Weightlifting Contest
Qi Xianqing remembered that, a long time ago, she had seen this black fox before.
Its fur was just as it had been then, glossy and lustrous.
Its eyes were wide open, fixed on Yan Jue.
Qi Xianqing withdrew her gaze and lowered her eyes to Yan Jue, her expression gentle as water.
In the dim light, the girl’s skin was snow-white; a few loose strands of hair hung between her brows, and she sat at the table with relaxed shoulders, her amber eyes clear and innocent.
Perhaps it was because Yan Jue was simply too endearing.
After being with Yan Jue, Qi Xianqing constantly felt a strange sense of danger.
And for someone as calm and self-possessed as Lord Meng Heng, she had never felt anything like it before.
The Immortal Spirit Physique affected Yan Jue far too much. All of Yan Jue’s attention was on Qi Xianqing, and she hadn’t noticed the black fox at the door at all.
“What is it?” Yan Jue lightly kicked her lower leg and said fiercely, “You’ve never seen a canine’s period before?”
Qi Xianqing stepped forward and blocked Yan Jue’s line of sight, then lowered her head and kissed her.
The aura of the Immortal Spirit Physique left Yan Jue dazed; on top of that, the saliva from the kiss carried a great deal of Qi Xianqing’s yang energy.
Yan Jue’s waist went weak beyond belief.
It was all the fault of this damned nine-tailed fox body. By the time Yan Jue came to her senses, she was already in Qi Xianqing’s arms.
Her hand unconsciously hooked around Qi Xianqing’s shoulder.
Qi Xianqing gently set Yan Jue down on the bed and lowered her head as she said softly, “Today in the secret realm, you took away a sheet of paper.”
“That was the clue to the next material.”
“Taking that paper was the same as cutting off the chance for everyone behind you to obtain the material.”
Qi Xianqing braced herself on either side of Yan Jue and pinched Yan Jue’s face, saying softly, “How could you be so bad, hmm?”
Yan Jue’s lips curved at once when she heard this. “I’m capable, that’s why.”
Qi Xianqing: “What was written on the paper?”
Yan Jue: “Qi Xianqing, why should I tell you?”
Qi Xianqing lifted her eyelids. “Not telling?”
Yan Jue: “Not telling.”
The words had barely left Yan Jue’s mouth when a soft, numbing sensation suddenly spread through her waist. She stiffened, then immediately curled up as if she had been shocked by electricity.
A fox’s body was already sensitive during its period; Qi Xianqing was strong, and she pinned both of Yan Jue’s hands. Yan Jue’s face instantly flushed red, bursts of fireworks exploding in her mind until her brain went blank.
In the quiet Frozen Peach Haven, a cry suddenly burst out.
“Senior Sister... don’t!!!”
Both of Yan Jue’s hands were trapped above her head by Qi Xianqing; her waist twisted desperately forward as she tried to kick Qi Xianqing, laughing even as she ground her teeth. “I just won’t tell you.”
The pressure at her waist never let up. Yan Jue’s body trembled violently; she jerked forward hard, her head pressed against Qi Xianqing’s abdomen.
“Qi Xianqing!!! You’re going to die!!!”
Qi Xianqing’s strength was simply too great; she held Yan Jue’s hands firmly, and Yan Jue couldn’t move at all.
Looking at Yan Jue like this, Qi Xianqing couldn’t help but freeze.
Yan Jue’s hair ribbon had come loose; her jet-black hair was in utter disarray. Her slender back rose and fell; her fair face was flushed all over, and the narrow phoenix eyes that once looked so sharp were also misted with tears. She was obviously being tormented badly.
Qi Xianqing stroked her face, and memories of things she had once seen suddenly surged up in her mind. She could no longer restrain the wicked thoughts rising inside her.
Qi Xianqing felt that she was truly disgraceful. At first she had still been able to endure it, but by now, there was more and more the sense that she was losing control.
Qi Xianqing closed her eyes. She had always been aloof and self-restrained, yet she hadn’t expected herself to become like this today.
“Ah Jue.”
Qi Xianqing lowered her head; her palm slowly slid over the girl’s back, then she pinched her waist, not lightly and not heavily: “Tell me.”
Yan Jue felt like she was about to explode.
-
In the end, Yan Jue still showed Qi Xianqing that blueprint.
Anyway, she couldn’t figure anything out on her own.
Everyone in Qi Xianqing’s team was extremely outstanding within the sect; rather than standing there spinning wild theories, it would be better to form an alliance with Qi Xianqing’s team. They might make progress faster that way.
At the very least, as long as she could make sure Qi Xianqing’s team didn’t get their hands on the other clue first, that would be enough.
Qi Xianqing sat by the window, holding the sheet of white paper close to the candle flame to look at it.
Yan Jue sat on the edge of the bed and swung her legs. “I tried it. That method doesn’t work.”
Qi Xianqing: “The clue beneath the ancient Buddha isn’t the only one.”
Yan Jue nodded. “Among the clues beneath the ancient Buddha, there was a very large taiji diagram, and a grain of millet placed on the yin side of the diagram.”
Qi Xianqing: “That may mean the writing is yin in nature.”
Yan Jue blinked slightly.
Qi Xianqing: “The sun is yang; the moon is yin.”
“I once read in an ancient book that when our predecessors entered the Wuwang Secret Realm to search for the Heavenly Tome, they saw a smooth stone slab. In the daytime, there were no words on it at all, but once night fell and a strand of moonlight shone on it, words would appear. I’m not certain, though.”
Qi Xianqing thought for a moment. “If you can’t see it under sunlight, perhaps you can see those words under moonlight.”
Yan Jue: “Then let’s go try.”
Yan Jue slipped on her shoes and got out of bed, following Qi Xianqing into the courtyard of Frozen Peach Haven.
It was cloudy today; there was no moon in the sky.
Qi Xianqing: “We won’t be able to see it tonight.”
Yan Jue yawned and walked straight inside. “Anyway, the team event isn’t until the day after tomorrow. I’m not looking at it today!”
Qi Xianqing: “Are you going to sleep?”
Yan Jue was so sleepy she could barely keep her eyes open. “Naturally. I’m sleeping first.”
Yan Jue went in first.
Qi Xianqing followed behind her, deliberately a step slower.
Then Qi Xianqing suddenly turned back and saw, under the peach tree some distance away, that sneaky black fox again.
The black fox had been hiding behind the tree the whole time, apparently waiting for Yan Jue to notice it.
But Yan Jue hadn’t seen it and had already gone inside.
The black fox looked a little disappointed. Then, abruptly, it saw Qi Xianqing turn around; those clear, elegant peach blossom eyes were deep and restrained.
The night was very quiet; faintly, one could hear the wind passing through the peach leaves.
Qi Xianqing, dressed in white like snow, walked over slowly and crouched down in front of it, asking gently, “Are you here to find her?”
The black fox tilted its head and let out a confused “wooo-ao—” as if it didn’t understand whether it could make sense of Qi Xianqing’s words.
It turned its head and kept looking in the direction Yan Jue had disappeared, looking somewhat dejected.
“It’s best if you don’t come looking for her in the future,” Qi Xianqing said, watching it. The depth in her peach blossom eyes curved slightly. “She already has someone to keep her company.”
-
Very quickly, it was the next day.
The damp morning mist had not yet fully dispersed when the second entertainment event began.
In the latter half of the Five-Dragon Summit, the team matches and entertainment events were held in alternation.
Today’s event was the weightlifting contest.
Liang Yi was a burly man; standing in the middle of the crowd, he was especially conspicuous.
Liang Yi stared at the heavy steel in front of him, his eyes hollow and blank.
He could not bear the failure from the day before.
Why?
Clearly he could take the championship in the food competition every year, so why had he actually lost this time to a yellow-haired little girl!
The prize for this year’s food competition was the Azure Jade Glazed Pot, a magical artifact Liang Yi had looked forward to for an entire year.
But this time, he had actually failed to get it!
It was truly... infuriating!
Then Liang Yi suddenly thought of something and felt a little better.
Although he had lost the food competition, today was his strong suit.
The weightlifting contest—he did not believe he would lose!
-
Yun Zhen wore a light red dress embroidered with butterflies and edged with gold thread. Her long hair was styled into a seductive flying-immortal bun; her skin was white as snow, and a touch of cinnabar adorned the center of her brows.
She sat lazily in the viewing stand and, sensing the gloomy gaze from Yan Yue’s side, couldn’t help but smile with easy confidence.
Yun Zhen had originally thought that this time, in the entertainment events, she would lose everything again just as she had in previous years.
But who would have thought? That little girl from before had actually managed to turn things around.
This was the first time in all the entertainment events she had experienced that she had ever won a championship in one of the events.
And it was all thanks to the fact that this was an entertainment event.
The entertainment events did not impose rigid restrictions on the contestants from each sect, which was why Zhu He, despite being a small pig demon, had been able to register successfully.
Yan Yue shot her a bad-tempered look. “You won’t be so lucky this time.”
“Weightlifting has always been for men only. As far as I know, your Thunderflame Sect doesn’t seem to have any men worth mentioning.”
“Don’t worry,” Yun Zhen snorted. “Yesterday was an unexpected surprise. I won’t be competing with you for the weightlifting contest as well.”
In every entertainment event, Thunderflame Sect’s results were especially miserable.
Winning one event was already more than enough to satisfy Yun Zhen.
Only then did Yan Yue let out a relieved smile.
The competition was about to begin, and more and more people were gathering in Five Dragons Square.
Sure enough, a glance across the venue showed muscular, imposing men everywhere.
Quite a few of them had already taken off their outer robes, revealing knotted muscle, and were eager to test themselves.
In front of each contestant were several huge pieces of steel.
Each piece of steel had its weight marked on it.
Three hundred jin... six hundred jin... one thousand jin...
Liang Yi swept his gaze across the crowd and did not see a single opponent capable of competing with him.
He couldn’t help but smile.
A melodious bell sounded from afar.
The competition began.
Suddenly, Liang Yi’s pupils contracted.
The thin girl from the food competition two days ago slowly walked onto the stage.
The girl wore only a thin, light-blue dao robe; her jet-black hair was tied back with a ribbon, and over her shoulders she wore a thick cloak woven from dried reeds.
Zhu He searched for a long time before she finally reached the blocks of iron that belonged to her.
She asked the disciple acting as referee, “Do I just need to lift this thing up?”
The disciple blinked at her, then couldn’t help but laugh. “Yes. Lift them one by one; each has to stay up for ten breaths before you can switch to the next. If you can do it with one hand, you get extra points.”
Anyway, this little girl was probably just someone Thunderflame Sect had sent to make up the numbers.
After all, not every sect could happen to find disciples suited to the weightlifting contest, so it was inevitable that some would send a few people simply to fill out the roster.
Liang Yi had just finished lifting his own one-thousand-jin steel and was already panting heavily.
As a cultivator, he was said to possess strength like an ox, but lifting something this heavy still required both hands; earlier, he had even needed three attempts before managing to hold it up for ten breaths.
The disciple referee’s loud voice then rang out: “Thunderflame Sect disciple Zhu He begins the competition.”
Liang Yi whipped around and glared fiercely in the girl’s direction, his eyes nearly splitting with rage!
Even if she could eat as much as she wanted, it was impossible... impossible for her to lift something this heavy!
Zhu He first calmly raised the three-hundred-jin steel overhead with one hand.
Then she set it down, grabbed the six-hundred-jin steel, and lifted it up.
Her movements were as smooth and elegant as flowing water, as though it took no effort at all.
Soon ten breaths passed.
Liang Yi stared at her, his eyes bloodshot.
The slender girl with the clean, refined face slowly walked to the largest piece of steel, rubbed her hands together once, then took hold of the bottom of the steel and drew a breath. Gracefully and unhurriedly, she lifted it over her head.
A wave of screams erupted from the viewing stand.
The disciple referee stared in shock for a long moment, then hurriedly began tallying the score.
Zhu He seemed not to have exerted any force at all, holding up the gigantic steel with an expressionless face; in the sunlight, the beautiful lines of muscle on her arms could faintly be seen.
One thousand jin!!
TL Note:
yellow-haired little girl (黄毛丫头) = a pejorative for a naive young woman
jin (斤) = a Chinese unit of weight, about 0.5 kg / 1.1 lb.
one thousand jin (一千斤) = about 500 kg / 1,100 lb.