The General's Daughter Doesn't Want to Get Married!-Chapter 228: Sad Puppy

To any onlooker, she looked like a loyal disciple about to be separated from her savior. To Bai Yunxian, she looked like a particularly pathetic puppy that had just watched its favorite bone get tossed into a river.

"Since the exam is for the students and younger generation," she sighed, clutching her hands over her heart.

She looked up at him, her eyes brimming with a suspiciously watery sheen. "Will you even remember the ’weak girl’ who tried so hard to protect you from those nasty perverts? Or will the glory of the rankings wash away the memory of our shared campfire?"

[Ding~ Host, your acting is so thick I could spread it on toast. 10/10 for the ’Sad Puppy’ aesthetic. The Male Lead’s ’Disgust Meter’ is fighting with his ’Amusement Meter.’]

Bai Yunxian looked down at her. His silver eyes searched hers, looking for the flicker of the "Lord Yun" he knew, or perhaps the hidden expert he had glimpsed in the clearing.

But all he saw was "Li," the chatterbox, the mischief-maker, the woman who had beaten a man into the dirt for looking at him the wrong way.

He felt a strange, inexplicable urge to reach out and pat her head, or perhaps strangle her slightly. Instead, he simply tucked his hands into his sleeves.

"You have a sect to return to, Senior Sister Li," he said, his voice a cool, rhythmic chime. "And I have... obligations. Do not let your ’weakness’ get you into trouble on the way out."

"You’re so cold, Palace Lord!" Yun Shu wailed softly, for dramatic effect. "Not even a ’thank you’ for the gallbladder? Not even a ’stay safe’?"

She turned away, her head bowed, her steps heavy and slow. As she walked toward the path reserved for visiting cultivators and observers, she made sure to look back three times, each time wearing a more tragic expression than the last.

Finally, she vanished behind a row of ancient willow trees.

The moment she was out of his line of sight, Yun Shu’s posture snapped upright. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and let out a long, exhausted breath.

’System, remind me never to play a ’tragic heroine’ again. My face muscles are cramping.’

[Ding~ Noted. But it worked. Look at him.]

Bai Yunxian stood at the entrance of the main arena, his gaze still fixed on the spot where the "sad puppy" had disappeared.

A small, traitorous curve appeared at the corner of his lips, a fleeting, secret snicker. He found a strange, dark satisfaction in seeing her so bothered by their separation.

Throughout the hunt, she had been the one in control, the one teasing him, the one pulling the strings behind the scenes.

Seeing her pout, seeing her "heartbroken," felt like a minor victory in a war he didn’t even know he was fighting.

’Nuisance,’ he thought, though the word lacked its usual frost.

However, as he turned toward the center of the arena where the ranking boards were being prepared, the amusement faded, replaced by a dull, hollow ache.

The woman, "Li," was fascinating. She was powerful, protective, and utterly maddening. But she wasn’t him.

He thought of Lord Yun, the man he had married in a contract of desperation, the man who had promised him freedom.

Lord Yun was steady, mysterious, and carried a scent of sandalwood and ancient scrolls. This woman, "Li," smelled of mountain herbs and mischief.

’I was foolish to hope,’ Bai Yunxian mused, his heart tightening. ’For a moment, in the forest, when she stood before me... her aura felt so familiar.

But Lord Yun is an Elder of high standing. He wouldn’t dress as a woman and run around a forest bullying low-level disciples for sport.’

He shook the thought away. When he returned to the estate, he would confront Lord Yun. He would ask about this "disciple."

He would demand to know why he felt so drawn to a woman who shared his husband’s eyes but none of his decorum.

But first, there was the matter of the ranking. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

The Great Plaza of the Azure Sky Academy was a sea of color. Banners of the various Great Families fluttered in the wind. The "Designated Heirs", the sons of the Wei, Zhao, and Sun families, stood at the front, surrounded by their sycophants.

These were the youths who had spent the last four days "hunting" in the forest. However, their robes were pristine, and their faces were devoid of the exhaustion that plagued the other students.

Everyone knew the truth: they had brought hidden bodyguards, high-level artifacts, and "purchased" cores from other students to ensure their victory.

At the center of the plaza stood the Great Tally Stone, an ancient artifact that could sense the age and quality of a monster core to prevent fraud.

The Head Elder of the Academy, a man with a beard that reached his waist, stepped forward. "The hunt is concluded! Let the candidates present their harvests. The rankings will determine the distribution of the Spirit Vein drops for the coming year!"

The crowd buzzed.

First up was Wei Kang, the heir to the Wei Clan. He stepped forward with a smug grin, casting a disparaging glance at the Azure Sect disciples who looked like they had been dragged through a hedge backward.

Wei Kang upended his bag. A pile of Tier 2 and Tier 3 cores spilled onto the stone. The tally glowed bright blue.

"Wei Kang: Two hundred Tier 2 cores, fifty Tier 3 cores! Total points: 4,500!"

The Wei Clan supporters roared. It was an impossible number for a four-day hunt.

"He must have had a hundred people helping him," A-Zheng whispered, his fist clenching.

Next was the Zhao family heir, who managed a similar, slightly higher score through "efficient" hunting.

The atmosphere grew tense as it became clear that the noble families were colluding to sweep the top spots. They laughed amongst themselves, leering at the poorer disciples.