Kiyomi Tsuki et son renard

Chapitre 25

Minglu was momentarily distracted, but quickly regained his composure. Looking back at the stage, he saw that Li Yu had also returned to normal. He nodded slightly to Li Yu, then went to look for Nalan and Fu Jin.

Xi Ri saw that Ming Lu didn't seem to know Long Ming, which made him feel a little relieved, but when he saw Long Ming's malicious smile, he immediately became worried again.

She had disguised herself as a man to meet him in Suzhou, and when she scared him with that extremely ugly mask, he didn't react in any special way. Long Ming must know that she knows how to disguise herself. Now that he has suddenly come to the capital, and there is a rift between them, if he exposes her identity, all their hard work will be in vain.

All the courage and pride I once had were almost completely shattered by his appearance at this moment.

But at this moment, what she feared most was not that Long Ming would expose her; what she feared most was taking off her clothes in front of all the candidates! This was not a matter of reputation, but a matter of human dignity.

The scholars below the stage began whispering among themselves after Long Ming appeared. The hall became noisy for a moment.

Minglu located Nalan and the others and walked over.

Long Ming also found a seat and sat down.

Seeing that they had all sat down, I felt a little relieved. Forcing myself to suppress the torment of inner turmoil, I asked, "I wonder if any of you would like to come up and spar with me?"

After several rounds of competition, Xi Ri won thunderous applause. With the hour of You (5-7 PM) fast approaching, it seemed no one else was willing to challenge her. Xi Ri secretly began counting down the days, hoping time would pass as quickly as the numbers in her mind. She dared not look at Long Ming sitting below, nor at Ming Lu talking to Nalan; she was completely absorbed in counting. At this moment, time truly felt like an eternity.

Just as she was about to ask one last time if anyone else wanted to come up on stage, a white figure suddenly flew onto the stage at an extremely fast speed. Long Ming's display of lightness skill immediately won cheers from the audience.

Long Ming smiled at her and said, "Long Ming from Suzhou, may I ask you a thing or two, young master?"

She had known all along that he was up to no good. He had just sat down, and now he suddenly came up on stage—it was all on purpose. He was deliberately lowering her guard, then deliberately making her anxious! So she said bluntly, "Let's compete with musical instruments."

As the saying goes, the first strike wins, so there's no need to be polite when dealing with Long Ming. Otherwise, if he were to challenge her with swordsmanship or lightness skills, Xi Ri would be no match for him. She has practiced her zither skills for over ten years, and while she wouldn't dare claim to be the best in the world, this is precisely where she is most confident of victory.

Long Ming smiled casually and said, "Okay."

Just as she was starting to feel a little more confident, he struck at her fragile heart again: "Anyway, no matter what we compete in, your clothes will always belong to me."

He really came for her! He knew perfectly well she was a woman; if she took off her clothes under these circumstances, how could she ever face the world again?!

A nameless fire was ignited in her heart, and she suddenly felt that it didn't matter whether Long Ming intentionally came to expose her true identity or not. Even if her identity was exposed, how bad could it be? At worst, her reputation would be worse, and Ming Lu would hate her even more. Anyway, she had never cared about either of those things! So why should she be afraid!

The most urgent matter is that she absolutely cannot undress in front of all the candidates. This is not a matter of reputation, but a matter of dignity!

Even if he wins...

Since the two of them had decided to compete in musical instruments, they had to go down from the stage and choose their instruments first. Xi Ri naturally chose the zither, but Long Ming was not in a hurry to choose. He just looked at Xi Ri, smiled mysteriously, and said indifferently, "Believe it or not, I can beat you with anything!"

Xi Ri was even angrier. Looking at his smug smile, she said maliciously, "Hmph, if you can beat me without doing anything, then I'll truly admire you."

"What's so difficult about that?" he laughed heartily, becoming even more arrogant.

Xi Ri resisted the urge to smash her violin over his head and ignored him. She picked up her violin and walked onto the stage.

Long Ming followed behind her, and surprisingly, he didn't choose any musical instruments.

Xi Ri didn't believe it; he had no musical instrument whatsoever, yet he could surpass her decades of musical skill. But she dared not underestimate Long Ming, unable to fathom his true intentions. So, she could only unleash all her skills and give it her all.

A zither table had already been set up on the stage. The audience below seemed unsurprised to see that Xiri had chosen the zither; instead, they were filled with excitement and anticipation. Not long ago, Xiri had won a match by playing a piece.

Seeing that Long Ming had no musical instruments, someone couldn't help but ask loudly, "Young Master Long, why didn't you choose a musical instrument? Did you admit defeat before the competition even started?"

The crowd burst into laughter, seemingly admiring Xi Ri's piano skills.

Long Ming smiled, but before he could answer, Xi Ri interjected with a malicious smile, "Young Master Long said that he won against me without using any musical instruments."

Wow... The crowd below erupted in chaos, pointing and whispering about Long Ming, laughing at him for exaggerating.

Everyone was talking excitedly, feeling that today was quite unusual, and they were all particularly interested, finding today's competition to be the most unexpected and interesting.

Fu Jin laughed loudly, "Brother Yu, teach him a lesson and let him know how powerful you are!" The implication was that Long Ming was doomed to lose.

Minglu raised an eyebrow, watching the stage with curiosity. Nalan said to Minglu, "Brother Yu's zither playing is truly exceptional; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it's the best in the world."

Minglu was taken aback, then suddenly asked in a cold voice, "What did you say?"

Seeing Minglu's serious expression, Nalan laughed and said, "You don't believe me? Just listen and you'll see."

On stage, Xi Ri plucked a few strings with his fingers, and suddenly there was not a sound below; everyone held their breath and listened intently. Xi Ri turned to Long Ming and smiled, saying, "Young Master Long, I've made a fool of myself!"

Long Ming gestured for him to proceed.

After the piece was played, some people felt as if they were in a dream, some were completely captivated, and some exclaimed, "This music should only exist in heaven; how often can one hear it on earth?" Almost everyone was full of admiration.

As the music faded, Long Ming turned to look at Xi Ri, her eyes flickering, seemingly lost in thought. Lost in the moment, she reached out a finger, her fingertip gently tracing Xi Ri's cheek. Xi Ri was startled and turned to look. At that moment, someone in the audience suddenly stood up, slammed their hand on the table, and shouted, "Insolence!"

Everyone was startled. Xi Ri looked towards the source of the sound and saw Ming Lu with a gloomy expression. His face was so ugly and his eyes so cold that Xi Ri's smug smile froze on her face. What was wrong with Ming Lu? Why was he looking at her like that? An ominous premonition arose within her.

Long Ming raised an eyebrow and glanced at Ming Lu below the stage. His expression turned serious, and he said solemnly, "It's my turn." Suddenly, a whistle blew, and he actually started whistling.

The whistle was clear and melodious, slowly entering my heart. In a daze, the scene before my eyes suddenly changed, and I suddenly found myself by a stream under the moon.

The white moonlight, cool and clear, shone on the stream, making the small stones lying quietly on the bank appear cold and bright. The moon in the sky was round and bright, yet its reflection on the ground seemed even more wistful and melancholic. The autumn wind whistled past my ears, and suddenly, looking up, I saw him standing right beside me! Within reach!

Two years ago, she still remembered that night when he casually rejected her marriage proposal. She also remembered that night when she inexplicably felt heartbroken. Back then, she was young and didn't know what it meant. Looking back now, she realized that it was what love was all about.

It's called "liking"... My heart aches inexplicably...

Suddenly, several calls shattered the illusion, and she awoke with a start. She saw Long Ming smiling broadly, and asked, bewildered, "You?" But she didn't know how to ask, or what to ask… A wave of weakness washed over her, leaving her inexplicably melancholic…

Long Ming said, "Wake up! They'll all wake up from the illusion soon. Take off your clothes and exchange them with him. Someone will take you away."

Only then did Xiri notice a person standing beside her, whose appearance and build were remarkably similar to hers. This person was even wearing a human skin mask identical to hers. Suddenly realizing something, she exclaimed, "You're helping me?...!"

Long Ming smiled and said, "It's good that you know." Seeing Xi Ri silently scrutinizing him, he suddenly felt a little embarrassed and waved his hand, saying, "Go change your clothes quickly..."