The Arch-Enemy Must Not Become a Wife

Chapter 272: Chapter 147: Dragon Maiden (Part 3)

She had a delicate and fair oval face, with bright eyes, soft and beautiful features, a slender and straight nose, and skin as smooth and white as porcelain, almost as if it could be pinched and water would come out.

What was even more striking was her shyness, which caused her to blush slightly and look down, unsure of where to place her hands and feet. This made her appear all the more pure and innocent.

Speaking of her appearance, she was actually much older than Chu Xuan had imagined, probably around sixteen or seventeen.

Chu Xuan clapped and smiled, saying, "Xiang’er is indeed beautiful, you haven’t disappointed my expectations."

Xiang’er’s face turned even redder, and she covered her face, saying, "Ooh~ please don’t tease me."

Chu Xuan wanted to laugh even more, "Complimenting you on your beauty is teasing you? Xiang’er, you can’t be like this, you need to practice being more thick-skinned; oh, and braver too."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiang’er turned and ran off, leaving Chu Xuan feeling innocent. I was just purely complimenting you, how did it come off like I was teasing you?

He shook his head and began to patrol the area covered by the array, inspecting it seriously.

...

Xiang’er ran off and only returned the next day, which greatly surprised Chu Xuan.

Fortunately, she didn’t revert to her fish form, she just looked at him timidly and asked, "Are you really leaving?"

"Of course."

"Then, will we have a chance to meet again in the future?"

"We should," Chu Xuan nodded and said.

Upon hearing this, Xiang’er felt a bit happier, "I will wait for you."

Chu Xuan wondered if this was a good idea. He didn’t want to give others too much unnecessary expectation, so he earnestly told Xiang’er,

"I might not come specifically, I’m just saying there might be a chance to meet again."

This time Xiang’er understood, and her expression became a bit downcast, "I see, I understand."

Chu Xuan thought for a moment, "Regardless, we are friends, so if you ever want to talk to me, you can come to the Cyan Lotus Daoist Palace to find me."

He then gave her the specific location of Feilai Temple, so that she wouldn’t struggle to find it if she ever wanted to visit in the future.

Xiang’er remembered it well, "I will remember, if there’s a chance, I will come to find you."

In her heart, she secretly decided that after going to Nuwa Temple in the future, she should be able to go out freely, and by then, she could go see the Xiangjiang River and meet brother Chu.

Of course, Xiang’er hadn’t considered whether Chu Xuan would remember her after several hundred years.

...

Watching Chu Xuan walk with hands behind his back on the surface of the water, slowly patrolling the sea, Xiang’er gathered courage and came to his side, walking alongside him.

This was the first time the two had been so close, and Chu Xuan could smell a faint, girlish fragrance.

This scent was hard to describe with words; it was neither the fragrance of flowers nor the scent of rouge, but a unique aroma belonging to a maiden who had not yet left her boudoir.

Chu Xuan shook his head; he had no thoughts about little Xiang’er, he merely asked:

"Can you tell me why you can’t leave this sea area?"

Xiang’er hesitated for a moment, thinking that since brother Chu would leave soon and she might not have the chance to say these words in the future, she decided to reveal the truth:

"Back then, my mother and father had an argument for some unknown reason. Despite being pregnant, she left the Dragon Palace alone and sought refuge in an underground pool rich in Spiritual Qi."

"A few years later, when she was still in a weakened state after giving birth to a dragon egg in the pool, many bad people came to attack, causing her serious injuries."

"If she had been willing to abandon me and escape the pool alone, she might have lasted long enough for my father to rescue her."

"But to protect the unborn me, she steadfastly defended the pool and ended up being besieged to death."

"When father arrived, he only managed to avenge mother by killing those bad people."

At this point, Xiang’er’s eyes started to fill with tears, and her expression was very sorrowful.

"Finally, father took me back to the Dragon Palace and left me to be hatched by other mother dragons, but he hated me, believing that I was the reason mother died."

"So just a few days after I was born, he exiled me to the depths of the East Sea, in a deserted area for thousands of miles."

"Until he gives a new order, I can only live in this sea area for life, not allowed to leave one step."

Chu Xuan’s temper flared; what kind of crappy father is this? To vent his anger on his own child.

When he previously said "exile", it was deliberately using an unpleasant term, but it turned out to be true exile.

With such a troubled background, it was no wonder Xiang’er developed a timid personality from a young age, having never seen anything, being curious about everything and afraid of everything...

Seeing Xiang’er wipe her tears, Chu Xuan comforted her, "It’s okay, things will slowly get better in the future."

Xiang’er nodded.

"By the way, what’s your surname?"

"My father’s surname is Tan-Tai."

Chu Xuan silently thought to himself: Thank goodness it’s not Ao.

"But I don’t have a surname; father, I mean, my father didn’t let me take his surname, saying I wasn’t qualified; and I don’t know what my mother’s surname was, neither Brother Shrimp nor Brother Crab know either."

Chu Xuan clenched his fists, really wanting to beat that old dragon up.

Of course, he knew he wasn’t anyone significant to Xiang’er; they had met by chance, and he had no right to stand up for her.

Therefore, Chu Xuan just shook his head and said, "What about taking my surname? After all, the Xiangjiang River is also located in the ancient Chu land."

Upon hearing this, Xiang’er’s eyes lit up, and she recited word by word, "Chu Xiang’er, that sounds nice."

Chu Xuan smiled and reached out his hand as if wanting to pat her head, but Xiang’er instinctively dodged.

"Alright then," Chu Xuan awkwardly retracted his hand, "I’m leaving tomorrow. Before that, I’ll try to chat with you as much as possible."