Bai Lund let her cry for as long as she needed.
He stood at the edge of the bed, completely naked, his thick cock still heavy and half-hard between his legs, and simply watched. She needed this breakdown. She had to understand the point he was driving into her. And if, even after everything he had said, she still acted like a stubborn, self-pitying bitch who refused to accept any logic no matter how many hard truths he threw at her, then he would simply throw her out of his house.
He refused to even think about burying his cock inside such a disgusting, victim-minded pussy.
But it seemed she was only desperate — not completely lost.
"I understand… I… understand…"
She cried for at least four full minutes until her eyes finally had nothing left to shed. Thick, shiny tear tracks still marked her flushed cheeks. Her massive young breasts heaved with every residual sob, the soft, heavy flesh jiggling and swaying. Pink nipples remained stiff and glistening where tears had run down over them. Her creamy skin was painted with long, wet trails that started from her red eyes and ran all the way down between her heavy tits, over her soft stomach, and onto the soaked mattress.
She looked like a beautiful, completely broken mess.
"What do you understand?" Bai Lund asked, voice calm and low.
"It's… not just women. It's everyone…"
Bai Lund stayed silent for a long moment, letting the answer sink deeper into her own chest.
"Yes. It was never about a woman or a man. It was always about a person who is still breathing."
"You are forced to follow your family's will just like Lu Lao is forced to follow his father's will."
"You don't have a say in your own life, and neither does Ti Tao. Your freedom was stolen by your father. Ti Tao's freedom was stolen by the circumstances fate forced on him."
"It was never about women…
It was always about strength and power."
She looked up at him through wet lashes.
Her tear tracks still shone under the morning light.
"If you had the strength to beat your father bloody, he would never dare force you into anything you don't want."
"If you had enough strength, no bandits, no beasts, no circumstances could ever stop you from running."
"It was the same with Si Luo. If he had possessed real power, he would have slaughtered those bandits like dogs and still be alive right now."
"So stop playing the victim card. Woman or man — if we are weak, then it is simply our destiny to be trampled under someone else's feet."
Xu Lan's heart pounded hard against her ribs. Every single one of Bai Lund's cold words resonated deep inside her bones. She felt something shift — something sharp and clear, like a veil being ripped away. A new question rose in her mind.
Why had she been blaming her gender for everything? There were many powerful female cultivators in the world. The Female Empress of the Twin Dragon Empire stood as living proof that a woman could stand at the very peak.
"Cultivation…" she muttered under her breath, almost to herself.
Bai Lund heard her and gave a small nod, the ice in his eyes softening just a fraction.
Finally she was stepping onto the right path.
"Yes. Cultivation."
"I… wanted to cultivate, but my father never allowed me. He said girls should only learn how to cook and how to take care of children."
"Even to climb the Mortal Body Realm, my brother swallowed so many resources that Father sold most of our family lands just to push him to the 6th stage. He would never have spent a single copper on me."
"To him I am nothing but a burden. A walking burden meant to be sold so the money can be poured into my brother… by sucking every drop of value out of my life."
Bai Lund could hear the deep, simmering hatred in her voice. There was clearly more festering under the surface that she still refused to say.
They both fell into a heavy silence. The only sounds in the room were her uneven breathing and the soft, wet sound of a leftover tear dripping from her chin onto the upper curve of her breast.
Bai Lund then asked,
"Let's say I give you the money. What would you do?"
She was first shocked that he had even offered. Then, recalling the old soft-hearted Bai Lund, she let out a small, bitter sigh. It seemed some part of him hadn't completely changed. Her story had still managed to stir something inside him.
But now… even she no longer knew what she could do.
"I… don't know. The way I am right now, I don't think I could run away on my own. And I also cannot refuse the marriage. I have no doubt my father would kill me with his own hands if I tried."
Bai Lund stared at her for a long second, eyes cold and calculating.
"I'll give you an offer that can save your life. But I want to ask you first — do you dare to take it?"
His eyes were pure ice. Xu Lan understood immediately that he was completely serious. Fear flickered through her chest, but the terror of being handed over to that fat, greasy bastard was far stronger.
"What offer?"
"I will take care of you. I will provide for you. Money, cultivation resources… everything else you need."
Xu Lan's eyes widened. Then they shook with disbelief. Then they slowly relaxed into bitter skepticism.
"Bai Lund, I haven't gone so mad that you can fool me with pretty words. Money I can understand — your mother is the richest person in this small village. But cultivation resources? Even Aunt Bai Lian would never dare say those words so casually."
Bai Lund didn't look offended. He simply asked again, voice calm and steady.
"What if I can? Then what will you do?"
She shook her head with a small, sad smile. She thought he was only trying to feed her false hope. And what good was empty hope? She refused to live inside another delusion.
"And what if I can? What will you do?"
He was still pressing the same question. She sighed, looked straight up into his cold eyes, and finally answered,
"I'd do whatever you want."
"Okay~"
The single word left his lips softly.
Then Bai Lund raised his open palm.
The air above his hand glitched for a brief, unnatural second — like the world itself had stuttered. A pure blue spirit stone materialized out of nothing and settled onto his palm as if it had always belonged there.
Xu Lan's eyes flew wide in pure shock. She scrambled backward across the mattress, heavy breasts bouncing with the sudden movement.
"Wha…" She stuttered.
But Bai Lund best her to it. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
"What do you think it is?"
Xu Lan was completely stunned. What had Bai Lund just done? How was this possible? It looked exactly like the tricks only true cultivators could perform.
Cultivator…?
Her wide eyes locked onto the blue stone resting in his hand. Its clean kite-like shape, the ethereal blue mist swirling slowly and endlessly inside the crystal… it was so beautiful one could lose hours just staring at it.
Her breath hitched hard. An impossible thought rose in her mind — an item so precious she had only ever heard of it in stories.
"Is… this… a spirit stone?"
Her voice was barely a trembling whisper.
Bai Lund smiled and casually tossed the stone toward her.
Shock tore through her entire body. She lunged forward on pure instinct and frantically caught it with both hands, fingers twitching and trembling around the cool crystal. Her mouth fell open in a perfect, silent O. Her heavy breasts swayed with the sudden movement.
She touched the stone with shaking fingers, felt its smooth yet solid texture. She held it up close to her eyes. The magical, living swirl of blue mist inside confirmed everything. Slowly, almost fearfully, her gaze traveled up to Bai Lund's calm, smirking face.
"Where did you get this?"
"Don't you know it's banned for commoners to possess spirit stones? Only cultivators are allowed to buy, hold, or sell them. The empire's soldiers—"
She gulped hard, trying to force moisture back into her suddenly dry throat. Her bare chest rose and fell rapidly.
"You… you should quickly sell it in the town. The empire's soldiers will not spare you… Bai Lund, I don't know where you got this from, but don't… don't risk your life like this."
Her voice came out stuttering, thick with fear.
"Shhh—"
Bai Lund had heard enough of her panicked rambling.
"Who told you I'm risking my life? Don't you know cultivators are allowed to possess spirit stones?"
She almost screamed, her heavy breasts shaking with the force of her voice.
"Yes, cultivators can! But you are not one!! Don't think the Mortal Body Realm counts as true cultivation! Until you are baptized by spiritual energy and ascend to the Qi Essence Realm, you are still just a mortal! Stop this delusion right now!!"
Bai Lund only smirked wider.
Then the palm he still held raised suddenly flared with pure blue light. Thin, glowing lines of energy traced along his fingers and across his palm.
Xu Lan literally shot upright on the bed. The thin robe that had been hanging loosely off her shoulders slipped further down, barely clinging to her elbows. Her hands flew up toward her mouth in shock — then she instantly remembered the priceless spirit stone was still in her palms. She carefully, almost reverently, set it down on the mattress beside her, then took small, quick, frantic steps on her knees to the very edge of the bed and grabbed his glowing hand with both of hers.
Her soft fingers wrapped around his. Her lips quivered. Her long black lashes trembled violently. She slowly raised her tear-stained face to look at him and found him smiling down at her — cold, calm, completely confident, and utterly changed.
"Bai Lund… you… you… are… a cultivator?"
***