Chapter 55: Results

Silang almost scowled at Mister Fei. Man, did that little guy have an attitude. Still, everyone silently trudged out of the room to wait on the stairs by the front entrance. A'Li gave Xiu'er a small whimper, but didn't struggle in Silang's arm. Xiu'er gave him a smile. They shouldn't have been worried, but nevertheless, the feelings crept up their spines anyway.

In front of the inn, Silang sat biting his nails and fidgeting with his sweaty hands. His knees were shaking in anticipation. Kun Shang refused to let Xiu'er out of his sight as he stood eyeing her back afar. He couldn't get a full view of her whole body with the crowd surrounding her. Xiaogua put a hand on Jiyi Sangshi's shoulder to reassure him. Yu Yue kept Mister Chen in her sight in case he tried to run away.

At the table, Mister Fei watched as Xiu'er contemplated on which bowl she should choose. The two bowls are next to each other. Both colorless, odorless, and stainless. It really was impossible to tell them apart just using the five senses.

"What are you waiting for?" Mister Fei rushed her. "Hurry up and pick your death."

"Shh!" Xiu'er put a finger on her lips.

She put both hands on the table and leaned in, looking back and forth from the bowls trying to differentiate any slight color variation.

Colorless. Both water in the bowls look exactly the same without any discoloration. They were both clear with the same consistency. She bent down to sniff.

Odorless. Neither of the bowls were emitting any smell that could help Xiu'er differentiate them apart. The only smell she could smell was the surrounding food all around her. She touched the inside of the bowls.

Stainless. The poison did not leave any residue or stains on the bowls to tell which one had been poisoned.

Xiu'er was having a challenging time. Which bowl would Mister Fei put the poison in first, and how many times would he switch the bowls around? These were the two most important questions she had in mind. Maybe she was wrong to take up on the position, because now she's starting to think her brother was better at this. He's better at figuring people out. He's more perceptive.

"Little Miss, we saw which bowl was poisoned and which one was not," a man from the audience said. "But it won't be fair if we tell you. Even though there are many strange people in this town and it is one of the largest black markets, we believe in staying true to our words. We cannot help you. You'll have to use your luck on this."

"Shh!" She shushed again, louder this time.

The audience chuckled and shook their heads at her. She was being incredulously rude; she may lose her life due to her stubbornness.

Kun Shang and the rest had waited outside for a long time in silence now. They could hear the faint conversations among martial art members inside, who urged Xiu'er to hurry up and choose.

It was probably a few more minutes before they heard Mister Fei yelled, "Impossible!"

Kun Shang immediately ran in first and they followed him inside. He pushed through the crowd to see Xiu'er snickering at Mister Fei with crossed arms. He looked down at the table. Both of the bowls had been drunk and emptied, so one of them should be in excruciating pain by now. The crowd in the inn were also astonished but clapped their hands for Xiu'er's victory.

Mister Fei was overcome with rage. He didn't understand why the girl hadn't dropped down in pain when she obviously drank the poisoned bowl. To him, it didn't matter which one she chose, death was certain to follow because he had secretly poisoned both bowls. He had taken the antidote beforehand so he was safe, but what about her?

"What is this?" Kun Shang asked.

Xiu'er bounced her head with a chuckle. "This is what you call a tie."

Her brother put a hand on her shoulder with a look of worry, then gave a sigh of relief when he saw that she was in one piece.

Mister Fei didn't wait to explain anything before flying over everyone's head to snatch Jiyi Sangshi by the arm and ran out the door. Mister Chen frantically followed them.

Xiu'er, Kun Shang and them followed suit to stop the two teenagers from kidnapping Jiyi Sangshi. Kun Shang jumped overhead and landed in front of Mister Fei. The two of them engaged in a fight on the street. Mister Fei pulled out his whip and pushed Jiyi Sangshi to the side, right into Mister Chen.

Kun Shang unsheathe his sword and struck down at Mister Fei. Mister Fei dodged to the side, then whipped his whip from underneath. Kun Shang turned sideways to dodge it but circled his arm around and grabbed the whip. He kicked his feet off the air, pulled the whip for leverage and did a free hand cartwheel but aimed his foot at Mister Fei. Mister Fei held up an arm to block the kick that pushed him back a couple of feet.

The kid in purple was no match for the trained Palace bodyguard and his excellent sword. Kun Shang's strikes were fast and unpredictable. His sword was more swift than Mister Fei's whip, which was better for long distance fighting.

Mister Chen held Jiyi Sangshi by the wrist but was surrounded by Xiu'er and Yu Yue. He didn't dare try to escape, his face only twitching uneasily, hoping that his partner would win the fight.

A hidden ripple attack from a distance suddenly knocked everyone off their feet, as well as stirring a cloud of dust from the ground.

Xiu'er got up and dusted herself to see Gou Qingzhao and nine men flew down in front of them.

10 attackers in the evening, Xiu'er remembered.

Qingzhao looked like a completely different person when she landed. She was wearing an outstanding outfit that made her stand out among the rest. She had on a red, leather tank top with high collars. On her left shoulder down to her left arm was covered by a thin black underlayer, but her right shoulder was exposed. Her left body had armor on that shoulder, and both her arms had thick red armor sleeves that ran above her elbows down to her hands. She wore black shorts. On top of the short was a red scarf she used to wrap her hips and tied to the left with a long trail. On top of her right hip was a red drape that was cut up in the middle and fell below her knees. She had a black strap around her chest and waist which she used to carry her giant Moon Sabres. She wore thigh high, dark red stockings and boots up to her knees. Part of her thigh was exposed between her shorts and her stockings. All of her hair was high up in a slick ponytail. She was beautiful, but more or less indestructible, fearless, and unyielding.