CHAPTER 147: 147- MARRY ME [1]

A few minutes later, Fang Yuan lowered his hand from the obsidian ring, the golden light fading like dying embers.

The sphere of isolation dissolved, returning the scent of blood and dust to his senses.

Fang Yuan stared, brows faintly drawn, a flicker of surprise dancing in his eyes.

The ring’s verdict was unmistakable and claimed Lin Zhaoyue bore no ill intent toward him.

Opposite him, she tilted her head, a slow, unnerving smile spreading across her blood-flecked face, the smile of a predator who’d just passed an unexpected test.

"So?" she purred, anticipation crackling in her gaze. "Did I pass, husband?"

Fang Yuan let out a slow, controlled breath, the weight of the ring’s revelation settling heavily.

No ill intent.... He inclined his head, his voice carefully neutral. "Splendidly so."

Another thing he had also learned by probing through the ring, was the utterly bizarre nature of her control over the Saberfangs.

God knows how, but she had somehow tamed all four monstrous spirit beasts.

Four felt inadequate to commemorate their strength.

Two of the beast pulsed with the raw power of the early Nascent Soul stage, one radiated the deeper resonance of the mid-stage, and the largest, its eyes like smoldering coals, radiated the terrifying aura of the Nascent Soul Peak stage.

When he had questioned how, her answer, verified as absolute truth by the ring, had nearly stopped his heart: "I offered them flowers."

The sheer, terrifying absurdity of it was staggering. Flowers for apex predators.

Instead of answers he was stuck with more questions!

At least she’s not an immediate enemy, he thought grimly.

Lin Zhaoyue’s smile widened, a flash of genuine, almost childlike triumph before it was swallowed by her usual predatory gleam.

Then, as if struck by a sudden, casual afterthought, she reached into the folds of her stained leathers.

"Oh, and this..." Her hand emerged holding the shimmering, multi-layered Seven Ring Lotus, its petals radiating pure spiritual energy.

She held it out towards Fang Yuan. "Husband, I found..." Her gaze flickered sideways, landing on Du Juan, who stood rigidly beside the unconscious Fang Lian.

A fraction of hesitation, then correction: "...we found it. Du Juan and I."

Fang Yuan accepted the precious herb, its cool weight a stark contrast to the heat of the ruined courtyard.

His eyes met Lin Zhaoyue’s, then briefly acknowledged Du Juan’s pale, tense face.

"Thank you for the assistance," he stated, his tone formal.

"The Fang Clan will ensure appropriate compensation for your role in its recovery."

Lin Zhaoyue waved a dismissive, blood-crusted hand. "Compensation? We are family, husband. Speaking of your clan..."

She scanned the surrounding devastation, her gaze analytical, missing nothing. "Oh and When I visited the Fang Family estate, I saw ruins, yes. But the dead... they’re all outsiders. You did that?"

Fang Yuan gave a curt nod. "I had... assistance."

His eyes briefly touched the distant, kneeling forms of Gu Jian and Gu Lanyue.

Lin Zhaoyue followed his gaze, her head tilting again, a predator assessing prey.

"Ah. Them." Her voice dropped, cold and sharp.

"Husband... you don’t want them dead?" Her fingers twitched, the Saberfangs shifting restlessly behind her, low growls vibrating the air.

Fang Yuan didn’t flinch. "Not yet. I have some interrogations to do before I kill them."

She gave a slow, almost imperceptible nod. "Answers are valuable. Very well."

Then she turned back to him, the intensity in her eyes flaring back to full force. "Husband."

This time, she didn’t wait for acknowledgment.

In a blur of motion that defied her earlier languidness, she closed the distance between them, stopping mere inches away.

The scent of iron and wild earth clung to her.

Her voice, when she spoke again, dropped the possessive endearment, becoming chillingly direct, laced with steel:

"Clan Head Fang Yuan."

Not ’husband’. Just his name and title, spoken like a command.

"I believe it would be in your clan’s paramount interest and your own continued survival that you and I are wed. Here. Now."

The threat hung thick and heavy, unspoken but deafening.

Her posture radiated readiness; a subtle tension in her shoulders, a flicker of command in her eyes towards the massive Saberfangs.

They responded instantly, muscles coiling, heads lowering, focused entirely on Fang Yuan.

The peak-stage beast exhaled a plume of hot, sulfurous breath that washed over him.

Fang Yuan’s jaw tightened. He could feel the sheer, overwhelming pressure of the beasts’ combined auras, a physical weight pressing against his spirit.

Against one, perhaps... but four? Including a Nascent Soul Peak? It was suicide.

He clicked his tongue, a sound of pure, frustrated calculation.

"Will you grant me no time to consider this... proposal?" he asked, his voice tight, buying milliseconds to think.

"No." Her response was a whip-crack, absolute and final. "Your answer. I need it. This instant."

Before he could react further, her hand shot out, not to strike, but to seize his.

Her fingers, strong and calloused, intertwined with his own in a grip that was both intimate and inescapable.

She pulled his captured hand towards her chest, forcing proximity.

Her gaze locked onto his, the madness momentarily banked, replaced by cold, ruthless pragmatism mixed with possessive fervor.

"Husband," she breathed, the endearment now a weapon, "think. Think clearly. Marry me, and this," she gave a minute jerk of her chin towards the hulking Saberfangs, "becomes your shield. Four Nascent Soul guardians.. And your enemies will drown in their own terror before they reach your gates."

She leaned closer, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper that carried unnervingly well. "Along with nrestricted access to all Lin Clan trade routes. Gold. Spirit stones. Rare herbs. Flooding your vaults, lifting your clan from the ashes. Think of your clan’s survival, Fang Yuan. Think of its ascension."

Then, the predatory gleam returned, edged with a terrifying possessiveness.

Her free hand rose, not to touch him, but to gesture vaguely towards herself, a dark parody of allure.

"And you," she added, her voice softening into something grotesquely seductive, "gain a wife. Beautiful. Strong. Utterly, devastatingly loyal... to you."

Her eyes held his, promising madness, power, and a gilded cage forged in blood and beast-taming flowers.

"All it requires... is a single word. Yes."

The Saberfangs rumbled, a synchronized, hungry growl that shook the shattered stones at their feet.

The air crackled with Lin Zhaoyue’s terrifying blend of ultimatum, temptation, and raw, unstoppable power.

Fang Yuan stood trapped within her grasp, the fate of his clan, and perhaps his own life, balanced on the edge of a single syllable.