Marrying Beneath Her, True Sincerity

A chill struck Luo Qian'er's heart as she stared blankly at Luo Tong's handsome, martial face.

She knew her younger brother had been spoiled by their parents since childhood and was not particularly close to her, but hearing these words still pierced her heart.

Marrying beneath her station to Zhou Can was not as simple as an ordinary marriage and bearing children.

It was practically no different from breeding livestock: she was to keep putting out branches and leaves, swelling their numbers and influence to help him establish a local clan.

A local clan, a local clan-without a flourishing population, how could one establish a clan?

But Luo Qian'er had always worn fine silks and eaten exquisite food, pampered in the palms of others' hands. She would rather die than live like a pig or dog!

"Since I entered a Men-tier Dharma Lineage, I became part of a Dao Lineage."

"In the days to come, I should cultivate the Dao and practice Spell Refinement, drape myself in rosy light, ride the clouds, and travel through the Azure Firmament... how could I sink back into the mire of mortal life and wallow there?!"

Whenever she thought of this, her whole body went cold, as though she had fallen into an ice cavern.

With her jade-like beauty and exquisite grace, even if she did marry, it ought to be into a Dharma Lineage bearing the designation "school," like those of Northern Mang Ridge, becoming the dao companion of a great school's True Disciple!

Even if her fate was unkind and fortune failed her, becoming the concubine of a direct descendant of the Fu Clan or Kang Clan would still be better than this.

At least she could still eat Spirit Rice and refined dishes, wear clean magical robes, and live in a cave abode rich in spiritual vitality...

Seeing that Luo Qian'er's expression was amiss, Luo Tong immediately leaned closer, an ingratiating look spreading across his face.

"Sister, you're being foolish! At the very most, Zhou Can is only an outer-sect duty officer at the fifth level of Qi Refining! He even stumbles over the ninth-grade Little Seven Baleful Intent Needle-Piercing Art. There are plenty of things he doesn't understand that he still needs you to explain and guide him through."

He lowered his voice, his every word steeped in contempt for that duty officer of Sewing Peak's Laundry Room.

"How could I really let you marry beneath yourself and ruin your whole life?

"I've discussed it with Father and Mother. You might as well play along with Zhou Can and pretend to agree to the marriage.

"But he must first demonstrate his sincerity and produce two hundred thousand in Talisman Money! Once we have the money, as for marrying into the Zhou family and helping him establish a clan... by the start of spring next year, I'll be an Inner Peaks disciple, and we'll also have several elders at the fifth level of Qi Refining in the clan backing us.

"When that time comes, how could Zhou Can have the final say over whether you marry him!"

Luo Qian'er's lovely eyes flickered. After considering it carefully, she found considerable sense in his words.

She was merely surprised. When had her younger brother developed such a calculating mind?

"To tell you the truth, Sister, this wasn't my idea. It was Father and Mother's plan."

Luo Tong stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at Luo Qian'er with eyes full of anticipation, as though his sister were the support on which his passage into the Inner Peaks depended.

"You don't know this, Sister, but things haven't gone well for the clan in recent years. Most of the Spirit Fields in Northern Mang Ridge are purple mud fields. With two harvests a year, their yield is limited.

"Several clan elders are nearing the ends of their lifespans. Our Lianxi Luo Clan might not be able to hold steady... Father and Mother sent me into the Qianji Sect in the hope that I could enter the Inner Peaks and find a Master-Inheritance, so I could hold up a patch of sky for our local clan."

Combining soft words with hard arguments, appealing to both reason and emotion, Luo Tong finally made Luo Qian'er waver.

She asked hesitantly, "But how can we win Zhou Can's trust? He's not some ignorant Mortal Laborer. He won't be easily fooled."

Luo Tong had clearly come prepared, having worked it all out carefully with their parents before entering the Qianji Sect.

"You can sound him out using the local customs. Just tell him that marrying a daughter of Lianxi requires at least three hundred and eighty thousand in Talisman Money, and see how he reacts.

"If he looks troubled, tearfully tell him how deeply indebted you are to your parents for raising you, and how unbearable your guilt is at not having fulfilled your filial duties.

"If he still isn't willing, put on a little more of a show..."

At this point, he smoothly laid out the speech he had prepared:

"With tears on your face like raindrops on pear blossoms, you can ask him, 'Zhou-lang, if you truly cherish me and want to treat me well, why can't you bear to part with these few hundred thousand in Talisman Money? Could it be that, in your heart, I'm worth less than these worldly possessions?'"

Luo Qian'er lowered her head in thought, finding her brother's wording very clever.

Zhou Can was stingy and petty, yet he cared about saving face and putting on a grand show. Provoking him with those words might work.

"That's too blunt, Brother. Most men respond to a soft touch rather than force. It needs a little more tenderness."

After considering it for a moment, she affected a delicate, gentle voice.

"'If you're unwilling, Zhou-lang, I won't press you, lest you think that I, Luo Qian'er, am someone who covets vanity. Let us simply say our destined bond was too shallow, and renew it in our next lives'-what do you think of putting it that way, Brother?"

Luo Tong clapped his hands and laughed. "Brilliant! Brilliant! Your methods really are superior, Sister! Even if Zhou Can is as cunning as a ghost, he'll still have to drink your foot-washing water!"

Luo Qian'er rolled her eyes at him, then added, "Zhou Can is small-minded. He won't rise early unless there's profit in it. If you want to pull two hundred thousand in Talisman Money out of his purse, you'll have to promise him some tangible benefits.

"It's like riding a donkey down the road. You have to dangle a carrot in front of its eyes."

Luo Tong frowned. He had wanted to say that with his sister's beauty, a few tender words would be enough to move Zhou Can. Why pay anything more?

But on second thought, those two hundred thousand in Talisman Money were what mattered, so he asked, "What do you have in mind, Sister?"

Luo Qian'er's voice was soft and gentle. "Zhou Can's aptitude is mediocre. Although the Inner Peaks taught him the Little Seven Baleful Intent Needle-Piercing Art, years of bitter cultivation haven't brought him its essence. He's never been able to attain any great mastery.

"Write a letter later and send it back to Lianxi. Ask Father and Mother to offer the clan's ninth-grade spiritual treasure, the Pure Flood Lotus Root, as my dowry, along with two mu of lotus paddies."

Luo Tong immediately hesitated. These were all resources the local clan would use to support him in the future. How could they simply hand them over to Zhou Can?

"It's only a scheme to paint a cake to satisfy his hunger," Luo Qian'er reassured him.

"Once you fill an Inner Peaks disciple vacancy, receive true arts, and achieve success in cultivation,

"even Zhou Can will have to respectfully address you as 'Senior Brother' when he sees you. Naturally, no one will dare look down on our Lianxi Luo Clan again."

Luo Tong's heart burned at her words, and he clapped his hands. "We'll do as you say, Sister!"

The siblings exchanged smiles, as though they could already see a future splendid as brocade, with a smooth road stretching before them.

Luo Tong suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, Sister, you mentioned before that there was a Mortal Laborer on Crimson Flame Peak, a toad lusting after swan meat, who once yearned for you. Was his name 'Jiang Yi'?"

Luo Qian'er knitted her brows in thought. There did seem to have been such a person.

"Yes, I do have some impression of him. He came from a lowly background and studied at a Dao Academy for a few years.

"When we first entered the sect, he and I trained together in the Lower Courtyard, waiting to be assigned to workshops.

"He was very attentive to me even then. After I went to Soul-Nourishing Peak, he still came looking for me from time to time and gave me some Talisman Money..."

As she spoke of this, a trace of displeasure remained on her face.

"I thought he was kindhearted. Who knew that when he heard I'd been transferred to Sewing Peak and had grown close to Zhou Can, he'd come running to question me? He thought Zhou Can was coercing me and even wanted to take me down the mountain to elope! Utterly unreasonable!"

Luo Tong's gaze turned strange. From his sister's account, this man was clearly a lowborn incompetent.

How had he actually become the Quenching Room's Inspection Officer?

And he was even going to compete with Luo Tong for an Inner Peaks disciple position?

"I was afraid he'd cause a scene and stir up gossip that would displease Zhou Can, so I rejected him in no uncertain terms.

"Who knew he would be so extraordinarily stubborn? He was convinced Zhou Can was forcing me. Even in his heartbreak, he left ten thousand in Talisman Money, saying he would send me money every month from then on. He only wanted me to live well, and then his heart would be at ease."

As Luo Qian'er recounted it, the young man's appearance gradually became clearer in her mind.

It was quite a handsome face, but unfortunately it could not hide his air of shabby poverty, which made him seem pathetic and useless.

"Why did you suddenly ask about him, Brother? Come to think of it, it's strange. I didn't receive any Talisman Money from him last month.

"Hmph. Sure enough, men's glib promises can't be taken seriously."

Luo Qian'er shook her head lightly.

The Talisman Money that young man surnamed Jiang sent each month was not even enough for her to rent a private courtyard at the summit of Sewing Peak.

Yet despite having no real ability, he insisted on slapping his face swollen to look fat, making her despise and look down on him all the more.

"Not long after I entered Crimson Flame Peak, I asked around to find out who, besides those in the Forging Room, was using connections with duty officers to angle for the Inner Peaks.

"Jiang Yi was one of them! I don't know what methods he used, but he actually won Duty Officer Yang's favor in the Quenching Room. Not only was he promoted to Inspection Officer, he even went to attend lectures in the Inner Peaks a little while ago..."

Jiang Yi? An Inspection Officer? And he was going to climb the Azure Cloud Path into the Inner Peaks?

Luo Qian'er's beautiful eyes widened. Her mind rang with a buzz, as though she had suffered a heavy blow.

Then a surge of anger rushed into her heart, and she felt she had suffered an enormous injustice.

"He made it sound so nice in front of me back then: 'The Talisman Money may be little, but it carries my true sincerity'! Hmph! I thought that, pathetic as he was, he at least had some sincerity. Now it seems it was all a pretense!

"Sure enough, not a single man in this world can be relied upon! He had money to curry favor with a duty officer and went to the Inner Peaks to scheme for a vacant position... meanwhile, he cast me beyond the ninth heaven and forgot me completely!"

Seeing Luo Qian'er struggling to contain her anger, Luo Tong gently advised her:

"Calm down, Sister. Jiang Yi stumbled into good fortune and suddenly turned his fortunes around. He does have some potential.

"Perhaps there's still some fat to squeeze out of him... if the opportunity arises, you might as well show him a little favor."

Luo Qian'er remained silent, her lovely face cold.

In the past, Jiang Yi had tried every possible means to please her. Now she was being asked to lower herself instead, and naturally she was utterly unwilling.

"Sister, I'll head back to Crimson Flame Peak now."

Seeing this, Luo Tong said no more and cupped his hands in farewell.

"I'll await your good news."