Qin Qingmo and Xu Wuzhou walked one after the other along the corridor bridge of the Qin Family, both remaining silent until they reached Qin Qingmo's inner chamber.

Qin Qingmo's chamber was a suite, with the outer room filled with books, mostly poetry collections, arranged layer upon layer.

In the middle of the room were two exquisite recliners and a rattan chair. Upon entering, Qin Qingmo sat on the rattan chair.

Xu Wuzhou sat down on a recliner, waiting for Qin Qingmo to speak. After a moment of silence, he still didn't hear her voice.

Xu Wuzhou wasn't in a hurry. He casually picked up a book from nearby and lay back on the recliner, flipping through the selected poems.

In his previous life, Xu Wuzhou had fancied himself entering the Dao through literature, but in reality, he had little knowledge and no talent for it.

However, the current Xu Wuzhou, having been a homebody on Earth, had developed a good habit of reading, sometimes for an entire day. This poetry book, though not comparable to Tang and Song poetry, had its own charm, and Xu Wuzhou found it interesting.

Qin Qingmo was also waiting for Xu Wuzhou to speak, but seeing him engrossed in the book, turning pages with a calm and elegant demeanor, she was puzzled. This was completely different from the Xu Wuzhou she remembered. When had he ever been able to settle down and read? Most importantly, he had been quiet the entire way here.

In the past, whenever he saw her, he would rack his brains to please her, chattering non-stop.

Qin Qingmo thought Xu Wuzhou was putting on an act, so she didn't speak either, thinking he wouldn't be able to keep it up for long.

But after more than an hour, Xu Wuzhou had already switched to another book and was still quietly reading.

"How's the book?" Qin Qingmo finally broke the silence.

"Not bad. I really like the line, 'After the rain, the pond's surface is calm, like a polished mirror reflecting the eaves and beams,'" Xu Wuzhou replied.

Qin Qingmo was taken aback. He was actually reading seriously. That poem was also her favorite in the book.

"Don't worry about the Great Clan Competition. It's a trap set by Xie Guangping," Qin Qingmo said, looking at Xu Wuzhou.

She knew Xu Wuzhou liked her, really liked her, doing all sorts of things to attract her attention and please her. She studied literature, so he followed suit. But his talent was too poor, and he couldn't focus. Yet, he was oblivious to his shortcomings, thinking he was talented after learning a poem or memorizing an article, believing he was about to enter the Dao.

Similarly, Xu Wuzhou's possessiveness was too strong, not allowing anyone else to pursue her.

Xie Guangping had provoked Xu Wuzhou, leading him to make a rash oath and a bet in anger.

"Oh, it's fine. I'll give it a try," Xu Wuzhou thought to himself. The strongest in the Great Clan Competition was only at the Postnatal Realm. If he consumed more metal, he shouldn't be afraid. Most importantly, it was for his silver.

Qin Qingmo thought Xu Wuzhou was still resentful of Xie Guangping's interest in her and wanted to prove himself, so she advised, "I've already married you. Xie Guangping has no chance, and I don't like him."

"It really has nothing to do with him," Xu Wuzhou said.

Qin Qingmo frowned slightly. Still so stubborn. Didn't he know that with his character, participating could get him killed? Forget it, he never listened to advice, always self-centered.

"Can you give me an explanation? Why did you do that yesterday?" Qin Qingmo's cold eyes looked at Xu Wuzhou.

Even though she was forced into marriage, who could tolerate their husband climbing into a bestie's bed on the wedding night and visiting a brothel?

Xu Wuzhou wanted to say it was Lin Qingci who invited him into her room, but he couldn't bring himself to say it.

They were besties, and saying that would sound like he was shirking responsibility. It wouldn't make sense, like why Lin Qingci would invite him into her room. Would she really fall for someone with such a notorious reputation?

"No explanation?" Qin Qingmo closed her eyes, deeply disappointed in Xu Wuzhou. She had been ready to accept her fate, but how could she accept someone so blinded by lust?

Even if someone is a scoundrel, they should have a bottom line.

"Qingci cried a lot yesterday. I don't want to say anything about you. You're my husband, and that's a reality now. You'll still be the master of the Qin Family, but I hope you won't be like before. As for us, I'll focus on my studies, and I probably won't fulfill my duties as a wife," Qin Qingmo said to Xu Wuzhou. "Do you understand what I mean?"

"I understand! We'll just sleep in separate beds from now on," Xu Wuzhou, having seen many couples with strained relationships on Earth, understood immediately.

Hearing him say it so bluntly, a blush spread across Qin Qingmo's beautiful face.

"One more thing, don't participate in the competition. It's dangerous," Qin Qingmo advised.

"It's okay, I'll become strong soon," Xu Wuzhou replied casually.

"…"

Still so self-assured and arrogant, unable to see himself clearly. Qin Qingmo shook her head, knowing further words were useless.

***

Xu Wuzhou left Qin Qingmo's chamber, thinking about how to get some metal, when he saw a few servants carrying a box filled with swords.

His eyes lit up. This was cultivation material. He quickly stopped them, "Wait!"

The servants frowned slightly at being stopped by Xu Wuzhou, but as lowly servants, they didn't dare oppose him.

"What are you doing?" Xu Wuzhou asked, wondering if he could extort a few swords.

"Lord Qin asked us to bring the newly forged weapons for him to inspect," a servant replied.

"Why does Uncle Qin want to see these?" Xu Wuzhou thought they were using Qin Li to pressure him, but he didn't care. He reached into the box and pulled out a long sword. Each sword was of excellent quality, far surpassing those in the armory.

Good stuff. The Black Bowl will definitely benefit more from these than those iron swords, Xu Wuzhou mused, swinging the sword.

As he swung, without any conscious effort, the Sword Intent imprinted in his soul moved with it, infusing the sword with a sharpness.

The servants watched Xu Wuzhou closely, wary that he might take the swords to sell for silver.

"The Mao and Li families have produced better quality swords, suppressing our Qin Family. So Lord Qin instructed the swordsmith to improve the quality. This batch is newly forged for Lord Qin's inspection," a servant explained to Xu Wuzhou. "Lord Qin is waiting for us. Should we go ahead, young master?"

"Is it really for Uncle Qin?" Xu Wuzhou asked suspiciously, holding onto the swords, wanting to take one but unable to with their watchful eyes.

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"Lord Qin is in a hurry!" the servant replied.

They kept a close eye on Xu Wuzhou, making him uncomfortable. What were they thinking? Did they really think he'd steal their swords? Damn it, watching so closely, he couldn't make a move.

"I'll take these two," Xu Wuzhou said, grabbing two swords and walking off, ignoring what they thought.

The servants wanted to stop him but, seeing he had just come from the young lady's room, didn't dare. They could only watch as Xu Wuzhou walked away.

"Who knows what Lord Qin is thinking, keeping him in the Qin Manor."

"A parasite, why keep him around? With the Qin Family facing internal and external troubles, he's still causing chaos, taking two swords to likely sell for silver."

"Sigh, who knows where the Mao and Li families got swords nourished by Sword Intent. It's hard for our swords to compete."

"Yes, with our weapon business being taken over, the Qin Family's decline isn't far off. What will we do then?"

"If only… our swords could be nourished by Sword Intent too."

"…"

---

Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan