18 The Man I Wished to Marry

"Most things in this world are hideous. You're sure lucky if you managed to find something beautiful." Lu Bang only huffed as if uncaring of her bitter mood. "You once asked me why I'm staying here despite losing my golden core, right? It's because my home is the only place where I find the light. Unlike the other sects who had gone hungry for power, the Huayuan Lin sect kept its dream of standing as a beacon of hope. Our father failed to uphold it since he died. I believe Lin Kun would be able to do so, and I'm staying with him as long as he needs me."

Sun Yin stared at him. A smile curled her lips as she pulled her knees to her face. "Ah, how nice. Then again, what do you think will happen if I destroy the rest of the sects aside from Huayuan Lin sect? Would you think the survivors will urge him to destroy me?"

Lu Bang stayed quiet for a moment. He tilted his head to the side as if thinking. "Well, if the sect gets in danger because of this, then he might. He probably told you that.

"In fact, that's his most used silent threat. Not because it's scary, but because he regards nothing more important than this sect."

"What about you? Aren't you more important?"

"He's a bit happy I lost my core. I won't be seen as a threat so he's free to keep me around."

Sun Yin covered her mouth with her sleeve. "I heard you were the best among the disciples before. How exactly are you going to be a threat? Challenging Lin Kun's claim as the master of the sect?"

The man only chuckled. "The sects before must be so pure if you think like that—"

"I don't know. I didn't have a sect since the Hushe Sun sect was wiped out." She stretched her legs along the roof. "My sect was small—only a couple less than a hundred. It was indeed pure—everyone who got married into the family was being renewed. No other sect teachings flowed into our books, and everyone restarted cultivation when they became one of us."

The male sat up and squinted at the girl. "I don't think anyone would like to gamble restarting their cultivation. Why would they do that?"

Sun Yin pouted as if guessing. "Probably because they wished to serve something bigger than themselves, which was what the Hushe Sun sect was all about. Keeping the dead company so they would never haunt the living. Preventing dark energy from accumulating in places unsupervised by the sect. Everything that... I did the opposite."

"The Hushe sect was destroyed by those who wanted to take advantage of its power. Making them taste their own medicine was acceptable to a point." Lu Bang only waved his hand. "The only problem was that everyone hated that power when it's not on their side. They turned you into a villain—

"Ah, that's right. As long as you're on our side, the Huayuan Lin sect wouldn't probably be against you." Lu Bang wrinkled his face as if unconvinced by his own words. "Then again, as things stand, the Heici Xu sect still got the Cinder Army. To everyone else's eyes, the Bride of Corpses is still the enemy."

"Then I won't be the Bride of Corpses from now on." Sun Yin smiled at the horizon, watching the first light break into the night. "I would be Sun Yin of the Huayuan Lin sect, and the woman who won against the Bride."

Lu Bang lifted his hand and hesitated to pet the woman. She was too beautiful to be treated like a child. However, he still did so, uncaring of the braids tied around her head. Sun Yin failed to care as well, liking the touch. Lu Bang's hand was like a father's hand praising his daughter.

The two continued to watch the sunrise from the roof. Soon, they had gone down to eat breakfast in the canteen of the disciples. The handmaidens then took Sun Yin with them to prepare for her journey. For some reasons, she was being treated like an important lady with the quality of bath and clothes she received. She thought it was either they think she was Lin Kun's woman or that Lin Kun asked them to do so. She would be standing next to his beloved brother after all.

Unlike her, Lu Bang prepared on his own. He had only a few to pack. He finished right before Sun Yin met up with him by the western gates of Huayuan even though he started three hours later than her. Lin Kun walked with Sun Yin, seeing them off along with some other disciples. In fact, Brother Shen was there to personally thank the lady before she leaves.

"We would be gone for days. Make use of everything I had taught you in case they attack again." Sun Yin spoke to Lin Kun like she was his mother. "They won't attack hastily though. They lost a lot of their soldiers, and they have yet to acquire Yuanyan to quickly mend the bodies. Take care of yourselves."

"So should you." Lin Kun clasped his hands as he bid her goodbye. He turned to Lu Bang and did the same. "Be safe in your journey, brother. I wish for your fast return."

"Yeah, I'll see you soon." Lu Bang returned the salute before turning to Sun Yin. He knew she was up to something when she strayed from the group.

She placed her fingers in her mouth before whistling. It was then followed by loud footsteps and the ground trembling. However, only a few were shocked by what they saw next. The Huiqi Tiger had appeared from the canopy and ran towards his master. Sun Yin stroked at the cat's nose bridge before looking back at the group. She only smiled before Lu Bang started walking towards them.

Lin Kun twitched before going out to chase his brother. "Lu Bang!" He caught up with him and untied Huaban from his waist. "Please take Huaban with you. I know it would be impossible to battle the Cinder Army with just her, but I would feel better knowing that you have her."

"Are you sure Xiangwei and Fenqi would be enough?" Lu Bang hesitated to take the embodiment of his brother's worry.

"Worry not, Fenqi has accepted me as his new master. If I could, I would use him to his full extent when if the need arises." Lin Kun lifted Buyue's sheath as he looked at it when he spoke. "It feels weird that the dark energy would not infect me, only Xiangwei... which had formed its own mind as well.

"Saying so, I think you'd find Huaban more dependable than ever." He smiled at his brother. "She only needed to feed on Lady Sun's energy to move around. She also had formed a mind of her own. Even though that's not a good thing, I wish to keep what I had gained for now."

"Nah, it's all for the protection of the city and the sect." Lu Bang patted Kin Kun's head twice before abruptly bringing his hand down. "Stay safe." Before the other elites would comment, he jogged to where the cat was.

The male hopped into its lowered back with Sun Yin holding out her hand to assist him. The cat then stood high before walking away. Soon, it started running off to the direction of the harbor city where they could catch a boat to hire.

Sun Yin then giggled as Lu Bang fixed Huaban's sheath on his waist. "He still feels comfortable carrying your sword around instead of his."

"Stop teasing Lin Kun even if he is not around." Lu Bang huffed before holding onto the stiff fur of the Huiqi Tiger.

He noticed that they could only sit comfortably on its back because its vertebra was already showing. It did not smell that awful as well. Perhaps the woman had done something to it, or that he had smelled something way worse so his nose did not mind at all.

"I wonder when will he start depending on someone else... like a wife? He can't keep you to himself forever as well, you know."

"Do you want to be his woman one way or another?"

"Why should I be? He's interesting and all, but not the type of person I would like to stay with. He's a very cute little brother though. So thoughtful and decisive of what he wants."

Lu Bang squinted at her. He could only see the top of her head since she was sitting in front of him. He then brought his eyes up and saw the fast pacing of their surroundings as the Huiqi Tiger ran across the forests and plains heading north.

He sighed as if he knew Sun Yin was still waiting for his answer. "I don't think he'll think of getting a wife soon. He could barely fit himself in his priorities. What more of a wife?"

"We should seek a wife for him along the way. Like… a daughter from the Haiyang Cheng sect?"

"There's only one daughter from the main family, and she's a feisty piece of crap."

==END OF VOLUME 1==