Chapter 38: Changes in the World
\n\u201cI won\u2019t go!\u201d
\nZhi Hua remembered that night in the painting world. Her life had shifted\u2014how could she spend it tending to a husband and children?
\n\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with Master Zhu? He\u2019s been admired in the village since childhood, earned scholarly honors at twelve, topped last year\u2019s exams. He\u2019s destined for greatness. Marry him, and you\u2019ll live in comfort forever!\u201d Madam Zhi snapped, yanking her daughter toward the front hall without letting her freshen up.
\nZhi Hua held back her refusal, not wanting to upset her mother. She\u2019d meet the Zhu family now and reject them plainly later.
\nMarriage wasn\u2019t an option.
\nShe\u2019d gained her immortal chance, touched a hidden world. Once her cultivation bore fruit, her parents would gape. When she ascended, she\u2019d even return to startle Uncle Xue\u2014that lazy fish would beg to learn painting from her.
\nAll this flashed through her mind as her mother hauled her into the hall.
\n\u201cHua\u2019er, greet your Uncle Zhu.\u201d
\nMr. Zhi hurriedly gestured when his daughter entered.
\n\u201cThis is Master Zhu, your future husband.\u201d
\nBeside Master Zhu stood a blue-robed youth. His polite air masked towering arrogance. At Mr. Zhi\u2019s words, he gave a curt nod and cut in with a bow:
\n\u201cYou overpraise me, Uncle. I\u2019ve heard Miss Zhi learned commerce young, mingling in vulgar trades. She\u2019s unfit to be Zhu Rulong\u2019s wife. But since you ask, we\u2019ll humor you. Not as main wife\u2014a concubine. No ceremony needed. Our family\u2019s reputation matters.\u201d
\n\u201cA concubine?!\u201d
\nMr. Zhi had strained to find his only daughter a good match\u2014first seeking a live-in groom, then fearing mediocrity. This Zhu proposal was supposed to be perfect. Yet they dared treat his treasure as a mere side-wife?
\n\u201cIs this your stance?\u201d Mr. Zhi glared at Master Zhu.
\n\u201cMy son speaks for our house.\u201d Master Zhu stroked his beard, mockery glinting.
\nRidiculous! A toad lusting after swan flesh.
\nCouldn\u2019t they see? A merchant\u2019s brat, hawking wares since girlhood\u2014useless for marriage!
\n\u201cFine! The Zhu ambition impresses me. We common folk overreach.\u201d
\n\u201cNot entirely. Given Miss Zhi\u2019s looks, if she pleases me after I become scholar-official, I might elevate her to secondary wife. No shame in that.\u201d Zhu Rulong shrugged, certain the Zhis sought to ride his coattails.
\n\u201cOut!\u201d
\nMr. Zhi waved dismissively.
\n\u201cWe\u2019ll take our leave.\u201d
\n\u201cBrother Zhi, miss this chance, and next year\u2019s exams won\u2019t spare even concubine slots. Don\u2019t say we never offered.\u201d The Zhus swaggered out, Zhu Rulong adding over his shoulder:
\n\u201cMerchant stock. Never presentable.\u201d
\nHis glance swept Mr. Zhi and the silent mother-daughter pair.
\n\u201cWait!\u201d
\nZhi Hua shook free and stepped forward.
\n\u201cWhat now, Miss Zh\u2014?\u201d
\nThe slap came too fast. Zhu Rulong flinched\u2014
\n*Crack!*
\nA slap sent Zhu Rulong flying, tumbling across the ground several times.
\n“Babbling about lowly trades and social climbing – look at your own wretched self first!” Zhi Hua trembled with rage, Zuo Meng’s words suddenly flashing through her mind.
\n‘Don’t marry if you dislike it.’
\nMaster Zhu stood dumbfounded nearby, staring at his precious son rolling in the dirt. What had just happened?
\n“Disgraceful! Disgraceful!!”
\nThe young master finally regained his senses, clutching his swollen face. A loose tooth fell from his mouth as he shrieked: “My tooth!! Guards! Kill this bitch and her entire family!”
\nA figure burst through the doorway – Zhu Rulong’s personal guard. His clawed hand shot toward Old Zhi’s throat. This guard owed his position to his young master’s powerful patron.
\n“Don’t touch my father!”
\nGray mist enveloped Zhi Hua’s arms as the totem’s power surged through her. She intercepted the attack, grabbing the guard’s wrist. Panic fueled her strength as she hurled the man away.
\n“Is this immortal power? Incredible!” Zhi Hua marveled at her first victory, heart pounding with exhilaration.
\nOn the stone-paved street, Zuo Meng massaged his temples. Since reaching Foundation Establishment, his enhanced perception let him monitor everything through the enlightened small puppy. What Zhi Hua saw as a desperate struggle, he viewed as amateurish brawling.
\n“Both guard and girl bear the totem’s legacy.”
\nZuo Meng understood the golden shadow’s two-phase plan: first elevating top warriors like Jie Ming to Foundation Establishment Immortal Cultivators, then seeding power through ordinary people. From mighty cultivators to commoners like Zhi Hua, all were pieces in this cosmic game.
\n“Pathetic.”
\nZuo Meng lost interest as the intimidated guard retreated with his masters. With Zhi Hua safe, he turned his attention elsewhere.
\nThat evening, the small puppy returned with two companions – a spotted and a gray pup. Bored, Zuo Meng enlightened both, naming them Xiao Di and Xiao Yue.
\nXiao Tian. Xiao Di. Xiao Yue.
\nGrandiose names for three ordinary dirt dogs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Chapter 38: Changes in the World \u201cI won\u2019t go!\u201d Zhi Hua remembered that night in the painting world. Her life had shifted\u2014how could she spend it tending to a husband and children? \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with Master Zhu? He\u2019s been admired in the village since childhood, earned scholarly honors at twelve, topped last year\u2019s exams. He\u2019s destined for greatness. Marry him, and you\u2019ll live in\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[3],"tags":[],"fcn_genre":[],"fcn_fandom":[],"fcn_character":[],"fcn_content_warning":[],"class_list":["post-1417","fcn_chapter","type-fcn_chapter","status-publish","hentry","category-dreaming-to-become-a-creator"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_chapter\/1417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_chapter"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/fcn_chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_chapter\/1417\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1417"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_genre","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_genre?post=1417"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_fandom","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_fandom?post=1417"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_character","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_character?post=1417"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_content_warning","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_content_warning?post=1417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}