Maybe My Soulmate! (GL)

Morning came slowly over the Su estate, not with noise, but with that soft pale light that slipped across tiled roofs and red lanterns and made everything look gentler than it had any right to be on the day of a duel. The entire mansion was already awake long before sunrise. Servants moved through the courtyards carrying trays, hanging fresh silk ribbons, checking ceremonial decorations that had already been adjusted three times in the past two days because Mother Su refused to allow even one lantern to tilt the wrong way before the wedding. Somewhere in the outer courtyard, someone was arguing quietly about flower placement. Somewhere else, guards were speaking in low voices about the crowd already gathering near the city arena. Yet inside the inner residence, behind carved wooden doors where sunlight fell through half drawn curtains, none of that urgency seemed to matter for a little while.

Su Yubing had woken earlier than usual, mostly because Mo Yuxin had made it impossible to sleep properly. Sometime before dawn, Mo Yuxin had rolled closer in sleep until she was nearly wrapped around her, one arm resting loosely over her waist like she had no intention of letting go even unconsciously. At first Su Yubing tried to shift carefully, but the movement only made Mo Yuxin tighten her hold and bury her face lazily against her shoulder.

”You are awake,” Mo Yuxin murmured, voice still heavy with sleep.

”You are the reason for that.”

”That sounds like blame. I prefer gratitude.”

Su Yubing turned slightly and looked at her. In morning light, without her usual composed expression in public, Mo Yuxin looked softer in a way few people ever saw. Her hair was loose, half covering her face, her eyes not fully open yet, but already carrying that familiar playful look.

”You have no concern at all that I duel Lin Fan today?” Su Yubing asked, internally feeling amused at such a question.

Mo Yuxin lifted her head just enough to look at her properly, then leaned forward without answering and pressed a slow kiss against the corner of her lips first, as if deliberately making her wait for a response. When Su Yubing did not move away, that small kiss became another, fuller this time, patient and warm, the kind that did not rush because there was no need to rush. Outside the room servants moved somewhere in the corridor, but inside the room the world seemed far removed from them.

”Should I be concerned?” Mo Yuxin finally asked softly, close enough that her breath still brushed Su Yubing’s lips. ”You are asking me as if I do not know exactly how this ends.”

Su Yubing said nothing for a moment, but her fingers had already lightly caught the edge of Mo Yuxin’s sleeve.

”You enjoy saying mysterious things.”

”I enjoy watching you pretend not to enjoy hearing them.”

This time Su Yubing leaned forward first and kissed her before the teasing could continue. It was not hurried, not uncertain, simply quiet affection that had already become natural between them. The kind of closeness that no longer needed permission every time. Mo Yuxin immediately smiled into it, clearly pleased by winning whatever invisible argument she had invented in her own mind.

When they finally separated, Mo Yuxin rested her forehead lightly against hers.

”Later,” she said, ”when he starts talking too much, imagine that I am counting how many breaths until you get bored.”

”I doubt I will need long.”

”I know. That is why I almost pity him.”

Almost. After all, he is one of the chess pieces of Sha.

Yes, it hasn’t been long since they came out of the other world and now, with their newfound strength and profoundness in the realm of law and death, it was no wonder that she could immediately feel the faintaist presence of sha, or should she say ’sha’s minion.’

She and Su Yubing both know the danger of this anomaly called sha and the immense danger his chess pieces posses should they be allowed to properly grow.

Just before yesterday, they were thinking of a way to kill him without arousing any suspicions and now it seems fate were on their, or should she say, on her dear wife’s side as they didn’t even have to do anything and the prey walked right into them.

Mo Yuxin smiled slightly towards Su Yubing, wrapping her arms around her waist even more. Su Yubing, naturally knew what she was thinking and pinched her cheeks as if she was looking at a mischievous little kid.

She couldn’t help smile towards Mo Yuxin.

They stayed there longer than necessary, speaking about nothing important. Mo Yuxin complained that wedding robes were too heavy. Su Yubing told her she had said the same thing five times already. Mo Yuxin replied that true suffering deserved repetition. At one point she stole the jade hairpin Su Yubing had placed beside the bed and insisted on fixing Su Yubing’s hair herself, despite being terrible at it. The result was uneven enough that Su Yubing had to redo it while Mo Yuxin watched with no shame at all.

”You would be useless without me,” Su Yubing said.

”I would still be beautiful.”

”That is unfortunately true.”

”And married soon.”

”That too.”

By the time they finally stepped out, breakfast had already been prepared, though Mother Su gave them one long look that made it clear she knew exactly why they were late and chose not to comment only because Father Su was trying very hard not to laugh into his tea.

The city arena by noon looked like a festival ground more than a duel stage. People filled every available seat and wall. Even nearby rooftops were crowded. Merchants sold snacks openly at the edge of the square because everyone knew nobody intended to leave early. The City Lord had arrived with officials. Noble families filled upper viewing sections, each pretending calm while openly watching for advantage. Lin Fan stood already at the center of the platform in dark robes that clearly aimed for dramatic effect, hands behind his back, posture stiff with rehearsed confidence.

When Su Yubing arrived, the noise in the arena did not become louder. It became sharper, thinner, as though thousands of voices had suddenly been cut by the same blade and left hanging in the air unfinished. People who had been whispering leaned forward instinctively. Even those standing on distant rooftops shifted for a better look. She did not come dressed like someone preparing for spectacle. Her robes were simple, pale, almost understated compared to the heavy atmosphere waiting for her, but perhaps that was exactly why she drew attention so quickly. Beside her, Mo Yuxin wore red, the kind of red that naturally caught the eye even under daylight, bright enough that she looked like she had stepped out of the wedding preparations themselves and into the duel simply because she felt like it. There was no deliberate pressure around her, no released aura, no display of cultivation, yet half the crowd still watched her more than the duel stage because the memory of what happened two days earlier remained fresh in everyone’s mind. Lin Fan had clearly arrived hoping to control the scene with numbers, with posture, with timing, but Mo Yuxin’s mere presence ruined that effort before he even opened his mouth.

At the edge of the platform, before Su Yubing stepped fully inside the barrier, Mo Yuxin reached out and caught her hand very briefly, not enough for the crowd to properly notice unless they were watching carefully, but enough for Su Yubing to pause and glance sideways.

”Do not finish too fast,” Mo Yuxin said quietly, her tone light enough that only Su Yubing heard it. ”He prepared speeches. I can tell from his face.”

Su Yubing looked at Lin Fan standing stiffly at the center like someone rehearsing dignity.

”You want me to let him embarrass himself longer?”

”I think the crowd deserves entertainment,” Mo Yuxin replied with complete seriousness.

A faint breath of amusement passed through Su Yubing’s expression, so small that most people missed it, but Mo Yuxin caught it immediately and looked satisfied as she let go and stepped back outside the barrier.

Lin Fan noticed the exchange and his expression darkened before the duel even began. To him, even that tiny private moment looked insulting, as though he had already become background to something else. The barrier sealed fully, and almost the exact second it did, he began speaking, just as Mo Yuxin predicted.

His voice carried loudly, practiced for maximum reach.

”A year ago,” he said, drawing out the words carefully, ”you stood before the whole city and rejected me as though I were beneath notice. You thought my weakness then defined my future. You thought humiliation would bury me. But fate does not bend for one person’s arrogance.”

He paced slowly as he spoke, clearly intending every movement to look measured.

”I rose from nothing. From a point where I had no spiritual power, no support, no respect. While others laughed, I endured. While others mocked, I became stronger. In one short year I achieved what most cultivators fail to reach in decades. Half step Golden Core.”

A deliberate pause.

The title landed exactly as he intended, drawing murmurs from the crowd.

”You forced a three year duel because you believed time would protect you. Today I shorten that distance myself because there is no longer any need to wait. The humiliation you gave me returns here, in front of everyone.”

He looked directly at Su Yubing, his eyes burning with wounded pride disguised as righteousness.

”You stand there pretending calm, preparing a wedding like none of the past matters. But today the city watches what happens when someone like you misjudges destiny.”

Su Yubing listened without interrupting. She did not blink differently. She did not shift her posture. Her face remained so calm that the longer he spoke, the more uncomfortable his performance became. Because silence from her side gave his speech too much room. What sounded dramatic at first slowly began sounding excessive.

He kept talking.

About fate.

About talent.

About how the heavens favored him.

About how rejection had forged him stronger.

About how justice would be visible today.

By the time he finally stopped, even people in the crowd who initially listened seriously now looked tired. A few younger cultivators exchanged hidden glances. Someone near the back coughed to hide laughter.

Su Yubing then asked only one thing.

”Are you done?”

The sentence was not loud, but in the silence after his long speech it landed harder than any shout.

Laughter broke out in several places before people hurriedly covered it.

Lin Fan’s expression twisted instantly.

Without another word he attacked.

Half step Golden Core pressure exploded outward so suddenly that the front rows felt it like a heavy wave. Stone beneath his feet cracked as he launched forward, spiritual energy gathering into a fierce slash aimed directly across the platform.

The first strike shattered stone where Su Yubing had been standing a breath earlier.

The second tore through empty air.

The third slammed into the ground hard enough to split the duel platform surface.

And through all three attacks, Su Yubing moved with only foundation building peek stage cultivation. Unknown to all, she was hiding her true strength but that would just stay between her and Mo Yuxin.

Her aura remained so clean and controlled that every cultivator watching could feel clearly what level she was presenting. No instability. No false fluctuation. Just Foundation Building.

Which made every failed exchange immediately humiliating.

Lin Fan attacked faster.

She moved cleaner.

His sword came with force and anger.

She lifted two fingers, caught the blade between them, and stopped it so casually that the metal trembled in his grip before she flicked it aside.

A gasp rose from half the arena.

Then laughter followed because the motion looked almost insulting.

Lin Fan immediately abandoned distance and rushed close.

His fist aimed for her shoulder.

She turned slightly, struck his wrist, then elbow, then shoulder in three calm movements that looked almost soft, yet sent him stumbling backward several steps.

”How is that Foundation Building?”

”That cannot be Foundation Building.”

”It is. Look at her aura!”

Even the City Lord had already risen halfway from his seat now, staring openly.

Lin Fan’s breathing changed first. That alone told everyone more than his words did.

”You are hiding something!” he snapped.

Su Yubing looked at him the way one might look at a child insisting rain was fire.

”No,” she said calmly, ”you are simply loud.”

The line spread through the crowd instantly. Even those trying to remain respectful failed to suppress smiles now.

Lin Fan attacked again, pride visibly cracking.

This time his movements lost precision. Half step Golden Core power surged harder, but anger made it unstable. His sword flashed repeatedly, trying to overwhelm through speed.

Su Yubing sidestepped every strike with minimal movement, turned once, and lightly touched his back with one palm.

That single touch sent him flying forward so badly that he nearly landed face first before barely catching himself.

Laughter broke openly now.

His face turned red enough to show through the distance.

He forced more aura out in response, half step Golden Core pressure flooding the platform until weaker spectators near the barrier felt their chests tighten.

But Su Yubing still stood untouched, robes barely moving.

Then came the moment where the duel ended, even if Lin Fan had not accepted it yet.

He lunged with full killing intent, sword aimed directly at her throat.

Su Yubing turned half a step sideways, let the blade pass, and placed her own sword at his neck before he even understood where he had failed.

The barrier went silent.

His body froze.

Everyone watching knew it was over.

She withdrew the blade because to her the result was already obvious.

And that was exactly when Lin Fan chose cowardice.

A hidden dagger flashed from his sleeve, fast and low, aimed directly toward her back.

The crowd screamed because from their angle it looked too close.

But Su Yubing had clearly expected it from the instant she turned away.

She pivoted halfway, caught his wrist, twisted once hard enough that bone cracked audibly, and drove her sword through his chest in one clean motion.

No hesitation.

No wasted force.

The blade entered cleanly.

For one breath nobody moved.

Lin Fan looked down at the sword through him, disbelief stronger than pain in his eyes.

”You...” he tried to speak, blood already rising.

”You attacked after defeat,” Su Yubing said quietly. ”That makes this simple.”

When she withdrew the blade, he collapsed.

The body had barely hit the platform before a furious pressure descended from above.

A black robed old man appeared in midair, aura so heavy that several elders in the audience immediately turned pale.

”Junior!” he roared. ”You dare kill him!”

The crowd panicked instantly.

A hidden protector.

Someone powerful enough that his arrival alone bent the air.

His palm descended toward Su Yubing with murderous force.

Mo Yuxin, who until now had been leaning lazily near the barrier, did not even fully rise.

She lifted one finger.

Only one.

A thin golden line shot upward.

The old man’s descending force shattered instantly.

His eyes widened just before the golden line struck him.

Then his body stopped midair as though an invisible mountain hit him head on.

A heartbeat later he flew backward across the sky and smashed through the outer wall beyond the arena, vanishing under collapsing stone.

Silence followed so complete that even breathing sounded loud.

Mo Yuxin lowered her hand slowly and walked onto the platform as if nothing unusual had happened.

She stopped beside Su Yubing, looked once toward the direction where the old man disappeared, then across the remaining Lin family members whose faces had already lost all color.

”I said earlier,” she said, voice cold enough to reach every corner clearly, ”if people from the Lin side still have unnecessary thoughts, they may bring all of them now.”

No one moved.

No one dared.

By sunset the story had already become the only thing spoken about in Azure Dragon City.

Lin Fan dead.

Su Yubing victorious while visibly using Foundation Building.

A hidden expert destroyed by one finger.

Mo Yuxin stronger than anyone imagined.

And when evening returned them to the Su estate, red lanterns glowing softly again above the courtyard, Mo Yuxin leaned close the moment the gates closed behind them and stole a kiss before servants fully turned away.

”You looked very beautiful when he realized he was foolish,” she murmured.

Su Yubing looked at her, calm as always, though her hand had already slipped into Mo Yuxin’s sleeve.

”You watched very carefully.”

”I always do.”

This time Su Yubing said nothing, but she did not let go as they walked back inside under the lantern light.

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To be continued.