Chapter 8

Their villa was located at the edge of the town, it was near to the canyon so they could see it and enjoy the view, and since it was located in a quiet location the girls could practice in peace.

Three days after most participants had settled down Wen Quian decided to host a small party for her friends. Jilian didn't have any friends, neither was she liked much by her sister's friends so she decided to go for a walk near the canyon, she had been informed by the butler of the villa that the canyon was actually one of the few habitats for magic beasts. When she came to realize this world had magic beasts she had asked the butler to bring her any books he had about the topic and to also give her sister a copy as she would have to most likely live there for a while during the martial arts tournament.

She decided to have a picnic at the edge of the canyon; according to the butler, the reason they could live next to such a dangerous place was because of a barrier set up by the city lord that prevents magical magical beasts from leaving. It was then she came to know that this little town was actually independent, they were not part of the two kingdoms and was run by a monk.

Let me say that again, it was run by a monk.

It seemed like monks were this world's versions of magicians except you could count the number of monks with one hand. Monks often made temples and took on apprentices to carry on their legacy, however since the affinity to become a 'servant of god' - as they called it - was extremely rare, most apprentices never graduate and are only able to tell fortunes and are consulted for deaths and marriages. This news was completely phenomenal to her, this world had magic monks!

Sitting there under a tree with a few plates of food on a table brought by the guards that had followed her and mei li on their walk she couldn't help but wonder if she may have had any talent to become a magic monk. She understood that she wasn't born to be a martial artist but if she was born to become a magic monk wouldn't it make sense? Normally in transmigration stories, the main character ends up being a diamond in the rough, this was only possible if she was the main character. So far her sister wasn't evil, no one had tried to frame her, she wasn't engaged to a prince, her father actually cared about her, her stepmother hadn't tried to poison her... Honestly, even if she was poisoned she wouldn't be able to tell. She decided to check the things she used with a silver hairpin first before using them just to make sure...

"This is delicious, was it you who made this?" She asked mei li as she stuffed her mouth, the servant blushed and bowed.

"Yes, miss!" Jilian enjoyed the picnic completely forgetting about her resolve to check her things with a silver hairpin before using them. Honestly, if her family wanted her dead she would have died a hundred times, but because her step mum was still humane doesn't mean she would remain that way.

She called a guard before whispering for him to run back and give the butler another errand on her behalf. When he left she decided to stand up again and walk a little further into the forest since she had been assured they were no magic beasts anywhere in the area but in the canyon.

When she got back home it was already getting dark so she had a bath and decided to practice a little before sinking into the book the butler had brought as she had requested earlier that day. Chinese medicine and poisons. She didn't expect this to be an encyclopedia but it would do for now until she found a book with higher quality.

It was quickly the first day of the competition, Jilian had made sure to pray for her sister and wish her luck as she rode out with that pretty sneer of hers. Then she was left alone to sort her own side of the competition out, she was given a seal to show her place, it seems like they would be given a concept and will be asked to compose a song based on that concept, then the people with the highest scores will move on to the next round and the rest will be sent home.

There were only 7 places, and those 7 will perform for the city lord and the representatives from the two kingdoms which tended to be princes, this was a good opportunity for unwed ladies to snatch a man. For Jilian, as long as her score wasn't low she could go home without father being embarrassed.

Her slot was three days later so she had some free time to kill and decided to go and see the start of the martial arts competition. Unexpectedly girls and boys would have the competition occur in the same area, it seemed like the rules of separation of the two sexes were lax in this world which made her life so much easier.

She walked towards the border to the canyon where other young adults had gathered to see the opening, she was unable to find her sister but she was excited to see the start of what seemed like a hunger game scenario but with about a hundred participants. Every participant was given a special badge, 50 were given a red badge and 50 were given a blue badge, they were meant to return to the centre of the canyon in 5 days with two badges, one blue and one red. The participants could use any means necessary to obtain the badges and if someone is in danger they can quit the competition by either breaking their badge or by going to the centre without two badges.

She could already tell a lot of people would die using this method. Wen Quian was one of the most beautiful girls in the capital, even if she was unable to compete with the stronger participants she could always find someone and convince him to get two badges for her with some persuasion. Jilian was then able to calm her nerves, she actually felt a bit of pity for this sister of hers who was unable to get their father's love.

After a few hours of watching a few fights and confrontations without seeing her sister, she retired home.

Wen Quian was aware of the fact she would be easy prey, so the first thing to do once the loud horn indicated the start of the competition was to approach the first person that had a blue badge like her, that way they could work together to obtain two red badges.

The man nearby was on high alert, he was being followed by someone and it was starting to get on his nerves. "What do you want!? It's really irritating how you're following me! I can't even take a piss!"

Wen Quian was rattled, how did he know she was following him? "I am not following you!"

"Liar!" he screamed back pointing in her direction, "I can clearly see you behind that tree!"

She peeped out a bit embarrassed about being caught so early, sneaking around was never one of her skills. "Please tell me what colour your badge is!" She said from a safe distance in case it was red.

"What do you care!?"

"Just please tell me!"

"It's red! So what of it!?"

She didn't reply but instead observed her situation, he didn't seem very strong but just had exceptional senses. "Don't attack back and you won't be injured!" Then she launched at him with a dagger, Feng Xiu Ying freaked out before jumping back and bringing out his sword to clash with her smaller blade, they both jumped back and stared at each other in a fighting stance.

"Give me your badge," She said as confidently as she could.

"Over my dead body!"

Feng Xiu Ying was rather handsome, he had short black hair and was dressed in exquisite robes, just by his getup you could tell he was a rich kid, luckily Wen Quian's father was also rich or else she would have to avoid him so she wouldn't offend a big family. She grinned, there was a reason she was called a genius.