Chapter 006: I'm Going to Escape the Marriage

Rising from level 15 straight to level 30 in one go, Song Ye gained a considerable number of attribute points. From level 15 to 20, each level awarded him three points, and from level 20 to 30, each level gave him four. Altogether, this leap netted Song Ye a total of fifty-five attribute points.

He allocated all fifty-five points into Vitality to further enhance his physical strength. After all, boosting Vitality not only increased the power of his skills but also made his body more resilient—a key factor in his survival in this world, and thus his top priority. Unable to leave the novice village or access the subsequent cultivation system, unable to refine true energy, he was stuck in this so-called body-tempering stage, left with no choice but to forge his physique to its utmost.

After assigning the points, his stats were:
Vitality: 138
Spirit: 10

Song Ye then took the bird, treating it as if it were an ordinary chicken, and stewed it into a pot of “chicken soup,” which he carried out to the courtyard.

Qin Xiyi was seated on a stone bench in the yard, a gentle smile on her face. She accepted the pot of soup from Song Ye and said with a laugh, “Thank you, my little husband!”

Her use of “little husband” now rolled off her tongue naturally, without the slightest sense of awkwardness. Had anyone else passed by at that moment, they might truly have believed the two were a newlywed couple, deeply in love.

But in truth, Song Ye had only just brought her home the day before, and the time they’d spent alone together barely amounted to an hour. A woman like her—Song Ye hadn’t met anyone quite like her, even in his more than twenty years in the modern world.

After a while, Zhao the Constable’s voice rang out from outside again; he had likely called for reinforcements from Cheng County. Song Ye hurried to the tea stall and saw that Zhao was now accompanied by three burly constables. With the four of them together, driving off a wolf king should prove no great challenge.

Zhao Zhigao asked Song Ye, “Did the big wolf come into the village? Did it hurt anyone?”

Song Ye replied, “It ran off.”

The constable let out a visible sigh of relief. “Good, as long as it’s gone!”

Clearly, Zhao had deep affection for Qiuyu Village.

But suddenly, his eyes widened, staring fixedly at something behind Song Ye.

Song Ye followed his gaze and saw Qin Xiyi stepping out of the small courtyard. She had changed out of the coarse linen clothes Aunt Sun had given her and was now wearing the black dress called the “Xuan Yuan Nine Nether Robe.” With the return of this black gown, it was clear that after finishing the soup Song Ye had made, her cultivation had nearly recovered.

“Whose daughter is that?” Zhao murmured, stunned. Even in Cheng County, he had never seen such a beautiful woman. Qin Xiyi’s arrival was like that of a celestial maiden descending to earth, standing just a few steps away—yet she radiated an untouchable, awe-inspiring presence.

“She’s a refugee from Dan City, arrived in Qiuyu Village only yesterday,” Song Ye explained.

Zhao nodded. “Dan City sits near the border of Li Kingdom—there’s always trouble there.”

Saying this, Zhao’s expression grew worried. If Dan City fell and Yan’s army marched in, Cheng County too would be in danger. Then the people of Cheng County and even Qiuyu Village might also be forced to flee as refugees.

“My little husband, your soup was delicious. Thank you!” Qin Xiyi smiled radiantly at Song Ye.

Zhao was stunned all over again. This goddess-like beauty actually called the lad “little husband”?

Reading the confusion and even astonishment in Zhao’s eyes, Song Ye explained, “She’s more or less my fiancée. The village chief arranged the betrothal for us just last night.”

Hearing this, Zhao was inwardly disgruntled. “That chief’s not being fair. I, Old Zhao, have done so much for Qiuyu Village and am still a bachelor, yet he gives such a beauty to this brat. What luck!”

“My little husband, it seems our wedding will have to be postponed,” Qin Xiyi suddenly said to Song Ye. “I have urgent business far away, and I don’t know when I’ll return.”

With those words, Song Ye knew she’d intended to flee the marriage from the very start. She spoke of leaving for distant places, with no certain return—that was just a polite way of saying she’d never come back.

Song Ye replied in a calm tone, “Go without worry—I’ll be here waiting for you.”

After all, he was trapped in this village and truly couldn’t go anywhere else. If Qin Xiyi ever did return, no matter how many years hence, as long as he hadn’t been removed from this game world, he’d still be here in Qiuyu Village.

Not that he truly intended to wait for her; it was simply that he couldn’t leave the novice village.

But hearing his reply, Qin Xiyi was momentarily taken aback, thinking to herself:

“He says he’ll wait for me? Wasn’t my meaning obvious enough—that I’m running away from this marriage? Can this young man really not understand the implication?”

So she leaned close to Song Ye, whispering by his ear, “Silly child, don’t wait for me. I’m not right for you. If you meet a girl you like in the future, marry her and live a good life.”

Her words were plain: a woman like her was not someone he could hope to hold onto—he should marry a more ordinary girl. She was afraid he’d waste his youth waiting for her, so she made her meaning even clearer.

“Of course, since I’ve called you ‘little husband’ several times, I won’t take advantage of you for nothing,” Qin Xiyi added. “Before I go, if there’s anything you want, just say the word.”

She assumed that a man like Song Ye would desire little more than gold and silver, which would be easy enough to satisfy.

Song Ye said, “Do you have any more beasts like that golden-feathered bird from before?”

Qin Xiyi was puzzled. “The flesh of these demonic beasts doesn’t benefit mortals like you. Why do you want them?”

Song Ye smiled. “I just want to taste them.”

As she’d said, for someone like Song Ye who couldn’t cultivate, even high-level beast meat was little more nourishing than chicken or duck. But what Song Ye truly wanted wasn’t their flesh, but the experience points gained from delivering the final blow.

Since Qin Xiyi was leaving with no telling when—or if—she’d return, and since she herself had offered a “parting gift,” Song Ye saw no reason to hold back.

“If you want them, I do have a few,” Qin Xiyi said, reaching into thin air and producing a one-horned chicken and a butterfly-winged rabbit. As she handed them over, she kindly warned, “The wings of this butterfly rabbit are poisonous. Be sure to remove them first.”

Song Ye nodded. “Will do.”

“Well then, I’ll take my leave, little husband,” Qin Xiyi said, turning away.

She could have vanished in an instant with a movement technique, but she didn’t. Instead, she walked away one step at a time, gradually fading from Song Ye’s view.