The woman who was punched ruthlessly by the man had no intentions of backing down from the fight. Wiping away the blood from the corner of her mouth, she straightened herself up and stretched her body.
She was dressed in a black robes and her face was covered with a veiled bamboo hat. She placed a hand on her waist while playing with the sword in her other hand. It was as if she was playing with a toy…
" Tsk…" the woman sneered at the well built man before her " Is that all you've got? That doesn't even count as a warmup."
" pfft…" Xia Lian laughed out loudly. This lady before her was truly amusing. How could she say that on the man's face? It was clear that she was mocking him. She stood with a ramrod back and there were no hints of shaky arms. She liked this lady.
No one would like to hear a lady taunting a man. And since the crowd consisted mostly of men there was no mirth on their faces. Xia Lian's laughter was a complete contrast to the stark silence in the crowd and naturally her laughter fell into the lady's ears.
She was surprised that someone actually laughed along with her words instead of mocking her. Out of curiosity, she tilted her head and was surprised to find that the person was a boy who was younger than her. Xia Lian also glanced at the woman and their eyes met.
It was only a fleeting glance, before the woman turned her head away.
" Well, let's get down to some serious business now. Shall we?" the woman tossed away her veiled hat and took up her stance getting ready to launch an attack on the man.
It might me called as some crazy coincidence but the hat landed on Xia Lian's head.
Just as there was no obstruction of a veil, the woman's face came into the view successfully evoking gasps from the crowd. She had long jet black hair and her features were extremely sharp unlike the normal gentle features of a woman.
She was like a willow, proud and tall.
Xia Lian adjusted the hat on her head and it was not known what sort of thoughts went through her mind as she shook her head like a rattle drum.
Lidan who was now standing beside the girl was observing all her actions in amus.e.m.e.nt. Just as he was about to ask her why she was shaking her head like that, he heard her say in a low voice…
" The hat landed perfectly on my head. An almost perfect love at first sight scene. Alas! Too bad that I am also a girl…"
That voice… Why does it sound like she is lamenting over that?
Lidan felt that this girl was turning into more of a man and forgetting the fact she was a woman. His lips twitched but he chose to remain silent at the end.
Clank!
The woman who was easily pushed over to the ground earlier on was now holding off against the man pretty well. It was no time before the man was thrown off from the stage and he ended up landing on his butt.
Perfect!
Xia Lian clapped her hands followed by others.
Though they were against women taunting men, they acknowledged the strong and so now everyone applauded for the woman completely disregarding her early words.
Here, only strength is recognized.
The woman was indeed skilled and soon many started to challenge her. She managed to defeat all of them but soon she was drained out of energy. Every time they saw a well built man go against her, they bid heavy amounts of money that the woman would lose.
Much to their disappointment, she won and Xia Lian had to admit that the woman won a lot of money. Just when the woman was about to announce that she was going to retire for the day, a male voice which would cause anyone to creep out spoke making Xia Lian's hairs stand on edge.
" Let me propose a deal. We men will fight against each other and those who wins at the last will get to keep her."
" Eh?!" Xia Lian was mortified as she asked Lidan " What is he saying? Is betting on people allowed?"
" There are no rules in here. You can bet on people. If a few people likes you, they will bet on you." Lidan looked at her and spoke in a serious voice " The last victor will get to keep you. And if you are against it, then you have to defeat him to be free."
" What sort of thing is this?" Xia Lian managed to speak a single sentence as she has still not recovered from the shock.
" There are many ridiculous and sinister things that take place here. This is the reason why I didn't want you to come here." Lidan rolled his eyes at a certain person who now had a guilty look on her face " But, someone never listens to me…"
" Aiya! Don't worry about me. As if I will let someone to take me away." Xia Lian chuckled while observing the situation on the stage.
The woman on the stage seemed unwilling but she had no chance to back away as she was standing on the ring. Since there was no way out, she shrugged her shoulders and exited the ring to stand among the crowd.
The man who suggested this thing got onto the stage and he had that smug smile on his face which made Xia Lian want to go and punch him. The man glanced at the crowd and his gaze stopped at Xia Lian whose face was covered with a veiled bamboo hat. Only a pair of enchanting black eyes were visible and he had to admit that he liked those eyes.
" Young boy down there... If you were on the ring, then I would have definitely bid for you."