The Long-Awaited Love is not a Dream (Web Novel)

Chapter 6: I don't need a husband

Fortunately, it was Dongyue who had let go first, as he felt the heat of his own arousal!
Indeed, it was no fun being an unsuspecting virginal man. He didn't even know what he was feeling now.
The ice beauty glared at him. Even if she couldn't harm him with her powers, she could give him a thrashing for messing with her! With her bare feet, she sent a kick flying in his side!
"Serves you right," she grumbled. "Trying to have my tofu without my consent?"
The man had a smug look about him.
"If it comes to me being after your tofu, you are mistaken, Miss Muxue. I only brushed my lips against yours, and our lips merely touched slightly. It was you who devoured my lips! So am I right, that you wanted my tofu instead?"
She pouted and crossed her hands across her chest.
"Young Master Zhan, you should stay your distance from me. After all, I am a cursed witch who will bring you bad luck. You should listen to the word of the guards."
"Then, if it is so, why did they bring me to you, then?" he teased her playfully. "Isn't it a matter of fate between us?"
Her eyes flared with rage. "No, because I am the proprietress of the only inn in the whole of Muxue!"
"Then, for what angered you, just put it on the tab then." He said his words with such calmness that it annoyed her even more.
"Are you men of Han descent all like that?" she yelled at him, irked. "You don't take responsibility for what you do, and you leave without a word." She was implying to what Hanshan had done in their past friendship, but she didn't expect him such a big reaction from Dongyue.
"I, Zhan Dongyue, am not of the sort!" he shouted, trying to step in front of her, as his hands waved frantically as if he wanted to prove his point. His eyes looked anxious, and he was breathing very quickly.
"You're no different from Hanshan," she said angrily. "Once you fall in love with a beauty, you will forget whatever you said, or treat what you did as something dispensable! Is money a solution for rich people like you?"
He came closer to her and gazed into her eyes. She found herself inclined to return his gaze, and their eyes locked.
"I swear I am not of that sort," he said tenderly. "Because I won't fall in love with any beauty!"
"Why is that?" she said, forgetting herself and looking back at him. The moment she stared into his eyes, she felt a feeling that man didn't seem like Hanshan or any of the men in Muxue. Something about the emotion he carried in his eyes compelled her to trust him. But why would he not fall in love with any beauty, then?
"That's because I've already fallen in love with you," he whispered. She couldn't believe her ears, but the man didn't seem to be joking at all. This man was audacious, indeed!
"What nonsense are you spewing?" she glared at him, cutting off their eye contact.
"I am serious," he said. "Why don't you believe in a fate between us?"
"I'm a witch, you should fear me," she said, and he took her into his arms without further thought.
"Try me," he said. "I was born during a period of mourning and said to have the horoscope of the Doom Star. I am everyone's bane, but your liberator."
She didn't fathom what was it about this strange traveller that made her feel not like herself and sought the answer in his eyes. There was a particular pain in his eyes that reminded her of her own self, but at the same time, she found hope in the emotional look in his eyes. As he held her, she felt warm and relaxed in his arms.
"Miss Muxue, I've never hugged or held a woman like this before," he whispered. "You are the first. You are also the first woman to touch my heart."
She did not attempt to leave his arms, thinking about her curse. After all, if this traveller had meant to hurt her, he would have done so long ago. Why wait until now?
But then, the fact that he had a brutal horoscope was indeed a rare phenomenon. Maybe he could be of some use to her. She stared into his eyes again and wondered how true were each of the words he had just said to her.
He didn't seem to be lying. A true witch could see through a normal human's lies in mere seconds.
"What do you seek to gain out of this?" she asked him gently.
"Miss Muxue, I don't know," he said truthfully. "I've never loved a woman before, and I only hope that my answer will be satisfactory to you."
"I don't need your servitude," she said coldly. "Nor your protection. My only order is that you keep what you have seen tonight to yourself and take it to your grave, or I will kill you with my own hands."
He released her and stroked her cheek lightly, sending chills down her spine.
"Miss Muxue, I give you my vow that I will keep what happened tonight to myself. May I at least, escort you back tonight?"
She shoved his hand away. "There's no need. I am not a child."
She stormed towards her heap of clothing and picked up her magical ice dagger, pocketing it swiftly and fetching the rest of her garments. Activating her dash skill that required the presence of her dagger, she materialised in front of him in a split second.
"How...did you do that?" he was amazed.
To his horror, she had poised the dagger just over his throat.
"Say one word about tonight, and I will have your head on a platter, as a sacrifice to my ancestors," she hissed in an icy tone. But she had underestimated Dongyue, who was a skilled martial artist. In a flash, he had swiped her dagger and was standing before her, with the dagger in his hand.
"You…" she gnashed her teeth in anger. "Just what have I done to incur this from you?"
"Miss Muxue," he said with a sinister smile, "You intrigue me. You make me desire you, every night and day. Even before tonight, I've already been in awe about how you look like, and tonight, I've got to experience it for myself."
Her heart raced wildly as he placed his lips on hers and kissed her again, this time with a bit more intensity. As she had never felt like this with Hanshan, she was astonished by how she was responding to his kisses. It appeared the man had learned quickly because, in no time, she found herself pinned to the ground by his larger body. But after a few long seconds, he let go, and she gasped, feeling the fire of her passion douse her once more.
"Miss Muxue, I apologise for behaving inappropriately," the man said, bowing his head in apology while offering her the dagger. "But you will probably be the only woman to provoke me like this. In Yilong, such actions mean that I should pledge myself to you as your husband."
She found herself blushing as he had said the word husband, and accepted the dagger hastily, before turning away. Fortunately, he had not noticed the redness in her cheeks.
"I don't need a husband, and this is Muxue."
Her words were sharp and cold, sparking pain within his heart.