Ruan Ning wondered how many poisons Ji Mingshao was carrying. He looked at her and said, “I also have ones that can drive people crazy, temporarily blind or deaf, or cause memory confusion. Would you like to try something else?”
The rest of the passage continues with their interactions, romantic tension, and further confrontations between Ji Mingshao and Luo Jie. He looked at the furious Luo Jie, reached out to pull off his waistband, and surprisingly revealed a soft whip.
Holding the whip, he said calmly, “Let’s see who’s the real man by fighting it out!”
The sickly scholar was unparalleled with poison, yet few had seen him fight. Luo Jie figured he probably had poor martial arts skills and thought defeating him would be easy as long as he could prevent the use of poison. He drew his waist knife, striking fiercely at Ji Mingshao’s head and face. Ruan Ning, startled, quickly called out, “Brother Luo, don’t hurt anyone!”
Luo Jie grew angrier, attacking even harder. Ji Mingshao, undeterred, calmly dodged while swinging his soft whip. Soon, whip shadows filled the area, enveloping Luo Jie’s knife light.
With her newfound insights into martial arts, Ruan Ning discerned that Ji Mingshao’s skills exceeded Luo Jie’s. With a simple wave of the whip, Ji Mingshao easily neutralized all Luo Jie’s attacks, and soon Luo Jie was overwhelmed. In a panic, he stumbled, and Ji Mingshao’s whip quickly disarmed him, tossing aside his waist knife.
“Bravo!” Cheers erupted from the onlookers, as men skilled in martial arts naturally admired those with superior abilities.
They had previously only known Luo Jie as good at fighting, but this exchange made them realize that he was the true master, changing their impression of him.
“What else do you have to say now?” Ji Mingshao tied the soft whip back to his waist and snorted coldly, “With such mediocre skills, you dare to covet her?”
Luo Jie’s face turned red, unable to respond, staring at the ground with slumped shoulders.
Ruan Ning, familiar with Luo Jie, knew he valued saving face. She pulled Ji Mingshao and said, “You’re older, what’s there to be proud of? Stop talking and behave!”
