Volume One, Chapter Two Offer Myself in Marriage? What a Joke!

He slowly stood up, his figure tall and imposing, looking down at Xie Wanning with a hint of coldness in his voice. "Then you'd best pray you truly have some skill. If you want me to save you, I will—but you must agree to three conditions."

As he spoke, Lu Yanci's lips curled into a mocking smile, the laughter at the corner of his eyes tinged with amusement. "Or, you could choose to offer yourself as the exchange?"

"You—!"

Rage surged within Xie Wanning, blood boiling, and a wave of fury rushed to her head, making her vision go black so she had to tightly close her eyes.

She, Xie Wanning, the dignified master of the Xuandao Sect, had fallen into this alien world only to be toyed with by a young man with no cultivation at all!

Offer herself? Offer him what!

If looks could kill, Lu Yanci would surely have been cut into a thousand pieces on the spot.

Feeling her life ebbing away, Xie Wanning tried to summon her strength, only to find not a trace of spiritual energy left within her. Her body was so weak she finally realized that if the man before her turned and left, she truly would die in this desolate place.

"Fine. Today, in a good mood, I won't bother with your disrespect. Let us trade fairly—today you save my life, and I will grant you three conditions."

After a struggle, Xie Wanning finally made her choice.

So be it! A true woman knows when to bend and when to stand tall. Today, let her accept humiliation as a tiger fallen to the plain, hounded by dogs. When her strength returns, she'll make sure this brat suffers!

With this thought, Xie Wanning gritted her teeth, mustering her last ounce of strength, and said to Lu Yanci, "Your body has been cursed with a death spell. When I recover, I will help you overcome it..."

But before she could finish, Xie Wanning fainted completely.

Lu Yanci raised an eyebrow—hadn't this woman been quite formidable just now?

How could she suddenly pass out?

"Hey?" Lu Yanci reached out to push her, but felt warmth and wetness beneath his fingers.

He looked closely in the car's headlights—it was blood.

It seemed the woman truly was on the verge of death.

He rose, intending to fetch his phone from the car and call the butler, but as he neared the vehicle, he saw a dozen cars descending the mountainside in neat formation.

"Young Master, are you alright?"

The old butler was the first to rush down, his wrinkled face full of worry.

He hurried to Lu Yanci's side, checking him up and down, and seeing Lu Yanci pale, couldn't help but say with concern, "You've only just recovered from a serious illness, why are you out on the mountain in the middle of the night? You have no idea—Master, Madam, and Miss have been worried sick!"

"I'm fine, Uncle Fu, no need to worry. But the woman on the ground is dying—quick, take her back and treat her."

Lu Yanci's gaze fell on the barely breathing Xie Wanning.

"Ah...?"

Uncle Fu was momentarily stunned. He followed Lu Yanci's gaze and, upon seeing the blood-soaked woman on the ground, cried out, "Good heavens, Young Master, what happened here?"

Uncle Fu assumed Lu Yanci, unpracticed after so long, had accidentally hit someone with the car.

So, with his aged legs, he hurried forward to check if the woman was still breathing.

Fortunately, she was.

Uncle Fu had just breathed a sigh of relief when he suddenly realized the woman on the ground was strangely familiar. His cloudy eyes widened—

"Miss Xie, Xie Wanning?"

Uncle Fu's hesitant gaze slowly turned to Lu Yanci. He blinked behind his glasses, a thousand scenarios flashing through his mind.

But in the end, he settled on one—the motive was revenge.

The marriage between the Xie family and the Lu family was arranged by their parents years ago.

Three years ago, Young Master was plagued by a mysterious illness, bedridden ever since.

That Xie girl, heartless and indifferent, never visited the Young Master, and even unilaterally broke off the engagement, marrying someone else!

Young Master had always been deeply attached to the Xie girl—he must have been unable to accept it, and in a moment of impulse, committed murder...

But no matter what, Young Master must not bear the burden of a homicide.

At once, Uncle Fu instructed the bodyguards behind him, "Quick! Carry her to the car, take her to the hospital at once!"

"No." Unexpectedly, Lu Yanci stopped him. He glanced at the barely breathing Xie Wanning, then said to Uncle Fu, "Take her to the villa hospital."

"Ah?" Uncle Fu blinked, dumbfounded for a moment, then finally processed what Lu Yanci had said. "Ah, alright, alright, I'll arrange it."

Soon, the fleet of luxury cars sped away through the rain.

Only then did the two figures hiding in the darkness dare to emerge.

"It's him, it's really him..."

The woman dragged out, her legs weak, collapsed onto the ground. She seemed utterly drained, her eyes vacant, face full of terror.

"Yinyin, what's wrong?"

Seeing Lin Wanyin's strange expression, Fu Lingzhou frowned in confusion.

"He's here. What should we do? Ahzhou, what do we do? He's a lunatic—he won't let us off!"

Lin Wanyin, recalling something dreadful, trembled violently in the cold wind.

Fu Lingzhou was baffled. "Who is that man? You look as if you've seen a ghost, scared out of your wits."

"He's Lu Yanci!"

The very name made Lin Wanyin's terror deepen.

"You said Lu Yanci? The eldest son of the Lu family, head of the Four Great Families of South City?"

Fu Lingzhou pointed, trembling, toward the direction the cars had gone, swallowing in fear. "Wasn't he the one who, five years ago, forced the Xie family into ruin for Xie Wanning's sake, and even threw you into...!"

"Shut up! Don't say it! Don't say it!!"

Anticipating what Fu Lingzhou was about to say, Lin Wanyin lost control, her voice shrill and hysterical.

Lin Wanyin's reaction made Fu Lingzhou despair. "It's over, it's really over."

But then, something occurred to him. Fu Lingzhou suddenly grabbed Lin Wanyin's shoulders. "Didn't you say Lu Yanci was plagued by a mysterious illness, like a living corpse? How could he possibly appear here at midnight—and just happen to take away Xie Wanning's body?"

"I don't know..."

Looking at the bloodstains on the ground, Lin Wanyin's mind was filled with memories of Lu Yanci throwing her into that dark place years ago.

"I'm scared, I'm so scared, sob sob sob..."

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid." Fu Lingzhou forced himself to calm down, then pulled Lin Wanyin down the mountain. "Let's get out of here first."

...

Villa

When Lu Yanci returned, his parents were anxiously waiting at the gate.

Seeing their son, lost and found, standing before them, they finally dared believe Lu Yanci was safe.

"Where have you been?"

The moment she saw her son, Lu Yanci's mother burst into uncontrollable tears.

She ran forward, hugging him tightly, sobbing, "Do you know how worried I was? I was so scared, I thought something had happened to you, sob sob sob..."

The sudden embrace left Lu Yanci standing awkwardly, unsure what to do.

He wanted to push her away, but seeing her cry so bitterly, he couldn't bear it.

Seeing the worry and fear in his family's eyes, he was unexpectedly moved.

In the end, Lu Yanci softened his tone and said to his mother, "Mom, don't worry. I just felt stifled and wanted to get some air."

His gaze turned to his father and sister, Lu Shixin, both equally anxious. He said apologetically, "I'm sorry for worrying you."

Three years had aged Lu Boshang, his temples now grey and wrinkles lining his eyes. He was no longer the formidable Chairman Lu of old, but an aging father exhausted by his son's mysterious illness. Even his brows and eyes lacked their former sharpness.

Lu Boshang's face was calm, but the worry in his eyes was hard to hide. "You're home, that's all that matters."

Just then, a bodyguard carried Xie Wanning from the car.

Following Uncle Fu, the bodyguard took her directly to the villa hospital in the back garden.

Lu Shixin caught a glimpse of the bloodied woman. She was puzzled—her brother had brought home an injured woman.

For some reason, a hateful image flashed through Lu Shixin's mind.

Could that woman be Xie Wanning?

Suppressing her doubts, Lu Shixin stepped forward and said to Lu Yanci, "Brother, these last three years, your illness has tormented you, and Mom and Dad have suffered with you. Their health is much worse now—you've finally woken up, they truly can't bear to lose you again."