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Capítulo 90

Furthermore, everyone here is a member of the martial arts world. Just by looking at their aura and internal energy, one can sense that Xue Beifan possesses extraordinary inner strength; he couldn't possibly be a coward. But if this person truly has real skills, why would he deliberately conceal them? Now that the Beihai Sect has lost power, he doesn't even come out to vie for power. What kind of harmful schemes are these two brothers plotting?

Xiao Dao thought to himself, "People are all pretty much the same. It seems like no one ever separates Xue Beifan and Xue Beihai. It's as if if Xue Beihai has any schemes or tricks, Xue Beifan must be an accomplice. Little do they know, even the eldest brother can harm his brothers."

Some things are hard to explain, and there's no need to talk to irrelevant people. Xiao Dao, pulling Xue Beifan along, finally managed to squeeze out of the crowd and stormed into a teahouse for a cup of tea, remaining sullen all day. Xiao Dao's feelings were complicated. He had acted cleverly and caused Xue Er so much trouble. It wasn't that he had suffered much loss, but all those unpleasant words were thrown at Xue Beifan. Why should he have to take the blame for Xue Beihai?!

Seeing that Xiaodao had a straight face, the others sitting with her couldn't help but laugh. She probably didn't even realize that she was thinking about Xue Beifan.

The competition continued smoothly, and by evening, the entire day's competition had concluded, revealing ten finalists. Hao Jinfeng, Wang Bibo, and Xue Xing all advanced to the final round. The other contestants were unfamiliar to Xiao Dao, but were said to be very skilled. However, the most unexpected result was that the tenth person to qualify for the final selection of the Ghost King in the royal palace was none other than the Grand Preceptor.

"He's running too?" Xiao Dao looked at the list of nominees and asked Youyou in surprise, "Is this in accordance with the rules?"

Youyou was also completely baffled.

"It's alright," Xue Beifan whispered to Xiao Dao. "All we need to do is infiltrate the palace."

According to the arrangements for the Ghost City's marriage contest, these ten candidates will enter the palace tonight. The Queen will host a banquet for them, their entourage, and friends, and they will stay at the palace that night. The second round of the competition will begin early the next morning.

Xiao Dao and his group planned to secretly switch Youyou and the Grand Steward that very night, so that no one would know. To prevent Youyou's identity from being exposed, they had her and Xiaoyue wear the same mask and follow Hao Jinfeng, one on each side, pretending to be attendants and guards. Similar to their previous trip into the city, they entered the palace smoothly without any major incidents.

When the banquet began that evening, Xiao Dao and his companions realized they had been busy for nothing. The banquet was just a simple meal, hosted by a female official, with no participation from the Queen or even the Grand Preceptor. It seemed their previous worries had been in vain.

Xiao Dao held the soup bowl, lost in thought. Earlier, he and Xue Beifan had overheard the conversation between the Grand Steward and the Imperial Advisor. What was the Imperial Advisor's intention in insisting that Xue Xing participate in the second round? It seemed that tonight, in addition to getting Youyou back to the Queen's position, they also needed to keep a close eye on the Beihai faction.

Thinking of this, Xiao Dao felt a chill run down his spine for no reason. He looked up and saw Qin Ke staring at him with eyes that looked like she wanted to devour him.

Xiao Dao thought to himself, "If you keep glaring, your eyeballs will fall into the bowl."

"Eat something." Xue Beifan put some food on her plate. "Eat quietly and don't look around."

Xiao Dao, holding the soup bowl to cover her face, asked in a low voice, "What's your relationship with that Qin Ke?"

Xue Beifan raised an eyebrow, seemingly in a good mood. "What? Jealous?"

"What are you jealous of? I just noticed she keeps staring at me. You didn't do anything to her, did you?" Xiao Dao glanced at him sideways. "After all, you're a scoundrel, and she's at least a girl."

Xue Beifan opened his mouth, "You're a girl too, have I ever been a scoundrel to you?"

Xiao Dao pouted, looking bothered, "Often!"

Xue Beifan was frustrated, not because he had a bad image in Xiao Dao's eyes, but because if he had known she really treated him like a hooligan, he would have taken advantage of her more back then.

"Hello."

The two looked up, and Chonghua whispered, "Can't you two just hold back and go back to flirting?"

Xiao Dao and Xue Beifan spoke at the same time, one saying "No way!" and the other saying "Okay."

Of course, it was Xiao Dao who said she had it, but she would never admit to having anything to do with this lecherous thief.

Turning his head back and looking up, Xiao Dao spotted Wang Bibo not far away.

Although it was food meant for entertaining guests in the palace, it was already considered quite precious. However, Wang Bibo had been pampered since childhood and was tired of delicacies, so he was very picky. At this moment, he was resting his chin on his hand, not eating, but just sitting there in a daze, his gaze occasionally sweeping over Xiao Dao and the others.

Seeing that Yan Xiaodao was still acting the same as before, throwing a tantrum as usual, Wang Bibo felt a little awkward. Turning around, she saw Qin Ke seemingly plotting something, a slight upturn of her lips, which made Wang Bibo frown. She should have known better than to say anything; it would probably make Xiaodao look bad later. But she had been too caught up in her emotions and hadn't thought things through.

Speaking of which... Wang Bibo looked at Xue Beifan, who was being very attentive to Xiao Dao by serving him food. If Xue Beifan hadn't provoked her, she wouldn't have been so angry.

Wang Bibo vaguely sensed something was wrong. Why was Xue Beifan provoking him? If he knew that he was with the three from the Beihai Sect, he should have guessed what the consequences would be if he pushed him too far. Could it be that... everything was within his consideration?

Seeing Wang Bibo's face grow increasingly grim, Xiao Dao shook his head in regret. "This man is so old and still doesn't know what he wants. It would be best if Yu Lanzhi found a good man to marry and then we'd see if he cried when he got back!"

"Everyone."

At this moment, the official in charge of the reception came out, asked everyone if they enjoyed the food, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then explained the method for the final round of competition early the next morning.

"Wait a moment."

Qin Ke suddenly raised her hand, "I have something to ask you."

The official naturally asked her politely what was wrong.

"There's one condition for choosing the Ghost King this time: he must have a clean background, right?"

“Of course,” the official nodded.

“However, some people with questionable backgrounds have infiltrated this place.” Qin Ke smiled slightly. “I think the competition is unfair.”

The official was taken aback, and the others present began to whisper among themselves—these were all prominent figures, who among them had an shady past?

Yan Xiaodao frowned. Why was this girl so mischievous?

Only Wang Bibo felt a little flustered.

Qin Ke put down her cup and asked everyone, "Have you all heard of the name Yan Ruyu?"

As soon as Qin Ke spoke, Xiao Dao froze, as did Hao Jinfeng. It could be said that everyone on Xiao Dao's side was stunned; could it be…?

Everyone present was highly skilled in martial arts and had a prominent reputation in the martial arts world. Who didn't know the legendary thief Yan Ruyu, the Flying Fox, who had stolen from the entire world?

Everyone nodded to indicate that they understood.

"If a descendant of Yan Ruyu were to sneak in, wouldn't that be considered having an illegitimate family background?"

Everyone present was shocked—most of the people here were from famous families in the martial arts world, or were officials of the imperial court. Where did this descendant of a thief come from?

The official frowned slightly and asked, "May I ask, which one of you is a descendant of Yan Ruyu?"

Hao Jinfeng was a little annoyed and tried to stand up, but Yan Xiaodao grabbed his arm.