The two of them reacted differently to Li Wei's words and fell silent for a moment.
Clearly, no one had taken her words seriously, and no one cared about the secret behind her sudden improvement.
The brief silence pressed down until it was almost hard to breathe. Then the beautiful older sister suddenly asked, "Yuchuan, how much qi and blood does Jiang Xue have now?"
Liang Yuchuan immediately replied, "79."
"She wants to break through to Minor Perfection?" The beautiful older sister looked slightly surprised.
"Mm. She probably still wants to give it a shot." Liang Yuchuan made a guess.
The beautiful older sister nodded thoughtfully. "In that case, our luck isn't bad. Their features are about fifty or sixty percent alike, and their qi and blood are about the same too."
She sounded as though she were evaluating an object. "I was originally worried about how to help her raise her qi and blood."
"Exactly." Liang Yuchuan agreed.
Then the two of them fell silent again.
Li Wei stood to the side, feeling like a transparent ornament.
What did these two mean? Were they speaking in riddles?
After a while, the beautiful older sister turned her head and said to Liang Yuchuan, "Yuchuan, you can go out first."
Liang Yuchuan immediately rose, gave a slight bow, and strode away without the slightest hesitation.
Li Wei was even more bewildered.
Weren't they supposed to meet Chairman Liang?
Cheng Dongsheng had kept reminding her in the car about Chairman Liang's temper, her speaking habits, her taboos, and so on.
After all that, the person who really wanted to meet her was this beautiful older sister?
Thinking of Liang Yuchuan's cautious attitude just now and that "cousin" of his, Li Wei's curiosity was about to burst.
"Sit."
The beautiful older sister raised a hand and pointed to Liang Yuchuan's original seat.
"Oh." Li Wei did not stand on ceremony. She plopped down, twisted her waist, and rubbed against the soft cushion. Mm, it was quite comfortable.
The corner of the beautiful older sister's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly, but her face still wore a peaceful smile. "Student Li Wei, let me confirm this with you one more time."
"Go ahead." Li Wei immediately sat up straight, thinking, The main event is finally here!
"You don't need to be so nervous." The beautiful older sister gently pressed her temple. Her tone was calm, yet carried an unquestionable force. "If you had to use your own life to exchange for a chance for your younger brother to survive, would you be willing?"
Li Wei's body trembled almost imperceptibly. Countless scenes from web novels, movies, and television dramas surfaced in her mind—blood sacrifices, life-exchange rituals, and the like. They were all brutally sinister.
Could this woman be practicing some evil heresy?
Seeing her expression, the beautiful older sister knew she had misunderstood and hurriedly explained in a gentle voice:
"What I mean is, would you be willing to help me do something extremely dangerous? Once it's done, I'll ask a grandmaster to treat your younger brother."
Oh~ So that was the kind of exchange she meant.
Li Wei asked instinctively, purely out of curiosity, "How dangerous?"
"Serve in the Western Frontier Defense Army in my son's place!" The beautiful older sister's tone was calm, but her phoenix eyes remained fixed on Li Wei, not missing the slightest change in her expression.
Then she found herself unable to understand.
The young girl showed little fear at all.
Instead, her expression was mostly shock and astonishment.
Then that astonishment turned into... wild joy? As if she had gotten an enormous bargain.
After that, the wild joy transformed into yearning. Wait, were the corners of her mouth glistening?
Of course Li Wei was drooling. Just imagining the overwhelming swarms of Abyss monsters being reaped in swathes by artillery fire was enough.
If she went there, found a trench or bunker to squat in, and stayed put, wouldn't that be like idling while farming experience?
Slurp~ If those endless monsters all turned into my Abyss Essence, how satisfying would that be?
Wouldn't she become a grandmaster in one year, a Martial Immortal in two, and save the world in three?
Most importantly, the beautiful older sister was sending her to the Western Frontier Death Line she had dreamed of day and night, while also asking a grandmaster to treat Li Cheng.
This was practically a win-win situation!
Of course, by "win-win," she meant Li Wei winning twice by herself.
As for the danger?
In her previous life, she had been an orphan and had done every kind of job imaginable to make money, from working at great heights to working underground.
Now that she had also acquired a golden finger, what reason did she have not to take a gamble?
Besides, was hiding away necessarily safe?
Based on her many years of experience reading web novels, in a high-martial world with enemies from another dimension, if the protagonist did not step forward to turn the tide, relying on the natives alone would be a recipe for disaster!
As for who the protagonist was?
Of course it was her, Li Wei!
A transmigrator with a system who could increase her qi and blood!
And she even had the ability to add qi and blood!
Besides the slight mishap with her gender, who would dare say she wasn't the protagonist?
Moreover, she might not have a round-faced chubby little sister, but she did have a sickly, skinny younger brother! This setup was perfect!
She was happily lost in her thoughts when a gentle sensation suddenly came from the corner of her mouth.
Li Wei snapped back to reality and met a pair of smiling phoenix eyes.
The beautiful older sister was holding a tissue and elegantly wiping the glistening drool from the corner of her mouth.
"Uh..." Her entire face instantly flushed bright red.
Damn, this is mortifying.
She abruptly straightened her back, trying to cover her embarrassment with sheer presence. Her tone became incomparably solemn:
"As long as you can save my younger brother, I'll do anything you ask!"
The beautiful older sister's strength was far greater than Li Wei's, so she could naturally distinguish whether Li Wei's words were true.
Hearing this, she smiled in relief, then turned serious. "Good. Since that's settled, the deal is done."
She extended her hand. "My name is Liang Qiushi. You can call me Aunt Liang."
Does this mean I passed the interview?
Only then did Li Wei realize it. She hurriedly shook her hand. "My name is Li Wei. You can just call me Little Li..."
Liang Qiushi covered her mouth and laughed lightly, her bearing graceful and enchanting. "I'll just call you Li Wei directly. Oh, no—perhaps I should call you Jiang Xue in the future."
Jiang Xue again? Who exactly is this person? What does she have to do with this matter?
Before she could ask, Liang Qiushi dropped a bombshell.
"Jiang Xue is the eldest daughter of the Fang City Jiang Family. She and my son Gu Jinzhi were childhood sweethearts. At the same time, she is also his fiancée."
"I need you to disguise yourself as Jiang Xue and marry Jin Zhi."
"Huh?" Li Wei felt as though something had gone wrong with her ears. Her eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.
M... marry someone? (A shrill scream of disbelief.)
What kind of sudden development was this? A wealthy family's substitute bride? Was this definitely a high-martial world and not some melodramatic urban soap opera?
"Weren't you saying..." Li Wei cautiously asked, "that I had to go to the battlefield?"
"Of course you have to go to the battlefield—in Jin Zhi's place." Liang Qiushi's tone was indifferent, as though she were discussing something utterly ordinary. "But if you aren't his 'wife,' what identity would you have to go in his place?"
"Oh~ Substitute Service..."
Li Wei understood now. At the same time, a certain audiovisual clip inexplicably popped into her mind.
"There was once a magnificent noblewoman."
"Impressive, truly impressive."
She hurriedly tossed those chaotic thoughts aside, but a new question arose.
She understood the implications of Substitute Service very well.
Thirty years ago, Xifeng Pass and the Abyss Rift fell. Humanity lost the advantageous terrain around the rift passage and could only rely on fortress systems to fight the Abyss monsters across open battle lines.
Especially after the high-level combatants had achieved deterrence and balance, the slaughter among the lower ranks became increasingly brutal.
To replenish its forces, the China Martial Arts Alliance enacted the "Wartime Mobilization Act." One of its provisions stipulated that graduates of martial arts universities had to serve in the Western Frontier Defense Army for at least one year.
At the same time, to refute the "rumors" circulating in society that the children of the powerful were cowards who avoided war,
the Martial Arts Alliance imposed extremely strict conscription requirements on the children of aristocratic families.
Unless a direct relative who was a grandmaster or above was currently guarding the Abyss, no one, regardless of status, could evade military service.
Otherwise, both the individual and the family would face severe punishment!
Against this backdrop, the black market of Substitute Service was born.
Put plainly, once the children of the powerful reached the appropriate age, they would enter into a "fake marriage." When they graduated, their "spouse" would go to the battlefield in their place.
The Martial Arts Alliance and the military had cracked down fiercely on this phenomenon for a time.
But after managing it this way and that, they discovered that in most cases, both parties were willing.
Later, the authorities simply added a "questioning of the heart" session to enlistment. As long as they confirmed that the substitute husband or wife was joining the army voluntarily, they let the matter go.
But did Liang Qiushi's son really need to go to the battlefield? Could her family possibly not have a grandmaster?
Just judging from Liang Yuchuan's attitude toward her, it was clearly impossible.
Li Wei's thoughts were practically written all over her face. With Liang Qiushi's experience, how could she fail to see through them?
Her smile remained gentle, but a complicated, unfathomable emotion swept through her eyes. "Are you wondering why I chose you?"
"Uh..." Li Wei felt a little embarrassed, but still nodded honestly.
"This matter goes back more than thirty years." Liang Qiushi sighed softly, her gaze distant, as though it pierced through the river of time.
A very, very long time ago...
A narrator automatically began speaking in Li Wei's heart.
If you think this book is good, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you won't have trouble finding it next time.
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