Chapter 1139: The Sun Family's Contingency
Li Fan lay on the bed, eyes closed, giving no indication that he had heard Wu Ninglu at all.
With a flicker in her eyes, Wu Ninglu began to shed her robes, intending to join him.
Yet, just as she drew near, a bone-deep chill washed over her, forcing an involuntary shiver and a reflexive step back.
Looking down, Wu Ninglu was horrified to discover that in that brief moment, a thin layer of frost had crystallized on her skin.
Had she not recoiled instinctively, Wu Ninglu had no doubt her own husband would have frozen her solid.
A mixture of delight and fury churned inside her.
A thousand words were on the tip of her tongue, but Li Fan's voice, calm and distant, cut through her thoughts. "I've just had a breakthrough," he remarked coolly. "I can't perfectly control my power yet. For your own safety, it's best not to approach me."
Her advances rejected, Wu Ninglu found her anger had evaporated.
Joy lit up her features, and she nodded eagerly. "Alright, alright. I never imagined... after being gone for half a year, you'd come back with such a monumental surprise, my dear Sun Ang! This is huge news. The entire clan must be told!"
She whirled around to face Li Fan.
Li Fan's eyes remained shut as he spoke, his words seemingly unrelated to the matter at hand.
"Have the three family elders decided who will take up the post at the Garrison Court?"
Wu Ninglu froze for a second before the implication of his question dawned on her.
"The clan head is too busy, of course. Your first uncle and third uncle spent ages trying to push the duty onto each other. I heard that not long ago, your first uncle finally gave in..."
As she said this, Wu Ninglu instinctively drew back her foot.
"Our branch of the family isn't held in high regard," Li Fan continued, his voice low. "If news of my breakthrough spreads, I'll be the one they send to the Garrison Court. A minimum of three hundred years of service, unable to leave..."
He scoffed.
"Had I not been injured during the process, leaving my cultivation unstable and vulnerable to outsiders looking to steal my gains, I would never have returned so recklessly."
Li Fan let out a soft sigh.
"While taking the post at the Garrison Court comes with material compensation from both the clan and the Alliance, such things are of little use to me now. And three hundred years... it's far too long."
Suddenly, Li Fan's eyes snapped open, pinning Wu Ninglu with his gaze.
"That is why you will not speak of my breakthrough to anyone. For now."
Meeting his intense gaze, Wu Ninglu trembled and nodded without thinking.
Li Fan closed his eyes once more, resuming his meditation.
Silence descended upon the room once more.
The faint, ever-present field of ice forced Wu Ninglu to circulate her spiritual energy at full strength just to keep from freezing.
Huddled in a corner, Wu Ninglu was a storm of conflicting emotions—aggrieved, yet deeply envious.
"So this is the power of the Dao Integration realm?" she thought. "I never imagined he would be the one to achieve it. I always assumed Sun Weizhou would be the first of their generation to break through."
As Wu Ninglu watched her husband meditate and recover, a thousand thoughts raced through her mind.
The turbulent aura around him eventually subsided, but still he remained silent, deep in meditation.
Frustrated and sulking, Wu Ninglu finally slipped out of the room.
...
"If I'm not mistaken," Li Fan mused internally, "it won't be long before that foolish woman leaks the news of her husband becoming a Dao Integration master."
"All for the paltry benefits promised by Sun Luchang."
"Then again, I can't call her entirely foolish. A benefit in hand is worth more than one in the bush. As long as Sun Ang is a Dao Integration master, she'll be treated with respect as his wife, no matter where he is." Li Fan's gaze was distant, as if piercing through the veil of time itself.
And just as Li Fan had foreseen...
Half a month later, after witnessing firsthand the generous terms the two uncles offered each other to avoid the Garrison Court post, Wu Ninglu found herself tempted.
After all, she and Sun Ang had never lived particularly well.
They had no voice in family decisions, and any good fortune that came along was always passed to others first.
However, remembering Li Fan's warning, she held her tongue.
But her uncharacteristic expression didn't escape the notice of the Sun family's Dao Integration elders.
That, combined with the faint ripple of power Li Fan had deliberately let slip upon his return...
...had planted a seed of suspicion in their minds.
After a round of questioning, Wu Ninglu, with feigned reluctance, finally revealed the truth.
Sun Luchang was ecstatic. He immediately grabbed his two brothers and went to see them.
Li Fan feigned a look of helpless fury, glaring at Wu Ninglu.
But the three elders were quick to defend her.
They then took turns persuading Li Fan, appealing to both his emotions and his sense of reason.
In the end, for the greater good of the clan, he had no choice but to agree to take the post at the Garrison Court.
"Don't you worry, Lu'er," Sun Luchang assured him. "While you're away, we will take excellent care of Ninglu. She won't suffer the slightest injustice."
Lu'er was Sun Ang's childhood name.
Normally, it would be inappropriate for an elder to address a fellow Dao Integration master so familiarly, but Sun Luchang did so deliberately—a reminder to "Sun Ang" that he was still, first and foremost, a member of the Sun clan.
To ensure Sun Ang would pass the Alliance's vetting process, the three elders joined forces to test his combat prowess.
Li Fan remained largely on the defensive, only occasionally unleashing a low-powered technique or two.
After several hundred exchanges, he began to show deliberate signs of fatigue.
"The Spirit of Heaven and Earth you absorbed is truly remarkable, Lu'er," one elder commented. "Though it lacks offensive power, its freezing domain can neutralize most attacks."
The three Sun family elders were quite satisfied with Li Fan's performance.
For a newly ascended Dao Integration master, his strength was more than sufficient to satisfy the Alliance.
Before his departure for the Myriad Immortals Alliance Headquarters, Li Fan quietly called Wu Ninglu to his side.
"I know you've been avoiding me. You're afraid I'm angry with you, aren't you?"
"Why would you think that?"
"Truthfully, I knew my breakthrough couldn't stay a secret for long, even if you had said nothing. Some things are simply inevitable."
"Besides, we are husband and wife. What are three hundred years of hardship if it means securing some benefits for you?"
Wu Ninglu was taken aback by his words, momentarily stunned into silence.
She was even a little touched.
"You must be careful while I am away."
"Those old men in the family make grand promises, but who knows what they'll actually do."
"During my travels, I befriended someone. He was a great help in my breakthrough."
As he spoke, Li Fan handed her a communication jade.
"If you run into any trouble you can't handle, contact him."
"He should be willing to help you."
"But be warned—he is also a Dao Integration master, and his temperament is... peculiar. Do not seek his help unless you have no other choice."
"Remember this."
—
(This chapter is complete)
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