Chapter 17 - Heart Negotiations

That same night, at the Winged Dragon Family residence.

Xiao Ning'er, the red-haired girl and direct descendant of the Family patriarch, looked out the window, thoughtful, with a smile on her face.

What was on her mind was obvious: Xiangju.

"That fool…" She spoke to herself, remembering their conversation.

She stretched back, looking around her room. It had the finest decor money could buy. Her bed was made of dark, intricately carved wood, with the softest and warmest blankets found around. Her wardrobes, dressers—everything was organized and visually clean, yet always had her touch.

She looked at the two bottles Xiangju had given her, placed on a dresser beside her bed. She stepped away from the window and walked over to them.

Resting her head on the edge of the dresser, she stared at the bottles, blushing with embarrassment.

'Tell him this is just a small gift from the Zhu Family so we can work well together in the future,' she remembered Xiangju's words, making her blush even more.

But she shook her head to clear her thoughts and, with a determined look, spoke to herself:

"I'll do my best! Maybe then I'll be worthy to stand by his side…" Mid-sentence, she was too embarrassed to keep talking out loud.

She spent more time looking at the bottles, still not using them. Until…

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

A knock on the door.

"Yes? Come in," she said, surprised.

As the door opened, a spiky-haired young man, Xiao Rong, her third cousin and a servant to the elders and patriarchs, entered her room.

"Sorry to disturb you, Miss Ning'er. The master requests your presence in the main hall for a discussion," he said respectfully, in contrast to his appearance.

"Father..? Okay, tell him I'm coming," she said thoughtfully. After grabbing the two bottles, she left her room.

The girl walked calmly to her father's hall. Upon arriving, she was surprised to see not only him. Her father, Xiao Yun Feng, the patriarch, was accompanied by six elders.

Entering the room, she quickly glanced at the elders, nodding slightly, then began speaking with the patriarch.

"Father, Cousin Rong said you were looking for me."

The man with a ponytail kept his eyes closed. He didn't want to do this, didn't want to force his daughter into something. She always was the one who forced herself to give up everything, which pained him.

"I called you here because we have a serious matter to discuss," he said with a heavy voice. He tried to speak but gave up before doing so. Finally, he motioned for the blue-haired, ugly-bearded elder to speak.

"Niece!" The man almost shouted to get her attention.

"It was reported to me that you spent an exorbitant amount of money buying countless kilos of Purple Grass herb. The value of this herb exceeded billions of coins. With so much money, we could free ourselves from the Sacred Family's grasp." The old man stood up from his chair, speaking with more spirit and determination.

"Thanks to you, we will get out of this crisis! You made an astronomical contribution to all of us as a family!" The man spoke with a smile, convincing the audience, except for Ning'er and Yun Feng.

"Elder Xiao Yi, you seem mistaken. Those herbs were bought with my own money for personal use, with no connection to the Family."

The elder was silent for a moment, shocked she responded. Her father, on the other hand, laughed internally, pleased with the girl's cunning.

"She's right; this is a personal matter. No matter the amount or what Ning'er bought, we have no right to force her to share."

The blue-haired, ugly-bearded man looked stressed at the patriarch.

"This is urgent. Do you really want your beloved daughter handed over to that Shen Fei? With the money, we can change that!" The man spoke irritably. The patriarch wanted to counter but knew his brother was right.

'Sorry, my daughter, this will be for the best…' The man thought sadly, sinking deeper into his chair.

"You've always been smart, niece. I hope you'll consider this," the man smiled victoriously. He knew he had played a card neither the girl nor her father could refute. Silencing the patriarch in front of the elders increased his chances of gaining power, laughing internally.

The girl, in turn, remained silently low.

She understood their words. It would be great if she still had the herbs, ending this engagement with Shen Fei and finally being able to fully surrender to Xiangju…

The girl clenched her hand and bit her lip but kept a firm look.

"Those herbs were bought for a friend. All were delivered to him before the price went up."

Murmurs filled the room, the six elders' conversation becoming as noisy as a busy classroom. The patriarch soon asked:

"Ning'er, is it true? You don't have any left?"

"I affirm so, father," she said solemnly.

The murmurs stopped, the elders just looked at each other with resigned expressions, nothing more to do-

"Ning'er, what's your friend's name?" The ugly-bearded uncle asked.

Xiao Ning'er, seeing where the elder was heading, decided to respond mysteriously.

"Forgive me, Elder Xiao Yi, but I don't intend to say anything about him."

"That's your excuse? Hope it's not a father-daughter scheme," the elder said harshly before continuing.

"If you truly call this person a friend, couldn't you ask for the herbs back?"

Ning'er could no longer endure the provocations, speaking loudly to him.

"He asked me to buy the herbs as a favor! If I asked for them back, what would that make me? It would tarnish our reputation even more. Can't the Winged Dragons keep their word?"

"You're very bold to speak like that to an elder, young lady! This involves the whole family, more important than this moral nonsense!" The elder shouted back.

"Ning'er, lower your voice! I ask the same from you, Brother Yi!" The patriarch pronounced, slamming his hand on the chair's back. Both looked at him, awaiting his decision.

"Xiao Yi, let's think rationally. With prices this high, do you think the young man would return the herbs if asked?" He spoke calmly, trying to soothe the situation. The other elders just watched, feeling superfluous.

"The answer is clear as day, he wouldn't."

"Then let's change the topic-"

"No, that's why we need the young man's name. How do you plan to force him to return the herbs if we don't know who he is?" The man said shamelessly.

Ning'er, hearing this, couldn't contain herself.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" She said angrily. To the spectators, a terrifying sight formed before them.

An overwhelming amount of life force emanated from her body, so pure and dense even the patriarch felt pressured.

Everyone watched, astonished, as she released more power. All the elders stood up after witnessing the next scene.

From the young girl's back, someone who, from their viewpoint, shouldn't have reached Bronze Rank, an impossible sight unfolded.

"Is that the soul formation??" One elder, utterly shocked, spoke.

The vision of the girl now seemed almost angelic. Her long red hair illuminated by a blue aura covering her body, and from her back, like two messengers of hope, large blue, feathered wings unfolded, made of pure energy.

"This friend is my benefactor. If the elder wants to harm him…"

The girl stepped forward, face-to-face with the old man.

"Don't blame me for being rude," she finally said.

Silence filled the room. Xiao Yi was silent but soon displayed a smug, confident expression.

"Forget it, we don't need this anymore," he said, surprising Ning'er.

"W-what? Really..?" she asked, confused.

"That on your back is the soul formation, proof of the supreme purity of your life force. Anyone who reaches it will at least achieve Black Gold Rank. Compared to that, the herbs are just some coins," said Yun Feng, Ning'er's father, smiling, completely satisfied.

The girl looked confused at herself, deactivating the vital formation. Her uncles around clapped and celebrated.

"Then the marriage…" Xiao Yi began to say.

"Xiao Yi, do you really think it's a good idea to give our only pearl of the new generation to those vultures?" One elder asked.

Xiao Yi cursed everyone internally, his plan to take control of the family utterly failed.

"Alright then, it's decided. We can't oppose the Sacred Family for now, but we have two years to prepare! I'm sure Ning'er will find a good partner in the future, certainly not that young Shen." The patriarch said, and everyone in the room deeply agreed.

Xiao Yun Feng thought his daughter would be happy, but she seemed extremely restless, like needing to pee, her face flushed.

"Are you alright, Ning'er?" He asked, confused.

"W-well… actually… I think I've already found a good suitor," she said, her voice full of embarrassment.

Some moments later, in another room of the house. The elders had been dismissed by the patriarch, who said he needed to talk privately with his daughter.

Both sat in an awkward silence. The girl squirmed in her chair, wanting to flee, while the father focused on his tea, keeping a serene expression despite his frantic thoughts.

'An appropriate suitor??? I want to meet this guy up close and see if he's really all that!!!' The man thought frenetically in his mind. Despite having given his daughter to the Sacred Family before, he only did so because there was no other way to prevent their family from being dissolved. He was the doting father type, extremely protective of his daughter.

"Dad..." the girl began to speak, taking a deep breath, and taking her time with each word.

"What I said before is serious... I've really found someone I want to dedicate myself to completely, and I'm sure he meets any expectations our family might have."

The man said nothing, merely lowering his gaze, and then looked at the girl with a mysterious expression.

"Expectations, huh..." The man spoke slowly.

"Y-yes! Xiangju is absolutely incredible, the coolest of all! He always helps when others need it, he's confident and doesn't hesitate to defend what he believes in and-" Her father motioned for her to stop talking, and the girl obeyed.

"He treats you well?"

"L-like a queen!" The girl said, remembering how Xiangju called her before, which made her blush deeply.

The man leaned back in his chair with a sigh, the girl watching every tiny detail of his face, trying to decipher what he would say before he even spoke.

"Okay, then you have my blessing."

The girl's face lit up, but then quickly fell again.

"But..." the man paused before finishing his sentence. The girl couldn't stand so many dramatic pauses anymore, so she spoke up, almost at her limit.

"Stop being so suspenseful! Just say it."

The man placed his hand on his chest as if deeply offended, but there was an amused expression on his face.

"For heaven's sake. My little girl didn't used to act like this, should I think it's because of the bad influence of this boy?" The man spoke with a smile still on his face.

"Daaad." The girl exclaimed, complaining to the man in front of her. He laughed out loud before continuing to speak.

"Okay, as I was saying, I have one condition."

"And what would that be?"

The man moved closer to the girl, ruffling her hair and, with a gentle smile on his face, he said:

"I want to meet him personally. Soon, if possible. If my beloved daughter thinks he's such a good person, I want the opportunity to meet him too and judge him with my own eyes."

The girl didn't respond, but looked at him with tear-filled eyes and a grateful expression, then nodded in affirmation.

"Oh... I almost forgot." The girl said suddenly, startling her father with the abrupt change in mood.

"Xiangju told me to give you this." The girl said, pulling a vial from one of her robe pockets and pushing it toward the man.

A confused expression crossed his face.

He took the vial in his hand, looked at one side, looked at the other, unscrewed it, and looked inside.

"Pills? They're always good, thank him for me." The man shrugged, almost tossing the vial aside dismissively.

"They're not just pills, Dad." The girl looked at him seriously.

The man then returned his attention to the vial... No, it couldn't be. Those colors... that aroma... it was exactly what he had heard about, heard from the circulating rumors, but it was impossible, a young man couldn't have access to something of this level.

The man looked with a disconcerted expression at his daughter standing in front of him... The girl had a goofy smile and a proud look.

"He's amazing, isn't he?" She said with a smile on her face.