Chapter 47: The Second Night's Banquet

"Well said!"

An appreciative exclamation rang out from a distance. Qian Gongyu and Shang Xinlei turned their heads to see Jie Zilong and Jie Yuanshao, the uncle and niece pair of the Jie family.

Clapping his hands, Jie Zilong walked up to them and said in a clear voice, "The art of war dictates that we should command others rather than be commanded by them. Why should we walk into a battlefield meticulously prepared by others? The Qun and Wu families are not to be trifled with, but are the Jie and Shang families so easily bullied?"

"Uncle Zilong, Qun Yushu relies on far more than just the Qun and Wu families; he also has the twenty-three prominent clans gathered right here," Shang Xinlei countered evenly. "While you and I certainly aren't afraid of the consequences of offending them, Xiaoyu and Jiang Shi..."

Jie Zilong shook his head. "As long as our two families bar them from entering, no matter how much resentment they hold, they will only assume that our two families have formed a defensive alliance to monopolize the intelligence of the Overgrown Woods. It won't implicate the two members of the Qian family."

Hearing this, Qian Gongyu nodded repeatedly. Splendid, truly splendid! She really had no desire to rub shoulders with big shots like Qun Yushu and Chen Linchuan—if there were no conflicting interests, she would have been more than happy to show her face and leave a good impression in front of such luminaries. Unfortunately, she knew without even thinking that they were here for Jiang Shi.

If they were to make demands she couldn't accept, refusing would offend them, while accepting would be impossible. Wouldn't she be trapped in a dilemma?

"Although I'd love to say this to show goodwill to you both, I doubt bodyguard Jiang Shi will appreciate the gesture." Jie Zilong looked at Jiang Shi and smiled. "You aren't afraid of offending those people at all."

"She simply doesn't know how high the mountains are or how deep the waters run," Jie Yuanshao suddenly interjected. "Ignorance breeds fearlessness, and fearlessness is ignorance."

"I don't mean to imply how powerful or terrifying the Qun and Chen families are; rather, I mean that you, Jiang Shi, have no idea what the scenery is like above the messengers. You don't know what the Second Rank looks like, how majestic the Third Rank is, or how ghost-like and god-like the Fourth Rank can be... Once you have witnessed the vastness of the world, you naturally learn reverence."

"Reverence is not weakness; it is a way to avoid wasting one's life on meaningless endeavors. When one achieves mastery of creation in the future, the hardships of a fleeting moment will ultimately amount to nothing more than a passing frost."

Although Jie Yuanshao's words were blunt, everyone could tell she meant well, and Qian Gongyu was mentally applauding her over and over again. Exactly! As the saying goes, a wise man submits to circumstances; a clever person avoids immediate humiliation. Is there anything that cannot be endured until one gains the strength to annihilate the enemy's entire clan later?

"Yuanshao, those who walk different paths cannot make plans together. Your philosophy of life is right for most people, but it doesn't suit everyone." Unexpectedly, Jie Zilong refuted her niece. "There are people in this world who, in defeat, become mere dust, but in victory, are utterly unstoppable. They live their entire lives on the edge of a blade, invincible before the cold iron loses its edge."

"You may not agree with this way of living, but... not all fish must live in the same ocean."

"Our family will be hosting a banquet here. The two from the Qian family may attend or stay away. I will not stop other families from approaching you, but you are also welcome to seek out the Jie family whenever you run into trouble."

"Rest assured, I'll be watching from the sidelines," Shang Xinlei immediately chimed in. "I am deeply curious about what rewards come with a high personal score. Anyone who dares to harm you two is equivalent to making an enemy of me."

Qian Gongyu looked left and right, and instantly felt at ease.

Both Jie Yuanshao and Shang Xinlei were their teammates in the Overgrown Woods. Even if only to safeguard their own interests, their two families had to protect Jiang Shi. If they failed to protect a teammate like Jiang Shi, they would lose far more than just profit—they would lose their family's honor. To them, the latter was perhaps even more crucial.

A sudden thought popped into her head: Could it be that Jiang Shi had realized this long ago, and that's why she spoke the way she did? That way, they wouldn't owe any favors to the Shang and Jie families, yet they would still secure the protection of both...

However, seeing Jiang Shi practicing her saber with a blank expression, Qian Gongyu felt she was overthinking it.

Why could she remain so calm while practicing her saber, even when targeted and coveted by so many powerful families? Forget fear, worry, or hesitation—not even the most minuscule emotional fluctuation crossed Jiang Shi's face. It was as if worldly affairs had nothing to do with her, and her life consisted solely of training, resting, and combat.

Someone living on the edge of a blade... Qian Gongyu's eyes held a trace of confusion, mingled with a touch of envy.

"Eldest Miss, once you're done resting, let's move on to the sixth sparring match."

"Huh?"

...
...

As the servants lit the campfires and served fine food, the guests began to arrive one after another. Every scion of the prominent clans in attendance was dressed in opulent attire and possessed a noble bearing. Yet, at this banquet, they looked as unremarkable as the surrounding servants; everyone's gaze was focused on the few individuals at the center of the gathering.

So-called blossoms, beneath the bright moon and stars, are merely insignificant background noise.

Because of Shang Xinlei, Qian Gongyu had expected Qun Yushu to be the ambitious, outwardly submissive yet inwardly ruthless, wolf-eyed, sinister type of man. Therefore, she was utterly caught off guard when she saw a young man at the banquet with his robes thrown wide open, spinning and performing high kicks to the beat. She initially mistook him for a dancer hired by the Jie family to liven up the atmosphere—until this dancer walked over and invited her to dance.

"Miss Qian, would you honor me with a dance?" He bowed and extended his right hand, his open robes revealing pectoral and abdominal muscles like carved statues. His long hair was tied up in a nonchalant style, and both ears were pierced with nine earrings each. His style of dress looked nothing like that of a Southern Liang native; he resembled a northern barbarian far more—and a border-dwelling barbarian at that.

Yet the purple-ribboned household belt on his wrist instantly betrayed his identity.

"Qun Yushu," Shang Xinlei stepped in front of Qian Gongyu, sneering, "Why aren't you continuing to act as your brother's tail instead of coming to the Overgrown Woods to stir up trouble?"

"It seems I'll have to shut my windows tight tonight, lest I be targeted by a female thief once again," Qun Yushu replied lazily.

"Qun Yushu, I won't stop you from approaching members of the Qian family, but you must keep conversations in public places," Jie Yuanshao also walked over to say. "Furthermore, as a scion of a noble family, you should set an example. You must not use power to pressure others, and you certainly must not make unreasonable demands."

"What if Miss Qian Gongyu wishes to spend a wonderful evening with me and makes an outrageous demand of her own accord?"

"I wouldn't!"

"You are not allowed to."

"In your dreams."

Qun Yushu looked somewhat deflated. He drooped his head and muttered, "You guys reject me in such perfect unison and with such decisiveness... Besides, is it really out of the question? We could start as friends. I feel Miss Qian Gongyu has shades of my mother's temperament..."

"You could be friends with my niece here," Jie Zilong walked over and said with a smile.

"No, no, Eldest Miss Jie has too much of my father's temperament," Qun Yushu shook his head repeatedly. "I can accept gaining another mother, but gaining another father would make me wish I were dead and reborn sooner."

"You really aren't afraid of these remarks getting back to your family..."

"I've already run away anyway. Could my father possibly drop his official duties and run out here to beat me up?" Qun Yushu reached out and rested his arm on the shoulder of a scarred middle-aged man nearby, inviting him, "Right, Senior Zilong, Elder Linchuan and I have agreed to enter the Overgrown Woods together tomorrow. Will you join us?"

"To be honest, my last experience entering the Overgrown Woods wasn't very pleasant..." Jie Zilong hesitated slightly.

"That's all the more reason for us to go in together. Having two seniors like you around gives me peace of mind," Qun Yushu laughed. "I still remember that when I went that time, I was teamed up with three young ladies. While they were terrified and clung tightly to me, I was terrified too! Yet I still had to comfort and encourage them, otherwise, I'd have to go back and face a merciless chewing-out from my uncles for shaming the Qun family... Being a man of the Qun family is truly exhausting."

"Since you are extending such a warm invitation, I might as well join in. Coming all the way here and not entering the secret realm would indeed be inexcusable."

"Have you finished your small talk?"

Chen Linchuan's voice matched his appearance—weathered, hard, scarred, and cutting straight to the point: "At your request, we are here. Where is Jiang Shi?"

The sound of clinking glasses and chatter quickly dissipated. The lively banquet seemed as though someone had hit the pause button, falling so silent that even a needle dropping to the floor could be heard.

Logically speaking, as long as the four members of the team didn't leak information, the outside world shouldn't have been able to know what happened in the Overgrown Woods, nor could they have deduced who the driving force was. Unfortunately, the personal score leaderboard exposed all their secrets, leaving no room for concealment.

Jie Yuanshao: 230 points.
Qian Gongyu: 325 points.
Shang Xinlei: 389 points.
Jiang Shi... 660 points!

Even though Jiang Shi possessed the lowest strength and the humblest background among the four, her score was overwhelmingly ahead of the others. There was only one possible explanation: Jiang Shi was the root cause of the score anomaly. Jiang Shi held the secrets of the Overgrown Woods, and everyone else was merely riding her coattails to victory!

Although Jiang Shi was merely Qian Gongyu's bodyguard, half a day was more than enough time for them to investigate clearly that Jiang Shi had been picked up off the street by Qian Gongyu on a whim and was not an indigenous retainer of the Qian family.

"Jiang Shi is practicing her saber," Jie Zilong said calmly. "She has no interest in the banquet."

"How rude! How arrogant!" Someone immediately jumped out and shouted, "Young Master Qun and Elder Chen are both here, how can a mere black-belt refuse to come out and meet them? She is deliberately slighting the honor of the great noble families!"

"Hey, watch your mouth and leave the families out of this," Qun Yushu interrupted him immediately. "There are plenty of people in this world who don't give me face. My father doesn't give me face, Eldest Miss Jie and Shang the Fourth don't give me face either. Does that mean they hate the Qun family? They simply hate me, which is perfectly normal. I'm not spirit jade; how could everyone possibly like me? Besides, my father never attends banquets either. Does that mean every family in Jiangnan City that sent my father an invitation was being slighted by me?"

The agitated young man's mouth opened and closed, unable to utter a single word—since Qun Yushu had brought up his own father, for him to say anything further would be equivalent to attacking the head of the immensely powerful Qun family.

"Then please invite her out for a chat," Chen Linchuan said.

"I already have," Jie Zilong maintained her smiling expression. "She refused."

Many of the guests' expressions shifted. It was obvious they had plenty they wanted to say, but with a single sweeping glance from Qun Yushu, everyone choked their words back down.

"Since it's us who want to meet her, and since she's unwilling to come over, we'll just go over to her instead," Qun Yushu said easily. "Would you mind leading the way?"

Such a reasonable and logical request left no room for refusal. As Qun Yushu and Chen Linchuan set off, the banquet guests naturally followed closely behind. Qian Gongyu walked at the very front, watching the massive crowd trailing behind her, and a wondrous thought suddenly popped into her head: Who could have imagined that someone so many scions of noble families were actively seeking out would turn out to be nothing more than a black-belt bodyguard with no titles, no lineage, and minimal strength?

She already realized she had been sucked into a massive vortex, and a single misstep could tear her and the Qian family into shreds. All of this was because she had picked up Jiang Shi on the road.

Yet Qian Gongyu felt not a shred of regret; instead, she began to anticipate Jiang Shi's subsequent performance. Some people were simply like that—even when you knew they were both beautiful and dangerous, you still fell under the spell of their charm, casting all consequences to the wind.

Jiang Shi was still practicing her saber beside the carriage. Even with a large crowd approaching, she remained completely unfazed. A袈裟-slash (kesa-gatame slice), an upward thrust, a downward chop—there were no fancy techniques, just a relentless repetition of fundamental movements. Yet her appearance was so striking, every single motion imbued with the grace of a dance. Even though she wore only a simple black training uniform, it failed to obscure her graceful silhouette. Beads of sweat rolled down her cheek to the tip of her nose, glittering like a delicacy so exquisite it tempted one to taste it.

After staring in a daze for a moment, Qun Yushu suddenly stepped forward and knelt on one knee.

"Miss Jiang Shi, will you marry me!?"