Volume 1: Phoenix Nirvana, Reborn from the Flames Chapter 20: You Still Have Me

  As the golden bell tolled again, the grand hall of Han Yun Xuan fell silent. Everyone looked up at He Xueying, who was dressed in a pale white dress.

  She slowly withdrew her gaze from Qing Ge, once again assuming the demeanor of a refined and elegant young lady. With a bright smile directed at the crowd, she said: "I'm delighted that everyone has always supported Han Yun Xuan. Today, Xue Ying will boldly take on the role of the banker and introduce something new to play with. The rules for betting on martial arts remain unchanged; you can freely choose who to challenge, and both parties can either go up themselves or appoint someone to represent them. However, today, if you lose, aside from losing money, you must also agree to any condition set by the winner. What do you all think?"

  In the past, all martial arts conferences were about betting money and jewelry, there has never been such a method, any condition, this condition can be big or small, with a lot of leeway.

  But since it's a gamble, what they're playing for is the thrill. Everyone present has more than enough money, and losing money is something they've all gotten tired of. This way is more interesting than just losing money. The crowd below suddenly erupted in cheers.

  "As the host, I'll start this round. " He Xueying's beautiful eyes scanned the people in the room from left to right, as if selecting a suitable opponent, and finally locked onto Qing Ge. The girl looked radiant, with a calm expression, her eyes half-lowered, seemingly not caring about the martial arts competition at all. With such a cool and detached demeanor, He Xueying sneered inwardly - no matter what pose you strike, trash is still trash.

  Her delicate face wore a deep smile, and she turned to look at the crowd again, saying slowly: "As everyone knows, our Da Yong values martial arts above all else, and among the most famous martial artists is the Mu family. They once produced a legendary warrior, Mu Ye Chen. Since this is the opening match, it must be spectacular enough. So, Xue Ying has chosen an opponent today, I believe everyone knows who she is - she is the eldest sister of the Mu family, Mu Qing Ge!" She paused for a moment, her eyes shifting to where Qing Ge was standing, and asked: "May I ask, Eldest Sister Mu, will you accept my challenge?"

  The hall suddenly fell silent, and everyone's gaze was focused on Qing Ge. The girl stood quietly, wearing a black dress, her hair tied up high, her face as calm as water, ignoring the various colors around her, with a faint smile, like in March when the peony blooms, startling a ground of crimson, and for a moment, everyone was stunned.

  "What's wrong, Miss Shu? Are you afraid? If you're not brave enough to accept the challenge, according to the rules of Han Yun Xuan, it's considered a loss...” He Xueying saw Qing Ge had no reaction, so she took the opportunity to continue speaking. The girl's smile was like a flower, and just looking at her made He Xueying angry, how come she hadn't noticed before that she was born with such a charming and moving beauty.

  Ning Ke Yun stood beside her, with a face full of disdain. "Xue Ying, I think she doesn't dare to agree." She had long heard from Mu Zi Ru that after Mu Qing Ge turned thirteen, he completely lost his internal energy and became a useless person.

  "That's not necessarily true, I think she might agree." Zhao Xi Yi took over Ning Ke Yun's words, and a low laugh echoed in her ears, "Yi Chen, do you think so?"

  Yu Zhen's handsome face, like a jade ornament, wore an inscrutable expression. He took a sip of clear tea and his calm eyes swept towards the girl standing tall in the hall.

  "What's there to be afraid of!" The girl's voice, clear as jade, rang out in the great hall, and she walked calmly towards the high platform, her slender figure swaying gently, and the crowd in the hall parted to let her through.

  "Good job, you actually dare to accept He Dajie's challenge!"

  "Yes, it's just that I don't know what will happen next..."

  The whole field was filled with all sorts of gossip, Qing Ge was completely invisible and inaudible, she hated being provoked, especially by brainless women.

  Step by step, she walked onto the high platform, her elegant and composed demeanor was like a queen ascending to a high position, exerting an intangible pressure on everyone, silencing the entire audience.

  He Xue's eyebrows moved, and she smiled: "Good, Mu Qingge, you accepted this challenge, so I can deal with you more properly. Indeed a descendant of the Mu family, bravely accepting the challenge! Since it's the first round, Snow doesn't want to disappoint everyone. I'll set the stakes at 100,000 taels of silver for the game, and 50,000 taels as the betting deposit, plus an additional wager: whoever loses this round will have to walk naked on Tianyue Main Street! What do you all think?"

  Run naked on Tianyue Street! That's streaking! Oh my god!

  In an instant, the people in the hall became excited. The Da Yong valued martial arts and the customs were more open than others. Men and women were equal, but no matter how open they were, there was no way for women to run naked on the streets!

  And what's more, this naked run is still...

  Everyone's eyes suddenly focused on Mu Qing Ge, this beautiful woman, only sixteen years old, although her figure was relatively slender and weak, but after all, she was a beauty, and her ex-fiancé was the Emperor's eldest grandson. The thought of the Emperor's former fiancée running naked was incredibly thrilling!

  It was worth coming here today to gamble, the experience is really not ordinary. In the past, I have gambled on learning dog crawling and marrying an ugly girl, but no one would make such a bet!

  It's really too exciting!

  Everyone's face was a picture of suppressed excitement, Qing Ge stood on the high platform, looking up at He Xueying with a calm expression, her eyes filled with cold intent. Her gaze swept over the white-clad man sitting behind her, sipping tea at the square table, and her eyebrows rose in disdain. This must be Mu Qingge's former fiancé, Yu Yichen, sitting beside He Xueying, watching everything that had just happened. If he hadn't given his tacit consent, how would He Xueying have dared to make such a bet, ruining a woman's reputation?

  How could such an unfeeling man be worth it for a timid and weak but kind-hearted girl to indirectly die because of him!

  Fine, since you all want to play today, I'll play along with you till the end. She didn't want to stir up trouble, but when trouble finds her, she's not afraid!

  "Alright, it's settled then!" The dark eyes were tinged with frost as they slowly swept over the excited crowd. Qing Ge's eyes held deep contempt, and a thick, icy aura emanated from her body.

  Looking at the stage, her clothes fluttering lightly, a proud and elegant Tsinghua woman, she looked down from above, her calm eyes watching everything in the hall, without even a hint of makeup, but instead became even more stunningly beautiful, her black hair flying in the wind, her wide black dress making her waist look even slimmer, and her slender fingers were not enough to grasp.

  Yuè Zhēn Chén suddenly had a strange surge in his heart, had he really misjudged her before? Then why was she always like that previously? There was a faint tremble at the pit of his stomach, as if he had done something wrong. Yuè Zhēn Chén's eyes narrowed slightly, fixed on the girl standing there, he hadn't noticed, since the girl came in, his gaze had never left her.

  "Xue Ying, it seems that today's Chu Qing song is really crazy, and soon there will be a good show to watch!" Ning Ke Yun saw Chu Qing agree to the bet, rubbing his hands together with excitement.

  He Xueying was talking to Yu Yichen, just as she met his gaze. The eyes that were usually clear and calm like water had layers of dark mist, with a cold glint flashing in them, making her whole body shudder. Is this the Crown Prince? The gentle and refined Crown Prince? She blinked, wanting to take another look, but Yu Yichen had already turned away. She took a deep breath to calm herself down, she must have been mistaken, how could that gaze be Yichen's? She must have been mistaken.

  Zhao Xiyi slightly shook his head, earlier Yichen's eyes had a fleeting change in expression, he saw it clearly, this Mu Qingge, in Yichen's eyes, began to become not ordinary.

  Writing is slow, but things happen quickly. All things that happen are just fleeting moments. He Xueying gathered her thoughts and no matter what, today she would make sure that Mu Qingge could never hold his head up high again in the Great Yong Empire. The Emperor of the Great Yong Empire was too kind to the Mu family; if he didn't let Mu Qingge's reputation be ruined and his infamy spread far and wide, it would be hard to prevent unexpected things from happening.

  She waved her sleeve, and two black shadows flashed out from the corner. These were He's family carefully nurtured dark guards, second only to the imperial dark guards. Two men in black clothes jumped onto the high platform, their eyes shining brightly, exuding a sharp and clean aura, standing opposite Qing Ge.

  "What's with the two of you?" Qing Ge asked indifferently, she was ready to fight and not afraid to face the two of them, but seeing that no one in the audience looked surprised, was there some kind of rule?

  The middle-aged attendant standing below immediately cupped his hands and said, "The first match of the Martial Arts Assembly must be a one-on-one duel. If there is no opponent, it will be considered that the side that cannot meet the conditions loses!"

  Upon hearing this condition, Qing Ge almost burst out laughing. A cold smile spread across her face, like the most beautiful ice lotus, crystal clear and beautiful yet cold. "He Xueying, He Xueying, I thought you loved the Crown Prince so much that you couldn't even bear to look at me, your former fiancée, and couldn't resist choosing me as your opponent first. But it turns out that the cruelest part is here. You're thinking that if I agree to this, you've already made sure that I'll be alone today, with no one in the arena to help me, so I'll have no choice but to admit defeat, right? Well done, First Talented Lady, indeed talented, unfortunately all your talent is used to harm people!"

  The people in the arena finally came to their senses from this gamble, yes, He Dajie's challenge today was obviously very unscrupulous, using her family's dark guards against a lone woman. The first-rate lady's tolerance and temperament made one wonder.

  He Xueying's face turned extremely ugly, "Mu Qingge, what are you being stubborn about? Today is a martial arts competition, not a debate. If you can find anyone in the arena willing to team up with you, then fine. Otherwise, please strip naked and get out!"

  Qing Song's clear and cool eyes scanned the people below, but whoever her gaze fell upon would pretend to look around or simply lower their head. They sympathized with Qing Song, but they feared the power of the Right Prime Minister even more. Power was the most formidable thing in this world.

  A chill ran down her spine, was she going to be humiliated by others just because of this broken rule today?

  "Wrong, you won't be alone, and neither will I!" A voice with an unmistakable volume inserted itself, a sound that evoked the golden sun of scorching days, flames dancing in the air, and a king wielding a golden spear, approaching with unbridled radiance.