On the third day of the Martial Arts Tournament, Gu Ming headed out with Ling Yuyan. As soon as they arrived at the tournament venue, they sensed that the atmosphere was a bit off. The crowd was eerily quiet, lacking the lively bustle of the first two days.
Gu Ming found someone who looked approachable and asked, “Friend, excuse me for asking, but did something happen here?”
That man gave Gu Ming a strange look, pointed toward the high stage, and then quickly hurried away.
Gu Ming followed the direction he had pointed and realized that two people were sitting on the stage—one woman and one man.
It was the Saintess of Saintess Mountain and Elder Zhong, whom he had seen on the first day of the tournament.
The Saintess rested her cheek on her hand, her chin tilted slightly upward. Her gaze swept over the crowd below as if she were looking at a group of insignificant ants.
Even so, it could not hide her incredibly charming figure.
Beneath her high-slit dress was a pair of snow-white, crossed legs. This caused many men to steal glances at Shen Lingxi, but as soon as they saw her sour expression that seemed to find everyone annoying, they quickly withdrew their gazes, deeply afraid of accidentally offending her.
‘Why is the Saintess here?’ Gu Ming thought, looking confused. ‘They said she would only appear on the first and fourth days. Why did she come on the third day as well?’
“I do not know,” Ling Yuyan said, shaking her head slightly.
Whatever.
It did not matter.
Gu Ming shook off his thoughts and prepared to enter the arena. Just then, he felt someone take hold of his arm. He looked down and saw that Ling Yuyan had suddenly linked her arm with his.
“What is it?” Gu Ming felt it was quite sudden.
“It is nothing.”
Ling Yuyan pressed closer to him. The soft sensation against his arm made Gu Ming feel a bit embarrassed. What confused him even more was that this girl even leaned her head against his shoulder.
‘Hey, hey, hey — ‘
‘We are not actually an engaged couple.’
‘Is there a need to show off our affection in front of everyone like this?’
Gu Ming could not keep up with Ling Yuyan’s train of thought at all.
“There.”
Ling Yuyan suddenly let go, her lips curling into a beautiful arc.
She stood in front of Gu Ming and reached out with her slender hand to straighten his slightly messy collar.
“Husband, do your best in the match.”
“Hus… Husband… Hey, Yuyan…”
“Go on. Good luck.”
Hearing Ling Yuyan suddenly call him “Husband” startled Gu Ming. He was about to ask her why when she pushed him toward the match.
Left with no choice, Gu Ming walked onto the stage…
—
As soon as Ling Yuyan arrived at the tournament venue, she noticed something was wrong with the atmosphere. However, a woman’s intuition allowed her to keenly pinpoint the source of the anomaly.
It was the Saintess on the high stage—Shen Lingxi.
‘Was she just looking at me?’
‘No, that is not right. Was she looking at Nameless?’
When Ling Yuyan looked up at the stage, Shen Lingxi’s gaze shifted away, but she still caught the Saintess’s odd behavior.
Ling Yuyan watched Gu Ming solemnly as he asked someone for information, then glanced back at Shen Lingxi on the stage. A bold idea surged in her heart.
Thus, she stopped Gu Ming just as he was about to head to the arena and linked her arm with his while he looked on in shock.
Ignoring Gu Ming’s reaction, Ling Yuyan glanced upward, subtly observing Shen Lingxi on the high stage.
She noticed that the Saintess’s expression had become unnatural.
Then, she intentionally leaned closer to Gu Ming. Shen Lingxi’s face instantly darkened.
Following that, she even rested her head on Gu Ming’s shoulder. A cold light flashed in Shen Lingxi’s eyes.
Now, she could finally be certain. The Saintess definitely had some interest in Gu Ming. Otherwise, it would be impossible for her to have such a strong reaction to Ling Yuyan’s actions.
But why?
Did they know each other before?
Ling Yuyan stole a glance at Gu Ming but quickly dismissed that possibility.
‘It is impossible.’
‘If they knew each other, given the Saintess’s personality, she would not just sit there.’
For instance, she would have overbearingly and forcefully kept him by her side.
Therefore, there was only one possibility…
Ling Yuyan slowly released Gu Ming’s arm, stepped in front of him, and gently straightened his collar. She even called out purposefully, “Husband…”
She ignored Gu Ming’s stiff expression and instead peeked at Shen Lingxi on the stage.
Shen Lingxi’s reaction was massive. She was so angry that she stood straight up from her chair and walked away with rapid strides.
‘Ha — ‘
‘I knew it.’
‘Nameless looks very much like her White Moonlight.’
Therefore, the Saintess must want Nameless to be a stand-in for her White Moonlight to soothe her longing.
However, she was likely afraid of the Great Elder’s interference, which was why she had not made a move yet.
Ling Yuyan felt quite proud of her “correct” analysis.
—
Shen Lingxi had been unable to sleep at all the previous night. When she got up the next morning, the first thing she did was look for Elder Zhong.
When she knocked on Elder Zhong’s door, he was startled by her haggard appearance. He hurriedly asked, “Saintess, what is wrong?”
“Elder Zhong, can you come with me to the Martial Arts Tournament venue today?”
Shen Lingxi felt that going alone would be too conspicuous. If she brought Elder Zhong along, no one would suspect her true intentions.
“I can do that.”
Elder Zhong thought it was a small matter, just a simple favor. However, he was still confused.
“But why so sudden?”
“There are two people I am somewhat concerned about, so I want to take a look,” Shen Lingxi said without explicitly naming Gu Ming and Ling Yuyan.
However, Elder Zhong understood immediately. “Oh, I am quite interested in them as well. Those two have been making quite a name for themselves lately. Both of them defeat their opponents in a single move. They are very impressive.”
“They seem to be…” Elder Zhong thought for a moment and said, “One is named Nameless, and the other is Sword Fanatic, right?”
Shen Lingxi paused for a moment but did not offer an explanation, simply giving a soft hum of agreement.
“They are both good prospects. If nothing unexpected happens, they will certainly take the first and second place in this tournament. But taking only one would be a waste. How about this?” Elder Zhong paused before continuing, “You can take the first-place winner as your Personal Disciple, and I will take the second-place winner as my disciple. What do you think?”
Shen Lingxi’s eyes brightened slightly.
“It is just that the one called Nameless might be a bit troublesome.” Elder Zhong paused and looked at Shen Lingxi.
Shen Lingxi’s expression remained unchanged, but she knew what he wanted to say. She spoke first. “He does indeed look very similar, but in the end, he is not him.”
“That is good, then. Fine. When the time comes, I will handle the Great Elder’s thoughts,” Elder Zhong laughed. “I heard that he has a marriage contract with the Second Young Miss of Lingyun Pavilion. It would be a loss if he ended up with them.”
“That is just some private nonsense. It does not count.”
Shen Lingxi was smiling, but her smile made Elder Zhong feel a chill.
Elder Zhong thought he was overthinking things, so he looked at Shen Lingxi again. She still had that same stiff, superficial smile.
“Then… should we head over a bit later?” Elder Zhong asked cautiously.
“We are going now.”
Elder Zhong looked outside at the sky, which was barely starting to brighten. The competitors probably had not even arrived yet.
“We are going now!”
“…”