No, gentlemen also guard against

Chapter 864 Winning the First Prize
"Lu Jinghong?"

"It's down."

After handing over the wooden sign, Lu Jinghong clasped his fists and said solemnly.

The cold-faced Yue woman wrote something on the paper and nodded slightly:

"One hundred and thirteen breaths, your talent in swordsmanship is also top-notch... Go wait aside."

Although he was praised, there was no joy on Lu Jinghong's face. He walked under the peach tree and passed in front of Ouyang Rong with a little discomfort.

He asked casually:
"Liu, what's your rank, Brother Liu?"

"second."

Lu Jinghong seemed to be slightly relieved and asked:
"Oh, those monkeys didn't bite you, did they? I was unlucky today and encountered a domestic monkey that bit and scratched me, which delayed me a bit..."

He waved his hand as if he didn't care, and pointed to the bite mark on the back of his hand.

Immediately, Lu Jinghong looked at the dark-skinned boy next to him and looked at him carefully.

The dark-skinned boy was a little introverted. When Lu Jinghong looked at him, he lowered his head slightly. After a while, he turned around and clasped his fists towards Ouyang Rong and Lu Jinghong:
"Hiro."

After making a single nasal sound, the dark-skinned boy asked in unfamiliar Mandarin: "What should I call you..."

Lu Jinghong realized that "Hong" should be the boy's name. He was also a child from a country family and didn't even have a surname.

"My name is Lu Jinghong, and I come from the Fanyang Lu family..."

Lu Jinghong paused in the middle of his speech and found that the dark-skinned boy's eyes were always on Ouyang Rong, as if he wanted to know his name more.

Ouyang Rong clasped his fists and said in a low voice:

"Liu Aliang."

"You can call me Hiro."

"Ah."

In fact, when Ouyang Rong was lingering at the exit of Taogu, he noticed this young man passing by and actually mistook him for Lu Jinghong...

Lu Jinghong looked unhappy.

At the same time, young men came out from the exit of Tao Valley one after another, and the cold-faced Yue woman kept taking notes.

Soon, Ouyang Rong saw Sha Ergou also running out from the exit with a bump on his head. He was not at the end of the group, but in the middle.

"Sha... Ergou. Ranked tenth, one hundred and forty-eight breaths, has better aptitude in swordsmanship."

When the cold-faced Vietnamese woman read Sha Ergou's name, she looked at the short-haired young man with sweat on his forehead for a few more times. Not sure if it was an illusion, her tone softened a little:
"Not bad, go and rest."

Sha Ergou touched the lumps on his head.

He didn't get enough sleep today and was originally listless. But after being chased and beaten by monkeys in the peach forest, he is not so sleepy now... and feels full of energy.

Under the peach tree, the young men who had passed the test gathered together, and the atmosphere gradually became lively.

Sha Ergou looked around and saw Ouyang Rong, and ran over happily:
"Brother Liu, how long have you been out? How come it's so fast? I can take 148 breaths, how long is yours?"

He couldn't wait to find out.

Ouyang Rong shook his head:

"I'm lucky. There are fewer monkeys chasing me, so I can run faster than you."

The eyes of the surrounding teenagers were attracted, and Sha Ergou asked curiously on their behalf:
"How much faster? What's the ranking?"

Ouyang Rong thought for a while:

"It's also about a hundred breaths, it seems to be the second one."

The atmosphere under the tree became quiet.

Except for Lu Jinghong who had no expression on his face, the other teenagers all looked surprised. Sha Ergou reacted and said in a loud voice:

"Second? Wow! Brother Liu is so amazing. I can't even remember a few of his moves. I could only block with my sword horizontally. I was beaten all over. I remember that Brother Liu only read the book once and gave it to me. He can be second. Brother Liu's brain is really sharp..."

Sha Ergou is uneducated and speaks bluntly, and his words of praise sound strange, but this does not prevent the young boys around him from looking at him with envy and admiration.

Lu Jinghong couldn't hold back any longer, licked his lips, smoothed his hair, and said with a smile:
"It's the same for me. After a hundred breaths, I'm only third. It's a pity that I didn't make it into the top 100. It's all because of that beastly monkey that dared to bite people and delayed me for more than ten breaths... Brother Liu, Brother Sha, I think none of you have encountered such bad luck, right?"

He shook his right hand and asked everyone with some concern.

Everyone around shook their heads. Some of the simple young men even showed sympathy. Only Sha Ergou spoke loudly with a strange look on his face:
"Ah? Biting people? Weird, why did this monkey only bite you?"

Lu Jinghong's smiling face suddenly turned stiff, and he was obviously unhappy.

Sha Ergou was still insensitive and didn't notice that the atmosphere was awkward or wrong.

Fortunately, at this moment, the cold-faced Yue woman not far away put down her pen, put away the book, turned around and walked over.

The young men immediately focused their attention without looking away.

At this moment, a black shadow suddenly jumped out from the exit of Taogu not far away.

He first jumped onto the peach tree, picked something, and ran under the tree. Faster than the cold-faced Yue girl, he arrived in front of everyone.

It was a gibbon covered in black hair with a tuft of yellow hair on its forehead. It was two times larger than the monkey that the boys were fighting with in the forest under the tree.

Without saying a word, it rushed towards the direction where Ouyang Rong was.

Sha Ergou, Ahong and other boys retreated back in fear.

Lu Jinghong, who was closest to Ouyang Rong, jumped back a step like a frightened bird, and frantically groped for the non-existent sword at his waist.

Ouyang Rong didn't move.

Because he recognized that this was the Shamatte monkey that had been fighting with him all the way, and it was holding a big peach in its hand.

"Aa ...

The Shamatte monkey stopped three steps in front of Ouyang Rong, stood up, stretched out one hand, and handed him a peach. Its head, which was bruised and swollen by someone, looked around as if nothing had happened, as if observing the surrounding scenery.

Seeing the monkey delivering peaches, the young men were stunned.

Lu Jinghong also looked at the man and the monkey in surprise and doubt.

The person involved, Ouyang Rong, was also a little speechless. He tilted his head slightly and looked at the other hand of the Shamatte monkey behind its back, as if he was worried that it had secretly hidden a stick.

"This is the Monkey King. He gives you peaches as a token of his recognition. Next time you come to the peach forest on this island, you will not be attacked by monkeys." The cold-faced Yue girl's voice came.

She looked a little curious, and after looking at the peach, she nodded slowly:

"Liu Aliang, right? That's right. It's not easy to be recognized by the Monkey King. It's not enough to just beat him into submission. It also requires some fate... I've been in Jianze for so long, and I've only seen him twice. This is your third time...

“Also, this peach is not simple either, it’s called Qingyan Late Peach.

"A hundred years ago, when the female leader of our sect was traveling deep in Yunmeng, she accidentally entered a strange valley. Outside the valley, there were corpses everywhere, but inside the valley, it was like spring all year round, with birds singing and flowers blooming. She found a strange peach tree growing on the rock under a green rock. It had a strange fragrance and would bear fruit every twenty springs. When it did, creatures within a hundred miles would covet it and fight for it...

"That lady didn't pick the spiritual peaches, but she cut a section of the rootstock of the peach tree, brought it back to Jianze, and planted it here, which resulted in the peach tree at the exit of Peach Valley..."

“So although this Qingyan Late Peach is not as magical as the strange peach in the valley, it can also refresh the mind. Those who eat it will be full of energy and stay awake for three days. In addition, it has the miraculous effect of relieving dampness, heat, cold and poison...

"You have just entered the Peach Valley. The valley is filled with fog, the terrain is very low, and the humidity is very heavy. These monkeys can live safely here because of the peaches.

"In fact, that lady grafted peach trees here for a reason. It seems that the terrain of Peach Valley is very similar to that of the strange valley. I guess the humidity and heat there are more toxic."

A cold-faced Vietnamese woman came over with a scroll in her hand and spoke slowly. Judging from the casual way she spoke, it was unknown which hall she came from. She was under the command of that female monarch and seemed to be well-read, proficient in all matters of the Sword Sect, and inclined to some kind of civil service in Jianze.

She pointed at the peach in the air with the book in her hand and said:

"You must be a lucky person. Take it. It's a good start."

The cold-faced Yue woman explained the origin of the peach, and the young men around her listened attentively, full of longing, and at this moment they looked at someone with envy in their eyes.

Ouyang Rong hesitated for a moment, then took the peach under everyone's sidelong glances.

As expected, the Shamatte monkey did not hide the stick. It circled around Ouyang Rong happily and ran back to the tree.

The cold-faced Yue woman stepped forward and spoke to the assembled crowd:
"Yes, it's better than I thought. The final result is 105 breaths, followed by 109... Although there are no top talents within 100 breaths, there are four superior talents within 120 breaths. I underestimated you.

"On the other hand, the number of girls participating in the Yue Girl Selection is much greater than yours, and there are only eighteen girls with superior talents."

After the summary was completed, the cold-faced Yue woman waved her hand:

"Okay, go back and rest first. The second level, the Qi Refining Root Bone Test, is very simple, but the third level is a bit far away, so we will combine the two and hold them together tomorrow. You should still line up behind the newly selected Yue women as usual.

“So go back and have a good rest tonight. Although the second level is easy, the third level is a test of your mental toughness and is very tiring.

"Also, I'll give you a heads up. The Grand Lady and several other Lady Lady will also be here tomorrow. You Zhutang candidates, you've just arrived in Jianze, and you're lucky enough to be able to see the Lady Lady's presence with the new Yue women. Be content."

The young men looked at each other in bewilderment. Those who knew a little more showed expressions of admiration and pride on their faces.

When Ouyang Rong heard the words "female monarch", he lowered his head slightly and hid his eyes.

At this time, Lu Jinghong couldn't help but ask:

"Goddess, please stay. May I ask if there is any top-notch talent within a hundred breaths over there, New Yue Girl?"

The cold-faced Yue girl was about to leave, but she raised her hand and waved without stopping:

"Two, so-so."

……

"Two? Which two are they? Do you know each other?"

At dusk, in a small courtyard in the bamboo forest.

The setting sun shone on the stone table in the courtyard. Several plates of hot dishes were brought up by Ouyang Rong and Song Zhian. Miss Yu followed them all the way from the kitchen, her eyes fixed on the hot dishes.

Seeing Song Zhian and Miss Yu coming over, Lu Jinghong, who was sitting at the stone table, couldn't wait to ask.

Ouyang Rong and Sha Ergou returned in the afternoon and were invited to dinner by Song Zhian, who had returned to the island earlier.

Lu Jinghong seemed to know that Ouyang Rong, Sha Ergou, Song Zhian and Yu Xiaoniang lived in the same inn and had a good relationship with each other. Even though he disliked Sha Ergou who couldn't speak, he still followed him quietly and had a meal.

Song Zhian’s cooking skills seemed pretty good, but Ouyang Rong wasn’t one to eat for free, so he took the initiative to lend a hand and fried a few side dishes.

At this moment, the hot meal was served. Compared to Lu Jinghong who was looking forward to it at the table, Sha Ergou was sleeping soundly on the table, obviously tired from the daytime.

Just while waiting for the meal, he fell asleep and snored loudly.

Ouyang Rong took off his apron, put down his rolled-up sleeves, and shook Sha Ergou:

"Don't sleep, just bear with it for a while. You may be full now, but you won't be able to sleep again later at night."

Sha Ergou raised his head, looked around dazedly, and muttered:
"Oh... Brother Liu, you can cook? I can only make a fire and grill fish and meat."

Song Zhian did not answer Lu Jinghong's question immediately. She glanced at the dishes served by Ouyang Rong and chuckled:
"Brother Liu is a very good cook. I really didn't realize it before. I wonder where he learned it from."

Ouyang Rong, wearing a felt hat, was busy serving them food, and was silent.

He couldn't answer truthfully that he had lived in Xingzi Lake with the local virgin lady for a long time, helping her with the dishes every day, and giving her step-by-step instructions until she learned everything.

Lu Jinghong couldn't help but ask again:

"Miss Song, are the two girls within a hundred breaths with you? Wait, Miss Song, how many breaths did you leave Taogu? You can't..."

"Thank you, Brother Liu. I can do it myself."

Song Zhian didn't let Ouyang Rong serve the rice, she stood up and served it herself. After a polite greeting, she served the rice while shaking her head gently:
"It's not me. I only saw one of the two outstanding girls who could enter the Hundred Breaths. She was from the same island as us. She also came from Taoyuan Town and was the daughter of the Chen family, a famous family in the town. I heard that she only read half of the book on the first explanation of the sword, and it only took her 98 breaths to walk out of Taogu.

"The other outstanding girl is from the island next door. I don't know where she came from. She was one of the first to enter Peach Valley, earlier than us. When we went there, she was gone."

Song Zhian stared at the rice in front of her, her eyes were somewhat difficult to describe:

"This girl is even more of a demon. She walked out of Peach Valley in just 88 breaths. I calculated when I entered the valley, and it would take about 80 breaths just to walk out normally... In a sense, she walked out without any obstruction. It was as if the monkeys made way for her on their own initiative."

Except for Miss Yu who stared at the food and started to eat it, everyone else gasped.

Lu Jinghong, who was holding the sword casually and not touching the bowl, suddenly had his pupils tremble.

Sha Ergou was so shocked that he was not so sleepy anymore. He scratched his head in surprise:

"Wow, I heard from the goddess that being able to reach a hundred breaths is already a rare and unique thing. The one before that could reach ninety-eight breaths was okay, but this girl could actually reach eighty-eight breaths, which is about ten breaths faster than the one before that. They are both a hundred breaths, but how can the difference be so big?"

Miss Yu, who was secretly competing with Brother Liu in eating speed, nodded like a chicken pecking at rice:
"Great, great."

Song Zhian's face showed admiration, and she remembered something and spoke:
"Oh, by the way, although I have never seen her, and I have asked other people, no one knows her origins, but I heard from the girl on the next island that she is very young, thin and weak, and must have a poor family background, because there is a tattoo on her forehead, which seems to be from a lowly family..."

She recalled and added:
"That tattoo looks like words."

(End of this chapter)