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012 - A Marriage Like No Other
🕑 Added 2024-07-03 21:17:35 +0000 UTC“I'm sure you have many questions and doubts," Qin Yun said calmly as he sipped his tea. "I intend to shed some light on them in time, but first of all, we should set some ground rules."
Yun Jingfei frowned slightly but chose not to interrupt him. While eager to know if she could recover what she had lost, she knew she possessed no bargaining power. Everything was in this man's hands. Still, as he stated, she possessed many reservations about whether he could hold true to his words and help recover her cultivation.
This wouldn't be the first time her hopes were dashed. While her family may have seemed heartless since her accident, cruel enough to give her away for the slim chance to get their hands on an inheritance they weren't even sure existed, they still tried to help with her situation.
Many scholars and doctors had been invited to her family in the hopes that they might know of a solution, yet they all came to the same verdict; her chances of recovering from such grievous injuries to her Spiritual Roots and core were close to nil. Unless an immortal intervened, she would spend the rest of her life as a cripple.
Yun Jingfei was at the end of her rope. She had thought of giving up more than once, yet she couldn't bring herself to do it. Doing so would go against everything she valued. Cultivators were supposed to be the ones to tread new paths. They already defied the natural ways of the world by seeking longevity. What was broken Spiritual Roots against the Heavens themselves?
Still, even the proudest non-conformists would have to face reality at some point. Somehow, she felt this was the world’s punishment for her hubris. She was once arrogant enough to think she was special and that her talent meant something, yet, against the Heavens' ruthlessness, it didn't amount to anything.
"While this marriage may have been something our families decided on their own, I intend to honour it," Qin Yun added, looking her in the eyes. "While you may not believe me, I chose to marry you, knowing full well that something was wrong on your end."
“Why would you?" she stammered, shocked by his honesty. "Why me? You know nothing about me, and there are no feelings between us. Why go so far?”
“You seem to confuse marriage with love," Qin Yun replied coldly. "Marriage is nothing more than a contract between two individuals. Why liken it to something as wonderful as love? Truthfully, I wouldn't want to thrust something as wretched as marriage unto someone I truly cared for.”
Yun Jingfei was taken aback. She wondered what had happened for him to have such a twisted view of matrimony. Still, this suited her just fine. She had no feelings for the man and only wanted something from him. To keep their relationship purely about business was all she wanted.
“Still, why go through with this marriage at all?" she asked, slightly confused.
Qin Yun let the silence linger briefly as he sipped his tea and observed his new wife. While she seemed nervous at first, probably wondering if he would go back on his word, she soon calmed down and waited for him to continue. Qin Yun couldn't help but appreciate her levelheadedness despite the situation she found herself in.
“I have many secrets and have no wish to share them with someone unrelated to me," he said calmly. "The only reason I am even entertaining the thought of helping you is that you are currently my wife. You are welcome to renege on this marriage, but you would also forgo any assistance I might provide. You must understand that many would kill to get their hands on what I have. You should remember why you were given to me in the first place."
Indeed, her family had deeply impressed upon her what they wished to obtain from this union. From what they knew, this man's mother was from a powerful clan within the core region of the continent, which possessed unimaginable might. Any trinkets of theirs could shake any clan or Immortal Sects within the Outer Regions. If such information came to light, many other clans would move mountains and seas to get their hands on it.
While information on the Core Region was scarce, to say the least, her family had connections across the Western Domain and had access to an information network that most couldn't even dare to fantasize about. Yet, even they didn't possess much information about the Core Region, except for a single piece of news; there were living immortals within the continent's centre.
As for the reason there wasn't any news of them in the Outer Regions, Yun Jingfei could only speculate that it had something to do with the concentration of Spiritual Qi in the atmosphere. The Outer Regions were probably much too barren to sustain them.
Still, the Yun Family could not relinquish an inheritance from someone who may have been in contact with Immortals. Fortunately, the Qin family didn't seem to realize the scope of what they possessed and were even willing to hand it over for the measly price of connecting them to some of the sects the Yun Family dealt with. This was a bargain too good to be true.
The only problem was that the inheritance was in the hands of one of the members of the Qin Clan, and they couldn't simply ask him to hand it over, as the man himself was looked down upon in their clan. They wouldn't dare risk snatching it from him and offending the clan behind his mother. Thus, they devised a scheme to have him offer it as dowry.
Yet, it wouldn't do for a family as distinguished as the Yun clan to sell one of their daughters even if they could receive an Immortal Inheritance in exchange. They had their reputation to maintain. Fortunately, Yun Jingfei’s case overlapped with the timing of this marriage.
Seeing as nothing could be done about her shattered Spiritual Roots, the Yun clan had no interest in continuing to support her. They had already spent too many resources on her cultivation up to this point, only to see it all wasted. While they couldn't get rid of her, they could send her away as a gift.
As for the groom’s reaction to her current condition, why would that matter? Just the fact that they were bound by marriage entitled them to demand something from him, and since he didn’t possess the support of his clan, he would have no choice but to relent. Strength was the only thing that mattered; no one cared about morality.
While this may have seemed heartless, for most clans and sects, the cultivators they supported were nothing more than investments for the future. If they were found to be more costly than what they could contribute to the collective, they would be discarded without a second thought. Such a thing was all too common on this continent.
There were countless factions vying for supremacy, and resources were limited. To rise up in the world, one had to be ruthless, even in the face of blood relationships. Such a mentality was deeply ingrained into the psyche of most cultivators. Trying to swim against a mighty river's flow was an exercise in futility. One could only relinquish one's principles in the face of survival.
Fortunately, Qin Yun did not lack the means to do so. Even in the face of Heaven's Might, he would remain steadfast in his convictions. As such, he also expected the ones who wished to share a life with him to do the same. Seeing the resolve on his bride's face, Qin Yun finally smiled.
“What do you need from me?” Yun Jingfei asked in a firm tone.
“Secrecy, for one" Qin Yun replied calmly, then added, "and to to take this marriage seriously. I’ve no interest in being married in name only."
Yun Jingfei remained steady. This was in line with what she had expected. While she had still held on to a glimmer of resistance, it had now faded with the revelation that her husband could alleviate her woes—at least if it turned out to be true. Still, it would be a lie to say she was eager for it to come to this as she had been pushed into this situation by her family.
"I hope you didn’t think this would remain a sham marriage," Qin Yun said. "I was committed from the start, and I expect you to do the same if you were to choose to go through with this. This is something you should think about carefully as it will impact the rest of your life. Just know that I have no reason to do this much for someone unrelated to me. Your fate is entirely up to you."
While this may have seemed harsh on his part, Qin Yun couldn’t care less. He wasn’t some sort of hero trying to save the beauty. This was purely a transaction between two individuals. As for why he insisted on marrying her, limiting the spread of his secrets was true enough, but honestly, he felt attracted to her spirit.
He knew his bride was arrogant and prideful. Yet, Qin Yun felt something special about her and wished to bind himself to her in any way possible. He fully expected her to be resistant to the idea, yet he would leave the decision to her.
For now, Qin Yun had said everything that needed to be said. The choice was hers: to trust him and take the plunge or crawl back to the family that threw her away without what they sought to acquire. While Qin Yun thought it was a no-brainer, emotions sometimes overpowered rationality. He eagerly awaited her choice.
“How can I trust you to keep your word?” she asked sheepishly. How could she believe that this man possessed the means to repair Spiritual Roots when even the best doctors and alchemists couldn’t resolve this?
“You can’t,” Qin Yun replied bluntly. “Honestly, you shouldn’t. Still, you don’t have a choice. I am the only hope you have left. I realize that this isn’t something to be decided lightly. I’ll give you some time to consider.”
Having finished his cup of tea, Qin Yun rose to leave but was held back by Yun Jingfei’s trembling hands, lightly holding the hem of his robes. Seeing her weak appearance, a mischievous thought arose in his mind. Since she couldn't decide, he would give her the push she needed.
He grasped her exposed hand within his and pulled the sleeve of her wedding garb upwards, revealing the skin hidden beneath. As he had expected, her forearm was full of burn scars. He lightly touched the damaged skin with his fingertips, prodding whether she could still feel, but the nerve endings had long been burned away.
As Yun Jingfei had never felt the touch of a man before, she tried to resist at first, but relented slightly once she thought of this man as her husband. Although the thought felt unreal, and she was somewhat unsettled, she tried her best not to show it, hoping he wouldn't recede his offer before she made up her mind.
Although Qin Yun had an inkling of what was going on in her mind, he ignored it completely, focusing his attention on this unhealed injury. He wrapped his palm around her forearm and injected some of his Innate Qi alongside a bundle of the reserve energy from within his artificial Qi Centre. Unlike Qi which had many uses, the energy Qin Yun hoarded was purely meant to sustain him. It was the same energy a mortal would gain from food, mostly in the form of adenosine triphosphate, but it also contained many amino acids and other elements used to sustain life.
Using this energy as nutrients, Qin Yun made his Innate Qi flow within her damaged Qi channels, stimulating her cells to replicate, prompting her flesh to regenerate. He would use his Innate Qi as a knife and purge the damaged cells, leaving only what was necessary behind.
Although such a thing was much more complex than it seemed, for Qin Yun, who had extraordinary insight into the workings of the human body, it was straightforward to promote cellular division and regenerate the wounds. Coupled with his almost infinite energy reserves, her forearm became as good as new in less than a minute.
Stunned by the sight of her renewed arm and the feeling coming back to her skin, Yun Jingfei was lost for words. She felt a lump in her throat as well as tears welling up in her eyes. The feeling of hope she had once given up arose once again within her heart. A smile cracked upon her chapped lips while she giggled slightly as if she were a newborn child. After she took a moment to calm herself, the only words to escape her mouth were, "Please, marry me."
