The system was actually giving him a choice. No, in disguise, it was asking him to break the marriage and escape. After all, it is obvious that talent points would be more precious than credits.
He hovered a finger over the third one for a moment.
"Break the engagement, huh?" he muttered. "And piss off a clan that has Grandmaster-level martial artists?"
He scoffed and leaned back again, both hands behind his head now. "No thanks."
He wasn't dumb. Maybe in the stories he used to write, the protagonist could slap their fiancée's father in the face and escape with just a dramatic exit. Or stage death to run away.
But this reality. No matter how much plot armor he created for his main protagonists, he wasn't that delusional to think that he had some kind of plot armor that could save him from any reckless situation.
Well, yes, due to the backing of the Emperor, he might be spared from death, but he wouldn't want to put his life in danger.
He scratched his cheek, muttering bitterly in the end. "Let's just marry her for now and divorce her later. Since she doesn't like me, it will be easier to do it anyway. And as long as I evolve my ocular powers to the fullest, I can hypnotize her to divorce me."
Then, after a brief pause, his gaze went slightly blurry as he went into a daze. "Or maybe, who knows, if she is a beauty and easy to get along with, I could get along with her. I wonder whether I could meet her this evening…"
Meanwhile, at the northern ridge of Beiling, Immortal Pavilion Sect;
In the center courtyard, amidst the circular stone tiles and blooming peach trees, blades clashed against each other.
Clang!
Li Xue stepped forward with a sharp thrust, her sword glinting silver like lightning. Her long, ink-black hair was tied into a high warrior's knot, her robes soaked with sweat. Her breathing was steady and sharp, and so was her footwork.
Her senior brother grunted, barely managing to parry her strike.
"You're too impatient today," Wang Lu said, twirling his blade back in defense. "Your wrist gives away your next move."
Li Xue said nothing. Her eyes, calm and cold, locked onto him again. Then she lunged.
Clang! Clang!
Blade clashed again, but every time they clashed, her opponent was forced to push backward.
And after the third strike, the blade in his hand flew away, and her sword stopped just short of his throat.
He raised both hands. "All right, all right. I yield."
She stepped back without a word and lowered her sword.
"You fight like someone going to war," he said, wiping his brow with a sleeve.
Li Xue turned away as she replied. "Don't joke."
He gave a slow sigh. "Still not looking forward to tomorrow? It's your wedding."
She didn't reply. Instead, her gaze shifted toward the horizon. Toward the city beyond the mountains. Toward the man she had never seen, but whose reputation was known all over the Empire.
"Qin Wei," she said quietly. "Disgrace of the Qin Clan, a playboy, a scoundrel, and a bully. To call him my husband just feels like my tongue has touched poison. Do you think I look forward to tomorrow's wedding?"
She sheathed her sword with a sharp click.
He fell in step beside her, hands behind his back.
"But I heard," Wang Lu said, glancing sideways at her, "that you're… allowing his tongfang maids to move in after the wedding, and instead of him joining the Li residence, you even arranged for a separate household. So, I thought you liked him."
Li Xue scoffed at his remark, "Like? You must be out of your mind."
"Then why?"
She calmly replied. "If I moved him into the Li residence, Father and the elders would constantly ask me about him. They would want to know where I go, what I do, and what kind of wife I am. And if he acts like a fool, I would be the one held responsible for not keeping my husband in line."
She plucked a falling leaf from the air and twirled it between her fingers. "This way, he stays with his maids, and I stay with my peace."
Wang Lu chuckled softly. "That's... pragmatic."
"Cold, you mean?" she asked with a slight smile.
"I didn't say that."
They continued walking in silence for a few paces.
Then Wang Lu asked, more quietly this time, "Why not just annul the engagement if you don't like it? Would your father not listen to his only daughter?"
Li Xue's smile faded, shaking her head. "Did you forget it was an imperial decree?"
She looked up at the sky, pale clouds drifting like idle thoughts.
"Defying the Emperor would bring disgrace to the clan. Maybe worse. So I'll marry him. Act like a wife. And in a year or two… once I reach the Ninth Rank, no one will be able to stop me from divorcing him."
Letting out a deep sigh, she added. "Too bad that I don't have someone I like. Or else, I could have a perfect reason to turn down this marriage…"
Wang Lu walked in silence beside her, his jaw tightening.
Then, almost hesitantly, he began, "Then, how about…"
But he stopped himself, keeping his lips pressed shut.
Li Xue looked up at him, tilting her head slightly. "What?"
He shook his head. "Nothing. Forget it."
But she kept looking, her gaze sharp. "Hmm?"
Wang Lu turned away first, suddenly interested in the koi pond they passed by. "Forget I said anything," he murmured again.
Li Xue let it go, but her eyes lingered on him for a second longer.
Back at the Li Clan mansion;
With the arrival of dusk, oil lamps flickered across the corridors, painting golden shadows on stone walls. In the grand dining hall, plates of delicacies steamed gently, the aroma of roasted duck and stir-fried lotus root filling the air, and the family gathered for the dinner.
But one chair at the table remained empty.
"He's still asleep?" an elder asked, eyebrows furrowing.
The maid bowed her head low, her voice small. "Young Master Qin has not stirred all day. I tried to wake him twice but…"
"Is he… back in a coma again?" a worried voice rose from one of the distant seats.
The family exchanged uncertain glances. Some whispered while some merely sighed. Some even had these hopeful gazes.
Patriarch Li Yujin, seated at the head of the table, on the other hand, clicked his chopsticks against the side of his porcelain bowl and looked toward his daughter. "Xue'er. Go check on your husband."
Li Xue blinked, looking at her father. "Eh?"