C34 The Fiance Returns For Her

“Watch your back. Blades don’t have eyes.”

Yuxi smiled, on cloud nine by the smoothness of the man that had just emerged in Erlu. Somehow, she felt she had met the man before, but she couldn’t recall where she knew him from.

She had only a small dagger, but after Booyeong’s death, her skills had improved tremendously. She assumed her fighting stance, swinging little kicks and blows around that impressed the man.

Behind them, Zhan Peng and Yang Tian had also joined the fight. Even with the rift between them, she was assured that Zhan Peng would be able to withstand the incoming armies, with his excellent swordsmanship. She was correct.

Concentrating on the man, his dark features and copper skin captivated her and piqued her interest. It was like he had that effect on her that she didn’t encounter with Zhan Peng. While Zhan Peng intrigued her, she felt he was a life partner and someone she would never get bored bickering with everyday. While this man, in contrast, was a passerby that she was temporarily attracted to.

“Yuxi, take this.”

Her heart soared hearing him mention her name. He handed her something he just pulled from the knapsack on his bag. It was a miniature crossbow, but the bolts she released rained down on the enemies like hailstones, skilfully hitting each target and impairing them heavily.

Hours later, they all emerged victorious. Yuxi didn’t run towards Zhan Peng and embrace him for all she was worth. In everyone’s eyes, they were just an employer and her mercenary. Seeing Yonghe with him had numbed her chest. She knew he had sought the company of a courtesan, and deemed him disgusting.

But even then, she was unable to cleanse herself of the pain that she held deep in her chest. She hid her emotions well and smiled at Yang Tian as if nothing had happened. Yang Tian told her everything about how he had lived in the village happily and fallen for the village pearl, Xin Tao, whom he called Tao’er for short. He told Yuxi about how clumsy he often was when she was near.

They laughed about his gawkiness that night, just when Zhan Peng appeared. Yuxi had a short vision where she saw the reinforcements of Booyeong’s army approach. They were led by the very prisoner they released from Booyeong’s camp, who turned out to be one of their men.

Fortunately, the man who came to their aid had slew him immediately when he passed with his horse. His martial art expertise entranced her.

Now, this man could prove a worthy addition to their team. Since Yang Tian was unable to return to his former self for the time being, but could fight, he could remain with them as a horseman. This way, she could ensure her cousin remained safe and in good hands.

The mission had to continue, so they had to set out on their next destination at the earliest. They had already been delayed for almost an entire month.

“Yuxi!”

The men ran towards her as soon as they were sure the coast was clear. Yuxi looked at the men weakly.

“I’m fine. What are you all worried about?”

Zhan Peng was staring daggers at the man who had come to their rescue. She glared at Zhan Peng to warn him to back off. He did it quite unwillingly, and Yuxi ordered him to find a place for their benefactor to stay. He decided on the Almond Beauty Inn, which Tao’er’s father owned. They had a feast that night, which Yuxi planned to thank their saviour.

Until now, she didn’t know his name. All she knew was that he went by Mr Lang.

He had accepted her invitation for him to join their cause, and answered that it was his honour. But everytime they were alone together, she could feel Zhan Peng’s hostility towards him. However, not only was it not the three of them, with the addition of Mr Benefactor, but Zhan Peng had even allowed Yonghe to join them until they reached the next village, Sanku, saying that she knew the way.

She had grown very exhausted of what Zhan Peng was playing at, so she let him do what he wanted.

It was five days after they left the village, en route to Sanku, when they decided to stop at an inn for the night. The five of them grouped up at the dining hall of the inn. Yuxi sat with her benefactor, while Zhan Peng had Yonghe sitting unceremoniously in his lap. They all had a generous serving of wine to celebrate their journey.

Yang Tian was the first to retire that night. Zhan Peng didn’t have as much, alleging that the inn could be another dark one.

She heard Mr Lang speak as she couldn’t keep her eyes off Zhan Peng and his belle.

“It seems you are very concerned about your mercenary.”

She swallowed. The man’s charismatic eyes followed the movement of her eyes, staring intently into her as he pronounced each word he had to say coolly.

“Not at all.”

“Mind if I take you out on a stroll? I have something to show you.”

She smiled politely. “I’ll be obliged.” He then took her hand and chivalrously led her out of the inn. They walked cautiously through the nearby forest, passing vegetation until he stopped by a creek.

“That should be far enough,” Mr Lang said.

She blushed. “We can’t stay long here. It’s taboo that a man and woman shouldn’t be alone, or tongues will wag.”

“Oh, is that so?” He was poking his face into hers again, and there was barely an inch between their faces. She caught her breath, feeling the hotness of her face.

The man was incredibly handsome.

“Just who are you, Mr Lang?”

He whispered in a hot-blooded tone, “Lang Juan.”

Hearing the name almost made her fall backwards, but he caught her firmly.

“Aren’t… aren’t you dead?” she whispered.

“Definitely not. Do you want me to be dead?” he gazed intensely into her supernovas, coercing her to answer.

“No…” she found herself weakened, and could only answer him in that manner.

“Then, are you going to abide by the marriage arrangement our fathers made us fulfil?”

There was a moment of silence. She contemplated how she had given herself again and again to Zhan Peng, but since those words from Booyeong, he had treated her rather coldly. He had broken her trust and hurt her love for him when he slept with Yonghe. She knew it wasn’t on one occasion. Hearing the shameless moans from the woman each night brought her so much pain, akin to being impaled through the heart by Zhan Peng himself.

She nodded, rather reluctantly.

“I will.”

He stroked her hair dominantly. “Good girl.”

“Do you like this place?” He suddenly asked. She watched the creek and looked back at him.

“I do.”

In the blink of an eye, he crashed his lips on hers, tasting her so zealously that she forgot her worries for a second.

He’s Lang Juan. He’s the fiance that you were waiting for all your life, she assured herself. But then, her body stiffened.

What if he found out she didn’t keep herself pure for him? Her concern riddled her. He began to kiss her more aggressively, with one hand on her waist while the other crept wildly under her robe, pulling off gracelessly what she had underneath. She squirmed, trying to get away from him but he was strong, kissing her more forcefully than ever.

In Shang-Yi, husbands were dominant over wives. Even if he took her before their wedding night, as long as they had an engagement, nobody would deem them to have done anything wrong. On the other hand, her relationship with the runaway prince of Longsu would be seen as unacceptable.

He continued to kiss her roughly as he pried both legs feet apart, letting his fingers inside her. Tears welled in her eyes as she swallowed her fear, getting the vibes of what was about to happen.

Fortunately, he stopped kissing her and allowed her to say what she had on her mind. With a heavy heart, she spoke up.

“Lang Juan, I’m not sure if I’m ready for all this.”

He retracted his fingers and gave the bow of her robe a little tug, undoing the material impatiently so that her snow-white chest was now exposed before him. He cupped her hills, mumbling in a low tone that she heard clearly.

“Ah… so soft, my wife.”

“Lang Juan, I’m not ready.”

“You were wet down there. Dare you not say, you have needs?”

“I…” She found herself unable to say a word more.

“And you’re not a virgin?”

Lang Juan’s words were as brutal as ever.

She nodded again.

“So, isn’t it fair for me to say that even when you were not pure, I still accepted you, and you should do your part to satisfy me as a wife?”

Tears flowed from her eyes, but she held back. She was stronger than any other woman he would have seen. She, Qian Yuxi, wasn’t a weakling.

She tried to sound as assuring as possible.

“I’m not a loose woman. I was raped in the name of duty, when trying to catch a rapist. I sacrificed what every woman deemed the most important, for the sake of the other young women out there. And if because of this, you want to revoke our arrangement, I can accept it. But I can’t accept you humiliating me like I am some prostitute!”

It was a big, fat lie. But she had to make it sound as real as possible.

Lang Juan chuckled and stroked her chin.

“Yuxi, you got the wrong idea. I was just testing you. Whatever happened in the past remains in the past. I promise, I’ll definitely treat you well.”

She heard ‌someone shuffling through the bushes in the forest, but soon, the sounds stopped.

“Let me think about it,” she replied heavily.