Eight years ago, on the road to Liang, Jin officials had warned all the hostages.
No family's dirty laundry could ever be brought into the open, and in private, it was best left unmentioned as well!
Things like Liu Jingming's matrilocal father, or Lei Lixing's stepmother... at the very most, could only be whispered behind closed doors!
Wu Youren was no exception; his title of "grandson" had its own hidden story.
The noble pedigree of the hostages' fathers was beyond question, but the hostages themselves were largely marginalized within their own clans.
Regardless of whether Great Liang was aware of this dynamic, they certainly could not expose it themselves and invite needless trouble.
The rule was simple: infighting among the Jin hostages was fine, but leaking word to outsiders was strictly forbidden.
Watching his retreating figure, a glint of viciousness flashed across Yan Sanmin's small eyes.
She gave a low, cold sneer. "Heh, did you really think you could slip out of my grasp?"
Wu Youren knew full well that he had made another enemy, but... did he have a choice?
Still, it didn't really matter. At worst, he simply wouldn't go to the Martial Academy; life would go on regardless.
Another day passed, and the second batch of names was announced—another ten people.
Wu Youren felt an uneasy premonition. At this pace, it would take another two days before the third batch was posted.
Yet Shi Linyuan and the others would be able to brew the first batch of liquor by tomorrow.
Once they realized the method he had provided wasn't diluted in the slightest, wouldn't that introduce plenty of new variables?
Even so, he truly had no other choice, much less the power to sway the situation, so worrying about it... was rather pointless.
Fortunately, when the third batch was announced, his name was still on it, and not a single person from the previous lists had been replaced.
Yet anyone who thought the matter ended there was far too naive.
Along with the publication of the third batch came an announced rule: anyone who felt someone on the roster was unfit could lodge an objection.
It felt just like a public notice period back on the Blue Planet—what had been announced was not the final result.
To Wu Youren, this was terrible news. Once people started citing formal rules, under-the-table deals could hardly be brought up.
At least there was one piece of good news: Lei Lixing had made the roster as well.
The "public review period" lasted five days, and for the first four, virtually nothing happened.
As expected, an upset occurred on the fifth day—who among noble scions didn't know how to launch a surprise attack?
Two of the spots were replaced outright, likely settled through private negotiations, while another nine faced challenges.
In other words, some who hadn't been selected believed the chosen candidates were inferior to them and called for challenge matches.
The Jin people pulled this move without the slightest psychological burden, utterly unconcerned about becoming a laughingstock to the Liang people.
The capable rise while the incapable step down, all announced openly... In any nation, wouldn't this be considered a sign of an enlightened system?
The one under psychological pressure was Wu Youren.
He felt like cursing. Others usually faced just one challenger, two at most!
Yet there were five who wanted to challenge him!
Two of them weren't even hostages, but guards from the escort brigade. How the hell was he supposed to beat them?
Fortunately, the challenged party could choose the format of the contest; it didn't have to be a fight to the death, and they could compete in strategy or even literary talent.
Of course, if the challenger disagreed, they could negotiate further... In short, an ostensibly enlightened competition.
Wu Youren felt deeply disgruntled. Did every single one of them think he was an easy target?
After the list was announced, even the supervisor of Hostage Manor couldn't help but ask, "Did that kid offend a lot of people?"
Wu Youren analyzed the situation carefully and realized that of the five challengers, four were people he couldn't defeat.
The remaining one was about evenly matched with him, half a year younger, and hailed from a family connected to royalty.
"I might as well lose to him instead." Wu Youren wasn't expecting to win, but since he was bound to lose anyway, why not maximize his interests?
As for the other four who had challenged him, he noted them down as well—the road was long, and their days ahead were plenty!
He had no clue how his future path would unfold, but that didn't stop him from keeping score in his little mental ledger.
Because his predecessor lacked experience and insight, he even went to consult Liu Jingming.
"Brother Jingming, do you think my line of reasoning is sound or not?"
Liu Jingming looked at him with an odd expression. He hadn't made the roster this time, nor had he found a suitable target to challenge.
He could have challenged Wu Youren, but upon learning that Wu Youren already had so many challengers, he decisively opted out.
Even if he managed to beat Wu Youren, with so many challengers lined up behind him, he wouldn't hold out to the end.
Thus, he chose to gamble on staying out of it; by not participating, at least he wouldn't offend any of those six people.
Hearing that Wu Youren planned to forfeit, the disappointment on Liu Jingming's face could not have been more obvious.
Still, having already chosen to show goodwill, he ultimately suppressed his feelings and advised, "Try to hold out as long as you can. It'll be better for you!"
This was indeed heartfelt advice. Although defeat was inevitable, the more tenacious and difficult to deal with he appeared, the fewer troubles he would face later.
Wu Youren had his own plan and didn't think this advice was the best fit.
Yet hearing those words, he couldn't help sharing an honest sentiment. "The notice period turned out like this; who knows if there'll be another one?"
He truly intended to give up, because the way these people operated gave him no sense of security whatsoever.
"Don't count on it. There's nothing they won't stoop to." A flicker of bewilderment appeared in Liu Jingming's eyes as well.
Then he sighed softly. "Do you know? When I left home, my father said: 'As far as this world goes... consider that you never came.'"
The two hadn't had a close relationship before, but faced with such massive upheaval, Liu Jingming's defenses had cracked, and he was willing to say anything.
"It might not be a bad thing," Wu Youren smiled faintly. "Opportunity is born where the stones are cut!"
Had hostages from any nation ever attended Liang's martial academies in bulk before?
Liang would never set such an unprecedented precedent without good reason!
Perhaps Liang had encountered an unprecedented crisis and was forced to do this, so there was really no need to despair.
"You truly have a great mindset, Youren." In this moment, Liu Jingming genuinely admired him. "If you manage to get out, remember to look at the sky outside Hostage Manor for me!"
Those words... how should one put it? Good to listen to, but one shouldn't take a noble scion's words too seriously.
Still, that he could say something like this was already quite rare.
*I could breathe a couple more gulps of free air for you too!* Wu Youren chuckled. "I've realized both of us like to dream."
Three days later, the challenge matches officially began, with Wu Youren scheduled third.
The schedule was relatively accommodating to him: because he had to fight five opponents, they didn't put him up first, and he would be granted a rest between matches.
One could say that aside from the shady under-the-table transactions that couldn't see the light of day, the superficial arrangements were quite considerate.
*Hypocritical to the point of being laughable...* Expressionless, Wu Youren mentally scoffed.
His expectations of the Seventeenth Prince sank a few notches lower.
His predecessor had held the Hidden Dragon Plan in low regard to begin with, because the prince's conduct suggested he merely wanted to enjoy every single day while he was still alive.
Where the collected "Hidden Dragon Funds" went was practically an open secret to everyone.
To say the prince was playing the pig to eat the tiger... that possibility wasn't entirely out of the question.
Acting as harmless as possible in daily life, reveling in his current comfort with no thought of Jin—that was also a means of self-preservation.
Yet this ostensibly fair challenge arrangement made Wu Youren's heart run somewhat cold.
Dirty underhanded dealings certainly weren't suitable for public display, but to feign total ignorance without even a subtle private word...
Perhaps he was simply too insignificant; they couldn't even be bothered to go through the motions with him.
The first two challenges didn't take long. Flesh and blood flew, and one hostage lost half a leg.
The Seventeenth Prince still didn't show up for the challenge matches; the one presiding was the concubine-born son of the Duke of Wei.
He didn't even bat an eye at such scenes, a smile even hovering on his lips... He had seen far bloodier sights.
When Wu Youren stepped onto the arena stage, a small stir rippled through the crowd.
The vast majority wanted to take a good look at just how worthless this fellow was to have become the target of so many.
Even the concubine-born son of the Duke of Wei paid a bit of attention, then let out a soft exclamation. "He's... this handsome?"
Great Jin prized martial valor, and frail, scholarly men were generally not held in high esteem.
Though the youth on the stage was on the slender side, he brimmed with youthful vitality and robust masculine vigor.
A face like polished jade, sword-shaped brows and starry eyes, a straight, elegant nose, and an extraordinary bearing...
Many had seen him before, but brushing past someone in haste felt completely different from scrutinizing him up close.
Some even shot a thoughtful glance toward Yan Sanmin... *No wonder!*
Wu Youren's face bore a faint, sickly pallor as he looked across at the guard opposing him.
The guard was around twenty-seven or twenty-eight. He had barely come of age when he arrived in Liang, and now he was already a knight.
Wu Youren was merely an apprentice knight; the gap in strength was an undeniable reality.
Yet the look on the guard's face remained quite grave.
He was determined to win, and his family background wasn't much worse than his opponent's, but he was ultimately only a guard, while the youth before him was a hostage.
There was a disparity in status, and this was an obvious case of the elder bullying the younger. Winning was easy, but he had to avoid injuring the boy if possible...
Just as he was calculating how to respond if the youth proposed a different kind of wager, the boy moved.
Cupping his hands, he stated calmly, "I concede!"
"You choose... huh?" The guard froze in obvious bewilderment. *He's conceding just like that?*
One could certainly concede in a martial contest, but on an occasion like this, competing for an opportunity of this caliber, how could anyone concede so lightly?
To say nothing of anything else, as a scion of nobility stranded in an enemy nation, shouldn't he have some backbone?
Not only him, but the other spectators also broke into hushed murmurs upon hearing this.
Setting aside the sheer brutality of the first two bouts, even if this boy was lacking in martial prowess, surely he couldn't be entirely useless?
Even if he wouldn't necessarily win through other contest formats, they weren't nearly as hazardous as physical combat.
Why give up just like that?
Truly, such good looks were wasted on him.
However, the guard confronting Wu Youren inconspicuously pulled back half a step. *Is this a tactic?*
Just at that moment, several Liang guards hurried over, escorting two individuals.
Chapter 6