Chapter 127: Mu Father And Daughter!

Chapter 127: Mu Father And Daughter!

I managed to slip back into bed with Mary completely before she even noticed I was gone. Crawling under the thick, protective layer of quilts, I eagerly hid under the warm blankets with my wife, savoring the peaceful presence of the woman I have spent the most time with in this world.

I gently rubbed her belly in a slow, rhythmic motion, letting the familiar comfort soothe my mind until I finally fell into a deep slumber.

The next morning, I was gently prodded awake by an angel with short blonde hair and striking blue eyes. Looking up at her face, I could instantly tell this was not our normal morning exercise day based entirely on what she was wearing, which quickly made me remember our schedule.

"Mercy, is it time to go visit?" I asked, my voice still rough from sleep.

"Yes, Master." Mercy replied, her posture perfectly straight.

"Today, it is Rick." I corrected gently, propping myself up on my elbows.

"What?" She blinked, momentarily thrown off by the shift.

"I am not visiting with your mother as your Master," I explained, looking directly into her eyes. "But just me."

Mary suddenly stuck her face out from under the heavy blanket, glaring playfully at Mercy. "Don't be stubborn today, and both of you get out so I can sleep, geez... Zzz.."

With Mary burying herself right back under the quilts, Mercy had almost completely forgotten she was even in the room. She simply offered a quiet nod to me in agreement, her cheeks softening.

After a fast hot shower and a quick change of clothes, I was completely ready to head back out into the freezing snow.

I threw on my black bodyguard long coat and slid my sunglasses into place, strictly following the outfit choices Mercy had laid out for me. It was a proper martial outfit designed specifically for meeting a traditional martial family.

Mercy was dressed casually in tight blue jeans and a soft blue sweater, accented by a golden colored scarf wrapped around her neck. She had on her fluffy winter boots that went all the way up to her knees, looking extra feminine in her black knee-length coat.

She was also wearing a pair of dark sunglasses, a necessary precaution due to the bright morning sunlight reflecting intensely off the fresh white snow.

What truly confused me, however, was the heavy Chinese Broadsword she was holding out to me. I took the weapon from her grip, instantly recognizing it as the exact trophy I had stripped off Laura Long after our battle, but it was now in absolutely perfect condition, meticulously maintained and freshly sharpened.

My left eyebrow lifted at Mercy as I carefully examined the sheer amount of work she had personally put into maintaining this steel for me.

"M-, Rick, my father and the Mu greet some people differently from others." Mercy stumbled over the name, her gaze drifting downward as she explained. "The only way to truly get my clan's respect is through raw martial prowess, and he may wish to see your skill. Sorry."

Her blue eyes held a distinct hint of shame, a deep blush creeping up her cheeks as she admitted the truth. It was the classic, time-tested father testing the lover of his daughter trope, and honestly, I could totally dig it.

"No problem, I understand." I offered a reassuring smile, moving past her to lead the way. "Let us go, Mercy. I will drive today, since you are under my care."

Before she could even think to resist or object, I firmly took her hand and pulled her along toward my old BMW, reinforcing the fact that I desperately need to buy a new car, for real.

Mercy and I made a quick stop at the local Star Dollars, picking up a couple of hot coffees and breakfast sandwiches.

We ate our food inside the warm cabin of the car, allowing me to observe her exceptionally quiet personality with a sense of newfound freshness, especially since she wasn't operating in her strict professional mode.

"Do I have something on my face, Rick?" She asked, pausing with her sandwich halfway to her mouth.

"No," I replied, keeping my eyes on her profile. "Just admiring your beauty, the stoic demeanor of a warrior, and how I want to see you mature going forward. I also thought about the day of my fight back in high school."

"Thank you," she murmured, a faint pink hue returning to her skin. "And why about that day?"

"I had strained my body a bit during that fight, and I was in a massive amount of pain." I let out a soft laugh, thinking back to the memory. "But seeing you standing right there watching me in your driver's suit made me forcefully suck up my pain just to look manly. So, I think I was totally showing off to you back then. It is funny how events look completely different when viewed in retrospect."

She smiled softly, her eyes crinkling as she looked at me. "I admit, you almost made me laugh back then, when you double sprayed that guy at the very end. It was completely ruthless and overkill, but I liked it."

As we finished the last bites of our food, I leaned across the center console and pressed a sudden kiss against Mercy's lips to her absolute surprise.

When I finally released her mouth, I offered a teasing grin.

"I was only removing the croissant crumbs from your lips, ha-ha."

As she blushed in sheer embarrassment, I quickly shifted the car into drive and sped off to meet her father and mother.

Naturally, I kept our direction heading southbound toward the nobles' cemetery, since that was the exclusive location where the grand tombstone of Mercy's mother was kept.

The moment I pulled the BMW into the main parking area of the cemetery, I spotted the massive black limo Mercy pointed out and parked directly near it.

The two of us stepped out of the car into the biting cold, immediately watching a woman dressed in a long maid outfit open the back door of the limo, allowing a man wearing a formal black Kung-Fu uniform meant for special occasions to step outside.

Tom Mu was a forty-two-year-old man with sharp blonde hair and striking blue eyes, standing as the official head of the Mu Clan and Mercy's father.

He was a master swordsman through and through, carrying his family blade, a Chinese Broadsword, absolutely everywhere he went. His rigid posture and intense demeanor completely screamed the vibe of an ancient warrior.

I gripped the Mountain Sword tightly in my left hand as the two of us stood side by side to greet him. The black-haired maid standing beside him seemed to be a specialized Personal Maid with heavy combat training, her stance proving she was at an advanced level, while Mercy's father was an undeniable Kung-Fu Master.

"Greetings father." Mercy spoke up first, her voice dropping into a formal, respectful tone. "I brought my Master, Rick Lee-Tang. And I am and have been accepted as his Personal Maid."

"Mr Tang, I am Tom Mu." The man spoke, his blue eyes locking onto me with a piercing gaze. "It is a pleasure to meet the young man my daughter concedes to. Though, I have serious reservations about you being a Tang. I do know your blood hails directly from Central Lee, but only as a disgraced bastard. No disrespect is meant in my words, I am only confirming your background."

"No offense taken," I replied smoothly, matching his rigid posture without flinching. "Your clan relies heavily on its honor, so I can easily tell its level of formality. So, what are your exact intentions, Head Mu?"

"I will test you," Tom Mu stated, his hand resting heavily on the hilt of his weapon. "To see if our Mu family will accept you as a Master worth backing. If I find your skill lacking, Mercy will be permanently removed from the family registry as a failed warrior. If you pass, I will openly acknowledge her choosing you as her Master and would warmly welcome her children. It is a matter of our family honor, not familial bonds. No matter the outcome, I will love my daughter. Do you understand?"

I nodded my head firmly to show I comprehended his rules, taking a quick glance around the immediate area. "The parking lot and the main cemetery where the regular people are gathered won't be good for this, so where did you want to go?"

He used the blunt handle of his sheathed sword to point off toward a rugged hillside area located just outside of the main gates, selecting a natural setting where absolutely no one could interfere with the match.

Without another word, he turned and walked in that direction with his maid following closely in tow, prompting Mercy and me to trail behind them.

After a few hundred feet of walking through the deep powder, we reached a wide, snow-covered rocky field.

Mercy quickly took my hands into hers, bringing them up to her lips and blowing her warm breath onto my slightly cold skin.

While she affectionately worked to warm my hands, her deep blue eyes silently conveyed a powerful, desperate message, making it clear she wanted me to win this fight for her sake.

While Mercy's father readied himself by sliding his heavy outer coat off his shoulders, he watched our affectionate interaction with a slight, knowing smile.

Then, almost like pure magic, the snow began to fall heavily around us, making the entire rocky field look incredibly mystical. Well, at the very least we are not doing a shooting match, or this weather would be an absolute pain.

I quickly handed Mercy my firearms and my heavy training weights, but deliberately left my long coat on to provide an extra layer of slash resistance in case I got unlucky against his steel.

I also handed her my personal medical kit, knowing that against a true Kung-Fu Master, the slightest weight holding me back could instantly spell total defeat.

Besides, he had explicitly said he wanted to test my skill, not that I actually needed to beat him in a death match.

The two of us stepped out into the center of the clearing, turning to face each other with a heavy silence settling between us.

I held up the Mountain Blade I had taken from Laura, gripping the traditional Chinese Broadsword firmly. It was the exact style of weapon you typically see featured in old-school Kung-Fu movies.

Slowly, I removed the sheath, holding the scabbard in my left hand while keeping the bare sword gripped in my right.

This specific sheath was engineered to function as a sort of shield that could easily block incoming sword strikes or be swung as a blunt weapon. My current skill level even allowed me to dual-wield them if I so desired, but for this fight, I intended to use it strictly to block.

"Is that Mountain Blade from the fallen Mountain Temple?!" Tom Mu asked, his eyes narrowing as he recognized the steel.

"Yes," I answered, adjusting my grip on the handle. "I took it off of Laura after I defeated her. Well, truth be told, I only held her off while she drugged me, then with enough time, my sniper bullet found her leg. So it was only half earned, I guess."

He drew his own blade with a loud, metallic hiss, but unlike my tactical style, he casually threw his scabbard completely to the side into the snow.

He clearly did not possess a specialized combat scabbard, or more likely, his style simply did not practice the dual-wield blocking style.

He also noticed that I was still tightly holding onto my scabbard, quickly realizing I intended to actively utilize it in the duel, which clearly intrigued him a bit. Tom then pointed the tip of his sword directly at my chest.

"For over thirty thousand years, this has been our Mu way. Show me why we should back a Tang."

My body didn't drop into a traditional, rigid martial stance like the one he was showcasing.

Instead, giving him my absolute full concentration, my face went completely vacant as my emotions vanished entirely, leaving nothing but the pure reality of the fight in my mind.

I could almost see every individual snowflake around us drifting away from our intense body heat, and I could tell exactly where his eyes were looking.

I had to carefully take the slippery, snowy ground into account for our impending movements, calculated alongside the precise way the freezing cold affected our physical bodies and our steel blades.

I held out the empty scabbard horizontally before me, my left foot sliding forward into a smooth half-step. At the same time, I raised the Mountain Blade high, keeping it poised to drop on him at a single moment's notice as a silent, lethal warning for him to not rush his approach.

I slowly exhaled a thick plume of steam into the freezing air, my eyes locking onto his form as he carefully tracked my every movement. "Come!"

Tom Mu raised a sharp blonde eyebrow, his posture tensing slightly as he analyzed my position. "Is that the Mountain Splitting Stance?!"

"Only if you are a Mountain?!" I countered smoothly.

His distracting question didn't fool me for a fraction of a second. I vividly saw the nearby snowflakes tremble and the subtle facial muscles near his jaw twitch, signaling that he was readying for a sudden, aggressive thrust.

The exact millisecond his broadsword came driving forward, I flicked my left wrist with blinding speed, aligning the open mouth of my scabbard directly with his incoming steel.

Shiiiiiiing! Clink!

Tom Mu's blue eyes opened comically wide as his powerful thrust was completely swallowed by the opening of my scabbard, fully sheathing his own sword into my left hand. Without wasting a beat, I slammed my thumb firmly down against his hilt, locking his weapon securely inside my sheath before offering a calm smirk.

"It is not the Mountain Splitting Stance, but a Vanishing Blade Stance. The trick is over, now let's fight!"

Sure, both he and I knew damn well that I could have easily swung my bare blade down onto his skull the moment he was disarmed in a real life-or-death encounter. But since the man explicitly wanted to see my raw skill, I was more than happy to show him exactly that.

I leaped backward through the deep powder, releasing his sword from the clamp of my thumb and tossing my scabbard into the snow near his feet.

Dropping into a standard forward blade stance, I pointed the gleaming tip of my Chinese Broadsword straight at his chest.

He snatched up his scabbard and drove forward, the tip of his blade whistling through the wind as we both moved aggressively across the white field, trading a rapid sequence of thrusts, parries, and counters while looking for a single true strike.

Ting-Ting Ting-Ting Ting-Ting Ting-Ting!

A flurry of violent swings, lunges, overhead slashes, and horizontal strikes were traded in rapid succession, eliciting a shower of bright, hot sparks from our two swords in an incredibly fierce display of dominance.

I had already completely memorized every rock and slope of the terrain around us, seamlessly implementing my Acrobatics Master abilities to constantly deceive his positioning and throw off his normal movement tactics of cornering an opponent against a wall.

After about five intense minutes of continuous striding, springing, and clashing steel, I finally found the exact opening I had been waiting for.

I launched into a sudden forward flip right over his guard, bringing my heel down with pinpoint accuracy onto his sword hilt to force his weapon down toward the earth. The exact moment my feet secured a solid stance on the snow, the sharp tip of my Mountain Blade stopped precisely one inch from his left eye, leaving absolutely no doubt in his mind that it could have entered his head.

The two of us stood completely frozen in the falling snow as he silently assessed the outcome of the fight in his head, until a broad, satisfied smile finally graced his lips.

I smoothly retracted my blade and stepped back as he reached down to pick up his own weapon. Tom Mu pointed a gloved finger directly at my hands, his voice dropping into a tone of genuine respect. "You will need to use a sword in practice more, to build up some callouses. I can tell, this is your first real sword fight. I am very happy to have met you. My Mercy has become a blessed woman, bringing honor back to our Mu Clan."

Tom noticed the complicated, heavy expression clouding my face, prompting him to step closer and whisper in a low voice that didn't carry across the field. "My family knows more than even the Lee Clan. Who do you think instructed the four guardian families about you in the past? Our records are completely whole. Only you know this secret now. So the Mu clan will fully serve once again, in secret."

Standing a few hundred feet away, the two women couldn't possibly hear a single word of our exchange, leaving them looking entirely confused as to why the proud Head of the Mu Clan was suddenly giving me a deep, respectful bow.

I kept my mouth shut, processing the fact that this guy was fully aware of the Yellow Emperor, confirming that the Mu family had functioned as the original and subsequent Imperial Guard in the ancient past.

I looked back at him, keeping my voice low. "I will take your advice and do some sword swing practice with Mercy. Just letting Mercy be with me is more than enough, so please don't bow."

He offered a knowing nod, clearly understanding the vital importance of not exposing my true identity to the world. Yet, the look in his eyes was exactly like a young kid discovering that a mythical, legendary beast actually exists in the real world.

He had probably grown up reading hidden family chronicles about the Yellow Emperor during his entire tenure as Headship, and after years of being completely unable to spread the word to anyone else, he could finally confirm that the legends were completely real.

"Don't worry, your secret is safe only with me, not even Mercy knows." Tom murmured, his eyes shining as he looked at me. "Did you know about the history of the Mu when you originally accepted my daughter into your household?"

The two of us walked over to retrieve our discarded scabbards from the snow, and I offered a simple reply. "Only the night I made my decision. But Mercy was originally saved by my father at the bank years ago, so we already had a strong thread of fate woven between us."

"I had almost forgotten about that event!" Tom let out a soft exclamation, a look of profound gratitude washing over his features. "Please accept my apology, and thank you for that. I guess the Heavens have truly smiled upon our Mu family with your return. Well, I will treat you as proper family to the rest of the world, fully accepting Mercy as your concubine with our Mu family's complete blessing. This time, you are not only a Dragon, but a Tiger. How fascinating."

With our swords securely sheathed, the two of us walked back toward the two women who were waiting anxiously near the tree line. Tom turned to me, holding out his prized weapon with both hands before formally offering it to me.

"This sword is the ultimate symbol of our Mu family. Please give it to your very first child with Mercy, and they will officially be named the next Head of the clan. I will personally man the helm into my later years, holding the position securely for your child."

Both of the women easily caught the last part of Tom's loud declaration, leaving them looking completely stupefied as they stared at him for openly declaring Mercy's unborn, future child as the official successor to the clan.

I took the heavy family blade and smoothly passed it directly into Mercy's trembling hands. She stared down at the steel, then looked up at her father with a wide-eyed expression, looking as though she had never seen this man before in her entire life. Tom simply shrugged his shoulders and admitted the truth with a casual laugh.

"The exact moment he captured my sword, I was technically a dead man. The rest of the duel was just for fun. He is a man thoroughly worthy of birthing the next head to my worthy daughter."

Mercy leaned in close, her warm lips brushing against my ear as she whispered a quiet question. "Did you somehow brainwash my father? He is absolutely never this warm with anyone, especially men trying to actively court me."

"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth!" I whispered back with a teasing wink.

She immediately understood the phrase, her lips curling into a bright, exceptionally happy smile before her father's next words caught her completely off guard.

"Come Rick, let us greet Mercy's mother and tell her the good news." Tom called out, gesturing toward the interior paths of the cemetery. "She will be incredibly happy to know her daughter is in such good hands. Mercy, hurry up or we will end up burning the incense without you."

With her heavy family sword tucked securely under her left arm, Mercy reached out and firmly gripped my left arm, while I carried my own trophy sword in my right hand.

Together, we followed Tom Mu and his specialized Personal Maid deep into the exclusive Mu cemetery grounds to give the resting matriarch our proper well wishes.

Standing before the grand stone, Mercy openly cried, smiled, and gave her heartfelt thanks to the spirit of her mother.

As for me, watching her radiant expression under the falling snow, I was incredibly glad that I hadn't rejected this amazing, fiercely loyal woman of immense Martial Pride.