83 The Start of the Battle of Talents (2/2)
Chang Chang was only seventeen years old but she certainly had high ambitions. It was said that she had already entered into a marriage agreement with the son of the duke of Zeyin before the new empress arrived and killed and massacred the entire family.The duke was said to have a deep friendship with the sect master so the marriage was a very much anticipated affair on both sides. But it was not to be because for some reason, the duke and his entire family, including Chang's Chang's dashing young fiancee, incurred the royal family's wrath and died tragically by the empress dowager's hand.
So, when Chang Chang started berating and scolding the dude with the black mask, Wang Sao became alarmed. He walked over to where the two were standing, arguing. Rather, Chang Chang was speaking with her voice raised in anger and the dude just looking at her with a pair of white, fish-like eyes. He tried to smooth things over by asking what the matter was about.
”Get the fuck out of here! This doesn't concern you!” Chang Chang screamed shrilly, her face totally inflamed with anger.
Wang Sao ignored her and turned to the still silent masked guy.
”What the hell happened?”
”She said I was using the wrong arrows,” the guy mumbled, his voice a bit incoherent behind the mask.
”Wrong arrows?” Wang Sao said, frowning. ”What wrong arrows?”
”I told you to butt out! This doesn't concern you.”
”What wrong arrows are you talking about, girl? There are no wrong arrows when you're pulling a bow. There's only a lack of technique.”
”How dare you!” Chang Chang was livid. ”This guy was obviously cheating. Look at his arrows. They're bigger than what all of us are using.”
Wang Sao took the arrow she was pointing at and looked closely at it. The head was flatter and a bit bigger than normal. But it was the blades that gave him pause. They were made of some sort of solid steel, serrated and razor-sharp. They were the type of arrows that would fell a much bigger game than the normal-sized wild boar or deer.
”They look deadly and razor sharp but I don't see anything wrong with them,” Wang Sao said. ”You're just sore because he's creaming your team.”
Wang Sao was smiling, expecting Chang Chang to be angry and yell at him at him some more. What he did not expect was the feral gleam in her eyes as she pulled her knife and stabbed him on the stomach with it. Wang Sao crumpled to the ground, looking stupidly up at Chang Chang, who watched him with a sneering smile. She then raised her arm and was about to stab him again when something wheezed past her arm.
Chang Chang looked at the thing restraining her arm. It was a very thin string looped around her wrist, the end of which was held in the slim, white hands of her majesty, the empress dowager. The empress dowager pulled at the string until it dug into Chang Chang's arm, scraping the skin and blood began to appear.
”Mighty brave of you, to attempt to do murder in front of my eyes,” the empress dowager quipped. ”Don't struggle or I might be tempted to wring your neck this time. Put that knife down and get away from him.”
The presence of the empress dowager started to attract people's attention to the little group. The masked guy was standing to one side, staring at the empress dowager. Wang Sao was on the ground and who seemed to be bleeding. A furious looking Chang Chang was also nursing a bleeding arm and shooting angry looks at the empress dowager, who looked totally cool yet mighty pissed at the same time.
Wang Sao's teammates have now become aware of what had happened. They rushed to him and pulled him to his feet, half-dragging him to the tent where the first-aid kit was located.
”Kang Jun!” the empress dowager called out.
”Yes, your grace.”
”Call for the doctor. He might die if he doesn't get treatment.”
”Yes, your grace,” Kang Jun said, then hurried away.
”What the hell happened here, your majesty?” Mu Xing panted as he arrived, taking deep breaths before turning to An Ning.
”Ask her,” the empress dowager said, looping and putting the thin string away.
”Nothing,” Chang Chang said with a sick smile. ”Wang Sao and I were just playing and he suddenly keeled over and fainted.”
”Fainted,” Mu Xing said, his eyes questioning.
”They were arguing about arrows and stuff then she grabbed her knife and suddenly stabbed him in the stomach. She was about to finish him off when I stopped her.”
”That's a lie!” Chang Chang cried. ”I didn't do anything to him. We were playing as I said then he suddenly keeled over and the next thing I know, she was tugging at my arm with a string. Look, it's still bleeding from how she manhandled me!”
Chang Chang showed her bare arm. The scar from the string was still there. It had deeply chaffed the skin and the blood was still pooling around the fresh wound.
Mu Xing looked at the empress dowager and opened his mouth but before he could say anything, nearly half of Chang Chang's teammates hurried to the scene, shouting and exclaiming angrily over the wound on her arm. Chang Chang's tears again fell as she saw the concern in her teammates' eyes. She explained what happened between hiccoughs and when she was done explaining, she again bared her arm and showed them her wound.
By this time, everyone's heart had already hardened with fury at what they thought was a miscarriage of justice. Chang Chang didn't even want to be here in this godforsaken capital. She said it was too painful still, since Yuqui would only remind her of her loss, the fiancee she was looking forward to marry. And now, this happened.Everyone was angry and they needed a target and that target was standing just a few feet away, listening to Chang Chang's tale with a curious smile playing around her mouth.
The empress dowager braced herself against the attack and when it came, it surprised her more than it surprised Chang Chang and her furious teammates.