ask His Majesty to cut off all these gossipy people. That's what it means to bully others."

Shen Jiao: "..." Young man, you're so young, don't be so murderous.

"Who do you think will win, the Whip King of Southern Xinjiang or Miss Shen?" The masked boy, having run out of sunflower seeds, played with the shells.

Is there even a question?

"He's definitely the King of Whips from Southern Xinjiang!" Passersby looked at the masked boy with the kind of eyes one would give someone an idiot.

Shen Jiao strongly suspected that there was a mechanism inside the mask, just like a car window. She couldn't see the boy's eyes from the outside, but the boy could see everything around him from the inside.

Because this passerby attacked him with just his eyes, without making a sound, yet he immediately turned his head and looked precisely in the direction of that person, exuding an imposing aura.

The passerby was caught red-handed and awkwardly ran off in another direction.

"Actually, I also think the Southern Xinjiang Whip King will win."

Shen Jiao originally wanted to try her best, not to win, but just to survive a few moves, but when she heard that the whip king of the Southern Frontier had barbs, she gave up.

How painful would it be if I accidentally got whipped?

The masked boy disagreed with her, saying, "I think Miss Shen is more promising."

"What gave you this illusion? Was it her face?" Shen Jiao blurted out without thinking.

Upon hearing this, the masked boy clutched his stomach, laughing so hard he couldn't stand up straight. "Hahaha...maybe so. You're so funny. By the way, my name is Gu Tieniu, and I live in Lotus Village. What's your name? Let's get to know each other. If we have the chance, I'll treat you to some melon seeds next time we meet."

Shen Jiao remained unfazed. "What a coincidence! My name is Shen Cuihua, and I live in Xinghua Village, which is next to Lotus Village."

Masked boy: "..."

As the two finished speaking, the last bit of incense burned out.

The referee, a disciple of the Cloud Mist Sword Pavilion, raised his heavy hammer and struck the drum, announcing, "The time has come. The fifty-sixth match is about to begin. Please invite Shen Jiao and the Southern Border Whip King to come to the stage immediately."

As soon as the referee finished speaking, everyone looked left and right, trying to figure out which direction the Southern Xinjiang Whip King would come up from.

Then, they saw the two who had been seriously eating sunflower seeds earlier meet again on the competition stage after saying goodbye to each other.

Shen Jiao: "..." Gu Tieniu?

Masked boy: "..." Shen Cuihua?

Everyone: "..."

So, what were you two acting just now?

...

Shen Jiao won the contest without a fight.

Shen Jiao had no intention of advancing or participating in the subsequent matches, and told the referee that she conceded defeat.

But the Whip King of Southern Xinjiang was even more ruthless. The moment she raised her hand, he used his inner strength to send himself flying. Then he lay on the ground, pointing at her tremblingly, "Miss, you are very, very... very powerful. I humbly admit defeat."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!