I Am Pure Love

Xu Mu was still lost in his fantasies when a real person suddenly appeared in front of him, startling him.

A faint blush had finally appeared beneath Gedo Chizuru’s pale skin, making her look somewhat more human.

When she entered the hot spring, she had been wearing nothing at all. Now she simply sat down beside Xu Mu.

Xu Mu glanced at Gedo Chizuru. Her expression was cold, but her eyes were slightly red. Clearly, she had been crying earlier.

“What are you trying to pull? I’ve heard that mixed bathing is practiced here, but is this what you call mixed bathing?”

Xu Mu asked again.

Although she had deliberately sat down and submerged her entire body in the water, leaving only her fair shoulders exposed, Xu Mu could still make out a few indistinct shapes beneath the surface of the spring.

“It is a custom here. Wearing clothes would pollute the hot spring water and go against the purpose of bathing.”

Gedo Chizuru’s voice remained cold.

“Then enjoy your bath.”

Xu Mu stood up and prepared to leave. He was not familiar with this woman and could not understand the customs of this place.

But just as he rose to his feet, Gedo Chizuru suddenly reached out and grabbed his arm.

Xu Mu lowered his head and looked at her. “What does this mean?”

“I… My father told me to come.”

As Gedo Chizuru spoke, tears began to spill from her eyes.

Seeing her expression, Xu Mu sat back down. He had already more or less guessed the reason.

Still, he asked expressionlessly, “Why? Because I saved his life?”

“No. My father said he escaped from the Amakusa Clan. The Amakusa Clan will definitely not let him go, and we have no way to stand against them.”

Gedo Chizuru wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. “His chances of surviving are very low, so… he asked me to capture you.”

Xu Mu leaned against the stone at the edge of the hot spring and closed his eyes. The situation was more or less what he had expected.

When they had been drinking earlier, the other man had also brought up this matter in a roundabout way.

“He merely said it, and you agreed?”

Xu Mu glanced at Gedo Chizuru, who was still crying.

“This is for the sake of our race. I have to do it.”

Gedo Chizuru closed her eyes. “Go ahead. I’ll do my best to cooperate. Don’t worry—I’ve never accompanied anyone else before. If I had, my father wouldn’t have sent me here.”

Yet ten seconds passed, then another ten, and she still felt no one touch her.

She opened her eyes and discovered that Xu Mu had already left the hot spring and put his clothes back on.

“Do you… look down on me?”

Gedo Chizuru asked in a low voice.

“I believe in true love.”

Xu Mu walked toward the exit with an expressionless face. “In my eyes, love means that both people have feelings for each other. Even a little mutual affection would be enough. But you don’t have any feelings for me.”

“How do you know I don’t?”

“If someone else had saved your father, you would have agreed to accompany him too. You’re not accompanying me. You’re accompanying someone who can bring security to your people.”

After saying that, Xu Mu left the illusory formation.

Gedo Chizuru stared blankly in the direction where Xu Mu had disappeared.

[Favorability +5]

After leaving, Xu Mu did not even say goodbye to Gedo Kazuya. He simply left their territory.

Gedo Kazuya sat inside a palace, a jar of wine in his hands. Every so often, he raised it to his lips and took a drink.

He had never imagined that one day he would sacrifice his daughter’s body in exchange for the safety of their race.

But Xu Mu was truly extraordinary. His terrifying physique was far too powerful. During the Martial Arts Championship, he had clearly not used his full strength.

A man like that must have an even more powerful expert backing him.

If his daughter really followed Xu Mu, then even if Gedo Kazuya died, she should not be mistreated.

He tilted his head back and took another drink. Suddenly, he saw his daughter walk in.

“Why are you back so soon? With his powerful physique, that shouldn’t be possible…”

“He left. He didn’t want me.”

Gedo Chizuru came over, snatched the wine from her father’s hands, and took a sip.

“What did you say?”

Gedo Kazuya froze and asked in confusion.

Gedo Chizuru knelt down on a tatami mat beside him and repeated, word for word, what Xu Mu had said before leaving.

“Then I truly underestimated him.”

Gedo Kazuya looked at his daughter and let out a quiet sigh. “Chizuru, I’m sorry.”

“For the sake of our race…”

Gedo Chizuru fell silent for a long time before continuing, “It was what I should have done.”

…

Xu Mu had already left the area occupied by the Ghost Clan. Following the map, he continued toward the territory of the Snow Women.

When he returned to this region, he sensed a battle taking place in the distance.

Flashes of light appeared in the night sky from time to time. As he drew closer, fierce winds swept toward him, causing the surrounding trees to sway violently.

Using his perception, Xu Mu discovered that one of the fighters was Chen Xuan.

As for his opponent, it was an old man at the first level of the World-Breaking Realm.

Xu Mu increased his speed and arrived at a mountain ridge in the blink of an eye. From there, he looked toward the ravaged forest in the distance.

“Old Chen, want me to help?”

Xu Mu transmitted his voice to Chen Xuan.

Chen Xuan unleashed a move called Mountain Splitter, taking advantage of the opening to put some distance between himself and the old man.

He looked around and spotted Xu Mu standing on a nearby mountain ridge.

“Brother Mu! The Hanyu Family has completely changed its attitude. The moment I revealed my identity, they sent people to kill me.”

Chen Xuan immediately spoke into the back of his hand. “They also took Izayoi Orange Fragrance away.”

Whoosh!

The World-Breaking elder raised his hand. An icy spear erupted into the night sky, radiating a biting chill as it shot rapidly toward Chen Xuan.

Crack!

Chen Xuan’s body transformed into a golden arc of lightning, and the icy spear passed straight through him.

Boom!

The spear plunged into the ground and instantly transformed the earth into ice. In the blink of an eye, the frozen ground spread in every direction.

Seeing this, Chen Xuan immediately leaped onto a tree.

But the ice continued to spread. Starting from the roots, it climbed steadily upward and froze the entire tree.

Chen Xuan suddenly transformed into a streak of golden light and shot into the sky.

Golden lightning coiled around the woodcutter’s axe in his hand as he brought it down toward the elder high above.

“Insignificant insect! You’re courting death!”

The elder hovering in the sky conjured another icy spear and thrust it forcefully toward Chen Xuan.

At that moment, Chen Xuan transformed into golden lightning and passed straight through the elder’s spear, appearing behind him.

“I saw through that trick of yours long ago!”

The elder swiftly turned around and thrust the opposite end of the icy spear toward the mass of golden light.

But the golden light behind him did not transform into Chen Xuan.

The real Chen Xuan appeared at his side.

“Mountain Severing!”

Boom!

A gigantic golden axe appeared especially dazzling against the night sky.

The elder’s expression changed dramatically. Although he immediately used qi to construct a defensive barrier, Chen Xuan still smashed him out of the sky and sent him plummeting toward the ground.

Xu Mu had already positioned himself at the spot where the elder was about to land.

Swish! Swish!

He swung his sword with force, releasing two blazing sword auras.

The sword auras shot toward the night sky at incredible speed.

Crack!

The ice surrounding the elder’s body shattered in an instant. The impact of the sword auras, combined with the momentum from his previous fall, sent blood spraying through the air.

Like a kite with its string cut, he slammed violently into the ground.

But in the next moment, he erupted with power and soared into the sky once more.