19 Chapter 19: Child Betrothal_1

Tianjiang.

This is a very special place on Earth, covering an area of 9.63 million square kilometers, immensely vast, technologically advanced, and extremely prosperous.

Here, elites from all over the world converge: Cultivators, tycoons, rulers, masters of elixir, refining geniuses... This place holds countless people's dreams and is the destination everyone yearns for in their sleep.

In this sanctuary of numerous elites, name and benefit, glory and power clash fiercely every day.

And on this peak of Earth, everything is led by a major clan—the Tianjiang Bai Family.

Known as the Tianjiang Royal Family, in people's eyes, the Bai Family is the ultimate ruler of the entire Tianjiang, and calling them the royal family of this land is not only apt but quite fitting.

"Why did you arrange my marriage without consulting me first!"

In a villa of the Bai Family, a woman dressed in a red gown sat angrily on the sofa, her beautiful eyes full of courage defending her marital freedom as she stared at the young beauty sitting opposite her.

"Bai Xi'er, you can be willful in anything else, but not on this matter," the young beauty across from her spoke with a noble air, her tone filled with an undeniable authority.

Bai Xi, seeing her mother's attitude, grew even angrier. She had always been spoiled since childhood and had never been demanded like this before.

"I disagree! My marriage should be my own choice!" Bai Xi grabbed a cushion from the sofa and lay down, refusing to make eye contact with her mother again.

"Your disagreement is pointless; everyone agrees on this, and even if you go and act coy with Grandpa, it won't help," the young beauty stated unwaveringly.

"Why?"

Bai Xi kicked off her red high heels in irritation, her delicate feet tucking up reflexively.

"Because the person who saved your life when you were born did so with a lifetime of glory!" the young beauty said, frowning.

"Who is it? How come someone who saved me suddenly pops up out of nowhere?" Bai Xi asked with a pained expression.

The mother's face softened slightly, her stern look easing as she said, "You wouldn't remember. You were just born at that time. You were bleeding all over when you came out of my womb. The master said that your True Qi was special and your body couldn't bear it, and there was no way to save you."

Bai Xi was somewhat moved and asked, "Then... how did I survive afterward?"

"On the very day you were born, the young master of the Fang Family was also born, the son of your Uncle Fang. In the end, the master transferred the Spiritual Root from your Uncle Fang's son to you, and that's how you managed to live."

"Uncle Fang..." Bai Xi paused: "Doesn't he only have a daughter?"

"Having given you his Spiritual Root, that child will never be able to cultivate for the rest of his life. A child unable to cultivate would suffer much in a great clan. Uncle Fang didn't want him to live under the cold words of others, so he sent him away to live as an ordinary child. To this day, the world is unaware that Uncle Fang actually has a son," the mother said, sighing uncontrollably as she spoke.

"..."

Suddenly, Bai Xi's previous anger dissipated. Biting her lip, she lay on the sofa, her willow-like eyebrows tightly furrowed.

The mother continued, "You only know yourself as naturally possessing dual Spiritual Roots, hailed as a once-in-two-hundred-years prodigy, yet you have no idea that one of those roots came from another boy who exchanged it for a lifetime of being unable to cultivate."

"But how can a Spiritual Root be removed from someone's body and transplanted into mine..." Bai Xi said, frowning.

"Because at that time you were just a newborn, your body had just come into contact with this world, the five elements within you were not yet stable, and the master used life-shortening methods to transplant the child's Spiritual Root into you," the young beauty explained.

After listening to her mother, Bai Xi held the pillow silently, half of her face buried in it, only her beautiful eyes visible.

Her proud heart felt wounded.

She had thought herself genuinely the prodigious talent everyone said she was, the first to possess dual Spiritual Roots since the dawn of the Great Cultivation Era, yet all this had another explanation.

After a long time, the mother continued, "We had already arranged a betrothal for you two back then, so you are not allowed to be wilful in this matter."

"But... you have me marry an ordinary person; our differences are so great, how could we possibly be happy together?" Bai Xi said.

"Hold your tongue!" The young beauty suddenly became enraged, slapping her palm on the coffee table, "If it weren't for Fang Ren giving you his Spiritual Root, do you think you would be treated like a star by so many people?"

"I... where am I wrong? He saved my life, and I'm grateful for that, but why must I marry him?"

Bai Xi suddenly felt very aggrieved. No matter what mistakes she had made since childhood, everyone in the family had always explained things to her gently, never scolding loudly and banging on the table like her mother did.

"It was arranged when you were both young, and you are not allowed to go back on that promise. No matter how noble your status may be, you must submit to him! Unless he treats you poorly," the young beauty declared.

Suddenly, Bai Xi sat up from the sofa, threw the cushion she held, her eyes slightly red with tears: "Why are you scolding me? Is it wrong for me to want the freedom to marry? And I have to be beneath him... Why! Do you want me to become his slave?"

The young beauty, hearing her words, was so infuriated that her chest heaved violently. She had been pampered since childhood, and now she was suddenly regretting it.

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"Just because this life is given by him!" the beautiful young woman said angrily.

Hearing her mother's angry voice, tears began to well up in Bai Xi'er's eyes. She immediately put on her shoes and stood up, "I won't! I've said I'll repay his kindness in other ways! My marriage is not okay! I'm not going to marry him!"

"No, after one year you'll both graduate from university, and then I'll take you to meet him," the beautiful young woman said.

"Mom... how can you do this to me!"

After speaking, tears flowed down Bai Xi'er's face as she ran crying out of the room.

Seeing this, the beautiful young woman suddenly felt a pang of heartache. She frowned at the sight of her daughter's crying silhouette, sighed heavily, and then took a piece of paper from her bag and placed it on the coffee table.

It was clear that this piece of white paper contained someone's personal information.

...

After a long time, when Bai Xi'er returned to her place, she found her mother had left, and there was an additional piece of paper on the small coffee table.

She picked up the paper and looked at it for a while. The photo was of a boy with a delicate appearance, not instantly striking as handsome but rather the type that grows on you with time.

"Is this Uncle Fang's son?"

Bai Xi'er frowned and continued to read further. After a while, she took the piece of paper, ran into her room, and began packing her suitcase.

"Since you're forcing me, I'll go and annul the engagement myself!" she said to herself, a trace of resentment still in her heart.

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Today, Fang Ren still chose to run to school. He made it a habit to keep fit and would always choose to run back to the school whenever he stayed at home.

After all, a healthy body was the capital of revolution, and although he was not a revolutionary, he was a medical student, which made him even more inclined to take care of his health than the average person.

Today he arrived at his class earlier than usual. The events of last night had left him in high spirits, and he couldn't hide the happy smile on his face.

As the saying goes, good spirits come with good fortune, and upon entering the class, the entire place seemed unusually beautiful to him. All his classmates looked so pleasant, and even Master Huang, who threw chalk at him from the lectern every day, seemed endearing.

"What got into you, kid?" Jing Haichuan had just arrived in the classroom to organize medicinal materials brought for Fang Ren, only to lift his head and see the lad grinning like an idiot, his steps light and airy.

"Nothing, just in a good mood," Fang Ren casually found a seat and tried to suppress the smile on his face but he couldn't.

His mind was full of Mu Huanqing's adorable look when she was in his arms.

"Yeah right, look at you all smug. You definitely did something naughty last night," Jing Haichuan said as if he saw right through him, casually tossing a white plastic bag in his direction, "I've got most of the medicinal materials for you. Go figure it out yourself."

Fang Ren opened the plastic bag and glanced inside, noting that aside from the two types of herbs Li Xingwang was supposed to bring, the other items were all there.

"How much did it all cost?" Fang Ren asked.

"This much," Jing Haichuan gestured with his hand.

"Four hundred thousand?" Fang Ren grimaced, "That's going to be a bit difficult for me to pay back..."

"What do you mean 'a bit difficult'?" Jing Haichuan's face tightened as he covered it with his hand, "I never even expected you to pay it back."

Fang Ren felt moved hearing these words. Four hundred thousand might be just over half a year's pocket money for Jing Haichuan, but putting oneself in his position, who could easily part with such a sum for a friend?

"No worries, I have other ways," Fang Ren smiled and said.

"Enough already, I told you not to pay it back, why all the fuss," Jing Haichuan waved off the topic.

Four hundred thousand was nothing more than a matter of wheedling with his old man for Jing Haichuan, but for Fang Ren, it was an amount that could take several years to repay.

Seeing Jing's reaction, Fang Ren didn't say more, just put away the medicinal materials.

The four hundred thousand wasn't really a pressure, it's just that he didn't yet know any channels for selling elixirs, and he didn't dare use the "Qing'an" account to sell them, fearing that someone might trace back to his address and cause trouble.

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