Translator: Paperplane, Zenobys
“I’ve no idea,” said Han Moze with a faint smile.
Nangong Ba shared a few words with one of his men in black clothing, who then left. When he came back, he returned with a tray of dozens of wooden sticks.
“So that’s what it is!” Liu Rushuang said abruptly.
“The next round be to draw sticks. Whoever draws the number one will receive the Superior Slaying Shrine token,” announced Nangong Ba in a resounding voice.
All of a sudden, the crowd was riled up once again.
“That’s too easy!”
“So it’s up to the luckiest beautiful woman!”
“That’s unfair!”
…
In that very moment, Jin Yuyao balled her fists up tight. In looks, she was confident in beating these beautiful women. However, in luck, she may have always been rather lucky, but there were also times when she was out of luck, and so she immediately protested.
“Mayor, I object to this kind of competition! The important topic in a beauty contest is to compete with our beauty and not by luck. And so, I beg you, mayor, to allow for the final round to be a test of beauty. Whoever is the prettiest, wins!”
Nangong Ba saw the noisy Jin Yuyao, who wore a red corset, orange outer garment, and her hair combed up into a tall topknot. On both sides, there were two beaded, orange peonies. Her facial features were cute and pretty. She was definitely a seriously beautiful woman, who did well to take good care of herself. But, what did that have to do with him?
“Lady, if you think it’s inappropriate, then I do not wish to force you to participate. You may now leave,” he said with a cold voice.
“Yes! Get lost! Just because you’re a little pretty, you go and suggest to compete with our looks. Your heart is truly evil!”
Jin Yuyao heard other beautiful ladies wanting her to leave and abruptly gritted her teeth. Fine, she would do it and she would definitely draw the number one stick.
“Mayor, I agree to do it,” she proceeded to say in a bit of a tantrum.
Nangong Ba slightly grinned. “Since no one has any opinions on the matter, then we shall start drawing sticks. Whoever draws their stick is not allowed to reveal their number.”
Just like that, the beautiful ladies took turns drawing sticks. When they read their sticks, they seemed broken-hearted and inconsolable.
Jin Yuyao shot a glance at the women who had made their draws, then noticed the sullen look on their faces and slightly smirked. It looked like the possibility of her drawing the winning stick was pretty high. So then, she cautiously shot a few glances and drew her stick. When she flipped it around, her hands abruptly tightened up and she held her breath. To her surprise, she drew a blank stick with no writing at all. Jin Yuyao wailed incessantly inside, but she still stared transfixed upon Nangong Ba.
After all the sticks were drawn, quite a few women had already started crying. Some even sat on the floor and others turned to leave.
Jin Yuyao furrowed her brows in confusion. So, had no one managed to get one?
Nangong Ba looked at the only person who held her poise, Jin Yuyao, and flatly ordered, “Reward the token to that woman, standing over there.”
When the token landed in Jin Yuyao’s hand, she was left completely astonished. She obviously didn’t draw the right stick!
All of a sudden, one of the beautiful women on the floor cried in annoyance, “Mayor, how do you know that woman drew the number one stick?”
“Yes! Yes!”
Several weeping women asked repeatedly.
“Superior Slaying Shrine doesn’t need disheartening, noisy women. This round actually tested the beautiful ladies on their ability to take hard news. None of the sticks have the number one, so the token belongs to the final one standing. That’s the end of my explanation. Everyone may leave now.”
Jin Yuyao’s smile was full of joy and excitement. At the time, all she could think about was that if she hadn’t received the token, she was going to come up with all kinds of plans to pounce on the mayor. Who would have thought she was so lucky?! Jin Yuyao looked down at her token and smiled foolishly. “Hahaha…”