Inside the Forbidden City, Wei Ziyun listened to his subordinate's report, utterly bewildered.
"What's going on? I issued six ribbons based on the number of experts, so why have more than a dozen people come? And why hasn't Lu Xiaofeng appeared yet?"
He did not believe Lu Xiaofeng would fail to obtain a ribbon. Although he had not sent anyone to deliver one to Lu Xiaofeng, as long as Lu Xiaofeng wanted one, he would certainly get it.
He had checked carefully. Everyone's ribbon was made of color-changing silk, without a single counterfeit.
He had questioned everyone, and all of them said they had obtained their ribbons through their own abilities. Wei Ziyun could do nothing.
He had told everyone that obtaining a ribbon would let them enter the Forbidden City to watch the duel, and that they could use their own abilities to acquire one. But he had never expected the ribbons to multiply.
He wanted to refuse them entry, but lacked the ability, because everyone holding a ribbon had an aura no weaker than his own, and some even surpassed him.
Some had come with their true faces, such as Jiang Xiaoyu and Hua Wuque of the Sun Moon Holy Cult. Others had disguised themselves, while still others simply wore masks or concealed their faces with bamboo hats, cloaks, and the like.
Many of their faces looked unfamiliar and entirely expressionless. Others wore a rich variety of expressions, but they were definitely disguised too.
No expert in the Jianghu had the appearance of a decrepit old woman. A true expert, even an elderly one, would not look so aged, much less walk with faltering steps.
Two eunuchs stood beside Wei Ziyun. Both had recently been promoted to attendant eunuchs in the Directorate of Ceremonial, and were temporarily leading