I Just Wanted to Teach Cultivation, But Goddesses Keep Coming!-Chapter 96 Why Does Every Dark Fairy Have Such Great Hair?
In one of the sprawling mansions of the Li clan stood an extraordinarily beautiful woman.
Her hair, a cascade of vibrant, wavy crimson, shimmered under the soft glow of the afternoon sun filtering through the tall windows.
Her skin was fair, almost luminous, and her figure curvaceous, full, and undeniably sensual... spoke of a woman who could captivate anyone who laid eyes on her.
Every subtle movement she made seemed deliberate, graceful, and impossible to ignore.
It was as if she carried an aura that drew attention without effort, a presence that could make the most composed man lose his composure.
Yet in this moment, she seemed far removed from the world’s gaze.
Her slender fingers traced the torn remnants of a paper she had just read, lingering on the broken pieces as if savoring the words one last time.
The corners of her lips lifted into a smile... soft, serene, and almost mischievous which somehow made her even more striking.
She was pleased with how things were unfolding so far.
The woman was none other than Li Zhiyan, currently recognized as the most beautiful in the Li clan.
The sudden creak of the door pulling open broke her reverie.
She turned her head slightly, her smile lingering, to see a figure step inside.
The woman who entered was her mirror image.
Every feature, every curve, every flicker of expression mirrored her own perfectly.
The only differences were in the details... the newcomer’s crimson hair was swept up into a neat, elegant bun, and her attire marked her as someone of slightly different purpose or status.
For anyone unobservant, it would have been impossible to tell them apart.
"Is he coming, Yan’er?" the newcomer asked, her voice tight with worry.
Her eyes lingered on the ashen remnants of the letter in Li Zhiyan’s hands, tracing the blackened pieces as if sheer focus could rewrite them.
"He wrote that he won’t be coming tonight, Mother. He said that he’s busy with his work in the academy," Li Zhiyan replied, her tone measured, calm, almost disarmingly so.
There was no tremor in her voice, no hint of the frustration that might have been expected.
Her posture remained poised, elegant, as though her composure alone could ward off the storm brewing in her mother’s mind.
Li Zhiyan turned to face her mother, Li Yuhua, directly. It was like staring at her own reflection in a mirror.
Li Yuhua’s lips pressed into a thin line.
"We should go to him tonight," she said, a faint edge of insistence threading her words.
"You need to wear something... more appealing, Yan’er. Something that will catch his attention, make him unable to resist." The tremble in her voice was now undeniable, betraying her anxiety, her desire to control a situation that was slipping beyond her grasp.
Li Zhiyan allowed herself a slow exhale, tilting her head slightly as her sharp, clear eyes met her mother’s.
"Go even uninvited? Why must we rush things, Mother? Teacher Lin Feng has made it perfectly clear he has no intention of meeting me tonight. If anything, that is a small mercy." She smiled faintly, a smile that was serene yet carried a subtle steel beneath it.
"I refuse to be treated like a piece of prized meat, paraded or pushed around simply to further the clan’s ambitions. That is not my purpose, and I will not bend to a plan that sees me as nothing more than an object."
Li Yuhua’s hands tightened into a fist.
"Yan’er... this is not just about pride. It’s about the clan’s standing. Lin Feng is someone the clan currently holds in high regard. The clan elders believe he is a hidden master, and that he h..."
"I am aware of all that, Mother," Li Zhiyan interrupted, her voice calm but unyielding.
"But my worth is not defined by the influence of those I may or may not attract. If worst comes to worst, I will follow my sister to the Nine Peaks Sword Sect and carve my own path. I will not be forced into a marriage, an engagement, or a role that I did not choose myself. The clan engaged me to one of the most prominent families in Clear Moon City, and now they change their minds and command me to seek out Lin Feng... begging, at worst, to become his whore. His little plaything. They expect me to spread my legs for him as if I were nothing more than a tool. I feel so cheap, Mother. This isn’t right. This can’t be right."
Li Yuhua’s face paled slightly, the lines of worry deepening.
"You don’t understand, Yan’er," Li Yuhua said, her voice strained, almost pleading.
"Before this, there was still room for us to maneuver. We could have created an excuse... any excuse to prevent you from marrying into the Ye clan next year. Illness, cultivation seclusion, even a sudden transfer to another branch family... there were many ways to delay, perhaps even cancel, the arrangement. But now... now it’s different."
She shook her head slowly, despair creeping into her expression.
"The clan elders themselves have issued their decision. Once they move as one, there is no turning back. Their will is iron, and no one beneath them can oppose it."
"Why? Isn’t it just the chief warden?" Li Zhiyan asked quietly, her voice calm but edged with sharp curiosity.
"I’ve heard many good and positive things about the Chief Warden of the Resource Hall. They say she’s fair, just, and that she hates evil above all else. Surely someone like her would listen to reason."
Li Yuhua let out a bitter, hollow laugh. "If only she were the one we were dealing with. If the matter rested in her hands alone, we might still have a real chance to change the outcome. But the order for you to go to Lin Feng... it comes directly from the matriarch herself."
Her voice dropped to a near whisper, as if even the walls might be listening.
"The Dark Sword Empress."
