What I want is you

"Marry me."

This statement made the cheers disappear and be replaced by absolute zero. Everyone's expression held a mouth wide open that an egg could fit.

Even Icy Old Mei's expressionless face twitched by the sudden bombshell.

Wu twins gasped. 'This lass!'

Ning's will did not even offer for any rebuttal. She plainly said what she wished as Zhou Kai asked her what she wanted.

'This short lady actually gave out an order instead of requesting it!'

Furthermore, she said it with a straight face with no hint of embarrassment. 'How dominating!' She said it like it was an Iron will that cannot be bent. Her confidence was through the roof! ' How domineering!'

No one dared to speak. No one even moved or breathed in.

How could they? Zhou Kai's condition was basically public information and everyone knew about the 'rumor' that he was impotent. How would any lady want to marry a seedless man?

Zhou Kai, who was now at the hot seat, was no better than his subjects. His face was stiff like beef jerky and just looked down, dazed at the little Ning. He was just…lost.

'Who am I?'

'Where am I?'

'When am I?'

Kai's brain just short circuited the moment Ning said her request. No her order.

Who can blame him though?

Although he had always had women in his mind, he had no real chance a few days ago when his rod was still a soggy noodle. This led to a subconscious will to not bother with this aspect and instead, focus on cultivation and strength as well as recovery of his village.

He used to be served with dried tree bark everyday of his life but now that a fine steak had offered itself on a plate, he did not know what to do! The rice approached the hungry rooster.

Zhou Kai halted breathing and his mind ran wild.

He barely knew this Metal Villager Ning.

18 and mortal. Metal Prodigy. No familiar ties.

That was all he knew but now, she just wanted to waltz into his life like a bull ramming through a wooden gate. No negotiation, just pure will.

With Zhou Kai's silence, everyone thought that he was humiliated to the bone that he couldn't even be furious.

A man with no ability was just asked to perform. 'Too tragic!'

The recent naming had made everyone hold more respect to Zhou Kai so no one voiced their thoughts. They let the chief walk on his own.

Zhou Kai however had different thoughts. As he was now cured of the worst curse, he actually considered the idea. He was just too surprised and in turn, petrified.

As he was finding an answer, the Metal Ning spoke again.

"Give me your name."

"Gasp!" Everyone was even more surprised!

Her previous statement was actually surpassed! 'Isn't this blatant humiliation?!'

Kai was different though.

'Why not just spread your legs right here and ask for my seed?! Metal Bold Empress Ning! This little girl was too bold!' Was Kai's thoughts.

One might think that a man should be happy or turned on by this but no. Ning's tone ruined everything. There was no pleading or begging tone which naturally makes a man's heart melt. Instead of knocking gently on his heart, she decided to cut it open. She said it like an Empress that wanted to execute a criminal.

Once again, Zhou Kai's world was shaken and finally, his mental capacity broke apart.

His brain was now muddled and in disarray.

At one point, he wanted to agree but he was no idiot. He knew of the harshness of this world.

'Maybe because I'm too handsome?'

'No she might be a banshee in disguise!'

'No! What am I even thinking! As a man, I should be proper and be Zhou proper Kai.'

Like a miracle, Zhou Kai suddenly spoke with a clear but shaky voice.

"Kuhum! Wife! Kuhum! I mean, Ning! You'll have to wait for my answer. As chief, I should thoroughly think about this matter!" Zhou Kai obviously should be wary. What if this lass was actually a capable thief that would slice his neck at night to get his resources? Kai was subtly rejecting Ning's Iron proposal but was also allowing for a leeway. 'I feel like I'm the maiden! What a loss!'

Innocent faces were the most dangerous. Wolves in sheep's clothing are also particularly hard to catch unless the shepherd witnesses the slaughter. He had to observe with watchful eyes.

Accepting loyalty from a retainer was an entirely different matter from marriage.

Zhou Kai, who was expecting Ning to back out, was again surprised by her reply.

"What is there to think about? I like you. I'm pretty and young thus, marrying me would not be a loss."

Ning said with a straight and confident tone. She was still looking at Zhou Kai who was now fidgeting.

'How narcissistic!'

Zhou Kai can't let this lass take over. As the chief, he can't be subjugated by this mortal subject! "My words are final and I would not marry you based on your own words!" He shouted.

Ning was about to detonate another bomb but Zhou Kai swiftly continued.

"Don't lift your own chair and force your way in. Just like you, I have my own will! If you want my name, earn it!"

With this, Kai left the scene with hurried steps. He did not wait for Ning to speak. He just walked inside the Village hall, climbed to the 2nd floor, and sat on the Chief's office chair.

'That was dangerous!' shouted to himself.

Kai was then followed by Icy Mei but stayed standing by the Chief's office door.

At the MC's absence, the villagers finally recovered the ability to breathe. They murmured non stop but kept sensitive comments to themselves.

Ning was off to the side thinking of Kai's words and she gripped her fists as she looked at the Village hall. She seemed to have made up her mind.

The Wu twins were rather furious with Ning's spectacular display. They thought that Kai took a huge blow to his man's pride.

Wu Chun was fuming in anger and Wu Chen took note of this 'unique' contribution of Ning.

They did not know of Kai's recovery, leading them to think that this troublesome lass was either ignorant of Kai's condition or just hated him enough to publicly humiliate him.

Wu Chun was about to reprimand the young youth but Wu Chen stopped him and signaled to go with him to the Hall.

"Everyone, it seems that the ceremony has just officially ended. Our chief would need ample time to 'think'. I implore you all to go back to the designated area for your families…" Wu Chen chose to disperse the crowd. He couldn't let any more defame the chief. He just casually reminded them.

Wu Chun patiently waited for his brother to finish his ramblings about this and that. He also could not resist sending stern looks at Ning but the little girl stared back, unwilling to bend.

Just as Wu Chun willed his aura to suppress the youth, Wu Chen called for him to enter with him.

With that, everyone left the drama. Everyone except Ning who had nowhere to go. She had no family and only had plenty of empty houses to sleep in. Scarce food and thin clothes.

She just stood there like the stubborn girl she is.

***At dusk***

"She's still there!" Zhou Kai was now perplexed. He felt guilty and miserable.

Guilty because he actually left her with nothing.

Miserable because he felt like a lady who rejected a ring.

"Chief, there are more important matters." The 3 of them were actually impressed by the stubbornness of Ning. Standing there from noon to dusk and she gave no signs of suffering.

"Uncle Chen. I-I… sigh. Alright."

"Nephew is really strong willed!" Wu Chun commented with a proud smile. His nephew was humiliated in front of his subjects but he still opted to fulfill his duties. 'What a respectable man.'

Kai was still regretful on how he previously acted like a maiden with a courting warrior that suddenly popped up, slew a dragon and then shamelessly asked for his hand.

He was lamenting but, as Wu Chen said, there were more pressing matters at hand.

Zhou Kai shook his head to shake off the thoughts about Metal Ning.

He put on his serious face and started divulging information to his trusty uncles and his 1st vassal/retainer.

"Sigh…Winter is about 6 weeks away. It is still autumn but food in our village is too scarce. Even the treasure vault of the village has no food, much less the food storage. Firewood is also increasingly lacking due to the rapidly lowering temperatures."

Zhou Kai looked at Wu Chen.

"That is indeed the case."

"Mmm." Wu Chun nodded.

"For this matter, I want Uncle Chen to organize a stable trading route with the Earth Snake Town. Bring with you some trusted members of Bei Shu's family. An elder like you should not be away for long. Let them handle this in the future." Kai ordered. "The profit would be divided into two portions. My cultivation funds and village funds. The village fund will be for purchasing food suitable for winter and also cultivation resources."

"Certainly. We will depart tomorrow." Wu Chen was now more relaxed to leave. With Mei here to guard and serve Zhou Kai, he was less worried about Chief's safety.

No one here posed any questions. Wu Chen knew why this was. Wu Chun simply did not care about such things. Zhou Mei was just here to serve and not to pry.

"Good. Uncle Chun would continue to guard the vicinity. Safety of the village is in your hands." Zhou Kai turned to Wu Chun who then nodded. Kai was pleased and chose to continue.`Tell each family head about their duty."

The Ren family of the east cliff will be assigned to hunt and fish like usual but their game would be bought by the village funds. Doing this would encourage hunters to hunt more and also improve strength with exchangeable resources.

The Bei family was given the assignment of external trades which could be considered as the most important at the moment. Naturally, they also had the rights to rewards and resources.

The Nan family was similar to the Ren family. They just gather herbs and ingredients that could be consumed and used as resources. Spirit herbs would be personally purchased by Kai at a reasonable price. This assignment was actually very important for Kai because of his Cultivation method. Winter is coming and planting would be like throwing silver into the depth of the sea.

Xifang family was given the assignment to disassemble the abandoned man-made properties and then scavenge the usable resources like lumbers and ores. They were also told to measure the plots of land that would be occupied by each family. The 8 members of the family were basically told to do hard labor around the village and were convinced to be on-call laborers. All of them were widowed women but this did not mean they couldn't do the lifting.

All in all, the Xifang family had the safest environment as they would not go far from the safety of the village. They also had the rights for rewards and resources.

After the meeting, Zhou Kai sent his uncles on their duty and rest. Zhou Mei remained with him.

Zhou Kai looked down from the second floor's window and grimaced.

"Still there."

'Is she trying to guilt trip this Chief?!'

The Stubborn girl was still standing straight. But this time, her previously white cheeks and ears were now plump red. She was shivering and her breath was shaky and shallow.

Zhou Kai saw this and grew concerned. This girl was actually so troublesome.

He went down followed by Zhou Mei who seemed to be unbothered by the cold.

It was not winter but it was already freezing. Together with the cold night wind, water might actually be nearly frozen.

Zhou Kai stood and faced the pitiful Ning and said, "Stubborn girl, you should stop staring." Zhou Kai solemnly said but got no response.

He then remembered that this suitor of his had not received anything but rejection from him. Technically, he also neglected her for 2 years after his father's death. He then thought for a moment and arrived at an idea.

He took out a booklet that had the title. 'Basic Metal Entry Breathing.' This booklet was one of the basic manuals he bought a few days ago in hope of awakening some talent. He had no use for it so he decided to give it to this Metal affinity Ning.

He then handed it to Ning.

"Here. You have the rare Metal affinity. This is a basic cultivation manual for the basic cultivation methods of metal cultivators. Take it as a reward for staying here." Zhou Kai slowly narrated and made sure the other party understood. He waited but there was no reply.

Zhou Kai then became increasingly worried. This young girl was his subject and he was the chief.

He checked if she was breathing and found that she was. She was even glaring at his eyes, following where he was focusing.

He was perplexed yet again. Thinking for a moment, he went back inside the hall and came back in front of Ning again.

Kai held a manual that had a black metallic cover. It was obviously from the treasury and it felt rather precious. Even Ning's attention was briefly attracted by it.

Kai looked at it as if contemplating but decided to hand it to Ning.

"This is th-." He was about to explain when the little girl's shaky voice resounded with vigor.

"I don't want that." Ning said sternly.

"But this is a valuable treasure!" Zhou Kai finally snapped and was about to get mad but his next words got stuck in his throat by Ning's reply.

"What I want is you."