Chapter 27: Heart-to-Heart
Ji Ma and George walked towards the small grove outside the military camp.
The deeper they went, the more uneasy Ji Ma felt. As the saying goes, “When one is well-fed and warm, they think of lust.” What if George took her to the grove again and asked for outdoor intimacy like last time?
This scumbag wouldn’t spare a thought for her feelings; he always injected his scorching essence inside her.
George stepped on the decaying leaves on the ground, and the moonlight filtered through the branches, casting a dreamy veil over the ordinary scene. He stopped and said, “We’re here; the moonlight is beautiful tonight.”
Hearing this, Ji Ma quickly pulled her hand away and said, “I don’t want to do that tonight!”
George looked at her in bewilderment. “You’re overthinking it again.”
Ji Ma breathed a sigh of relief.
George continued, “If I wanted to, why not just go to your dream palace? It’d be much easier there.”
Ji Ma tensed up again, looking at George’s handsome face under the moonlight and asked, “So do you want to go to the dream palace and do that with me?”
George replied promptly, “Of course I do.”
Ji Ma jumped up and ran back, shouting, “Big pervert! Don’t even think about it!”
Just a few steps into her escape, a big hand caught her by the horn.
“What… what do you want to do?” Ji Ma said, crossing her arms, “Don’t be reckless.”
George looked at her with sincere blue eyes and said, “I’m just speaking honestly. I dare say any normal man would like you, Ji Ma.”
As he spoke, he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, which was tightly shut. “…It’s just that some people are afraid, some are greedy, and some love.”
After saying this, he released his grip on her horn.
Indeed, as long as they are normal men, most, no, the vast majority would want to sleep with me. Even I want to have myself. What’s to be afraid of? He’s just being honest.
Ji Ma calmed down and said, “You scared me.”
“I think my answer was very normal. Why are you so afraid?”
“Because someone is bullying the weak, using a gun to threaten the defenseless, causing me serious psychological trauma.”
“I’ll try to be more accommodating next time, to give you a better experience.”
“Heh, look at you, so pleased with yourself.” Ji Ma said, “But all you have is brute strength and an inhumane amount of stamina? Relying on sheer force without any technique? Such a novice.”
George retorted, “If I remember correctly, didn’t you beg for mercy every time? Didn’t work?”
Those two words, ‘didn’t work’, were undoubtedly a huge humiliation to Ji Ma.
She stood on her tiptoes and angrily accused George:
“It’s because you bully me, not mature enough? If I were as tall as you, even if I wasn’t as strong, I would guarantee to make you yield every time with my vast techniques and experience, leaving you on the ground begging for mercy, seeking cures from doctors the next day, hoping to regain your vigor.”
A smile crept onto George’s face.
“Hey, hey, don’t underestimate me; I’m serious,” Ji Ma said. “You’re just a hotheaded rookie who knows nothing but to go all out. Your understanding of intimacy is equivalent to zero; your impression of it is still superficial, just doing it and that’s it. I have extensive knowledge, but… just lack the hardware conditions.”
“Alright, I believe you.”
“Rookie! Don’t give me that look of being overly accommodating.” Ji Ma said, crossing her arms, looking arrogantly at the former hero in front of her who had only three experiences.
When I achieved a hundred victories, your great-grandfather was probably just a puddle of liquid.
“Then can you teach me?”
“Heh, you understand the seriousness of the situation.” Ji Ma flicked her tail and said, “Of course… no! Do I look like a fool who would assist the enemy?”
George increasingly felt that a woman’s heart was hard to understand. He couldn’t comprehend Ji Ma’s incredible competitiveness in this matter, so he rationalized it with the fact that Ji Ma was a succubus.
He waved his hand and said, “Alright, let’s put this topic aside for now. Ji Ma, have you ever imagined your parents?”
“Heh, are you inquiring about my past in a roundabout way again?”
“No.”
“Oh, that’s good.” Ji Ma said, “I simply hatched from an egg, and I have no curiosity about which female succubus laid it.”
“I do.” George leaned against the tree and looked at the moon.
“Tsk, you old perv…” Ji Ma was about to label George as a “dirty old man,” criticizing him for not being satisfied after being with younger girls and still coveting older ones, but seeing the faint sorrow on George’s face, she swallowed her words.
It must be because of his high favorability towards me; that’s why he talks about his unfortunate and pitiable childhood. I should just go along with it to raise his favorability.
She said, “…I suddenly remembered you seem to be a bastard child.”
George looked at the moon, paused for a moment, and said, “Yes.”
Ji Ma recalled having entered George’s childhood dream when he introduced himself, he specifically emphasized being the son of the local knight lord. Despite being neglected, dressed in a washed-out shirt, he struggled to squeeze into the seating of the knight tournament—seating that only nobles were entitled to.
“You must have had a very unhappy childhood…” Ji Ma paused, feeling her words were somewhat inappropriate, and closed her mouth.
“Yes, unhappy. There’s nothing to hide.” George said with self-deprecation, “I lived in the castle like a beggar, relying on people’s pity. The clothes were found by a kind-hearted housekeeper in a dusty old box, and the meals were leftovers brought by a generous servant. The room I lived in was a remote storage room so that my father’s wife wouldn’t see me all the time.”
“Fortunately, there was a small window, allowing a glimpse of dawn every day.”
“Alas, that’s so pitiful.” Ji Ma said, “How about this? Once we finish this fight, I’ll accompany you back to your hometown, so you can return in glory and show off.”
“…You should ride a heavenly warhorse, fully armed, with polished armor that can be used as a mirror, and bring at least fifty female attendants with bare thighs, singing as they sprinkle flowers along your path. I’ll sit behind you on your horse, charming everyone so that all men, even the stray dogs on the streets, envy you, while you strut around proudly in the castle…”
“And if anyone dares to obstruct us, you will fight them in the name of defending knightly honor, making everyone understand that in this small town, a platinum-level warrior can do as they please, and what’s the lord even worth? Your father and his lineage will definitely be furious and wish to beat you, the show-off…”
“And then you will do just that.” Ji Ma raised her head confidently, extending a hand forward, coldly stating, “I’ll use one hand; I’m in a hurry, so they can all come at me together. After they approach, you’ll beat them senseless.”
As Ji Ma talked, she waved her fists as if really punching a group of ungrateful knights. “Once you’ve floored them all, you’ll stand among the pile of defeated foes and coldly throw a line, ‘Thirty years in the east, thirty years in the west, don’t bully the young and poor. Today, I’ll beat you to death.’ After that, come back once a year, pass by once each spring festival, stop by whenever you need a drink, and beat them until they get used to it.”
George couldn’t help but smile and shook his head.
“That’s too unrealistic.”
“It doesn’t matter, under the influence of my extraordinary abilities, your father and his descendants will definitely want to beat you. You can count on that.”
“You’re so bad.”
“By the way.” Ji Ma clapped her hands, “I almost forgot one very important thing.”
“What thing?”
“The following year, after you’ve beaten them, remember to add a year, saying ‘Thirty-one years in the east…’”
“Hahaha.” George rarely laughed out loud, “Where did that come from?”
“Just asking you if you’re handsome or not?”
“I feel a bit awkward.”
“As long as you’re not awkward, the awkwardness is on others.” Ji Ma patted George’s shoulder firmly, “Go for it, young man. You’re already a force to be reckoned with; as long as you speak up, I can find you a hundred thigh-baring attendants, and not a penny off.”
“Actually, a long time ago, I already returned to my hometown.”
“Did you show off?” Before George could answer, Ji Ma stated, “Definitely not showing off; someone like you from the good faction would probably feel like a live-in son-in-law, thinking that no matter how it is, they are still blood relatives, silently enduring their demands.”
“No.” George said, “I didn’t go see them; they didn’t see me either. I brought some money to reward those who helped me before.”
“I almost forgot; you also need to make a grand entrance for those who helped you back then, making everyone in the city regret why they didn’t help this kid back in the day. Even the ewes that didn’t let you drink milk back then would lower their heads in remorse.”
“No need. I’ve pretty much gotten over the shadows of my childhood.” George said, “I used to deceive myself into thinking my father loved me, that my identity was noble. I wanted to squeeze into banquets and knight tournaments time after time to prove my noble status…”
“But now, looking back, it just seems funny. My father was nothing but a mere count, managing a few barons, guarding his small territory. His wife feared I would take that small piece of land away. The world is so vast; there’s a place for me on the stage, why bother about that little spot?”
Ji Ma said, “Sigh, as long as it’s the same.”
“Then why the sigh?”
“Because I can’t show off.” Ji Ma said, “It’s like wearing fine clothes but only going out at night; it’s better to put it down.”
“Though that’s how it is, I always can’t help but wonder.” George said, “What kind of person is my biological mother? Does she silently pray for me? Does she cry whenever she thinks of me? If she came looking for me when I was little, would she hug me tightly? Did she ever look at me from a distance while I was playing?”
Perhaps she has long forgotten about you, or else after you became famous, she didn’t look for you… she probably has other children and has completely forgotten you.
Ji Ma thought this but didn’t say it out loud; she just said, “George, you’re so handsome, your mother must also have been beautiful.”
“Ji Ma, have you thought about your parents?”
Ji Ma still remembered her mother’s aging and disappointed voice coming from the phone: “Why are you so useless? Did you let someone swindle all your money?”
She trembled and said, “I… don’t want to talk about this.”
“I’m sorry.” George reached out and tightly embraced Ji Ma’s shoulder.
Ji Ma didn’t pull away, and together they looked up at the moon, leaning against a solid shoulder, which felt quite nice.
By the way, is that Litis guy just fooling me? Always demanding money, just money. Forget it; it’s probably no use.
Half an hour later, the two returned to the military camp together. The gazes of the crowd were quite ambiguous, and in the hot summer, Eve Frostleaf’s tent felt as cool as if it had air conditioning.
