A month later…
Li Ling was seated on a rather comfortable sofa with his head tilted backward, receiving a massage from Bai Ruyi while Li Lingyi crawled about on the floor with a curious look on her face.
Even though she was only about two months old, her developnt was far faster than a mortal child due to her exemplary talents and the quality of food Bai Ruyi fed her, which was full of spiritual energy that nourished her.
Soon, a knock on the door was heard, and Shen Ziyan walked in with a stately poise, her eyes flicking to the playful Lingyi before focusing on Li Ling once more.
"It's done," Shen Ziyan stated in a cold tone, her voice deliberately kept neutral.
Li Ling finally opened his eyes, which had been closed in enjoynt due to Bai Ruyi's skillful hands. He then glanced at Shen Ziyan, who stood a few ters away from him, her lips pursed and her eyes holding a slight shine of discontent.
"Darling Ziyan, are you angry with ? Is it because I made you step down as matriarch of that useless Shen clan and formally detach yourself from them?" Li Ling asked in a sickeningly sweet tone, making Bai Ruyi, who was behind him, giggle.
Shen Ziyan's lips thinned and she lowered her head, her fists clenched behind her back.
"…No."
Li Ling tutted while shaking his head slowly. "Oh? But my goal was to disgust you, darling wife. So then if it didn't bother you, should I make you go and kill everyone in your clan one by one?"
Shen Ziyan's breath caught and she slowly raised her head, looking at Li Ling with two parts fear and eight parts disbelief.
Bai Ruyi saw this and chuckled. "Don't doubt him. He has done far worse and is capable of even more atrocities than just that. You'd best speak honestly and adhere to his four rules, and you will have peace."
Shen Ziyan's eyes shifted to Bai Ruyi and showed an expression of open disgust. "Do not speak to , you lowly whore."
Li Ling laughed out loud while Bai Ruyi maintained a polite smile, but her lips twitched and her gaze beca sowhat cold. Li Lingyi, who had been crawling about, suddenly paused and started laughing too, clapping her hands while gazing at her father.
Li Ling used his Dharma Sense, which was as strong as telekinesis, to pull his daughter over through the air and into his arms, holding her up with a smile on his face.
Lingyi was imdiately overjoyed and laughed while thrashing her limbs, reaching out for Li Ling. The young man then chuckled and brought his daughter into his embrace, stroking her little head gently, which ford such a warm and lovely scene that most hearts would lt.
Bai Ruyi enjoyed this sight deeply, because the better Li Ling treated Lingyi, the better it was for her. She turned to glance at Shen Ziyan with a hint of malicious triumph in the way that won did when they were competing with each other.
Shen Ziyan's nostrils flared slightly at that, her fists clenching once more due to the scene before her.
"Ruyi, don't be so arrogant yet. Now that Ziyan has accomplished the task I set for her, she is officially one of us, which ans that it's ti for her to also bear my child," Li Ling said with a smile that wasn't a smile, not turning back to look at Bai Ruyi.
However, rather than be pissed, Bai Ruyi simply shrugged. "It is to be expected. What other value do we have to you other than to bear your children? I'm even surprised Little Ziyan's womb has been left dry for so long!"
Li Ling nodded in agreent, but Shen Ziyan's expression showed that she did not agree. Unlike Bai Ruyi, who was tagging along because of a prophecy that said that Li Ling was her ticket to immortality, Shen Ziyan was only here because she had no other choice.
She was like a person who was floating on a raft above a sea of filth and feces that had found the only small pool of water enclosed from the filth, having to attach herself to the pool for sustenance.
Shen Ziyan was initially raised from a young age to put her clan and its interests first, even above her own, and had held onto this belief for years until she t Li Ling in that ring versus Shen Taixu. After getting a 'whiff' of him, she had already been changed forever, like a person who drank dirty water their whole life finally having a sip of clean water.
She couldn't go back, and because of that, her personal interest overrode her indoctrinated clan interest, detaching herself from her clan when Li Ling gave her an ultimatum a month ago to do so or be forever kicked from his clan, unable to access him.
It hadn't taken a month to go through the procedure, but for her to agonize over the choice and battle within herself before she finally caved in to her desires and did the unthinkable.
Li Ling held Lingyi up and glanced at Shen Ziyan playfully. "You want one?"
For that matter, Shen Ziyan glanced at Lingyi for a second or two, then back to Li Ling. "Not really."
Imdiately, Li Ling's smile disappeared as his expression beca distant and cold. "Oh, then you can leave. Ruyi has already prepared a room for you in the manor, so she can show you to your quarters. Also, don't disturb without first seeking permission from Ruyi. I will be busy henceforth."
Saying this, he no longer bothered to look at her, rather playing with his first daughter.
Shen Ziyan's face changed as she realized that this was basically an exile within the clan!
Gazing over at Bai Ruyi, it was obvious that the Joy Sect Saintess was giving Shen Ziyan a mocking smile, easily letting her know that she, Bai Ruyi, would rather die than give her a single chance to get close to Li Ling if she had control over it!
Imdiately, Shen Ziyan pursed her lips, closed her eyes, and sucked in a deep breath.
She got on her knees and prostrated herself on the ground in a kowtow position, speaking with a voice as obsequious as she could manage.
"I am sorry for my earlier words, Husband. In fact, I do crave a child from you, and it will be a blessing to receive your yang essence. Please allow to bear your child!" she pleaded as sincerely as she could manage.
There was a spell of silence, in which Shen Ziyan could hear her own heartbeat continually thumping in her chest, a feeling of anxiety and nervousness surging through her. After the sacrifice she had already made, she couldn't fail at the last stretch and lose access to what she wanted!
"Oh. There's no need to go so far, darling Ziyan, you know I was joking. In fact, you can co and see any ti you want, my darling wife!" Li Ling's voice rang out the next mont, full of softness and amiability.
Shen Ziyan breathed a sigh of relief, raising her head, only to be t with a sight that made her freeze.
Li Ling and Bai Ruyi were looking at her like she was a clown, then the duo burst into uproarious laughter full of mockery, their laughter so loud that it infected the baby in Li Ling's arm, who joined along.
In that mont, the world seed to close out as Shen Ziyan could only see the faces of Li Ling and Bai Ruyi, both laughing with all their strength, and her mind couldn't even function properly.
"Is that what you thought I would say to that useless apology? Who the hell do you think you are, Shen Ziyan?" Li Ling asked as he slowly curbed his laughter, his eyes looking down on Shen Ziyan the way a cultivator looked down on a mortal.
Shen Ziyan still stood there frozen, unable to understand what was happening, so Li Ling decided to enlighten her.
"You seem to not understand your place in this world and especially in this relationship. You barged into my chamber, asking to be my wife, and I agreed on a whim. I never intended to marry you, never intended to love you, and never even gave you a second look after we first t."
"Had you not made that crazy choice to ask to be my wife and had I not been in a mood to break clichés that day, you would not even have the chance to stand before now. Yet, instead of understanding your place, you actually dare to co and stand before with pride in your chest?"
Li Ling shook his head, as if sorry that she was so clueless. "You have a long way to go if you think that you can do what you want in this clan. From the mont you pledged yourself to , you have no rights, no say, and no guarantees. You live by my whim, eat by my whim, and die by my whim."
Li Ling looked away callously. "If you can't even do that, then you can fuck right off back where you ca from. There are an uncountable number of won in the sect and across the continent who would give anything to be in your position right now."
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