17. Might As Well

The door opened.

A green light erupted from Fang Xuan's body, and a rich, healing power began to mend every injury within him.

Immediately following, a gentle melody chimed, causing Fang Xuan's nearly exhausted mental energy to surge back to life.

"You..."

Ye Qinru approached Fang Xuan, closed her eyes slightly, then let out a sigh and spoke softly.

"You won."

Finally, Ye Qinru had been moved by Fang Xuan's actions.

No matter how much she refused to believe it, Fang Xuan's actions could not be faked.

Even if he were merely putting on a performance, she accepted it.

After all, if the act reached this level, it was quite professional; she was even willing to be deceived.

"I didn't win; I simply did what I felt I ought to do."

Fang Xuan's voice was slightly hoarse. Over the past seven days, he had thought about many things in his mind.

More than once, he had considered giving up, but in the end, he had persevered.

It was funny, really, because the thought that ultimately kept him going wasn't some sense of duty or a long-winded psychological self-counseling session.

It was the phrase, "Since I'm already here."

That was right—just those simple words. It was absurd, yet very real.

He couldn't bring himself to spout nonsense about love at first sight, and he felt unworthy of talking about love at all.

Therefore, the only thing that could keep him going in the end were those four words.

Realistic and absurd, just like his first meeting with Ye Lingling.

"You... are good. Lingling didn't misjudge you; it was I who was wrong."

After Ye Qinru said this, her expression became incredibly relaxed.

Perhaps in all these years, there had never been a moment she felt more at ease than now.

"I will ask you one last question, and I hope you will answer me truthfully."

Hearing this, Fang Xuan nodded.

Everyone guarding the perimeter was curious about what kind of question Ye Qinru would ask.

"Are you aware that the possessor of the Nine-Heart Begonia martial soul can only give birth to one child?"

"And that this child will only ever be a girl."

"If you are with Lingling, are you willing to accept this fact?"

Whoosh—!

As Ye Qinru's voice fell, the entire crowd erupted in an uproar.

Everyone knew that only two Nine Star Begonias could exist in the world at once, but no one had ever heard of such a thing.

Now that Ye Qinru had brought this up in front of everyone, her purpose was self-evident.

Marrying Ye Lingling meant that the other party might end their family line entirely.

In this era, ending one's line was a fact that almost no one could accept.

Regardless of gender or status, it was the same for everyone.

Ye Qinru looked at Fang Xuan, quietly waiting for his reply.

This matter was actually something she had fabricated, as the previous possessor of the Nine-Heart Begonia before her had been her father.

The offspring of a Nine Star Begonia possessor did indeed have a high probability of being a girl, but it was not absolute.

Furthermore, it wasn't that they could only have one child; it was just that they were extremely prone to premature death.

However, there had been precedents of having two or more children, such as when they inherited the other parent's martial soul.

The reason she said all this was merely to test Fang Xuan one last time.

How will he choose?

Ye Qinru was curious, and so was everyone else.

Fang Xuan, however, gave them an answer that none of them expected.

"What's wrong with having a daughter? I actually quite like daughters. I know what kind of person I am—if I had a son, I'm afraid I'd beat him to death."

His words were witty and carried a hint of humor, yet they sounded exceptionally genuine.

As for ending his line, Fang Xuan was quite open-minded about it. Besides, he was aiming for eternal life; did having a son or not really make a difference to him?

It made absolutely no difference, so Ye Qinru's test had never been an issue for him from the start.

"Good lad, worthy of being my disciple. Like a real man."

Dugu Bo's laughter came from the side, and he immediately appeared beside Fang Xuan.

At this moment, he looked at Fang Xuan, and the more he looked, the more satisfied he became.

"Not bad, you're a real man. I appreciate young people like you."

"My dear sister, my disciple isn't bad, is he? You shouldn't be losing out by having him match with your daughter."

Dugu Bo's sudden appearance took everyone present by surprise.

"If you don't want him, I'll take him back to be my grandson-in-law."

As he said this, he moved to pull Fang Xuan away, which immediately infuriated Ye Qinru.

Ignoring the fact that the other party was a Titled Douluo, she reached out to snatch him back directly.

"Who said I didn't want him? You've already taken all the advantages, and now you want to run?"

Like a mother hen protecting her chick, Ye Qinru snatched Fang Xuan from Dugu Bo's grasp and shielded him tightly behind her back.

However, the tug-of-war between the two left the already physically weak Fang Xuan completely unconscious.

Yet, it was thanks to Ye Qinru's final words that he finally dared to let his tightly wound spirit relax.

It seems I've succeeded.

As Fang Xuan fainted, it signaled that the matter had come to a complete end.

Xue Qinghe stood in the distance, watching this scene silently, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

At this moment, she felt an urge to step forward and snatch him away; perhaps in her heart, only a man like this could be worthy of her.

And so, Fang Xuan remained in a coma for several days, and during his time unconscious, the discussions about him outside showed no signs of abating.

If anything, they were only intensifying.

The most critical point was that Dugu Bo had started causing trouble again, claiming that anyone wanting to marry his granddaughter would also have to kneel at his door for seven days, just like Fang Xuan.

This nearly caused Yu Tianheng to have a breakdown; wasn't this obviously pointing at him?

Fang Xuan's method of winning a beauty's heart was truly not something an ordinary person could emulate.

Kneeling for seven days, without using soul power, and not even consuming a drop of water or a grain of rice.

With a stunt like that, if you were to do it at anyone's doorstep, you would succeed ninety-nine percent of the time.

It was a life-risking maneuver, without a single shred of exaggeration.

The key point was that this stunt could actually be imitated, and the method was extremely simple—it was something anyone could do, yet almost no one dared to try.

It could be considered unprecedented and unlikely to be repeated.

Yu Tianheng admired him from the bottom of his heart, as did all the others who had been pursuing Ye Lingling.

In this situation, whoever the hell dared to say they weren't convinced could just go and kneel for seven days themselves first.

From then on, Fang Xuan's name became a complete legend in Heaven Dou City.

It wasn't until the fourth day that Fang Xuan finally stirred and woke from his coma.

"Yo, my good son-in-law has finally woken up."

He had just regained consciousness, and his eyes hadn't even fully opened yet.

The voice of Ye Qinru reached his ears.

Fang Xuan snapped his eyes open and saw Ye Qinru sitting beside him, looking at him with a smile on her face.

Wait? She called me son-in-law?

"Phew, so it wasn't a dream."

He let out a long sigh of relief; he had thought the previous events were just a dream.

But looking at the situation, it clearly wasn't.

Just as Fang Xuan let out that sigh of relief, he caught a glimpse of something Ye Qinru seemed to be toying with in her hand.

It looked like a small purple mushroom.

Wait? How could this mushroom be blowing bubbles!