Selling the present from wife

"Staying here? And do what?" she said, voice laced with cold sarcasm. "Play house? Pretend to be a sweet, loving couple for the rest of my life? No thanks."

Her words hit with the precision of a dagger. She exhaled sharply and continued, tone steady but indifferent.

"Once we move to the new house, I'll be returning to my sect. I've already made arrangements. You're free to do whatever you want with the allowance you'll receive from my family. Roulan will manage the household in my absence, and you won't be expected to do anything. Just don't cause trouble."

She paused, letting her words sink in.

"And if you really want protection, I would suggest going back to visit the Qin Clan and bringing someone loyal to you. Assuming they're still willing to spare anyone for you."

Qin Wei didn't answer.

He sat in silence, the realization of his position settling into his chest like a stone.

Atleast, earlier, he thought there would be a couple of his tonfang maids, who were experts and be able to protect him, but all of them were fired by his father?

Ugh… this is the worst… but in this hopeless future, if there is something to look forward to, atleast, Li Xue will be leaving. At the very least, she won't try to assassinate him.

Staring at her husband filled with an ugly expression and various thoughts, Li Xue reached into her sleeve and pulled out two neatly rolled scrolls.

She handed them to him across the desk.

"Here. The divorce agreement. As you requested," she said flatly. "One copy for you, one for me. The terms are all laid out clearly, the amount of allowance you'll receive, the freedoms you'll have, and the rules you're expected to follow during the period of our marriage."

Qin Wei took the scrolls slowly, weighing them in his hands. The texture of the parchment was smooth, but the air around it felt heavy.

Li Xue didn't give him time to dwell.

"And this."

From the folds of her inner robe, she pulled out a small, orb-like object.

She placed it gently on the desk in front of him.

"This is the Weeping Guanyin Tears," she said. "It can heal internal injuries of even a ninth-ranked expert. If your meridians are damaged or blocked, there's a chance, a slim one, thirty percent at best, that it might repair them. You might even be able to cultivate, if you're fortunate."

Qin Wei looked down at the orb, then back up at her.

Li Xue's gaze was calm, but her words were clear and pointed. "It's worth a fortune. So I'm giving it to you with the hope that you won't bring trouble to me, or to the Li Clan, through your words or your actions."

She stepped back after that, expression unreadable.

"Sign the documents. Keep one. Give the other to me. We'll move in two days. Until then… try not to get into any more fights with Shimin."

With that, she turned and walked out, leaving Qin Wei alone, not intending to wait to see his reaction.

Qin Wei stood still for a long moment, eyes seemingly fixed on Li Xue as she left the study, but in truth, his attention was elsewhere.

Floating silently before him, only visible to his eyes, was the system's translucent interface, a new notification pulsed at the top:

[Trade Request: Exchange "Weeping Guanyin Tears" for 8,000 Credits? Accept / Decline]

His gaze dropped to the orb on the table. A miraculous item and a rare one that could potentially awaken his dormant cultivation path.

But only a thirty percent chance.

He sighed and leaned back in the chair, running a hand through his hair. A tempting probability indeed.

Later that night;

In the eastern wing, not far from Li Xue's chambers, Qin Wei lay wide awake. His room was quiet. The only sound was the faint creaking of old wood and the distant rustle of garden leaves stirred by the breeze.

He sat on his bed, legs folded, the Weeping Guanyin Tears resting in his palm.

Two hours had passed. He hadn't moved much. The trade request still hovered in the corner of his vision, patiently awaiting his response.

His thumb ran absently along the orb's smooth surface.

"Thirty percent chance to gain Qi…" he murmured. "If I had nothing else, that would be enough. But…"

He glanced back at the system interface. "I have a system. I have Xielun Yan and a bunch of skills. I also have chakra anyway."

There was more potential here than a mere gamble on cultivation.

He exhaled deeply, the decision finally settling in his chest. "I can copy techniques with my ocular power. Does Qi matter that much?"

A slight grimace pulled at his lips. "And with Beiling under Li Clan's thumb… trying to sell this even on a black market might as well be suicide."

Decision made in the end, he tapped the glowing Accept button. The orb in his hand dissolved instantly into particles of light, vanishing without a trace.

[Trade complete. +8000 Credits]

Qin Wei leaned forward, pulling the interface fully open. "Okay, let's see if I can buy a B-rank technique."

His fingers moved quickly now, flipping through the system's library.

Qin Wei wasn't looking for the most powerful technique in B-rank. He wants something like a low B-rank but can be evolved into an A-rank or even S-rank later on. There were a few skills he invented in the fanfiction.

Then he saw it.

[Lei Long Lian Dan Shu – Lightning Dragon Barrage Technique]

Rank: B

Description: Harness the element of lightning to form multiple chained strikes in the shape of a serpentine dragon. Swift and fierce, it excels in overwhelming enemies with burst attacks and ranged suppression.

Requirement: Lightning Element

Cost: 2,500 Credits

"Yup, this one is good. For a low price and yet has high potential." Qin Wei murmured.

Without further hesitation, he tapped Purchase.

[Confirmed. Skill: Lei Long Lian Dan Shu acquired. 2,500 credits deducted

[Remaining Credits: 5,700]

A brief pulse ran through his mind.

He reopened his character interface.

Qin Wei

Rank:1

Age: 19

Race: Han

Bloodline: Xielun Yan (Stage 2)

Titles: None

Elements: Fire, Lightning

Inventory: 2x sets of clothes, 1x shinobi attire (basic).

Skills:

[Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique]

[Lightning Style: Ground Current]

[Clone Technique]

[Chakra String Technique]

[Ripple Drift Technique]

[Celestial Sword of Destiny]

[Lightning Style: Lightning Dragon Barrage Technique]

TALENT TREE:

[Elemental Path/Lingfa Dao] :

Fire Path: None

Lightning Path: None

Fusion Path: Locked.

[Bloodline Path/Xuemai Dao]: None

[Combat Path/Wuji Dao]

Orb 1: Movement Speed (+100%)

Orb 2: Damage Taken (-30%)

Credits: 5,700

*

Qin Wei let the screen fade, lying back onto his bed, one hand behind his head as he stared at the dark ceiling.

"Even if I can't cultivate… one day, I'll still topple all those heavenly geniuses just as my protagonists always do."

Content with his purchase and plan, he finally closed his eyes, slowly drifting into sleep.

Three days passed in a blur.

Now, beneath the towering eaves of the Li Clan's ancestral temple, Qin Wei and Li Xue knelt side by side.

Before them burned a thick incense stick placed in the central brass urn, its fragrant smoke coiling like spirits rising into the heavens.

The ancestral plaques of the Li Clan loomed over them, their names etched in archaic script. Qin Wei's forehead touched the cold marble floor as he kowtowed thrice, mimicking Li Xue's precise movements.

When the rites concluded, an elder priest gave a formal nod, and an elder came forward with a scroll. He unfurled it and announced in a loud, clear voice that the newlyweds were officially being granted their marital residence, Moonvilla.

The next phase of their married life had begun.

Well, according to the rest of the Li Clan members, that is…