Seeking a Cure, Not a Marriage
Zhang Xuezhou dislikes getting involved in matters of the heart.
He sought medical treatment, not marriage.
He and Ren Anran maintained an extremely tacit relationship as fellow Daoists, a relationship that transcended that of an ordinary couple. Their feelings for each other did not need to be proven to anyone; they each had their own answers in their hearts.
That's why Zhang Xuezhou doesn't consider personal feelings when treating patients, and he certainly wouldn't target acquaintances.
He rejected the marriage proposal swiftly.
Zhang Xuezhou could use elixirs, cultivation Technique Method, money, and treasures to befriend a female cultivator with a pure Yin constitution, thereby completing a 'human-medicine' transaction.
In a transactional relationship, there is no room for emotion, and he can handle it with a calm mindset, without feeling emotionally conflicted.
"Other women my age already have children who are ten years old," Yi Shuo said quietly. "I suppose Brother Dongfang looks so young now that he wouldn't be interested in an old woman like me."
"I want to get treatment, not get married," Zhang Xuezhou shook his head repeatedly. "My motives are impure, making it difficult for me to marry sincerely. Whoever marries me will not have a good ending. Once the pregnancy is conceived and my constitution is damaged, I will definitely issue a divorce and find someone else. This kind of marriage is meaningless!"
"How will you know I can't completely remove your Law Power if you don't try?" Yi Shuo said, mustering her courage.
"I still retain some semblance of my True Self self. Even if the current symptoms are eliminated, I might repeat the same mistakes in the future," Zhang Xuezhou said sincerely. "My cultivation method is not orthodox. Taking the unorthodox path is destined to bring many hardships, involve many grudges, and make it difficult to know whether I will live or die. It may even bring disaster to my family."
"Then you need Xie Nei's help even more," Yi Shuo said.
"Please help me find one," Zhang Xuezhou shook his head and said, "As long as I recover even a little bit of my Law Power, I can use this technique to identify women!"
Yi Shuo glanced at Zhang Xuezhou with a wistful look, feeling that it would have been better if they had never met.
Zhang Xuezhou avoids taking advantage of those close to him, lest friendships turn into bitter enmity.
However, Zhang Xuezhou was indeed a good match within Yishuo's knowledge and understanding, Zhang Xuezhou abilities were extremely high among the younger generation.
It's normal for people to admire those who are strong. Yi Shuo had long watched Zhang Xuezhou chat and laugh with Zheng Wukong and others, and had also been instructed in Technique Method by Zhang Xuezhou. She had also improved her cultivation level in the underground palace, and even her current Divine Ability Realm had been guided by Zhang Xuezhou.
Her ability to avenge her parents was also guided by Zhang Xuezhou, enabling her to use the Empress Dowager to eradicate all those involved in the case. Her survival in prison was also due to Zhang Xuezhou's guidance in attaching herself to the Empress Dowager.
For Zhang Xuezhou Zhang Xuezhou, this may only be a small part of his life.
But for Yishuo, these things occupied almost the entirety of her life.
Yi Shuo knew that Rong Tianding had once had feelings for her, but she could never let go of Rong Tianding in her heart.
Just as Zhang Xuezhou treated her, Yi Shuo also regarded Rong Tianding as a good buddy, but could only bury her past feelings in her heart.
This was a relatively simple experience, until Zhang Xuezhou suddenly decided to get married, and Yi Shuo felt she could give it a try.
As for the connections and interests that Zheng Wukong taught her, Yi Shuo wasn't so interested. She didn't think about selling herself to get longevity medicine, and since she was young, she rarely thought about things that extended her lifespan.
Yi Shuo hadn't expected Zhang Xuezhou to refuse so decisively, even after she accepted many of Zhang Xuezhou demands.
"Then I'll find you one!"
Yi Shuo left dejectedly and disappointed.
A moment later, Rong Tianding tiptoed in.
"I rarely see that little vixen cry. It seems she's quite heartbroken after being rejected by her cousin," Rong Tianding, smacking his lips.
"Yi Shuo is different from A Qiao; it's better to refuse her early," Zhang Xuezhou said, waving his hand.
"Yi Shuo probably doesn't think that way," Rong Tianding pondered. "You'd rather find anyone else than her; she'll probably feel worse the more she thinks about it!"
"I'm here to seek medical treatment," Zhang Xuezhou shook his head and said, "What looks like a marriage contract is actually a 'human medicine' exchanged for benefits. She doesn't need this kind of marriage contract, nor does she need to be 'human medicine'."
"That makes sense," Rong Tianding nodded. "Those who treat patients can stop taking their medicine whenever they want, but if they get involved in other matters, they won't be able to stop or not. But I do have a question about this that I don't understand!"
"What's the problem?" Zhang Xuezhou asked curiously.
"Cousin, why do you divorce one and marry another?" Rong Tianding asked, puzzled. "Having three or four wives and concubines in the family is not contradictory!"
"From the perspective of marital relationships, one-on-one is the best approach, and we also need to emphasize lifelong commitment," Zhang Xuezhou said.
"That seems to make some sense!"
Rong Tianding seemed to agree absentmindedly, clearly not understanding Zhang Xuezhou's practice of marrying one woman and kicking her out, remaining faithful to one woman until death.
He eventually dismissed it as Zhang Xuezhou's quirk, since Zhang Xuezhou was of excellent character and it was rare to see any flaws in him; imperfections made him seem more real.
Rong Tianding had to tell the truth: people like Zhang Xuezhou are very rare in the world.
They were not powerful Lineage, nor did they possess the resources of a major sect; they were merely Rogue Cultivator.
But even Rogue Cultivator like Zhang Xuezhou, after more than ten years of practice, is almost at the pinnacle of cultivation.
If we look at the past, among the many emperors who excelled in both civil and military affairs, only Zhang Xuezhou possessed such a rapid pace of cultivation.
Spending a long time around Zhang Xuezhou might make everything seem normal, but this is actually an abnormal situation.
If he were the adopted son-in-law, Rong Tianding felt that developing feelings of affection was a perfectly normal thing.
"Cousin, you've finally overcome your hardships. A whole day has passed, and you haven't fainted. You must have recovered from your illness!"
Rong Tianding tried to say a few kind words to Yi Shuo, but Zhang Xuezhou was clearly not interested and quickly changed the subject.
This topic caused Zhang Xuezhou a dull ache in his heart.
Although he had mentally prepared himself and even anticipated that he might only be able to survive in a certain world, Zhang Xuezhou still found it hard to accept when the day actually came.
His life was too short.
Zhang Xuezhou is not an elderly person who takes kinship ties lightly; his mindset is far from being indifferent and detached.
If a hundred years pass, or even a few decades, and the people Zhang Xuezhou knows gradually die, Zhang Xuezhou feels that his heart will inevitably grow cold, and he will become indifferent to the various worldly connections that are closely related to him, until he has no more attachments in his heart, and then it will not matter which world he lives in.
He is currently caught in both this situation and the real world, unable to sever ties with either.
This knot in Zhang Xuezhou's heart is clearly difficult to untie.
He was simply waiting for his Law Power to recover so he could see if he could seek assistance from Technique Method to achieve something different.
"By the way, cousin, Li Shaojun might come over to see what happens to you tonight!"
Li Shaojun was among the group that Zhang Xuezhou needed to notify.
However, Li Shaojun did not come to help, but rather to watch the spectacle after learning that Zhang Xuezhou was in trouble. After all, Li Shaojun had suffered a great loss when he asked Zhang Xuezhou to refine the Creation Pill, and almost swore that he never wanted to see such a scourge as Zhang Xuezhou again.
Li Shaojun was in a good mood because Zhang Xuezhou was having a rare bad day.