Beneath the moonlight, Jiang Man looked helplessly at the person before him.
The man had come asking him to name his conditions.
Yet when he named them, the other party flatly refused.
How could they possibly continue?
"Why are you unwilling to marry into our family?" Luo Huaili asked.
Jiang Man answered truthfully, "I am already married. I cannot marry into another family."
The immortal maiden had an extraordinary background, while he was far too weak. If he offended her over this, what little chance of survival he had managed to secure would likely vanish into thin air. After all, he had not yet been driven to that extremity. It was not as though he had run out of all other options.
He could still earn spirit sources; if that failed, he could borrow from Chang Qiwen. There were many ways. Marrying into another family was by no means the best choice.
Besides, once one married into a family, leaving was not easy. Once the contracts issued by the Immortal Gate were signed, they practically bound a person hand and foot.
"You came from Bei Village. I have looked into you—you were never married at all. Even if you were, I can give her enough spirit sources to grant you a divorce," Luo Huaili said, looking at Jiang Man with an earnest expression. "I know you have your pride, and I understand you have ambition. But the Luo family can give you sufficient resources. All that is required is that you join the Luo family. It is no loss to you. We will even grant you freedom; it is merely that the Luo family will be your home from now on, and once you achieve success, you need only protect your own home. Have a few children along the way, and your life will be complete. Perhaps you feel your current advancement is swift, but as you approach the Qi-Linking ninth layer, you ought to have realized it is nowhere near as simple as you think. Relying on one person alone will not suffice. Once you enter the sect, things will be tens of times more difficult than they are here."
Jiang Man felt that what the man said made sense; struggling on his own was indeed exceedingly difficult.
Yet not only would he have to marry into the family, but he would also have to father children—children who would bear the surname Luo.
His peerless talent would be cast under a shadow from that moment on.
Naturally, this was indeed an option. He simply had no wish to take it.
Furthermore, he had not reached that point yet. It was not that he was noble, but that he still had a choice. His talent still served as his bedrock.
Seeing Jiang Man's indifferent expression, Luo Huaili said, "Do you believe that by relying on yourself, you can go very far? In truth, the Yunqian Division is merely the beginning. Entering the sect is when things truly become most arduous. With the Luo family's aid, your path will be far smoother. Or do you feel the resources offered by the Luo family lack sincerity, and you require more?"
After a moment's reflection, Jiang Man decided it was better to be direct: "It is not that the Luo family's resources are insufficient, but an issue with myself. At present, I have no intention of being bound by anyone. Moreover, my marriage is real, and I currently have no such plans. Marrying into a family does not suit me. However, if it is purely unconditional sponsorship, I would be more than happy to accept. For instance, I could assist the Luo family within the scope of my abilities."
"Would you agree to whatever the Luo family proposes?" Luo Huaili asked again.
Jiang Man shook his head.
There was no helping it. One could never be certain what the Luo family might demand. If it meant sacrificing himself to advance the Luo family's members in the sect, he could never bring himself to do such a thing.
Thus, their interests were fundamentally at odds.
Afterward, Luo Huaili tried to persuade him further.
In truth, the man was quite sincere, but the foundations Jiang Man relied upon were beyond anything the other party could imagine. Therefore, the advantages he described were not irreplaceable to Jiang Man.
He possessed talent, an evil god, and the fate brought by taking a wife—which was presumably the heritage of the immortal maiden's clan. Though it had currently turned into a curse, it was undeniably also an opportunity.
Because of that, he needed freedom all the more.
And if a clan wanted to hold the dominant hand, they could not grant freedom.
In the end, Luo Huaili departed with a displeased expression, feeling that Jiang Man did not know what was good for him.
To this, Jiang Man had nothing to say.
He truly did not know what was good for him.
Yet the same held true: the Luo family knew nothing of a peerless prodigy.
"Old Yellow, why do you think they can't just form a good bond and sponsor me directly?" Jiang Man asked.
The old yellow ox remarked casually, "Back when you were dirt-poor, did you ever enter a place, ask someone for directions because you lacked spirit sources, and promise to thank them generously afterward?"
Hearing this, Jiang Man froze, recalling his first visit to the Guard Post.
"If so, did you ever give them a thank-you gift afterward?" The old yellow ox raised its brow and looked at Jiang Man. "Humans are forgetful creatures, especially when it comes to acts of kindness. A moment's gratitude is genuine, but gratitude does not last long. If they forget entirely, that is already not bad. What is most feared is when time drags on and one cannot repay it; one only grows increasingly resentful of the other party. When that day comes, they might even say, 'Nobody begged him to sponsor me.' Over time, gratitude turns into enmity."
Jiang Man nodded. "So for those clans, whether they earn gratitude doesn't matter, so long as they avoid making an enemy?"
The old yellow ox said no more.
Jiang Man felt the old yellow ox was right: a handful of grain breeds gratitude, while a bushel breeds hatred. No wonder the Luo Family Head hadn't breathed a single word of unconditional patronage. Someone had likely suffered a bitter loss that way before.
Had no one ever profited immensely from it?
After that, Jiang Man began cultivating.
At present, the eighth gourd of his Qi-Linking technique remained completely empty. Amassing spiritual qi was extremely taxing. He needed more Spirit Gathering Pills. Next were his physical body and spirit. The more those two improved, the fewer bottlenecks he would face in his cultivation.
***
On the first of April, Jiang Man yawned and set off for the Sixth Courtyard.
He hadn't slept again last night. In truth, he simply hadn't been able to fall asleep.
Now that someone from the Luo family had come, he wondered when the Li family's people would show up. By all rights, only those two families would seek him out.
Putting it out of his mind, Jiang Man made his way into the Sixth Courtyard.
He saw quite a few people along the way, but none paid him any attention. Though he held the top spot in Qingyun Pavilion, none of them recognized his face.
Upon arriving, Jiang Man spotted Fang Yong. It looked as if he were waiting for him.
"Are you looking for me, Young Master Fang?" Jiang Man asked.
He had no worries regarding the person before him. Today, there was no competitive relationship between them. With one at the Qi-Linking eighth layer and the other at the Qi-Linking sixth layer, how could any rivalry exist?
"Did you marry into their family?" Fang Yong asked bluntly.
Jiang Man was taken aback and asked in return, "Did you?"
Fang Yong shook his head. "No."
Hearing that, Jiang Man was quite surprised. "Why didn't you, Young Master Fang?"
"Your terms and mine were bound to be different. The Luo family offers the best terms, and the degree of freedom they would give you is naturally the highest. But my ranking isn't high, so the degree of freedom was far too low," Fang Yong said calmly. "There was one condition I found unacceptable, so I chose not to marry into their family."
Every word showed that Fang Yong had given serious thought to marrying into the family, only to abandon the idea in the end.
Jiang Man, however, had never truly considered it. From the very beginning, he had had no intention of marrying into any family or serving any clan.
"What about you?" Fang Yong asked.
Jiang Man shrugged. "I'm already married. My wife won't allow me to marry away."
Fang Yong frowned, but did not press further.
He had heard from the Luo family that Jiang Man of Bei Village had never married. He was fabricating a wife out of thin air.
"I heard from Young Master Cheng that someone from the Li family will seek you out," Fang Yong said as a warning before walking inside.
The little fatty came up from behind, stopping beside Jiang Man with admiration in his eyes. "Brother Jiang, how did you do it? Jumping all the way to second place in the Six Pavilions in one go?"
Jiang Man glanced at him and said, "Hard work. I don't just cultivate in the courtyard; I cultivate in secret after heading back too."
The little fatty was speechless.
*That isn't what I wanted to hear. I wanted to hear that it's all down to your talent.*
Chapter 73