Chapter Seventy-Three: Defeating the Enemy in a Single Move

Chapter Seventy-Three

At the call of “Begin,” Situ Qing’s dark red whip, burning with fierce anger, lashed toward Qu Wenjuan. Qu Wenjuan knew speed was not her strength, so she did not try to dodge. With a twist of her right hand, a column of water formed before her, rising to meet and entwine itself with the incoming whip.

Seeing her attack blocked, Situ Qing flicked her wrist, and the long whip shifted its angle, once again striking toward Qu Wenjuan. Qu Wenjuan did everything she could to fend off her opponent’s assaults—sometimes raising a wall of water to block, sometimes sending water spheres to harass her. When those failed, she wrapped herself in water energy, bracing to withstand the blows directly. All the while, when her opponent was distracted, she let threads of her water ability curl around Situ Qing’s body.

Fueled by the urge to vent her frustrations, Situ Qing struck again and again, the whip cracking down hard. Watching her adversary scramble awkwardly to evade and counterattack gave her immense satisfaction.

Let them all look down on the Situ family now!

Situ Qing lashed out once more, watching as her fire energy broke through the other’s defenses and the whip landed squarely on her opponent. Situ Qing couldn’t help but smirk. She was tempted to land a few more blows, show off the true power of Situ family martial arts—when suddenly, she found herself unable to move!

What was happening?

Situ Qing looked down at her body in alarm, only to discover, to her horror, a faint blue shimmer covering her. At some point, she had been completely ensnared by her opponent’s water ability!

Qu Wenjuan, pale and gasping, caught sight of Situ Qing’s panic and smiled. Her attack had succeeded—how wonderful!

In the story, Situ Qing was proud and arrogant, rarely taking others seriously. Those who could command her genuine respect could be counted on one hand. Such a person would never be particularly cautious against someone so clearly weaker!

Still, Qu Wenjuan had feared her ruse would be exposed before it bore fruit, for her ability control was not yet proficient. So she had deliberately feigned weakness, adopting a frantic, desperate posture to lull her opponent’s vigilance.

Sure enough, Situ Qing had fallen for it!

She had never considered that a hidden move might unfold right under her nose, letting water energy quietly wrap her entire body.

Now bound by water, Situ Qing could not move at all. Qu Wenjuan increased her output, both to prevent her escape and to let the blue energy gradually cover her head, sealing her completely in a sphere of water.

Seeing the water creep over her nose and mouth, Situ Qing quickly held her breath and mobilized all her fire energy to try to break free.

Qu Wenjuan strove to maintain her hold, hoping her opponent would surrender before she ran out of air. But the gulf in their abilities was too great, and Qu Wenjuan’s reserves were already depleted from earlier efforts. Before long, she could hold on no longer. Red flames broke through the blue seal, freeing Situ Qing from suffocation just in time.

“I concede!” Knowing she had no further chance, Qu Wenjuan immediately declared her surrender.

But Situ Qing, humiliated and enraged, could not let her go so easily. With burning fury, she channeled a torrent of fire energy into her whip and lashed it viciously at Qu Wenjuan.

Qu Wenjuan had not expected such an outburst—even after conceding, her opponent would not relent. Her own energy was all but spent; even if she used it all for defense, she could not withstand this attack. Seeing the whip, blazing with fire, hurtling toward her, she instinctively shut her eyes.

Yet the pain she expected never came. After a moment, she opened her eyes and saw a white-glowing arrow pinning the whip securely to the ground. No matter how Situ Qing pulled, she could not retrieve it.

“Why did you interrupt our match?” Situ Qing glared at Mei, who had not even lowered her bow, and demanded furiously.

“She’s already conceded—did you not hear? If you want to keep fighting, I’ll be your opponent,” Mei replied coldly, stepping onto the field, her gaze icy.

“Are you all right, Sister Wenjuan? Can you move?” Mei squatted down by Qu Wenjuan’s side, her voice full of concern.

“I’m fine. I’m sorry—I lost,” Qu Wenjuan said, a little ashamed, wishing she could have held her opponent a little longer.

“It’s all right—the match was brilliant. Leave the rest to me,” Mei shook her head and praised her sincerely. She had done her utmost and had nearly defeated someone of higher ability; even in defeat, there was honor.

Consoled, Qu Wenjuan accepted the words and withdrew from the field.

Mei turned to Situ Qing, her voice cold: “Are you sure you want to face me?”

Her tone immediately provoked Situ Qing’s ire. She was about to accept the challenge when her third uncle, Situ Hai, stopped her.

“My niece was at fault just now. I ask this young lady’s forgiveness,” Situ Hai stepped forward, offering Qu Wenjuan a formal apology. Then he addressed Mei: “Allow me to test your archery in this round.”

Mei said nothing, but extended her hand; the arrow pinning Situ Qing’s whip returned to her palm.

“Let’s begin,” Mei said calmly.

Seeing her uncle step in personally, Situ Qing resentfully put away her whip and left the field, convinced that no matter how skilled the girl was, she would be no match for her uncle.

What she could never have foreseen was that this contest would be decided in a single move—and that the loser would be her uncle.

As soon as the match began, Mei nocked an arrow with blinding speed. The shot was so swift it was nearly invisible, piercing through Situ Hai’s defenses and his shoulder in an instant.

“Do you wish to continue?” Mei asked flatly, her second arrow already on the string.

Clutching his wounded shoulder, Situ Hai stared in shock. He had never imagined that her arrow would be so fast he could not dodge or that it would so effortlessly break through his energy shield. And he was already a level-four fire-user!

To achieve such a feat, how powerful must her ability be?

Seeing her poised with a second arrow, Situ Hai felt an overwhelming sense of inescapability. He shook his head in resignation. “I concede.”

The Situ family members were all stunned. Was the contest truly over?

It was hard to accept—how could the family’s second strongest be defeated by an underage girl? Yet the truth was undeniable. No one had even seen how the shot was fired. That alone proved Mei’s archery far surpassed their expectations.

So, even if many were unwilling, all—including Situ Qing—had no choice but to accept the result.

“My apologies,” Mei said upon hearing his concession, putting away her bow and offering a slight bow to express regret for her heavy hand, then withdrawing from the field.

On the other side, only An Ziyou of the Ni Zhi squad had not yet competed, but his ability was ill-suited to one-on-one duels. After exchanging glances with the others, Ye Jingnan stepped forward as their representative and asked the Situ family, “Shall we continue?”

What was left to contest?

Of the scheduled six matches, they had already lost four. Even if they won the last, it would still be a two-to-four defeat.

“We have experienced the strength of the Ni Zhi squad fully. There is no need for further matches,” Situ Lin declared on behalf of the family.

“Very well, we shan’t trouble you further. Please inform Elder Situ that Ye Jingnan will visit him another day. Farewell!”

“Take care. We won’t see you out.”

Thus, Mei and her companions departed the Situ residence and returned to the Ye household.

After their guests left, the Situ family immediately sent Situ Hai for treatment. Upon learning his injury had not reached bone or vital tendons and would heal in time, Situ Lin finally relaxed. After instructing his third brother to rest well, he went to report the day’s matches to their father, Situ Chufeng.

“You lost to the heir of the Ye family?” Situ Chufeng asked after his son’s brief report.

“Yes, Father.”

“How does the Ye heir compare to Ye Jingnan?”

“Much stronger.” Situ Lin was not making excuses—he truly believed so. Ye Jingnan and Situ Hai were evenly matched, and though Situ Lin was slightly weaker than his uncle, the gap was not vast. Yet he had lost with ease to Ye Jingxuan, proving the latter’s strength far surpassed that of Ye Jingnan.

“Your third uncle was defeated in one move by a little girl?” Situ Chufeng continued.

“Yes! She broke through Uncle’s defenses with a single arrow. To my shame, I could not even see its path,” Situ Lin admitted, head bowed.

Situ Chufeng frowned at this. He had not realized the child was so proud. Qing’s conduct had indeed been excessive, but for her to so thoroughly disregard the Situ family’s face was a grave slight.

“Do you know when Huang will return?”

“He should be back any day now. He was due some time ago, but the snow delayed him. If nothing goes amiss, he’ll be home shortly,” Situ Lin considered before replying.

“I see. You may go,” Situ Chufeng dismissed him with a wave and sat alone in his study, unmoving for a long while, before finally sighing.

Meanwhile, after returning to the Ye household, Mei pulled Qu Wenjuan to her room to treat the whip marks on her body.

Since Qu Wenjuan’s injuries were not severe, Mei did not use the special medicine developed by Xiriel, but only applied ordinary salve.

“Mei, are you angry?” Qu Wenjuan asked cautiously, noticing Mei’s unsmiling face.

“Yes! That Situ Qing tried to hurt you, Sister Wenjuan—I’m naturally angry!” Mei replied, her tone full of indignation. Injuries sustained in a fair match were one thing, but she had clearly seen from the sidelines that at the moment Qu Wenjuan conceded, a flash of resentment had crossed Situ Qing’s eyes. She had heard the words but pretended not to—Mei almost wished she had loosed an arrow then and there to teach her a lesson.

At these words, for some reason Qu Wenjuan felt a sting in her nose. She threw her arms around Mei and held her tightly, saying nothing for a long time.