His Demoness

39 ⚔️ Her Appearance

All twenty clans were assembled at the Jiang clan's training ground once again. A platform was set up in the middle of the place and everyone gathered around it. Their eyes shimmered in excitement as they waited for the remaining contests to begin.

The second match was the battle of the swords and Suyan was representing the Xu clan. Names were drawn and his first opponent was a nervous man who was already breaking out in cold sweat.

Despite his uneasiness, his sword skills were pretty impressive. As they fought, Zhijian nudged Dukai lightly.

"I've a question," he whispered.

The Elder was half-distracted. He couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from the intense fight happening before them "What question?"

Zhijian hesitated briefly, before asking. "Ever heard of the Puppet Curse?"

The moment the question left his mouth, he got Dukai's attention. The man swivelled his head, his brows were furrowed in confusion. "Yes, it controls a person's mind against his will. Why?"

"Do you know how to break the curse?"

"Well..." Dukai crossed his arms and ran his fingers across his chin thoughtfully. "I've caught someone doing this before. In order to activate the curse, the spell caster needs to douse a straw doll with a vial of blood from the victim. The only way to break the curse is to destroy the doll by burning it."

Destroy the doll... That was easier said than done. Knowing Leader Jiang, he wasn't the type of man to leave his things lying carelessly around. He would hide it elsewhere, perhaps in a place like a secret chamber. What was more, Zhijian didn't know the routes in the Jiang residence well enough to be sneaking about.

He figured that in his next encounter with Jiang Ziyi, he would try asking her about the doll.

The loud applause around them brought their attention back to the match. Suyan had won the fight but his victory didn't last long. His next opponent was a tough one; a man that moved lightning fast and was an expert of dodging attacks.

After a long battle of sword parrying, Suyan lost the semi-final. The sword-fight ended with the Jiang clan emerging at the top. The Xu clan didn't fall too behind; they were in third place.

Now that it was time for the final match – the hand-to-hand combat, Zhijian had never felt so ready in his life to take up the challenge.

And by sheer coincidence, he was up against someone from the Jiang clan.

Before the match could begin, he raised his hand. "Wait a minute. Is it alright if I choose my opponent?" he asked the host.

Jiang Yifeng considered his request carefully. Everyone was supposed to participate only once in any category of their choice, but this was the first time that someone was speaking up and making such a brazen request.

"Alright," he eventually agreed. "As long as the person is from the same clan."

"Great." Zhijian answered, before pointing at him. "I choose you."

His boldness was causing quite a stir in the crowd, but Jiang Yifeng seemed to enjoy being challenged. Even though he had already participated in the archery contest, he was the host after all and the rules could be tweaked in whichever way he wanted.

He licked his lips in amusement, his arrogance was showing through. "As you wish."

They slowly climbed up onto the platform, eyeing each other like two lions taking each other's measure. To win this fight, the winner would only be declared once his opponent hit the ground.