Chapter 77
Someone gasped, and then Fu Xiang from below the stage called out, "Xiao Qiu!"
Bai Ling stared blankly at Yin Qiu's hand, not yet understanding how she had suddenly hurt her. Just as she was in shock and astonishment, she saw Yin Qiu expressionlessly pull out her sword and kick her.
Bai Ling's ankle twisted, and she fell to the ground.
Seeing this, everyone present was clearly caught off guard and looked surprised.
"What happened? How did things suddenly turn into this?"
"That's strange. I always hear people say that Yin Qiu is talented and performs well, but why is she using swordsmanship so recklessly today? Hasn't she learned the Three Lights Set the Moon technique?"
"Yes, anyone who has learned the Yunhua Sword Technique should know that the Three Lights Set the Moon should be used to counter the Swallow Skimming Water. What was that move she just made? It was completely without any strategy!"
"Is this the best among the new disciples? I think she's nothing special. I'm afraid the other new disciples only praised her because they admire Uncle Shen. She's not even as good as Fu Xiang."
Not only the disciples had this question, but even the elders were puzzled and began to whisper among themselves.
Among them, Xie Yijun looked the worst.
Suppressing her anger, she whispered to Man Jiangxue, "She's quite skilled; she acted so convincingly that she even fooled the elders of the various peaks!"
Although Man Jiangxue did not speak or show much emotion, her brows furrowed involuntarily as she looked at Yin Qiu's bloodied hand.
"So this is what you meant when you said she understood everything?" Xie Yijun's expression was unfriendly, her tone filled with anger. "Others might not be able to tell, but I saw it clearly. She was doing it on purpose just now! What, now that she's injured her hand and can't hold the sword, she's giving up? She's openly defying my wishes to help Fu Xiang! This is utterly absurd!"
It was nearly noon, and the warm sun shone brightly, casting a dazzling golden light. Man Jiangxue gazed at Yin Qiu from afar, her fingers lightly tapping on the small table beside her. She listened calmly as Xie Yijun vented her anger. After she finished speaking, Man Jiangxue said in a light tone, "It has nothing to do with her. I told her to do it."
"You—?" Xie Yijun's tone changed completely. "You're willing to let her get hurt on purpose? What a joke!"
Man Jiangxue, seemingly unconcerned, said, "When necessary, we have to let go, even if we don't want to."
Xie Yijun was so angry that her brow twitched. Just as she was about to scold her, Man Jiangxue suddenly stood up and walked down from the stands without looking back.
In the arena, Yin Qiu calmly sheathed his sword and clasped his hands in a fist salute to Bai Ling, who was still lying on the ground, saying, "Thank you for your concession."
Bai Ling looked at her with complicated emotions: "You..."
Yin Qiu bent down and helped her up. As they drew nearer, she whispered, "I'm sorry."
Bai Ling was full of questions and was about to ask Yin Qiu when Xu Lianzhi interrupted her.
"Yin Qiu wins this competition!"
An uproar erupted in the stands.
Seeing Fu Xiang hurriedly fly onto the stage, Bai Ling moved her lips, but didn't know what to say. She was like a headless fly, not yet realizing what had happened, so she could only sigh, pick up her sword and leave.
"Xiao Qiu! How's your hand?"
Yin Qiu wrapped the deep sword wound on her palm with a handkerchief and smiled, "It's nothing, it doesn't hurt."
"You still say it doesn't hurt!" Fu Xiang shouted, "Your face is pale!"
Regardless, Yin Qiu ultimately won the match. Although the process was criticized and many disciples began to question her strength, she didn't care about the whispers. Instead, she smiled and said to Fu Xiang as if nothing had happened, "It's alright. We still have to have a match later. You promised me, so you can't let me win."
Fu Xiang had no time to care about anything else. She quickly pulled Yin Qiu away from the dueling platform to apply medicine. The two said goodbye to Xu Lianzhi and Ye Zhilan and hurriedly walked onto the path. When they passed through a moon gate, they saw a familiar snow-white figure standing in front of them.
Upon meeting those indifferent, unwavering eyes, Yin Qiu involuntarily stopped in her tracks, hiding her right hand, which was still bleeding and wrapped in a handkerchief, behind her back.
Upon seeing Man Jiangxue arrive, Fu Xiang wanted to greet her, but seeing the coldness in her expression, she didn't dare to speak.
Seeing the gaze that Man Jiangxue was casting on Yin Qiu, she wisely let go of Yin Qiu and left through the door.
·
"Uncle-Master." Yin Qiu clenched his fists, pretending to be calm as he looked at Man Jiangxue.
Man Jiangxue remained silent.
Yin Qiu knew that Man Jiangxue must have noticed that she had deliberately injured herself, and she also knew that Man Jiangxue must have come to question her, so she lowered her eyes and waited quietly for Man Jiangxue to speak.
However, after a while, she still didn't hear Man Jiangxue's voice. Yin Qiu was in agony and was about to apologize when she suddenly heard Man Jiangxue ask her first, "Does it hurt?"
Yin Qiu was stunned. Her already unpleasant mood was amplified by those two short words, adding an indescribable feeling to her already distressed state.
She bit her lip and honestly said, "It hurts..."
Man Jiangxue looked at her for a while, without mentioning the competition just now, but took Yin Qiu's other hand and said, "Apply the medicine first."
Yin Qiu didn't dare to look up at her, and could only obediently follow Man Jiangxue. The two did not return to the disciples' courtyard, but went to the training ground. Because accidents occasionally happened when the disciples were practicing martial arts, a pharmacy was set up there, which stored a lot of medicines for emergencies.
The windows were wide open, and sunlight streamed through the eaves into the room. Yin Qiu sat in a rattan chair, silently watching Man Jiangxue clean her wounds, carefully apply medicine, and then wrap the wounds with gauze. Throughout the entire process, Yin Qiu endured the pain without crying out, but she couldn't help but tremble. Her forehead was covered with a layer of cold sweat, and her lips were as white as a sheet of paper.
After the bandage was finished, Man Jiangxue washed her hands with clean water. She still didn't ask anything, but while wiping Yin Qiu's face, she said, "After the conference, if the sect leader asks you questions, just say that I ordered you to do what you did today."
Upon hearing this, Yin Qiu raised her eyes in disbelief: "Uncle-Master..."
“I won’t ask you why,” Man Jiangxue said, “and I won’t easily blame you, as long as you are very clear about what you are doing.”
Yin Qiu stared at her blankly, her voice suddenly becoming hoarse: "I just believe that Fu Xiang is not a bad person. She is not well received at Mingyue Tower, and she is treated like a thief in the palace, as if she cannot be tolerated anywhere. Martial Uncle and Sect Leader do not really understand Fu Xiang, but I do. I know how much she wants to return to Mingyue Tower, so I really can't turn a blind eye. I'm sorry, Martial Uncle... I have let you and Sect Leader down."
“That’s not what I expected of you,” Man Jiangxue said.
With reddened eyes, Yin Qiu tried her best to hold back her tears: "The sect leader must be very angry and disappointed, but I... but I really can't bear to see Fu Xiang..."
If Fu Xiang loses, she will definitely not be able to return to Mingyue Tower. But if she wins, Xie Yijun will not break her promise in public and will definitely take Fu Xiang as her disciple. In this way, even if Xie Yijun plans to send her out of the palace, Fu Xiang will have enough time to contact Fu Cen and return to Mingyue Tower as she wishes.
You should know that if she loses to Yin Qiu in the tournament, even if she goes to another peak, Xie Yijun will still find a reason to send her out of the palace. Sending her out of the palace means becoming an outer disciple. All the talk about going down the mountain for training is just a lie for Fu Xiang. Once she leaves, there is no way she can come back. She can only be an ordinary low-level disciple outside. When that happens, Fu Cen won't even look at her.
Her match with Yin Qiu would certainly be closely watched by Xie Yijun. Yin Qiu couldn't openly concede, so she could only deliberately get injured in the previous matches. When she faced Fu Xiang, even if she lost, it would only be because of her injury.
Even though Xie Yijun had seen through her intentions just now, what had already happened was irreversible, and Xie Yijun couldn't do anything about it.
Suspicion and the ability to nip problems in the bud can easily ruin a person's fate, which, in Yin Qiu's eyes, is a cruel thing.
She wasn't disregarding the safety of her sect; she simply trusted her intuition and didn't believe Fu Xiang was the kind of person Xie Yijun suspected.
Therefore, she cannot knowingly do something that is impossible.
That's not fair.
·
"Shall we continue the competition?" Man Jiangxue asked calmly after washing her handkerchief.
“We have to compete,” Yin Qiu said.
"Have you decided where you're going after the conference?" Man Jiangxue asked again.
Yin Qiu paused for a moment, then said, "Hmm..."
Man Jiangxue asked, "Where are we going?"
Yin Qiu fell silent.
Seeing that she refused to answer, Man Jiangxue looked her over and said, "I'll tell you again, I don't take on disciples."
Yin Qiu paused, then lowered her head: "I know..."
Man Jiangxue reached out and patted her head, saying, "You must understand, if I accept you as my disciple, it means..."
For some reason, she didn't finish what she was saying.
Yin Qiu, lost in thought, failed to notice her hesitation.
So Man Jiangxue finally just said, "Let's go."
Yin Qiu stood there blankly, following Man Jiangxue out of the pharmacy. The two walked back the way they came in silence. Just as they were about to enter the Sword Debate Platform, Yin Qiu suddenly stopped and grabbed Man Jiangxue, saying, "Does Martial Aunt still remember the promise you made to me?"
Man Jiangxue glanced at her sideways for a moment: "I remember."
Yin Qiu looked up at her and said softly, "Then I hope that my uncle will keep his word and not break his promise."
Man Jiangxue said, "Since it is a promise, there is no reason to break it."
Hearing this, Yin Qiu finally smiled slightly and said, "Okay."
·
When they returned to the arena, other disciples were already competing. Although many of the older disciples had some criticisms of Yin Qiu, the newer disciples were familiar with her and naturally did not mock her. Instead, they were very concerned about her injuries and their words were full of kindness and care.
Only Xu Lianzhi looked rather grim, and questioned Yin Qiu, "What's wrong with you? I've never seen you make a mistake like this before. What happened today?"
Yin Qiu lowered her head and replied, "It was probably because it was my first time participating in such a conference that I was a little nervous and flustered, so I didn't perform well... I'm sorry to disappoint you, Senior Sister."
“You played steadily in the first half, but suddenly you lost your composure in the second half,” Xu Lianzhi said. “How come you couldn’t dodge Bai Ling’s sword? What were you thinking, trying to catch it with your bare hands?”
Yin Qiu remained humble, letting her scold him without offering any explanation.
Xu Lianzhi could only sigh, "Alright, alright. You're young, it's normal that you're not mature enough. With your hand injured like that, what are you going to do next? Go back to the courtyard and rest as soon as possible."
Yin Qiu quickly said, "Senior sister, I'm fine, I can continue."
Xu Lianzhi glanced at her and said, "Don't be willful. If something happens to you, I won't be able to explain it to my martial uncle."
“I’ve already spoken to my martial arts sister, and she agrees to let me continue competing,” Yin Qiu said. “If I get injured in the future, I can’t give up halfway every time. My senior sister has given me permission, so I’ll do as arranged. I can persevere.”
Since she made this request, Xu Lianzhi didn't try to dissuade her further, and after giving her a few words of advice, she agreed.
During their conversation, Fu Xiang stood to the side, not wanting to interrupt. Once Xu Lianzhi finally left, she was about to ask Yin Qiu in detail how she was injured, but before she could speak, Xu Lianzhi called her name again.
Fu Xiang sighed deeply, and before going on stage, she patted Yin Qiu on the shoulder and said, "Then I'll go. If you really can't stand the pain, it's okay to withdraw from the competition. With your talent, you won't have to worry about not finding a master."
Yin Qiu nodded and watched her fly into the arena. Amid the greetings from the disciples, he returned to his seat in the stands.
In the following matches, Fu Xiang lived up to expectations and won, advancing all the way to the finals. Although Yin Qiu was injured, her strength was undeniable. Even with her injuries, she was able to defeat the other disciples. Like Fu Xiang, she also made it into the final few spots.
After all, this was a competition that would determine their future, so the disciples were all giving it their all to show their skills. With their beliefs and goals in mind, many of them performed much better than usual. In the end, apart from Yin Qiu and Fu Xiang, the few who made it to the finals were all ordinary and unremarkable people. This shows that performance on the day was the key.
After another round of competition, only four outstanding individuals remained. As is customary, the tournament had moved on to a four-person free-for-all, where the top three winners of the year would be selected from these four.
The competition was so intense that there was no time to rest as it progressed. Even Fu Xiang, who always had the best stamina, was starting to feel the strain. She gulped down two bowls of water and collapsed on the ground, panting heavily. She glanced at Yin Qiu, who was busy changing the bandage on her hand.
"Xiao Qiu, can you still hold on?"
Yin Qiu's face was deathly pale. Forcing herself to ignore the excruciating pain in her wound, she quickly wrapped the bandage around her neck, exhaled, and said, "I can manage."
On one side, the other two female disciples who had entered the finals were also taking a break. The four of them would be having their final match soon. Fu Xiang looked at Yin Qiu's hand, which was still bleeding, and couldn't help but ask, "Do you have to push yourself so hard? If you talk to your senior sister Man properly, I believe she will relent. You're in so much pain, why don't you stop fighting?"
Yin Qiu took a few sips of water, wiped the sweat from her neck with trembling hands, and said, "I won't give up. I've survived so many matches and I've never lost once." Her face was pale, and she gave Fu Xiang a defiant smile. "Or do you think that I can't beat you just because I'm injured?"
Fu Xiang had no idea what Yin Qiu had done for her, nor did she realize that Yin Qiu had deliberately been injured by Bai Ling, and she was also unaware that Xie Yijun had already decided to deal with her. Fu Xiang was still completely in the dark about everything.
So she assumed that Yin Qiu was just eager to win and that she desperately wanted to get first place so she could get closer to Man Jiangxue, so she sighed and said, "I don't know if you can beat me, but if I do beat you, it would be an unfair victory."
“Even an unfair victory is still a victory,” Yin Qiu said. “Don’t forget what you promised me.”
Fu Xiang sighed again: "But I really can't bring myself to hit you like this... It's too unfair to you."
Is that unfair?
Upon hearing this, Yin Qiu fell silent.
If she hadn't told Man Jiangxue that Fu Xiang had already practiced martial arts, Man Jiangxue wouldn't have reported it to Xie Yijun, and Xie Yijun wouldn't have been determined to deal with Fu Xiang. Although Man Jiangxue and Xie Yijun were not at fault, what wrong had Fu Xiang done?
The person who caused this situation is Yin Qiu herself. If she hadn't revealed Fu Xiang's secret, how could things have turned out this way?
It was because she felt guilty that Yin Qiu secretly helped Fu Xiang. What she feared most was that Fu Xiang would waver because of her injury. If Fu Xiang had any regrets, then everything she had done today would have been in vain.
Yin Qiu pondered for a moment, then looked at Fu Xiang with a serious expression: "So what you mean is?"
Fu Xiang looked at Yin Qiu, a somewhat ambiguous expression flashing across her face. After thinking for a moment, she carefully said, "If you weren't injured, I would definitely do my best to fight you to the death. But you're injured like this, and you've used up too much of your strength and energy fighting all the way here. You're no match for me anymore. I'm not bragging, but I didn't even take the other two seriously. Don't be fooled by my panting now; I'll be full of energy again after a short rest. But what about your injuries? They can't possibly heal completely right away. Doesn't that make me bullying you?"
After saying this, she murmured with a sorrowful expression, "If you really want to be with Uncle Man, why don't we join forces to defeat the other two, and then I'll deliberately lose to you..."
"No way!" Yin Qiu said decisively as soon as she finished speaking. "Absolutely not! Even if you have the heart, I won't accept your kindness."
Fu Xiang was stunned: "But..."
"No buts!" For the first time, Yin Qiu showed impatience towards her, coldly saying, "Do you want to be a good-for-nothing in your father's eyes, or do you want to be the young master you dream of day and night?"
Fu Xiang was taken aback and was speechless at her question.
“The fact that you can say such things proves that you truly consider me a friend, and I’m very happy about that,” Yin Qiu said firmly. “But if you deliberately let me win, isn’t that a form of disrespect and insult to me? I don’t need anyone to let me win. Even I can never give up easily, so what makes you think you want to lose to me now?”
Fu Xiang was deeply shaken, feeling as if ants were gnawing at her heart. She sighed and got up from the ground, squatting down next to Yin Qiu dejectedly, saying, "If you don't want to, then don't. Don't yell at me..."
Seeing her like this, Yin Qiu felt bad too, so she softened her tone and said, "If you dare to give in to me, don't expect me to talk to you for the rest of your life."
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