Chapter Twenty-Three

Xiao Ai nodded in satisfaction after hearing Jing Yuan agree to help her get revenge. She pushed past the fat guy and A Xu, then got up and shot He Mei a look as if she were already dead. A Xu, standing beside her, shuddered. Not wanting to get caught in the crossfire, he slipped away quietly while no one was watching.

Youyou and Little Wu also got to their feet. They both swallowed hard, and Youyou spoke for them: "That He Mei? Just looking at her makes us wanna puke. You guys are the men, so this tough mission is all yours." Having said that, she was about to turn and leave when a thought struck her. She turned back, dragging Little Wu away. "Oh, and Little Wu's just a kid, the flower of our nation. Not suitable for bloody scenes, you know."

This left Xu Haoyue, Jing Yuan, and the fat guy—three guys—staring up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle, tears silently streaming down their faces before words could form.

Xiao Ai glanced at them, patted Xu Haoyue and Jing Yuan on the shoulder, and said with a grin, "Well, they're all gone, so I'm gonna head off too. That woman? All yours, big brothers! Bye-bye!"

Jing Yuan looked back at that woman, his stomach churning with the urge to vomit. He raised an eyebrow and stole a glance at the two guys beside him, getting ready to grease his feet and bolt. But Xu Haoyue had already seen right through his little scheme. He grabbed Jing Yuan by the collar and shot him a cold, knowing smirk.

Xiao Ai wandered around for a while, but she didn't know anyone. Seeing that it might be a while before food was served, she got bored and decided to check out the legendary back garden. Just then, the palace attendant who had guided them earlier reappeared. Hearing she wanted to visit the back garden, he eagerly offered to lead the way, which made Xiao Ai happy.

Following the attendant, she toured the back garden. There were indeed plenty of flowers, but Xiao Ai was a modern youth of the 21st century—she'd seen every kind of floral splendor imaginable. After one loop, she found it boring. She asked the attendant to take her back. As they turned a corner, they seemed to hear someone calling for help.

"Hey, did you just hear someone yelling for help?" Xiao Ai tilted her head and asked the attendant beside her.

The attendant nodded nervously. "Yes, I... I think I did." Xiao Ai slapped her thigh. "Right? I knew I heard it. Almost thought I was hallucinating." They followed the sound and, sure enough, found someone hanging from a big tree. Taking a closer look, Xiao Ai realized it was Little Wu.

"Little Wu! How'd you climb so high?"

Looking down and seeing someone had finally found him, Little Wu immediately burst into tears. "Xiao Ai, Sister Ai Ai! There's a snake, a huge one!"

"Snake? Where?" Xiao Ai looked around but didn't see the snake he mentioned. The attendant also scanned the area and offered his guess, "Miss Xiao Ai, he might have spotted the guardian of the Yuzhou White Serpent Sect. That person was originally a white snake, but after years of cultivation, he has long since taken human form. Perhaps he drank too much today and accidentally revealed his true form."

"Oh, I see! It's okay, Little Wu, come on down!" Xiao Ai quickly tried to comfort him upon hearing this. Little Wu gave a bitter smile, his hands trembling uncontrollably as he desperately clung to the branch. "No, Sister Ai Ai. It's not the snake I'm afraid of now. I... I... I can't get down."

Only then did Xiao Ai remember: Little Wu was short and terrified of heights. She scratched her head anxiously, wanting to help but realizing she couldn't reach him either.

"Little Wu, don't panic! Just hang on a little longer, I'll go get help for you. Be right back, okay? Right away!" With that, she turned and sprinted back to the banquet, with Little Wu's desperate shouts echoing behind her: "Then hurry back! I really can't hold on much longer!"

In the end, Xiao Ai had to ask Su Heng for help to successfully rescue Little Wu from the big tree. Curious about the big snake Little Wu had mentioned, the two of them pestered Su Heng, begging him to take them to see it.

Su Heng, stirred by their antics, seemed to remember something. He told them to wait at their seats, then rather furtively dragged a man from a neighboring table into the woods for a lengthy conversation before returning.

Upon his return, he immediately gathered Xiao Ai and the other six together, as if about to announce something major. Xu Haoyue and the other two, who had been pondering how to deal with He Mei across the way, paused their scheming upon seeing Su Heng's grave demeanor and returned to their seats to listen.

"Ahem!" Su Heng cleared his throat, sitting down and speaking in a hushed tone. "Well, Ah Hao, Jing Yuan... I have some rather unfortunate news to share with you."

"What's wrong?" Xu Haoyue and Jing Yuan, seeing his troubled expression, grew concerned themselves.

"Well... I just heard the tournament format's changed. Looks like each of you might have to fight an extra solo match. Apparently, the Jiuzhou Monarchs talked it over yesterday and decided there are too many participants this time..." "What?!" All seven of them shot to their feet in unison, staring at Su Heng in shock. "No way! Why change the rules out of the blue? That's... that's cheating, plain and simple!" Little Wu and A Xu were the loudest, voicing their outrage immediately.

Su Heng looked at them apprehensively, hesitating. "Sigh, this matter... I might not be the best one to explain. How about... I help you invite Chancellor Fu over, and you can discuss it with him directly?"

"Whoa, no, no, no, no, no...! Let's just drop it!" Upon hearing Chancellor Fu's name, Xu Haoyue immediately stood up, waving his hands dismissively and completely ignoring the protests from Little Wu and A Xu.

Xiao Ai, remembering that endlessly talkative old man from the court, grabbed A Xu and Little Wu's hands to persuade them. "Yeah, yeah, listen to Brother Haozi. So we fight one more match. Big deal. It's not like we can't win. Nothing to be scared of."

Xiao Ai always held significant sway, and with Xu Haoyue and Jing Yuan backing her up, the two boys didn't dare argue. They could only swallow their grievances, sit back down, and share a look of silent, bitter understanding.