The two barbarians immediately grew furious, gripping their weapons fiercely and lunging toward Song Yueyao.
But the moment they caught a clear glimpse of her face, their movements paused in unison.
They had checked into the Illusory Melody Pavilion for some fun to begin with, having long heard that the women of the Central Plains were elegant and graceful, far more delicate and moving than the women of the desert.
This was also one of the reasons they had invaded Liangya more than ten years ago.
Taking advantage of this momentary daze, Madam Liu hurriedly waved her handkerchief and took quick, small steps forward, putting on a smile to smooth things over.
She first gave the thin young man a light kick, then turned to the barbarians, bowing to apologize, "Oh my, esteemed guests, please calm down! This blind fool is just a servant in our pavilion. He's half-blind and can barely distinguish light, so how could he see where he's going? I'm truly sorry for him bumping into you esteemed guests. Please, for my sake, spare him this once."
Her smile carried a hint of flattery, "The New Moon Arrow Duel is starting in five days. Why let such a small matter ruin your mood? Less trouble before the tournament means better luck, right? When the time comes, that Ice Bow and Dark Arrow will surely belong to you two!"
With that, she turned her head and scolded sharply, "Xiaoman! Hurry up and apologize to the guests!"
The young man slightly turned his head, a layer of un-dissipating fog floating in his eyes. He could vaguely see a few figures moving in the distance, their outlines all blurry.
Thinking of the sound of weapons just now, and feeling a soft date at his feet, he realized someone had stepped in to save him.
He originally didn't want to bow his head to these two barbarians.
Although the past wars had subsided, how could those who died defending their homeland have sacrificed themselves in vain? This was a humiliation branded into his bones. As a citizen of Liangya Province, he shouldn't forget, and couldn't forget.
However, if his stubbornness implicated the person who saved him...
He gritted his teeth, his body trembling, and his knees were about to turn toward the direction of the barbarians' voices.
"Don't kneel!"
A clear female voice rang out from behind, resolute and decisive, stopping his movements.
"We citizens of Liangya will never bow to the barbarians. Stand up!"
Song Yueyao flipped her wrist, and the Crescent Blade was already held before her eyes.
The snow-bright gleam of the blade reflected in the depths of her eyes, her fingers gripping the hilt one by one, a cold curve rising at the corners of her lips.
"The ones who should apologize are you. If you want us to bend our knees, keep dreaming! Unless you step over my dead body."
Before she finished speaking, the clear chime of a longsword being unsheathed sounded beside her.
A tall, slender figure stepped forward, shielding Song Yueyao behind him. The tip of his sword raised slightly, light and shadow sweeping across his calm profile.
Jiang Zhiyu didn't look back, saying flatly, "And step over my dead body too."
The white cat meowed helplessly and moved its paws forward.
It could only choose to stand in front of its disciple.
Woo woo woo!
So epic! The main cast is on fire!
Chai Xiaomi hurriedly fished out two more red dates, muttering to herself, "Count me in, count me in!"
But before she could run out, someone grabbed her by the back of her collar, pulling her back like a little chick, leaving her to flutter in place.
"You spy, don't join the fun. Just stay here obediently."
The young man unceremoniously snatched the dates from her hand, stuffed them into his mouth in one bite, and smiled at her while chewing, "Don't waste these two dates."
A hint of playfulness flashed across Bagan's eyes. He nudged Unale beside him with his elbow and chuckled in the barbarian tongue, "Look, there's an even prettier one over there!"
Unale's interest was immediately piqued. His eyes darted around, and a thought suddenly popped into his head. He grinned:
"I have no interest in stepping over your dead bodies. Since your bones are so stiff, do you dare to make a bet with us? In five days, we'll see who can get the Ice Bow and Dark Arrow. If you win, we'll kneel down and kowtow to apologize."
"But if we get it—" His smile mixed with a bit of vulgarity, his finger first pointing at Song Yueyao, "You will have to kneel on my bed!"
Then, his finger shifted, pointing straight at Chai Xiaomi, who was still in a daze.
"And her too."
The next instant.
That finger pointing at Chai Xiaomi froze in mid-air.
Two date pits tore through the air, swift as lightning, brushing right past his fingertips.
A strong gust of wind swept past the side of his face, and the date pits instantly nailed deep into the wooden pillar behind him, leaving only two holes!
Unale's heart skipped a beat.
He saw the young man beside the girl slowly lowering his bow.
He raised a pair of heterochromatic eyes, a cold curve playing at the corners of his lips.
As an expert archer, Unale knew all too well that those two shots just now were definitely not misses.
The other party did it on purpose.
If he really wanted to hit, the date pits would have already pierced through his fingers, or even nailed into his forehead.
He was too familiar with this technique.
Just like the cruelest hunters in the barren lands, when they catch a fox, they don't rush to kill it. Instead, they shoot an arrow through its hind leg, watching it drag its mangled limb and crawl miserably on the sand, whining and struggling until its blood drains and it breathes its last.
Not for food, but just to enjoy the process of the prey's vitality extinguishing inch by inch in despair.
Cruel, twisted.
Taking pleasure in torment.
And at this moment, he felt as if he had become that fox whose path of retreat had been nailed shut.
The young man stood quietly, his bow already lowered, but his gaze was like an arrow that hadn't left the string, coldly locked on his throat.
The smile at the corners of his mouth solidified little by little, and a trace of gloom and madness dyed his eyes:
"The stakes are too small."
Unale heard him speak, his voice kept very low, mixed with a peculiar mellowness and hoarseness, as if it wasn't a voice suitable for his age.
"If I get the Ice Bow and Dark Arrow, you'll come and be my target, how about that?"
It was clearly a youthful and bright face, but what brewed in those bright eyes was cold cruelty, and under the disguise of a smile, a few cold stars drifted out.
Unale and Bagan exchanged a glance, and an inexplicable trace of timidity arose in them at the same time.
But Bagan couldn't suppress his arrogance. He took a half step forward and replied gruffly, "What if we win?"
He crossed his arms and puffed out his chest. In this Central Plains, barbarian archery had always been unrivaled.
And they were top-tier hunters specially chosen by the barbarians this time.
They came precisely for that Ice Bow and Dark Arrow.
In this competition, they had victory in their grasp.
"You win?"
The young man suddenly smiled.
Wu Li lowered his eyes, slowly pinched Chai Xiaomi's puffed-up cheeks, and said lightly, "Fine, if you really win, I'll personally deliver this annoying idiot to you."
"Tsk, she's so hard to raise." He shook his head, but an extremely faint smile that even he hadn't noticed flashed across the bottom of his eyes. "She's a picky eater but eats a lot, sleeps like a log but loves rolling all over the bed. I have to guard against her rolling off the bed all night."
"You!" Chai Xiaomi was so angry her hair stood on end.
Using her as a bet was one thing, but to actually insult her like this in public!
"When have I ever rolled off the bed?!" She lowered her voice, gnashing her teeth.
Wu Li cast a faint glance at her.
She really did sleep like a log. It seemed she had no idea that she once rolled over in her sleep, landed squarely on him sleeping on the floor, and woke him up.
Since then, when sleeping on the floor beside the bed, he always had the habit of resting one hand on the edge of the bed.
To prevent her from rolling off again, and to catch her in time if there really was any movement.
Wu Li couldn't be bothered to elaborate. "You know perfectly well whether I did or not."
Chai Xiaomi narrowed her eyes. Suddenly leaning in closer, she lowered her voice and asked, "What happened to your voice?"
It was deep and raspy, sounding muffled like a little old man.
He glanced at her, his tone flat. "Didn't you say it yourself? I caught a cold."
Chai Xiaomi was left speechless, finally remembering the random excuse she had made up just moments ago.
She didn't expect him to actually remember it.
She opened her mouth to speak, but in the end, only let out a sheepish, "Oh."
