The sunlight was blinding.
After exiting the palace gates, the accompanying eunuchs and maids dispersed, and Mu Heng headed straight toward his family’s carriage.
“Stop.” Lin Lumi spoke up abruptly behind him.
Mu Heng paused and turned to look at her. “Something the matter?”
“Does doing this make you feel good? To get back at me, you’d even wager your own marriage?”
Mu Heng chuckled. “It’s merely tit for tat. If you can disregard your reputation to write me a love letter, why shouldn’t I request an imperial decree? Lin Lumi, it doesn’t feel good to be hoisted by your own petard, does it?”
Lin Lumi appeared lighthearted. “It’s just a piece of paper. As long as we aren’t wed, it holds no weight. I just don’t understand—to get back at me, why go to such lengths?”
She took a step forward, closing the distance between them, a smirk playing on her lips. “You’re wasting the Emperor’s favor, Mu Heng. Aren’t we mortal enemies? You couldn’t have actually fallen for me, could you?”
Mu Heng lowered his gaze to look at her.
The fold of his double eyelids was clear, and the corners of his eyes lifted slightly. Despite his casual gaze, he carried an aura that was aloof and reckless.
“Miss Lin, that’s not right. Didn’t you write the love letter first? I’m merely following your lead and playing along. In order, wouldn’t it be Miss Lin who fell for me first?”
Lin Lumi stared at him fixedly. Even though there were still thousands of complaints in her heart, they turned into a soft sigh. “Don’t worry, whoever falls in love first is a fool—besides, you aren’t my type at all. But I hope you keep the marriage contract a secret. Since we’ll be going to the Dongling Ling Shu examination together in a few days, it won’t benefit either of us if news of this leaks out.”
Mu Heng’s gaze darkened. After a while, he replied, “I am not on the examination list.”
Lin Lumi was somewhat surprised. Given Mu Heng’s extraordinary talent, it would be impossible for him to fail unless he voluntarily gave up.
Regardless, she was going to the Dongling Ling Shu region to meet the main cast; without Mu Heng as a hindrance, her future would likely be much more comfortable.
She nodded. “Understood. Then we’ll go our separate ways from here on out. Don’t worry, although I can’t stand you, I’m not base enough to use a marriage contract to threaten you. If you meet someone you like in the future, just break the engagement; you don’t need to pay attention to this farcical contract.”
With that, Lin Lumi turned and boarded her family’s carriage.
Mu Heng watched the carriage leave and only regained his composure when a servant called out to him.
“Second Young Master, you have to be on the road early tomorrow morning. The sun is very strong; you’d better return to the estate to rest.”
“Fine.”
Inside the carriage, the servant couldn’t help but ask: “Second Young Master, why bother? You’ve been away for all these years, and every time you return to the capital, you pick fights with Third Miss Lin. This time you even took it to the Emperor and threw your own marriage into the mix. It really doesn’t seem worth it.”
Mu Heng acted indifferent. “Third Miss Lin was right; it’s just a piece of paper. But since this contract can shut up my parents’ constant nagging about marriage and disgust Lin Lumi at the same time, I think it’s very much worth it.”
The servant shook his head. These two really fought over everything—they had fought so much they had lost all sense of perspective.
“The Emperor bestowed a marriage upon you two!”
In the carriage, Chuntao was both surprised and delighted as she saw the contract. “Did the Miss’s love letter actually work? Does this count as getting what you wanted?”
“What I wanted, my foot.” Lin Lumi rested her head against the carriage wall, lazily propping up her chin. “I originally wanted to use the love letter to disgust him, but he managed to turn the tables on me. It’s fortunate that it’s just a bestowal and didn’t require us to set a wedding date, or I’d truly be played to death by him.”
“Ah…” Chuntao’s excitement deflated instantly, her mouth pouting. “So, Miss, you don’t like Young Master Mu at all? I thought this was a case of hate turning into love, that you had quietly fallen for him.”
Lin Lumi scoffed and gave her a side-glance. “How is that possible?”
Chuntao was persistent, leaning in with a smile: “It’s not impossible. After all, Young Master Mu is undeniably handsome.”
Lin Lumi was suddenly choked, unable to offer a rebuttal.
He was indeed handsome. His features were picturesque and dashing, and his temperament had grown increasingly sharp and aloof, becoming more breathtaking with each passing year. Every time he returned to the capital, he seemed even more eye-catching than the year before.
She turned her face away, her tone cool. “So what if he’s handsome? His face and build are the only things I can tolerate. His personality is so wretched—I don’t know which girl will end up suffering because of him.”
Chuntao blinked, unable to resist teasing her: “Then what kind of person does the Miss like? Tell me about it~”
“Me…” She let out a slow sigh, her expression gradually becoming thoughtful.
When she first read the novel “Contention,” she had really liked a supporting male character. The name was a bit fuzzy, as the book rarely mentioned it, but she remembered the protagonist group always called him: “Second Senior Brother.”
The book described him as having an otherworldly and stunning face, aloof and cold. He didn’t speak much, but he was always silently standing behind the main cast, shielding them from countless storms and slaughters.
This character design completely hit the mark for Lin Lumi.
Compared to a “living Yama” like Mu Heng, who would bicker and pick fights with her at every turn, that was the difference between someone in the clouds and someone in the mud!
Come to think of it, although this Second Senior Brother was a hot commodity in the Dongling Ling Shu region, he always seemed to be single; the author never assigned him a canon match.
Maybe… once she joined the sect, she should take a good look at this Second Senior Brother?
Regardless, she had been single for two lifetimes; if she had a little fun before returning, she would maximize her gains. Otherwise, it would be a loss.
Thinking of this, Lin Lumi looked forward to going to the Dongling Ling Shu region even more.
A beautiful curve appeared on her lips as she looked at Chuntao. “I do have someone I like. Once I get to the Dongling Ling Shu region and meet the real person, I’ll write you a letter to tell you.”
Chuntao was deeply puzzled: “Miss’s sweetheart is in the Dongling Ling Shu region? But you’ve been in the capital since you were little, never stepping outside the gate—how could you know someone there?”
“It’s a secret~” Lin Lumi replied with a smile.
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, the day arrived for them to travel to the Dongling Ling Shu region.
The Dongling Ling Shu region was located in the east of the continent, with numerous immortal sects within its borders—eighteen in total. Among them, the Juling Sect held the highest level of cultivation and the deepest foundation, and was revered as the head of the eighteen sects.
Every ten years, the eighteen sects of Dongling Ling Shu would conduct examinations to recruit a batch of disciples.
These disciples came from all corners of the world; they either possessed exceptional strength or had recommendations from royalty or noble families.
As for a small country like the Yue Kingdom, while it was rich in resources and prosperous in trade, the path of immortality was extremely weak. There were only a handful of strong cultivators in the country, and even the “Protector cultivators” of the nation were mostly outsiders hired from major sects at a high cost.
Therefore, in the past, the royal family of the Yue Kingdom had only been given one recommendation quota.
But this time, when the list was posted, there were five people on it. This was something Lin Lumi hadn’t expected, as the book didn’t have many descriptions of this small country.