There was a brief moment of silence. The blackened grass swayed, and a bird cawed up above.
Tian Shu smiled. "That's too bad," She said. "I had hoped you would be less observant."
Qiu Yunru's hand went to his sword. Seeing this, Tian Shu's eyebrows raised, and she raised her hands in surrender. "I won't attack you. Consider it a prank between two people of the same craft."
"A prank?" Qiu Yunru muttered. Was she really trying to go the 'it's just a joke!' route?
"Indeed," Tian Shu said, smiling up at him good-naturedly. "I was fairly sure you would notice, but I thought it couldn't hurt to try. If you were too dull to notice, then you wouldn't have won the tournament anyways, and it wouldn't be wrong of me to take over your setup."
Qiu Yunru raised an eyebrow. Despite the fact that she'd just tried to glue his ass to the ground, he couldn't help but sense that she was telling the truth.
Tian Shu stood, brushing her robes off and rummaging in her alchemy pouch.
"What are you doing?" Qiu Yunru said sharply, reaching for his sword again.
"General Lily Solvent," Tian Shu responded, raising an eyebrow. "Or do you not want me to nullify the Binding Ink Powder? I can certainly leave it here, but it'll make a great inconvenience for you."
Qiu Yunru sighed internally. What a confusing person...He nodded to her, watching her hands carefully. A moment later, she indeed sprinkled powder that was undoubtedly a General Lily Solvent over the ground, causing the Binding Ink Powder to dissipate in hisses of black smoke.
"Were you really going to take over my plan if I'd sat down?" Qiu Yunru muttered, feeling betrayed. He kicked himself internally. Perhaps he needed to be much more suspicious of anyone coming his way. "Wouldn't you feel bad?"
Tian Shu shrugged, closing up her bag. "Not at all. As I said, if you weren't well-versed enough to recognize Binding Ink Powder, you surely wouldn't have had a chance of getting in the top three. If you didn't have a chance, why not make things easier for myself? But alas," She sighed deeply, leaning against a tree. Her demeanor was...rather dramatic, Qiu Yunru thought. "I already have my own plans. It would be good to have two plans going at once, but I'll leave you to it."
And she turned to leave.
Qiu Yunru stared after her dumbstruck.
"Are you just going to leave?" He called out.
She looked back at him, raising an eyebrow. "Why not? I've seen that you're worthy opponent. Since there's nothing more for me here, I should continue preparing."
"..." Qiu Yunru couldn't think of something more to say. What a strange, strange person! "I guess. Well...don't mess with anything on the way out. I'll be checking it all. And..." He coughed, feeling a little embarrassed at his own disrespectfulness. He gave a quick courtesy. "It was good to meet you, Tian-qianbei."
"Yes!" She called back, waving as she left. "Perhaps we should meet and exchange techniques sometime outside of this place!"
And she was gone.
Qiu Yunru stood there for a while, bewildered at whatever kind of encounter that had been. First, the number-one-favorite for the tournament had barged in, then she'd tried to sabotage him and take over his plan, and then she had left without so much as a second glance or a single apology! This was...really, truly bad etiquette! Who could do such a thing without apologizing once?
Qiu Yunru sighed, checking the ground for any remaining signs of Binding Ink Powder. He'd have to do another perimeter check to ensure that she hadn't been lying and tampered with something else.
He suddenly had a thought. Should he have asked her to send Li Chenyuan his way if she saw him? Since they'd agreed to work together, Li Chenyuan must be worried--or worse, afraid, on his own.
Qiu Yunru shook his head.
No, no, no! Not right now. Even if he felt bad, wouldn't it be worse to come face-to-face with that person right now? He wouldn't have anything to say, and would just ignore him out of embarrassment the whole time. No, it was better not to seek him out.
______
Soon enough, the sun began to dip below the horizon, and Heixi Gorge was beset by deep oranges and bright pinks that were consumed by the blackened shadows of the flora.
One by one, Shadow Demon Puppets began to appear.
The started, at first, to appear at the outer edges of the ring. A disciple here was attacked; a disciple there managed to wrestle one to the ground after being approached by surprise. The darker it grew, the faster they appeared, until Heixi Gorge was swarming with more Shadow Demon Puppets than disciples, and the night air was filled with the sounds of shouting, swishing metal, and screams.
Qiu Yunru was having a good time. Or, that was to say, he was doing quite well. He was able to sit up in the high branches of the trees leaning over the clearing he'd set up. As soon as a few Shadow Puppet Demons stumbled into the ring and began fumbling with that jar, he tossed some Magnetized Qi Powder down onto them. Within seconds, the shadow demon puppets sizzled and groaned, dissipating into clouds of demonic qi that rose up into the night sky and evaporated. Every time more puppets stumbled in, Qiu Yunru did the same.
Again, and again, he tossed powder. He had made a large amount--enough to last the entire night, assuming he didn't have to face every single demon in the gorge. He had prepared so well, in fact, that he was...beginning to get bored!
He laid down on that tree branch above, examining a few shadow puppets who were struggling to claw at and open that un-openable jar lid. They looked like what he imagined the shades of Greek mythology might look like: shimmering bodies of shadow resembling a human's with gaping white eyes peering out of the darkness. However, the white eyes of these puppets bled a constant stream of faint purple demonic qi, giving the impression that they were bleeding from the eyes. It was truly a terrifying sight.
Around the fourth hour of the night, Qiu Yunru dug into his alchemical pack to take a drink of the caffeinated water he had made. Knowing that he was prone to falling asleep, he had come across some Blue Holly, and had boiled them in water to made a caffeinated drink. Unfortunately, he couldn't find any sweet plants nearby, so he had to resort to drinking this bitter substance.
As he choked some down, there was a sudden rustling in the bushes below. Qiu Yunru quickly righted himself, filling his hand with more powder.
However, rather than a demon, a person stumbled out of the undergrowth.