24 Infernal Wrath Hornet

Atop Sunset Mountain, the sun was just beginning to rise when Mei Lin saw Min Hong returning with the marriage contract in hand. Despite this being what she wanted, she couldn't bear to do it. She trembled when she saw the contents from her position, and despite being a thin sheet of paper; it appeared to weigh a ton in her eyes, for some mysterious reasons.

As Min Hong presented it to her, she couldn't help but retreat a few steps; she was dreading the harmless piece of paper.

Seeing this, Min Hong couldn't help but smile slightly. He took more steps closer to her, until they were only separated by the borders of their breaths; then with a gentle grab of her hand, he slipped the contract into her grasp.

Upon feeling the touch of her skin however, Min Hong couldn't help but swallow; his heart trembled, and it took a great deal of effort to keep himself calm.

"Take it. You're a kind girl, and although the situation is as it is, I don't hate you for it in the slightest."

Feeling his gently and yet firm grab on her delicate hands, Mei Lin's heart trembled as well. Though, she had initially wanted to take her hand back, but when she saw the smile through which he said those words, she couldn't help but let it stay for a while longer.

It was as if she couldn't control her own body. Min Hong's words were like a scalding divine sword piercing through the ice she had built around her heart before she came over.

"Min Hong, I'm sorry…" She choked out as tears finally began to spill down her rosy cheeks.

Seeing this, Min Hong's heart plummeted even further; this was a sin; an utter blaspheme. To make such an adorably beautiful young fairy spill tears, he felt like hitting himself a bit.

"You really are a kind woman. I should take my leave now while I still can…" He added as he reached out and wiped away her tears.

It was with great strength and absolute restraint that he managed to keep himself from being engrossed with the sensation her soft cheeks were giving him. Her charm was simply too fatal.

"Mei Lin, none of this is your fault. If you want to blame someone, you should blame our fathers. Those two old conkers played a practical joke on us." He added with a dashing smile.

Mei Lin saw this and was a little stricken, but when she processed the ridiculous and unfilial words that preceded it, she couldn't help but let out a soft bell-like laugh, with the smile blossoming on her tear-streaked face sending several blows at Min Hong's overburdened willpower.

Instantly, he became entranced by her irreplicable beauty, causing him to enchantedly let slip:

"Mei Lin, you really are beautiful."

However, the moment the words left his lips, Min Hong regretted them as he mentally cursed his unreliable willpower. Despite all his attempts at self-control, the stupid willpower couldn't just keep is draconic tendencies at bay for a few more minutes.

He was so furious that he desired to beat himself up a bit; if this had been anyone else; Fatty Yu for instance, he would have smacked the latter at the back of his head. 

Fortunately, Mei Lin wasn't pissed at the remark, neither did she pull away from him; instead, her faced reddened further, before she then rolled her eyes adorably. Another cute action that sent further blows barreling towards Min Hong's defeated willpower. It was a one-sided slaughter.

'Fuck this! Min Hong if you miss out on such a beautiful woman, just return here and jump off that cliff. At least that way you can end it where it all started.' Min Hong thought to himself; or did he?

'Right, I just have to do everything I can. I can care less about saving face at this point.' He replied himself before heaving a sigh.

Letting go of Mei Lin's hand, Min Hong left the marriage contract in her delicate grasp.

"Actually, with your current status, you didn't even need to notice my existence; after all, we're two people in two different worlds. However, you still came.

I know that you came because you didn't want me to harbor any false hope and have me waiting forever till the end. For you to want this is completely faultless. On the contrary, I am extremely grateful to you."

"Min Hong, are you just saying this to try and make me feel less guilty? Because if you are, you're doing an awfully bad job at it." Mei Lin interrupted with a trembling voice as she looked away, blinked rapidly and swallowed difficultly.

With the marriage contract in her hand, she couldn't help but sniff repeatedly, before using her free hands to wipe her cheeks.

"I'm not trying to make you feel anything, I'm simply stating the truth. But from today onwards, I have a distant goal now." Min Hong added with a dashing smile.

"Huh; what is it?" Mei Lin looked back and stared at his smile.

"From today onwards, I will put all my effort into obtaining undeniable strength. Once I achieve that, I'll come find you. Though our current marriage arrangement has become invalid, but starting today, I'll do things the right way and start chasing after you, starting from this moment."

Though he was smiling, the sheer amount of determination that was oozing through his vibes was so palpable, it was almost tasteable.

Seeing the level of resoluteness with which he spoke those words, Mei Lin's heart couldn't help but flutter, leaving her speechlessly stunned.

This was the first time she had ever met someone who would so boldly confess to her, and even more shocking was the fact that this person was a man who she had just personally broke his heart.

Several thoughts flooded her mind, leaving her emotions in utter disarray; she simply didn't know how to respond to it. Should she decline or accept? However, neither her emotions or logic was rational enough to give her advise.

"You don't need to feel any pressure as this is just my own wishful thinking. A gentle maiden like yourself is someone worthy for me, Min Hong, to guard with my life. But to do that, I need to obtain enough strength to back it up.

I have to properly cultivate and become a true expert; only then will I have the qualifications to protect you. Even if I have to go beyond the confines of capabilities, this is one goal that I must achieve. It doesn't matter if you accept or decline, since I know where my heart lies, I will make sure I see and follow this through." He added resolutely.

Mei Lin's went utterly rosy in the face of such conviction. Though she initially came from humble origins, ever since she had entered into an immortal temple, everything had changed. This was the first time anyone had dared to be so brazen in front of her.

Seeing his determined expression, her stormy emotions was suddenly taken on a rollercoaster ride; turning them into an absolute mess.

Seeing her speechless and noticing her poise, Min Hong couldn't help but commend his guts for creating such an opportunity for him.

Right now, the most important thing was for Mei Lin to feel no form of dislike toward him; just that bit would be considered an absolute success, and a small step forward. The following steps would be to continue stirring her emotions until he moved her core.

Min Hong was just about to continue when a terrifying suddenly bore down on the area. Sensing this, Mei Lin's expression swiftly changed as she stepped forward and placed Min Hong behind her.

She went into a defensive stance as she readied herself for whatever was coming. However, after a brief moment, she suddenly heaved a relieved sigh, before relaxing slightly.

A few blinks later, a huge hornet appeared over them. This hornet was at least ten meters long with a fifteen meter wingspan that was barely visible due to how rapidly they were flittering. 

Min Hong's heart shook when he saw this beast; not only was it of a Second Rank, it was also exceptionally short tempered Savage Beast; it was an Infernal Wrath Stinger. 

Even a Third Rank Savage Beast would flee in the face of this beast when provoked. Not only was it's venom fiery; it was the type that was fashioned to melt its victim from its inside out, provided the victim escaped decapacitation from its massive and spine-tingling mandibles.

But after a brief moment of fear, Min Hong suddenly gazed at Mei Lin's beautiful back:

'You may be able to stand in front of me this time, but I will stand in front of you for a lifetime.' He vowed to himself as his heart toughed itself, dispersing his fears with the gusts brought by the hornet.

Suddenly, a man jumped off the hornet's back; he appeared to be in his early twenties. Tall, handsome with an air of nobility rippling out his poise and gait. However, there was this arrogance written all over his face that made Min Hong want to pummel him into oblivion.

As soon as the man saw Mei Lin however, his eyes lit up with an unconcealed adoration.

"Junior apprentice-sister, master is very displeased that you haven't returned in so long, so he sent me to bring you back."

At first, he was smiling brightly, but as soon as he saw Long Chen, he frowned and asked:

"Who is this? Could it be…?"

Coldness bloomed from beneath the arrogance on his face, but once again, he swiftly concealed it.

"Don't be crazy. I'm just asking this young master some questions." Mei Lin evidently wasn't good at lying and panic briefly flashed in her eyes.

Turning to Long Chen, she hurriedly added; "Young master, thank you for your help."

The look within her gaze held many unsaid words and feelings; however, before Min Hong could make them out, she had already floated onto her bird and ascended into the skies.

The man glanced at Min Hong before snorting coldly. Then with a casual point of his finger, a transparent arrow arrived before Min Hong. Min Hong was still caught up in his thoughts, trying to decrypt the message within Mei Lin's gaze, so he didn't even notice the assault.

He hadn't expected to be on the receiving end of any sudden sneak attack, thus, he was completely caught offguard and utterly unable to dodge in time.

Furthermore, the arrow had been condensed from an extremely powerful mental sense, so it was invisible to the six senses. If an ordinary person were to be struck by it, it would instantly shatter their consciousness and reduce such a person to a simpleton.

Since he was no longer able to dodge due to his negligence, he could only hastily create a barrier with his Soul Qi through his spirit sense. Although his spirit sense was great, he had never cultivated any soul arts, so he could only waste his Soul Qi by sending it out in a short but forceful burst.

However, another arrow suddenly appeared out of nowhere; intercepting the man's arrow and shattering it into nothingness. However, the explosion from the clash rippled towards Min Hong, ripping his burst of Soul Qi to shreds before sending him skidding back several feet.

"Senior apprentice-brother Ji, master would be quite displeased to learn that you attacked an ordinary mortal like this."

At some unknown time, another maiden had appeared beside the two of them.

Senior apprentice-brother Ji's expression changed slightly, but he still laughed:

"Junior apprentice-sister, you misunderstand me; I'm just testing him out a bit. How could I possibly really hurt him?"

Min Hong's expression instantly warped and turned extremely ugly at this point.

Asides the fact that he was able to sense the sheer amount of power contained within the arrow; the fact that the resulting explosion from the clash had sent skidding several feet away, it was definitely meant to cripple him, or even kill him if unlucky.

But it wasn't just that he had attacked him. The look he had given Mei Lin had also caused Min Hong to form a seed of hatred towards him within his heart. Adding the attack on to that, the seed had now been planted, and Min Hong was absolutely incensed.

"Young master, this is an inner disciple of our Soul Spirit Temple. His cultivation is very high, so you'll have to work hard." She left those words behind alongside a knowing wink at Min Hong.

"Senior apprentice-brother Ji, let's go." Despite her words, the maiden intentionally waited for the man to leave with or before her.

Senior Ji derisively glanced at Min Hong for a moment, before letting out an indifferent chuckle. With a light stomp, he landed atop his Infernal Wrath Hornet before departing with the young maiden.

"Brother fucking Ji, I definitely won't forget this!" Min Hong furiously cursed beneath his breath.