”You. Xinzi, I like you and I want you. Now we can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way. The choice is yours.” Shui Haoyue put her hands on her wide hips and leaned towards Xinzi. For a second, our monk didn’t respond—his brows curving into a lopsided slope as he questioned his hearing.
”Dong Ling taught you that?”
”That obvious?”
”Yes. You surround yourself with some of the worst company that this world has to offer. Be careful, they will lead you astray.”
”Alright. Actually, I wanted to do two things. First, to apologize to the Zhi-Zhu twins on behalf of the royal family. Those who know that you’re behind my royal cousin’s death might think that you went too far. But I know him, and he’d have slowly but surely tortured them to death. Also, he couldn’t take a hint, and even after you intervened, tried to have them drugged so he could sate his lust. Men like him are the vultures that give royal families their bad rep—he truly deserved to be damned.”
”I don’t really care about what others think. I am Xinzi.” The meaning was clear. Only others had to worry about what Xinzi thought of them. Xinzi didn’t have to care about public opinion. Haoyue liked that confidence, a sharp contrast with Xinzi’s image of a merry mischief artist.
”Which brings us to the second reason for my visit. Abbot Xinzi, I can refine pills, artifacts, talismans, formations, and last but never the least, cook—all at an elite level. Right now, I desperately need to become an ordained nun, something that, throughout Dongli, only your temple gives me hope for. Will you take me in?”
”Huh…”
Haoyue’s plight was fairly complicated: she was too gifted. As she mentioned, she’d reached the yellow grade in the Alchemy, Artifact Refinement, Formation and Spiritual Chef departments. Formations excluded, Shui Haoyue was the best outer disciple in all of these categories, making her the most proficient multitasker in the history of the White Immortal Sect—a fact that her father, Shui Jiankang, had her keep hidden from the White Immortal Sect’s higher-ups.
Shui Jiankang had grand ambitions, and even more so for his two prized children: Haoyang and Haoyue. But as soon as he realized the terror of Haoyue’s talent in the Spiritual Crafts, he decided to raise her as the Crown Princess of the Dongli state, using her brothers as decoys while setting in motion a chain of events that’d see her become the first reigning queen of Dongli.
There was only one problem in all this: Haoyang.
In terms of pure cultivation talents, Haoyang and Haoyue were pretty much equal. But Haoyue’s advantage in the comprehension and craft departments made it so that she was destined to eclipse her twin brother.
Haoyang didn’t mind acting as a decoy so that his beloved sister could ride a bump-free path to the throne. But Haoyue couldn’t accept depriving her brother of his birthright.
She didn’t want the throne, especially if it came at the cost of her brother’s future. Shui Jiankang had also been negotiating alliances with disreputable powers, making Haoyue fear for her family’s future.
The only way for her to crush her father’s dream of putting his daughter on the throne…was to become an ordained Lianist nun. By decree of the Golden Lotus Temple, ordained monks and nuns couldn’t hold political office. No matter how bold, Shui Jiankang couldn’t go against the Golden Lotus Temple which, while aloof from worldly matters, was after the Taiyang clan the most dominant faction of the Four Continents.
A pity that the Dongli state didn’t have a single monastery favorable to the existence of nuns. Haoyue confided in Dong Ling and Chun Xu. They advised with the following words:
”Mhm…burly boy is probably bold enough to make a nun out of you.”
”Seek Xinzi, knowing him, it won’t be long before he officially starts to train actual nuns. That said, to maximize success, try to stir the male—not the monk.” Through different methods, Dong Ling and Chun Xu both directed Haoyue towards Xinzi, leading to the current meeting.
”Fine. By tomorrow, I will be a black-grade Formation Master and start selecting initiates. I was going to give the first two spots to A’Zhi and A’Zhu, but I don’t mind adding one extra. Still, before any of you can become my initiates, you have to learn the scriptures and get familiar with my Creed of Liberation. If you can’t do it, you don’t belong here.” Xinzi didn’t care about Haoyue’s reasons and candidly offered an opportunity. His eyes looked past the mesmerizing exterior, seeing in the Dongli princess troubles that even her doting Golden Core father couldn’t sense.
”Don’t let my conservative reputation fool you, I’m more progressive than Chun Xu.”
”That’s…not really hard to do. Actually, scratch that. Chun Xu is a conundrum. Regardless, A’Zhi and A’Zhu will show you to your room, welcome to the Liberation Temple.”
”Thank you, sweet Abbot!” Haoyue clasped her hands, bowing at Xinzi.
The ‘sweet Abbot’ seemed out of place, making Xinzi wonder why Haoyue felt so comfortable in his presence.
On that day, Shui Haoyue became the fourth member of the Liberation Temple, learning the scriptures alongside A’Zhi and A’Zhu. The three soon became inseparable, and as time went by, just like the Zhi-Zhu twins, Haoyue fell in the thrall of Xinzi.
For once, no one could blame this on our monk, who for reasons known only to him, didn’t try to seduce his way into Haoyue’s bed. Things just happened the way they were supposed to, or so Haoyue believed.
Shui Jiankang tried to fight his daughter’s “nunification.” But before Xinzi’s clout, the Dongli king had no choice but to back off. Also, he saw Haoyue’s happiness. How her face beamed each time she held on Xinzi’s arm, how glued she was to his words, and how determined she looked when she stared at his back. The father defeated the monarch, forcing Jiankang to give up.
Now, Xinzi and Haoyue drifted across a lake, riding a small spiritual boat. Powered by our monk’s formations, the sky-blue vessel moved on its own, siphoning spirit stones to respond to Xinzi’s mental orders. Haoyue and Xinzi lay under an artificial parasol tree. The Dongli princess lay on her monk’s chest, relaxing in his warmth. At first, Xinzi faced her with the warm and genuine smile reserved for his loved ones. But here, his face shifted to a solemn look.
”Haoyue, I will say this only once. As a disciple of the Liberation Temple, better than anyone, you should know that I don’t do monogamy. Do not seek what you shouldn’t, because you won’t find it with me,” Xinzi said in a serious tone. Haoyue ignored these atypical vibes and put a tender kiss on Xinzi’s lips.
”These corrupt precepts. Xinzi, to think that you have the nerve to call yourself a monk…how shameless. But why are you asking me now? It’s not like you weren’t diddling A’Zhi and A’Zhu before I came along. I know…that there are things that I shouldn’t expect, so I won’t expect them.”
”I ask because I’m worried. I can see your fists tighten whenever I embrace the twins. Sometimes you bite your lips. On other occasions, your toes curl—and not for the right reasons.”
”And what are the right reasons?”
”Things that I will do to you once I make sure you’ll be a good girl.”
”Mhm…naughty monk. I’ve said it before, I know that there are things I shouldn’t expect—so regardless of how I feel, I won’t expect them.”
”…Good.”
On that day, that night, the next morning, and the week that followed, Xinzi and Haoyue rolled in bed—dual cultivating through the lands of ecstasy.
Afterward, Lord Hanxing and Lady Ziyun summoned Xinzi to discuss and guide his cultivation, leaving the Zhi-Zhu twins and Haoyue to manage the Liberation Temple.
But following a routine lunch, A’Zhi and A’Zhu clutched at their chests—their cheeks taking a purple hue as their eyes turned red. Without delay, the Zhi-Zhu twins pressed on their acupoints, sending a flood of Spiritual Qi to suppress the poison.
”Haoyue…you!”
”…poisoned us?!”
Though they felt as if a colony of ants was crawling its way through their guts, A’Zhi and A’Zhu stayed alert, instantly realizing to who they owed their pain. The two fell to their knees, staring at Haoyue with a blend of rage and incredulity.
”You two are Foundation Building cultivators. Ordinary poisons are of no use, but as a yellow-grade Alchemist, I have no shortage of methods to—at the very least—cripple your strength. A’Zhi, A’Zhu, as sisters that studied under the same master, I love you deeply. These months that we’ve spent together were the most fulfilling days of my life.
But at the same time, they were also the most painful…because I have to share Xinzi with you. Xinzi is mine…mine and mine only! I can’t accept it, I can’t see him smile and dote on you the same way he dotes on me. I’ve tried, I’ve really tried…but I love him way too much to let you stand between him and me.”
”You…knew the rules. The abbot didn’t chase you. Why chase him when you knew…all there was to expect?”
”Because I want him! I always did! Before any of you came along, before Dong Ling and Chun Xu became a part of the picture, from the day that we met in the royal palace’s garden…I knew that I wanted him! From the moment that I joined this temple, that belief has only been growing stronger, Xinzi’s shoulders, smile, eyes, wits, jokes, swagger, acting and touch, they all belong to me!
Me and only me!”