Chapter 67 – Awesome, Word Streamer! (Part 2)
The viewers in the livestream room instantly erupted.
【An Quiet Show-off】: Awesome, Word Streamer!
【Qin Shihuang】: Mama, that’s her! Teasing me through the screen, but won’t come and marry the baby QAQ.
This was a toxic livestream room, both the content and the audience were like that, but fortunately, Jiang Pengji was unaffected.
With clattering hooves, a flash of white dashed in, swift as lightning.
A robust and elegantly graceful white horse leaped high, soaring over the wall of guards and landing perfectly in front of the young master in pink attire. The horse stomped impatiently on the ground, releasing hot vapor, and turned its head to bump right into the young master’s face.
Once his identity was revealed, it turned out Jiang Pengji had arrived on horseback, her clear and refined face still carrying a hint of anger that hadn’t quite faded.
Seeing her tousled hair, the young master reached up to touch his scalp, a faint pain shooting through, making his face darken.
Furious, he waved his sleeve and gritted his teeth, asking, “Liu Xi, are you trying to commit murder?!”
“Murder?” Jiang Pengji narrowed her eyes, one hand holding a bow while the other wrapped protectively around the startled Shangguan Wan, sneering, “That’s not right. Why would I harm my kind? I only saw you behaving like a coward, tarnishing my Liu Xi’s reputation. Since that’s the case, what’s wrong with a little payback?”
Sitting atop her horse, Jiang Pengji looked down upon the overly gentle young master in pink.
With her unruly demeanor and fierce presence, she made everyone around her too intimidated to lift their heads.
If it weren’t for the tension in the air, Feng Jin would have nearly laughed out loud.
What did she mean she wouldn’t harm her kin, wouldn’t kill “people”?
In other words, wasn’t she subtly insulting the others for not being human?
Feng Jin released a sigh of relief, letting go of the restrained individual, stepping in to smooth things over—she couldn’t let it escalate further.
However, it was clear Jiang Pengji had no intention of accepting this goodwill. She jumped off her horse and patted its side, the horse then trotted leisurely to stand aside, while Shangguan Wan had somewhat regained her senses, still blushing excitedly.
“Zheng, I remember you’re supposed to participate in the assessment this year, right?” Saying this, Jiang Pengji had pulled out an arrow from her quiver at some point, gripping it in one hand, the sharp tip steadily aimed at the young master’s delicate face, “What do you think will happen if I slice you with this?”
Everyone’s expression changed dramatically. Was she about to strike?
On the other side, compared to the tense atmosphere on-site, the viewers in the livestream were much more relaxed and eager to learn.
【Pretty Soldier A-Yuan】: What’s this assessment nonsense? 0.0?
【Magical Girl A-Feng】: It’s similar to the ancient imperial examination system for selecting officials here; it feels like they mean the same thing.
【Very Beautiful】: Why do I feel so thrilled watching the streamer about to brutalize the young boy?
Brutalize? Overthinking it! She just wanted to threaten him into ruining his looks.
Feng Jin felt a twinge of worry but didn’t dare to stop her at that moment, fearing a slip of her hand might actually mar the young master’s appearance.
The officialdom of Dongqing followed the legacy of the previous dynasty, with rules as numerous as cattle hairs. Among the thousand or so laws, the more notorious ones included—those born slaves, with physical disabilities, unimpressive looks, and unfilial persons were not eligible for official positions!
“You—do you dare to do that?”
Zheng Bin’s face turned as pale as paper as he took two steps back, such cowardly behavior only fueling his anger further.
“Why not just try and see if I dare?” Jiang Pengji’s gaze was icy; with each step he retreated, she advanced a step closer. Compared to his wobbly posture, hers was firm and resolute. “If you confront me directly, then you’re still a man! But to insult my book boy when I’m not around, using such base tactics, you’re just regressing!”
Feeling the cold tip of the arrow almost touch his cheek, Zheng Bin nervously swallowed, his eyes darting around, terrified Jiang Pengji might accidentally draw blood. With the assessment looming, it would be incredibly unjust if he couldn’t participate due to facial injuries!
“Liu Xi, what do you want?”
Zheng Bin’s heart burned with frustration and annoyance; he had no idea that the previously easygoing Liu Xi had grown so bold.
“Do you enjoy having people as living targets for arrow practice?” Jiang Pengji suddenly smiled wickedly, sending a chill through everyone around her, “Perfect, I like that too. As we’re heading to the Elegant Gathering today, your book boy has already brought the fruits, right? A back-and-forth will even the score! However, to avoid leaving room for criticism, thinking that I, Liu Xi, intentionally harmed someone, let’s change the rules a bit.”
Feng Jin watched as she kept pushing boundaries and couldn’t help but murmur, “Lan Ting, don’t you care about your future?”
If word got out about today’s events at the Elegant Gathering, a brutal reputation would be unavoidable.
“I’m not crazy… One person, three arrows: the first arrow from fifty paces, the second from seventy paces, the third from a hundred paces. The target is fruit; how about that?” Jiang Pengji didn’t even glance back, a chilling smile lingering at her lips, her grip on the arrow unwavering. Before Zheng Bin could respond, she called out, “Xu Ke, stand still with the fruit—I’ll go first.”
Xu Ke had thought he could escape the fate of becoming a human target, but it turned out that this time the person giving orders was none other than his own master.
However, he didn’t hesitate for long and obediently placed the exotic fruit on his head, standing back at fifty paces.
Whoosh—
Xu Ke hadn’t even settled in, and before he could comprehend, he heard a dull thud as Jiang Pengji’s arrow pierced the fruit atop his head, the splattering juice nearly dousing him completely. Still reeling from what just happened, he heard the reckless young master speak again.
“Seventy paces!”
Xu Ke: “…”
What on earth, when did she aim before?
Because of this, Xu Ke’s courage grew a bit bolder. He took another fruit from the maidservant, measured out seventy paces, and stood ready again. Another clean shot rang out, accurately striking the fruit above his head… he had seriously underestimated his young master’s skills.
“One hundred paces, continue!”
A hundred paces for an ordinary person meant the fruit looked minuscule from that distance. What’s more, the lightweight bows used for practice couldn’t shoot that far; if the wind picked up, the arrows might end up missing the target altogether.
But for Jiang Pengji, that wasn’t an issue. Even with closed eyes, she could hit her mark; as for her bow?
That one in her hand could already be considered a heavy bow. As for the rumored masters who could draw a three-hundred-pound bow, if given enough time, she could do that too.
Feng Jin clearly knew these details, worry etched on his face.
“What do these people think the Elegant Gathering is? If they want to compete, go find another place to do it—don’t ruin the mood here… But why does it feel like Liu Xi has grown increasingly bold?” The unaware noble girl still thought of Liu Xi as the shy and reserved youth of old.
Wan Xiuer was older and appeared more mature and composed; she wiped the tea stains from her lips with a napkin, smirking, “This is called skillful talent coupled with guts; she clearly wants to step on Zheng Bin and embarrass him, right, Jingxian? What do you think?”
