All kinds of judgments and disbelief could be heard from the audience. They were waiting for her to embarra.s.s herself.Gu Xijiu did not seem to care. She could understand the audience"s behavior.
If they were in the modern days, the man would be a grand superstar on stage, and Gu Xijiu would merely be an ordinary person in the audience. An open challenge from a someone in the audience would definitely leave herself open to ridicule.
Gu Xijiu smiled nonchalantly at the audience and emerged on stage by teleportation.
Her movements were graceful. A moment ago, she was still standing amongst the crowd. All of a sudden, she was now on stage, standing face to face with Lan Fei.
Lan Fei was taken by surprise and took a step back. "Goog Kung Fu that you have there!"
"Of course."
"Your Kung Fu will be a highlight in fighting compet.i.tion. Unfortunately, this is a singing contest. If you fail to impress the audience, you will be humiliated."
"I know. I am not here to showcase my Kung Fu. I am here for a challenge!" Gu Xijiu responded confidently.
Lan Fei sighed. "You are remarkably courageous. I am impressed. Your courage deserves my respect. However, your position in the lineup is not entirely optimistic." Gu Xijiu"s turn was right after him. Under his tremendous influence, Gu Xijiu would be humiliated if she only managed to put on a mediocre performance.
It was as though they had just indulged themselves in a luxury meal and suddenly got served with only porridge and plain dishes. The sudden change would be hard to cope with.
Gu Xijiu understood. She smiled gently. "It doesn"t matter."
The lady was unusually free and easy.
Lan Fei was utterly impressed and clasped his palms in response. "Let"s put it this way. If your singing is half as good as mine, the grand prize will be yours."
The audience opened their eyes brightly in disbelief. They would never have expected Lan Fei to stack so much in a bet, as Lan Fei had missed out on the prize over the past two years.
However, they were not very concerned. Lan Fei"s voice was celestial. Her voice would be incredible if she could sing half as good as him. All the other contestants were not able to hit that kind of expectation. Hence, it would be more difficult for the human lady to achieve.
To their surprise, Gu Xijiu responded care freely with a brief smile. "I am not interested in the grand prize. If you think that my singing is good, please reward me with pearls. Not much, just 1,000 pearls will do." The amount was exactly what she needed to purchase the herbs. She was not asking for more.
A voice could be heard coming from the audience. "The lady has a clear estimation of herself and a good understanding that she will not be half as good, which is why she refuses the grand prize. However, it is not easy to take money from us. Even though you are courageous enough to go on stage, you have to impress us with decent singing at least."
Gu Xijiu swept her eyes across the crowd, and her face brightened up. "I believe that everyone here is an expert. I am sure you can tell between good and bad. Please judge my performance fairly."
Her words were effective. Some of them were initially planning to toss turtle eggs at her regardless of her performance. However, they decided to put that thought away and judge her in a fair and square manner.
If she performed well, she would be rewarded. Otherwise, she deserved the taste of turtle eggs.
"What do you plan to sing? Do you need any background music?"
"There is no need for that, for I have brought my own," Gu Xijiu shook her head and took out a four-stringed lute. "I can use it."
Gu Xijiu only wanted to make quick money to purchase the herbs. She had to return to the palace as soon as possible, so they would not think that she had run away.