Pay-to-Win Cultivation: I Get 10,000x Returns Chapter 117

Yun Wanqing spoke slowly, her voice heavy with exhaustion.

"Over these years, the pressure from all sides—even from within my own family—has been suffocating. Agreeing to this marriage was merely a tactic, a way to retreat in order to advance. I would never surrender myself to a wastrel like Hu Yanzhi."

She sighed softly. "My plan was to propose impossible conditions. I would have demanded they cure my Zhen'er first, or asked for some mythical treasure to make them back down. I intended to use their inevitable failure to silence the public."

"And even if they actually agreed to those terms, I would have found another way to break the engagement. Hah... even if they could truly cure Zhen'er, once we entered the Baoqing Workshop and fell under their control, neither my daughter nor I would have had a good ending."

Zhang Xian inwardly praised her.

Calm, intelligent, and resilient.

To be able to strategize this far while under such crushing pressure, Yun Wanqing was no ordinary woman.

However, he recalled the System’s earlier notification: her Destiny Points had dropped by 10. Beneath this scheme, there were likely hidden traps she hadn't foreseen. But he chose not to point that out right now.

"So that's how it is," Zhang Xian shrugged, feigning nonchalance. "It seems I was being presumptuous. I thought you were actually going to marry him, so I stepped forward. Please don't blame me for meddling, Pavilion Master."

"This is different." Yun Wanqing immediately shook her head. "Although it was a strategy, it still placed me at the center of the storm. Facing behemoths like the Guiyuan Sect and the Baoqing Workshop, I am merely one woman. Even with plans, I felt like I was walking on thin ice."

She looked at him, her gaze softening. "Today, when you stepped forward without hesitation... only then did my heart truly settle. Zhang Xian, thank you for standing behind me."

Yun Wanqing’s clear eyes locked onto his. "I didn't lie to you, either. I really will marry you."

Zhang Xian glanced at her Favorability rating—58—and remained silent.

"However, I don't want our relationship to be merely a cold transaction," she continued earnestly. "Those Spirit Stones are too valuable; I must return them to you. As for my father..." A sly smile touched her lips. "I'm afraid you'll have to humor him a bit and toss him a spiritual treasure to keep him quiet."

"And most crucially," her tone became exceptionally serious, "is that Creation Immortal Pill! This item is far too precious. It might be the only thing that can resolve your False Core ailment! This is what you need most! I absolutely cannot accept it!"

"Unnecessary!"

Zhang Xian raised a hand to cut her off. "What I, Zhang Xian, give away, I never take back! Spirit Stones are just worldly dust to me—I have plenty! As for spiritual treasures? Tell me how many you want, and I’ll give you that many!"

His gaze burned as he looked at her. "As for the Creation Immortal Pill... since you said you'll marry me, then your daughter is my daughter. Isn't it only right for a father to use his resources to cure his own child?"

"But!" Yun Wanqing grew anxious, her eyes filled with a mix of emotion and conflict. "How can we do that? I already owe you far too much. How can you joke about your own Dao path and future like this?!"

"Why not?"

Zhang Xian leaned forward, intentionally invading her personal space. His voice dropped to a low, magnetic rumble. "Didn't you say you were willing to marry me?"

He caught the flicker of panic in Yun Wanqing's eyes and pressed his advantage. "Or is it that Pavilion Master Yun marrying me is just a smokescreen to deceive the world? Are you not sincere?"

His gaze suddenly turned intensely aggressive. "If so, you are gravely mistaken. This marriage, I want it! You, your body, your heart... I, Zhang Xian, want it all!"

"You...!"

Yun Wanqing was flustered by his sudden declaration. Her heart was thrown into disarray, and her breathing quickened as she instinctively tried to lean back.

Zhang Xian's words were like a gentle yet forceful hammer blow, striking squarely at her defenses.

Yes. Whether it was the Spirit Stones, the treasures, the Immortal Ascension Pill he gave before, or the legendary Creation Immortal Pill... he had given everything.

Moreover, today in the Great Hall, he had stood before her without fear, shielding her from the storm. That profound sense of security and his unwavering support caused the sturdiest walls around Yun Wanqing's heart to quietly crumble.

Unconsciously, her gratitude was already shifting into affection.

Zhang Xian played his next card. "What? Have you forgotten your own promise? You said that as long as I found a method to save your daughter, you would be willing to pay any price."

He watched as a flush crept up Yun Wanqing's neck. "Now that the Immortal Pill is right before your eyes, does Pavilion Master Yun wish to go back on her word?"

[Ding! Current Favorability: 63.]

Yun Wanqing was left speechless. Looking at his mischievously grinning face drawing closer, she felt her heart pounding like a drum, her fingertips tingling with nervous energy.

Hearing the System's prompt, Zhang Xian laughed inwardly.

It’s in the bag!

Without further hesitation, in the moment Yun Wanqing's mind went blank, he leaned down and captured her lips.

"Mmph—!"

A warm, domineering, and irresistible sensation instantly overwhelmed Yun Wanqing's senses! She had no time to react, let alone resist.

The world seemed to dissolve around them.

Her eyes widened, filled with shock and bewilderment, before quickly being drowned out by embarrassment and a strange, electric numbness she had never experienced before. Her mind descended into chaos.

Wrapped in Zhang Xian's intense masculine aura, Yun Wanqing's body unconsciously softened. Her long eyelashes trembled incessantly as she melted into the kiss.

Only when the pressure on her lips vanished did she seem to regain her breath. A captivating blush spread across her face, dyeing her skin a deep crimson. She glared at Zhang Xian with a mix of shame and indignation.

"You... how could you..."

Zhang Xian spread his hands, smiling with extreme innocence. "Pavilion Master Yun, you wrong me! You said you would marry me. You invited me here for a private meeting. A lone man and woman in a room together—what's wrong with me kissing my future wife? Is that excessive?"

"I... I have never seen someone as... as shameless as you! No wonder!"

As if remembering something, she blurted out, "No wonder True Person Wang Ya once sent me a message, saying you were a lecherous troublemaker and that I should find time to properly educate you! Now it seems he wasn't lying at all!"

Zhang Xian didn't mind the accusation. Instead, his smile grew brighter.

"So, do you regret it now? Too late! Your father has already accepted the betrothal gifts. By tomorrow—no, tonight—the news of our marriage alliance will spread throughout the Southern Region. You've boarded my pirate ship now, and there’s no getting off."

The more casually Zhang Xian spoke, the more moved Yun Wanqing felt.

He wasn't doing this for a transaction. He was willing to give up the cure for his own condition just to save her daughter. Such a debt of gratitude... perhaps it really could only be repaid with her life and devotion.

Yun Wanqing's heart was a tumult of mixed emotions—gratitude, love, and palpitations intertwined. She whispered softly, "Then... shall we go out? You have a competition tomorrow."

Zhang Xian blinked, a teasing glint in his eyes. "Why the rush? Why don't we stay here until tomorrow morning? The effect would likely be even better."

Mischief sparkled in his gaze. "Our engagement is set in stone. If we stay here all night, I imagine Young Master Hu will be angry enough to vomit blood when he finds out!"

"You... you're so bad!"

Yun Wanqing's pretty face flushed crimson at his suggestion, and she couldn't help but chide him. However, there wasn't any real anger in her eyes. Instead, there was a hint of agreement.