Chapter 2: The Mysterious Seed

Jiang Fan sneered, "Did I ever say that I was mute?"

Xu Youran's mind was in chaos as she stammered, "You, you're pretending to be mute? Why?"

Jiang Fan clasped his hands behind his back and silently gazed out the window.

Moments passed.

The clear sky echoed with two thunderous booms, startling everyone in the Xu Mansion, causing them to rush outside and look around.

Xu Youran also flinched at the sudden thunder, whispering, "Why is there thunder out of nowhere, just like three years ago?"

Jiang Fan remained expressionless.

This was why he pretended to be mute.

He had a mysterious seed inside him, and every time he spoke, a trace of the seed's aura would escape, summoning the wrath of the Heavenly Thunder.

His father had warned him since childhood not to speak.

For eighteen years, he followed his father's advice meticulously, except when his father passed away.

That night, lightning and thunder raged, and it didn't stop till morning.

Seeing the sorrow in his eyes, Xu Youran softly said, "Alright, alright, I won't ask anymore."

"Pack your things and leave quickly. If Aunt Wang finds out that you've been pretending to be mute all along, she'll be even more suspicious."

Jiang Fan turned around, gently took her delicate hand, and said:

"I won't leave. I'll stay and marry you, to protect you from now on."

Xu Youran's face blushed instantly. The words "protect you" echoed in her ears, making her heart race inexplicably.

She hurriedly withdrew her hand, lightly scolding, "Stop bragging, your spirit root isn't even as good as mine!"

Jiang Fan smiled but said nothing.

His father had revealed the truth about the seed on his deathbed.

It was a Divine Object with immense potential, needing eighteen years to sprout.

Upon sprouting, the host would undergo a transformative change.

Today was the last day of those eighteen years.

Jiang Fan would be reborn with the first light of dawn tomorrow!

Then, there would be no more mute Jiang Fan, no more worthless Jiang Fan!

He looked at Xu Youran confidently and said, "Trust me."

Seeing the calm and resolute look in Jiang Fan's eyes, a warm current surged in Xu Youran's heart.

Since her mother's death, this was the first time someone had said they would protect her.

After a long pause, she pushed the money pouch back into Jiang Fan's hands.

Jiang Fan frowned slightly, she still didn't believe in him.

It wasn't surprising. He was still a mute, an ordinary person without a spirit root.

But when the seed sprouted tomorrow...

Xu Youran looked at him, her cheeks tinged with a hint of red, and softly said, "Keep this as a betrothal gift for marrying me."

Boom—

It wasn't the sky thundering.

It was inside Jiang Fan's heart.

He never thought there would be a day when a girl would offer her lifetime's savings as a dowry to marry him.

Unexplainable emotions entwined around Jiang Fan's heart.

It made him feel an intense urge to hold Xu Youran tightly and protect her well.

"What are you standing there for?"

Xu Youran reached out her small hand, gently tidying his clothes, and said tenderly, "Uncle Jiang lived in poverty all his life and didn't leave you any wealth. I hope this savings can help you."

Even though she herself lived a hard life, she was still thinking of Jiang Fan.

Jiang Fan couldn't hold back anymore and pulled her into his arms, embracing her lithe waist.

He spoke softly again, "Perhaps our way of coming together was unexpected, but the ending will be right."

The best marriages happened when you met the right person.

And perhaps, Jiang Fan had found the right one.

Xu Youran's face turned crimson, like a persimmon in late autumn, her mind blank, her body stiff, unable to move as Jiang Fan held her.

After a long while, she snapped out of it, panicking as she broke away, saying, "I... I'm going to measure the clothes..."

Watching her retreating figure, Jiang Fan placed the money pouch back on the table, smiling, "How could marrying my wife be so miserly?"

"Youran, I will marry you in a grand way."

Rumble—

Two more bolts of Heavenly Thunder exploded in succession.

Jiang Fan glared at the sky angrily, muttering, "Go ahead and roar, after tonight, you'll have no more chances!"

In the backyard.

In Wang Yingfeng's bedroom.

"Aunt, how could you marry cousin Youran to that worthless Jiang Fan?"

Lu Zheng, who had also lived in the Xu Mansion for ten years, knelt before Wang Yingfeng, his face full of anxiety, "Please, take back your decision and marry cousin to me!"

Lu Zheng, Wang Yingfeng's nephew, was smart and talented, a third-grade spirit root genius.

So Wang Yingfeng had brought him to the Xu Mansion to nurture him from a young age.

And he had lived up to her expectations, reaching the fifth layer of Qi Cultivation at the age of twenty, bringing much pride to Wang Yingfeng in front of her family.

However, what made Wang Yingfeng headache was that Lu Zheng liked Xu Youran very much and always considered her his woman.

To prevent him from causing trouble, she had sent him away today to collect a debt in another town.

But somehow, he had still gotten wind of the news and rushed back in haste.

"Zheng, Youran marrying Jiang Fan concerns the future of the Xu Family. Your aunt can compromise on other matters, but on this, you cannot be reckless."

To thoroughly suppress Xu Youran, Wang Yingfeng was determined to tie her fate to the worthless Jiang Fan, ruining her life.

However, seeing Lu Zheng's anguished expression, she softened, speaking meaningfully:

"Your aunt only forbade you from interfering with their marriage, not from acting after it's done."

"If by some accident Jiang Fan dies, you can still marry Youran."

If Xu Youran became a widow, those great families and powerful men would similarly not accept her.

Who would marry a widow?

Who wouldn't find it shameful?

"I understand, thank you, Aunt!" Lu Zheng suddenly realized, his face brightening with joy.

He handed over a packet of snacks, "Aunt, this is a specialty from Biliu City, snow cream, your favorite. I brought it back especially for you."

Wang Yingfeng gently rebuked, "You, always focusing on pleasing others instead of cultivating properly."

Though she said this, her smile betrayed her delight.

"Pleasing Aunt is my duty. I'll go help Jiang Fan set up the wedding arrangements so they can marry soon," Lu Zheng said with a grin.

"Go on. Don't forget to rise early tomorrow. Your Aunt will accompany you to the Detection Tower for your spirit root reevaluation," Wang Yingfeng replied with a smile.

"Yes!" Lu Zheng bowed and left with a smile on his face.

But the moment he stepped out of Wang Yingfeng's room, the smile on his face gradually vanished, replaced by a sinister look.

"Marrying something Jiang Fan has used? That old woman must be joking!"

"I, Lu Zheng, want only the best!"

"Once my spirit root is reevaluated tomorrow and found to be higher, I'll snatch Xu Youran back in front of everyone in the Xu Family!"

Early the next morning.

In a simple room in the west courtyard of the Xu Mansion.

Jiang Fan paced back and forth in the room, occasionally looking out the window, his eyes bloodshot.

"Why isn't the sun rising?" Jiang Fan felt anxious.

He had waited eighteen years for this day.

He thought he was calm, emotions unaltered by external influences, ready to face the seed sprouting.

But now that the day had arrived, he had spent the entire night sleepless, filled with unease.

"Father didn't lie to me, did he?"

"Is this seed really magical?"

"Will it truly transform me?"

Countless thoughts churned through his mind, making Jiang Fan take deep breaths nervously.

Suddenly.

A beam of dazzling light pierced through the clouds and into the room.

Almost simultaneously, Jiang Fan vaguely heard a cracking sound.

As if some hard shell had broken open.

The seed had sprouted!

The moment of rebirth after eighteen years had arrived!