Eastern Genius
He wore a red robe embroidered with yellow coin patterns and on his waist was a silver brocade belt from which hung a jade pendant. It seems as though he was afraid people wouldn't know he was wealthy.
Not only was his outfit eye-catching, but also his appearance. He was quite attractive, mesmerizing people so that they're unable to look away.
His skin has a pearl-like l.u.s.ter and his clear eyes were shimmering like the stars. Even the thread used to embroider the coin on his robe was also radiant and dazzling.
He stood amidst the crowd conversing. What he said could not be heard clearly, but he seems to be very excited. He pat the shoulder of a person standing beside him and could not stop laughing. His smile was like a flower underneath the sunlight and bright as the moon.
This is a wickedly handsome man.
It seems this person is not from the Northern Kingdom.
"Hui Xue, who's that person over there?" Hua Zhu Yu asked while pointing at the man.
Hui Xue was still shocked by the fact that Xiao Yin was partic.i.p.ating in the compet.i.tion, so she was startled when Hua Zhu Yu asked her. Before, Xiao Yin always looked down on these events, now all of a sudden he's partic.i.p.ating, how could Hui Xue not be surprised? Only when Hua Zhu Yu asked a second time, did Hui Xue regained her senses and replied," That is Eastern Kingdom's Rui w.a.n.g Dou Qian."1
So it turns out to be the Eastern talent Dou Qian, no wonder he dresses like he's from a wealthy household.
Hua Zhu Yu is certain that the coin patterns sewn on his outfit used actual gold threads and the silver belt must also be from real silver threads. In addition, the pendant on his waist is without a doubt one of the finest. If that outfit was on someone else they'll surely look vulgar, but on him, it only looks sophisticated and refined.
For many years, the Eastern Kingdom has always been peaceful. It is a rich country and from time to time, it has provided funds to a.s.sist other kingdoms. Presently, it has good relations with both the Southern and Northern kingdoms. Therefore, the fact that Dou Qian came to partic.i.p.ate in this event is not something to be surprised about. What's surprising is that he's partic.i.p.ating in the s.n.a.t.c.hing Lotus Event. Could it be he wants to marry a maiden from the Northern Kingdom?
The gong sounded and the event commenced. More than 20 partic.i.p.ants began to ascend the mountain. Everyone else was standing at the foot of the mountain, watching with their head raised.
When partic.i.p.ating in such events, people from the Northern Kingdom did not concern themselves with having to show respect to the n.o.bles. They all tried their best to win, not yielding to either Xiao Yin or Dou Qian.
Hua Zhu Yu was surprised by Xiao Yin's extraordinary internal energy. He concentrated his internal energy at his waist and propelled his body up the mountain. His movements were light and nimble. He did not even use his sword and rope yet.
Today he wore a black Hu robe that made him stand out on the snow-capped mountain. In just a few moments, he had already surpa.s.sed everyone else.
Hua Zhu Yu suddenly heard a few people laugh, so she turned her head towards that direction and saw Dou Qian taking out his weapon. His weapon was 3 flashy golden coins, no wonder everyone was laughing.
This person is quite interesting.
He took out the coins, lifted his hand, and the 3 coins flew out to attach to the mountain, forming 3 steps. He lightly stepped on the coins to ascend. Once on the top coin, he used his energy to retrieve the other 2 coins and continued to ram it into the mountain, making steps for him to ascend.
People of the Northern Kingdom usually used swords or knives as weapons. Some used a whip and the like, but whatever it was, it was just a single item. There was no one like him, using 3 golden coins to quickly ascending the mountain.
Using this method, Dou Qian came to the lead after only a few moments. A few people took out their weapons and charged towards him. In a moment, the only thing visible on the cliff was a flashing golden light as the moving swords suddenly halted in its tracks. Moments later, two partic.i.p.ants had already fallen from the cliff.
On the foot of the mountain, the snow had covered the ground so when someone fell from the cliff they would not be seriously injured but even so they had already lost.
The fight to ascend the mountain continued and slowly the only people left standing were Xiao Yin and Dou Qian. They continued to climb higher and could not be seen clearly anymore.
Taking hold of the binoculars on the table, Hua Zhu Yu used it to observe the battle.
The higher they climbed, the more dangerous and sleek the snow underneath their feet became.
While ascending, the two continued to fight. One was wearing a dark outfit while the other was wearing a bright one, displaying a very eye-catching scene. Each time they made contact, the impact caused the snow to trickle down the mountain.
Everyone was watching below, anxiously waiting.
Hua Zhu Yu also felt a bit itchy. If she was still cross-dressing as a man then she could've partic.i.p.ated. Feeling dejected, she placed the binoculars down on the table and looked towards the bustling crowd.
Suddenly, a familiar face appear amid the crowd surprising Hua Zhu Yu. Without a thought, she stood up and quickly left her seat. She searched for that person for a long time, but to no avail. That person had completely vanished.
Did her eyes play tricks on her? Did she mistake someone else for that person?
But it's still very bright outside, how could she have saw wrong? That was surely Tai the Fourth2 but how could he be here?
Hua Zhu Yu left the crowd, and went towards the lake where it was quiet and peaceful. The lake, surrounded by a variety of plants, rippled softly in the breeze. Near the edge of the lake stood an old willow tree whose long branches extended towards the surface of the lake. When the wind blew past, the branches would sway gracefully like a charming maiden.
Hua Zhu Yu sat down next to the willow tree and leaned her back against it. Listening to the wind blow softly across the water, a sense of loneliness that was hard to describe surfaced. Perhaps she had seen wrong. But how is Little Fourth doing currently?
"Dan Hong, why did you come here?" Hui Xue quickly squeezed out of the crowd and ran over towards her.
"Nothing, it was just noisy back there and I wanted some peace and quiet. Why don't you continue to watch, did the event end?" Hua Zhu Yu apathetically asked. Who won or lost had nothing to do with her anyways.
"It ended. That Dou Qian doesn't just have a t.i.tle for show, he could actually fight on the same level with His Highness. They both were able to come back with a snow lotus. ." Hui Xue smiled and said. She then pulled on Hua Zhu Yu's hand and said, "Dan Hong, let's go see who they will gift the snow lotus to."
Hua Zhu Yu had only followed Hui Xue a few steps before she saw the bustling crowd heading towards their direction with two people riding on horses leading the way. One was Xiao Yin and the other was Dou Qian.
They did not look as good as they did before the event started. Their clothes were torn and they had minor injuries. But on their arm hung belts of all sorts of colors, billowing in the wind.
Both smiled brightly, one hand on the reins, the other carefully holding the snow lotus.
The horses galloped towards Hua Zhu Yu before they came to a stop.
t/n
Does anyone know if this is the right way to spell his name? Since I'm translating from a Vietnamese source, the name is actually in Vietnamese, and so I had to google translate the Chinese source to find the Chinese name but idk if it's accurate. Anyways, if no one knows, I'll just leave it as Dou Qian.^^one of her four personal guards while she was cross-dressed as a man in the army.