STNS: Chapter 517 (Patreon)

The entire arena went silent as Hóngyàn Shūshu skidded across the ground, eventually coming to a halt right before Zhen Lian Huǐxiāo. The woman was still kneeling on the ground. She held the glass container in her hand and presented it to him as though offering up tribute.

“D-did I hear that right?” someone in the stands next to Youmei asked out loud.

“If you’re asking whether or not you really heard Zhen Lian, of all people, asking for just asked for Hóngyàn’s hand in marriage… then you’d be right.”

Youmei perked her ears only slightly to listen into the conversations around her, all of which ran along the same lines as that one, but most of her attention was on Hóngyàn Shūshu. What would he do? What would he say? She wanted to know how this would all play out.

While Youmei had never cared to be in a romantic relationship herself, she had seen her master’s many romantic relationships with all her big sisters. It had created an interest in romance in general. There were many different relationships out there, not just the one with her master and big sisters. She wanted to know what other people did in these situations.

The silence stretched on. Hóngyàn Shūshu stood there in complete shock, his mouth agape like he was trying to catch flies in it.  Zhen Lian Huǐxiāo was still kneeling. However, her face was becoming increasingly more red the longer the silence stretched on, until eventually, she couldn’t take it.

“Why are you so silent?! Say something, dammit!”

“I… uh… Well, I… I don’t know what to say… this is all so sudden…” Hóngyàn Shūshu scratched his cheek and looked away. His eyes surveyed the massive crowd before them, and he gulped so audibly that Youmei could see his hóujié bob.

The hóujié was the prominent lump in the throat. Hóu meant throat and jié meant knot or node. Master had taught this to her a long time ago when she asked why men have one and women didn’t.

“Just answer me honestly! I’m pouring my heart out to you! Do you know how embarrassing this is for me?! I feel humiliated!”

“Ah… mmm… yeah, I suppose it would be embarrassing…”

Hóngyàn Shūshu had never looked more discombobulated than he did right now.

“If you know that, then why aren’t you answering me?! Do you mean to humiliate me further?!”

“No… I just… I don’t know what to say…”

“Ugh, why did I fall in love with such a useless man!”

“U-useless?! Why are you insulting me?!”

Hóngyàn Shūshu grew red in the face, but this looked more like anger than embarrassment.

“Because you’re acting like a simpering coward! If you’re a man, then man up and answer my confession already!”

Though his anger could not match Zhen Lian Huǐxiāo’s. Her entire face was burning up. It looked like someone had lit her face on fire. Her tear-filled eyes were narrowed with anger and consternation, and her mouth was wrinkled in a fierce scowl.

“It’s not that simple! All this time, I thought you were a dangerous person who wanted to usurp control over the Colosseum!” He pointed an accusing finger at her. “And it’s not like you ever did anything to dissuade me of this idea either!”

“That’s because you never believed me when I said I didn’t care about this Colosseum! You just made your own assumptions about me even though I never once said anything about wanting to control this stupid place!”

“What else was I supposed to think when you kept asking to have my children?!”

“Did it occur to you that maybe I just wanted your babies?!”

“NO!”

“That’s because you’re an idiot!”

“Yeah?! Well… you fell in love with this idiot!”

“And I regret that every day!”

Youmei watched alongside the rest of the crowd in stunned silence as the pair argued. They did not act like any couple she had ever seen. She would have thought it was because they weren’t an official couple, but Wu Jian had never acted like that with her big sisters even when they weren’t going out. He had always been kind and courteous to them.

These two… are weird.

As the pair’s arguing continued, the people in the stands began to grow dissatisfied.

“Hey, hey! I came here to see a fight, not a lover’s spat! I want my money back!”

“If you two are going to argue like an old married couple, then get a room and bring out the next round of fighters!”

Hisses and boos rang out all around Youmei, though the pair down below did not seem to be paying attention. They were still arguing.

“If you regret it, then maybe you should just leave me alone!”

“Are you saying you want me to leave you alone?!”

“I didn’t say… that’s not what I meant!”

“Then what did you mean?! Speak clearly. Stop acting like a woman! It’s disturbing!”

“You want me to stop acting like a woman?! Fine! Then I’ll just do whatever I want!”

Hóngyàn Shūshu grabbed Zhen Lian Huǐxiāo’s hand and pulled her to her feet. She dropped the glass case containing the flower, but she was unable to pick it up as Hóngyàn Shūshu yanked her to his chest. He grabbed her chin roughly, leaned down, and pressed his mouth to hers. Youmei had seen many kisses, including rough ones. Lili Dàjiě really liked it when her master was rough with her. This was a lot different, however. It wasn’t just rough. It was also clumsy. Even Youmei could tell this man had never kissed anyone before now.

Zhen Lian Huǐxiāo eventually pulled away, gasping for air. She placed her hands on his chest, as though to keep him at bay, and took several deep breaths. The look she gave him was full of consternation.

“You’re an awful kisser,” she mumbled.

“Sh-shut up! As if you’re any better!”

“We will see about that.”

With those words, Zhen Lian Huǐxiāo gripped the back of Hóngyàn Shūshu’s head and pulled his mouth back to hers.

***

Several days had passed since Zhen Lian Huǐxiāo’s arena confession. Youmei hadn’t seen hide nor hair of either her or Hóngyàn Shūshu. She heard a rumor that they had locked themselves up in Zhen Lian Huǐxiāo’s room, but when she went there to check, she hadn’t seen them. That meant they were not there. She suspected they had run off somewhere together, though she did not know where.

She had spent much of her time battling in the arena. Ever since she reached greater heights in her cultivation, she had been on a winning streak, and today marked her sixth consecutive win. She still needed quite a few more before she could reach the next rank in the arena, but she was confident she’d be able to reach it soon rather than later.

It was early morning, not that she could see the rising sun in a building that had no windows, and she was sitting at a table in the mess hall, eating a large plate of beef. Youmei knew she should save her points for when she needed to get Master’s medicinal ingredients, but she also wanted to eat meat. She moaned around a juicy peace of bovine. The succulent meat did wonders for her mood. It was so juicy and tasty that her tastebuds felt like they were going to burst.

As she was eating, a voice entered her ears as though traveling on the wind.

“Come to my room,” the voice said.

“Zhen Lian Huǐxiāo?”

Youmei stood up and looked around. Several people looked in her direction, but she ignored them, turning her head left, then right. The person she sought wasn’t there.

Sitting back down, she quickly finished her meal, stacked her plates up, and left the mess hall. She walked through several corridors and up a flight of stairs, eventually reaching Zhen Lian Huǐxiāo’s room.

She entered without knocking.

“You wanted to speak with me?” she asked.

“Even now, you refuse to knock,” Zhen Lian Huǐxiāo said with a sigh, though she was also smiling.

“Oh?” Youmei took in Zhen Lian Huǐxiāo and the person laying beside her. “Were you two naked hugging? Should I come back?”

“Please don’t call it that, and don’t worry. We’re done for now,” Zhen Lian Huǐxiāo said.

She and Hóngyàn Shūshu were lying in bed. They were both naked. Hóngyàn Shūshu was sound asleep, his lower body hidden underneath the covers but his upper body exposed. This was her first time seeing him. He was a lot thinner than she might have expected, though his lithe body was covered in strong muscles. Zhen Lian Huǐxiāo was also naked, of course, but she was sitting up in bed so her chest and stomach were exposed. Some hair trailed down her front, partially obscuring her boobs.

“You said you wanted to speak with me?” Youmei said.

“In a manner of speaking. Actually, I have a gift for you. It’s on that table over there,” Zhen Lian Huǐxiāo said, gesturing to a beautifully crafted table with her chin. Sitting on the table were several expensive-looking glass containers with sealing arrays on them. Youmei recognized them as arrays meant to keep the items contained inside fresh.

“Is this…?”

“Golden Thread Root. Mystic Dew Herb. Celestial Lotus Pollen,” Zhen Lian Huǐxiāo recited as though reading from a scroll. “Those are the ingredients you needed to heal your master, yes?”

“They are…”

“I am feeling quite generous these days, so I went out and found them for you. Feel free to thank me.”

Youmei turned to Zhen Lian Huǐxiāo and gave her the biggest, brightest smile ever.

“Thank you! Zhen Lian Huǐxiāo!”

“Hmph. I see you still won’t get rid of that disrespectful nickname, however.”

“Of course not! It suits you so well!”

Thanks to Zhen Lian Huǐxiāo, Youmei had all the ingredients she had sought out, which meant she had no reason to stay in the Colosseum. Of course, she couldn’t just leave. Those in charge would not let her. Not even Zhen Lian Huǐxiāo and Hóngyàn Shūshu could do that right away, but they told her not to worry and just continue fighting in the arena while they spoke with their peers.

Another week went by. Youmei won several more battles. At the end of the week, Hóngyàn Shūshu came and gave her the good news that she was free. Youmei didn’t know how he had done or, and she didn’t really care. She could now leave the arena and make her way back toward her master. She had missed him terribly and wanted to see him again. She wanted him to pat her head and tell her she did a good job.

That day after her last battle, Youmei stood outside of the Colosseum. While this wasn’t her first time leaving the Colosseum, which she had also done when acquiring the flower for Zhen Lian Huǐxiāo, it was her first time standing outside of the entrance. Zhen Lian Huǐxiāo and Hóngyàn Shūshu were present as well. They were there to see her off.

“Remember to take care of yourself, and be sure not to get captured by any strange men anymore,” Hóngyàn Shūshu said to her.

Youmei nodded. “Don’t worry. I’ve learned my lesson. I will be much more careful from now on.”

“I doubt we will ever see each other again, but if you do ever find yourself in the area, feel free to stop by and visit,” Zhen Lian Huǐxiāo said. “I will let the guards know you are welcome inside as our guest.”

“I will! Thank you! I’ll see you later! Zhen Lian Huǐxiāo! Hóngyàn Shūshu!”

“I really wish you would stop calling me Huǐxiāo,” Zhen Lian Huǐxiāo said with a sigh, but Youmei was not paying attention. She was already traveling off. The two stood there and watched as the young magical beast raced off into the distance.

“Do you think she will be all right?” asked Zhen Lian Huǐxiāo.

Hóngyàn Shūshu glanced at her. “Are you worried about her?”

“Of course. Are you not?” asked Zhen Lian Huǐxiāo.

He shrugged. “Not really. Youmei is strong. I’m sure she will be fine.”

“I suppose you are right,” Zhen Lian Huǐxiāo placed a hand on her chin. “Still, I do hope we will see her again.”

“If fate allows it, we will.”