The wedding night (Part-3)

Still, Qin Wei said nothing. He simply turned, lay down on the ground where he had been earlier, and closed his eyes as if she wasn't even there.

Li Xue blinked in disbelief. "Hey! What are you doing? Don't ignore me!"

She scrambled to her knees and rushed over to him. Frustration surged in her chest as she grabbed his collar and yanked him upright, shaking him.

"Answer me! What just happened? Why are you acting like this?"

Qin Wei opened his eyes. There was no malice in them. No fear. Just… emptiness. A man who had already given up on trying to understand the chaos around him.

He gazed at her like someone staring through a cracked mirror, seeing two people at once, one asleep, one trying to kill him.

"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you," he muttered flatly.

But before Li Xue could respond, the chamber doors burst open.

Roulan stormed in, eyes sharp, her hand instinctively near the hilt of her dagger.

"Young Master, are you alri—?"

She froze mid-step, her expression shifting from alert to stunned as she saw them: Qin Wei slumped on the floor, Li Xue straddling his lap, her hands fisted in his collar, their faces too close for propriety.

An awkward silence fell like a boulder.

Roulan's eyes widened, and then, in a flustered motion, she bowed her head.

"Apologies! I didn't mean to interrupt!"

Before either of them could say a word, she turned on her heel and exited in haste, closing the door firmly behind her.

Li Xue turned crimson from the neck up.

"Wait, Roulan! That's not what…!"

Too late. The door had already shut

Li Xue turned her head toward Qin Wei, her eyes narrowing in faint irritation as she huffed.

"This is all your fault. Now she's going to misunderstand again."

Qin Wei opened one eye, staring at her flatly. For a brief second, he wanted to lash out, 'You're a crazy bitch with a murder switch, and I just survived a assassination on our wedding night', but he swallowed the words down, suppressing the bitter taste they left in his mouth.

Instead, he replied calmly, almost too calmly. "It's our wedding night. Keeping up appearances is necessary… isn't it?"

His voice was steady, but there was a pointed chill underneath.

Li Xue blinked, caught off guard by the shift in his tone. She blinked a few times, confused, and then nodded stiffly.

"Ah… Yes. You're right."

Qin Wei let out a soft exhale and leaned his head back against the wooden floor. "Now that the formalities are done," he continued dryly, "go back to sleep. Let me do the same. You reek of alcohol."

Li Xue's face flushed instantly, a mixture of embarrassment and irritation flaring across her cheeks. She pursed her lips, biting back a retort, and stomped away toward the bed. Pulling the sheets over herself without another word, she turned her back to him and huddled under the covers.

Qin Wei finally shut his eyes and tried to drift off, muttering under his breath. "Not even halfway through the first night and I already feel like I aged 30 years today…"

Li Xue peeked over her shoulder once, casting a wary glance at him, then turned away and closed her eyes too.

Elsewhere, in the moonlit courtyard of the Li estate…

Roulan walked swiftly under the soft glow of the lanterns, her steps silent against the stone tiles. She spotted Li Yujin standing near the ancient plum tree, his hands behind his back, gaze lifted to the night sky.

She approached and bowed deeply. "Master."

Li Yujin turned to her, his expression calm but his eyes sharp. "Did it happen?" he asked quietly. "Did her other self appear?"

Roulan nodded. "Yes. It was brief. But Young Master Qin seemed unharmed. When I entered the room, I saw them tangled together on the floor. It looked…" she paused, "…intimate. I believe she must have suppressed it by her sheer will, and Young master Qin might have played a role, but I didn't dare to disturb them."

Li Yujin's lips twitched into a faint, knowing smile. "Then it's fine."

He waved his hand, dismissing her silently. Roulan bowed once more and disappeared into the shadows.

As the silence of the courtyard settled once more, Li Yujin turned to the plum tree and placed a palm against its bark.

His eyes darkened slightly. "For a moment… when I sensed her seal cracking and heard that scream, I thought the worst had happened."

He exhaled slowly, as if releasing a weight from his chest. "Whatever the case, I must reinforce the seal. I'll need to speak with Monk Kong Jian at first light."

His gaze drifted up to the moon, his face heavy with a burden.

"If her alternate self awakens completely… we might not be able to control what comes next."

Meanwhile, back in the room...

Qin Wei rolled from side to side on the floor, the thin mattress offering no real comfort. His mind refused to quiet down, tangled in too many thoughts to let sleep come.

The dull ache in his limbs and the emotional weight of the whole day only made things worse.

Finally, with a frustrated sigh, he sat up and ran a hand through his hair. "This is really bothering me. No point waiting around."

With a flick of thought, the familiar system interface appeared before his eyes in a translucent screen.

He scrolled past the notifications, into the character interface. His elemental affinity section still showed only two active elements: Fire and Lightning. The Wood element he was after had been just four li away… yet now it might as well be in another world.

"If only I had been a little bit faster… I could have had wood element, but there's no use thinking about the past." he muttered with a sigh.

Shaking his head, he navigated over to the Skill section and tapped on the newly unlocked ability:

[Celestial Sword of Destiny]

A window popped up with glowing gold text:

Skill: Celestial Sword of Destiny

Description: Conjure celestial swords formed of divine energy to entrap and paralyze targets within a 3-meter radius. Effect 1: Temporarily suppresses the target's soul below the Grandmaster stage. Note: This skill cannot cause physical harm. Chakra Consumption: 10% per second. Cooldown: None.

Note: Current rank allows conjuring only one sword. Higher stages unlock multiple simultaneous swords and a wider range.

Qin Wei skimmed the description and nodded slowly.

"Suppressive skill, huh… High chakra drain, but no cooldown. That's something, at least. Most importantly, it can suppress even a rank-9 martial artist. No wonder she was suppressed, but when Uncle Emperor used this sword to trap me, it acted more like a prison. I guess I need to become stronger to use it in a better way."

He closed the window and scrolled up to the Talent Tree.

Combat Techniques – Wuji Dao