The crowd fell utterly silent. In the instant Ziqing’s blade drove toward Jun Beiyue’s chest, everyone’s expression changed at once, and shock froze on every face!

What was this woman trying to do?

Jun Beiyue seemed to have anticipated it and released her at once — but as her body dropped, one hand shot out to hook around his neck, and the blade pressed in again!

By then both of Jun Beiyue’s hands were free. One immediately seized her wrist, and the corner of his mouth curved into something wicked. “This dagger wasn’t meant for you to wound me with!”

As he spoke, he caught the back of the hand hooked around his neck and, without the slightest gentleness, flung her down. Ziqing hit the ground with a resounding thud!

She landed flat on her back, limbs splayed, the hand holding the dagger still pinned in his grip. Jun Beiyue’s lean, powerful frame leaned in over her, looking down at her from above, his handsome face drawing close, black hair sweeping back, radiating overwhelming dominance!

The whole place held its breath, every eye fixed on them. The moment seemed to hang there, frozen — but only Ziqing truly felt the pain in her wrist as his grip slowly, steadily tightened.

“So weak?” Jun Beiyue arched a brow, dripping with provocation.

“Not bad,” Ziqing said flatly. Then, without warning, her free hand clamped over his wrist and she used the leverage to fling her legs up, flipping over to bring both legs slashing down toward his shoulders!

The move meant her legs were now clamped around his head — everyone present sucked in a breath, and once they recovered, they stared at Ziqing in utter astonishment!

Jun Beiyue still didn’t seem to understand the danger. He looked down at her. “Woman, that’s not a very graceful position.”

“And this?” Ziqing said coldly, her legs wrenching hard to drag him down. A trace of amusement touched his lips as he let himself fall — then, with a sharp twist of his neck, the sheer force of his neck alone broke free of the grip of her legs!

With nothing left to brace against, Ziqing’s eyes widened as she dropped straight back to the ground, returning to the same pinned position as before. He held her hand fast and taunted, “Anything else?”

Ziqing’s lips curved into a smile, her fighting spirit fully roused. The hand pinned to the ground pushed off hard, her body springing up in one beautiful arc, vaulting clean over Jun Beiyue’s head — the captured hand somehow rotating a full three hundred sixty degrees as she landed behind him. In an instant she bent her leg and drove her knee, hard and merciless, straight into his spine.

“Hmph!” Jun Beiyue let out a muffled grunt, clearly caught off guard, but he didn’t release his grip. His lean body arched sharply backward — an astonishing, almost unnatural flexibility, a perfect ninety-degree bend — forcing Ziqing to bend backward with him at the same angle.

At last, the two locked in fierce combat found themselves at a standstill once again!

By now the whole place was so silent that the drop of a single needle could have been heard. Never mind the thirty thousand White Tiger soldiers gathered below the gate, staring in stunned disbelief — even atop the gate, the White Tiger General, Yingzi, Imperial Physician Gu, and the others were all watching with their hearts in their throats, not daring to blink for fear of missing a single move!

Such a spectacular duel — one might never see its like again in a lifetime.

Jun Beiyue tilted his face to the sky, his full weight bearing down on Ziqing, the hard, chiseled line of his lips curving wide. His playful spirit fully ignited now, he smiled wickedly, no longer holding back — his strength surged suddenly.

“Hmph!”

Ziqing finally let out a stifled groan of her own — her slender waist could not withstand Jun Beiyue’s weight. Her grip slackened, her legs straightened, and the two of them plummeted together!

In this fall, Ziqing would surely hit the ground first. With the force Jun Beiyue carried, if she struck the earth like that, internal injury was certain.

This fall would mark the end of this contest that looked half like horseplay, half like a real duel.

A flicker of hesitation crossed Jun Beiyue’s playful eyes — but in that very instant of hesitation, Ziqing’s legs suddenly hooked around his waist. With one burst of leverage, she reversed their positions entirely. The two of them flipped, and with a crack that shook heaven and earth, the more than thirty thousand people present all felt their hearts leap into their throats!

How could this be!

Their commander, their prince, their god of war — thrown flat onto the ground!

For a moment, everyone stood there dumbstruck!

They had thought this woman nothing but a pretty face, a temptress, even worthless.

But from the moment she struck at their master with that blade, everyone had begun to look at her differently — though “differently” simply meant watching in awe of their master’s fighting prowess, all while hoping to see how he would deal with this woman.

But now — !

A wave of uncertainty swept through the crowd. Who would win this contest?

The tables had completely turned. A man like Jun Beiyue was like a wolf — given even the smallest chance to catch his breath, he would strike back without mercy. Would Ziqing give him that chance?

The moment he hit the ground, Ziqing was instantly astride him, sitting heavily on his stomach, one hand clamped around his throat!

But Jun Beiyue let her hold him there. His other hand swept over the top of his head, and in that moment he pried open her hand clutching the dagger and seized it from her — pressing the blade against the very wrist she had wrapped around his throat!

They had reached this impasse once before, but this time, neither of them backed down. Ziqing pressed forward with force, and the blade sliced across her wrist, dangerously close to the pulse!

For a moment, every heart in the crowd clenched, breath held tight.

If they had truly been enemies, this would be a matter of life and death!

But even without being enemies — given the temperaments of these two — would either of them yield first?

Impossible!

Blood began to well up from Ziqing’s wrist. She let go with both hands at once, finally realizing that everything before this had simply been him toying with her — only now had he grown truly serious.

Just as Ziqing moved to withdraw, Jun Beiyue suddenly pulled her into his arms, sweeping her up in a single motion. Her injured hand hung limp, the dagger now in his grasp — she had no strength left to resist even if she wanted to.

In an instant, everything fell silent, as though the fierce battle just moments ago had never happened at all.

They were back where they started — him carrying her in his arms. He rose slowly to his feet and said simply, “Imperial Physician Gu, stop the bleeding.”

Imperial Physician Gu gave a start, only then snapping back to himself, and hurried forward with his medicine chest.

Jun Beiyue stood perfectly still, his cold, sharp eyes sweeping over the thirty thousand White Tiger soldiers below. In a chilling voice, he repeated the very words he had said before, “This prince has brought the consort home!”

The words rang out just as they had before — and once again, no one in the entire crowd responded. But this time was different: as everyone looked up, there was no more anger, no more contempt, no more disdain in their eyes — only astonishment, only shock.

Suddenly, the White Tiger General dropped to his knees with a thud and cried out, “The White Tiger Army welcomes Her Highness the Consort! Long live the Consort, long live!”

As for who had won or lost this duel at the city gate — that hardly needed saying. What mattered was that the contest had lasted a full stick of incense’s worth of time, and Han Ziqing had withstood dozens of strikes from Prince Yao himself!

It should be known — not only within the White Tiger Army, but among all the soldiers under Prince Yao’s command, and even among the shadow guards of the Liuli Pavilion — no one had ever been able to engage the prince in such close, prolonged hand-to-hand combat.

The instant the White Tiger General’s voice fell, the thirty thousand soldiers came back to their senses and dropped to their knees as one, their voices rising to shake the heavens: “The White Tiger Army welcomes Her Highness the Consort! Long live the Consort, long live!”

Amid the deafening cheers, Imperial Physician Gu’s hands trembled slightly as he bandaged Ziqing’s wound, taking quite a while before he finally finished.

A satisfied curve touched the corner of Jun Beiyue’s cold lips. Holding Ziqing close, he strode down, step by unhurried step, while Ziqing, nestled in his arms, gazed down at the multitude below — utterly composed, betraying neither joy nor anger on her face.