Shen Qingwu frowned. Was this never going to end?
Her wrist twisted like a nimble snake, directly seizing the Fourth Prince’s attacking wrist. With a twist and a push, a clever force burst forth, actually shaking the Fourth Prince back several steps.
“Argh—!” The Fourth Prince, caught off guard, let out a pained cry and abruptly retracted his hand.
“You wretch! Given an inch, you dare take a mile?!” He steadied himself, his eyes a mix of fury and contempt. “For this prince to take a liking to you is a blessing you’ve cultivated over several lifetimes! If you know what’s good for you, obediently remove that mask. Otherwise…” He sneered, his tone full of condescending charity and threat. “Right under the imperial city’s nose, crushing you is easier than crushing an ant!”
Hmph! Hiding behind a mask like this was clearly the behavior of some low-level martial artist or a girl from some minor family afraid of causing trouble! He’d seen plenty of women like this—they all acted high and mighty at first, but in the end, they all yielded under the pressure of his imperial authority.
Shen Qingwu’s expression darkened. “As far as I know, even members of the imperial family are not allowed to act recklessly within the Ghost Market’s territory.” Her voice was clear and resonant, quite different from her usual sickly tone.
As she spoke, she glanced toward the Gate of Yan and noticed that the Horse Face guard had disappeared at some point, while the Ox-Head guard stood with arms crossed before the gate, clearly adopting a wait-and-see attitude.
“This prince naturally knows the rules.” The Fourth Prince licked the corner of his lips, his eyes burning with stubborn determination. Aside from that damned Shen Qingwu, no one had ever dared to publicly defy him like this!
“It’s just a pity that we’re still outside the gate at this moment!”
Before his words faded, he moved again, his footwork bizarre, forming a claw with one hand as he went straight for Shen Qingwu’s mask once more.
“Fourth Brother, really!” The Seventh Princess stamped her foot in anger, crossing her arms and complaining. “With all the beauties in Great Sheng, why must you pick a fight with some woman of unknown origins?”
Alas, her fourth brother just had this nasty habit.
She glanced at the purple-robed man beside her, hesitating to speak, but ultimately didn’t dare say more.
Shen Qingwu had no desire to tangle with him further and dodged aside. Unexpectedly, the Fourth Prince was unrelenting and actually launched an attack against her.
The onlookers held their breath, secretly sweating for this woman. To offend the Fourth Prince so blindly, she was surely in for great misfortune.
Watching as the Fourth Prince gathered a faint golden light in his palm, his palm strike like a thunderbolt heading straight for her face.
A cold glint flashed in Shen Qingwu’s eyes.
She no longer avoided it. Lightly tapping her toes, her figure slid sideways like a ghost, not only evading the attack but closing in toward the Fourth Prince’s chest.
Her left hand clamped onto his attacking wrist like iron pincers, targeting his vital point, while her right hand formed fingers and struck like lightning at a crucial acupoint on his chest.
The Fourth Prince instantly felt his entire body go numb. The gathered Neili instantly dissipated, and his whole body stiffened, unable to move.
All of this happened in an instant, before anyone could react.
“You…!” The Fourth Prince was both shocked and furious.
Shen Qingwu, using the momentum of his forward charge, cleverly guided his wrist forward.
The Fourth Prince couldn’t halt his momentum and lunged forward. Shen Qingwu released her grip and kindly stepped aside, her skirt fluttering slightly.
“Thud!In front of everyone, the esteemed Fourth Prince heavily face-planted into the dirt.
Dust covered his splendid robes, the high spirits from moments ago completely gone.
The entire scene fell deathly silent.
For a moment, all the onlookers were struck dumb with amazement.
The Seventh Princess was so startled she covered her mouth.
Shen Qingwu looked down at the disheveled Fourth Prince, lightly brushing her sleeve: “Your Highness, how could you be so careless? Falling on flat ground.”
“You must have cheated!” The Fourth Prince struggled to his feet, his face flushed with humiliation and rage. “You coward hiding behind a mask, state your name!”
He refused to believe he had lost fairly—this damned woman must have used some underhanded trick.
Having thoroughly enjoyed the fight, Shen Qingwu curved her eyes in amusement, her tone light: “A defeated opponent isn’t worthy of knowing my name.”
“How dare you!” The extreme insult made veins bulge on the Fourth Prince’s forehead, murderous intent surging. “Little Seven! Attack together! Kill this witch!” He had abandoned all pretense of decorum, wanting only to tear this woman who had humiliated him into pieces.
Seeing this, the Seventh Princess also dropped her spectator mentality. Pursing her lips, she drew a specially crafted fan from her sleeve: “Fourth Brother, it seems you’ve kicked an iron plate today.” The siblings positioned themselves on either side, subtly forming a pincer formation to trap Shen Qingwu between them.
Most onlookers still believed the Fourth Prince had merely been careless earlier. Now seeing the royal siblings joining forces, they all felt the masked woman was doomed.
Meanwhile, the Fourth Prince secretly circulated his Neili to its fullest capacity.
Shen Qingwu hadn’t expected the Fourth Prince to be so shameless as to gang up on her publicly. Her peripheral vision scanned the Gate of Yan as she tightened her grip on the hairpin.
Just then, a purple figure flashed in front of Shen Qingwu.
Her gaze turned colder: “Oh? Another one. You royal descendants are truly honorable.”
Seeing him intervene, the Fourth Prince exclaimed excitedly: “Imperial Uncle!”
The Seventh Princess looked somewhat surprised.
Her imperial uncle was the current He Wang Ye Chen—an idle, willful man of unpredictable moods who disregarded palace rules when his temper flared.
Consequently, no one in the royal family was on good terms with him, and he never meddled in others’ affairs.
If not for her imperial uncle possessing the Crossing Netherworld Token, she wouldn’t have dragged her fourth brother to seek his guidance. Today was the fifteenth—it was said that every month on this day, the Ghost Market would produce a rare treasure.
With her mother’s birthday approaching, Little Seven wanted to obtain this treasure as a birthday gift to outshine all others!
Shen Qingwu was somewhat surprised—so young to already be a prince? She wondered which prince he was, as she knew few members of the royal family.
She couldn’t help but study him.
His crown sat askew, his hair poorly arranged. Hmm… such handsome features yet such poor self-care skills?
When their eyes met, Shen Qingwu neither avoided his gaze nor flinched, calmly nodding in acknowledgment.
The corner of He Wang’s lips lifted slightly as he prepared to speak—
“Honored guests have arrived, yet we failed to welcome you properly.”
A soft, feminine voice emerged from within the Gate of Yan. Everyone turned to see a crimson palanquin carried out by four strong men, with the previously vanished Horse Face guard bowing as he led the way.
At the sight of the red palanquin, the crowd retreated like a receding tide, and the Seventh Princess shrank fearfully behind the Fourth Prince.
Under countless terrified gazes, the red palanquin came to a direct stop before Shen Qingwu.
The curtain stirred without wind as a red figure flashed out like a ghost. Shen Qingwu only sensed a fragrant breeze before a warm, soft body coiled around her like a spirit snake.
Cool jade fingers provocatively lifted her chin, fragrant breath whispering past her ear:
“Little sister, is it you who holds the Mandala Hairpin?”
Gasps rippled through the crowd: “It’s Meng Po! The Ghost King’s right-hand deputy—she actually appeared in person!”
“She’s heading straight for that girl. Could it be because she offended the royal family at the Ghost Market’s entrance?”