Volume One Chapter 1 "Alright, I will marry you."

"Jiang Chenyu, are you still refusing to nod and agree to marry into the Gu family?"

“Why do you have to be so stubborn? Xue’er has been mourning for you at the Jiang family home—can’t you do just this little thing for her?”

Jiang Chenyu’s neck strained, veins bulging, her lips bitten until they bled. She looked helplessly at the lips of her eldest and second brothers as they moved, and at the gloating eyes behind them.

She had been cultivating in the mountains when her eldest brother called, claiming their mother was ill and asking her to come home to see her. The moment she stepped inside, she was forced to drink a glass of water, thick with peanuts—her deadly allergen.

They were forcing her to take Xue’er’s place and marry a sickly member of the Gu family. If she refused, they would not take her to the hospital.

“Big brother, I’m bound by a vow. I really can’t get married. Otherwise, you... you’ll all be in danger.” Just uttering these words cost her all her strength.

The Jiang family had endured a long spell of bad luck, disaster after disaster. Unable to watch her family collapse, she had used her own fortune as a guide, exchanging her luck for theirs and forcibly saving them. The price was eternal devotion to the Dao—if she married or had children, the vow would break and the family would fall into ruin once again.

She could not, under any circumstances, watch her parents and loved ones suffer.

Her second brother, Jiang Mu, snorted as if hearing a joke. “Jiang Chenyu, making up nonsense again just to shirk responsibility?”

“Big brother, why not give her another glass? I don’t think she’s learned her lesson from this little bit of pain,” Jiang Mu suggested to Jiang Chao.

Jiang Chenyu’s breath caught. For the first time, she felt her beloved second brother had become a stranger.

Jiang Chao’s brows furrowed as he saw her stubborn silence. With a sinking heart, he gritted his teeth and forced another dosed glass of water down her throat.

The suffocation returned, and Jiang Chenyu’s scalp prickled with pain.

“Chenyu, everyone knows Gu Jinyan won’t live long. If Xue’er marries him, her life will be ruined,” Jiang Chao threatened and coaxed. “Your reputation isn’t exactly... Well, anyway, when Gu Jinyan dies, you can just divorce him. Our family will take care of you.”

The words left unsaid were filled in by the disdain on his face, becoming knives that cut deep.

When her master had come to the Jiang family to take a disciple, her father had said the same thing—“You’ll go to the mountains for now; we’ll bring you home when the time comes.”

The result: her indenture contract was still in the mountains, and her beloved brothers had grown distant. Even her twin brother had long forgotten her.

In this world, only one person still loved her.

“Mother…” She mouthed the word, soundless, but it gave her the strength to endure the pain.

If she could survive this agony, she could try drawing a talisman to save herself.

Just a little longer…

“Mother called,” Jiang Xue’er, who had been watching the spectacle, spoke up.

Everyone turned to her, and Jiang Chenyu couldn’t help but look up as well.

“Xue’er, why do you look so pale? Did someone bully you?” Their mother’s voice came through with a gentle warmth, only slightly distorted by static.

Jiang Xue’er shook her head. “No, brother already taught Chenyu a lesson. Don’t scold her when you come back.”

“I knew it! Every time she comes home, she makes trouble!” Their mother’s voice grew shrill at the mention of Jiang Chenyu.

Jiang Chenyu paused. Her mother was never affectionate, but always gentle. Why now…

“I always said she’s been spoiled wild out there, but you always defended her. Every time she comes back, I have to brace myself to deal with her. What a bother.” Not seeing Jiang Chenyu, her mother spoke freely. “But I think Mu’s method works. Whenever she comes home, I just drag your father off on a trip, so I won’t have to see her and get upset.”

Jiang Chenyu: …Ha.

To see her mother, she had worked hard, completed tasks, and arranged for leave—only to find her mother absent every time she returned. So, it was deliberate avoidance.

“Mom, did you call for something?” Jiang Mu interrupted as if he didn’t care that Jiang Chenyu would be embarrassed knowing whose idea it was. He just didn’t want her to come to him with more unreasonable demands—he was already fed up.

Their mother remembered her purpose. “Oh, right. You must make Jiang Chenyu promise to keep this marriage substitution secret. The Gu family is the wealthiest in the capital—we can’t have them resent Xue’er.”

“If it comes to it, just say she wanted to marry into the Gu family for a better life. Whatever you do, don’t let Xue’er’s reputation suffer,” she added.

“You’re obsessive by nature, never satisfied, unable to let go. In the end, you’re the only one who gets hurt.” Jiang Chenyu recalled her master’s words during a divination and couldn’t help but laugh aloud.

“…Is Chenyu there with you?” Her mother, hearing the sound, asked tentatively.

Jiang Xue’er glanced back and nodded, then quickly added, “Mom is only thinking of the family’s reputation. I’m sure Chenyu will understand.”

“You’re so thoughtful. If only you were my real daughter…” Her mother’s awkwardness dissipated. She was just doing it for the family—how could Jiang Chenyu blame her?

“All right, I’ll marry him,” Jiang Chenyu enunciated each word, spitting out blood as she spoke.

From the moment the thought of marriage formed, the vow began to unravel. She was curious to see the Jiang family’s reaction when their world crumbled and the truth was revealed.

Jiang Chao and Jiang Mu exchanged glances, shocked to see Jiang Chenyu spit blood. Panic set in.

Suddenly, Jiang Xue’er shrieked, “Ah! Blood!”

With that, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.

The two brothers immediately abandoned the bleeding woman on the floor, rushing to scoop Xue’er up and race her to the hospital.

Jiang Chenyu found it absurd, though the pain left her unable to laugh.

She lay on the floor for a long while, gathering her strength, then drew a blood talisman to save herself.

“She looks pitiful—I’m afraid something really might happen. Should we take her to the hospital?” The voices of the onlooking maids drifted over.

“There’s no car left. Both young masters sent them to buy supplies for Miss Xue’er’s birthday party. Even if there were, I wouldn’t save a traitorous ingrate like her. Miss treats her so well, and she still tries to harm her. If she dies here, she deserves it!”

The hatred in the maid’s voice was intense, as if Jiang Chenyu had done something unforgivable. But if those above hadn’t said the same and condoned this behavior, would they be so brazen?

Jiang Chenyu had no desire to listen to their gossip. She pushed herself up and staggered out.

All the way to the Jiang family’s gate, she saw no one. Clearly, they had all decided to leave her to her fate.

The Gu family villa was halfway up the mountain, but there was a bus stop nearby. She wasn’t sure she could make it, but she wouldn’t give up.

She clenched her teeth and pressed on, sweat beading on her brow despite the cold winter.

Just as she thought she might collapse, she saw a car stop in front of the gate.

The door swung open, and a man fell from the driver’s seat to the ground, body convulsing violently, surrounded by a thick, dark mist.

It seemed to be devouring him, stealing his life, yet the man struggled, refusing to yield.

His agony was no less than hers when she had been forced to drink the water. She wondered if she had looked just as wretched then.

“I don’t know which of us is luckier,” Jiang Chenyu scoffed, gritting her teeth as she walked toward the man.