Chapter 320: Cad

~~~

The end of another tournament round heralds the usual celebrations. People offer toasts to the Top 16, and experienced gamblers carefully weigh the odds. However, amidst all this cheer, some people have begun moving as far away from the Crimson Arena as possible. No one has missed how many times the city trembled today, nor did they fail to notice how the last battle caused people to faint and buildings to crumble.

While not unusual in the history of the tournament, it has rarely happened so early. If the Top 32 can cause so much damage, what will happen in future rounds? Those who know that neither themselves nor their possessions are strong enough to endure such strong presences have little choice but to remove themselves. Even among the rich and powerful, there are some who hastily start placing their valuables inside secure safes.

For those who lack the means to protect their treasures, the Five Blessings Group offers the use of their storage facilities at a reasonable price. The idea came from Lady Song Daiyu and has quickly made quite a hefty sum, increasing her standing in the eyes of many. It is well known that Song Daiyu is a refined lady with wisdom beyond her years and impeccable self-control.

“You! Evil! Wicked! Man!”

She is also good at throwing things.

A vial of ink. A book. A golden paperweight. The items come flying one after another. Their order is decided by how close they happen to be to Song Daiyu’s hands as she paces around the room. Liu Jin’s gaze alternates between her angry green eyes and her delicate hand as he dodges the many projectiles.

“Do you enjoy doing the things you do?!” Song Daiyu shouts. When Liu Jin opens his mouth to answer, she cuts him off. “Don’t answer! It’ll annoy me no matter what you say!”

The daughter of the Song Clan sighs and sits on her desk. There are still plenty of things in her office that she can throw at him, but they are probably too expensive for her to want to break.

“Xiao Shuang is hurting because of you,” Song Daiyu says, crossing her arms.

Liu Jin does not flinch at the accusation, but there is no hiding the sadness on his face.

“She was looking forward to the tournament. She told me all about how excited she was to be with her family again,” Song Daiyu continues, digging the knife deeper. “She had plans. Places to visit. Things to talk about. Friends she wanted to introduce you to.”

And he ruined that.

“I preferred it when you were throwing things at me,” Liu Jin says.

“And I prefer it when my actions have their intended effect,” Song Daiyu counters. “You are a cad who is making his women fight. Why should I show mercy?”

It sounds ridiculous when voiced, but Song Daiyu is not wrong. To make it to the finals, Xiao Shuang must fight Lu Mei or Su Daji in the Top Four. It should have been a friendly duel, but the pressure from their respective Sects and the gravity with which Xiao Shuang has taken recent events have changed everything. There is no telling how far they will go.

“Do you enjoy it?” Song Daiyu asks when he fails to say anything. “Is that it? Does it tickle your pride?”

“Of course not!” Liu Jin says. “I never wanted this!”

“But you knew it would happen the moment you saw the tournament bracket, and you went through with your plan anyway,” Song Daiyu counters.

“…I did,” Liu Jin says. “I never foresaw Xiao Shuang’s reaction, but I knew everyone would be under greater pressure to win.”

The moment he used [Art of the Roaming Thief], the stakes of the tournament changed. The glory of claiming first place was no longer the goal. The tournament merely became an opportunity to either kill him or capture him before anyone else could do it. He knew that would place those closest to him under scrutiny and pressure.

Of course, there is a difference between knowing and harvesting the fruits of his actions.

Undoubtedly, they are bitter.

“You!” Song Daiyu raises her hands as if to strangle him but contains herself. She huffs and turns away from him. “Why are you even here? You should be trying to reassure them!”

“We both know I cannot show myself to them right now,” Liu Jin says. “Besides, nothing I say will help.”

“Oh, please!” Song Daiyu rolls her eyes at him. “Just lie to them! To her! Whisper sweet nothings into her ears! Tell her all will be well! Lovers have done that to each other since the beginning of time! It’s not that hard!”

“In this situation, that’d be far more cruel,” Liu Jin says. “Besides, it is like you said. I knew there was a risk of something like this, and I still went through with it. I…”

Had already decided this was the only way. That, regardless of what happens, this is the only path he can take.

“Maybe I am a cad,” Liu Jin admits.

“Hpmh! Took you long enough,” Song Daiyu says. She stands up and goes behind her desk. “Here! This is what you came here for, isn’t it?”

Liu Jin blinks as Song Daiyu throws him a small stack of bound papers.

“How?” He asks as he looks over the papers. His eyebrows rise even before he’s gotten to the last page. “I didn’t tell you-”

“It was obvious,” Song Daiyu interrupts him. “Not at first, obviously. But from the moment you raised the stakes of the tournament, there was always a possibility of the Four Great Sects taking steps to raise the level of their fighters. The simplest way to accomplish that without breaking the rules is through the use of relics.”

Relics.

Items from ages gone by. The Four Great Sects have acquired many of them throughout their history. Some are barely useful trinkets. Others are considerably more. The Four Great Sects do not usually arm their disciples with relics for the tournament. This is done not out of any sense of fairness but because the consequences would be too dire. If one Sect gives their disciple a relic, the others would respond in kind, causing more powerful relics to be gifted each time.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

Their disciples wouldn’t survive it.

However, Liu Jin has changed things. The sword Ruan Leji used in his fight with Shen Mi, the Sword of the Wind King according to Song Daiyu’s files, is proof of that. If the Endlessly Raging Valley has decided to arm their disciples with relics, it is only a matter of time until the others do it as well.

That is why Liu Jin has come to Song Daiyu. After all, who better to ask about the treasures of the Four Great Sects than the one who helped them acquire so many of them? While Liu Jin has done his own research ahead of time, he always planned to ask for the Five Blessing Group’s information. The only reason he has waited so long to do so is that he did not want to raise anyone’s suspicions ahead of time.

“I did not expect you to gather this information so quickly,” Liu Jin says.

“Like I said, it was not difficult. I won’t claim we know about all their relics, but the things the Five Blessings Group doesn’t know about are probably too strong to bring to this tournament.”

Liu Jin looks at Song Daiyu and inclines his head to her. “Thank you.”

“Thank me by easing her heart,” Song Daiyu tells him. “When you meet Xiao Shuang…Win or lose, please, ease her heart.”

“I never intended anything else.”

~~~

Liu Jin does not immediately return to the Imperial Palace.