A few more days passed.
The soft glow of the moon bathed the lake in a silver light, reflecting off the water's surface like a thousand tiny stars.
Amidst this serene lake, a wooden boat was riding on the water, clearing the lotus leaves on the surface of the lake.
Yuan sat at the bow, his eyes fixed on the horizon where the sky met the lake, while Zhang Yumin leaned back her fingers playing with the chilling water of the lake.
Looking around at the lotus flowers, Zhang Fumin took a scroll from her storage ring and looked at it.
"That Lotus should be around here... Urgh. Why is it this hard to find?"
A faint smile appeared on Yuan's face as he looked at her but the smile on his lips dimmed as he remembered the three women he defiled.
He sighed in his heart, as he was still not sure how to confront them and they were still asleep in that palace of his.
Zhang Fumin saw his face which was enriched by the moon and asked "What happened, Yuan..."
Yuan gently shook his head and muttered "Nothing, Big Sister..."
Zhang Fumin frowned slightly upon hearing this tone as she had known him for 2 months now and he sometimes spaces out like this, thinking about something.
'What happened? Is he hiding something from me?'
A gentle sigh escaped his lips because Zhang Fumin was angry at him for just having sex with random women and if she knew that he defiled three women, she would be really mad at him for that.
'I am really a.. scum.'
For a while, they sat in comfortable silence, the only sound being the gentle splash of the oar in the water and the distant call of a night bird.
The air was filled with the sweet scent of the lotuses, mingling with the faint fragrance of the night-blooming jasmine that grew along the shore.
As they floated deeper into the heart of the lake, a subtle change in the atmosphere caught Zhang Fumin's attention.
The light around them seemed to grow brighter, more intense. She squinted into the distance and gasped softly.
There, amidst the countless lotuses, one flower stood out—its petals a pure, radiant white, glowing with a radiant light that eclipsed all the others.
Yuan smiled and glided the boat toward the glowing white lotus.
Zhang Yumin reached out, her hand trembling slightly as she hovered over the flower. "It's perfect," she whispered, feeling the power radiating from it.
"This... this could take my cultivation to the next level."
Yuan nodded, his eyes soft with affection as he watched her and Zhang Fumin gently took the flower in her palm.
"This is the flower."
She stored it in her storage ring and smiled proudly "I can refine it into a pill later and increase my cultivation."
Looking at her joy, Yuan got quite curious and asked "Why are you thirsty for power?"
Hm? Zhang Fumin showed a smug smile and questioned, "So, now you are curious about me?"
With a nod, Yuan asked "Yeah, I am... I am worried about my Big sister and i want to know more about her."
A few more days passed-
A carriage was going through the gates of the Xiangli Empire and inside the carriage, Zhang Fumin and Yuan were seated.
Looking out through the window, she uttered "It's been a while since I came here and it feels weird."
She then glanced at Yuan and casually wrapped her hand around his shoulder "The tournament is in 5 days and I can take you around some places here, Little Brother."
Yuan nodded his head with a smile and soon, after reaching a street, they got down from the carriage.
"Yuan, we can eat something here and after that, we can go to my house."
As she spoke, she sighed in her heart 'I hope she is okay...'
They quickly walked to an inn that looked quite normal and there were no customers around there at that time.
Both of them walked in and there was no one to greet them "Aunty Shen!"
Calling out a name, Zhang Fumin walked in and at this time, from the kitchen, a middle-aged woman came out.
As her gaze fell on Zhang Fumin, she smiled happily "Fumin, it's been some weeks since I last saw you. How are you?"
Zhang Fumin nodded her head with a smile "Yes, Aunty Shen... I was out of the Empire for a while. And your store... Is no one coming here now?"
The woman let out a sigh "They come sometimes... but the customers have decreased a lot."
The woman's gaze then fell on Yuan who was standing beside her and she asked "Hoh, you went to another kingdom and found a man for you?"
Zhang Fumin giggled and shook her head "No, Aunt Shen.. He is my Little brother."
The woman just rolled her eyes "Yeah, sure... I believe."
Zhang Fumin smiled wryly and spoke as she moved towards a table "Aunt Shen, we are hungry... Bring us some food."
The woman nodded her head and turned to leave, but suddenly she stopped as she remembered something "By the way, Fumin... you should go and see Xia."
"She borrowed some money from me for two months for the rent of your house. But she didn't come this month... I wonder what happened?"
Zhang Fumin was taken aback upon hearing this and the woman continued "That landlord already has resentments towards you."
"So you first go and check on her."
Zhang Fumin hurriedly nodded and turned to Yuan "Little Brother, Come on.. Hurry... we need to go to my house."
She dashed out the inn and rushed towards the house. Yuan also followed her and on his way he asked "Who is that..."
"I will tell you later when we reach there."
Within a few minutes, they reached the area where normal people live and rushed towards a specific house in the midst of it.
As they reached closer, they suddenly heard a loud scream of a woman "Arghhhh!!! Let me goooo!! I-It hurts...."
Zhang Fumin's heart sank upon hearing the scream and a mutter escaped her lips "Xia?"
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I hope you guys liked this chapter!