Chapter 92 Marriage Alliance
The moment Jiang Che stepped into the council hall, several gazes fixed on him like thorns on his back.
The green-jade floor tiles reflected his lone shadow. On both sides, elders sat upright on sandalwood chairs, each with a different expression, but all carrying the same trace of pity.
At the main seat sat the father of his current body—Jiang family head Jiang Yuntian, who also looked at him with a complicated expression. Beneath his dark brocade robe, his hand unconsciously rubbed the armrest.
"Father." Jiang Che cupped his hands in salute, feeling the atmosphere turn slightly cold.
"You are here." Jiang Yuntian's voice was hoarse beyond measure. "Sit."
He gestured for Jiang Che to sit, his fingertips trembling imperceptibly.
The candlelight cast uneven shadows across his brow, making the newly formed wrinkles especially deep. His lips moved but only a sigh escaped before he lifted a teacup to cover his emotions.
Jiang Che did not think much, sitting down as told. From past experience, this father treated him fairly well, worthy of the name of father.
Though his cultivation talent was mediocre, his father still tried his utmost to allocate resources for him, suppressing opposition. Otherwise, with this body's aptitude, he might not even touch the threshold of the Object Manipulation Realm.
Yet, as he sat, Jiang Che noticed a booklet placed on the desk before his father, and that his father's gaze often lingered on it. He thought the matter must be related to that booklet.
Sure enough, once Jiang Che sat down, Jiang Yuntian hesitated, then finally spoke. "Che'er, what do you think of your father's treatment of you?"
Here it comes!
Jiang Che's heart sank but he steadied himself and answered seriously, "Father has naturally treated his son extremely well."
Jiang Yuntian nodded, a trace of relief flashing in his eyes, then slowly continued. "Che'er, you know well that our family recently offended the Xuanyin Sect. Now, several families in Blackwater City have seized the opportunity to unite and suppress us. The situation is already at death's door."
Jiang Che nodded. He was aware of this matter.
It began when his second uncle quarreled over a woman in the city, accidentally killing the lover of an elder from Xuanyin Sect, and then even fought that elder.
Xuanyin Sect was one of the few sects in Xuanying Continent composed entirely of female cultivators, known for being fiercely protective.
At first, there might have been room to resolve things, but the problem was that his second uncle, realizing his grave mistake, fled in the night.
This was like smashing a hornet's nest. Xuanyin Sect insisted the Jiang family sheltered him and announced a blockade of all Jiang family businesses in Blackwater City. Rival clans, smelling blood like sharks, immediately united to push the Jiang family out and carve up its fat spoils.
Now the Jiang family's power in Blackwater City had been greatly diminished, its survival hanging by a thread.
"Your son is dull-witted, so… what does father need him to do?" Jiang Che asked directly, resigning himself to fate.
"Well asked!" Jiang Yuntian exhaled in relief at his son's initiative. Picking up the booklet, he said, "In truth, there is a slim chance for survival before us. If handled well, we may even turn misfortune into fortune, binding ourselves to Xuanyin Sect."
Seeing Jiang Che's inquiring look, Jiang Yuntian's heart softened, but thinking of the family's plight, he pressed on. "Three days ago, Xuanyin Sect sent a marriage contract. As long as the Jiang family agrees to the marriage alliance, they will lift all blockades and form an alliance with us."
…
Jiang Che's tense shoulders relaxed.
After all that, he thought it would be some earth-shaking matter. So it was only a marriage alliance.
After that betrayal in the Upper Realm, he had long turned to ashes in matters of love. Whoever he married made no difference.
Still, recalling the details, he could not help but ask, "Is it with that elder whose lover was killed?"
"Correct!" Jiang Yuntian nodded. "Precisely because she took a liking to someone from our Jiang family that we now have this chance to rise from the ashes."
Heh, so it was still the old cow eating tender grass.
But after drifting in the Netherworld for countless years, who was the cow and who the grass might not be so certain anymore.
"I agree." Jiang Che nodded without hesitation.
He thought, if he could use the resources of Xuanyin Sect, perhaps in this life he could rise more quickly… and then take revenge!
"Good! Truly worthy of being my Jiang family's qilin child!" Jiang Yuntian was overjoyed, and even the elders who had hardly dared to breathe finally relaxed, faces showing joy.
Yet when they looked at Jiang Che, their eyes carried even more pity.
This made Jiang Che's heart sink.
Not just a marriage alliance? The Jiang family being saved, fine, that was reason enough for their joy. But why were their eyes on me so full of pity?
Could it be that the marriage partner was ugly? That should not be. Cultivators, while absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, naturally transform their bodies. No matter how plain, it should not be so bad.
"I declare that tonight the Jiang family shall hold a grand banquet to send off my son!" Jiang Yuntian announced loudly.
Send off!?
Wasn't a marriage alliance supposed to mean I was marrying a wife?
Wait! Could it be… that I was the one entering another household?
His mind fell into complete confusion, even as Jiang Yuntian embraced him with emotion, tears falling while muttering apologies to him and his mother.
Mother?
Wasn't this body's mother already long deceased?
A sudden flash of insight struck Jiang Che. With a deep breath, suppressing his ominous premonition, he asked, "May I ask… who is the Jiang family's marriage partner this time?"
The hall instantly fell silent.
A gust of wind passed, making the candles flicker violently.
Jiang Yuntian released him awkwardly, then under Jiang Che's shocked gaze, said slowly, "It is true. It is your father."
…
"What?" Jiang Che thought he had misheard.
"The elder of Xuanyin Sect set her eyes on the family head," the great elder sighed as he added, "but the condition is… the position of the Jiang family's main wife."
"Then what of me?"
"Their condition is that you, as the Jiang family's legitimate son, must go to the Ten Thousand Ghost Cavern, join the Ghost-Suppressing Army, and never return for life!"
Jiang Che's mind buzzed. At last he understood the source of those pitying gazes—not because they feared he would marry an ugly woman, but because he had become the abandoned son!
Heh…
Jiang Che suddenly laughed.
His laughter echoed through the council hall.
So that was it.
This was the human heart.
He should never have placed his hopes in it.
So it was in his previous life, so it was again in this one.
But did they think this would sever his path to sainthood?
"Fine." Jiang Che brushed imaginary dust from his sleeve. "When do I depart?"
The elders looked at one another.
Jiang Yuntian's hand gripped the armrest tightly, veins bulging. "You… do not hate?"
"Hate?" Jiang Che gazed out the window toward the surging dark clouds above the Ten Thousand Ghost Cavern, recalling that woman from the Upper Realm who had brought people to slaughter him during his breakthrough.
Compared to soul scattering and drifting in the ghost realm—
What was this small predicament?
The great elder hesitated, then said, "Tomorrow at yin hour."
"I understand." He turned and walked toward the doorway, pausing at the threshold. "Then allow me to offer congratulations to father… on his joyous wedding."
…
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