Xu Nian was carried back to the village where she lived by A Jiang. When the villagers saw A Jiang bringing back a strange girl, they all smiled and congratulated her.

Clearly, the villagers were used to seeing people bring back strange girls.

"Ah Jiang, the girl in your arms is so beautiful, she doesn't look like someone from our northern frontier?" someone in the village asked in a puzzled voice.

“I met her just outside the village. It was a coincidence that I ran into her. She is my bride.” A-Jiang smiled shyly, her bronze cheeks flushing red.

"Now that A-Jiang has chosen his bride, let's start preparing for the wedding!" the village chief said with a smile.

"Thank you, village chief. Then I'll take her home first." A-Jiang was very excited. As long as the village chief agreed, he would marry the girl in his arms no matter where she came from.

"Go ahead, go ahead!" The village chief, being an experienced man, softened his smile upon seeing the younger generation's excited expression.

A-Jiang took the person back to her home, still lovingly touching and caressing the person in her arms. "Sister, what's your name? A-Jiang can't keep calling you 'sister,' can she?"

Xu Nian closed her eyes and remained silent, ignoring A Jiang's words, but her mind was filled with what she had seen and heard in the village.

This village is small but secluded, with only a dozen or so households and a total population of no more than one hundred.

They are used to people bringing women back from outside the village, which shows that it is a common occurrence and may be a custom.

When A-Jiang saw that Xu Nian refused to communicate with him, it would be a lie to say that he wasn't disappointed. He really liked her, but she didn't like him at all.

"Sister, your clothes and style are from outside."

“You must have something to do in the Northern Frontier. How will A-Jiang know whether or not to help you if you don’t tell me?” A-Jiang said slowly.

As he spoke, he observed Xu Nian's expression, noticing that her eyelids trembled a few times before opening.

Those star-like eyes stared straight at him, making his heart pound like a drum.

My sister's eyes are so beautiful. I wish I could keep looking at him like that.

Ah Jiang's cheeks flushed again, and his throat became even terribly dry.

But Ajahn understood that now was not the time to follow his heart and be driven by desires.

"Sister, if you don't tell me now, you won't be able to leave this village after you marry A-Jiang," A-Jiang said with a sly smile.

"If I tell you, you'll let me go?" Xu Nian's face broke into a mocking smile.

"Ah Jiang can't let her sister leave. She must marry Ah Jiang." Ah Jiang possessively wrapped her arms around Xu Nian's waist, rested her head on her shoulder, and whispered in her ear.

It was clearly a clean, youthful voice, but there was an indescribable richness in his words.

Xu Nian remained silent; she was now like a fish on a chopping block, completely at their mercy. The best course of action was to keep the young man calm and then find a way to escape.

"I can marry you, as long as you can save my father." Xu Nian also did not give up on another purpose of this trip: to find someone in the northern border who could save her father.

She didn't know if the boy had that ability, but he was the only person she could contact right now.

"My sister means that she will only agree to marry A-Jiang if A-Jiang saves Uncle." A-Jiang was in a dilemma. How could this be?

If he hadn't saved her, would my sister have married someone else?

No, his sister belongs to him, and he will not allow her to marry anyone else.

Xu Nian looked at A Jiang's conflicted and ever-changing expression and chuckled. "You can think of this as a deal. I'm the bargaining chip, and the condition is to save my father."

"Sister?" A-Jiang stared wide-eyed in disbelief. He felt a pang of pain in his heart as he looked at the woman's nonchalant expression.

How could she say such a thing?

How could she describe marriage as a transaction?

Would she marry someone else without hesitation if they could save her father?

A-Jiang's face was very pale. He dared not think about what would have happened if someone else had met his sister first, and whether his sister would have ended up with someone else.

Seeing A-Jiang's unpleasant expression, Xu Nian smiled. "Your name is A-Jiang?"

“Yes, you can call me by my name, Ah Jiang.” Ah Jiang nodded obediently.

"Do you know the art of Gu poison?" Xu Nian asked curiously.

"Yes, my sister's father was poisoned by a Gu poison." A-Jiang understood; Xu Nian had come to the Northern Frontier to find someone to cure the Gu poison.

"Yes, as long as you can save my father, I will marry you, how about it?" Xu Nian smiled at A Jiang, her words a blatant attempt to seduce her.

"Sister, can you stop giving me that fake smile?" Even though his sister's reaction was exactly what he was hoping for, A-Jiang felt no joy at all.

"Ah Jiang, don't you think what you're saying is ridiculous?" Xu Nian scoffed, her smile fading.

But seeing Xu Nian's expressionless face, A Jiang became unhappy again. He rubbed his temples in discomfort and changed the subject, asking, "Sister, what symptoms does your father have?"

“Sometimes he would scream in pain, sometimes he would suddenly fall asleep with a happy smile on his face, and sometimes he would lose consciousness like a puppet, and would swing a knife at me and my brother when he saw us.” Xu Nian felt sad and heartbroken when she thought of her father, and tears kept falling from her eyes.

"Sister, don't cry." A-Jiang hurriedly wiped away Xu Nian's tears.

“Sister, based on your description, Uncle is probably afflicted with more than one type of Gu poison.” A-Jiang’s expression turned serious when she spoke of Gu poison.

Xu Nian's face turned pale. If it wasn't just one kind of Gu poison, could her father still hold on for another month?

"But don't worry, as long as we find the right antidote herbs and worms, it won't be a big problem." Although A-Jiang is young, he is the most outstanding Gu master among the younger generation in the village, and even the village chief praises his exceptional talent.

"Really? Ah Jiang, can you find herbs and antidotes?" Xu Nian calculated that she had been away from the military camp for less than ten days. As long as she could find the antidote quickly and bring it back, her father could be saved.

“Of course, A-Jiang never lies, but sister, you must come with me to find the antidote.” A-Jiang revealed his white teeth, and his clean smile made Xu Nian unable to help but trust him.

“Okay, I’ll go with you,” Xu Nian agreed.

He already knew the herbs and the Gu worms, but... looking at the woman in front of him, A-Jiang's eyes flickered.

The village chief had said that no woman outside could be trusted. He didn't know if his sister would lie to him, but what if she did?

She didn't like him; she could have easily denied it after he saved someone and then changed her mind about marrying him.

He didn't want to gamble, nor did he want to have a bad falling out with his sister later. The only solution was to plant a love potion in his sister now.

As long as the love potion exists, my sister will never be able to leave him in this lifetime.

The only problem now is that he doesn't have a love potion.

He had previously thought he would never meet a girl who would move his heart, so he never bothered to create a love potion.

Unexpectedly, on this ordinary day, he saw her at a glance and knew immediately that she was the one for him.