Chapter 21: A Dragon Lying in Wait, Failing to Read the Room!
The selection trial had drawn to a close, and the Blade-Bearers didn’t linger, departing Shiyang County all together.
Magistrate Lu warmly invited all ten seeded contestants and their families to a banquet at the county office.
The three members of the Gu Family went together.
Congratulations poured in from every side. Gu Changchuan’s face muscles stayed tense, struggling to maintain proper composure—but the moment he saw the chief escort cup his fists in celebration, Gu Changchuan couldn’t help himself, breaking into a wide, unrestrained grin.
The lines at the corners of Zhou Man’s eyes smoothed out, her face glowing with spirit. Every word of congratulation sounded to her like the most beautiful music in the world, leaving her feeling as though she floated among the immortals.
Before they’d even left the academy grounds—
a group blocked their path ahead.
The one leading them, hair bristling with fury, his face twitching faintly from temple to jaw, brimming with hatred—it was none other than Li Jisheng, head of the Fisherman’s Guild.
“Gu Lin!!”
Li Jisheng thrust a finger forward, screaming with a shrill, anguished fury:
“Such a young age, and already so viciously cruel?”
Gu Changchuan was about to fire back.
Gu Lin stopped his father, then suddenly smiled.
“And so what?”
Li Jisheng, seeing the magistrate approaching from a distance, forced down his rage with tremendous effort, his eyes nearly splitting with fury, and spat out viciously:
“If this debt goes unpaid, may the Li Family be crushed to bone-dust and scattered to the wind!!”
With that, he led his people away.
‘Within this month, of course, that animal couldn’t be touched.’
‘But once the deadline passed, the Gu Family would repay this debt many times over!!’
***
The academy’s bamboo grove.
Father and son, Zhao Yao and Deputy Magistrate Zhao, sat facing each other.
Deputy Magistrate Zhao scolded him furiously:
“Losing all dignity, making a fool of yourself in public!”
Zhao Yao’s face remained cold.
He truly could not accept his own defeat, and with no outsiders present, he simply spoke his mind directly:
“Father, I want to send someone to quietly eliminate Gu Lin. He must be hiding some secret. Once we get our hands on it, I’m certain to shine brilliantly at the Sacred Ground selection trial.”
Deputy Magistrate Zhao slammed his palm on the table and stood, erupting with fury:
“Foolish! He’s a seeded contestant, under the dynasty’s protection for a full month!”
“If you touch him and leave any trace behind, the entire Zhao Family will be brought down with it! Who would dare challenge the dynasty’s own authority?”
Zhao Yao’s face was full of resentment, and he lowered his voice.
“Elder brother is stationed within the Martial Extremity Palace—he’s hardly short on discreet methods…”
“Silence!”
Deputy Magistrate Zhao cut him off at once, his fury flaring even hotter:
“You think the Four Great Sacred Grounds exist in perfect harmony? They fight from the dynasty’s very center all the way out to the twenty-eight provinces of this world. From what Can’er has told me, even within the Martial Extremity Palace itself, competition runs fierce, with bloodshed at times. Should a mere ant like us dare challenge the dynasty’s authority, others would seize on it and use it against us, and Can’er himself would face a wretched fate.”
“Never entertain such a foolish notion again!”
He paused briefly, steadying his own emotions, then spoke in a low voice:
“This Gu Lin boy must have come into some fortunate opportunity—and so must that Zhu Yuting!”
“We cannot simply seize it by force. We must make them willingly offer it up, to help you rise above the rest at the Sacred Ground selection trial and don the sacred three-legged golden crow robe of the Martial Extremity Palace!”
***
The county office’s banquet hall, dozens of guests exchanging cups in celebration.
Deputy Magistrate Zhao walked over to Gu Lin’s side.
Gu Lin set down his wine cup and cupped his fists in greeting.
Deputy Magistrate Zhao nodded in approval.
“A true gentleman keeps his talents hidden within, waiting for the right moment to act. This old man admires your temperament greatly.”
“You flatter me,” Gu Lin said mildly.
Deputy Magistrate Zhao made a small gesture.
“Shall we step aside?”
Gu Lin nodded.
The two made their way to the county office’s household affairs bureau, where two others already waited.
It was Zhao Yao and Zhu Yuting.
Zhao Yao stood by the window, his back to Gu Lin. The moment he laid eyes on him, he was reminded again of this cheater who’d shone so brilliantly in the willpower assessment through some crooked, underhanded means—fury and revulsion churned in his stomach.
Deputy Magistrate Zhao settled slowly into his seat, his gaze sweeping over the two young men, and got straight to the point:
“As everyone knows, securing a place at a Sacred Ground comes with three Blade-Bearer spots to distribute. Though it can’t compare to earning Blade-Bearer status purely through one’s own merit, it’s still a position of considerable standing, in the end.”
“Should you both be willing, once Yao’er secures his place at a Sacred Ground, you would both leap through the dragon gate together, donning the official robes of a Blade-Bearer.”
“Naturally, this requires a fair exchange in return.”
Zhu Yuting’s expression shifted abruptly, and he fell into a long silence.
Gu Lin, meanwhile, remained utterly unreadable throughout.
“Yuting,” Deputy Magistrate Zhao said, leaning forward, studying the composed and reserved young man, his tone gentle:
“Should you manage to secure a place in a Blade-Bearer Bureau through your own ability, then the Zhao Family will owe you a debt of gratitude. Words alone carry no weight, of course—everything will be set down in a formal contract, sealed with the official seal.”
The moment the words fell, a flicker crossed Zhu Yuting’s expression, his hand within his sleeve alternately clenching and loosening—clearly a fierce internal struggle was underway.
He’d sensed the hidden blade behind Deputy Magistrate Zhao’s smile.
Should he refuse, he’d remain safe enough for the coming month—but a month later, should he fail at the selection trial, his entire Zhu Family would face swift and thunderous retaliation.
The bureau fell into a long, drawn-out silence.
Zhu Yuting remained silent still.
At the selection trial, only six spots existed for securing a place at a Sacred Ground.
He knew he couldn’t outcompete for one.
But he was confident he could become a Blade-Bearer on his own merit, without needing to rely on Zhao Yao at all.
Yet with Deputy Magistrate Zhao’s words now on the table, it was nearly as good as a guarantee.
After a long moment, Zhu Yuting glanced once at Gu Lin.
Deputy Magistrate Zhao understood at once, though he hadn’t yet spoken.
Gu Lin voluntarily stepped out of the bureau.
He genuinely hadn’t expected Zhu Yuting to actually offer up his own fortunate opportunity—whether some cultivation art or some treasured item, he didn’t know, and he had no interest in knowing either.
A cup of tea’s time later, Deputy Magistrate Zhao emerged, his face full of smiles, gesturing for Gu Lin to step back inside.
Zhu Yuting’s breath had turned noticeably weak, his hand clutched tightly around a paper contract, bearing the unmistakable seal of the deputy magistrate himself, along with Zhao Yao’s own bloodprint as a mark of oath.
For the sake of a certain future, he had compromised.
Beside him, Zhao Yao’s face glowed with satisfaction, clearly delighted deep within.
Deputy Magistrate Zhao turned to Gu Lin.
“And you, young friend Gu?”
Gu Lin looked puzzled.
“What do you mean?”
Deputy Magistrate Zhao’s expression stiffened slightly—he didn’t believe for a second that Gu Lin genuinely failed to understand.
Since he was playing dumb, the deputy magistrate decided to be blunt and direct instead:
“Young friend Gu, to have bested Yao’er in the willpower assessment, you must surely have something behind you.”
“On the combat platform, you fought three realms above your own—that too speaks to some special martial art. That silent, untraceable claw strike was truly remarkable, as was that leg technique.”
“This, then, is the exchange I propose.”
Gu Lin shook his head with a rueful laugh.
“I’m afraid I must disappoint you, Deputy Magistrate. This junior merely tinkered about in the academy’s martial pavilion, cobbling together a couple of techniques through trial and error—nothing systematic at all, let alone anything I could write down as a formal mnemonic or diagram out move by move.”
Deputy Magistrate Zhao’s expression shifted sharply.
Beside him, Zhu Yuting could scarcely believe his ears either—he hadn’t imagined Gu Lin would dare defy the Zhao Family with such open firmness!
Deputy Magistrate Zhao forced down his anger, his tone turning hard:
“Forgive this old man’s bluntness, but with your current strength, becoming a Blade-Bearer is simply not possible. Your only path forward lies in joining some sect—and you should know, sects fall under the dynasty’s jurisdiction and cannot shelter anyone guilty of a crime.”
The implication couldn’t have been clearer.
‘Fabricate some charge whenever convenient, declare you guilty, and there you’d be—condemned for the gravest of crimes. Which sect in all of Chuwei Prefecture would dare defy the dynasty to shelter a wanted criminal?’
Gu Lin’s smile never wavered.
“This junior truly has nothing to offer, I’m afraid.”
Deputy Magistrate Zhao studied him for a long moment, then spoke, each word deliberate and clipped:
“Very well. You may go!!!”
Gu Lin turned and left, his smile vanishing the instant he did, a cold chill settling over his face.
‘You think I need your charity, dangling a Blade-Bearer spot in front of me?’
‘A threat?’
‘Once I secure my own place at a Sacred Ground, I’ll make damn sure to investigate whether your Zhao Family has committed any crimes of its own.’
Watching Gu Lin’s retreating figure, Zhao Yao’s expression turned grim, his eyes clouded with dark resentment.
Never mind that even if Gu Lin had offered up his fortunate opportunity, Zhao Yao had no intention of honoring the contract anyway—when the time came, the brush and blade would be in his own hands, free to interpret the wording however he pleased.
He genuinely hadn’t imagined that Gu Lin would dare so firmly refuse the Zhao Family!
‘This worthless maggot, so weak in cultivation and yet so ungrateful—he truly deserves to die!’
Deputy Magistrate Zhao forced down his fury and sneered coldly:
“Yuting, someone as blind to the way of the world as him won’t get far.”
Zhu Yuting nodded in agreement.
He genuinely couldn’t understand what Gu Lin thought he was accomplishing by standing so firm.
Offering up a treasure, aligning himself with the Zhao Family, becoming a Blade-Bearer and leaping across the social ladder—for people like them, born into an ordinary small county, that was the single greatest fortune one could hope for.
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