3: Chapter 3 Beginner Quests: The Only Choice

In his mind, the illusory blood-red number "Eleven" pulsed silently, changing into "Ten".

Each transformation was like a drop of scalding magma dripping into Gu Yan's consciousness, scorching the hope that had just ignited within him.

Twelve hours.

Take a concubine.

Consummate the marriage.

Combined, these three phrases formed an airtight cage.

[System! I cannot move! I cannot even speak! How am I supposed to take a concubine?]

Gu Yan screamed frantically in his mind.

[That is a problem for the Host to solve.] The System's voice was devoid of ripples, carrying the perfunctory tone of a corporate slave dealing with work, [Friendly reminder: the countdown will not pause.]

The blood-red "Ten" pulsed again, turning into "Nine".

The sensation of suffocation was stronger than it had been when he was near death before. Previously, he had been slowly sliding toward the abyss, but now, it felt as if someone had kicked him hard in the back, accelerating his fall.

No, he could not panic!

Gu Yan forced his chaotic thoughts to settle. He had not lived through sixty years of storms for nothing; the more desperate the situation, the calmer he had to be.

He was a living map, with every trivial matter in Luoyun Town stored in his mind. His consciousness raced, flashing through the faces of various women in his mind.

Widow Zhang from the east end of town?

No. Her husband died early, and she was raising three children on her own; she was the most realistic of people. She needed a strong laborer who could work in the fields and earn money to support the Family, not a burden who would leave her a widow the moment she married, all while bearing the reputation of being a "husband-killer". If he showed up to propose in his current state, she would only take him for a madman and beat him out with a broom.

There was a daughter of a distant relative on the west side of town, who was sixteen years old and unmarried.

Even worse. The journey was too far; it would take most of the day just to go there and back. Furthermore, who would marry a young virgin to an old man on the verge of death to act as a good luck charm? If word got out, the Gu Family's reputation would be completely ruined, and it would also be an insult to Shen Qingxue and Yaya.

Buy one with money?

Gu Yan immediately dismissed the idea. The household's ready cash was all managed by Shen Qingxue; how could someone lying in bed like him mobilize funds? Even if he could, whom could he ask to handle it? The servants in the manor would only think he had gone mad on his deathbed, and they might even feign compliance while pocketing the silver.

One possibility after another was illuminated, only to be quickly extinguished.

The blood-red countdown in his mind had already jumped from "Nine" to "Eight".

Time passed mercilessly; every pulse of the numbers declared how slim his chances of survival were.

Despair was deeper than it had ever been before. The System had given him a door to heaven, but it had dug an insurmountable abyss right in front of him.

All his analyses and calculations ultimately pointed to one cold conclusion:

In Luoyun Town, not a single woman would be willing or able to marry him, a dying man who could not move, within twelve hours.

Not one.

Wait...

Gu Yan's consciousness jolted violently.

No, there was one more.

Someone he had deliberately avoided, someone he dared not even think about.

His consciousness, like a sluggish machine, creaked and turned, finally pulling his perspective back from the map of the entire Luoyun Town to the dim bedroom before him.

Back to the bedside.

To that gentle figure who was wringing out a cloth, preparing to wipe his body.

Shen Qingxue.

She was right here.

She held a respect and familial affection for him that surpassed that of ordinary people, bordering on foolish filial piety.

As long as he opened his mouth, no matter how absurd the request, she might... agree.

As soon as this thought emerged, Gu Yan's Soul churned violently.

No!

Absolutely not!

How could he have such beastly thoughts about his own daughter-in-law, the widow left behind by his only adopted son!

Before Changfeng died, he had gripped Gu Yan's hand tightly and entrusted Shen Qingxue and Yaya to him. He had promised to take good care of the mother and daughter and to hold up the sky for them.

But now, what was he about to do?

To save his own life, to tarnish this trust, to destroy the last shred of reputation of this pitiful woman?

In Gu Yan's consciousness, it was as if two versions of himself were tearing at each other frantically.

One was roaring about ethics and morals, despising his own shamelessness.

The other whispered repeatedly in his ear in a low voice:

"Do you want to die?"

"If you die, what will happen to them, mother and daughter?"

"Will the Wang Family let them go? What fate will befall your beautiful daughter-in-law and your adorable, doll-like granddaughter?"

"Have you forgotten how Changfeng died?"

"Only if you live will the Gu Family have a future!"

"Continuing the Family line—this is your greatest responsibility as the Old Ancestor of the Gu Family! What does personal reputation matter compared to that?"

In his mind, the blood-red "Seven" changed into "Six".

There was not much time left.

Gu Yan's gaze fell involuntarily upon Shen Qingxue.

She was leaning down, carefully wiping his withered arm with a warm cloth. Her movements were gentle, her eyes focused and filled with sadness, as if she were performing some solemn ritual.

This was a good woman.

Virtuous, kind, and resilient.

It was Changfeng's good fortune to have married her.

And precisely because she was so good, Gu Yan felt that his current thoughts were filthy to the extreme.

But...

The instinct to survive, the hatred for the Wang Family, and the worry for the Family's future coiled around his reason like three giant pythons, tightening constantly.

[For the Gu Family...]

[This is for the Gu Family...]

He told himself over and over again in his heart.

This was not for his own selfish desires, but for the survival of the entire Family! It was for the deceased Changfeng! It was for young Yaya!

Yes, it was for the Gu Family!

This thought gradually overwhelmed all his guilt and struggle, becoming a hard boulder that pressed heavily upon the center of his Soul.

His breathing seemed to become slightly more vigorous because of it.

His previously scattered consciousness reconverged, becoming sharp and cold.

He looked at Shen Qingxue, and his gaze changed.

He was no longer looking at a Junior worthy of pity.

Instead, he was like a dying lone wolf looking at the only prey in the snow that could save his life.

Target, locked.

What he needed to consider next was how to hunt.

How could a useless person who could not speak or even get out of bed open his mouth to make her agree to this shocking, scandalous marriage?

In his mind, the blood-red "Five" pulsed mercilessly.

Time was his greatest enemy.