"Dad! What are you saying?" In the main tent, Shentu Yu had only just sat down when she immediately jumped to her feet, looking at her father in disbelief. She never imagined that her father would suddenly call her over to have her use a marriage alliance to persuade Jiang Xuan to marry into the Shentu tribe!

"Xiao Yu, you know the situation with the Molten Crystal Mine," Shentu Lie said seriously, looking at his daughter. "In ten days at most, the Molten Crystal Mine will be exposed. The best way to resolve this matter is to get Jiang Xuan to give up fighting. He is the last male member of the Jiang tribe. Without him, we can directly complete the annexation of the Jiang tribe."

"Dad! He killed Fifth Uncle! Are we just going to let Fifth Uncle’s death go unavenged?" Shentu Yu exclaimed, her emotions rising.

"Compared to matters like advancing to noble status, what does the life and death of a tribe member mean?" Shentu Lie stared at his daughter. "Ah Yong’s death pains me more than it does you, as his older brother, but tribal conflicts have always been like this. For thousands of years, the tribes of Heitan Mountain, which one hasn't had blood feuds with the others?"

"So, are you going to sacrifice me?" Shentu Yu said angrily, "Dad, you promised me that you wouldn’t arrange a marriage for me. At least wait until I turn sixteen and have had a chance to explore the world before I choose my own path!"

"What do you mean, ‘sacrifice you’? You know Jiang Xuan, don’t you?" Shentu Lie said quickly, "Before Jiang Hanfeng disappeared, I was both an enemy and a friend to him. We used to fight and spar every year. You and Jiang Xuan met when you were young. If you really want to talk about it, you two were childhood sweethearts."

"We only met four times!" Shentu Yu gritted her teeth. "And... "

"And what?" Shentu Lie pressed.

"Do you think he’s worthy of me?" Shentu Yu raised her chin, a proud look in her eyes. "Even if he’s had some fortunate encounters, hiding his true strength, and now he's a half-step innate, so what? Dad, do you think he’s worthy to marry me?"

"He’s not worthy," Shentu Lie’s face darkened. "But if the bride price is a Molten Crystal Mine, then he’s worthy!"

"Dad!" Shentu Yu’s impatience flared.

Since she was young, she had always thought of herself as different—exceptionally intelligent, well-read, and extraordinarily talented. During the three life-and-death battles, she had served as the strategist for the tribe, despite being only fifteen. Many in the tribe even considered her to be a "reincarnated person," believing her intelligence was beyond normal human bounds.

Yet even with all her talents, she couldn’t escape the fate of being a pawn to strengthen the tribe.

"Daughter, you’re being foolish!" Seeing his daughter truly upset, Shentu Lie could only try to explain from another angle. "Go and talk to Jiang Xuan, persuade him to marry into the Shentu tribe. You can promise him whatever you want. After he agrees and becomes your husband, then he’ll be at your mercy. You can do whatever you want with him! Even if you chain him up and make him crawl on the floor like a dog, he won’t be able to resist! Why don’t you understand?"

The tent fell quiet for a moment.

"Dad, I understand," Shentu Yu said, a look of determination flashing in her eyes.

After visiting several elderly women in charge of the tribe's affairs, Jiang Xuan decided to return home for a visit. Although he knew that his mother and sister had gone to his maternal grandfather’s house, and even if his mother returned alone after settling his sister, it would take a while, he still wanted to stop by home before going back to seclusion in the back mountain.

But to his surprise, there was someone at home.

And a table full of food had been prepared.

"Qinghong Jie, did you make all of this?" Jiang Xuan asked, scratching the back of his head, staring at the beautiful and radiant Jiang Qinghong in the candlelight.

"Eat quickly, or the food will get cold." Jiang Qinghong handed him a pair of chopsticks. "Your master wife told me before she left to look after you. Caidi told me you’d finished your seclusion, and I even went to Grandma Jinlan’s house, but I didn’t go in. I knew... after talking with them, you’d want to come home for a look, and you came back just in time."

Jiang Hanfeng, as the strongest member of the Jiang tribe, had taught many of the tribe’s members. Though he had never formally taken any disciples, many younger members of the tribe still referred to Jiang Hanfeng as their master and Wei Baiyun as their master wife.

"Qinghong Jie, your cooking is really good," Jiang Xuan said as he ate.

"Eat more if you like it." Jiang Qinghong tore off a piece of beast leg and placed it on Jiang Xuan’s plate.

The atmosphere during the meal was strange.

Jiang Xuan had secretly admired Jiang Qinghong for many years. He knew she was aware of his feelings, but it didn’t matter much to her because Jiang Qinghong’s beauty was renowned. In a tribe famous for producing beautiful women like the Jiang tribe, her beauty was in a class of its own. She was so well-known that there were many men from other tribes, even from stronger tribes like the Huyan tribe, who secretly admired her. Four years ago, the young master of the Huyan tribe had even come to the Jiang tribe to propose marriage, offering five mountain peaks and five tribes as the bride price, but he had been rejected.

Jiang Qinghong had become accustomed to being admired from afar.

She didn’t harbor any special feelings because of it.

But today, Jiang Xuan felt that something was off. Jiang Qinghong, the familiar Qinghong Jie, was acting strangely. Sometimes, she even seemed unwilling to meet his gaze, instinctively turning her eyes away. Occasionally, she appeared distracted, with a trace of subtle shyness in her eyes, and he couldn’t tell what she was thinking.

Jiang Xuan knew that Jiang Qinghong had always seen him as a younger brother.

Could it be that because he had saved the tribe that day, turned the tide of the battle, and even become the tribe leader, she now saw him in a different light?

"No, no, something’s off!" Jiang Xuan immediately dismissed this thought. He knew Jiang Qinghong’s character, and if she truly thought of him differently or had feelings for him, she wouldn’t be so shy about it.

"Qinghong Jie, what’s going on with you?" Jiang Xuan pushed his food aside and glanced at her.

"It’s nothing." Jiang Qinghong glanced at Jiang Xuan and smiled gently before adding more vegetables to his plate.

"You’re not acting right." Jiang Xuan squinted his eyes, suddenly having a flash of insight. "Did my mother say something before she left?"

Jiang Qinghong froze for a moment before pulling her chopsticks back.

She didn’t deny it.

"It’s true!" Jiang Xuan praised himself for his cleverness and quickly asked, "What did my mother say?"

"Do you really want to know?" Jiang Qinghong gave Jiang Xuan a strange look, a half-smile on her lips.

"Of course!" Jiang Xuan nodded firmly.

"Aren’t you afraid you won’t be able to sleep after hearing it?" Jiang Qinghong added.

Jiang Xuan didn’t know why she said that, but he really wanted to know, so he replied immediately, "I’m not afraid!" He then pretended to look calm, casually shoveling a couple of bites of food.

"Your mother told me to consummate the marriage with you," Jiang Qinghong said, looking at Jiang Xuan.

"Pfft! Cough, cough!" Jiang Xuan spit out a mouthful of food, luckily turning his head quickly, but he still coughed several times.

"Look at you." Jiang Qinghong stood up and walked over to pat him on the back.