Chapter 104 — The Name on the Slip
CHAPTER 104
The Name on the Slip
“Shi Feng?” Yu Cheng said.
The clerk read the birth record again, then looked at the man standing before his table. Behind Shi Feng, several waiting applicants leaned sideways to see what caused the delay.
“Yes,” Shi Feng replied.
“Qualification registration,” Yu Cheng said, tapping the table.
“I can read the sign,” Shi Feng replied.
A laugh rose from the line. Someone recognized his face and whispered his name. By the time Yu Cheng checked the clan seal, three people were openly staring.
“The Shi family's cripple?” one young man said.
“He's registering?”
“Maybe he wants a seat to watch.”
Shi Feng waited without turning. The registration ground stood beside the capital arena. Ten tall boards displayed the standing candidates, and a separate awning sheltered the officials.
The ranked names were the same as the notice. Sima Yu first. Ling Qingzhu second. Han Zong third.
Gao Zhen tenth.
Yu Cheng checked the birth year against the eligible list. Everything matched. He couldn't reject the paper merely because the face beside it was famous for the wrong reason.
“Your age is eligible,” Yu Cheng said. “Your clan seal is sound. Cultivation must meet Foundation Establishment before the first challenge proceeds.”
“It will,” Shi Feng replied.
The clerk's brush stopped.
“Don't make me repeat the condition,” Yu Cheng said.
“Then don't,” Shi Feng replied.
A young man in a pale gold robe stepped out from beneath the next awning. A refined artifact sword hung at his waist, and early Foundation Establishment qi spread openly around him.
The crowd made room at once.
Gao Zhen looked at Shi Feng, then at the plain scabbard by his side.
“So this is the famous husband,” Gao Zhen said. “I thought Lady Ling kept you at home.”
“I left through the gate,” Shi Feng replied.
Gao Zhen's smile sharpened. He was twenty-one and proud of reaching Foundation Establishment before most of his clan cousins. Being tenth already made him important in the capital's younger circles.
A cripple answering him casually in front of applicants wasn't amusing for long.
“Do you know which rank you'll have to challenge?” Gao Zhen asked.
“Tenth,” Shi Feng said.
“Mine,” Gao Zhen added.
“That's why I'm looking at you,” Shi Feng replied.
The people nearby went quiet. Then someone laughed too loudly and stopped when Gao Zhen turned his head.
Yu Cheng sighed. He'd expected an argument about paperwork, not a young genius finding a reason to become offended before noon.
“Registration first,” Yu Cheng said firmly. “Challenges go through the official board. Not beside my table.”
Gao Zhen looked back at Shi Feng.
“If you can show Foundation Establishment, I'll accept,” Gao Zhen said. “Don't expect your wife's name to make me gentle.”
“I didn't bring it on the slip,” Shi Feng replied.
Yu Cheng looked down. Only Shi Feng's own name stood there.
A man in a dark official robe approached from the arena steps. The surrounding guards straightened. His mid Foundation Establishment aura was steady, and a narrow scar marked his chin.
Wen Shou stopped beside the registration table.
“What's the delay?” Wen Shou asked.
“An eligible record and an unlikely applicant,” Yu Cheng replied.
Wen Shou read the slip, then looked at Shi Feng. His expression didn't become friendly, but neither did he laugh.
“Do you understand the rules?” Wen Shou asked.
“Unranked candidates challenge tenth first,” Shi Feng replied. “Once ranked, I may challenge higher. The first three places at the close represent Great Liang.”
“Correct,” Wen Shou said. “Your realm will be verified on the platform before the fight. If you fail the condition, you lose the challenge payment and leave.”
Shi Feng nodded.
“Then register him,” Wen Shou told Yu Cheng.
The clerk pressed the seal onto the slip. The small sound carried much farther than it should have.
A cripple's name entered the qualification list.
Gao Zhen watched the seal dry with a cold smile. In his mind, the official merely gave a fool enough room to embarrass himself properly.
Shi Feng accepted the slip and paid the required sum. He didn't release qi at the desk, explain his meridians, or ask anyone to believe him in advance.
They'd have proof when the challenge began.
Ling Qingzhu arrived before he left the registration ground. Her violet robe, white veil and black hair drew attention at once. Conversations lowered, and several young men moved aside without waiting for a guard to tell them.
Second on the standing list. First among Great Liang's beauties.
She walked straight to Shi Feng.
“You registered?” Ling Qingzhu asked.
He held up the slip.
She looked at the seal, then at Wen Shou near the steps. Her expression became serious.
“I told you I wouldn't ask for an exception,” Ling Qingzhu said quietly.
“I haven't received one,” Shi Feng replied.
Her eyes searched his face. He remained calm, without the reckless anger she expected from someone trying to silence mockery.
“Do you really know what you're doing?” Ling Qingzhu asked.
“Yes,” Shi Feng replied.
She didn't look satisfied, but she stopped arguing in front of the crowd. That pleased him. She could question him privately without helping strangers laugh at him.
Gao Zhen approached again, bowing more carefully to her than he spoke to Shi Feng.
“Lady Ling, your husband wants my place,” Gao Zhen said.
“Then speak to him,” Ling Qingzhu replied.
Gao Zhen straightened, embarrassed. She didn't ask him for mercy or explain away the registration. His prepared generous answer became useless.
Shi Feng glanced at her. She looked back coldly, as if warning him not to mistake silence for approval.
He smiled anyway.
Kou Tao stopped them on the way to the challenge board. The Bone Refinement buyer carried two empty ointment jars beneath his arm and looked more annoyed than astonished.
“You closed the stall,” Kou Tao said.
“I registered here,” Shi Feng replied.
“Then when can I buy medicine?” Kou Tao asked.
“After tomorrow's challenge,” Shi Feng replied.
Kou Tao glanced at Gao Zhen, then at Ling Qingzhu. He clearly decided his questions about the fight weren't worth asking in front of her.
“Same price?” Kou Tao asked.
“Same medicine,” Shi Feng replied.
“Good,” Kou Tao said. “People become famous and forget what a jar costs.”
He moved away, clutching the empty containers. Gao Zhen looked irritated that someone discussed ordinary ointment while he stood there. Shi Feng found the interruption pleasant. Kou Tao didn't suddenly believe he could win. The man simply valued medicine that worked more than a chance to laugh at its seller.
Ling Qingzhu watched the buyer leave and glanced at Shi Feng. She seemed surprised anyone came looking for his goods rather than his wife. He didn't explain. There would be time for plenty of explanations after tomorrow.
At the challenge board, Yu Cheng wrote the first pairing on a fresh strip.
Shi Feng, unranked. Gao Zhen, tenth.
The appointed time was the next morning. Gao Zhen accepted with a sharp stroke of his brush, then handed it over without looking at the applicant.
Shi Feng signed beneath him.
A small crowd gathered to read the names. By the time he stepped away, the whisper had already become a story. The cripple would challenge a Foundation Establishment genius.
Someone claimed Ling Qingzhu arranged it. Another pointed out that she was second and could've asked for something less humiliating. Neither bothered asking Shi Feng himself.
He left the noise behind and walked toward the gate with her beside him.
“You're smiling,” Ling Qingzhu said.
“Should I cry?” Shi Feng asked.
“You should be careful,” Ling Qingzhu replied.
“I will,” Shi Feng said.
His answer was plain enough that she believed that much, even if she didn't know what else to believe.
Behind them, the challenge strip fluttered beneath Gao Zhen's rank.
Tomorrow, Shi Feng would give the capital a better subject than his ruined meridians.