Bound by a curse, saved by you

CHAPTER 9- DEFIANT

The whole crowd gasped. Madam Cheng stood up immediately from the table with a start. Wei Lian was confused, but she didn't let go of the hem of the person's clothes.

She staggered to keep herself properly, and the tear got even larger. The person pushed her away from his immediately. Wei Lian fell on her face with a loud thud, taking with her the part of the clothes that she had torn.

"Perfect." She muttered when her face hit the hard floor. "It couldn't be any better."

"What did she just do?" She heard one of the ladies mutter.

"Warrior Yue is not going to spare her."

"What insolence!"

"She dare tear his robes."

"I pity her."

She was just hearing different comments.

"Warrior Yue? As in Long Yue?" Wei Lian muttered before spranging up to a sitting position. She used the piece of clothing that she had torn to wipe the dust off her face.

"Long Yue?" She looked at his vexed face. He looked as if he was going to tear her into shreds right there at that moment.

She didn't even care if he was angry or not. It didn't make any difference. She was already at her last stage of cultivation, and she was almost an immortal. He was merely a mortal who was favoured to become a warrior.

Wei Lian scoffed and staggered up to her feet.

"So..."

"How dare you tear the warrior's robe?" The lady from before who had commanded the others to keep quiet and the same person who had pushed her yelled at her.

"Me?" Wei Lian pointed unconsciously to herself. She looked down and saw his cloth in her hand. She gasped and looked at his dressing. She had torn a large part from the waist down to the hem. He was almost half naked save for the inner clothes that he wore.

"Ohh." She said absentmindedly and threw the material on the floor. On a second, she bent down and picked it up.

"I'm sorry." She muttered and stretched the piece to him.

Long Yue's eyes narrowed. Any normal maiden from Moiying Valley who dared to tear his robes even by mistake would be on her face crying and begging for her life, but here was this lady, her face straight up and acting like she doesn't care.

"You!" The lady from before yelled again. "What did you just do?"

"What did I do? Or what did you do?" Wei Lian asked with the same careless abandon. "You pushed me."

"How dare you accuse me?" Her eyes flashed with fake fire of angst.

"And you are....?" Lian's face was bevelled with confusion. She had noticed that she was from one of the high-ranking families in the Valley, but she didn't care. She was not a low-life herself.

"You don't know her?" One of the maidens asked. "You don't know the first daughter of the Zhang family, Zhang Xia?"

"Ohh." She nodded repeatedly even though she didn't know who the hell that was or how it concerned her.

Before Wei Lian could turn to face the eldest miss of the Zhang family, a thundering sound was heard as palm made contact with a cheek. Zhang Xia sent her palm right across Lian's face.

"What... just happened?" Lian stuttered. Flabbergasted was an understatement. She just got slapped for something she didn't know about.

"First was tearing our warrior's robe and now lying against me? Do you know what that means? Who are you and where are you even from?" Zhang Xia yelled into her face.

Lian held her burning cheek. She looked up at the Moiying Warrior, who was looking at the scene silently. She turned to look at Madam Cheng, who had her eyes on the ongoing too.

She was planning on getting into the good books of these two people, but as it is, it seems that the good books had kicked her out of it by itself.

"What did you just do?" She raised an eyebrow at Zhang Xia. No one had dared raise a hand to her face before except in a duel. And this feeble maiden had just crossed the line. She might be in need as it is and suffering through a predicament, but her pride was still intact.

Going low and shameless in order to get what you want is not yet part of her dictionary. She scoffed loudly and slapped the young miss' face with the cloth lightly.

"Know your limits, young miss." She said and let the piece of clothes fall to the ground.

Zhang Xia was immediately provoked. She twirled around immediately and swung her hand fiercely at her face again, but Wei Lian was swift enough to catch the hand before it could make contact with her face again.

She twisted her hand around that her wrist looked flexible. "Listen, you might have caught me unawares the first time but if you try raising your filthy hand to my face again, I will make sure that you don't use it even in twelve moons to come."

Wei Lian shoved the hand away violently. Zhang Xia staggered and almost fell. She was held up the maidens beside her.

"Feeble thing." Wei Lian cursed and dusted her clothes. "And watch your body when next you are walking. I don't want your skinny staure bumping into me again."

The crowd booed. The invincible Zhang Xia had just been humiliated by a lowly maiden whom they didn't even know of. The lady was so brave, and she didn't even appear scared of the Zhang family name or the highly respected Moiying Warrior.

Murmurings filled the hall. Some talked of how she had been automatically disqualified, and some talked of the punishment that the Warrior or madam Cheng was going to mete out to her.

That was the least of Lian's concerns. She had ruined everything and needed a new plan. She turned to leave and came face to face with Madam Cheng and another official.

"I am sorry, Madam. You had asked me to come but i ruined it with my carelessness. I apologise." She bowed with her two hands folded in front of her.

"Who are you? And where do you come from? It is obvious that you do not know how things are being done here." The lady asked instead.

All thanks to Mei Lin, she had been able to prepare a very impressive and convincing background story for herself.

"I am from the Zita Clan." She said. "My name is Wei Lian, and I have been travelling for a long time until I settled here. My clan had been wiped out totally by an enemy, and I am a lone survivor." She sobbed.

"You were with a fox?"

"Yes. A poor animal that I had seen in the forest and tended to his wounds. He has followed me ever since then." She muttered.

"Hmm..." the woman nodded convinced.

Long Yue still stood without saying a word. It was as if he didn't exist at that moment.

"Well, I'm sorry to tell you this, but you have been...."

"I know already what you would do to me. And I was going to leave before you stopped me." Wei Lian cut Madam Cheng off and turned to the door.

"I will take my leave right away." She bowed to the crowd and to the officials.

Just as she stepped her foot over the threshold to leave the hall, a voice halted her.

"Stop! Screen her."