The martial combat event was divided into two segments: first unarmed combat, followed by weapon duels; contestants clashed one-on-one, and the victors advanced.
Gu Qingyun’s first draw was none other than Head Constable Qian Lie of Yumen County.
Though her opponent was famous for his Qinggong, Gu Qingyun was not the least bit intimidated. Qian Lie, seeing his opponent was a woman, felt a flash of relief in his eyes.
In his view, men were naturally far stronger than women. Even though Gu Qingyun possessed superior endurance and had secured second place because of it, her martial prowess would not necessarily be anything remarkable.
The two cupped their hands in salute and settled into their respective stances. Once the referee gave the command, Gu Qingyun took the initiative, throwing a punch straight at Qian Lie. She put forty percent of her strength into this strike.
Facing Gu Qingyun’s incoming fist, Qian Lie met it head-on, not taking the punch to heart.
He caught her punch with his palm, and his expression shifted abruptly. Such tremendous force! He could not withstand this blow.
He stumbled back dozens of meters before finally steadying himself. The palm that had just blocked the strike was entirely numb, his whole arm trembling uncontrollably.
His face darkened, devoid of any prior complacency. He did not even dare glance toward the spectators; under the watchful eyes of the crowd, everyone had just seen him fail to withstand even a single punch from her.
Everyone on the drill ground was dumbfounded. No one expected this constable, renowned for his Qinggong, would actually test his strength against his opponent.
It was obvious that because she was a female constable, he thought he could win on raw power alone. Who could have imagined he would run into such a tough customer?
He shook his hand, his expression settling into steady composure. Circulating his Qinggong, he avoided confronting Gu Qingyun head-on, seeking an opening in her defense to defeat her in one fell swoop.
Gu Qingyun’s lips curved faintly. Competing with her in footwork? She was not about to lose. With a few casual strides, her figure vanished from where she stood and reappeared right behind Qian Lie. At the same time, her hands shot out, seizing his arm and giving it a gentle twist.
“Ah!”
Qian Lie felt a sharp pang of agony shoot through his arm. He tried to break free, only to discover the hands gripping him were like iron pincers, pinning his arm behind his back so firmly that he could not budge an inch.
The footwork he took such pride in was utterly fragile before her.
“I yield!” he shouted. Under the circumstances, sacrificing a chariot to save the general—conserving his energy for other bouts to fight for third place—was his only option.
No one on the drill ground expected the match to be decided so quickly; a dead silence fell over the arena.
Gu Qingyun released her grip, took a few steps back, and cupped her hands to Qian Lie.
“Thank you for the match.”
Flushed crimson, Qian Lie hurried off the arena stage. He had lost face immensely this time, but who could have known that his opponent surpassed him in both strength and speed? It was an honest defeat.
In the subsequent bouts, roughly half of those who drew Gu Qingyun forfeited outright, and the other half proved no match for her.
In the end, when facing Head Constable Cheng of the prefecture capital, Gu Qingyun fell short by three moves and was defeated, concluding the tournament with a second-place finish.
Throughout the entire day—across endurance, martial combat, archery, and horsemanship—Gu Qingyun proudly claimed second place in every event except archery, where she went unranked.
Surprisingly, Wu Yong turned out to be quite skilled at archery, placing eighth—a joyous occasion worth celebrating.
Having collected their rewards, they were preparing to leave with Head Constable Liu and the others when Head Constable Cheng of the prefecture capital walked toward them. Seeing Gu Qingyun, he greeted her warmly,
“Constable Gu, congratulations! Your Jiangyin County took second place this year. Heroes truly come from youth. Would you be interested in coming to the prefecture capital to serve under me?”
Standing nearby, Head Constable Liu felt a flash of displeasure at him poaching his constable, but he held his tongue, quietly waiting to let Qingyun make her own choice.
Gu Qingyun cupped her hands, her words sincere,
“Thank you for your high regard, Head Constable Cheng. However, my entire family resides in our county seat, and young and old alike are accustomed to life in Jiangyin County. I cannot bear to part with them. Please forgive me for declining your kind offer.”
Head Constable Cheng burst into hearty laughter.
“No matter. If I were asked to leave the prefecture capital for an unfamiliar place, I wouldn’t want to either. It’s only human nature. Well then, I’ll take my leave. You all should head back early and get some rest.”
Watching Head Constable Cheng walk away, another group approached her—it was the constables from Changyun County and Yumen County.
“Head Constable Liu, Constable Gu, how about joining us for dinner?”
Head Constable Liu waved his hands with a smile.
“Perhaps next time. Constable Gu is tired, and look at the state of our clothes; we need to return to the inn to wash up first. Let’s do it another time when there’s a chance.”
The constables had no choice but to nod in understanding.
“You are very formidable, but I will catch up to you soon,” the female constable said, walking up beside Gu Qingyun.
“You are very formidable as well. I’ll be waiting,” Gu Qingyun replied with a smile.
“I’m Gu Qingyun. Let’s train together when we have time.” She extended a hand toward the female constable, who looked at her for a moment before taking it.
“My name is Wu Fei. If there’s a chance, I’ll visit you in Jiangyin County. Our county seats aren’t far apart.”
Gu Qingyun gave a gentle smile.
“Sounds good.”
...
At dusk, Ma Lingyi and Madam Wang went together to a teahouse on Mengmei Street.
This time, they did not bring any maidservants along, only having them wait in a nearby carriage. According to Madam Wang, if there were too many people, the place would be difficult to find.
She followed Madam Wang back and forth along the street several times. Just as her disappointment deepened and night completely fell, the words 【Meiyu Teahouse】 appeared before their eyes.
Ma Lingyi rubbed her eyes. It had not been there just moments ago—how had it suddenly popped up?
Madam Wang tugged her arm with excitement.
“Lingyi, you share a fated connection as well; otherwise, you never could have entered this teahouse. The owner is a beauty, and once you drink her tea, you’ll become more and more beautiful as well.”
Her obsession with becoming beautiful made her overlook these anomalies. She followed Madam Wang into the teahouse. The moment they stepped inside, the teahouse vanished again, as though it had never existed.
Upon the walls of this teahouse named 【Meiyu Teahouse】, numerous paintings of maidens hung. Without exception, the women in these paintings were breathtakingly beautiful—a beauty that seemed unnatural for the mortal realm.
A quiet stillness filled the teahouse, with no patrons drinking tea at the moment. Behind the counter stood a woman. Hearing their footsteps, she turned around.
How could one describe this woman? She had a slender neck, skin luminous and white as jade, and features like carved frost and snow.
Every shifting glance held enchanting charm, and every gesture carried a bewitching allure. For a moment, Ma Lingyi was left spellbound.
Seeing her reaction, the woman covered her mouth with a soft chuckle.
“Come in and take a seat, little sisters.”
Her voice was low and soft, as sweet as honey and soothing to the bone, sending chills tingling across Ma Lingyi’s scalp.
Ma Lingyi leaned closer to Madam Wang and whispered,
“Sister Wang, don’t you think the proprietress is overly beautiful? So beautiful it feels unreal. How about we head back? I don’t feel easy about this.”
Though her voice was low, the proprietress seemed to hear it nonetheless, glancing toward her.
“Those who come to my establishment all wish to become beautiful after being neglected at home. You could only find my shop because of a fated connection. If you are afraid, you may leave, but if you wish to find this place again next time, there won’t be another chance.”
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