"Husband… I want to make a request."
Her voice was soft, but it echoed through the room. The tone… gentle, elegant, almost heavenly.
And the way she said the word "husband"—shyly, almost reluctantly—made the guards tense slightly.
Meanwhile, inside her head, Ren Fei groaned.
'Ugh… I hate calling him that.'
But she kept her expression perfect.
Then she continued. "Three months from now, we're going to be married… so I thought it would be good to spend some time together. ...To understand each other more."
Ren Ming blinked. He raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised.
This was the first time she had ever asked for anything.
Since the day she was "given" to him, she had never made a request. Never even looked at him directly like this. And now… she wanted to spend time together?
Heh…
'Looks like she finally fell for me.
Well, not that it's surprising. I am me, after all.
It was only a matter of time.'
He glanced at her again, watching her lowered gaze, the shy tone, the elegant posture.
Damn. She was cute when she acted like this.
Before he could speak, Ren Fei added: "I've always been curious about the spiritual beasts around our territory… perhaps we could go on a small adventure?"
Ren Ming tilted his head. An adventure? With her? It was sudden, sure… pretty simple.
He smirked and leaned back slightly.
"Alright. I'll arrange something."
Ren Fei bowed her head once more.
"Thank you, husband."
She turned slowly and left the room.
As soon as the door closed behind her, she let out a long, heavy sigh.
"Haaaah…"
She leaned her back against the wall, her hand gripping her dress tightly.
"It's been months since I've felt this… pull. There's something out there. Something… calling to me."
It didn't make sense. She knew that.
But she couldn't ignore it either. Just like how, since she was a child, she'd feel pain from nowhere. Now, something in the distance was drawing her toward it.
'I really am weirdo, huh…'
Later, early in the morning.
Clang. Clang.
Thud.
The sounds of sword strikes echoed through the clearing. Ren Ming easily took down another low-ranked spiritual beast, his blade glowing faintly with qi as the beast crumpled to the ground.
Not far behind him, Ren Fei stood in silence, flanked by two guards. Their job wasn't to act unless needed—they simply followed and kept her safe. So far, they hadn't moved a muscle.
She stood still, watching from a distance. There was no real danger. No tension. Just Ren Ming showing off.
"Heh! Did you see that, Fei? I'm so strong, huh?"He grinned proudly, arrogance dripping from his voice.
"Y-Yeah…" Ren Fei muttered. She clenched her fist. She didn't feel admiration. She felt something else. Jealousy?
"Heh heh, that's enough now, right?" he said, stretching with a yawn.
"You've been watching for over two hours. Aren't you bored?"
But, the bored tone in his voice was clear, he was the one who clearly bored. Well… he wasn't wrong. These beasts were pathetically weak for him.
But she couldn't leave yet. Not now. Not when she could feel it, so close.
"I still want to see a little more," she said quietly, almost desperately. "Let's head this way…"
Ren Ming blinked, caught off guard.
'I knew she was kind of weird…' His eyes drifted over her—her face, her body. Even for a mortal, she was starting to look dangerously close to his father's wives' beauty.
'Tch, who cares? I could stay here a little bit more. Even though I can have her whenever I want. But if she's fully willing? That's even better. Afterward… she's mine anyway.'
"Of course then. Let's go." He shrugged, turning to follow.
Ren Fei let out a silent breath of relief. They walked. Further and further. The trees grew denser. The path faded.
She could feel it. Whatever had been pulling at her for months—it was right there.
But Ren Ming was growing impatient.
"Hey, Fei," he said sharply. "That's enough. It's already midday. I should be cultivating, you know? You wouldn't want your husband to get weaker, right?"
She flinched. She could hear the irritation in his voice loud and clear.
She couldn't drag this out anymore. She turned to him with a forced smile.
"Okay… but before we go back, I want to pick some flowers. Just a few. It won't take long."
She lied smoothly. Ren Ming sighed.
'Hah… whatever.'
He nodded and leaned back against a tree as Ren Fei walked off with the two guards. Seconds passed. Then minutes.
Still no sign of her return. He tapped his foot.
'Still picking flowers? Is she serious?'
His spiritual sense swept toward her location. Nothing in her hands. No flowers at all.
His eyes narrowed, and without another word, he moved.
Meanwhile, Ren Fei's heart pounded harder with each step.
It was there. She could feel it, just a few more meters.
'Just a little more…' She didn't care what it was anymore. She just had to reach it.
Then,
"What's the meaning of this?"
Ren Ming's voice snapped through the trees. Cold. Angry, Ren Fei's body froze for a moment.
There was no excuse, and no words came to her lips. She didn't even bother to explain. Before she could stop herself, she lunged forward.
The two guards and Ren Ming stared in stunned silence.
Had she lost her mind? Ignoring the lord's son, after pulling something stupid joke like this, to his face?
Ren Ming recovered quickly. His body surged forward, and in a few moments, he grabbed her arm, squeezing with force to make her stop.
"Where do you think you are going—"
BAM!
He staggered. A fist had hit his face, it didn't hurt even slightly, but it made him stunned... She actually dared!?
'She… she hit me? She HIT ME?!'
He stared at her in disbelief as she bolted forward.
Everyone froze.
His body surged with fury, burning in rage—but before he could react, the time itself seemed to slow.
Ren Fei knelt down, reaching toward the ground. Her eyes narrowed.
"…It's just a rock?"
She picked it up slowly. Confused.
"Why would I be drawn to a—"
Before she could finish, a strange light pulsed from beneath the stone.
A small vortex opened,
And then—
FLASH.
The world turned white, and in the blink of an eye,
They were gone.
The guards stood frozen, eyes wide.
Somewhere…
The vortex reappeared.
With a soft glow, it threw two figures onto the ground, Ren Fei and Ren Ming.
Then a godly voice echoed, calm and playful.
"Hehe… Welcome to my inheritance."
Important Note: (Please Read)
Hi... I just wanted to say sorry for the messy start so far.
To be honest, I didn't want to dive straight into the main story, so I tried adding a little character development at the beginning. But I didn't want it to be boring either, so it ended up being a little bit messy.
Looking back now, I guess I made a bad decision… by being indecisive.
Please don't bully me in the comments!!!
I swear I'll improve the writing as the actual story begins from here on.
Thanks.