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nAnother day, Wu Long was talking with Wei Lan, and as he teased her a little again,

n“Are you really interested in me?”

nShe suddenly asked, surprised at her own words herself right after she said them. It was only a thought, but her mouth blurted it out before she even realized it.

n“Yes”

nHe said without hesitation, and she widened her eyes.

n“…”

n“I am interested in you, and now that you are vulnerable, have nowhere to go, and feel indebted to me, I am shamelessly swooping in to snatch you away”

nHe continued and she became flabbergasted. She never met anyone who so blatantly expressed his selfish desires and admitted to his shamelessness with such honesty.

n“…Why?”

nShe finally became composed enough to ask.

n“What do you think?”

n“I am serious”

nAs Wu Long playfully asked back she looked at him with an intense gaze.

n“Haa~ why does one person like a flower and another hates it?”

n“…?”

n“There is no objective reason, only our own taste, and preference, as well as something abstract that could not be described with words mixed in. There needs to be no other reason, really, but if you insist on me answering, there are plenty of obvious objective ones, you are beautiful, kind, intelligent, decisive, hot, …”

nShe covered his mouth with her hand as a light blush appeared on her face. But as she realized what she had done the rosiness intensified and she took a step back, hiding her hands behind her back.

n“I…I get it”

n“See, you asked yourself, and now don’t give me a chance to talk. First no hugs, then no flirting and you don’t even let me praise you. Where is that warm welcome you promised…?”

nWu Long lamentedly said and she could not help but roll her eyes at him again. This man was absolutely impossible to talk to. But she felt strangely comforted.

nNow that she heard him speak on the nature of romantic feelings a bit, a new understanding opened up to her, as she understood that not everything required a clear reason.

n“But if I become your woman just like this will that not make me an easy woman?”

n“No, it will just make me a shameless man”

nShe looked at him in a light daze.

n“…”

n“You don’t have to give me an answer this instant, and it is okay if you reject my proposition since I am not a man who lashes out just because I was rejected. There is no need to consider anything I did for you, as I do not want just your body or your selfless sacrifice…”

nShe listened to him in silence as he explained to her.

n“…I want you”

nWhen he said these words, her heart skipped a beat, and there appeared a blush on her cheeks again. Just with these three simple words that were accompanied by a sincere gaze into her eyes, she understood, that what he wanted was not her agreeing because she was obligated or felt the need, but her, all of her.

n“I just wanted you to know so that you could make a decision”

n“…How long will you wait?”

n“Hmm~ hard to say, I can wait for some time, but unfortunately not infinitely, since I eventually would have to travel very very far away, with no guarantee to return”

nHe made a pondering posture.

n“What about now, how long will you stay here?”

n“Here? A couple of weeks maybe, depending on how fast Hua Ziyan and Shen Min learn their techniques”

nShe lowered her eyes, seemingly hesitating.

n“Then…when will you come back?”

n“I do not know, maybe a few months? I haven’t made this trip before so I have no way of knowing…but I have to cross the Southern Sea and I heard it takes a month, so no less than 3 months there and back is my guess”

n“But, even if you said that, if I become your woman… that would be relying on you even more…I am already indebted to you for everything you have done for me… and now…”

n“Hehe, you’ve got it wrong there. If you become my woman, you will no longer need to think in such terms as relying on me is natural. It is quite the opposite, if you are my woman, and need my help but don’t rely on me I will get mad. Though I really am not asking anything from you for my help now even if you are not my woman. If it makes it easier for you I can ask for something from you so that you are not indebted to me anymore”

nHe said with a chuckle.

nWei Lan looked at Wu Long with a surprised expression.

n“Then…are you saying that you will do everything for your women, with nothing in return?”

n“Why nothing? My love and attention is not something that could be exchanged for nothing. But it is something I know you are able to do. All I need in return is loyalty, as I don’t tolerate other men touching my women since I am selfish, affection, as I expect it from my women and give it plenty in return, and mutual trust and respect, as that is what makes us more than just lovers”

nShe looked at him for some time in silence, wondering how a man who, despite so openly saying that he was underhanded for swooping in at a vulnerable woman, and called himself shameless was at the same time so dashing and looked so honorable to her.

nShe understood that some people might judge it differently since he did first make her indebted to him, and then was courting her, but then again, he was not pressing her with her feelings of gratitude, and he made her indebted by genuinely saving her, so if he did not make her indebted to him then she would not be alive right now.

nHis having other women was something he was open about, while his demanding loyalty despite that is something he was admitting shamelessness about without hiding. So if a woman did not accept that she could just not agree. To her that honesty was way more valuable of a character trait.

nBut that shadow of doubt about whether her own feelings were genuine or something she only felt now and would then go away was what prevented her from giving an answer right away.

n“You will all travel together?”

nShe finally broke the silence again.

n“Yes”

n“Then… then how about I travel with you? Will that be a burden?”

nWu Long looked a little surprised but then smiled.

n“Of course not, if you want some time to think about it while traveling with us I think not only me but everyone would welcome that idea” 𝚍ｎ𝚘ｖ𝚕.𝚝

nHe said, and a smile appeared on her face this time, as she felt relief from not having to decide immediately and having the time to confirm her own feelings and thoughts.

nWhen they heard that Wei Lan was coming with them, as Wu Long expected, there was no rejection as they all could see a glint of envy in her eyes when she looked at how they all were pampered by Wu Long while expressing their love to him openly, and they could all feel that he was interested in her, which was the reason they welcomed her into their company so naturally and without much restraint.

nIn this time Wei Lan thoroughly understood that the three young ladies she considered innocent and sweet flowers at first were way more experienced in the pleasures of men and women than her, as she sometimes overheard the conversations they would have between themselves, where Hua Ziyan was teaching to Shen Min and repeating to Luo Mingyu some of the ‘priceless knowledge’.

n—

nTime passed by as Wu Long made a few trips to scout the area and see if the demonic beast had a Neidan. He confirmed that it did have a Neidan, and confirmed the surrounding topography so that he could make a good strategy. He also left talismans all over the area so that he could conceal them approaching as he and Ye Ling were the only ones who could move stealthily enough without these measures for the sensitive to Spiritual Qi and smell demonic beast to not notice.

nOnce he saw that Hua Ziyan and Shen Min’s progress was good enough for the raid on the serpent, they quietly moved toward it.

nThey did not leave anyone at the sect, as Luo Mingyu would be a lot more safe with them than alone there. Not to mention that she now knew the Illustrious Stride, quite a comprehensive movement technique that had both a long-distance stride and combat movement style in it, and the Spiritual Qi War Art that she used to expand her normally small amounts of Spiritual Qi in the cultivation sessions with Wu Long, so she could easily avoid any danger that came her way.

nWu Long was not worried about her ability to defend herself, as she was only limited by her cultivation level and low reserves of Spiritual Qi, but once she moved past Nine Mortal Realms and also improved her reserves of Spiritual Qi some more, her physique would manifest her ability, and she would be one of the safest people around.

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