Chapter 4: The Dark Line Turns Out to Be a Romance (1)
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After the bl**d Cloak Building’s assassins made a hasty exit, Trissa and the others, who had a kn*fe pressed to their throats but narrowly escaped d*ath, were left utterly in awe of Lin Nan, bowing down with all five limbs.
Especially when the Great King noticed the enemy’s attack and decisively took out their leader with an unstoppable force, leaving the enemy in utter chaos!
Then, using some ridiculously intricate swordplay, he chopped the would-be ambushers to pieces underfoot, making the remaining enemies freeze in fear and rethink their life choices.
It was clearly evident that even with hostages in hand, they had no means to threaten the wrath of the Great King.
Had it not been for the Great King’s joyous occasion today, these sneak attackers would have undoubtedly left in body bags rather than just, you know, walking away all intact. The Great King would have made sure they paid dearly for their reckless behavior!
Such a shame…
But they understood the Great King’s feelings; shedding bl**d on the wedding night was already ominous enough. If the bride started a massacre, it would be a tad inappropriate.
Having single-handedly slaughtered the two primary leaders of the bl**d Cloak Building was enough to showcase her supreme power. Even if she let them go, those guys would probably never dare to tread on this territory again.
Meanwhile, the fat guy and Morris, who had just realized the chief was attacked, wobbled and half-knelt before Lin Nan, awaiting punishment.
Lin Nan cast them a glance and shook her head.
“The more special the day, the more we need to strengthen security patrols. You two, as the great generals of this stronghold, disregarded safety measures—what should your punishment be?”
This did indeed tick her off. If it hadn’t been for the lucky moment when her level 2 Luck Value kicked in, she might have already been captured or turned into a dead body!
If these guys could just stick to the security patrols, even if the bl**d Cloak Building managed to sneak around the vicinity of the wedding chamber, they’d have warned her just in time and not trapped her like this.
Fatty and Morris finally snapped out of it, and faced with Lin Nan’s angry glare, they were too scared to utter a word.
“Trissa, you deal with them, will you? Make sure they remember they should never let their guard down. If they do, it will be the enemy’s golden opportunity.”
“As you wish, Great King.”
The reason Lin Nan was rushing away was that she had just received a system prompt.
[Your Luck Value is down to 10 points. If it drops below 0, your level 2 Luck will no longer be effective.]
Ah, so that’s how it is. The reason she managed to escape by the skin of her teeth earlier was because she had burned through her Luck Value.
But of course, the only way to gain this precious Luck Value was interaction with Shiyuan.
If she wanted to survive in this world, being without Luck Value was akin to walking a tightrope!
So aside from the system’s mandated perfect completion condition of “unifying the martial world” and the minimum requirement of “surviving for 60 days,” there was a hidden main quest that required Shiyuan to completely fall in love with her.
Previously, Good Shiyuan had already shown his attitude through actions.
However, Little Shiyuan and the yet-to-appear Evil Shiyuan and Diamond Shiyuan were still playing hard to get.
This only cast a shadow over her path to survival in this quest.
She had to seize the moment and start working on their affections… Wait, what?!
Why had she descended to the depths of trying to please men?!
Since when was she reduced to this degree of bending over backwards?
No… I refuse! Absolutely not!
…
Alright, fine, let’s just give it a shot.
Maybe it won’t be as shameful as I imagine?
After all, if there’s another assassination attempt and she had no Luck Value, it would be a one-way ticket to doom.
She even started doubting if she was actually the protagonist of this quest.
Why did it always seem like Shiyuan was the one basking in the benefits while she was stuck playing the love-struck sidekick…
Although she hadn’t exactly been a romance expert in either her past male form or in her current guise of Frost North Snow, it didn’t stop her from perusing all the lovely love-related content online.
Yet, putting those theories into practice? Not so easy.
“System, you’ve already put me in this predicament. Can you clarify the progress in winning over Shiyuan?”
[Given that your request is reasonable, the system has decided to provide some support information to help you through the levels faster.]
[Progress:
Little Shiyuan (according to your naming habits): -20%
Good Shiyuan: 80%
Evil Shiyuan: 0%
Diamond Shiyuan: 0%]
Lin Nan, “…”
Ha! Little Shiyuan is even on the chart, and let’s not even talk about that negative value.
So, this guy has been harboring a grudge against her ever since he was kidnapped to the stronghold!
While their relationship had improved a tad before the wedding night, Little Shiyuan was still on high alert, fearing she wouldn’t keep her promises and trap him in the stronghold even after marriage, never letting him leave.
Well… who would’ve thought that Little Shiyuan would end up being the hardest nut to crack among the four?
As for Evil Shiyuan and Diamond Shiyuan, based on their previous interactions, they seemed to be relatively simple-minded, so it shouldn’t be too hard… hopefully.
Good Shiyuan, on the other hand, had warmed up to her, hitting an 80% approval rating.
If she could nail down the right way to wake him up, her Luck Value wouldn’t be an issue! Too bad that guy had a knack for disappearing at the most critical moments; that alone proved just how unreliable Good Shiyuan was.
So she couldn’t put all her eggs in Good Shiyuan’s basket.
…
Regardless, she was now technically the wife of Little Shiyuan. Even though in this era, a marriage without parental approval was practically fake, having a title was definitely better than being empty-handed!
Returning to the wrecked wedding chamber, she found Little Shiyuan sprawled out on the bed in a starfish position, fast asleep, showing no signs of waking up.
A few drops of bl**d trickled down from the ceiling, creating an unglamorous situation on the floor below.
The long night wasn’t over yet; she had to swap rooms for now.
Maybe by morning, Little Shiyuan would have a slightly better attitude toward her.
“System, can I check the progress anytime?”
[This parameter has been embedded in your system panel; you can check it anytime.]
“Thanks.”
After a long day of exhaustion, Lin Nan flopped onto the bed, yawning non-stop. Once she tucked Little Shiyuan in, she shed her outer garments and leaned against the other side, drifting off to sleep.
A deep slumber ensued.
When she woke up the next morning, Lin Nan was a little dazed as she opened her eyes.
Her brain was spinning with the three questions of life as she jumped out of bed, looking left and right.
The only thing next to her was a messy blanket, and Little Shiyuan was nowhere to be found.
Where did that guy go?
Don’t tell me he escaped!
