Chapter 51: Encounter and Conflict

Thinking of the young general in the white battle robe who was invincible on the battlefield, Baima felt her heart burning with intense passion: He was the only man she had truly loved in her past life!

Regrettably, this young general seemed to have no interest in women and had never once set foot in the camp prostitutes' tents.

She had tried countless methods, appearing before him intentionally or unintentionally time and again, yet she failed to leave even the slightest impression. This also led her to believe the rumors: the young general must not like women. Otherwise, how could he remain completely indifferent to her stunning beauty from her past life?

Recalling her appearance in her past life, and then looking at her current self, Baima truly could not find any joy: her figure was still passable, with decent breasts and hips; her facial features were also fine, possessing an exotic beauty similar to the women of the barbarians from her past life. But as for this skin, no matter how she looked at it, it infuriated her: why wasn't it skin as smooth as congealed fat, delicate enough to be broken by a breath? Why wasn't her hands like tender shoots, with skin like ice and bones like jade?

It would be one thing if her skin was just dark, but there were even a few small freckles on her nose! And small red pimples frequently popped up on her face, making her feel deeply uncomfortable! If she had the wonderful skin of her past life, those few stubborn men who refused to yield would probably have long since thrown themselves into her arms, right?

Not only was she the most striking woman in the tribe in terms of figure and appearance, but she was also the best at grooming and dressing herself. While other women let their hair hang loose all day, she alone used the skills learned from her past life to style her hair into various attractive hairdos every day. While other women went completely naked without any adornments, she knew how to use wild flowers and grasses to dress herself up prettily.

Even though her private parts remained uncovered, that sense of half-covering and half-revealing was infinitely more appealing to look at than being stark naked all over.

Walking, observing, and pondering along the way, Baima unconsciously arrived at Ayu's doorstep.

Huh? Isn't this Ayu's house?

Seeing Ayu's noticeably taller fence, sturdy wooden gate and front door, the smooth and neat flagstone path paved in the courtyard, the neatly strung clothesline, the newly built stone stove, and the stone lock on the front door...

Baima's heart leaped with joy: The man she had set her sights on was indeed different. Even when things changed, Ayu's changes were the greatest and best. Ah, this time, I must find a way to make Ayu my man!

"What are you doing at my house?" Duoji asked angrily. Having just returned to the tribe and collected their exchanged salt and other goods at the public square, he saw Baima lingering around his doorstep before he even reached home.

Could it be that she was still coming to pester his elder brother? Bah! His elder brother would never like her. Now that his elder brother had a sister-in-law, he would like her even less.

***

"Duoji, why are you being so rude to me? Before long, I'm going to become your sister-in-law." Baima was extremely displeased upon hearing Duoji's reprimand: if it weren't for the sake of Ayu, and because she hadn't yet coaxed Ayu into her hands, she would definitely have given this brat a few fierce slaps.

"Want to be my sister-in-law? Keep dreaming! My elder brother has already formed a partnership with my sister-in-law, so how could you ever be my sister-in-law?" Duoji rolled his eyes. Did this idiot woman think all the men in the tribe were fools?

What? Ayu had formed a partnership with someone? How was that possible? As far as she knew, Ayu had no favored partner in the tribe. After a brief shock, Baima quickly regained her composure: This brat must be saying this on purpose so that she would give up on Ayu.

"Duoji, you're still too naive. Do you think that by saying this, I will give up on Ayu? Ayu will become my man sooner or later," Baima said indifferently. Even if Ayu really had formed a partnership with another woman, she would snatch him over! Besides, Ayu hadn't partnered with anyone yet.

With a thud, just as Baima finished speaking, she felt her body tilt and lost her balance as she tumbled toward the ground: "How..."

Before she could finish her sentence, she crashed onto the muddy ground outside the courtyard, taking a thoroughly ungraceful tumble.

Baima was boiling with rage: Had the world turned upside down? She clearly sensed that this wasn't because she had lost her footing and fallen, but because someone had given her a push, causing her to fall.

Disregarding the pain in her body, Baima struggled to raise her head, only to see a beautiful woman dressed in strange yet exquisite attire, carrying a bamboo back-basket, looking down at her with haughty contempt.

That's right, it was contempt! The kind of contempt that trampled everyone else in the world beneath her feet!

Baima was furious: No matter who this woman was, daring to look at her with such a gaze meant she was dead!

This contempt, which involuntarily chilled her to the bone and made her feel utterly insignificant down to her very marrow, was something she had tasted in her past life—indelible and unforgettable, and she had never forgotten it in this lifetime.

In her past life, when that woman had looked at her with such a gaze, she had been cowardly and had shrunk back. At that time, she was merely a humble camp prostitute; how could she possibly compare with a lofty princess? Consequently, she could only watch helplessly as her young general in the white robe tenderly embraced that damn princess!

She didn't dare to contend, because even if she tried, she couldn't win. Yet, simply because she lingered and cast a few more reluctant glances at the young general in the white robe, that willful princess wanted to beat her to death with a heavy staff? What nonsense about a toad wanting to eat swan meat and overestimating her own capabilities?

***

The hateful thing was that the young general she yearned for day and night hadn't given her a single favorable look. Instead, he acted as if he wanted to draw a clear line between them, and later even personally beat her to death with his own hands.

That's right, in her past life, she had been beaten to death by the person she loved. Therefore, upon meeting Ayu in this life—even though he only resembled the white-robed young general by fifty or sixty percent—she vowed to get her hands on him, and then, after capturing his body and soul entirely, to ruthlessly abandon him!

What a pity! How hateful! Ayu, that bastard, turned out just like that young general, not giving her a single pleasant look.

She could let the princess and the young general from her past life go, since she had been reincarnated and could do nothing to them. But in this life, she was the chieftain's daughter; she refused to believe she couldn't get her hands on Ayu. Furthermore, who was this detestable woman before her? Who gave her the audacity to push the chieftain's daughter? Who gave her the courage to wear such gorgeous clothes that even she didn't possess?

Who gave her the audacity to be even more beautiful than she had been in her past life? Oh, this woman's skin was even better than the one she had in her past life! Seeing the skin of the woman before her reminded her of her own exquisite beauty in the past life, and looking at her current self in comparison, the gap was simply too vast.

Wailing, grief welled up in Baima's heart, and two tears fell. Before the two teardrops even hit the ground, Baima gritted her teeth and stood up: "How dare you! How dare you push me?"

Mutong raised an eyebrow: "So what if I pushed you? Right in front of me, you still dare to loudly shout about snatching my man. Pushing you is getting off lightly."

"Who wants to snatch your man? With someone like you, would any good man want you?" Baima puffed out her chest and retorted unyieldingly: Do you have breasts as big as mine?

"No? Who was the shameless one just now screaming at the top of her lungs about snatching Ayu?"

"What? Ayu is your man? You've formed a partnership with Ayu?" Baima felt as though a thunderbolt had struck her, leaving her dizzy and disoriented: How could this be possible? Ayu had partnered with someone? But Duoji had just said so, and this woman had also confirmed it. Could it possibly be false?