“Finally here, but I don’t know if I’m in time,” Hua Wu Que pulled back on the reins, gazing at the Zhongnan Mountain in front of him. He saw many abandoned swords and weapons on the ground and murmured to himself.
Huang Xue Mei successfully entered the Sun and Moon Divine Sect. She always plans carefully and I don’t need to worry about her. Coming down from the Black Wood Cliff, I remembered my two-month appointment with Li Mo Chou. I figured Huo Du would probably be here, so I rushed here as fast as I could. Unfortunately, I was still a step too slow. I should have stayed on the mountainside. The Taoist priests who had been setting up formations to block Guo Jing for so long have all vanished. There’s also a thick fog rising from the mountaintop. It seems like a big battle has started in the Chongyang Palace. I wonder what it looks like now.
He dismounted, tied his horse to a nearby tree, and took out his folding fan before walking towards the mountain. He kept stepping over the corpses of various factions along the way: Quanzhen disciples, Jianghu demonic cultivators, all scattered around.
His light skills were remarkable. Although his steps seemed slow, each step covered a great distance. He soon arrived at the mountainside. He could hear a chorus of cheers, probably coming from the battlefield. He immediately hastened his pace.
At that moment, Guo Jing was stunned. He guarded Xiangyang and had encountered many Mongolian experts, but few could compare to this monk in front of him. His cultivation was incredibly masculine. I just slapped him, but he didn’t react at all. Granted, I held back a bit. But how could a martial artist like this come to this matchmaking event? Master Ma and the others are surrounded by Mongolian cavalry. This place depends on me to hold the line. I cannot betray their trust.
They stood opposite each other, frozen in place for a moment.
Suddenly, a young man dressed in Han garb, holding a folding fan, waved it behind him. A burly man raised a horn and blew it, the sound powerful and majestic, startling the birds in the nearby forest.
After a while, seeing no response from the ancient tomb, the young man said in a clear voice, “I’m Zhao Min. I’ve heard of Miss Long’s beautiful name and have come to offer my congratulations on this auspicious day.” But he heard a melody playing from within the tomb, seemingly a gesture of dismissal.
The young man didn’t seem bothered. He continued, “Miss Long’s fame is known throughout the land, even Guo Jing, the great hero guarding Xiangyang, has come to participate. Today’s competition is for marriage. While I am not a match for the other heroes, I have come to compete. I hope Miss Long will come out and grant me a few moves to satisfy my wish.”
The sound of the zither suddenly became passionate, expressing her anger. Guo Jing heard the man’s nonsensical speech and was furious. If this gets out, it’ll be laughable that I’m participating in a competition for marriage with an eighteen-year-old girl. He was about to capture the young man, but the monk, raising the golden gong in his hand, blocked him. They fought together.
After waiting for a long time and seeing no response from the tomb, Zhao Min gestured behind him. Several burly men approached, picked up boulders and trees, and threw them towards the entrance of the tomb. Suddenly, a dark shadow flew out of the forest towards the group. As it got closer, they realized it was a swarm of bees, stinging everyone, forcing them to cover their heads and flee.
Zhao Min was startled at first, but quickly reacted and shouted, "What are you afraid of? Set it on fire!" His subordinates understood immediately and took out their fire-starting materials and lit them. The swarm of bees circled a few times, falling to the ground with a loud crackle. Suddenly, the entrance of the tomb shook, a whistle sounded, and the swarm flew back into the forest.
A beautiful woman in white slowly emerged from the tomb. She looked around, seeing the menacing faces of the people in front of her, but she wasn’t afraid. With a serene expression, she said to them softly, “I never mentioned anything about a matchmaking competition. You should leave.”
The crowd was bewildered by her words. They thought she could simply dismiss them with a few words. They found it absurd and burst out laughing.
Zhao Min stepped forward and cupped his hands, “Miss Long, you are truly beautiful as a celestial being. I am smitten with you. Please don’t hesitate to spar with me.”
Little Dragon Girl looked puzzled, “Whether I’m beautiful or not has nothing to do with whether I want to fight you. Why do I have to fight you? And why should I marry you? You talk in circles. You’re not a good person.” She was genuinely confused by his roundabout approach. Since she grew up in the ancient tomb and had limited contact with outsiders, she preferred quiet and her cultivation forbade emotional swings. She was like a blank slate. Though intelligent, she understood nothing about human interactions.
Zhao Min was somewhat speechless. He waited for a while before saying, “When I saw you, I fell in love. Since you don’t want to fight me, and there’s no one objecting, I hope you’ll take pity on me and agree to go back with me and get married. I’ll apologize later.” He completely ignored Guo Jing and the monk who were battling it out fiercely.
Little Dragon Girl remained expressionless, “They don’t object. What does that have to do with me? Why should I fight you? And why should I marry you? You talk nonsense. You’re not a good person.” She was simple-minded and didn’t grasp the connection. She hated his persistence and considered “not a good person” the worst possible label.
Zhao Min hadn’t expected her response. Hearing her assessment, he was speechless for a moment. He found this woman illogical. Zhao Min was known for his cunning strategies, but he couldn’t communicate with this stubborn woman. He barked, “Since no one objects, I, Zhao Min, am the winner of the competition. Miss Long, as a young lady, you’re too shy to agree in person. I’ll take you back with me. We’ll get married and then you can apologize.” He waved behind him and a group of servants rushed forward.
Little Dragon Girl lowered her hands, releasing two white silk ribbons, each tied with jingling copper bells. She was about to attack when she heard a long whistle. A young man in white emerged from the forest and stood in front of her. Without turning around, he looked at the other side, waving his folding fan and saying, “I’m late, I’m late. My apologies. Which country does Zhongnan Mountain belong to? Why don’t you fix the mountain paths? It’s made my journey so frustrating.”