When Lin Youming turned around, the first thing he felt was not pressure, but irritation.
Someone was walking toward them as if the ground itself had been laid out just for his feet.
The young man moved slowly, deliberately, every step unhurried and confident, his hands clasped behind his back like a visiting lord inspecting his own estate. His robes were bright and overly ornate, embroidered with silver thread that caught the light, the kind of clothing meant to be noticed from far away. His chin was slightly lifted, his gaze drifting lazily across the courtyard as if everything he saw already belonged to him and merely existed to entertain his eyes.
Behind him followed several figures, all dressed in neat servant attire, yet none of them carried the humility servants were supposed to have.
Their backs were straight, their eyes sharp, and their mouths curved into faint sneers. They walked in a loose formation around the young man, half a step behind him, like dogs confident their master would never be challenged.
The atmosphere changes with each step they take closer.
Lin Youming blinked once, then frowned.
Who the hell is this guy?
Before he could voice the thought, his eyes caught a familiar face among the servants. It was subtle at first, just a flash of recognition that made his gaze sharpen. The man avoided eye contact for a brief moment, then straightened as if gathering courage.
Lin Youming's heart sank slightly.
That face. He remembered it clearly.
One of the subordinates who had run away earlier.
The one who had scrambled back like a frightened rat the moment he crippled his middle dantian, leaving without even a glance back.
So that's how it is.
The pieces slid together in his mind almost instantly, neat and ugly. Information sold. Allegiances swapped. A crippled former master turned into a stepping stone for someone else's ambition.
Before Lin Youming could say anything, the former subordinate suddenly stepped forward, his voice loud and sharp, breaking the uneasy silence.
"Why are you still standing there?" the man shouted, pointing straight at Lin Youming. "Do you not recognize Young Master Lin Ao when you see him?"
The shout echoed through the courtyard.
Several other servants laughed under their breath, their eyes lighting up with malice.
"Kneel!" another voice barked. "You're still pretending you're someone important?"
The former subordinate puffed out his chest, emboldened by the presence behind him. "You've already crippled your own middle dantian. You're a dog now. No! worse than a dog, a useless thing. Young Master Lin Ao is kind enough to come see you in person, and you don't even know how to show respect?"
He sneered openly now, savoring every word.
"Hurry up and kowtow. Maybe if you lower your head properly, Young Master Lin Ao will be merciful and let you keep crawling around the Lin Family like a dog."
Lin Youming stared at him in silence.
Then his gaze shifted to the young man at the center.
So this is Lin Ao.
The name settled into his thoughts with a faint click. A distant cousin, if memory served. Someone who had always hovered just beneath the original Lin Youming, never quite reaching his height, never quite stepping into the spotlight.
Now he stood there smiling.
Lin Ao's smile was calm, satisfied, almost gentle.
He looked at Lin Youming the way one might look at a fallen statue, something once tall and admired, now cracked and broken, existing only to remind others of the passage of time.
"Well," Lin Ao said lightly, his tone casual, almost amused, "isn't this interesting?"
He took another step forward, stopping just short of what would be considered polite distance. "Last week, I had to look up at you. Every meeting, every gathering, I stood behind you. And now…"
He spread his hands slightly and laughed.
"Now you're beneath everyone."
The servants behind him burst into laughter, loud and exaggerated, their voices overlapping in mockery.
Lin Ao chuckled along with them, clearly enjoying himself. "The world works fast, doesn't it? One mistake. One foolish decision. And suddenly, everything you thought you had is gone."
The former subordinate laughed the loudest, nodding eagerly. He leaned toward Lin Ao and lowered his voice, whispering rapidly while glancing toward Shangguan WanWan.
His words spilled out in a rush, describing her beauty, her bearing, the way she stood calmly even after everything that had happened, the strange pressure she gave off that made him uneasy before but now twisted into envy and greed.
Lin Ao listened, his eyes slowly drifting toward Shangguan WanWan.
A smirk tugged at his lips.
"So that's your wife," Lin Ao said aloud, his gaze lingering without shame. "Truly gorgeous."
He clicked his tongue. "But it's a pity. She's not worth the sacrifice. Such status was wasted on someone who had low level servant with meager talent."
His eyes slid back to Lin Youming, sharp now. "I really don't understand you. Sacrificing your future for a woman with worthless talent. You traded your path for a pretty face."
He paused, then smiled wider.
"How about this," Lin Ao said, his voice smooth and cruel. "Gift her to me. I'll take good care of her. In return, I'll spare you this pathetic life of yours."
The courtyard went still.
Lin Youming didn't hesitate.
He sneered.
"It's just a middle dantian," he said calmly. "So what?"
His voice carried clearly, steady and unshaken. "Who said losing it means I can't cultivate anymore?"
The servants froze for a heartbeat, then erupted into laughter again, louder than before.
But Lin Youming somehow stepped forward instead of retreating.
"I crippled myself because I chose to," he declared, lifting his chin. "I did it to show devotion to my wife. To show her that even my cultivation, even my future, means less to me than she does."
His words flowed without pause, each sentence stacking atop the last with growing confidence.
"In this world, everyone chases power, status, realms, techniques. They climb over corpses and betray blood just to move one step higher. And what do they get in the end? Loneliness. Suspicion. Empty halls."
He turned slightly, glancing at Shangguan WanWan, then at Cai Cai Yun and Liu Mei Mei. "But I chose something else. I chose my wives. I chose warmth. I chose someone to walk beside me instead of standing alone at the peak."
He laughed softly. "If loving them costs me my middle dantian, then that's a cheap price."
Ding!
[ The Host declared devotion to his wives.
[ Affection: High. Pampering Points +200. ]
Lin Youming's heart jumped.
Holy crap. So many!?
Before he could fully savor it, the laughter exploded again.
Lin Ao bent forward slightly, clutching his stomach as if he'd heard the funniest joke of his life. "Did you hear that?" he said between laughs. "He crippled himself out of love!"
The servants howled, mimicking Lin Youming's tone in exaggerated voices. "Oh, my devotion! Oh, my love is greater than my dantian!"
The former subordinate wiped tears from his eyes, pointing mockingly. "I've never heard something so stupid in my life."
Lin Youming didn't even look annoyed.
Instead, he smiled wider.
"My wife," he continued loudly, his voice warm and unashamed, "is more beautiful than any treasure in the Lin Family vault. Her presence is like an immortal goddess descending from the heavens, misplaced in this mortal realm only to become my wife."
Shangguan WanWan nearly choked.
Did he just—
She stared at him, her expression stiff, her eyes sharp with disbelief. That description brushed dangerously close to her true identity, and for a brief moment, her heart skipped. But she said nothing, watching him carefully.
Cai Cai Yun's cheeks flushed.
Liu Mei Mei lowered her gaze, her ears red.
Lin Youming kept going, unrestrained now. "Tell me, why wouldn't I sacrifice everything for her? What cultivation technique could compare to waking up beside someone like that? What realm advancement could replace that?"
Ding!
[ You have shown deep admiration to your wives and you even compared her to a literal Goddess.
[ Affection: High. Pampering Points +100. ]
Lin Youming almost laughed out loud.
This system is insane. This was too easy!
Across from him, Lin Ao's smile slowly twisted, irritation seeping through the mockery.
The servants still laughed, but their voices carried a sharper edge now.
"Crazy," one muttered.
"He's lost his mind."
Lin Youming looked at them with pity. "You people wouldn't understand. You have nothing but boring cultivation and empty ambition. I have purpose. I have love."
He spread his hands. "I have wives worth sacrificing for."
The three women stood frozen.
Before anyone could respond, Lin Ao's eyes darkened, his voice dropping into something cold and ugly.
"Since you love her so much," Lin Ao said slowly, "how about we force you to watch my servants violate her right here in front of you?"