“Responsibility?”
Gu Ming thought he had misheard his own ears. He couldn’t help but repeat the word until he saw Ling Yuyan nod seriously. A bad premonition began to stir in his heart.
“You’ve already heard my secret,” she said with a mischievous smile. “Therefore, you have to take responsibility for me.”
“But I already told you I didn’t want to hear it. You were the one who insisted on telling me,” Gu Ming replied, feeling somewhat speechless.
“Do you… truly have the heart to watch a beautiful flower be planted in cow dung?” Ling Yuyan looked at Gu Ming with a piteous expression.
“A flower… planted in cow dung?” Gu Ming was completely baffled.
“My father wants to form an alliance through marriage with the Hundred Flowers Valley. He intends to betroth me to Gu Ziye, but I am unwilling. So, he told me that I must find a suitable husband for myself. Otherwise, I will have to marry Gu Ziye.” Ling Yuyan let out a long sigh.
“Hmm… Looking at it that way, it seems your father is actually quite reasonable.” Based on what Ling Yuyan said, Gu Ming didn’t think the situation sounded that bad.
“Not at all.” Ling Yuyan curled her lip. “Both the Lingyun Pavilion and the Hundred Flowers Valley are among the five major powers of the Righteous Path Alliance. Anyone who dares to become my husband would effectively become an enemy to both of those massive organizations. My father has already made that clear.”
“He is certain that no one would dare to provoke the Lingyun Pavilion and the Hundred Flowers Valley.”
Hearing this, Gu Ming felt a headache coming on. “So you’ve had your eye on me from the very beginning. This wasn’t about apologizing for your brother at all.”
He rubbed his furrowed brow. “If possible, could you tell me why?”
“Because you defeated my brother! He is one of the top experts in the Lingyun Pavilion, so your strength is sufficient. And — ” Ling Yuyan’s lively eyes darted around as she gave a mischievous grin. “You also broke Gu Ziye’s hand in front of everyone. With Gu Ziye’s petty personality, he will definitely come looking for trouble with you later. Since you’ve already made an enemy of him and I don’t like him either, we are on the same side.”
“Gu Ziye has already been taken away and locked up by Saintess Mountain. He doesn’t pose a threat to me,” Gu Ming countered.
“You’re wrong,” Ling Yuyan said, her expression turning serious. “The reason the five major powers of the Righteous Path Alliance are what they are isn’t just because of their individual strength. Their relationships are deeply intertwined behind the scenes, and they share hidden interests with one another.”
“Even though Gu Ziye publicly insulted the Saintess, he will eventually be released. It’s only a matter of time. After all, he is currently the only son of the Hundred Flowers Valley Master, making him incredibly precious to them,” Ling Yuyan continued. “As soon as he gets out — no, perhaps even before he gets out — his father will come for you with a giant blade in hand.”
“Besides, do you think you’ve only provoked the Hundred Flowers Valley? You’ve already offended our Lingyun Pavilion as well,” Ling Yuyan added.
“Just because I beat your brother?” Gu Ming was speechless. Why were these major powers all so petty?
“Wrong. It’s because you broke Gu Ziye’s hand,” Ling Yuyan explained. “My father is very close friends with the Hundred Flowers Valley Master. Breaking Gu Ziye’s hand is the same as breaking the hand of my father’s designated son-in-law. You’ve offended two major powers all at once.”
Upon hearing those words, Gu Ming couldn’t help but frown. It turned out that he had unwittingly stirred up such a huge mess.
‘This is a bad start.’
Gu Ming sighed. He had originally wanted to keep a low profile, but it seemed there was no way to do that now.
“Furthermore, even if you win first place in this Martial Arts Tournament, so what? Do you think Saintess Mountain would dare to take you in? Will the Saintess protect you? Would they offend the Lingyun Pavilion and the Hundred Flowers Valley for your sake?” Ling Yuyan asked earnestly. “Therefore, as long as you want to continue surviving here, you have no choice.”
“Become my fiancé!” Ling Yuyan seriously extended her hand. “I need you, and you need me even more. With me protecting you, they won’t dare to act recklessly.”
Looking at the fair, delicate hand Ling Yuyan held out, Gu Ming fell into deep thought. It was true; he had no background, no power, and no information network in this place. It would be very easy to suffer a setback.
The only person he could rely on was the Alliance Leader, but the man had never contacted him.
He even suspected that the Alliance Leader might have forgotten about an undercover agent like him.
So, instead of relying on an uncertain Alliance Leader, it would indeed be a good thing to join forces with Ling Yuyan.
Once he reached a conclusion, Gu Ming reached out and shook her hand.
Ling Yuyan smiled. “Then, from now on, please take care of me, fiancé.”
“Please take care of me too.” Gu Ming nodded, though he felt that something wasn’t quite right, even if he couldn’t put his finger on why.
“By the way, as long as you win two more rounds tomorrow, you’ll end up facing me. When that happens, please go easy on me,” Ling Yuyan said with a laugh.
“Umm…” After a moment of silence, Gu Ming voiced his confusion. “I can understand why your brother is competing, but why are you in the tournament as well?”
Ling Yuyan replied with a straight face, “To look for a candidate for a fiancé, of course!”
Gu Ming: “…”
That evening, upon learning that Gu Ming didn’t have a place to stay yet, Ling Yuyan immediately arranged a courtyard for him to stay in for the time being. It was right next to hers.
Gu Ming was very grateful, mostly because Ling Yuyan had made the arrangements without asking him too many questions.
—
The next day, Gu Ming and Ling Yuyan left together and arrived at the tournament grounds. They happened to run into Ling Yunfeng.
As usual, Ling Yunfeng was surrounded by a crowd of beautiful women.
He looked quite troubled, yet he was forced to patiently comfort the women around him.
However, as soon as he saw Gu Ming and Ling Yuyan appearing together as a pair, Ling Yunfeng sensed that something was wrong. After quickly dismissing the women with a few kind words, he walked toward them.
“Little Sister, Brother Nameless.” Ling Yunfeng greeted them first, then looked them over with a strange expression. “Do you two know each other?”
Just as Gu Ming was about to speak, Ling Yuyan beat him to it. She hooked her arm around his, and Gu Ming felt a sudden softness against his arm.
He looked at Ling Yuyan in surprise, but her gaze was fixed on Ling Yunfeng. “He is my fiancé.”
Huh?!!!
Ling Yunfeng suspected he had misheard. He scolded her, “Little Sister, stop fooling around. How can you say such things so carelessly?”
“I’m not talking nonsense,” Ling Yuyan emphasized.
Ling Yunfeng rubbed his furrowed brow and asked, “How long have you two known each other?”
“We met last night.”
“What?!”
Ling Yunfeng felt more and more like Ling Yuyan was just causing trouble. Unexpectedly, when he heard her next sentence, he felt as if his world had collapsed.
“We had an in-depth exchange last night, and then he became my fiancé.”
Ling Yunfeng felt as if he had been struck by lightning. He stood there dazed. “Little Sister, how could you — “
Gu Ming was equally shocked.
‘Wait. What is she saying?’
Gu Ming was completely speechless.
“Therefore, I won’t marry anyone but him!” Ling Yuyan hugged Gu Ming’s arm even tighter.