79: Chapter 79 Negotiation

Instead, it was replaced by a ferocious anxiety.

His fists were clenched so tightly that his nails dug into the flesh of his palms.

He was eighty percent certain that what she said was true.

Daliang Mountain, Immortals Abode, code, magical array.

This information was too specific to have been made up on the spot.

Moreover, she knew about his Puppet, knew about the blue Spirit Stone, and knew about his most hidden past.

A sixteen-year-old Great Grandmaster who could know his deepest secrets, call out his alias "Young Master Li," and explain that the Puppet required a blue stone to be activated—this level of intelligence could not have been guessed.

This woman absolutely possessed some kind of power he could not understand.

Yet, she would rather give up the Opportunity for cultivation and everything in the Immortal Cave than marry him.

This realization was like a dull knife, carving into Wei Feisen's chest, causing him immense, stinging pain.

"Lin Shuangwan!"

Wei Feisen's voice squeezed out from between his teeth.

"Stop right there!"

You stopped in your tracks.

But you did not turn around.

"Do not think about imprisoning me."

Your voice was flat, as flat as a pool of stagnant water without ripples.

"As long as you dare to restrict my freedom in the slightest..."

You turned your head, your gaze sweeping over your shoulder, passing over Wei Feisen and then over the Puppet with the grey-white mask behind him.

"I will kill you."

Wei Feisen's pupils contracted.

"If I cannot kill you, I will kill myself."

The great hall fell into a deathly silence.

Wei Feisen was stunned.

He stared fixedly into your eyes, attempting to find a trace of hesitation, a hint of fear, or an exploitable flaw in those cold, clear eyes.

But... there was none.

Your gaze was clear and calm; there was no bluster of empty threats, no bravado of a temper tantrum.

There was only one thing he was very familiar with.

It was something he had seen on the battlefield of Bailangkou, in the eyes of assassins at their wit's end, and in the pupils of beasts driven to a dead end.

The will to die.

It was not a threat, not a test, and not a bargaining chip.

It was the kind that would actually be carried out.

You just stared at each other like that.

The great hall was so quiet that one could hear the humming of some mechanism operating inside the Puppet.

One breath.

Two breaths.

Three breaths.

Wei Feisen's fingers twitched.

The Puppet behind him silently took half a step forward.

You raised your right hand, fingers joined together, True Qi surging violently, ready to strike at any moment.

Outside the simulation.

Lin Shuangwan looked at the stalemate on the light screen and sighed somewhat unwillingly.

"No way... is the simulation ending after just a few days?"

She counted on her fingers, her expression sinking slightly.

"If that's the case, I only have one last simulation Opportunity left."

After two breaths of silence.

An extremely reluctant thought emerged from the depths of her mind.

"How about... the self in the simulation... just gives in?"

As soon as this thought surfaced, she shuddered.

"No, what am I thinking..."

Wei Feisen's body suddenly froze.

The Puppet's footsteps also stopped in mid-air.

You stood there, face turned, the setting sun shining obliquely through the lattice windows of the great hall, the orange-red light outlining your profile.

Your raven-black hair fell over your shoulders, a few stray strands lifted by the draft, brushing against your neck, which was so fair it was almost translucent. Your eyes were cast downward, eyelashes casting a small, fan-shaped shadow on your cheekbones, thin lips slightly pursed, carrying a kind of cold, aloof stubbornness.

You were clearly wearing a crumpled prison uniform, your hair hadn't been properly groomed, and there was even dust from the cell on your face.

Yet, that face rested so quietly in the setting sun, as if all the light in the great hall was converging upon her.

Wei Feisen's breathing faltered for a beat.

The urge to pin you down, lock you up, and keep you by his side forever rolled over and over in his chest, like a crazed beast.

You were clearly doing something that could get you killed at any moment.

Yet you didn't even furrow your brow.

Wei Feisen's chest suddenly felt tight.

It wasn't pain, but something he couldn't describe, creeping out from between his ribs like a damp hand, silently pressing against his heart.

He suddenly felt.

He shouldn't treat her this way.

When this thought emerged, even Wei Feisen was taken aback.

Shouldn't?

Why shouldn't he? She was his woman; she should honestly stay by his side. He gave her everything she wanted—gold, silver, power, the entire Great Qing—he gave it all to her. When had he, Wei Feisen, ever mistreated her?

But that thought remained entangled in his mind like an unbreakable wet hemp rope.

She should be treated well.

She should be sitting on a cushioned chair, having tea and water served to her, yawning at the setting sun outside the window, and then smiling unhurriedly.

Instead of risking her life against him.

Wei Feisen's clenched fists loosened, one finger at a time.

Outside the simulation.

Lin Shuangwan stared at Wei Feisen's unpredictable face on the light screen, the breath she had been holding for so long slowly releasing halfway.

"Peerless Elegance... is it finally taking effect?"

Her eyes brightened, but she immediately and cautiously suppressed it.

She looked back at the light screen.

After an unknown amount of time passed.

Wei Feisen let out a long breath.

"How about this then."

His voice was hoarse, and his speaking speed had slowed down significantly, as if every word had been weighed repeatedly.

"Let the two of us take a step back."

Your hand did not lower, but your eyes shifted.

"Ten years." Wei Feisen extended a finger. "I will give you ten years."

"Within ten years, you must take me to find the Immortals Abode and set me on the path to immortality."

He paused, his Adam's apple bobbing as if he were swallowing something extremely unwilling.

"If you succeed within ten years, I will let you go, and all grievances will be settled."

"If after ten years... you have not succeeded."

He raised his eyes and looked at you.

"You will marry me."

You calculated rapidly in your mind.

Ten years was too short.

In your previous life, it took you six years to find the cave in Yandang Mountain under the guidance of that merchant, and another three years to find the true ruins of an Immortal Cultivator in Funiu Mountain. As for the Immortals Abode in Daliang Mountain, you didn't even know its specific location.

Furthermore, the premise of "setting Wei Feisen on the path to immortality" was that the Immortals Abode actually contained a Magical Artifact or Medicinal Pill for Spiritual Root modification. What if it didn't? What if it did, but Wei Feisen's Physique was incompatible?

There were too many variables; ten years was simply not enough.

But you couldn't ask for too long either.

The longer the time stretched, the easier it would be for Wei Feisen's patience to wear thin. For someone like him, when his emotions flared, he was capable of anything.

"No," you said. "Ten years is too short. Thirty years."

The muscles on Wei Feisen's face that had just relaxed immediately tightened again.

"Thirty years? What kind of joke are you playing on me?" His voice rose sharply. "I'll be nearly sixty in thirty years! What's the point of me getting married then!"