CHAPTER 2052: CHAPTER 2050: KNEELING APOLOGY

"You..." Fo Lanying wanted to argue, but the girls nearby all started to chatter, saying she just couldn’t handle losing.

"Don’t say anything anymore, her grandpa is the second elder, and once the great elder steps down, the second elder will be calling the shots. We can’t afford to provoke them," someone suddenly said.

Upon hearing this, Bai Ruozhu understood why this Miss was so arrogant; she had backing.

"The poison will automatically be neutralized in fifteen minutes. If you’re not convinced, come challenge me again tomorrow. I can beat you even without using poison," Bai Ruozhu said with a faint smile, which appeared full of mockery in Fo Lanying’s eyes.

"Fine, if you lose, you’ll kneel down and apologize to me!" Fo Lanying said furiously.

Bi Tao looked disdainful, "Always making others kneel and apologize, Fo Lanying, why do you like this so much? Just how twisted is your heart?"

"What? You just forced my brother to kneel and apologize earlier?" Cold Light flashed in Bai Ruozhu’s eyes. She didn’t want to stoop to a child’s level, but she couldn’t tolerate anyone bullying her family.

"Yes, Mr. Bai didn’t want to fight her, but she forced him to kneel and apologize. Mr. Bai didn’t offend her, so why should he kneel and apologize? He didn’t want to fight her, and she suddenly attacked him; it’s truly shameless!" Bi Tao quickly explained.

Bai Ruozhu snorted coldly, "Since Miss Feng likes to make people kneel and apologize so much, I’ll solve your poison, and we can have another competition. If you win, I’ll kneel and apologize to you. If you lose, you’ll kneel and apologize to my brother and sister-in-law, how about that? I’m respecting your style, right?"

"You..." Fo Lanying suddenly felt a chill in her heart, hesitating for some reason, and felt that Bai Ruozhu was going to trick her.

"Who knows if you’ve really neutralized the poison? What if you play dirty again? That wouldn’t be fair," she said with raised eyebrows.

Bi Tao laughed, "Haha, Fo Lanying, are you scared? I never thought I’d see you so cowardly; I didn’t expect this!"

The other girls also laughed, some didn’t dare offend Fo Lanying but quietly chuckled twice.

Bai Ruozhu glanced at Bi Tao secretly, wondering why this girl was helping their side. But she had to admit, this girl was quite adept at arguing. If not a genius teammate, at least she’s not a dud teammate.

"Nonsense! Bi Tao, didn’t you get slapped by them? Yet you’re bending over backwards to help them, truly shameless!" Fo Lanying cursed.

Bi Tao’s face turned red, but she quickly calmed down and said with a lifted chin, "We are relatives, some disagreements are nothing. Should we let outsiders bully our family?"

Bai Ruozhu felt cold sweat running down her back. How are they family now? Weren’t they encouraging a bunch of people to cause her trouble earlier?

Bi Tao felt awkward under Bai Ruozhu’s gaze and quickly looked away.

"In a word, do you dare or not? If you’re not confident, inform the family and get the doctor to check, to see if I’ve tampered with anything." Bai Ruozhu said, then turned to the onlooking girls and said, "Could someone inform the elders that I wish to officially compete with Fo Lanying? Hopefully, an elder can judge to ensure the competition is fair and just."

"Alright, I’ll inform them!" said a petite girl as she dashed out. Though small in stature, her skill wasn’t ordinary.

Bai Ruozhu squinted her eyes, realizing she might have underestimated the girls here. Any random girl seemed highly skilled in movement techniques, proving each had their strengths. Fo Lanying was caught off guard by her earlier due to the poison, but it didn’t mean Fo Lanying’s martial arts were ordinary; in fact, based on the attitude of the girls, Fo Lanying might be the strongest among them.

Although Bai Ruozhu had deep inner strength, it wasn’t self-trained; her techniques weren’t as familiar as someone who had practiced for years. She was accustomed to using poison, so if they fought, she might not have much advantage.

She regretted saying she’d fight without using poison, feeling she might have been too arrogant.

"Fo Lanying is a mechanical expert; be careful," a girl kindly advised, and Bai Ruozhu nodded, giving her a grateful smile.

Soon the petite girl returned, saying, "The second elder, eighth elder, and fifth elder are willing to watch, but since it’s late today, let’s schedule the competition for the first moment of tomorrow’s dragon hour. The rules will be as agreed, and the second elder added stakes, as did the eighth elder."

"Eighth elder?" Bai Ruozhu wondered why this eighth elder wanted to help her.

"The eighth elder is Elder Su," someone nearby reminded her.

Bai Ruozhu chuckled awkwardly, realizing she didn’t know Elder Su’s rank, thinking he was just called Elder Su.

"Okay, let’s compete tomorrow at the dragon hour. Thank you all for your help today, I’ll go have dinner now." Bai Ruozhu bowed to the crowd and walked towards the Diaojiao Building, Bi Tao glanced at the furious Fo Lanying, then at the crowd, and hurried after her.

Humph, she had already made up her mind and must endure humiliation now; isn’t this just a great opportunity?

Inside, Bai Ruozhu saw Bi Tao follow her in and turned to say, "Thank you for today."

Whether she liked Bi Tao or not, she couldn’t deny that Bi Tao helped block Fo Lanying; otherwise, who knows if Fo Lanying would have injured Second Brother or good Si Yihuan.

Bi Tao felt embarrassed, "No problem, it’s my duty. Can I fix my hair?" She pointed to her messy sideburns.

Bai Ruozhu quickly led her into the room, letting her use her Western mirror, and handed her a horn comb.

"Wow, such a large Western mirror, aren’t you worried it’ll break carrying it around? Mine is just a tiny bit," Bi Tao gestured, referring to a small portable mirror.

"Just keep it secure." Bai Ruozhu laughed, "I can’t get used to bronze mirrors, they seem unclear."

"Yes, this is really clear." Bi Tao happily looked left and right, then she regretted when she realized she might have given Bai Ruozhu a reason to laugh at her.

Instead, Bai Ruozhu handed her a gold pin, "I noticed your jade pin is broken, so here’s something for you. It’s nothing special, just a newly released style."

Bi Tao typically liked pearls, so she had no matching gold accessories, but this gold hairpin was particularly beautiful, and the detailed enameling was exquisite; nobody in the tribe had such a hairpin.

She couldn’t resist putting the hairpin on her head.

"Uh, thank you." She said softly, blushing.

Outside, there came a knock on the door, "Ruozhu, I heard you are going to compete with the second elder’s granddaughter?"

The person asking was Jiao Ling, with a hint of worry in their voice. Bai Ruozhu felt some guilt, making her aunt worried again, but she must stand up for Second Brother and Si Yihuan’s dignity. She couldn’t just lodge a complaint with the elders and let the family solve it—she refused to be treated as a softie! Her family will not be bullied by outsiders!