"Your servant would like to take on this task!" Qin Huaiqiu shouted from the viewing stand. His voice was so loud that everyone present was startled for a moment, and then the crowd erupted into a hubbub.
"Your Highness, the Noble Consort De?" A military official stared at Qin Huaiqiu on the viewing stand in disbelief.
"This is absurd! What's a woman doing here?" A civilian official pounded his chest and stamped his feet. "What on earth is the Noble Consort De doing? Why doesn't His Majesty stop her?"
Wu Qiuyang stood rooted to the spot. After hearing this, he roared angrily, "Your Highness, the Noble Consort De, although this old official is getting on in years, I'm not yet at the point where I need a woman to avenge me. Does Your Highness look down on me by saying so?!"
Yaze Bu stood in the middle of the arena, arms folded across his chest, looking up at Qin Huaiqiu on the viewing stand. Qin Huaiqiu felt his gaze and met it without flinching. Yaze Bu was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly grinned.
"Who said I asked her to avenge you?" Seeing that the situation was getting out of control, Sikong Ting stood up, walked to Qin Huaiqiu's side, and took her hand. He said to Wu Qiuyang, "Everyone has witnessed Lord Wu's capabilities. But Lord Wu is old and has old injuries. Do you think it's appropriate for Lord Wu to fight against Warrior Yaze Bu?"
At this, everyone fell silent.
Wu Qiuyang was an old general who had fought alongside the late emperor in all directions. It went without saying that he was old, and everyone knew about his injuries. When the late emperor went on a personal expedition, Wu Qiuyang was injured in the waist when he fell off his horse while protecting the late emperor. After that, he returned to the capital to recuperate. This was also the reason why when the late emperor launched a western expedition against Loulan, he chose Qin Feng, who was not yet well - known at that time. Unexpectedly, it accidentally created a famous general.
Wu Qiuyang's waist injury was serious. Considering his injury, the late emperor asked him to stay in the capital all year round. The late emperor had spent a great deal of effort on his injury, but the fall had damaged his root, and the imperial doctors said it was difficult to recover.
More than a decade had passed in a flash. As a once - famous general who had galloped on the battlefield, how could he be willing to be mediocre? Therefore, Wu Qiuyang did rehabilitation as much as possible to make himself look no different from ordinary people. But his waist still ached from time to time. Although it wasn't unbearably painful, it at least didn't affect his normal life.
After hearing this, Wu Qiuyang's face turned pale. He bowed to Sikong Ting and said, "Your Majesty, this old official is in good health. Please don't worry."
Sikong Ting frowned and said, "Lord Wu, when the late emperor passed away, the thing he was most worried about was the old officials in the court. On his deathbed, the late emperor entrusted me to take good care of you old officials. The late emperor did a lot to protect your waist injury back then. If I still let you fight with an injury, wouldn't that be my unfilial act?"
Wu Qiuyang was stunned for a moment. He quickly knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty! This old official didn't mean that!"
Qin Huaiqiu looked at them, then walked down the viewing stand on his own and headed towards the arena.
Sikong Ting advised, "Lord Wu, please listen to me. I asked the Noble Consort De to fight on your behalf because I remembered the late emperor's instructions. Moreover—" Sikong Ting looked at Yaze Bu, who was standing idly by, and smiled. "What if the Noble Consort De can defeat Warrior Yaze Bu?"
"The Noble Consort De can defeat that barbarian?"
"Impossible, right?"
At this time, Qin Huaiqiu had already reached the edge of the arena. The ministers around him all stared at him with strange and complex looks, but he didn't care at all. He gave a faint smile to Wu Qiuyang on the arena, propped his hand on the edge of the arena, exerted force with his legs, and flipped onto the arena with a spin.
"Wow! The Noble Consort De can really fight?" Someone exclaimed in surprise.
"Whether it's true or not, she's General Qin Feng's daughter!"
Qin Huaiqiu slowly walked towards Wu Qiuyang, who was kneeling not far away, and bent down to help him up. Wu Qiuyang stood up reluctantly, with humiliation and unwillingness in his eyes.
After all, he was once a hero. Now he couldn't even fight on a small arena. The psychological gap was imaginable.
Seeing this, Qin Huaiqiu turned to Yaze Bu behind Wu Qiuyang and shouted, "Warrior Yaze Bu, I'll take Lord Wu's place in the following competition."
"Sure." Yaze Bu smiled and whistled contemptuously.
Qin Huaiqiu added, "So, if I can defeat you, does it mean that the warriors of Loulan are even inferior to the women of Dacheng?"
There was a soft murmur among the audience below.
"Yes. If the Noble Consort De can win, then the warrior is even inferior to a woman, let alone General Wu!"
"Yes! The so - called warriors of Loulan are nothing!"
Hearing the discussions below, Wu Qiuyang was first stunned in surprise, then looked at Qin Huaiqiu with grateful eyes and couldn't help saying, "Your Highness, the Noble Consort De..."
Qin Huaiqiu patted his shoulder comfortingly.
"Oh?" Yaze Bu became interested. "What makes you think you're qualified to say that?"
Qin Huaiqiu laughed and stepped forward with a heroic gait. "Because I'm Qin Feng's daughter!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the fighting spirit of the Dacheng men on the scene was immediately aroused. The name Qin Feng was the best satire on the people of Loulan and also the pride of Dacheng. Now, Qin Feng's daughter was standing on the same arena with the people of Loulan in the capital of Dacheng. The passionate military and civilian officials on the scene began to cheer one after another, and the enthusiasm of the whole audience reached a new height.
Sikong Ting stood on the viewing stand, his eyes fixed on Qin Huaiqiu's figure on the arena. The wind fluttered his robe. Sikong Ting gave a faint smile, and the love in his eyes was like a gurgling spring, filled with warmth and sincerity.
Wu Qiuyang slowly walked down the arena. On the arena, only Qin Huaiqiu and Yaze Bu, standing facing each other, remained.
Qin Huaiqiu took out a hairband from his bosom, simply tied his long hair into a ponytail, and then tied the wide cuffs of his sleeves tightly around his wrists with a rope. He smiled at Yaze Bu and said, "Let's start."
Yaze Bu still looked nonchalant. He looked at Qin Huaiqiu and sneered, "Do you need me to give you three moves?"
Qin Huaiqiu said, "Are you sure? You might lose badly."
"Get ready!" Sikong Ting looked at the two of them and said in a deep voice, "Start!"
As soon as the words were out, Qin Huaiqiu rushed out like an arrow from a bow. During Yaze Bu's previous competition with Wu Qiuyang, Qin Huaiqiu had accurately found Yaze Bu's weakness, or rather, his shortcoming.
Yaze Bu's strength was far beyond that of ordinary people. Just judging from his thirty - jin long knife, one could tell that it was completely unwise to fight him head - on. In the previous competition, from the way he restrained Wu Qiuyang, it was obvious that Yaze Bu had been relying on his brute force to win. As a big, muscular man, his movement and speed were definitely not as fast as Qin Huaiqiu's. Maybe Wu Qiuyang couldn't achieve the three points of quickness, flexibility, and accuracy against Yaze Bu, but for Qin Huaiqiu, it was a piece of cake.
Qin Huaiqiu quickly approached Yaze Bu. Yaze Bu sneered contemptuously and stood still, punching straight at Qin Huaiqiu's face with his right fist.
This punch was quite powerful. If Qin Huaiqiu couldn't dodge in time, this punch would hit him accurately. But Qin Huaiqiu didn't slow down at all. It seemed as if he was directly heading towards the incoming fist.
Everyone couldn't help but exclaim, worried that Qin Huaiqiu would be defeated in the first round. But unexpectedly, in everyone's exclamations, Qin Huaiqiu stretched out his hand and seemingly lightly placed it on Yaze Bu's incoming fist. Then he suddenly exerted force with his legs and jumped up. Relying on the support of Yaze Bu's fist, Qin Huaiqiu was like a fish leaping out of the water and flew directly above Yaze Bu's head!
Yaze Bu was stunned. He didn't expect Qin Huaiqiu to be so agile. His punch was defused so gently. Before he could react, Qin Huaiqiu, who had jumped up, bent his right leg and kicked towards his face with the inertia!
The fist that had already been swung out couldn't be retracted in time. Yaze Bu had to raise his other hand to block it just in time. Qin Huaiqiu kicked his left forearm, then immediately retracted his leg, somersaulted in the air, and landed steadily behind Yaze Bu. He squatted down when he landed, then twisted his waist and swept Yaze Bu's standing legs!
"—!" Qin Huaiqiu was so fast that Yaze Bu didn't have time to turn around. He only caught a glimpse of his movement from the corner of his eye, then immediately stepped across to the opposite side in the direction opposite to Qin Huaiqiu's sweep. Using the stepped - out foot as a pivot, he kicked directly at Qin Huaiqiu who was squatting behind him.
Qin Huaiqiu's sweep missed. He immediately bounced back five feet away, making Yaze Bu's kick miss.
The ministers around cheered when they saw that Yaze Bu was at a disadvantage in the first round.
Yaze Bu steadied his figure. Fine sweat began to break out on his forehead. He looked at Qin Huaiqiu, who was slowly straightening up not far away. He felt that his interest had been completely piqued by this nimble person. He laughed wildly a few times and shouted, "You're just a jumping rabbit!"
"Really?" Qin Huaiqiu curled his lips. "Are you ready to be torn apart by the rabbit?"