Chapter 118: Golden Dragon-Locking Ring (Part 6): As Long as I Can See You Once, I’m Willing to Wait a Year Part 2

But that peace was shattered before it could settle.

Shang Shan had barely warmed her seat when she spotted the woman sitting solo, away from the elders. She scurried over, plopped down beside her, and swung her legs. “I want to sit next to you.”

Mu Qian Tan was midway through mouthing “scram” when Qin He approached and sat on Shang Shan’s other side. Fu Li, seeing the shift, unceremoniously joined Qin He, leaving Fu Chi alone in the original spot.

“….”

Chasing them off one by one was too much hassle. Mu Qian Tan endured it.

Truly bizarre—sitting alone somehow turned her row into the kids’ section. Fu Chi, you deserve to die a thousand deaths.

And the ringleader Shang Shan was no better. Mu Qian Tan hadn’t even heard Fu Yuzhu announce the start when she twisted the girl’s ear like winding a toy. Shang Shan scrunched her brows into an eight, squeezed her eyes shut, and hissed softly through gritted teeth. “Go easy…”

A cannon salute boomed below. The massive iron gates at the oval’s ends ground upward, and out stepped two burly men shackled at arms and legs—clearly slaves—who selected weapons from the racks. This was the warm-up bout before the beast fights: one side had to kill the other to end it.

The slaves tested their weapons with a few swings, then clashed, drawing cheers from the crowd.

During the fight, attendants hoisted rewards for the winner onto a platform before the VIP stand: crates of materials that sounded overwhelming and looked dazzling. Mu Qian Tan skimmed most, her attention snagging only on the final item introduced—a chunk of ore.

The ore gleamed gold but wasn’t actual gold; it was a far rarer metal mined from the deepest Fu Clan shafts. Useless for much else, it reigned supreme for suppressing demons—a key prop in the original story.

That very night, the informant Red Satin had told Yao’e Immortal that the female protagonist was a dragon descendant. Having never closely examined her disciple before, Yao’e finally spotted the discrepancies: the tail, the horns, the bizarre physiology. It confirmed Red Satin’s intel.

Such a juicy prize right in her grasp—if word got out, it would unleash a storm of blood.

After some thought, Yao’e recalled that the beast arena’s winner that day had received a treasure perfect for curbing demonic traits among the prizes. She bought it, had it forged into a Golden Dragon-Locking Ring, and fitted it around the female protagonist’s neck. Even if she awakened her dragon form, the artifact would suppress any outward signs. Only removing the Dragon Locking Ring would let her transform fully—maximum safeguard against discovery and forcible seizure.

And this beast fight’s purpose was to introduce that special ore.

Once all rewards were displayed, the bout below ended. The victors severed the loser’s head, grabbed it by the hair, and paraded the dripping trophy around the arena. The stands erupted in appreciative cheers. Fu Li clapped delightedly; Qin He averted her eyes to the floor. Shang Shan huffed, “Why do it like that!”

Mu Qian Tan said, “What do you have to say about it.”

Shang Shan replied, “They were fighting.”

Mu Qian Tan said, “You were just fighting too. Don’t go criticizing others.”

“I hit people because they provoked me first. I can’t stand hearing others talk about you, and I didn’t go for the kill either. But they’re different,” Shang Shan grew angrier as she spoke. “If it were a sect tournament, it would be about stopping at the right moment, but they went for the kill. That’s not a tournament! And it’s not for survival either! If they still do that, is it purely for entertainment through slaughter? There’s absolutely no need for it! What’s so good about watching that stuff anyway!”

“Don’t make a fuss. Sit properly.”

The next match in the arena was a beast fight between two rich merchants, a warm-up before the official duel. Mu Qian Tan rubbed her temples. “You’re always worrying about irrelevant things. Just treat it like watching cockfights, fish fights, or cricket fights. It’s not like the dead are anyone close to you. Don’t meddle too much.”

Shang Shan said, “Even cockfights and fish fights—I don’t like them! I just don’t like them! You…”

Before she finished, she was pulled off the chair, her words cut short. Mu Qian Tan found her too noisy and stepped on her back, face-down on the ground. “If you don’t like watching, then don’t watch.”

Qin He moved her throat, wanting to say something but holding back. The atmosphere between those two didn’t seem right for anyone else to interject. Her gaze, originally fixed on the floor, slowly shifted to the right.

Fu Li had just placed a bet on the table guessing the winner or loser, treating it as carelessly as scattering dirt. Seeing Qin He look over, she asked, “My demon beast will be up soon. Bet everything on me winning, and you’ll make a fortune for sure.”

Qin He closed her eyes, then opened them again. “No need.”

The air she breathed was filled with the dust and spice scent from the floor cracks, along with a faint feminine fragrance like thin threads. Shang Shan rubbed her nose and sneezed. She tried to struggle free from the foot steadily pressing on her back but faced even greater pressure.

Her hands pushed against the ground, veins bulging on her forehead from the effort, but she still couldn’t get up. She knew that woman didn’t have that much raw strength, so she complained, “Master, don’t use spiritual power. Let’s go at it fair and square.”

“Why would I use my weakness against your strength?” Uninterested in the bloody slaughter between the beasts below, Mu Qian Tan looked down at the person underfoot, pressing and releasing. “Don’t make such unreasonable demands.”

Cheers erupted sporadically from both sides of the stands, the noise like ocean waves. Shang Shan tried a few more times, feeling like a mountain weighed on her back, still unable to rise. So she changed tactics, reaching back to touch the woman’s ankle, which indeed made her flinch sensitively.

Seizing that instant gap, Shang Shan flipped over to lie face-up, grabbing that ankle with both hands, and laughed. “Got you.” She laughed for just a second before hissing and letting go—frost had already formed from her palm to her wrist.

Mu Qian Tan flicked her skirt hem. “Courting death.”

Shang Shan pressed her hand to her cheek to warm it, kneading the soft flesh. “I’m not. I’m clearly looking for you.”

Sensing appraising gazes from behind, Mu Qian Tan straightened her waist slightly. “Get up quickly. Lying on the ground like that—what does it look like? You’re losing face for me.”

“I won’t,” Shang Shan shook her head like a rattle. “I don’t want to watch!”

“Then just close your eyes.”

“That won’t do either.” Shang Shan deliberately widened her eyes. “If I close them, I won’t see you. I want to look at you.”

“…” Mu Qian Tan extended her hand. “That’ll cost you.”

The two most terrifying words in the world appeared—and even more so for the poor Cat Official Shang Shan. She patted herself all over and admitted honestly, “No money.”

Mu Qian Tan said cruelly, “No money, yet you want to look? Keep looking then.”

Shang Shan fell into anguish, counting on her fingers, probably figuring out how to earn it. After a while, she asked, “How much does one glance at you cost?”

“One tael of gold.”

It was an outrageous lion’s-big-mouth price. Shang Shan opened her mouth, mentally calculating how long it would take to save up for one glance, then said dispiritedly, “That’ll take forever.”

“How long?”

“If I only catch rats, it’ll take over a year.”

Mu Qian Tan had no great concept of mortal prices but still thought it was quite long. “Then don’t look.”

“I want to look.” Shang Shan turned sideways, hugging the chair leg under her body, and chuckled lightly. “As long as I can see you once, I’m willing to wait a year.”

Another wave of cheers erupted from the stands, praising the victor’s bravery. Mu Qian Tan was drowned out by the noise. When her ears finally cleared, she lifted her foot onto Shang Shan’s eyes. “Then wait a year. Cash on delivery for the glance.”

After several rounds of rich merchants’ confrontations, it was Fu Li’s turn. Her opponent was naturally Fu Chi. The two couldn’t stand each other and both snorted coldly upon eye contact.

First up were two male eagles, then a white bear, and finally the white serpent. Fu Li’s three demon pets were named Fei Fei, Claw Claw, and Kun Kun—names that showed zero talent, failing to capture even a fraction of their ferocious appearances.

The duel rules were best of three. Mu Qian Tan knew the final results of these three matches: the first two ended one win each, a tie, and in the last, the white serpent match, Kun Kun was supposed to win, with the reward going to Fu Li.

Later, Mu Qian Tan could buy that ore from her and have it forged. It was an easy task—just wait.

But waiting idly wouldn’t do. Knowing who would win, it would be wasteful not to bet. The ore wasn’t cheap either, so she planned to earn some now to cover the cost.

She took some money from her storage pouch and bet according to the book’s outcomes on two matches. Sure enough, she made a tidy profit. For the final match, she bet everything on Fu Li and sat waiting for the money to roll in, while stepping on her disciple for fun a bit longer.

Shang Shan struggled against her foot. “Don’t use spiritual power.”

“You use it too. Even if you do, you’re still a waste.”

“I don’t want to use it on you. I’m afraid of hurting you.”

“Then lie there. Don’t ever get up.”

The spectators’ cheers indicated the two white serpents in the arena fought intensely, extremely perilous and evenly matched. Fu Li and Fu Chi couldn’t help moving to the front to guide their own demon pets on attacks and dodges, no quieter than the crowd below.

When the noise died down and the result was set, Mu Qian Tan pinned the girl’s hands underfoot before looking up, ready to rake in the winnings. But she discovered the outcome differed from the original.

Fu Chi laughed triumphantly, full of smugness. Fu Li’s face was ashen, and lying in the pool of blood in the arena was none other than Kun Kun.

She… lost?