Hou Danxue was a mature merchant; she was exceptionally skilled at weighing the leverage held by both sides.
Where Wu Ming was concerned, Hou Danxue herself was the greatest leverage, the key to keeping her.
Wu Ming already possessed the strength of the world’s finest. Even if Danxue laid all the treasures of the world at her feet, it would be useless; they held not a shred of attraction for her.
Yet, the only thing Danxue knew how to do was provide her with treasures to aid her cultivation.
Now, she felt she had zero utility in Wu Ming’s eyes.
She could only rely on herself, and on this love that felt so precarious in her own sight…
Could this love triumph over freedom? Hou Danxue could not predict the outcome.
In truth, the reason she had first been moved by Wu Ming was precisely because of the aura of freedom the other woman carried.
And now, she was going to destroy that very freedom that had captured her heart.
Whether Wu Ming was an eagle soaring through the heavens or a fleeting wind passing through the Hou household, Danxue would use every means necessary to seize her.
Even if, in the end, they both became unrecognizable…
It started as a calculated display of pitifulness, but then a genuine melancholy welled up. Hou Danxue’s fake weeping turned into real tears.
However, that wasn’t important. What mattered most was that she obtained the result she desired.
Wu Ming’s hoarse voice, filled with profound heartache, sounded in her ear.
“Fine… I will not leave you…”
She had used love to imprison the person she loved.
The taut string in Danxue’s heart suddenly went slack. She lay upon Wu Ming, her face naturally radiating a sweet smile, which only made Wu Ming feel more guilty.
Wu Ming loved Hou Danxue; naturally, it pained her to see Danxue wronging herself just to keep her.
The thought of leaving could only be suppressed for now. She had to take things slowly.
They were still young, and they had plenty of time. If Hou Danxue didn’t want to let her go alone, then she would wait for her until the day they could travel the world together.
Wu Ming considered herself a person of her word, but she didn’t expect the “slap in the face” to come so quickly.
During the ceremony at Peach Blossom Spring, amidst the universal celebration, she regretted it.
Before setting out, Hou Danxue had smilingly produced a half-face mask and placed it on her.
“Am I so shameful to be seen?”
If she hadn’t believed so much in Hou Danxue’s love for her, Wu Ming would have truly suspected there was some secret in Peach Blossom Spring she wasn’t allowed to know.
Previously, when she went to Peach Blossom Spring, Hou Danxue would find various excuses to drive her away; now that Danxue was bringing her there, she wanted to hide Wu Ming’s face with a mask.
“I don’t want others to see your face.”
Hou Danxue carefully adjusted the mask, gazing at the masked Wu Ming with satisfaction, and then kissed her contentedly.
As for why she didn’t choose a full-face mask—it was because she wanted to watch Wu Ming at all times, never missing a single subtle expression from her wife.
This was their first time strolling through the streets for a festival together; something worth remembering was bound to happen.
After Hou Danxue pulled away, Wu Ming touched the mask on her face. She didn’t feel this fragmented mask had any actual concealing effect; of course, she didn’t understand a certain person’s strange possessiveness.
“No! Why am I the only one wearing a mask? This isn’t fair! You don’t want people to see my face, then I don’t want people to see yours either!”
Hou Danxue agreed to Wu Ming’s demand very readily.
Her wife was actually displaying possessiveness toward her; she loved it, she felt thrilled.
The mask Wu Ming wore was a special custom piece from Hou Danxue—the only one of its kind—allowing Danxue to joyfully enjoy her wife’s beauty. Therefore, she casually picked up a crude mask for herself.
A plain, full-face mask with a distorted smiling face.
Facing this mask, Wu Ming suddenly felt a bit stifled. This way, she could only catch a glimpse of her beloved’s charm through her eyes.
In truth, there was little difference whether Hou Danxue wore a mask or not; the people of Peach Blossom Spring were already long familiar with their leader.
With the last shred of stubborn persistence in her heart, Wu Ming did not ask Hou Danxue to take off the mask.
Thus, they went to Peach Blossom Spring wearing their masks.
Hou Danxue was very successful as a leader; even though she wore a mask, her subordinates still recognized her.
A clever and cute-looking girl stuffed an exquisitely made lantern into Hou Danxue’s hand and then skipped away.
Hou Danxue gave the lantern to Wu Ming.
Wu Ming stared at the lantern, which was carved with various patterns, including snow and bamboo.
Their first encounter had been because of a bamboo stalk. Now, that bamboo was being well-nurtured by her, radiating a precious aura; it was the pride of the Hou family.
Initially, it had been her target, but later it became the only treasure she spared.
“Who is she?”
“One of the hostages sent here, a child with great talent for craftsmanship.”
When Wu Ming spoke, Hou Danxue almost didn’t react. Wu Ming usually disliked talking when there were many people around, and her voice was very low this time. If Hou Danxue hadn’t been so familiar with her tone, she would have dismissed it as background noise.
Wu Ming’s attention, however, was entirely focused on the people around them.
Almost everyone passing by was staring at Wu Ming! Even after walking quite a distance, they would turn back to look!
Hou Danxue gritted her teeth tightly and clenched her hands. The feeling of her treasure being peered at by others caused a constant surge of irritability in her heart.
In fact, she knew those people might not be acting out of love, but simply out of admiration—some were in pairs, clearly already having partners.
She knew her emotions were excessive and twisted, but she still couldn’t let it go! She was even… unwilling to suppress this discomfort. She deliberately indulged her negative emotions.
Wu Ming felt nothing regarding those gazes that distressed Hou Danxue—Peach Blossom Spring only had women, only their own kind.
Wu Ming actually… liked it here.
She could clearly feel that here, she was accepted.
The Peach Blossom Spring created by Hou Danxue was willing to accept her every possibility.
Thinking about how traveling outside would inevitably involve all sorts of sticky, scrutinizing, and malicious gazes, Wu Ming—comparing the two—suddenly felt that staying in the Hou house or in Peach Blossom Spring was unexpectedly nice.
Why did she have to go out?
Wu Ming suddenly felt she had lost the reason for needing to travel.
No wonder—no wonder Hou Danxue’s reaction to that thought was to bring her here for a stroll.
It was too different, truly too different.
Once one had seen the scenery here, they could never accept the outside world again.
While Wu Ming and Hou Danxue were lost in their respective thoughts, a voice carrying obvious hostility interrupted them.
“I see that you, young hero, are also a martial artist. On such a beautiful night, why don’t we have a match?”
Hou Danxue looked up and understood immediately.
That was also one of the hostages, a child with outstanding martial talent but who was always a bit slow-witted.
The person walking hand-in-hand beside her was also a hostage; their union had even been facilitated by Hou Danxue herself.
Xuan Xing recognized Hou Danxue through the familiar look in her eyes and immediately became stiff.
Only now did she realize the person she had challenged was the world’s number one.
Initially, she had simply been unable to swallow her anger.
On such a beautiful night, the beauty by her side kept looking at someone else; it didn’t matter how many times she reminded her!
Why! she had expressed her jealousy so bluntly! Yet the other only smiled and then peeked at Wu Ming even more covertly.
Before Wu Ming’s identity was revealed, in Xuan Xing’s eyes, she was just someone with a superficial appearance, wearing a flashy mask to attract everyone’s attention.
The only way Xuan Xing could think of to diminish the other’s charm was to defeat her in front of everyone, and then her straying lover would love her even more!
“A match… ha—Good!”
To have someone actively propose a match was an unexpected joy for Wu Ming. She loved fighting!
Seeing there was a spectacle to watch, the people around them proactively cleared a space to facilitate the fight.
Xuan Xing had been hesitating because the opponent was the world’s number one, but now that the atmosphere was set, she summoned her strength and charged forward.
It had been a long time since Wu Ming encountered such an opponent; the girl reminded her of… her former self.
The self before she met Hou Danxue, living in poverty.
Her only hope for self-improvement was the treasures naturally produced in the mountains.
She fought bare-handed, practicing a cultivation technique she had picked up that looked entirely unreliable.
Her world had been filled with malice, but she possessed a surge of passion that crushed all that malice.
“Good… truly good!”
To make the fight more enjoyable, Wu Ming used her internal energy to bolster the other’s momentum, while Xuan Xing possessed a spirit of persisting against impossible odds, stubbornly trading blows with Wu Ming.
Hou Danxue should have been happy about this—her brooding wife had found a new source of fun, and her capable subordinate was receiving guidance from a master.
But her expression beneath the mask was grim; she wasn’t happy at all.
She hated having her wife’s attention divided by someone else at a moment like this.
She had meticulously planned a firework display for a wonderful evening; she didn’t want this firework show to become a mere backdrop for these two’s battle!
“Wife! Work harder! If you don’t win soon, you’ll miss the best time to see the fireworks!”
Hou Danxue’s intentionally coquettish voice caused Wu Ming to lose focus for half a second. Losing focus in a battle is fatal; Xuan Xing’s spear brushed against her face, and in her panic, Wu Ming lost control of her strength, crushing the wrist that held the spear.
“Your hand! I’m sorry!”
Wu Ming naturally knew what the hand used to hold a weapon meant to a martial artist. The guilt in her heart almost drowned her.
Hou Danxue looked at the mask that had been sliced to the ground by the spear. Exquisite little things are often fragile; it was broken beyond repair.
She took the mask off her own face and placed it on Wu Ming’s.
“Family Head!”
“Enough. Since you are injured, go and rest well. Do not worry, I will call for the best physician to treat you.”
Under Hou Danxue’s order, Xuan Xing could only leave reluctantly. Now she was the one looking back with every step, while the person beside her looked at Wu Ming with distaste because Wu Ming had injured her.
Hou Danxue’s face was cold—because of Xuan Xing’s admiration for Wu Ming.
“Your charm is truly great…” She had practically given Xuan Xing a new life, yet she had never seen such a look of admiration from her.
Hou Danxue felt compelled to show a bit of her jealousy, hoping Wu Ming would coax her.
At that moment, the fireworks she had prepared erupted in the night sky, their brilliant colors lighting up the heavens and the green waters.
Such beautiful scenery… if she were to kiss her wife now…
Wu Ming remained still. Just as Hou Danxue was wondering if she should take the initiative, Wu Ming spoke.
Her voice was drowned out by the noisy crowds and the sound of fireworks, yet Hou Danxue, standing beside her, could hear those heart-breaking words clearly.
The tone was slow, yet unexpectedly firm.
“Wife… please let me go.”