Chapter 21 They Seem to Have Nothing to Do with the World
"Shangguan Shujie!"
The girl in pink was skipping and looking around leisurely on the street. Suddenly, she noticed a monkey mask and was about to walk towards a stall selling masks when she heard Shangguan Jieshu's voice.
Shangguan Shujie turned around and saw Shangguan Jieshu standing not far away from her, staring at her with unfriendly eyes.
Behind Shangguan Jieshu stood four people and a dog, all looking her up and down curiously.
"Sir, may I ask what you want from me?"
With a sweet and innocent tone and a playful smile, Shangguan Shujie tilted her head, her eyes shining, and asked politely.
Seeing this, Mu Shuangyan's eyes moved slightly.
She was smiling, and her smile exuded vitality, but the smile did not reach her eyes. Her eyes were indeed shining, as if she was ignorant and curious about the world, but also faintly revealed a kind of cold shrewdness.
Others might not be able to see it, but people like Mu Shuangyan, who have been observing people's expressions and surviving in a dark environment for a long time, immediately smelled the difference under Shangguan Shujie's mask.
She couldn't help but think: Shangguan Jieshu is really not an ordinary friend, both in martial arts and in mind.
Shangguan Jieshu sneered and exposed her bluntly: "You already used the Monkey Observation Stick Technique on the arena, and you still want to pretend?"
"Isn't this a bet that you don't want to come and recognize me? After all, every time I use the Monkey Viewing Stick Technique, you subconsciously try to ignore it."
Shangguan Shujie rubbed her ears and tore off a human skin mask in front of everyone, revealing her true appearance.
It was a face that was extremely similar to Shangguan Jieshu's, but the eyes and skin color were very different. Shangguan Shujie's skin was not only fair but also smooth and delicate, while Shangguan Jieshu's skin color was more like a light wheat color and slightly rough, probably because of his travels.
Her bright eyes were narrower and longer than Shangguan Jieshu's, and her temperament had changed greatly. She had put away her girlish liveliness, giving people the illusion of being sinister and cold.
Mu Shuangyan looked at it quietly for a few seconds, and then she made a judgment in her heart: this is not her true face, she is still pretending.
"Wow, that's amazing, like a magic trick! How did you do that?"
Tang Qiuyue had been watching from the side. Logically speaking, this was someone else's family affair and she shouldn't have said anything, but Shangguan Shujie's move really opened her eyes and she couldn't help but ask.
Shangguan Shujie glanced at Tang Qiuyue indifferently, observing her from head to toe, with the corners of her mouth slightly raised. It was obviously just a very ordinary facial movement, but it gave people a feeling of coldness and disdain for no reason, which was completely different from the lively pink-dressed girl just now.
"Tang Qiuyue, the winner of the ninth round?"
Tang Qiuyue was stunned for a moment. She didn't expect the other party to remember her. After realizing what was happening, she politely replied, "It's me."
"My name is Shangguan Shujie. I've been watching your performance on the competition stage. You're truly outstanding. It's my honor to have met you."
The cold tone suddenly had a hint of warmth. Mu Shuangyan noticed the change in tone and frowned subconsciously.
For some reason, she suddenly felt a sense of crisis.
"Huh?" Tang Qiuyue was a bit confused, not knowing how to respond. She stupidly returned the compliment, "I'm glad to meet you, too. Your performance on the fighting stage was refreshing."
Shangguan Shujie stared straight at Tang Qiuyue, then turned her gaze and named the other people present one by one.
“Tang Beiju, the third winner who defeated his brother;
Xu Rener, the winner of the seventh round who can speak human language;
Mo Youli, the sixteenth winner of the game of controlling insects with music."
Everyone whose name she called greeted her politely.
"You are all my new friends. I have been following you all the time. I admire your abilities."
Shangguan Shujie praised.
"Thank you." The three guys who were named said politely.
"Who are you?"
Turning her head to look at Mu Shuangyan, Shangguan Shujie hesitated a little.
Mu Shuangyan bowed with a smile, displaying the demeanor of a lady from a noble family, and introduced herself: "My daughter, Mu Shuangyan, is Qiuyue's friend, not one of the contestants."
When she mentioned the word "friend", she emphasized it.
Shangguan Shujie stared at her steadily. Different from how she treated other people, she looked at Mu Shuangyan with sharp eyes. Mu Shuangyan responded with a smile, neither humble nor arrogant.
Just like how Mu Shuangyan looked at Shangguan Shujie, Shangguan Shujie immediately realized that Mu Shuangyan was not simple the first time she saw her.
This breath, which once came from darkness, can only be smelled immediately by those who have experienced deep darkness.
Trying her best to suppress the urge to explore, Shangguan Shujie smiled slightly:
"I see that Miss Mu has an extraordinary bearing. I'm afraid she's definitely not from an ordinary family. She's disguised, probably to prevent anyone from discovering her presence through her appearance and bringing damage to her reputation."
When these words were spoken, everyone except Shangguan Shujie and Mu Shuangyan looked shocked.
"How did you find out?"
This was the question asked by Tang Qiuyue. She knew Mu Shuangyan's true face, but she never expected that Shangguan Shujie could see through it at a glance.
"So you've always been a fake."
The others all turned towards Mu Shuangyan.
"I know a thing or two about disguise, but Miss Mu's disguise is only at the most basic level. That's why I can tell she's in disguise."
Shangguan Shujie patiently explained to Tang Qiuyue.
At the same time, Mu Shuangyan said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hide it from you."
Xu Ren'er: "Qiuyue, did you know she was in disguise a long time ago?"
"Qiuyue is only thinking about me. I hope you won't blame her too much." Hearing Xu Ren'er's question, Mu Shuangyan felt something was wrong and immediately excused Tang Qiuyue.
"I can understand it, but I can't accept it." Tang Beiju said lightly.
"Qiuyue, you are really good at hiding things with your little mouth. Count for yourself how many days you have been lying?" Xu Ren'er asked sinisterly, his claws eager to try.
Tang Qiuyue suddenly became alert, and cautiously reached for the axe handle on her back with both hands: "What are you going to do?"
"What do you think?"
The next second, Xu Ren'er and Tang Beiju joined forces and attacked Tang Qiuyue. How could Tang Qiuyue just sit there and wait for death? She fought back, and the three guys started fighting in the street.
Mu Shuangyan didn't expect that just a small disguise could cause them to make such a big move. Faced with this situation, she was shocked and wanted to step forward to stop it and help Tang Qiuyue at all costs.
"Don't go! Swords have no eyes. You are just an ordinary person without martial arts skills. It's too dangerous. Let me do it!"
Shangguan Jieshu waved his hand to block Mu Shuangyan and stopped her from acting impulsively.
"This incident started because of me. If I hadn't exposed Miss Mu, you wouldn't have started arguing. Let me do it!"
Shangguan Shujie did not expect such a strong reaction from several people, but now that things have come to this, she needs to take responsibility for it.
"You don't have to go."
Mo Youli stood directly in front of them, smiled faintly, and blocked all the guys who wanted to step forward to stop the fight.
He slowly said, "This is just a harmless way of playing around between us, sorry to make you laugh.
Just wait a moment, and they will stand before you unharmed."
"But……"
Mu Shuangyan looked anxiously towards the fighting location. Although they did not damage public property or others, no matter from which angle you looked at it, they were fighting very fiercely.
"good!"
"sharp!"
“Too strong!”
Their behavior successfully attracted all the people walking on the street. Everyone gathered together, watched, and cheered for Xu Rener and others.
There was quite a commotion here, and it successfully attracted other contestants from nearby.
"The arena, a venue specifically for fighting, isn't big enough for you guys to fight, yet you're still running out to fight another round. You're truly full of energy!"
Nie Erfeng walked out of the crowd and found Mo Youli. Thinking that Mo Youli was in the same group as the fighting people, he walked towards Mo Youli and said.
Following Nie Erfeng was Liu Roulei. She looked around timidly and whispered doubtfully:
"If they're going to fight, why don't they show any signs of serious action? It seems more like children playing around."
When Mu Shuangyan heard these words, she felt relieved instantly.
The previous leader said this, so it was probably just a joke and he didn't really blame Tang Qiuyue.
Zhui Du mingled in the crowd, watching the competition between Xu Ren'er and the others indifferently. On his body, a transparent yellow insect with red spots on its forehead poked its head out from his collar, its eyes full of curiosity about the world.
The pale fingers pressed down on the little bug's forehead. Zhui Du was a martial arts master after all. He saw that they were just playing around and was no longer interested.
He turned his head to look at Mo Youli not far away. Compared to the pressure of strength brought to him by the five-colored python, the sense of crisis brought to him by this young man in blue was even stronger.
The moment the young man in blue blew the whistle, all the insects on his body began to get restless. If he hadn't tried to calm them down, these insects would have run to help Mo Youli win.
At this moment, he and Ai Wanle had the same idea:
This year's contestants are stronger than any previous ones.
As Mo Youli said, Xu Ren'er and the others quickly rested and put away their weapons. Except for Tang Beiju, they returned to Mo Youli covered in sweat.
After the fight, Tang Beiju immediately used his Qinggong skills to sneak to the inn in advance to take a shower and change clothes.
"Ali, let's go back to the inn! I feel sticky all over and a little uncomfortable." Tang Qiuyue said with a wrinkled face.
Mu Shuangyan took out a white handkerchief from her sleeve, and a fresh fragrance came to her face. She raised her hand and carefully wiped the sweat off Tang Qiuyue.
Xu Ren'er shook off the water droplets on his body and gave Mo Youli a look for help. Mo Youli didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He picked up the slightly wet Xu Ren'er and said to Shangguan Jieshu:
"Then we'll take our leave."
Nie Erfeng's eyes rolled, and she wanted to say something to Mo Youli and his group who were about to leave. However, after looking around, she closed her mouth silently, but her complicated gaze stayed on their departing backs for a long time.
The crowd dispersed, leaving only Liu Roulei and Nie Erfeng standing alone in the original corner.
"What's wrong?" Liu Roulei noticed that something was wrong with her.
"You know, I can clearly hear the voice of other people's souls and see through their essence."
Nie Erfeng took off her earmuffs, which were specially made by her clan when she was young to block the sound of souls.
Otherwise, the voice of the soul will be confused with the human voice, and the young girl will not be able to distinguish them. Her hearing will be confused, and it will be difficult for her brain to accurately grasp the required information, which is not conducive to her practice.
"Xu Ren'er, Tang Beiju, Tang Qiuyue, Mo Youli."
Nie Erfeng pronounced Xu Ren'er and the others' names word by word, muttering softly:
"Unlike other people, the voices I heard were all crystal clear, but the voices of the souls of these four contestants were very vague, even freezing from time to time...
It’s like they don’t have a connection to this world.”
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