The crowd of spectators grew more and more excited, as the game seemed to become more and more interesting.
Who would have thought that the last round would feature such a beautiful woman, intelligent and gorgeous at the same time? Such a woman should have already made a name for herself in this small town. It was unknown which well-off family’s lady she was, possessing such knowledge.
What was even rarer was that the girl was undaunted by the tall scaffold, rolling up her sleeves and preparing for battle. It seemed that her martial arts skills were quite formidable!
As for the man, at first glance, he appeared quite ordinary in his plain clothes. Other than his good-looking face, there seemed to be nothing special about him. However, upon closer inspection, his bearing was extraordinary.
With such a match-up, it naturally attracted countless onlookers.
The tea house’s shopkeeper took the opportunity to shout: "If you want to watch the final round of the contest, the best viewing spot is on the second floor of our tea house. Open the bamboo window, sip tea while watching, and the view is just right!"
At these words, many of the well-off spectators headed directly to the second floor of the tea house to secure a good spot to watch the contest.
Ji Xinhe lifted her lips in amusement. This tea house really knew how to do business. Just tonight, they must have made a lot of money. No wonder the last round was to see who could climb the high scaffold fastest – the premium viewing area in the tea house’s second-floor private room would undoubtedly rake in plenty of tea-money.
"This is really interesting. Can this little girl, with her thin arms and legs, actually climb up such a high scaffold? It seems a bit far-fetched to me."
"I think so too, but she doesn’t seem to care at all. She just said she wanted to compete. Maybe she does have some skills!"
"Hey, how could such a pretty girl do this kind of rough work like climbing poles? It doesn’t make sense at all. On the other hand, this handsome young master should at least give her a break. After all, she’s just a girl. Even if he wins, it wouldn’t be a glorious victory."
The whispering in the crowd was incessant, each person excitedly discussing the upcoming contest.
Ji Xinhe and the man stood beneath the high scaffold and looked up. The structure was about ten meters high, equivalent to a three-story building. It was indeed not low, and if one were to fall, it would most likely be a fatal or at least life-threatening fall.
The shopkeeper smiled and said, "Since both of you have made it to the final round, let me first inquire about your names so that the spectators can have a clear understanding."
The man in the plain robe was very easy-going, cupping his hands in salute: "My surname is Duan, with a single name of ’Lan’."
Ji Xinhe also cupped her hands: "Ji Xinhe."
She did not use the etiquette that a girl should, expressing that she wanted to be treated like a man in this contest and didn’t want any special treatment.
Duan Lan seemed to understand her intention and nodded slightly.
The shopkeeper couldn’t help but remind her again, "This scaffold may not be very tall, but if you fall carelessly, it won’t be a light injury. If it’s not possible, there’s no need to force yourself."
His words were clearly mainly directed at Ji Xinhe; after all, a man like Duan Lan wouldn’t need to be afraid of such things, would he?
But Ji Xinhe simply said, "Shopkeeper, let’s start as soon as possible."
The shopkeeper finally smiled and said, "Alright!"
Ji Xinhe and Duan Lan stood at opposite sides of the scaffold, and at the shopkeeper’s command, both started at the same time.
Ji Xinhe’s footsteps were swift, stepping on the scaffold and climbing up against the wind. Occasionally using her hands for leverage, she barely needed to climb at all. Although she didn’t know lightness skill, her skill in climbing and wall-walking was impressive. It wouldn’t be a problem for her to climb not just this three-story-high scaffold but even a towering skyscraper.
There was a gasp from the crowd below: "This girl is truly amazing! What kind of steps are those? They are so fast! Her skills are really good, no wonder she dared to climb such a high scaffold!"
On the other side, Duan Lan also lightly stepped and jumped onto the high scaffold, running along the frame and reaching the top at almost the same time as Ji Xinhe.
Seeing his speed, Ji Xinhe realized that the man’s martial arts skills were also formidable, and he wasn’t deliberately giving her any advantage. This made the competition much more interesting.
He treated her as an opponent and went all out to compete for the flower lantern. To her, this was extremely exciting, as it was rare to have a contest against an expert. This competition would be more precious to her than the flower lantern itself.
She had initially been worried that he would intentionally let her win, but now it seemed that she had overthought it. The man before her understood how to respect his opponents.
Ji Xinhe hooked her hand onto the wooden scaffold, ready to grab the flower lantern first. However, Duan Lan blocked her hand. In an instant, Ji Xinhe flipped her body, skillfully wriggling from one side of the scaffold to the other and delivering a flying kick. Not only did it break Duan Lan’s outstretched hand reaching for the lantern, but it also caught him off guard. Duan Lan, however, reacted swiftly, dodging to the side and gripping her foot, twisting it in retaliation.
He seemed to want to immobilize her like this.
Ji Xinhe wouldn’t let him succeed, though. She immediately let go of the wooden scaffold and flipped in midair, following the direction of his twist. She quickly broke free and leaped back onto the scaffold.
The people below watched anxiously, their hearts in their throats, gasping in shock one after another. They were afraid that Ji Xinhe would fall, but she miraculously managed to pull off this move.
Even Duan Lan was momentarily stunned, evidently not expecting the girl to be so agile.
Ji Xinhe took advantage of his momentary daze and launched her attack, throwing a punch. Duan Lan dodged quickly, and her fist narrowly missed his face. As he dodged, she turned and closed in on the flower lantern, reaching out her hand and grabbing hold of it.
Duan Lan was no fool either. Seeing through her diversionary tactics, he swiftly shifted and reached the flower lantern as well, grabbing onto it.
Both of them stood at the top of the high scaffold, each holding onto the flower lantern, and no one was able to prevail.
Suddenly, Duan Lan’s expression changed, and he quickly let go of the lantern, shouting: "Dodge!"
Ji Xinhe and Duan Lan simultaneously flipped away from the scaffold, moving a person’s width distance away from each other. As they did so, an arrow whizzed through the air, barely missing both of them.
At the same time, the flower lantern that had been in their hands just moments before fell to the ground, shattering into pieces.
Ji Xinhe’s eyes flashed coldly; someone was trying to harm her!
The crowd let out a cry of surprise, quickly dispersing and fleeing in all directions. From the moment the cold arrow was spotted, the crowd had been in a state of panic and unrest, each person ducking and running for cover.
The bustling crowd was instantly plunged into chaos.
At this moment, the scaffold suddenly wobbled. Ji Xinhe cried out inwardly, sensing trouble. Just as she thought, someone had cut the rope of the scaffold during the chaos, and it was about to collapse!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
