Let Them Go

Hong Yuan was a practical man. If a tiger blocked the road ahead, even if he might be able to defeat the beast, he would choose to take a detour.

"Save your strength for more important things." That was a principle he often repeated. He had never imagined that one day the road he had gone out of his way to avoid would turn out to be a trap.

He had never taken Shangguan Fei seriously. This so-called champion of the warriors trembled on the field and groveled before the Old Khan King. To Hong Yuan, he seemed like a pretty boy with no mind of his own.

There was no need to ask around. At first glance, Hong Yuan had known what Shangguan Fei liked. He didn't mind exploiting that to get around Han Wuxian, the tiger blocking his way.

As a Khan's Wing Guard, he was confident he could defeat this strange woman with his own strength. But wouldn't it be safer, and take less effort, to get her to step aside of her own accord?

And so he fell for it.

Hong Yuan was so ashamed and furious he wanted the earth to swallow him. He'd had a chance to defeat Han Wuxian fair and square—or at least, he thought he had. Instead, because he hadn't used his full strength, the woman's long hair had bound his wrists, his scimitar had been knocked away, and his acupoints had been sealed. Now he lay face-down on the ground, as if he'd been overcome by her beauty and surrendered of his own accord.

Heaven and earth could bear witness: Hong Yuan would never bow before a woman.

The contest was over, and the crowd dispersed. Han Wuxian tilted her head back and sniffed the air a few times, then