“I don't know why you're so upset. We've still got five minutes and the main hall is just around the corner,” Tsubame groaned.
“I stressed how important this time limit was, but you just had to spend the last hour in the shower,” exclaimed Lin Liqin exasperatedly as he pinched his fingers together in Tsubame's direction. “I came this close to busting down the door.”
Tsubame fixed him with a hungry stare and playfully licked her lips. “Maybe I should have stayed in a while longer then.” Glancing in Ming Jia Ying's direction Tsubame couldn't help but smirk. Even with the white rabbit mask on it was possible to tell that the young girl was blushing violently as the red threatened to spread further down onto her neck.
The three turned the corner. Lin Liqin just shook his head as Tsubame continued, “It was such a nice shower. You really should have tried it out Qin. Who knows when we'll get the chance again?”
Lin Liqin approached the solid looking door. He sighed, “Sounds like I missed out, but at least we made it. As they say, all's well that ends we...” He trailed off as the door failed to open. Lin Liqin rattled the handle that was clearly locked. Voices and laughter could be heard on the other side.
“There are several people near the door on the other side, but none are making any move to come open it for us,” Ming Jia Ying added.
Lin Liqin grimaced, “That was clear from the laughter. If we hurry to the back exit we might be able to round the building before time is up.”
Lin Liqin and Tsubame each shot Ming Jia Ying a surprised look as they felt a series of stronger pulses leave the young girl through the floor. It was immediately followed by a crashing sound and a few grunts that abruptly ended the laughter only for more laughter to erupt from further in the room.
“Step aside Qin. I've been training my Chi by manipulating locks and I doubt this one is more complicated than the ones Tomo had,” Tsubame giggled as she tousled Ming Jia Ying's hair. “Plus, I'm eager to get in there and see our little mistress's handy work.”
The lock was even more simple than Tsubame had thought. With a wave of her hand and a clenching of her fist it produced a satisfying click. She gently pushed the door open and the laughter died down once again. As the three entered all eyes were on them and the only sounds were the frustrated grunts coming from the nearby pile of men struggling to regain their footing.
The floorboards had been pitched at random angles, likely from earth spires rising through the foundation. This was what had caused their initial fall, but the gathering of frost on the floor and their clothes, with an extra thick layer of ice on the soles of their shoes, made standing a futile endeavor for the men.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
One man was almost upright when his legs were swept out from under him by another man slipping next to him. Watching the two land on a third man elicited bell like laughter from Tsubame. The rest of the room began to snicker once again, causing Ming Jia Ying to take pity on the men. With a wave of her hand the ice and frost receded, allowing them to rise to their feet. The men stared daggers at the trio as they walked past, but made no move to intercept them or retaliate.
Before the room could return to its previous boisterousness a booming voice cut through the chatter, “It appears that all of the teams have arrived. We'll be setting out immediately. Please exit the inn in an orderly fashion. There are carriages prepared to transport you all to the tournament grounds. Find and enter the carriage assigned to your team.”
Each coach looked identical, down to the horses and drivers in imperial palace guard uniforms. However, there was one glaring difference, some clearly had supplies loaded on them while others didn't. Some contestants began to voice their displeasure at what they viewed as blatant favoritism until someone pointed out Crown Prince Ku Xue, who was boarding a carriage devoid of any supplies.
Lin Liqin quickly spotted a coachman holding a sign bearing their team's name and began leading his two female companions in his direction. Their carriage seemed to be one of the more heavily supplied ones and drew more than a few hateful glances. When they arrived before the man he inquired, “Are you Prince Ku Shen's Lesson Three?” A sputtering scoff came from within the carriage and Lin Liqin just nodded with a knowing smile hidden behind his hawk mask.
The driver stepped aside and held the door open for them. Similar to their trip into town, the trio sat across from Ku Shen. “Lesson Three,” once the carriage was in motion Ku Shen practically spat the name as he asked, “how did you arrive at such a unique name?”
Tsubame was quick to speak up with an answer she'd prepared in advance. “I was the one that filled out our paperwork. I was struggling to come up with a team name when a passerby suggested Lesson Three. He said there were three of us and we were here to teach the others a lesson on your behalf!” she exclaimed as she did a fist pump. “It's quite the domineering name, don't you think Prince Ku Shen?”
“Yes, quite. And what can you tell me about this passerby?”
“Hmmm... I didn't get a name and he was wearing a crow mask,” Tsubame stated while she pretended to be deep in thought. “He had a deep tan, thick curly hair, and these intense red eyes.”
Ku Shen became deathly pale, but his voice didn't betray his inner thoughts, his tone remaining level as he spoke, “Let's move on to the first round of the tournament. I received instructions shortly after you signed up. The first segment is a survival trial. All of the teams will be dropped off along a ring. Fifteen kilometers away in the center of the ring is an outpost. You'll have three days to reach it if you want to qualify for the next round, so that's at least five kilometers a day over rough terrain while dealing with beasts, exposure to the elements, and potential attacks from other teams. The carriages will be leaving twenty four hours after we arrive. If you feel the need to withdraw from the competition, do so during that window.”
He paused for a moment to allow them to internalize the first round's format. At some point while he'd been talking Ku Shen had regained his composure. Seeing how confident his team looked, he smiled before continuing, “As your sponsor I'm allowed to provide you with supplies, but you're only allowed to take as much as you can haul away on your own. When the carriages leave they will take any unclaimed supplies with them.”
Hearing that the only limit on the supplies they could take was what they could move themselves Lin Liqin couldn't help but smirk as he lightly patted the breast pocket where he was keeping his cosmo bag. “This all seems fairly straight forward. Is there anything else we should know?” he asked.
Ku Shen smiled mischievously, “Each year there is a gimmick to this competition and my operatives were able to determine what this year's is. At the end of every round the teams will receive points based on their performance. These points do more than keep score. Between rounds they can be spent for advantages in the next round. It's a risk versus reward system, but a team that takes an early lead could very well buy their way through the next rounds.”