Maybe My Soulmate! (GL)

a wave of relief, so potent it was almost dizzying, washed over lady su. her face, which had been a mask of strained nobility, bloomed with a genuine, radiant warmth. "oh, that's good, that's good!" she exclaimed, her voice bright with unadulterated joy as she patted mo yuxin's hand, her grip tight and sincere. "your mother is such an amazing woman. i truly admire her. we've become good friends this past year, sharing our worries over you two. who would have thought that while we mothers were bonding over tea and anxiety, our daughters would end up traveling the world together! this is a blessing, truly a blessing." she squeezed yuxin's hand again, her gaze full of a mother's sincere gratitude. "thank you for taking care of my child, mo yuxin. from the bottom of my heart, i'm truly grateful."

yuxin offered a charming, easy smile that seemed to light up her features. "it was my pleasure, auntie su. yubing took care of me just as much. we looked out for each other. that's what partners do."

the crushing tension that had gripped the great hall evaporated like morning mist, replaced by a warm, convivial atmosphere. the banquet, which had been on hold, was finally being served. servants, their faces wreathed in relieved smiles, moved with practiced grace, filling the air with the delicious aroma of spirit beast meat roasted with fragrant herbs, delicate pastries infused with spiritual energy, and the rich scent of aged wine. the family, finally assured of their peerless heir's safe return and deeply impressed by her newfound power, began to truly relax and celebrate. toasts were made, their voices ringing with genuine happiness. laughter, loud and unrestrained, echoed off the high, carved ceilings. the clan elders, who had been stern and watchful, now nodded in deep satisfaction, their faces content. everything was as it should be. the su family was whole, powerful, and celebrating its bright future.

it was into this scene of perfect, harmonious familial bliss that su yubing dropped a bomb forged in the heavens.

she stood up. she didn't clear her throat or tap a glass with a chopstick. she simply rose to her feet, and her presence alone was a command. the vibrant chatter died down instantly, forks and cups paused halfway to mouths, and every single eye in the vast hall turned to her. her expression was calm, her posture as serene as a tranquil lake, but beneath the surface, there was an undercurrent of unshakeable, terrifying resolve that made the very air crackle with anticipation.

"aunts, uncles, elders, cousins," she began, her voice even and clear. it wasn't loud, yet it carried to every corner of the room as if she were speaking directly into each person's ear. "i thank you all for your warm welcome. it is good to be home."

she paused, her gaze sweeping over them all, an empress surveying her court. then, her eyes finally landed on her parents, a flicker of warmth in their depths. then, she turned slightly, and her eyes found mo yuxin. the shift was instantaneous and breathtaking. the cool, competent, matriarch-in-waiting, the future pillar of the su clan, vanished in a heartbeat. for a split second, all that was left was a woman looking at the absolute center of her universe, the foundation of her dao heart. the love in her eyes was so raw, so potent, so utterly unconcealed, it was like a physical force that struck the hearts of all who saw it.

she took yuxin's hand, her fingers lacing through hers in a gesture of profound intimacy. "i have an announcement," she continued, her voice gaining a new, deeper resonance, a certainty that defied all opposition. "i want to be perfectly clear, so there are no misunderstandings or foolish notions in the future. mo yuxin is not just someone i have been adventuring with. she is not just my friend or my sworn sister."

yubing took a deep breath, her gaze unwavering, her will like forged steel.

"she is the woman i love. and she is the woman i will marry and be with for the rest of my life."

silence.

it was not a respectful silence. it was not a contemplative silence. it was a dead, absolute, suffocating void. a dropped jade chopstick clattered against the polished stone floor, and the sound was as loud and shocking as a thunderclap in a clear sky. a servant, walking with a heavy platter of glistening, perfectly roasted duck, froze mid-stride, his arms trembling under the weight. the master chefs, who had just emerged from the kitchens with the next spectacular course, stopped dead in their tracks, their faces a mask of pure, uncomprehending shock. the very air seemed to have solidified, trapping sound, trapping breath, trapping thought. for one long, agonizing minute, the only movement in the entire su family villa was the gentle, indifferent flicker of the oil lamps, casting long, dancing shadows on the frozen tableau of horrified, slack-jawed faces.

then, the dam of their composure broke.

it started as a low murmur, a confused, disbelieving whisper from one cousin to another. then it grew, swelling into a buzzing, chaotic cacophony of scandal, outrage, and sheer disbelief. the grand hall erupted into pandemonium.

"what did she say?"

"marry? a woman? is she insane?"

"is this some kind of sick joke? after all we've been through?"

through it all, yubing stood unshaken, a pillar of absolute calm in the hurricane she had so deliberately unleashed. at that moment, mo yuxin, who had been enjoying the show, decided to add her own flair. she stood up beside her lover. she was a full head taller than yubing, a striking, powerful figure in her own right, her beauty sharp and untamed. with a lazy, possessive grace that silenced half the room through sheer audacity, she wrapped a strong arm around yubing's waist, pulling her flush against her side. she took yubing's free hand, raised it to her lips, and pressed a gentle, lingering kiss to her knuckles, her dark eyes never leaving yubing's, full of adoration and amusement.

"what my yubing said," yuxin announced, her voice a low, magnetic purr that was somehow more commanding than a shout, "is that i am hers, and she is mine. we will be spending our lives together. it's really quite simple. try to keep up."

this public, shameless, and utterly intimate display of affection was like pouring heavenly fire oil on an already raging inferno.

"preposterous!" one of the great elders, su bo, a man whose cultivation was at the mid-foundation building stage, slammed his hand on the heavy rosewood table, his wrinkled face turning a dangerous shade of purple with rage. "yubing, have you lost your mind?! two women? it's unnatural! it's an abomination against the heavens and our ancestors!"

"he's right, yubing," another aunt chimed in, her voice shrill with rising panic. "you are the heir of the su family! it is your sacred duty to marry a man from a powerful clan, to produce an heir, to continue our noble bloodline! this... this is a betrayal of everything we stand for!"

the younger generation was simply stunned into a state of cognitive dissonance. their minds, raised in the deeply traditional, almost mortal-like society of azure dragon city, were struggling to even process the concept. two women, loving each other, wanting to marry? it was something from a forbidden, demonic text, not something that happened in their world, and certainly not to their family's peerless, god-like heir. they were frogs in a well, completely unaware that in the vast world of cultivation beyond their secluded city, where power and the heart's true will were the only laws that mattered, such things were as common as the clouds in the sky. here, it was heresy of the highest order.

throughout the escalating uproar, lord and lady su remained silent. they weren't looking at the outraged elders or the shocked cousins. their gazes were fixed on their daughter, and on the striking woman standing beside her. they saw the way yuxin's hand rested on yubing's waist, a gesture that was both possessively claiming and fiercely protective. they saw the unyielding, absolute devotion in yuxin's eyes as she looked at their daughter. and in that gaze, so full of raw love and untamed desire, they saw a faint, ghostly reflection of their own youth, of a love that had defied convention and forged its own path against all odds. their silence was not disapproval; it was deep, contemplative, and heavy with memory.

the elders, however, completely misinterpreted this silence as tacit agreement with their own outrage, and they grew bolder, their voices louder.

"this is the fault of this mo family girl!" su bo spat, pointing a trembling, accusatory finger at yuxin. "she has clearly corrupted you, yubing! led you astray with her demonic wiles and bewitched your mind!"

su yubing's expression, which had been as calm as a placid lake, began to chill. a frostiness entered her eyes, so cold it seemed to lower the temperature of the air around her. "i would watch your tongue, great elder," she said, her voice dropping a degree. at that moment, an infinitesimal, almost undetectable sliver of her aura leaked out. it wasn't an attack; it was a subconscious reaction to the disrespect shown to her beloved. it was a pressure so subtle yet so profound that it felt like a single drop of impossibly cold water landing directly on the soul. everyone in the room, from the weakest servant to the strongest elder, felt a tremor run down their spine, a primal, instinctual fear that made the hairs on their arms stand on end. it was a fleeting sensation, gone as quickly as it came, but it shocked them into a moment of silence.

.

.

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To be continued.