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Chapter 5 — “Freedom in Love and Marriage!”
Su Cheng froze completely.
She could hear the man’s breath draw in—like a hunting hound locking onto its target. His lips were so close they almost brushed the hollow of her shoulder.
Beastmen had high body temperatures too. His steady, prolonged exhale rolled over her like scorching heatwaves, seeping through her clothes and searing into the wound beneath.
Su Cheng instinctively tried to pull away, but another hand caught her shoulder. A gloved palm pressed firmly against her shoulder blade, pinning her in place.
They were too close.
Above his head, long animal ears swayed occasionally, the soft fur at their tips trembling with every subtle movement.
They were almost touching her face.
“……”
Su Cheng, against all reason, reached out and pinched one.
So soft!
The fur on the ear tip was softer than she had imagined—like silk wrapped in cotton. When her fingers rubbed against it, she could feel the fine downy strands brushing against her skin.
Almost instinctively, she stroked the soft cartilage behind the ear.
A suppressed breath suddenly escaped the man’s throat.
The hand on her shoulder tightened sharply. “You—”
“……”
Su Cheng felt like she might die right there.
But since she’d already touched it, she might as well…
She rubbed it again.
Ling Yang: “……”
The holy knights in the courtyard: “…………”
Their expressions were hidden behind helmets, unreadable—but their breathing collectively stopped for a few seconds.
Clearly, everyone had seen it.
Su Cheng cleared her throat and withdrew her hand with utmost seriousness. “There seemed to be a mosquito on your ear just now.”
The red-haired man straightened, looking at her with a half-smile. “Why—”
Su Cheng wanted to slap herself.
There weren’t even mosquitoes here in spring, what was she thinking?
“…Do you get mosquitoes in spring in this place?”
The legion commander chuckled slowly, seemingly genuinely puzzled.
Su Cheng: “?”
She immediately latched onto the excuse. “The climate here is just kind of weird—”
Suddenly, Ling Yang raised a hand and pressed it against her forehead.
Su Cheng immediately went still.
A commander of the Church’s holy knights—someone of this caliber—was at the very top of combat strength.
One flick of his finger and she’d be paste.
Through the glove, she felt a cool, smooth touch.
A soft white glow appeared, followed by a slow, spreading warmth. The swelling on her forehead faded almost instantly.
“Feeling better?” he asked.
His fingers slid from her brow to her temple, pausing briefly as he traced a gentle circle—before finally hooking under her small earlobe.
He leaned closer. “It must have hurt back then—”
He seemed to be referring to her forehead, yet his gaze was fixed on her shoulder.
Su Cheng opened her mouth to respond.
Suddenly, Ling Yang pinched her burning earlobe.
His finger traced the hollow curve behind her ear, sliding slowly downward until it reached the nape of her neck.
Su Cheng froze completely.
Then that same warm, soothing energy flowed again, spreading toward her injured shoulder and quickly easing the lingering pain.
She met his eyes.
The legion commander still wore a faint smile. “You’re welcome.”
“…Thank you.”
Su Cheng tried to nod politely, but his hand was still holding the back of her neck, forcing her to tilt her face upward.
“As an apology for the sudden intrusion,” Ling Yang said, looking down at her, “I came because I heard about you.”
“What?” Su Cheng blinked. “The engagement cancellation?”
“Hahaha, of course not,” he laughed. “It’s about the bracelet your uncle submitted to the temple yesterday. Because of its importance, it’s already been sent back to the Holy City of Solan—it even alarmed several big names.”
Su Cheng: “?”
“…I just happened to pass by and wanted to see who submitted such an interesting item. Unfortunately, I still have work. Let’s talk next time, my dear lady.”
He released her at last, then extended his hand again.
Su Cheng stiffly raised her arm.
Amused, Ling Yang grasped her hand and gave it a light shake.
“Until we meet again.”
And then he vanished.
A few seconds later, a dragon’s roar tore through the sky as a massive beast spread its wings and shot upward into the clouds.
The holy knights quickly withdrew from the courtyard. Even the captain bowed slightly to her in apology before leaving.
Only after they were gone did Lin Zhen approach to comfort her.
He assumed his niece had suffered some kind of unfair ordeal and urged her to rest immediately.
Su Cheng hesitated. “Uncle… what’s going on with the bracelet?”
Lin Zhen looked surprised. “You forgot? Your father’s relic—you thought it was suspicious and gave it to me. I tried to destroy it but couldn’t, so I handed it to the temple priests instead!”
Su Cheng: “???”
What kind of plot connection was that?!
If you cut out Lin Yun’s part, everything else still linked together perfectly.
According to the original story, the bracelet contained a soul from two thousand years ago—belonging to a kingdom destroyed by the Church. That kingdom once followed the faith of the Dark God.
The soul had once been human, but after its body was destroyed, it remained sealed within the bracelet.
Further details were unclear—maybe they were explained later, but she had skipped those chapters.
She hadn’t expected the Church to take it so seriously, even sending it to the Holy City. That was the stronghold of the followers of the God of Light.
And Ling Yang had said it had “alarmed important figures.”
He himself was already a legion commander. Within the vast Church, only a handful of people outranked him.
“Still,” Lin Zhen said with lingering fear, “good thing we handed it over early.”
He hadn’t dared enter the courtyard earlier, so he hadn’t seen his niece’s outrageous behavior.
Su Cheng forced a smile. “It was something my father left behind. I just hope they don’t think I’m connected to heretics.”
“If they truly suspected you, you would’ve already been taken away,” Lin Zhen reassured her. “The current Pope is about to ascend to the divine realm, and the selection ceremony is approaching. The Church is full of factions and busy with internal matters. Besides, plenty of people submit heretical artifacts—if they arrested everyone, who would dare hand anything in? Don’t worry. Go rest. Tomorrow, your fiancé arrives.”
Su Cheng: “……”
She suddenly remembered that both the next Pope and the future Saintess seemed to end up entangled with her.
Her headache worsened.
“Uncle,” she said quietly, “can you help me find a few books? Just bring them before I wake up tomorrow.”
Lin Zhen agreed immediately.
The next morning, a servant knocked early, bringing breakfast and several heavy volumes, saying the family head wanted her to come over soon.
After a quick wash, Su Cheng took the books and left.
After passing bamboo groves, an artificial lake, and several corridors, she ran into a group of Lin family young masters and ladies.
They had clearly come to watch the show. Their expressions varied—sympathy, ridicule, schadenfreude.
“Hey, I heard your fiancé is already a Tier Five Nine-Star warrior—same level as the family head!”
“Wow, a noble’s son, too. His father is the capital’s imperial guard commander, his mother a guild elder…”
“And he’s only nineteen—there aren’t many like him in the whole empire…”
“Oh, I heard the Southern River Academy even wants to recommend him for the Dragon Knight trial!”
“No wonder he doesn’t want to marry a waste like you—”
Su Cheng walked past them expressionlessly.
So what if Dragon Knights existed?
If she had Lin Yun’s treatment, she’d eventually get a primordial dragon king as both mount and wife anyway.
“Hahaha, weren’t you so impressive before? Su Cheng, why are you silent now—”
A sharp wind blade cut off the mocking laughter mid-sentence.
The boy staggered back, clutching his bleeding cheek. “W-what?!”
Everyone froze.
“What was that?!”
“She used battle qi? No, that wasn’t—”
“Magic?”
They stared at her in shock.
Su Cheng formed another wind blade in her hand and casually tossed it up and down.
“…Wind blade? Second-tier magic?!”
Instant-cast second-tier magic without chanting—either she was a genius beyond measure, or she had been studying magic for a while.
The group scattered instantly.
A few curious ones remained, congratulating her on becoming a mage and asking about the Dragon Knight from last night.
The commotion had been too big—everyone had been awakened by the dragon’s roar and had seen the colossal shadow in the sky.
Su Cheng waved them off, saying it was just an investigation of heretics passing through.
Finally, she entered the main hall.
The moment she stepped inside, all eyes turned toward her.
The atmosphere instantly froze.
Several guests studied her with surprise. Their attire was noble, bearing the same insignia—students from Southern River Academy.
“Miss Su Cheng—”
A young man stood.
Around twenty years old, tall and well-proportioned, dressed in a white short coat. His shoulders were broad, his waist narrow, his long riding boots outlining his legs.
His black hair was tied in a high ponytail, and his strikingly handsome face carried a pair of cold, star-like eyes.
He nodded slightly—polite, but proud. Like a snow-covered jade tree standing alone.
Su Cheng looked him over.
Honestly, he wasn’t bad-looking.
But compared to last night’s… cough, beastman, he still fell short of her preferences.
So she had no regrets.
“Lord Marquis’ son, hello. Let’s keep it short. You’re here to cancel the engagement—I agree. Bring the contract, I’ll sign it now.”
“…Please don’t address me like that,” the young man blinked. “Contract?”
“Dissolving the engagement should come with a contract, right? One copy each, clearly stating we have nothing to do with each other anymore. From now on—dating, sleeping around, everything unrelated. Right, Lord Murong?”
As she spoke, Su Cheng pulled out a prepared quill.
The hall fell dead silent.
“You misunderstand,” Murong Yue frowned slightly. “I’m not here to break off the engagement for those reasons. I simply intend to focus on cultivation for decades and don’t want to delay you.”
“Good, good, thank you,” Su Cheng nodded. “Any reason is fine. I agree. Just give me the contract.”
“…This engagement was only verbal,” he said slowly. “It doesn’t—”
“Even better,” she cut in. “Still, better to have it in writing. What if someone denies it later?”
A loud crash echoed as an elder smashed the tea table.
“How presumptuous! Who do you think you are?!”
Su Cheng blinked. “I said ‘someone.’ Why are you assuming it’s Lord Murong who would deny it? Also—who are you? What does this have to do with our engagement? Are you his guardian? He’s an adult, right?”
“You—!”
“Ahem,” Lin Zhen coughed repeatedly. “This is Elder Li from the Southern River Sword Martial Academy.”
He kept signaling her to stop.
The man’s badge was a golden sword—ornate and complex.
A Tier Seven warrior.
A War Sect.
A single move from him could reduce the entire estate—or even a city block—to ashes.
But Su Cheng wasn’t afraid.
After meeting demons, dragons, and even thinking about future divine entanglements, her tolerance threshold had already been stretched far beyond normal limits.
“Lord Murong,” she continued, “this engagement was arranged by our fathers. Now that mine has passed away and yours is still alive, does your father know you came here to break it off?”
Murong Yue’s expression darkened. “Since it’s my engagement, it’s my decision.”
Su Cheng clapped instantly. “Exactly! I agree!”
Everyone stared at her.
“Freedom in love and marriage! It has nothing to do with parents or anyone else! Even the Empire’s laws and the Church’s doctrines clearly state that marriage is entirely the individual’s right!”
She raised the books in her hands.
“If anyone has doubts, feel free to read these—Marriage Laws of the Silver Moon Empire, Empire Legal Code, Behind the Marriage Courts: Shocking Truths, and Breaking the Shackles: The Path to Marriage Freedom! Everything is clearly documented!”
Silence filled the room.
Even the Southern River Academy elders exchanged subtle glances.
None of them could openly refute her without embarrassing Murong Yue—after all, he was the one defying his father’s arrangement.
Murong Yue had performed exceptionally well at the academy, advancing rapidly within three years. The Sword Martial Academy head had even praised him and recommended him for the Dragon Knight trial.
It was possible he might become a disciple of that legendary figure in the future—a War Emperor level existence, one of the few tenth-tier warriors in the entire Silver Moon Empire.
So many were already planning to win him over—or marry into his future.
“So,” Su Cheng tilted her head, “since this is between the two of us, it has nothing to do with any of you, right?”
The elders’ expressions darkened.
Murong Yue exhaled slowly. “The Southern Region admissions tournament has begun. The instructors came to Goldpore City for that purpose. They also intended to assess you. We heard you cannot condense battle qi—perhaps you simply lack proper techniques.”
Su Cheng sighed.
Whether it was persuasion or pressure, it didn’t matter.
“I don’t cultivate battle qi because I don’t like it,” she said.
Elder Li sneered. “How ridiculous—everyone knows you—”
Su Cheng raised her hand.
A faint green wind spirit appeared instantly.
A breeze lifted her hair gently.
“I prefer magic,” she said lazily. “And I’m not interested in your academy.”
The hall fell silent again.
Elder Li stared at her, speechless.
He was a pure warrior and could not sense elemental spirits at all.
Only now did he realize—
She was a mage?!
Su Cheng lowered her hand.
“Lord Murong, our engagement was arranged by elders. It has no legal binding force, but many people—especially your side—know about it. If I ever go to the capital, I’ll probably have to deal with rumors. So it’s better to settle this with a contract.”
Without waiting for approval, she began writing.
The room remained silent as she flipped through legal texts and casebooks.
Even Murong Yue walked over, headache forming, to read what she was writing.
“Party A and Party B, in the year 699 of the Silver Moon Calendar, entered into an engagement agreement arranged by their fathers…”
“From the effective date of this contract, both parties shall not interfere in any form—including verbal or written—in each other’s romantic, marital, or private personal relationships…”
Murong Yue: “……”
Su Cheng paused, then continued writing calmly.
“Both parties must notify relevant family members, teachers, friends, and any involved individuals of the termination of this contract…”
“Violation penalty: one million gold coins…”
Murong Yue: “???”
His mind was filled only with one phrase:
One million gold coins.
And for a moment, he felt like he could no longer think at all.
