Martial Saint with Passives

"No!" Tang Qiaoqiao’s head snapped up, her eyes shimmering with tears. "There has to be another way! We can... we can get my mother to approve our marriage! Then... then we wouldn’t need to..." She was too embarrassed to finish.

Xie Xingwen shook his head with a bitter smile. "Don’t you think I want to formally ask your mother for your hand? But... your mother... she doesn’t like me! You know it was already hard enough to get her to tacitly approve of us meeting. Proposing marriage... it’s a pipe dream!"

Tang Qiaoqiao fell silent.

She knew in her heart that her mother’s prejudice against Xie Xingwen ran deep. Getting her to agree to the marriage was next to impossible.

Xie Xingwen’s eyes dimmed, his tone resolute. "Let’s just leave it at that, Qiaoqiao. Forget me... It’s better for everyone."

Seeing his pained expression, a great surge of courage and compassion washed over Tang Qiaoqiao.

As if throwing all caution to the wind, her voice was barely a whisper, almost lost in her chest. "Brother Xingwen... do... do you really love me?"

"I do!" Xie Xingwen answered instantly, his voice firm, his eyes "full of deep emotion."

"I love you more than anything! My dreams are filled with you! But it’s precisely because I love you that I can’t let you be harmed..."

"Then... then why don’t we..." Tang Qiaoqiao’s voice trembled, infused with desperate courage. "We could... you know... force the issue... That way, when my mother finds out... she... she’d have no choice but to consent..."

After saying this, she felt as if all her strength had been drained from her, so ashamed she wished the ground would swallow her whole.

A fleeting glint of triumph flashed in Xie Xingwen’s eyes.

He sneered inwardly. His pre-planned act of "true love" and "having no other choice" had worked perfectly, saving him the trouble of having to use force.

In truth, he had no interest in Tang Qiaoqiao herself.

His goal—or rather, his father Xie Songnian’s goal—

was the resources and influence held by Ye Lianzhen, the head of the Yanluo Courtyard!

Sect Leader Xu Zhouzi was growing old and had hinted at his intention to step down.

His father, Xie Songnian, had begun to covet the Sect Leader’s position and urgently needed to rally the support of more Courtyard heads.

And Ye Lianzhen was a key swing figure among them.

However, she was unswayable and refused to take a side.

Thus, the only option was to go through her daughter.

Although Ye Lianzhen disapproved of her daughter seeing Xie Xingwen,

once the deed was done, no matter how unwilling she was, she would have to swallow her pride for the sake of her daughter’s reputation and future, accept the marriage, and be tied to their cause!

"Can... can we really?" Xie Xingwen’s voice trembled with "excitement."

He gripped Tang Qiaoqiao’s hand tightly. "Qiaoqiao, don’t worry! I, Xie Xingwen, swear to the heavens that I will never fail you! After this, I’ll immediately have my father come and formally ask for your hand!"

Tang Qiaoqiao nodded vigorously, gave a shy "mhm," and practically melted into Xie Xingwen’s arms.

...

From the shadows of some nearby bushes, Jiang Che watched, dumbfounded.

’This punk... Coming up with such a bullshit excuse just to fool a young girl! Excessive Yang Qi? The nerve of him!’

’What’s even more absurd is that the foolish girl actually believed him! No wonder the old saying goes that a woman in love has no sense. The ancients were right!’

Jiang Che really didn’t want to get involved in this mess.

But the thought of Ye Lianzhen’s request, and the Withered Soul Grass he needed to get, made him suppress his disgust.

’Screw it. I’ll just ruin their little plan for now.’

He sighed to himself and casually picked up a small stone from the ground.

With a flick of his wrist, the stone flew in a low arc, landing with a soft TAP in the grass a few paces away from the couple.

"Who’s there?!" Xie Xingwen barked, instantly on alert. His sharp gaze swept toward where the stone had landed as he protectively pulled Tang Qiaoqiao behind him.

The area was dead silent, with only the rustling of leaves in the wind.

Startled, Tang Qiaoqiao gripped Xie Xingwen’s arm tightly, her voice laced with fear:

"Brother Xingwen, wh-what was that?"

Xie Xingwen focused his Sensing for a moment but detected no other presence. He relaxed slightly and patted the back of Tang Qiaoqiao’s hand reassuringly.

"Don’t be afraid. It was probably just the mountain wind or a small animal knocking a stone loose. But it really isn’t safe here... How about we find a more secluded spot?"

He took the still-shaken Tang Qiaoqiao by the hand, ready to find another location to carry out his plan.

Jiang Che cursed under his breath, hesitating over whether to reveal himself and stop them or to keep following.

Suddenly, without warning, the hairs on the back of his neck shot straight up!

[Omen] activated!

Through the blurry image provided by Omen, Jiang Che saw a mysterious figure in black behind him, bringing a blade down on him!