Silver kill!
The royal party stared at the charred corpse on the ground, unable to react for a moment.
"Y-You dare!"
It took a while before someone came to their senses. They pointed at Xu Shi, then at Pan Feng. "You... you actually dared to..."
"Why wouldn't we?"
Xu Shi looked utterly unconcerned as he picked at his ear with his pinky. "Didn't we agree before the match that life and death were irrelevant? So what if someone died? If it really comes down to it, I'll pay for his coffin. Is that acceptable?"
As he spoke, he pulled Pan Feng into his arms, exercising a master's right to protect his disciple in place of his own Little Cat Xia.
"...Envoy Xu is correct."
Before anyone could object, Cheng Gujian, who stood beside the little empress, lightly clapped his hands. "Since they agreed to the death waiver, we naturally cannot settle accounts afterward. Take the body away quickly, lest it offend Her Imperial Majesty's eyes... Handle it as a death in the line of duty, and ensure the compensation is sufficient."
"Yes."
With him taking a stance first, the others could only obey. In the blink of an eye, the place looked as though nothing had happened.
"Grand Duke Gu Jian truly understands reason."
Xu Shi narrowed his eyes. "Now, you and Her Imperial Majesty should have some idea of the value of the trade goods we brought, shouldn't you?"
"Yes."
The little empress, Dongfang Xiao, nodded vigorously, utterly unfazed by the death. "You were not boasting. These truly are extraordinary weapons."
Her cheerful tone stood sharply apart from everyone else's.
But it was an undeniable fact—although they had lost the duel and their dignity along with it, the ministers had no choice but to admit that the non-"Divine Breath"