Chapter 54 Match

"Ziyan, don't make things difficult for me."

The person inside the sedan chair finally spoke. Upon hearing this, the maid nodded slightly, stopped making things difficult for Cheng Yuan, and turned back to the sedan chair.

Chu Jianshan suddenly heard the voice and felt it was extremely familiar. After realizing who it was, he felt a chill run down his spine.

He couldn't possibly be mistaken; the mysterious person he had spoken with for so long in the blood array had such a voice. He never expected that after He Kun's death, it was he who personally took over the Linyi Sect, no longer content to remain behind the scenes. Was he preparing to do something big?

He spoke again: "Sect Leader, please don't be offended. Ziyan has always been like this, a man of his word."

Jiang Yan clenched her fist and bowed, saying, "How dare I?"

One plays the bad cop and the other the good cop; the actions of the Linyi Gate are truly perplexing.

The servants of Linyi lifted the sedan curtain, and the so-called esteemed master alighted from the sedan. Unlike the elaborate attire that everyone imagined would signify status, this person was simply dressed in white, with a crude bell hanging from his waist, and wearing a fox mask commonly seen at the Lantern Festival. He looked quite approachable.

Chu Jianshan snorted coldly upon seeing this. He hadn't even changed his clothes. This person was really afraid that he wouldn't recognize him.

The man slowly walked over and said to Jiang Yan, "Don't call me Lord anymore, it sounds strange. My surname is Qiao, Qiao Yi."

Chu Jianshan had a premonition that this name was definitely fake as well.

Jiang Yan bowed her head and asked, "So, what Mr. Qiao meant just now was...?"

Qiao Yi explained, "Today is supposed to be the birthday of the sect leader's daughter, so fighting and killing would be a bad idea. However, we naturally have to welcome our young master back, so it's not easy to decide."

He held a folding fan in his hand, tapping it repeatedly in his palm as if he were in a difficult position. After a while, he seemed to have thought of a solution and suddenly slammed the fan down: "How about this! Each of us will send three people to compete. If you win, we can discuss this matter again."

He looked at Jiang Yan with an incredibly sincere smile, but in Chu Jianshan's eyes, this man's acting was absolutely terrible.

Jiang Yan remained silent. He knew that even if they won, it would only be a temporary delay. They would not give up on Cheng Yuan, but if they did not... he was afraid they would not even be able to protect Changjin Mountain.

Just as he was hesitating, Cheng Yuan stepped forward and readily agreed, "Okay."

“Ah Yuan, you…!” Chu Jianshan wanted to remind him that this person was not trustworthy, but Cheng Yuan interrupted him: “I know what you want to say, but I have no choice. I can’t implicate Chang Jinshan.”

Chu Jianshan suppressed his anger. Cheng Yuan was right. It was good to delay for a while so that he could see what this madman was up to.

"Let's get started then. I'm impatient, so you'd better not keep me waiting."

Chu Jianshan turned around and saw that the person had moved a chair for himself at some point and was sitting comfortably. In the middle of winter, he was even fanning himself with a fan. He didn't know where he was hot. Bai Qianfan was right, he was really putting on an act.

He quickly selected three people to stand behind him, waiting for Chang Jinshan to send someone out.

In the first round, Linyimen fielded a muscular giant. If they didn't want Linyimen to lose face, this person should be the strongest, thus ensuring their victory in the first round.

Among the disciples of Changjin Mountain, Cheng Yuan is the best, followed by Bai Qianfan, and the rest are mostly of average level. If Cheng Yuan were to compete, not to mention whether he could win this match, he would definitely lose the next two matches as well. Therefore, deciding the order of appearance is very important.

Just as they were hesitating about who should come, Ji Shicai, who had just received the news, rushed over and shouted, "What's wrong? What's wrong? I just came back from my teacher's wife's place. Is it a competition?"

Bai Qianfan turned his head and saw Ji Shi. A wicked idea immediately popped into his head. He grabbed Ji Shi and pulled him to his side, asking with a smile, "Good junior brother, have you ever heard the story of Tian Ji's horse race?"

Ji Shi immediately sensed something was wrong and bent over to back away: "No, I've never heard of it... What's wrong?"

“Very good,” Bai Qianfan nodded solemnly, “You are the inferior horse!”

Ji Shi chuckled twice: "Although I didn't understand, it certainly wasn't a compliment."

Bai Qianfan grinned mischievously: "Now that things have come to this, you have no choice. Go, junior brother!"

Bai Qianfan shoved Ji Shi away. Poor Ji Shi didn't even understand what was happening before he was thrown onto the middle of the field. When he looked up, a muscular man was staring at him.

Suddenly, someone appeared from the side and banged a gong: "The first match begins!"

"Wh...what!" Before Ji Shi could react, the big man started chasing him all over the place.

"Wait a minute!!" Ji Shi yelled, "I just came to watch the fun—!!"

Chu Jianshan couldn't help but laugh. Bai Qianfan's bad idea wasn't wrong, but it was just too wicked and really put Ji Shi in a difficult position.

Half of the time it takes for an incense stick to burn has passed, and the two people on the field haven't even exchanged blows yet, because Ji Shi knows he's no match and keeps running around the field.

But this can't go on forever. Eventually, when the incense burns out, Ji Shi will still be judged to have lost. Being chased for the entire incense stick's time is indeed a bit embarrassing.

Bai Qianfan was getting anxious and shouted at Ji Shi, who was running wildly, "Are you even capable?! At least hit him a couple of times!"

Ji Shi shouted, "You're always looking for trouble, so come and try if you dare!"

Bai Qianfan laughed and said, "We must be able to afford to lose, at least we can't bring shame to Changjin Mountain!"

Ji Shi finally took these words to heart. He slowly stopped running away, gripped his sword tightly in his right hand, and stared fiercely at the man.

"Wow..." Bai Qianfan leaned against Chu Jianshan and asked, "Is Ji Shi getting serious?"

Suddenly, Ji Shi sprang up, drew his sword, and charged forward. The sharp, piercing sound of the sword scraping through the air was deafening. Before everyone's eyes, the blade pierced the man's heart.

With a thud, Ji Shi, who was still in mid-air, was grabbed by the neck and hung in mid-air, the sword in his hand long since flown away.

Chu Jianshan: "..."

Bai Qianfan: "..."

I was so disappointed. I thought I'd at least see a great match.

Ji Shi's face turned bright red from being pinched, and he frantically pounded on the man's arm, squeezing out a few words: "That's enough! That's enough!"

Qiao Yi waved his hand to signal, and the big man put him down. At the same time, the gong sounded, and the first match was won by Linyimen.

Ji Shi clutched his neck and staggered back into the crowd. Chu Jianshan patted him on the shoulder and sighed, "It's alright, you did great. This was originally meant to be a sacrifice, I'm sorry to have put you through this."

Ji Shi gave a wry smile and looked at the culprit who was still snickering, wishing he could kick him right then and there.

In the second round, the strength of the two remaining members of Linyi Sect was unknown. Cheng Yuan faced them first, at least to win this round first.

"Wait!" The maid beside Qiao Yi suddenly spoke up: "This is the young master of our Linyi Sect. How can we use our young master to attack the Linyi Sect?"

"Hey, you!" Bai Qianfan pointed at her and said, "When did Cheng Yuan ever say he wanted to go back to your Linyi Sect? He's still one of our Changjin Mountain people! Why can't he go?"

Qiao Yi smiled and said, "This young master is right, we can go."

He casually beckoned to someone, and when the two faced off, neither of them showed any weakness.

Bai Qianfan then poked Chu Jianshan next to him: "I bet ten taels of silver that Cheng Yuan will win."

Chu Jianshan crossed his arms, too lazy to look at him, and said directly, "I'll bet a hundred taels."

Bai Qianfan found it hard to believe that someone as stingy as Chu Jianshan could be willing to make such a big bet.

"You... really have a hundred taels?" Bai Qianfan's tone was full of doubt.

"No," Chu Jianshan said decisively.

Bai Qianfan: "..."

"How dare you gamble so much?!"

Chu Jianshan said firmly, "Because Cheng Yuan will not lose."

Bai Qianfan pursed his lips and turned his head back. He had never understood the way this master and disciple got along. It seemed that there was always some inexplicable deception and unfounded trust.

The two had already started fighting. Cheng Yuan wielded the Flowing Sound Sword with ease, his sword moves becoming increasingly aggressive, forcing his opponent to retreat steadily.

Despite the positive momentum, Chu Jianshan sensed that Cheng Yuan was somewhat agitated. He seemed eager to end things quickly, leaving no room for maneuver for himself or his opponent in every move.

Chu Jianshan clenched his fingers, hoping that nothing would go wrong in the competition.

With a bang, Cheng Yuan kicked the man away with such force that it almost shattered the floor. Logically, if the man didn't get up again, Cheng Yuan would be considered the winner. However, Cheng Yuan didn't stop and continued to rush towards the man.

Just as the Flowing Sound Sword was about to pierce his body, the man immediately stood up and kicked Cheng Yuan away. Sure enough, he was faking unconsciousness.

After about ten moves, Cheng Yuan defeated him and pinned him to the ground. This time, he was unable to get up.

In the second match, Changjinshan won.

Fortunately, what Chu Jianshan was worried about didn't happen, but he still had a vague feeling that things had gone a little too smoothly.

In the third match, both sides had only one person left. Bai Qianfan was the most promising player for Changjinshan, and he was prepared to win this match even if it meant his death.

Just as Bai Qianfan was about to go over, he was stopped by a pair of hands.

Bai Qianfan turned her head and saw Chu Jianshan, somewhat puzzled by his actions: "What does this mean?"

Chu Jianshan said in a low voice, "I'll take the last one." His voice was heavy yet firm.

Bai Qianfan was stunned for two seconds before she reacted and muttered, "Chu Jianshan, are you crazy?! How much spiritual power can you use right now? Forget about winning, even if you survive this long, you'll be crippled!"

Chu Jianshan understood what he meant, but what if the person on the other side wanted him to go on stage? He glanced at Qiao Yi across the crowd, and the other person met his gaze with a faint smile on his lips.

He knew that if Bai Qianfan were to participate in this match, they would surely lose.

"But no...you!" Bai Qianfan tried to stop him, but Cheng Yuan agreed first.

Chu Jianshan looked at Cheng Yuan, smiled at him, and then resolutely walked into the arena.

Suppressing his anger, Bai Qianfan said to Cheng Yuan, "You're just making trouble because he's being unreasonable! Don't you know his situation? How could he possibly win this round!"

Cheng Yuan lowered his eyes, seemingly lost in thought. Indeed, Bai Qianfan was right. Logically speaking, Chu Jianshan would definitely not win, but he inexplicably had confidence in Chu Jianshan and believed that Chu Jianshan had his own plans.

So he turned to Bai Qianfan and said, "I believe him."

Bai Qianfan: "..."

Okay, fine, he's done with it! Let those two do whatever they want!