Chapter 193: Head Prize

The fact that Sect Master Bian said this indicates his own regret. He truly regretted it, having never imagined that if anyone had previously suggested someone from his Wukang Mountain could win the championship, no one would have believed it, even if it meant wiping out his entire sect. Now that the unimaginable has happened, how could he possibly execute Shi Chun?

It's not that he couldn't execute him, but at least not right now. After the results were announced, the champion was killed by him, right after Domain Lord Wei Mo had openly expressed his admiration for the person. What would that imply? He couldn't just assassinate him. Executing Shi Chun and the others was meant to provide an explanation to all parties involved. An assassination wouldn't explain anything. Now his son knew Shi Chun coveted his beloved woman, and he couldn't kill Shi Chun for the time being. This was like prematurely igniting a family conflict. What was he to do? He had a headache over it.

Yin Huixin gritted her teeth and said, "Are you only satisfied when you've driven your son mad? He's desperate to come to the Royal Capital now!"

Bian Jixiong naturally knew this; he had ordered his son to be confined to prevent him from coming to the Royal Capital. He didn't want to discuss it now, simply replying, "I'll handle it myself."

Yin Huixin retorted angrily, "How will you handle it?"

Elder Ke sighed inwardly, facing such a mixture of family and sect affairs, finding it difficult to comment.

Bian Jixiong didn't want to argue with her in front of outsiders, so he turned to Elder Ke again and said, "Elder Ke, I'm leaving this to you."

Elder Ke nodded.

Bian Jixiong turned and left, opening the door and striding out of sight.

Yin Huixin's face was cold. If her daughter hadn't been involved in the championship event, and she wasn't worried about her safety and what problems might arise, she would certainly have rushed back to Wukang Mountain with him.

"To the Xunmen Formation Altar in the north."

In the courtyard, two disciples accompanied Bian Jixiong into the carriage. One of them told the pulling spirit beast their destination. The Xunmen Formation Altar was the central hub of the Xunmen gates, leading to various continents. With no coachman, the spirit beast instinctively turned the carriage and headed towards the main gate. However, before the carriage could exit the main gate, it was stopped by black-clad figures who suddenly appeared.

The carriage abruptly halted. Bian Jixiong immediately pulled back the curtain, and just as he was about to demand an explanation, a black-clad figure flipped his hand and presented a token directly in front of his face. Even in the dim evening light, it was clearly a vivid crimson metal token, so intensely red it felt uncanny. It was engraved with star and moon patterns.

Seeing the token's color and the star and moon patterns, Bian Jixiong's pupils constricted. Some things, even if unseen, were well-known. This was a Xuanji Token from the Heavenly Court's Stargazing Pavilion. The term "stargazing" literally means observing stars, but in reality, it refers to observing people. In short, the Stargazing Pavilion was a clandestine guard force of the Heavenly Court, directly under the Empress.

The black-clad figure withdrew the token and asked, "Where is Sect Master Bian headed?"

After a slight pause, Bian Jixiong replied, "There's a matter concerning the sect, so I need to return."

The black-clad figure said, "Postpone your journey for now. You must remain here."

Bian Jixiong inquired, "May I know why?"

The black-clad figure replied, "You will know. Please wait."

Resigned, Bian Jixiong dutifully retreated. When he got out of the carriage and surveyed his surroundings, he noticed that all the inn staff had disappeared, replaced by those black-clad figures, lurking either openly or covertly, watching intently.

Upon returning to his room, Yin Huixin and Elder Ke naturally noticed his return and came to ask what had happened. Explaining the situation as it was, Bian Jixiong recounted the events, which greatly astonished both of them. They wondered what Wukang Mountain had done to attract the attention of the Heavenly Court's Stargazing Pavilion. Without much thought, they immediately suspected it was related to Shi Chun and their championship victory, as they couldn't think of any other reason. Meanwhile, Bian Jixiong, quietly pondering nearby, suspected it might be related to the demonic path, as some matters were known only to him and his father.

Soon after, another group of black-clad figures arrived at the inn, accompanied by a carriage from which the man in green robes disembarked. The interview officially began...

Outside the picturesque Miao family courtyard, a slightly reserved Miao Yilan personally escorted Gong Shaoci to the main gate. The latter seemed reluctant to part. After seeing off the guest and returning inside the residence, Miao Yilan sat down next to her mother. She glanced towards the side entrance where her father was whispering with the butler, flipping through some papers she couldn't identify. This wasn't the first time she had witnessed such a scene. She was well aware of the Bowang Tower's other function beyond commerce, and from a young age, she had known not to ask questions or inquire.

With Gong Shaoci gone, the mother and daughter's conversation inevitably turned to Shi Chun. They couldn't resist discussing what had happened in the mirror tonight.

After dismissing the butler, Miao Dingyi walked over to an antique shelf, searching for something.

Seeing this, Lan Qiaoyan asked, "What are you looking for?"

Miao Dingyi said nothing. After rummaging through the various bottles and jars on display, he pulled out a shiny object from something resembling a copper basin and then stared blankly at it. The mother and daughter exchanged glances, both feeling surprised. They rarely saw the master of the house like this. Immediately curious, they stood up and walked over to see what was happening. Upon closer inspection, they saw Miao Dingyi holding a shimmering, shell-colored metal flake, looking dazed.

It looked familiar. Lan Qiaoyan asked, "What is it?"

"Oh," Miao Dingyi sighed in response, without speaking.

Lan Qiaoyan immediately reached out, took the flake, and examined what it was. Miao Yilan also leaned in curiously. Engraved on the metal flake was a line of text: Wukang Mountain 4, Shi Chun 100,000 gold, First Place x1000.

The mother and daughter exchanged glances again. So it was this item. They had both seen it before and knew its origin. The question was, why was the master of the house, in his dazed state, looking for this particular thing now?

"What does this mean? Could it be..." Lan Qiaoyan asked tentatively.

"Sigh," Miao Dingyi sighed again, nodding. "You're right, it's what you guessed. If nothing unforeseen happens, Shi Chun will be the first-place winner of this Heavenly Rain Meteorite Competition."

The mother and daughter stared at each other. They had suspected it before, given the situation in the mirror, but if it truly happened, they found it hard to believe. Could that shabby, seemingly refined fellow, just released from the Land of Exile, really overpower disciples from all sects in Shengzhou to win first place? No matter how they thought about it, it seemed unrealistic.

Lan Qiaoyan said, "The results are out so quickly? Are you sure there's no mistake? With so many people, it would surely take a day or two to accurately tally and rank them, wouldn't it?"

Miao Dingyi looked at the metal flake in her hand and gave a wry smile. "That's true, but Shi Chun's results are simply too exceptional. Ah, among all participants, only two individuals had more than ten thousand Insect Spirit Crystals on them. One is Shi Chun, and can you guess who the other is?"

The mother and daughter looked at each other again, their eyes full of surprise and uncertainty.

Miao Yilan tentatively asked, "Is it the big guy?"

Miao Dingyi gave a helpless smile. "Yes, it's him, Wu Jinliang. Shi Chun had over twenty thousand crystals, and Wu Jinliang had over ten thousand. Look at those numbers; it's clear the two of them planned this, sharing the spoils, one with a big bowl and one with a small. I truly don't know what they were thinking—they're far too ostentatious!"

Lan Qiaoyan held out the flake she was holding and blinked, "So, you won the lottery?"

Miao Yilan couldn't help but chuckle, covering her mouth slightly. She found the situation amusing; a casual, half-hearted act had actually won the top prize. It truly seemed that when good fortune arrived, there was no stopping it.

Miao Dingyi himself was caught between laughter and tears. He genuinely hadn't held any expectations at the time, and he had casually tossed the metal flake aside, never in a million years expecting it would ever be found again. He sighed, "Don't even mention winning. It's not a good thing. This prize is too hot to handle. Once it gets out, everyone will wonder why I bet on Shi Chun, and then they'll dig into your connections with him, which will make many things difficult to explain."

Lan Qiaoyan hesitated, "It's fine, isn't it? It's all above board; there's no need to feel guilty."

Miao Dingyi replied, "Haven't you seen it after all this? That fellow is too high-profile, daring to think and act. He's destined to cause trouble, and who knows what he'll do next. It wouldn't hurt to keep a bit of distance. If news of the win spreads, everyone will suspect I knew Shi Chun would win all along. Then I'll have to specifically explain myself to my superiors, but will they even believe me? Forfeiting the prize is a statement; it makes it easier to explain if people find out. I just don't get it. Why did I, on a whim, bet on him of all people?"

"Alright," Lan Qiaoyan conceded, accepting her husband's decision. She reluctantly understood his predicament, but after looking at the flake in her hand, she couldn't help but sigh, "One thousand times a hundred million—what a shame!"

Miao Yilan smiled faintly, sharing the sentiment. That was a lot of money.

With everything clearly stated, Miao Dingyi said no more and returned to the hall to sit down. While it was a pity, Lan Qiaoyan didn't dwell on it too much. For a family of her standing, a hundred million wasn't an exorbitant sum. Still, she quickly approached her husband and asked, "So, if what you say is true, Shi Chun took first place from Suyuan Sect and even beat Mu Lanqing so badly. Will he be alright?"

Miao Dingyi scoffed, "When you hit the young, the old ones jump out. Someone has already made a move; Wukang Mountain's lodging has been brought under control."

At this, both mother and daughter were greatly astonished.

Lan Qiaoyan asked anxiously, "Are they going to directly harm Shi Chun?"

Miao Dingyi looked at his worried wife and daughter, then considered, "Probably not. If they intended to harm him directly, they wouldn't be so obvious, especially since this is the Royal Capital. Logically, Suyuan Sect might not easily let Shi Chun's actions go. Fortunately, during his battle with Mu Lanqing, someone intervened and stopped it. It's unknown who intervened, but it was a blatant violation. Although it was done in an emergency to save Mu Lanqing, it also protected Shi Chun to some extent, making it difficult for Suyuan Sect to relentlessly pursue the matter. Besides, do you really think Shengzhou Domain Lord Wei Mo is a pushover? His subordinates worked so hard to earn him such great prestige, and now a powerful faction has been openly offended. How could he not be prepared? If someone were to be killed now, where would he put his face? Rest assured, unless the Royal Court intentionally obstructs him, any intervention will be useless; he will certainly step in."