Chapter 107: Female Captain

He could feel every one of them.

Jiao Yin, warm and close, her sigil pulsing at the core of her self.

Mia, a few steps ahead, her heartbeat wrapped around his mark.

’My Mia is so cute.’

Jia, who was annoyed but anchored, had her aura humming with a unique Jia like feel.

’Hehe, no matter how cheeky you are, at the end of the day you are mine.’

Feimei, calm as deep water.

Truly, she was Feimei.

’Hm, Xiao Cui is not really there.’

’I have to give her the Sigil later.’

He could have pointed to each of them with his eyes closed.

The sensation felt like holding the ends of silk threads stretched between his fingers.

If someone hid one of his women inside an array, the thread would snap. But distance, walls, even other cities—none of that mattered. That was indeed quite a remarkable benefit.

Kian nodded.

He let the threads fade to a soft hum at the edge of his mind and opened his eyes.

Jia was watching him from three steps below, head tilted.

He crooked his finger.

"Come here."

He wrapped his hand around her shoulder and walked up.

She looked annoyed. But he kissed her cheeks regardless and continued walking.

Jia made a face like she’d swallowed vinegar She didn’t pull away, though.

"Stupid. If you want to be affectionate, do it where there’s no crowd."

Kian squeezed her shoulder.

"There’s no crowd. Just bamboo and moonlight."

Xiao Cui, a few steps behind, huffed softly. Kian heard it and stretched his free arm back.

"Come here, you too."

Xiao Cui’s footsteps quickened; her small hand slipped into his. Then he had one on each side and felt, for one ridiculous moment, like the world had been arranged around him.

Another reward glowed at the edge of his awareness, patient and light.

Kian pulled it forward without slowing.

[Ding]

[Unclaimed Reward: Choose to improve ’Loved By the Land’ or unlock a new Silver-level ability.]

He read the line three times, thumb running over Jia’s knuckles. He had improved the last two. But Silver. That was a whole tier above Grey.

If the bell competition turned into something ugly, a new Silver ability might tilt the whole night.

But what if he levelled up his danger sense to a higher level?

That was it.

That was more reliable.

He made the call.

"Loved by the Land it is."

The system answered with a cold rush that started in his chest and rolled down to his feet.

The cold rush settled into the soles of his feet and then deeper, as if the mountain had reached up through the stone steps and pressed a single finger against his heels. A new panel shimmered in front of him before the feeling faded.

[Loved By the Land]

[Silver Rank. Sneak attackers better be prepared against you, or they would be surprised to know you have elite level Danger Sense.]

Kian let the words fade and took one more step.

’Nice.’

He smiled and squeezed Jia’s hand. "Something good just happened."

Jia looked at him. "You have that stupid look again. Like you want to eat someone."

"Maybe later. Right now I want to see that bell."

"Humph."

"Don’t be mad my little sweety." He pinched her cheeks.

Fwooo~

They climbed past the quieter stretch of stairs, and the first signs of the competition leaked down through the trees.

A thin line of cultivators in pale robes sprinted past on the outer rail, their feet barely touching stone. One of them called out to the others, voice high with excitement, and vanished beyond a bend.

"Wow," Xiao Cui said.

Jia leaned forward, eyes bright. "See that? Even the runners are showing off like it’s a festival. Kian, it looks like it won’t be easy."

Kian’s grip on her hand tightened. "Damn, this looks fun."

Another pair shot by them a breath later—a woman in a high-collared traveling robe and a man whose face Kian never caught. They ran close together, and between two lanterns, he saw the woman turn her head and kiss the man without breaking stride.

Then they were gone, swallowed by the crowd above.

Kian stood stock still. He could barely even see their speed!!

Feimei made a tiny sound of surprise. "They’re moving so fast while doing that. What’s even the point of kissing so fast?"

Kian nodded. "You saw them."

"I did," she replied.

"Eh, someone moved past us?"

"Yeah, they were so fast even we could barely see them."

Jia clicked her tongue, but Kian only grinned. His pulse had quickened.

This was indeed no ordinary market game. The closer they got, the more the air carried the taste of spirit stones and something else—competition, thick as smoke.

That was great.

Two mountain-built men came next, stripped to the waist, sweat glistening across their backs.

They shoved each other as they ran, throwing quick, heavy punches that cracked the air. Neither slowed. One laughed, spat red, and pushed the other so hard the bamboo swayed.

They ran past their party with a laugh.

"I like them," Jia said from under Kian’s arm, now holding his fingers. "They seem so straightforward."

Behind them, Mia and Feimei kept an easy pace, but even Feimei’s brow had lifted a little. The whole party moved faster now, drawn up the ancient steps like moths toward the bell’s glow.

The press of bodies thickened near the top of the stairway. Kian’s party slowed as a small group in guard uniforms came down the steps, parting the crowd with hard looks.

In their midst walked the familiar female captain. Her left sleeve was torn to the shoulder, and a dark bruise ringed her wrist under the lantern light.

She was still in her expressionless iron mask covering her entire face and hair, but other than that, she had no armor now. She was just in a simple cotton robe.

’Oh?’

She was wounded—not badly, but enough to slow her. The moment her eyes found Kian, she looked away, jaw tight.

That single glance told him everything: she had lost, and seeing him only twisted the blade.

’Interesting.’

She walked past him.

Kian tipped his head. "Looks like our fierce captain got herself beaten. Well, well. Isn’t that a shame and loss of face?"

The captain’s shoulders went rigid. She motioned to her people and tried to push past, but Kian’s voice followed.

"Was it Su Chen?"

She stopped. Half-turned. "What if it was?"

"Want me to take revenge on your behalf?" Kian said, casual.

She squinted at him, the bruise under her eye catching the glow. "As if you are capable of that."

Kian’s smile widened, slow and knowing. "My capability is not important. The question is—do you want to regain your face that you seemed to have lost?"

For a moment she said nothing. Then anger cut through the exhaustion. "What’s the price?"

"Depends what you can pay."

She straightened, wincing. "If you can defeat Su Chen and get me into the Bell Ceremony, no price is too much."

Kian frowned, glancing at the girls around him. "Uh oh. Sorry. I already have my girls to give opportunities to. So maybe no deal for you—"

The captain shook her head. "That’s no problem. Even if all of them enter, there will be two more spaces. Let me be one of them. Given you can win, that is."

Kian’s smirk returned. "And if I do?"

"Ask your price."

Kian’s grin turned sharp. He looked at Xiao Cui. "Xiao Cui, leave your hubby’s arms for a while."

She blinked, then slipped free.

Kian beckoned the captain with the open space in his arms. "Come in."

The crowd watching and the soldiers were shocked and speechless.

The captain visibly hesitated, fingers twitching at her side. But clearly, she wasn’t hesitating about her price. She knew Kian was strong.

Slowly, she walked toward him. Kian welcomed her with the same easy confidence, one arm wrapping around her as she stepped close. Even as he walked further up with a smile, his hand was already fondling her up.

She just walked up without a word.

On his other side, Jia watched the woman with eyes so cold they could frost the bamboo.

"What?" the captain asked coldly.

Jia replied: "You are the woman who ruined his opportunity the other day, weren’t you?"

The Captain said calmly: "That is just how the world is. Nothing special about it."

Kian nodded, enjoying the woman’s amble chest as he continued walking up.

The crowd thinned as the stairway flattened into a wide stone terrace.

At its center stood a thick ironwood pillar, and from its highest point hung a golden bell the size of a small carriage, silent and gleaming under the lantern glow.

Nine stone steps led up to it, each one broader than the last, and each step held its own war.

On the lower steps, cultivators strained forward with their spines bent against invisible pressure, veins rising on their necks. The fifth step held a dozen.

The sixth held four.

The seventh held only two, one of them the woman who Kian saw with Su Chen the other day.

On the eighth step, a lone figure stood upright.

Su Chen.

Kian stopped at the edge of the terrace and let his eyes climb the nine steps again. The bell had not moved, yet the air around it rippled like heat over coals.

He turned to the captain under his arm, his fingers now resting on her hip.

"Explain this to me."