Chapter 1 I'll Marry!
Zhong Cai carried a bamboo basket and walked down from Xiaolang Mountain.
Just as they reached the foot of the mountain, a servant from the Zhong family rushed over, complaining, "Sixth Young Master, why did you have to come up the mountain today? Hurry up and come back with me. All the young masters and ladies from the other households have gone back, and you're the only one missing!"
Zhong Cai frowned and said, "Why are you rushing me? Don't you have any manners?"
The servant Huang San curled his lips, knowing that this man was a troublemaker, and did not dare to talk back. He just continued to urge, "Please don't mind, it's not me who's anxious, it's all the masters and ladies in the house who are anxious."
Seeing his expression, Zhong Cai quickened her pace slightly and asked again, "What exactly happened?"
Huang San said, "Don't even mention it. Someone from the Wu family came and said that the Zhong family owed the Wu family a great favor many years ago, and now they have to repay it! The Wu family doesn't want anything else, they just want one of the Zhong family's direct descendants to marry the young master of the Wu family!"
Zhong Cai was taken aback and blurted out, "How could someone like Wu Shaogan possibly marry a daughter of the Zhong family? Or does he want to take a legitimate daughter of the Zhong family as a concubine first?"
Huang San snorted, his tone full of schadenfreude: "The young master now is not the same as before. It is said that he was ambushed and all the secrets of his soul were destroyed. From now on, he can only live as an ordinary person. It's only because you came up the mountain today that you don't know. The news has spread all over the city!"
Zhong Cai's pupils contracted sharply. She barely managed to control her worried expression and stopped speaking, but her steps quickened.
"Not a Little Money" guy was always wearing a protective robe that could defend against those at the Suspended Illumination Realm, so how could he still be harmed? The Wu family patriarch couldn't arrive in time; was he out of his mind in seclusion, or did another Fusion Realm expert make a move?
Which bastard did this?!
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Zhong Cai is a time traveler. In her previous life, she died of a heart attack. In the blink of an eye, she was reborn into the body of a weak baby who also had a heart problem. With her strong will to live, she managed to survive.
Fortunately, he arrived in a fantasy world where treating heart disease was as simple as taking a single pill. Unfortunately, his mother died in an extremely rare childbirth accident, and his adoptive father quickly remarried, abandoning him once he was certain he wouldn't die. Furthermore, his shallow soul imprint meant he couldn't unlock high-quality soul treasures, making him even less valued.
However, being a large family, he still received the treatment he was entitled to. As the eldest son, Zhong Cai lived a comfortable life. He was also someone who didn't like to suffer losses. If the servants dared to give him attitude or neglect him, he would go to his adoptive father and have them punished according to family rules.
Over time, he got along well with the servants, though they weren't particularly close. His adoptive father, though annoyed by his constant troublemaking, eventually became familiar with him after being bothered so many times. His adoptive father, concerned with his reputation, treated him fairly well.
In this world, ordinary people without a soul imprint can live to be a hundred years old. Zhong Cai didn't care much about his poor aptitude. He thought that it was worth it to live these years alive and kicking, and he didn't take some gossip to heart.
After he turned ten, the direct descendants of the Zhong family were able to choose their own guards, and he was no exception. However, since he had no background or family wealth, he had no choice. The guard left for him was the most dull-witted among all the candidates.
Zhong Cai still didn't mind much; to him, being dull was actually a good thing, because it meant being obedient.
So for many days afterward, the guards would take Zhong Cai out as he wished, without ever objecting.
When Zhong Cai first went to the mountain, she met Wu Shaogan.
Zhong Cai was roasting meat by the campfire when he noticed a boy about his age approaching. He noticed that the boy's demeanor resembled his older brother from his previous life, so he invited him to come and roast meat with him.
The boy approached hesitantly.
Then Zhong Cai exchanged names with him, and upon hearing his name, she couldn't help but laugh so hard she rolled on the floor—Wu Shaogan, quite wealthy, completely mismatched with his demeanor, what a contrast, so interesting.
Wu Shaogan looked completely bewildered. After Zhong Cai laughed until she hiccuped and explained to him in fits and starts, he understood, but he was even more confused.
Is it funny...?
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In fact, Wu Shaogan is the pride of the Wu family, the largest family in Kunyun City. He had already opened his divine soul treasure at birth and summoned a Sun-Shooting Bow, which was of the highest quality! With such a terrifying innate treasure, his future is sure to be bright.
Indeed, Wu Shaogan not only had great potential, but also cultivated diligently. Before he was even ten years old, he was already able to train on his own, making him the pride of the entire Wu family and surpassing all the geniuses of other major families.
He was even willing to give back to his family, always handing over at least 30% of his gains from training to the family, making the elders of all families and clans envious of the Wu family for having such a prodigy.
When Wu Shaogan met Zhong Cai, he had already been training for more than a year, but it had been a long time since the secret treasure was opened, and he was still young and had not deliberately made a name for himself, so he was not the subject of much discussion.
At least people like Zhong Cai, who had just been able to go out and were not favored at home and had no access to information, did not know about him.
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Zhong Cai found Wu Shaogan quite amusing, and Wu Shaogan had probably never seen anyone like Zhong Cai before. After chatting enthusiastically with him for a while, the two became friends. Knowing that Zhong Cai wasn't sure when he would be available to go out, Wu Shaogan even left a way for them to stay in touch.
After returning home, Zhong Cai still couldn't forget Wu Shaogan, and soon took the initiative to write a letter to him. His dull-witted guard delivered the letter to the canal location, and then Wu Shaogan's loyal bodyguards found a way to take it away...
Later, Wu Shaogan's fame grew, while Zhong Cai remained unknown. However, the two maintained a good relationship. In addition to exchanging letters, they would try to meet a few times a year, away from other people, to find a quiet place to chat and have fun.
So even though outsiders might think they would never cross paths, the reality is far from that.
Aside from each other, the only people who knew about this were Zhong Cai's taciturn guard and Wu Shaogan's loyal bodyguard. Wu Shaogan, who always appeared cold and arrogant to outsiders, had given Zhong Cai a lot of carefully selected cultivation resources and saved Zhong Cai's life several times during his training. In Zhong Cai's eyes, he was a young man with flesh and blood.
Zhong Cai had long considered Wu Shaogan her best friend! In fact, Wu Shaogan was the most important person to Zhong Cai in this unfamiliar world.
Now that she heard that Wu Shaogan had gotten into trouble, Zhong Cai was extremely anxious!
He had cursed the person who ruined his friend hundreds of times in his heart.
·
Upon returning to the Zhong family, Zhong Cai immediately felt an impending storm. The guards at the gate and the servants coming and going in the family were all silent and dared not make a sound.
Zhong Cai followed Huang San directly to the side hall, where she saw a large room full of people sitting in their respective places, exchanging knowing glances. There was no open commotion, but undercurrents were swirling beneath the surface.
The elders of the Zhong family, the heads of each branch, the wives of each branch, and the direct descendants of each branch... were all present.
The moment Zhong Cai entered, she immediately became the center of attention.
Zhong Cai walked silently behind her adoptive father without saying a word.
The head of the Zhong family, seated at the head of the table, said in a deep voice, "The Wu family has spoken, and our Zhong family must send a legitimate daughter to marry into that family. If no one goes, do you know what the consequences will be? Still refusing? Do you think you can refuse?" As he spoke, his gaze swept over the heads of the various branches of the family. "First branch, second branch, seventh branch, you all have eligible legitimate daughters. Have you chosen anyone yet?"
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The Zhong family has eight main branches. Five of these branches either have no legitimate daughters, or their legitimate daughters are too young or married. The candidates are actually chosen from the three legitimate daughters of the first branch (7-year-old Zhong Qiao'er), the second branch (15-year-old Zhong Lin'er), and the seventh branch (16-year-old Zhong Qian'er).
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The eldest wife, whose family background was the best, spoke first, her tone unfriendly: "In the past, I would have been more than happy to have him, but now that the young master is crippled, my Qiao'er has opened a top-grade Xuan-level secret treasure. How can she be paired with a cripple?"
"Besides, who doesn't know that the young master didn't marry a girl from our Zhong family, but rather a Xuan-grade treasure from our Zhong family? Any daughter who marries him has to give up her own treasure to help him stabilize his soul, and she'll also lose the opportunity to upgrade her own treasure to a higher grade. It's a huge loss!"
The second wife chimed in, "If it's just a matter of losing this opportunity, that's fine, since the chances aren't great anyway. But Young Master Shao used to be so illustrious, and now he's fallen to this state. His personality has probably changed drastically, and he'll have to marry an unsuitable wife. Even if he takes the precious medicine, he might not cherish his wife. If we marry our daughter to him, we'll be jumping into a fire pit! Besides, our Lin'er is also a top-tier Xuan-grade secret treasure!"
The seventh wife quickly chimed in, "Qian'er is also a top-tier Xuan-grade! Moreover, I've had people inquire about it. The young master's status has plummeted. This marriage is the last bit of goodwill the Wu family can offer for him. The betrothal gifts are just a token gesture; it's not worth sacrificing a daughter with top-tier Xuan-grade aptitude!"
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This precious fruit is possessed by every member of the Zhong family's direct lineage. It originates from a wondrous tree planted in the ancestral hall, a secret summoning tree treasured by the Zhong family's ancestor.
When our ancestor was alive, this Soul-Stabilizing Tree would produce one to three Soul-Stabilizing Fruits every year, and each Soul-Stabilizing Fruit could upgrade a Xuan-grade companion treasure to an Earth-grade treasure.
In addition, it can repair companion treasures of Earth grade and below after they have been destroyed, and heal any damage to the soul.
The ancestor could give the Soul-Stabilizing Fruit produced back then to whomever he wanted, bringing countless benefits to the Zhong family and making them prosperous at one time.
Before our ancestor died, this miraculous tree that could preserve the soul was planted in the ancestral hall.
This ancestor had a deep affection for his wife and never took a concubine. All his children were direct descendants. Perhaps the spirit of the Soul-Stabilizing Tree sensed something, so although it no longer produced Soul-Stabilizing Fruits every year, it would grow a fruit every time a direct descendant appeared.
This Soul-Stabilizing Fruit is connected to the lifeblood of that direct descendant and can only be consumed by that person.
Unless the direct descendant willingly gives it to someone else to consume, the Soul-Stabilizing Fruit will decay.
If the two parties can also merge their energy, the effectiveness of the Soul-Stabilizing Fruit will be enhanced.
Without our ancestor, year after year has passed. When the Soul-Stabilizing Wood was first summoned, it was of Earth grade, but its grade has continued to decrease until now, when it is of Profound grade.
The chances of the direct descendants who consumed the Soul-Stabilizing Fruit to upgrade the grade of their accompanying treasures when the fruit was first planted had already dropped to 80%. The next generation saw it drop to 70%, and the next generation after that saw it continue to decrease... The Zhong family's power also weakened, and by the eighth generation, the chances had dropped to only 10%.
At the same time, the Soul-Stabilizing Fruit can no longer completely repair companion treasures, nor can it completely heal damage to the soul. It can only barely save the lives of cultivators whose souls are on the verge of collapse due to the destruction of their companion treasures, and it has a slight repairing effect on companion treasures of low-grade and middle-low-grade yellow rank.
But it is precisely because of this that the Zhong family has been able to preserve the Soul-Stabilizing Wood.
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The Wu family wanted Wu Shaogan to marry a member of the Zhong family's direct line, naturally for the sake of that direct line's prize. Moreover, that direct line had to be willing and the marriage had to be legal and reasonable for them to repay the Wu family's favor.
Therefore, the Zhong family absolutely cannot be careless in choosing a wife now. Otherwise, if anything goes wrong after the marriage, it will cause Wu Shaogan's soul to dissipate and he to die. While alive, Wu Shaogan is already a cripple, and the Wu family may not care much about him. But once he dies, the Wu family will definitely shift all the blame onto the Zhong family and seek revenge for him.
Everyone in the Zhong family was well aware of these things. Naturally, none of the wives wanted to marry off their daughters. Moreover, as long as the Wu family existed, their daughters would not only have to accompany a cripple but also protect his safety. They didn't even know how to obtain cultivation resources in the future... In other words, their daughters would be essentially crippled. How could they bear to part with them?
So now no one is willing to give in.
Hearing this argument, the head of the Zhong family said in a deep voice, "Alright, shut up! Do you want our entire Zhong family to be buried with the young master? Tomorrow is the wedding day. Once the betrothal gifts arrive, we'll take the bride away. How much time do you have left to argue? If you really can't choose, then draw lots!" His voice grew colder. "So what if she's a top-tier Xuan-grade girl? If the three girls have different aptitudes, then there's no need to choose. We should just send the one with the best aptitude."
Perhaps due to the immense pressure, the seventh wife blurted out, "The Wu family only wants fruit anyway, why must they send their Xuanpin daughter over? We have many more eligible sons in our family, perhaps one of them would be willing to do so?"
—If you do the math, there really are more eligible legitimate sons.
The first wife and the second wife's eyes lit up, and they both said:
"We can pick one who's willing to follow us and give them more benefits. Anyway, they haven't achieved much in their cultivation, so they might as well follow Young Master Shao!"
“That’s right! More important than talent is the young master’s willingness! We can have him say that he has long admired the young master but never dared to dream of it. Now that he knows about the young master’s accident, he offers to send Baozhen as a token of his affection. The Wu family will be moved by his deep affection and, after asking for his consent, will marry him… In this way, there will be no coercion or helplessness, and both families will save face. The Wu family will definitely like this explanation.”
After the ladies said these words, everyone in the room fell silent.
After a pause, the head of the Zhong family suddenly said, "That's a good idea." Then, his gaze swept over the many eligible sons of lower aptitude, and he asked, "Is there any nephew who would like to volunteer?"
At this moment, although some of the heads of the households and their wives showed displeasure, some of them looked at one or more of their sons behind them.
—It's quite a coincidence. Each branch of the family has at least one eligible son, and even the most talented among them is only at the top of the Yellow Rank. Giving him away to any of them wouldn't be a big loss. Even if they don't get any real financial benefits in return, they've saved the Zhong family from a major problem, which is a merit, and they'll definitely receive some of the family's resources...
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Zhong Cai met her adoptive father's expectant gaze, stepped forward without hesitation, and said decisively, "I am willing to marry the young master, bringing the fruit with me!"
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Of course he'd be willing to marry her!
Didn't he know what kind of people Zhong Qiao'er and the other two were? Just like their parents, they demanded that the benefits be met. Moreover, Mu Qiang had once said that he would do anything to make them his concubines or maids—when his buddies were doing well, they had already considered putting all three of them in his harem as his concubines.
But things are different now. His ironclad plan has flaws, and the benefits can't be delivered... Just look at their disdainful eyes, does he dare to gamble on their thoughts? Whether they are truly willing or not can't be fooled by the Soul-Stabilizing Fruit. If the Zhong family still insists on them marrying into the family, as long as they have even a single thought of resentment, the fruit will lose its effect, and his ironclad plan will be gone!
Even though the seven wives didn't mention having the eldest son take his place, Zhong Cai had originally planned to recommend herself to her adoptive father in private, but now it saves him the trouble.
He had to step forward quickly, otherwise what if his other less qualified cousins got tempted?
For the cousins, the benefits are definitely there! But whether they're willing or not is uncertain; if their thoughts slip, the benefits will be ineffective!
His best friend is so vulnerable right now, he doesn't trust anyone but himself!
Zhong Cai's heart ached at the thought of what Wu Shaogan might be going through.
As for the possibility of letting him sleep with me...
Is chastity more important than your best friend's life?!
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