Chapter 220: Chapter 139: Your Fiancée Is Nice (3)
"The Ning’an Ten Heroes?"
Chen Sheng chuckled and slowly shook his head. "An empty title, nothing more. I have no interest in it. If Young Master Lu wishes to spar, you are free to find a more worthy opponent. I am on official business and cannot oblige you."
"Is it a lack of interest, or a lack of... confidence?"
Lu Maozhi’s eyes hardened as he resorted to taunts.
"Young Master Lu, you are mistaken."
Hao Tong, who had been waiting for an opportunity, immediately spoke up and stepped to Chen Sheng’s side.
"Captain Chen just endured a grueling battle and has yet to recover his True Qi. Your constant pestering makes your intentions all too clear. If you truly wished to stand up for the Song Family, where were you when Song Renyi was at death’s door moments ago?
Don’t you think it’s a bit late to show up now?"
Exposed in public by Hao Tong, Lu Maozhi’s face flushed red with humiliation and anger. He retorted defensively:
"General Hao, do not speak nonsense. The Song Family offended Deputy Captain Chen; their extermination was their own doing. When did I ever say I was speaking up for them? This is purely a warrior’s heart itching for a fight. I simply wish to cross swords with a remarkable talent like Deputy Captain Chen."
"Young Master Lu."
Chen Sheng interjected at the perfect moment, his tone corrective. "It was not that the Song Family offended me. Rather, the Song Family colluded with the Cyan Flood Dragon Alliance, sheltered traitors, and violently resisted the law. That is what brought about today’s disaster.
This point must be made clear."
Some things were understood by all, but the official account had to be flawless.
These were the rules.
Lu Maozhi was momentarily speechless and had to change his tune. "Deputy Captain Chen is correct. So, about this duel—will you accept it or not, Deputy Captain Chen?"
Chen Sheng narrowed his eyes slightly, as if genuinely considering it.
Seeing this, Hao Tong, who was standing nearby, quickly tried to warn him with a look. He worried that Chen Sheng, in his youthful hot-headedness, had fallen for the goading. If he were to lose to Lu Maozhi now, the authority he had just built up would be severely undermined.
After a moment of silence, Chen Sheng spoke slowly.
"Does Young Master Lu truly wish to spar with me that badly?"
"That’s right."
Lu Maozhi’s gaze was scorching as he pressed the issue.
"I’ve never been one to bother with pointless squabbles born of ego."
Chen Sheng first shook his head, then changed his tune. "However, if Young Master Lu insists on a fight, it’s not out of the question. We’ll just need to add some stakes to make this duel a little more... interesting."
"What kind of stakes did you have in mind? Name your price."
Lu Maozhi’s heart leaped with joy. As long as Chen Sheng was willing to agree, everything else was negotiable.
"What do I want?"
The smirk on Chen Sheng’s lips deepened. His gaze drifted slowly, finally settling on Wang Zilan, who stood quietly to the side with a complicated expression. His tone turned mischievous.
"I hear Young Master Lu is deeply devoted to Miss Wang and that your wedding is imminent. I imagine, then, that Miss Wang is the person you treasure most in this world, isn’t she?"
Lu Maozhi’s heart lurched. He was struck by a terrible premonition.
He then heard Chen Sheng continue, "If you want this duel, how about you wager your future wife? Of all the people here today, I find only Miss Wang to be of any interest."
"How dare you! That’s absurd!"
Lu Maozhi’s face instantly turned livid as he erupted in fury.
He had never imagined Chen Sheng could be so devious and shameless as to propose such a humiliating and impossible condition.
The engagement hadn’t even been formally announced. But even if it had, how could he possibly wager Wang Zilan like she was a piece of cargo?
This wasn’t just an insult to him; it was an act of trampling the honor of the entire Ning’an Wang Clan into the dirt.
’Does he really think the Ning’an Wang Clan is some minor family he can trifle with?’
If he agreed, the marriage would be off for certain.
"Is this... a lack of confidence, Young Master Lu?"
Chen Sheng raised an eyebrow. His tone was light, but every word was a needle-sharp barb.
"This has nothing to do with confidence. If you have no intention of dueling, Deputy Captain Chen, just say so. There’s no need to hide behind such a ridiculous excuse."
Lu Maozhi said coldly, suppressing his rage.
There was no way he could ever accept such a wager.
Standing nearby, Wang Zilan’s face had also paled slightly. A flicker of humiliation and anger crossed her eyes. To be treated as a bargaining chip was the ultimate insult for someone as proud as she.
"Since that proposal is unacceptable."
As if he had expected this, Chen Sheng’s expression remained unchanged as he coolly offered a second option.
"Then let’s change the wager. Twenty Elemental Crystals, plus... an opportunity for a private dinner between myself and Miss Wang. How about that? If you can’t even agree to this, then let’s just forget this duel ever happened."
"That’s also..."
Lu Maozhi instinctively started to refuse.
Twenty Elemental Crystals was a hefty sum, but it was acceptable.
’But to let Wang Zilan dine privately with Chen Sheng?’
’How improper!’
However, before he could finish his refusal, Wang Zilan, who had been silent at his side, suddenly looked up. Her crisp voice cut him off.
"If it is merely an ordinary dinner, I believe... that is acceptable."
"Zhilan? You..."
Lu Maozhi whipped his head around to stare at her in disbelief, his expression turning utterly grim.
’I can’t believe it. At a critical moment like this, my own ’fiancée-to-be’ just stabbed me in the back.’
’I haven’t even agreed, and she’s already accepted on my behalf?!’
Wang Zilan met Lu Maozhi’s shocked and furious gaze. Suppressing the complex emotions in her heart, she forced a faint smile that seemed considerate but was, in fact, distant.
"Since Young Master Lu is so insistent on dueling Captain Chen, what’s wrong with me helping you add to the stakes as a show of support? Or is it... that Young Master Lu has no confidence in this fight and is afraid you’ll lose?"
Wang Zilan had already been looking for a way to get on good terms with Chen Sheng. Seeing that the wager was just an ordinary dinner, it suited her plans perfectly. After all, an opportunity like this was incredibly rare for her at the moment.
"I..."
Lu Maozhi scrambled to explain himself.
"Besides,"
Wang Zilan didn’t give him a chance, continuing in a soft voice, "What are you worried about, Young Master Lu? It is only a single dinner. Even if... even if you were to unfortunately lose, it would be of no great consequence.
Besides, in my heart, I believe that with Young Master Lu’s skill, your chances of victory are extremely high."
She didn’t mean a word of it, but her speech effectively backed Lu Maozhi into a corner.
"Miss Wang has already given her consent. Does Young Master Lu still have reservations?"
Chen Sheng added the final bit of fuel to the fire, watching with a relaxed air as Lu Maozhi’s expression wavered.
Lu Maozhi stood frozen, feeling the stares of the crowd on him like a thousand needles.
Wang Zilan’s words, seemingly supportive but actually coercive, echoed in his ears. Chen Sheng’s mocking gaze felt like a spike in his back.
’Refuse?’
’That would only confirm I’m a coward with no confidence, unable to even accept the ’small show of support’ from my own fiancée-to-be.’
’Accept the challenge?’
’But I just saw Chen Sheng’s strength with my own eyes. He’s no easy opponent. What if I lose...?’
Lu Maozhi’s face was a sickly pale, his mind in turmoil. Fine beads of sweat even broke out on his temples.
"Young Master Lu?"
Chen Sheng’s prompting voice floated over, tinged with a barely perceptible impatience.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, trapped with no way out, Lu Maozhi finally steeled himself. He snapped his head up, glared at Chen Sheng, and forced the words out from between clenched teeth, one by one:
"Fine, Chen Sheng! I’ll take that bet!"
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