"General Qin, this is actually my wife. You can't just..."
"Wife? This is the first time I've seen someone lock his wife up in a cage. You want her to go to the Southern Barbarian Kingdom with you? Fine, but leave your own life behind. I will deliver her to the Southern Barbarian Kingdom unharmed." Qin Muxue spoke calmly, yet every word exuded an inviolable authority.
"If General Qin likes it, then we'll give it to you as a token of our Southern Barbarian Kingdom's gratitude to the Western Qin Kingdom," the Southern Barbarian King said with a fawning smile. In truth, the Southern Barbarian King was furious. From the moment Qin Muxue saw Gu Baizhi, she had no intention of letting him take her back to the Southern Barbarian Kingdom. Because of his impatience, he had given away this unparalleled beauty. The Southern Barbarian King was now filled with deep regret.
"You call her your wife, yet you imprison her and give her away like an object. Is she really your wife, or just some mortal woman you forcibly abducted from the Southern Kingdom? If she is truly your wife, then you are truly a scumbag, a scumbag that no one can bear to look at. I don't want to waste my breath on you. Guards, throw her back to the border of the Southern Kingdom."
Soon, several Western Qin soldiers bound the Southern Barbarian King and the demonic cultivator beside him onto their true dragon and flew towards the border of the Southern Barbarian Kingdom.
Having said that, she turned around and went to the cage. Seeing Gu Baizhi inside, she had never seen such a beautiful woman before. Looking at her pitiful, delicate, and easily bullied appearance, Qin Muxue's heart pounded. But she quickly regained her composure. She used her spear to break the chains locking the cage door, and the chains fell to the ground with a crack.
"Bang"
Gu Baizhi slowly raised her head, completely unaware of the changes around her. There were still many faint tears in the corners of her eyes, making Gu Baizhi appear even more fragile and pitiful.
She looked up at Qin Muxue, at this stunningly beautiful yet dignified woman, and at her attire, which was completely out of place in the Southern Barbarian Kingdom.
"You are... eh!" Before Gu Baizhi could react, Qin Muxue picked her up in a princess carry.
Gu Baizhi tried to struggle, but the Immortal Binding Rope held her firmly, rendering her immobile. Gu Baizhi was still completely bewildered, having no idea what was happening. Seeing that she couldn't break free, she decided to give up. After all, being held by a beautiful woman was better than being held by that ugly, deformed Southern Barbarian King.
Gu Baizhi finally mustered the courage to look around, and to her astonishment, she found that all the original members of the Southern Barbarian Kingdom and the demons they had brought were dead in the surrounding area. But the Southern Barbarian King and the demonic cultivator beside him were nowhere to be seen. With a loud bang, Qin Muxue's true dragon also soared into the air, flying towards the Western Qin Palace.
"Have you taken a good look?" Qin Muxue asked in a slightly authoritative tone.
"Um... could you put me down? I feel really embarrassed like this..." Gu Baizhi asked weakly.
"It's alright. Compared to the weapons on the battlefield, you're not heavy, so you won't tire me out," Qin Muxue said in her usual cold tone.
Gu Baizhi was speechless. Of course she knew she wasn't heavy, but being carried like a princess in front of so many people would make anyone feel embarrassed.
Qin Muxue had only hugged Gu Baizhi for a short while when Gu Baizhi's face already flushed red; she was still shy.
Although the blush on her face was very faint, Gu Baizhi only needed to tilt her head slightly so that Qin Muxue wouldn't notice, but the fragrance emanating from her alluring charm was quite strong.
Gu Baizhi herself didn't realize it, but the strong fragrance quickly reached Qin Muxue's nose. The moment the scent entered Qin Muxue's nostrils, she was completely captivated. The fragrance utterly bewitched her. She took a deep breath, savoring the aroma.
After a long time, she began to search for the source of the fragrance. To Qin Muxue's surprise, the source of the fragrance was the woman in her arms.
Qin Muxue smiled, finding the "poor little cat" she had picked up increasingly interesting.
As the dragon slowed down, the magnificent palace came into view. Compared to the palaces of the Southern Kingdom, the palaces of the Western Qin Kingdom were even more grand and imposing, with their tiles painted a vibrant red. At the very center was the palace of the Western Qin emperor, with a colossal stone dragon statue coiled around it, making the palace appear even more majestic.
But the dragon did not stay in that palace. Instead, it flew to a small palace behind it. After flying for a while, the dragon stopped next to a small palace.
Qin Muxue carried Gu Baizhi down from the dragon's back and walked into the small palace. Inside, the rooms were lavishly decorated, more like the palace of a princess than a general's.
Qin Muxue carried Gu Baizhi to the bed in the bedroom. Qin Muxue closed the bedroom door and sat on a chair beside the bed, quietly observing Gu Baizhi. Gu Baizhi felt shy under Qin Muxue's gaze and turned her head away.
"Who told you to turn around?" Qin Muxue said in a cold tone.
Gu Baizhi was speechless upon hearing this, but she was still unsure what kind of person the woman on the ground was. Currently bound by the Immortal-Binding Rope, she truly had no means of resistance if the woman turned against her. After careful consideration, Gu Baizhi turned her head back, but kept it lowered, refusing to look at her.
"Look up," Qin Muxue said again.
Gu Baizhi was helpless, but could only raise her head.
"What's your name?" she asked.
"Gu Baizhi"
Qin Muxue was taken aback. She had heard long ago that the Heavenly Sword Sect of the Southern Kingdom had produced an exceptionally beautiful woman, known as the most beautiful woman in the Nine Provinces throughout the ages. She had always wanted to see her, but due to the irreconcilable relationship between the Southern Kingdom and the Western Qin Kingdom, and because this exceptionally beautiful woman had lived on White Lotus Peak for a long time, Qin Muxue had never met this most beautiful woman in the Nine Provinces.
Unexpectedly, just by going to teach that Southern Barbarian King a lesson today, she brought back this stunning beauty. Qin Muxue was overjoyed inside, but she maintained a cold and indifferent expression.
"Then what's your name?" Gu Baizhi asked back.
"My name is Qin Muxue, the third princess of the Western Qin Kingdom, and the commander-in-chief of the Western Qin Kingdom's Dragon Cavalry Army." She finished speaking quietly.
Gu Baizhi's previous doubts were now cleared up. "So she's royalty. No wonder her palace is so luxuriously furnished. And as the commander of the Dragon Cavalry, it makes perfect sense that she killed the Southern Barbarian King's demons and his army." Gu Baizhi thought to herself.
"I've told you my name, but I hope you won't call me by my original name in the future," Qin Muxue suddenly said, emphasizing her words.
"Then what should I call you? General Qin? Princess Qin?" Gu Baizhi asked somewhat naively.
"That's how others address me. Others can, but you can't. You must call me 'Master.'"