"Then I won’t tell you where I am, either," Jiang Man replied.

Her words were too good to be true.

Besides, her meaning was clear. There would be no divorce, only widowhood for one of them.

"One day, husband, you will surely come to believe me. If that day never comes, I will still be the one to collect your corpse." After a pause, the Fairy continued, "And that Evil God you’re raising—I’ll make sure it’s buried with you.

"However, it did offend me, so I will still take action against it in the future.

"You don’t think I’m the vengeful type, do you, husband?"

As she spoke, the Fairy looked at Jiang Man, seemingly waiting for his reply.

For a moment, Jiang Man didn’t know how to respond.

After all, she had been minding her own business, taking a bath, when she was forced into this marriage.

It was definitely the Old Yellow Ox’s handiwork.

Given such an offense, it was understandable that she would want revenge.

"It seems my husband is on my side after all," the Fairy said softly.

With that, the Fairy sat quietly, saying no more.

Jiang Man stood to the side, unsure when she might leave, but he didn’t dare make any other moves.

If he provoked her, the loss would far outweigh any gain.

Moonlight streamed through the window, falling upon the Fairy and making her glow faintly.

She was like a treasure bathed in the moon’s glow.

The night seemed to stretch on endlessly.

Jiang Man saw the Fairy staring at the moonlight, lost in thought, and had no idea what was on her mind.

Just before dawn, she finally snapped out of her reverie. She turned to Jiang Man and said softly, "Good morning, husband. This was our first night together. I’ll remember it."

Jiang Man felt what she really meant was, ’You gave me the cold shoulder all night. I’ll remember this grudge.’

"My power is fading, and I can no longer maintain my form. I have to go back, but I’ll return soon." The Fairy looked at Jiang Man and whispered, "You don’t even know my name, do you, husband?"

As she spoke, she rose and walked to the desk by the window. She raised her hand slightly, her slender finger gently tracing something on the tabletop.

Only then did she retract her hand. She then gave Jiang Man a slight bow. "Husband, I’ll be taking my leave now."

The moment she finished speaking, she vanished on the spot.

Like a ball of light bursting open.

Just like the message light orb from before.

Jiang Man waited a moment, and only after confirming she was truly gone did he let out a heavy sigh of relief.

He then saw the red sun beginning to rise outside.

Seeing this, Jiang Man finally approached the desk by the window.

He was very curious about what she had left behind.

As sunlight streamed in, the marks on the desk became clear.

Three characters were written there—Meng Qiewei.

’Her name?’

Jiang Man pondered for a moment, wondering if Meng was an actual surname.

’It probably is.’

’But is there a great family with the surname Meng?’

...

"No," the Old Yellow Ox said calmly. "At least, I’ve never heard of any major clan in the Immortal Sects with the surname Meng."

Jiang Man felt it was a shame. If he knew which family she belonged to, he could take some precautions.

"The whole night, and you didn’t touch her?" the Old Yellow Ox asked.

Jiang Man shook his head.

"You don’t like her?" the Old Yellow Ox asked.

Jiang Man nodded. "That’s right. I don’t like her."

The Old Yellow Ox looked at Jiang Man and fell silent for a moment.

Then it went back to eating grass.

Afterward, Jiang Man recounted the events of the previous night.

He mentioned the Guardian Sand, the Unparalleled Celestial Pride Fate Chart, and finally, her attitude.

"The Guardian Sand can indeed do something like that, but such a situation must be extremely unusual. Once you have contact with the Immortal Sects, it should be easy to find out which family she belongs to," the Old Yellow Ox said.

After a pause, it brought up the Unparalleled Celestial Pride Fate Chart. "What she said isn’t without reason. Perhaps she really does want to be a good wife and mother with you."

’Be a good wife and mother?’

Jiang Man thought about his own circumstances.

It came back to the same question: when he could barely feed himself, how could he have the confidence to believe she could settle down with him to be a good wife and mother?

’She’s either after my life or my freedom.’

’How could the interests of a great family be mine to decide?’

’I should just focus on getting stronger.’

’Give me time, and even a Fairy will be no match for me.’

’An Unparalleled Celestial Pride Fate Chart... would someone with a Fate Chart like that truly let a family control them?’

’If all the previous ones were like that, then it’s only logical they didn’t meet a good end.’

’If you’re an Unparalleled Celestial Pride, you should break free from all shackles.’

That was how he had lived his life.

’There are no Unparalleled Celestial Prides grown in a greenhouse.’

"So you have to be poor to become an Unparalleled Celestial Pride?" the Old Yellow Ox suddenly asked.

Jiang Man shrugged and strode toward his small courtyard.

He was just a little poor right now. It was temporary.

Today was the first of the seventh month.

It was the first day of classes after the break. He had to ask Mr. Zhao if there was a reward for placing first in the Yunqian Bureau.

’First, I need to pay off my debts.’

’Besides, I need Spiritual Source for my future advancements.’

’I have to find a way, and soon.’

’I can’t borrow anymore. I won’t have time to stay here and slowly pay back the Spiritual Source later.’

’I can’t owe favors, either. Once I leave, I’m afraid that in my drive to cultivate, I’ll forget about all this.’

’When you’re constantly pushing forward, you instinctively ignore what you leave behind.’

’Take Chang Qiweng, for example. He can’t even get into a Sect. If I leave, who is he going to ask for his Spiritual Source back?’

’Wait for me to come back?’

’There’s no telling if we’ll ever see each other again in this lifetime.’

—

「At the entrance to the Yunqian Bureau.」

Cheng Yu saw Luo Xuan and hurried to catch up. "Miss Luo, you’re here so early, too?"

Luo Xuan glanced at Cheng Yu and said calmly, "I just came out for a walk, so I ended up being a bit early."

After a pause, she asked curiously, "Why are you here so early? There’s still a lot of time before classes normally start."

"Trying to figure out a way to scheme a little. There are only two months left. If I don’t do something, I’ll have no way out," Cheng Yu said with a smile.

Pausing for a moment, she asked curiously, "Did the marriage recruitment fail?"

’From the looks of it, the most suitable candidate for the Luo Family’s recruitment was Jiang Man. But Jiang Man is already first in the Yunqian Bureau, which means he can’t be recruited as a son-in-law anymore. He has a legendary air about him. People like that don’t usually subordinate themselves to others. Marrying into a family is definitely out of the question for him. Unless they marry their daughter to him.’

"Yes. It’ll probably be a marriage alliance now," Luo Xuan said after a moment of thought, nodding slowly. Then she asked, "What about you?"

Cheng Yu raised an eyebrow slightly, looking up at the sky. "A scheming person like me definitely has more options than you."

Luo Xuan found her a bit strange. Her movements were uncoordinated, and her weak point was obvious at a glance.

On impulse, she reached out and lightly poked her in the waist.

HISS!

Cheng Yu clutched her waist and sucked in a sharp breath. With an innocent look, she said, "Miss Luo, you launch sneak attacks now?"

"Just curious." After a pause, Luo Xuan asked, "Are you injured?"

Cheng Yu rubbed her waist and said softly, "I bumped into the corner of a table a couple of days ago. It’s all because of Cultivation."

It was easy to get injured while cultivating, so Luo Xuan didn’t think much of it.

Then she asked about something else. "Haven’t your parents made arrangements for you?"

"No," Cheng Yu said, shaking her head. "They just came over a couple of days ago to ask about my general situation. I’m relatively free."

Luo Xuan nodded. If not for the sudden change in her family’s circumstances, she would have been relatively free as well.

After some thought, she looked at Cheng Yu. "What’s your plan?"

"Find someone to get me near a Sect. The first step is getting out of this place," Cheng Yu said.

"Who are you planning to ask?" Luo Xuan paused. "Jiang Man?"

"No way. Someone like him is moving too fast. He and I are not on the same level. I need to find someone else and use my little schemes," Cheng Yu said with a laugh.

"Be careful you don’t get the short end of the stick," Luo Xuan warned.

"You only lose out if you try your schemes on someone you shouldn’t provoke, like Jiang Man. I underestimated him before, but I wouldn’t dare now. In other situations, it’s beneficial," Cheng Yu said with a beaming smile. "Ever since your plan failed, you’ve stopped fighting for anything. If your marriage alliance partner is no good, you’ll be miserable for the rest of your life."

Luo Xuan said calmly, "You should worry about your own waist. Your movements are all uncoordinated."

"A delicate woman is more likely to be doted on," Cheng Yu replied with a grin.

Luo Xuan lowered her gaze. She was walking the path of the Yunqian Bureau now, but her future path was no longer bright. It was nothing but desolate gray.

The contrast was too great, but she couldn’t let it show. She had to grit her teeth and walk this road to the end.

Her family needed her to.

But just as she was wallowing in self-pity, she suddenly overheard a conversation between two people in the distance.

"Xiaopang, why don’t you listen to your family and get married and have kids?"

"I don’t like fat girls. Do you?"

"I don’t. Then why don’t you find a skinny one?"

"I want to, but my dad doesn’t! Besides, she’s so sturdy, what if I can’t beat her in a fight? How am I supposed to have three wives and four concubines? Don’t you want three wives and four concubines?"

"Of course I do! But I have no money. I need to find a job as a guard first."

"Why are you always thinking about being a guard? If you end up with a bad employer, you’ll have a tough time."

"Being a guard lets me stay in the city. My family gets a lot of face in the village because of it. It’s a step up in status. It’s not that bad."

Watching the two people from her courtyard leave, Luo Xuan shook her head slightly.

’I’m still too greedy.’

’The clan has actually given me a good enough life.’

"Those two, every day it’s either about being a guard or getting married," Cheng Yu said as she watched them walk away. "And then there’s that Chang Qiweng. He’s always looking for odd jobs. He helped me with something and then asked me to find him work."

Luo Xuan: "..."