Chapter 38: Intelligence.
“Tianze,” the old woman suddenly spoke, her voice carrying an undeniable warmth.
She raised her hand, naturally patting Li Tianze’s head.
“This beautiful girl will be your wife from now on. Happy?”
Li Tianze froze, then his face lit up with wild joy.
“Happy, of course I’m happy!” he exclaimed repeatedly.
He whipped his head toward Xie Qiyang, his eyes no longer just hostile but gleaming with the smug pride of a victor flaunting a trophy.
“Grandma! Grandma! How could you do this!”
Li Tianxing’s face flushed red with urgency, stepping forward to argue.
But the old woman’s calloused, twig-like hand landed heavily on his shoulder with irresistible force, pinning him in place.
Her face creased with a smile, but her words were anything but kind.
“Silly child, what’s the rush? What’s yours won’t escape, and what isn’t, you can’t force. You’ll find someone ‘more suitable’ in time.”
She stretched out the words “more suitable,” then added with feigned sympathy, “Tianxing, don’t think Grandma’s playing favorites. A girl like this? You can’t handle her. I’m looking out for you.”
“Oh, and Tianxing, you’ll carry the girl down the mountain. A good day is hard to come by—might as well seize it. Tomorrow, Tianze and she will wed.”
Without sparing a glance at Li Tianxing’s ashen face, as if even looking at him was a bother, the old woman turned, leaning on her wood-cutting knife, and strode steadily down the mountain.
Li Tianze mimicked her, stepping forward to clap Li Tianxing’s shoulder hard, making him stumble.
Leaning close to his ear, he whispered, voice low and dripping with mockery:
“Wake up, big brother! A lofty fairy like her, and you think you can dream of her?
Being her shoe-carrying, water-pouring maid would be a step up for you.
Grandma’s absolutely right—you just wait for your ‘more suitable’ match.”
He bit down on “more suitable” with a sneer, then, brimming with triumph, turned and hurried after the old woman down the mountain.
The wind atop the peak turned biting, swirling dead leaves and whipping Li Tianxing’s thin clothes.
He stood like a stone statue, his gaze heavy as it lingered on the sleeping silver-haired fairy, then shifted to the two figures vanishing down the mountain path, as if they’d never cared about him.
Muttering to himself, he said, “Rebirth only brought back memories—not much use.
If I had my peak strength from my last life, why would I need to scheme and plot?”
“That idiot brother wants to steal my wife?
In a bit, you’ll see who’s inside the bridal chamber and who’s outside, hearing nothing.”
Taking a deep breath to suppress his surging emotions, he resignedly bent down, carefully lifting the sleeping silver-haired girl onto his back.
She was impossibly light, like carrying a wisp of cloud.
…
“Mmm…”
Xie Qiyang’s consciousness slowly returned amid the jostling.
Itchy? No… not itchy anymore?
She thought hazily.
Something soft kept brushing her cheek, tickling slightly, dispelling the last of her sleepiness.
Then she felt the “bed” beneath her moving rhythmically.
Am I… still flying?
With that thought, she slowly opened her eyes.
Her vision focused, meeting a pair of golden eyes inches away, laced with panic and restraint—belonging to the person carrying her.
“Big brother, what’re you dawdling for? Hurry up! I can’t wait to get back and marry this stunning fairy!”
Li Tianze’s impatient, flippant voice came from ahead, like he was ordering a servant.
“Alright… alright, I got it,” the boy carrying her—Li Tianxing—lowered his head, his voice meek and obedient.
Xie Qiyang: “???”
Blinking in confusion, she glanced at the boy’s delicate, almost feminine profile, marked by restraint, then at the arrogant figure ahead.
What’s going on?
She shot Li Tianxing a subtle look, silently questioning.
Almost instantly, a brief, mental imprint-like message flashed into her consciousness:
Act. Amnesiac girl. Be submissive. Enemy. Very strong.
Though sparse, the message was clear.
Xie Qiyang grasped the situation—she needed to play along, pretend to have amnesia, act submissive.
More critically, the cocky boy ahead, or the force behind him, was dangerously powerful.
Wait, didn’t I just hear an old woman say something about someone marrying someone… Li Tianze, Li Tianxing’s brother?
He said I need to be submissive… does that mean I have to follow that old hag’s words and marry Li Tianze?
What?!
Xie Qiyang felt like she’d been struck while already down, the victim once again.
Act pitiful, gain sympathy, let myself be bullied…
Hiss, wasn’t the Netherancient Heavenly Venerable schemed against by the Solar Saint Body’s wielder, leading to their own rise? Am I being schemed against by Li Tianxing too? Are those other two randoms just pawns on his board?
It clicked—she was probably 80-90% right.
She discreetly studied Li Tianxing again.
Compared to their earlier encounter, he seemed… smaller?
His features were softer, his Adam’s apple barely visible, and with his overly refined face and restrained demeanor, he looked like a black-haired, golden-eyed, androgynous beauty.
As she observed, his voice echoed in her mind again, urgent and commanding:
Keep sleeping!
Though doubts lingered, Li Tianze’s arrogance and Li Tianxing’s “very strong” warning made her decision clear.
Listen to him!
She quickly calmed her mind, closed her eyes, and activated the Dream of a Thousand Ages technique, “fainting” again, leaving everything to Li Tianxing.
In this eerie place where the Netherancient Heavenly Venerable fell, she was clueless.
Unless a miracle dropped into her lap, she had no idea how to claim the inheritance.
Better to trust him.
He’d promised to help her secure the Netherancient Heavenly Venerable’s inheritance and imperial weapon.
Whether she could beat him later was one thing, but with those, she’d soar freely, unbound.
The thought of a lifespan far beyond her past life, meeting more fascinating people and things, filled her with boundless ambition.
With the system’s help, her illustrious background, and her Great Emperor potential, even if she didn’t reach the top, she’d live better than most—that was certain.