Zi Ming didn't sleep the night after the fight. He was recalling the events that happened yesterday.

His parents had prepared a hearty meal in order to congratulate him for his victory. His father went so far as to hold a banquet for the villagers. He made a big sounding speech about the pride he felt for being gifted with such a fierce new generation.

"My dear people. It's been more than two hundred winters since our ancestors decided to build this humble village we call home. In these two centuries, we've had to face all sorts of hazards and griefs, but we remain standing!

The years when we had to live in fear of the beasts and die from hunger are coming to an end.

When our ancestors decided to leave the bustle of cities and sacrifice sweat, blood, and tears, it was all for this very moment..."

Zi Tao looked towards a group of teenagers with a grin. The villagers who were also beaming in understanding shifted their gaze towards them.

"Yes! as you've probably already guessed and heard, we've finally entered the eyes of the people from the city."

Zi Tao laughed heartily as he gulped a big cup of wine. He then signaled a bald man sitting by his side. The latter stood up as Zi Tao put a hand on his shoulder and offered him a drink.

"Zi Chang here is leading my young sister back from Thousand Rains town several days from now. Each and every one of us has to be ready for the special day..."

Zi Ming was listening with one hear to his father's long-winded speech. Since he heard about his aunt Zi Qian's marriage, he had never been too keen on welcoming the group of distant relatives who previously shunned his ancestor.

He had been pushing himself hard in order to meet his father's requirements. His strength had rapidly risen and he had been able to defeat the young lady sitting next to him.

As he laid back a bit and finally relaxed from the exhausting five months, he glanced at her and smirked. Tonight, Zi Fei was strikingly beautiful. She was adorned with an entire set of black leather clothes and grey wolf scarfskin. It wasn't as if he had failed to notice her charm before, but he had to concede about her recent growth spurt in certain areas.

She was talking in whispers with his sister when their eyes met. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Zi Yurou decided to butt in.

"You two are acting suspiciously. Is it a staring contest?" The three of them were seated in line with Zi Fei in the middle.

When her friend turned and gazed at the boy, Zi Yurou didn't think much of it at first. But as seconds passed by she decided to look over.

Zi Ming who was still in a teasing mood simply snickered and answered :

"Kind of, we were playing this new game called..."

"He fondled my breasts." Zi Fei let out this bomb as she darkly looked at him.

"What? I'm not sure I heard you right..." Zi Yurou asked again.

"He also kissed me." Zi Fei added calmly.

"What?!" When Zi Ming began to walk away, Zi Yurou realized it wasn't a joke.

"You beast!!"

The boy's face became green as he heard these last words. If he stayed too long here he would end up as pig's meat.

The terrible blare finally caught the attention of the whole plaza. Zi Tao who was still handing out commands and instructions also turned to look. The place was very silent all of a sudden.

Zi Fei noticed this but somehow she felt like she had lost something precious to the bastard. Her heart was sour, but for some reason, she was even more annoyed at herself. By this point, the youngster had already stopped running; he was looking at her with pleading eyes and a guilty frown. Seeing this troublesome face, she grew even more bitter as she continued.

"Sister Yurou, I've always considered you as my own sister..." She hesitated when she saw the number of people listening in.

"The truth is..."

She looked at him again and said.

"It's already too late to blame anyone... I think my heart has already surrendered!" Zi Fei blushed as she said bravely but then ran from the place in a hurry.

"What?!" The people instantly erupted with anger.

.......................................................................................

Five months ago,

Thousand Rains city, Inside an overly large mansion,

Water drops were falling unceasingly in a pond of water. Fish were jumping in and out of it while a bunch of frogs was croaking and lazying on nenuphars.

Over this pond of water, a wooden bridge was linking two separate sides of a somewhat sizable garden. At one of these ends, there were a few gravel slabs extending up to a surmounted wooden terrace. This terrace was running across several rooms and was offering a nice view of this soothing garden.

Each of these room doors was made of translucent paper built upon polished frames, and currently, two of these were open in the middle of the wooden deck.

Inside the room, a group of old and young people was sitting cross-legged except for two women.

One was sitting close to a middle-aged looking man. The other one sat right next to a young man looking over twenty. His traits seemed to be a mixture of both the people sitting in his front.

Several other, both old and young looking people were seating at each corner of the room and looking towards the two youngsters.

The middle-aged man from before was wearing night blue robes, while the woman sitting at his side was dressed in pale blue. They both had extremely fair features; the man had naturally white looking hair which made him look even more dignified. The woman's mixture of black hair and blue eyes was fitting extremely well with the clothes she wore.

This same woman suddenly waved a small fan as an oppressive aura was released and assaulted the girl.

"Mother, that's quite enough already." The young man also waved his sleeves and annihilated the incoming blast. He then proceeded to put one hand before the girl as a sign of protection. His hair was blonde and reached up to his neck. He was clad in red robes but at the moment he looked extremely manly and dashing.

"..." The woman at his side remained silent. It looked as if she didn't even dare to look toward the source of the attack.

"Feng'er, you've completely gone off course! To even rebuke me, your mother? I don't know what this vixen has done to my poor boy but..." She peered at the scared girl before adding :

"On this appearance and talent alone, she doesn't match our Zi Family's son."

"Mother!" The young man's tone intensified.

"Hmm..." The middle-aged man who hadn't previously spoken suddenly opened his eyes. His hands were still crossed but as soon as he moved, the entire room grew still.

Even the previously noisy woman decided to keep quiet.

"Father..." The young man stammered.

"..." The man looked over at the girl, then into the agitated youngster's eyes before asking:

"You've really decided?"

The young man made a serious face before nodding.

"Non-se..." The blue clothed woman tried to scoff but was broken directly.

"Shut up for me!" A commanding sound shook everyone in the room.

"But, husband..." The woman wasn't resigned despite being flustered.

"Don't make me repeat myself..." He said the words extremely calmly, not even glancing at her. The woman trembled before turning quiet.

"..." The people in the room also had cold sweat running down their backs.

"Haofeng, when I heard you announced your marriage to the townspeople, I thought it was simply yet another one of your mother's schemes to find you a suitable partner. I never imagined that the day would come so soon..." The man scratched his chin as he smiled.

"Since my son has decided, there's nothing to even add. I won't go against your wishes..." The man said as a matter of fact.

"Father..."

"...."

The man suddenly walked over and put his fingers on the young woman's forehead. People in the room were confused but didn't question his actions.

".??!..."

The man abruptly jolted and withdrew his hand.

"Y-you...where do you come from?"

The man's expression changed as he asked.