The Protagonist is Always Intimidating Me - Chapter 15

If Bai Meng’s first victory could have been dismissed as luck, his subsequent streak of eight consecutive wins silenced even the most skeptical voices. The arena grew quiet as a grave.

Mo Jiuge sat in the stands, his usual smile on his face. Behind him, Mo Lei glanced to the side and saw that Mo Yu and Mo Lengsui were intently focused on the matches below. Neither of them had made any comments, nor had Mo Lengsui adopted his usual haughty demeanor, leaving Mo Lei feeling a rare sense of calm in this quiet atmosphere.

During a brief break after Bai Meng’s fifth win, he had come over to check in with the group.

“Jiuge, you came here to watch me fight?”

“Mm.” Mo Jiuge smiled and nodded. “We all did. Initially, we came to scout for any standout newcomers and cheer you on, but it seems we’re just here for the latter.”

The implication was clear—he was praising Bai Meng as the standout of this round. Understanding the compliment, Bai Meng responded with a humble smile. “What can I do? I’m just that exceptional.”

The others: “……”

“Mm.” The usually taciturn Mo Lengsui spoke first, surprising everyone who knew him well. They turned to look at him, wondering if the real Mo Lengsui had been replaced or if he’d simply lost his mind.

Despite the stares, Mo Lengsui remained expressionless. His eyes, however, gleamed with rare enthusiasm as he nodded at Bai Meng. “Your strength is remarkable.”

“Strength? In what area? Speed or power?” Bai Meng teased, seeing an opportunity to mess with Mo Lengsui’s serious demeanor by posing a deliberately tricky question.

But Mo Lengsui didn’t take the bait. He replied with blunt simplicity: “You’re the number one underdog killer in the short stature category!”

Mo Lengsui’s words were delivered with absolute sincerity.

Bai Meng: “……”

Bai Meng: “What—the—hell?!”

The others: “……” What a way with words.

Before Bai Meng could continue the argument, the next match began. Shrugging off the exchange, he returned to the arena as if nothing had happened.

During the match, Bai Meng “accidentally” threw his opponent with too much force, sending the unfortunate beastman flying into the audience—straight into Mo Lengsui, who hadn’t moved fast enough to dodge. The crowd turned to look at Bai Meng, who stood there with an innocent expression: Oops, it was an accident…

Everyone: “……”

Mo Jiuge chuckled softly at the scene, especially at Bai Meng’s look of feigned innocence. The whole display reminded him of something that had happened when the three of them were still in Yinchen Hall. Bai Meng had worn the same expression back then, just before pulling off a quiet act of revenge.

It all started when Feng Qingxuan sent a guard to take Bai Meng away from the inn. The guard, likely of high rank, showed no respect to Mo Hankui, the Master of Xingge Hall, or his captain of the guard. With a condescending attitude, he berated Bai Meng, accusing him of being shameless and ignorant, suggesting he was trying to seduce someone as lofty as Mo Hankui while conspiring against Feng Qingxuan. The insults went on for quite some time.

Bai Meng had remained silent throughout, which led the guard to believe he had won. What the guard didn’t know was that Bai Meng had lost a bet with the hall master and was forbidden from speaking for half a day. Though he understood the taunts perfectly, Bai Meng only put on a pitiful expression, silently gesturing to Mo Jiuge and Mo Hankui to stay calm.

When the silence period finally ended and the guard was about to sit down for tea, Bai Meng unexpectedly offered to fetch it. He walked away and, in full view of Mo Jiuge and Mo Hankui, spit a generous amount of saliva into the guard’s cup.

Mo Hankui: “……”

Mo Jiuge: “……”

When Bai Meng returned, he put on his most innocent, gentle expression as he handed the tea over. Only after the guard drank it did Bai Meng smile with satisfaction and say, “Didn’t your mother ever teach you not to drink things from strangers?”

The guard froze, immediately suspecting Bai Meng had poisoned the tea.

“Relax! You’re favored by the Master of Yinchen Hall. How could I dare poison someone of your standing?”

“……” The guard awkwardly took a breath, then quickly switched back to his previous fierce expression, “You…”

“However, I did spit in it.”

“……”

“Not much, just half a cup.”

“……”

“Dumbass, does that spit tea taste good? Looking at your ecstatic face, tsk tsk…”

“……”

In the end, the guard, furious and humiliated, attempted to attack Bai Meng, only to be swiftly executed by the hall master himself. Even then, Bai Meng couldn’t resist taking a parting shot at the Master of the Yinchen Hall. Standing at the door, he dramatically yelled, “The world is going downhill! People’s hearts have grown cold! You’ve forced a good man into prostitution! Sure, I may sell my body, but never my skills—”

Mo Hankui: “…That’s not how the saying goes.”

“Close enough,” Bai Meng had replied with a casual wave of his hand.

Mo Hankui: “……”

Mo Jiuge: “……”

Close? Not even remotely!

Bai Meng came back to his senses and cleared his throat and continued, “Though I may be a bad person, I never thought the mastermind behind this would be so vile! To stoop so low…”

Bai Meng’s dramatic tone had the crowd outside and the people inside hanging on his every word, the tension rising with his performance.

“…As to send someone so attractive to seduce Lord Hankui! Trying to catch his attention! This is utterly outrageous!”

Mo Hankui: “……”

Who’s really the outrageous one here?!

Back in the arena, the focus shifted to the match.

“May I ask who your next choice is?”

The examiner stood there with a composed and gracious smile. His voice was clear and commanding, cutting through the noise of the crowd and reaching every corner of the arena.

This would be Bai Meng’s final match. If he won, he’d be promoted to the second-class guard. If he lost, the opponent would replace him as second-class guard, and the outcome was crucial to the choice at hand. With Bai Meng’s extraordinary performance so far, no one dared make any assumptions about the outcome.

“He might really go for the captain’s position at this rate…” Mo Chao murmured, watching the boy below, his eyes flickering. “His weapon, his explosive power, his reaction speed—this guy isn’t as harmless as he seems… Interesting!”

“Not just ‘seems,’” Mo Yu muttered, frowning slightly, his eyes never leaving Bai Meng. “He’s absolutely dangerous. Looks like our lord is about to gain another valuable asset…”

“I know you admire him…” Mo Chao turned to look at Mo Yu. “But this guy still hasn’t shown his full strength. He’s either holding something back, or deliberately downplaying his abilities… It’s too early to make any conclusions.”

“I don’t,” Mo Yu said in a deep voice.

“Huh?” Mo Chao was momentarily taken aback.

Mo Yu: “…I don’t admire him.”

Mo Chao: “……”

Liar! You have ‘admire’ written on your left cheek and ‘appreciate’ on your right, and you’re just one step away from saying it outright!

Mo Yu: “…I’m just speaking the truth!”

Mo Chao: “……”

As long as you’re happy _(:з」∠)_

Dragging his massive black sword, Bai Meng walked to the edge of the arena. His dark eyes scanned the crowd before casually pointing at a beastman with his nose in the air. “Him.”

The chosen beastman didn’t react. His entire demeanor was one of absolute arrogance. Being selected by Bai Meng didn’t faze him in the least; his eyes showed no emotion, only the supreme confidence of someone who believed himself untouchable.

“……” Bai Meng, “May I ask your name?”

“Who do you think you are?!” The beastman scoffed, looking down at Bai Meng with disdain. “A mere plaything who crawls into the beds of powerful men. How dare you ask for my name?”

“……”

An old acquaintance, it seemed.

Bai Meng lightly flicked his black iron sword, producing a crisp ring. “There’s no helping it…”

“Because soon you’ll be calling me ‘dad,’ and as your father, I have to at least know my son’s name.”