The maid gave a shallow bow. "This servant is Ruolan. The Clan Lord assigned me to look after you during your recovery."
"Clan Lord?" he asked, furrowing his brows. He wondered whether he was back at his home. "Father?"
The maid shook her head. "You were rescued and brought here by order of Lord Li."
He narrowed his eyes, processing. "So... this is the Li Clan's estate?"
"Yes. The Western Wing, reserved for honored guests." She paused. "Though I've been ordered not to let you leave this room."
He stared at her, then leaned back lazily against the pillows. "Tell me… be honest, Ruolan… does anyone in the Li Clan actually like this marriage?"
She hesitated a moment. But then her answer came without expression.
"No. Only the Clan Lord agrees to it…"
Qin Wei's eyes lit up with genuine joy. "So no one actually wants this marriage?"
"That is correct."
"Including Li Xue?"
"That is correct."
"Wonderful," he muttered, grinning. "That's perfect."
Ruolan blinked in confusion. "You're… pleased?"
"Oh, absolutely. Less effort to break it off later." He stretched and yawned. "So then, when do I get to meet my darling fiancé? Since no one is pleased with the marriage, I'll talk to her and we'll annul this."
Ruolan lowered her eyes. "You are not permitted to see Lady Xue before the wedding. You will meet her tomorrow at the ceremony. As for the wedding, I'm afraid Young Master cannot break this marriage as it is an imperial decree."
Qin Wei scoffed. "That's ridiculous. Marriage should be decided by the ones who marry or their families, not the one sitting on the throne. I don't care about house rules or imperial nonsense. I'm not spending another day locked in this room. I'll go and meet her on my own."
He stepped off the bed and started toward the door as if he were confident no one dared to stop him.
Ruolan also didn't move at first.
But then, as fast as lightning, she grabbed his arm, turned, and slammed him back into the bed with surprising strength.
He hit the mattress with a grunt, half-stunned. "You… how dare a servant lay…"
Her expression didn't change as she interrupted, maintaining a cold gaze. "I was ordered to keep you in this room until the wedding. Whether by words or by force. Even if the young master is beaten up to near death, no one would blame this humble servant. So, I ask the young master to follow the orders."
She straightened her robes and stood beside the bed like nothing had happened.
Qin Wei lay there, sprawled on the bed, stunned by the act itself rather than the sheer force used on him.
He sat up slowly, stretching his shoulders.
"Alright, alright. I get it," he said, lifting both hands in surrender. "You win. I'll behave." Taking a pause, he added. "But can I get a little privacy, at least? I need to check my body."
"Why?" she asked flatly.
He raised an eyebrow. "Because I was unconscious for three days. I want to check for scars, wounds… anything important. Surely you don't expect me to examine myself while you're watching?"
Her expression didn't change.
He smirked a little, cocking his head. "Unless, of course, you want to look at my naked body. I mean, I don't judge. I have a lot of tongfang maids back at Qin Mansion. I wouldn't mind adding one more and would surely give you an opportunity, but right now, I'm not in that mood, alright. You can come to the room in the night…"
Seeing that Roulan doesn't react to his provocations at all, Qin Wei made the assumption that she won't act against him unless he breaks the rules.
In order to test her patience skills, Qin Wei got down from the bed and stared at her. "Alright, since you like to see my body so much, I'll entertain you then."
He let down the robes loose, facing her, and by the time there was only one garment on his skin, Ruolan's cheeks, previously marble, already turned a very visible shade of pink.
At the last second, she suddenly snapped, spinning around. "You… P… pervert!"
"I'm reporting this to the steward!" she barked, voice flustered, already rushing out the door.
"Lecher!" she called back before slamming it shut.
Qin Wei slumped back onto the bed, smirking. "I transmigrated into the body of a damn pervert. What do you expect?"
After a brief pause, he stared at the ceiling, letting out a sigh. "Why couldn't it have been a quiet scholar or a hidden genius?"
The glowing system interface floated lazily back into view above his head.
[War God System – Active.]
[Tap to Open.]
He sighed and sat up again.
"Well, whatever. Let's see what this body can do."
He closed his eyes, pressing his palms against his knees. Slowing his breath, he let the silence settle in.
A strange warmth pulsed in his gut. It wasn't Qi that this world practiced. It was something else.
It was subtle at first, like threads beneath his skin.
But once he focused, the sensation burst open, like hundreds of glowing lines lighting up across his body, flowing in patterns like rivers.
"This thing... if I remember correctly, it should be Aether pathways, the growth-type cultivation path that I designed in many of my novels." A smile automatically appeared on his face as he found that every single Aether point was open without Qin Wei having to put any effort.
He opened his eyes. "Open, inventory." He muttered under his breath.
He tapped Inventory first.
A small window popped up with a single glowing box inside it.
[Beginner Gift Pack – Tap to Open]
He tapped it.
Ding!
You have received: 1000 Credits, Element Selection Unlocked
Immediately, another screen slid into view:
[Choose Your Element Affinity]
[Fire] [Water] [Wind] [Lightning] [Earth] [Variant] [Random]
Qin Wei stared at them for a while. "Hmm… what to choose? Fire is always a good choice. It has the highest damage, but..."
His finger hovered over Variant for a couple of seconds, but something in his gut twisted.
He frowned. "Nah... if this no-personality system is anything like the ones I designed in my novels, this kind of system always hides the best stuff behind random."
Without another thought, he tapped Random.
Ding!
[Random Element Selection Complete.]
[You have received: Fire Element and Lightning Element.]
"I knew it. Multiple elements." He smirked. "Both elements are quite good for techniques. One has damage while the other has speed."
*Ding!
[Skill List Updated]
Before he could go back to the skill list, another window opened up immediately after.
[Choose Power Type]
[Ocular] [Physique] [Aether Reserves]
"Reserves and physique can be built by training, but ocular powers cannot be acquired…" Qin Wei didn't hesitate to make his choice, clicking on Ocular.
The moment he did, the list reshuffled into a dazzling set of eye techniques:
[Eye of Heaven] [Eye of Truth] [Clairvoyant Eye] [Blood Dragon Eye]
"Ugh… only these four…" Qin Wei groaned in complaint. At the same time, he realized something. "I created so many more powerful ocular powers thoughts. But fine. There's one with great progression."
After thinking a bit, Qin Wei tapped Eye of Heaven.
*Ding!
[Awaken the Heaven's Eye now? Warning: Initial Awakening will be painful.]
Qin Wei grinned. "Bring it on."
The pain came instantly.
It was like molten iron being poured into his eyes.
"Argh…"
He shouted through gritted teeth, body twisting as he clutched the sides of the bed.
His nails dug into the wooden frame.
Sweat beaded on his forehead.
His jaw clenched so hard his ears rang.
Ten seconds.
Those ten seconds felt like an eternity for Qin Wei.
"F**k… Goddammit…"
Then, it stopped at last.
A cool wave rushed over his face.
He gasped, chest rising, hands trembling.
Ding!
[Congratulations. You have awakened the Eye of Heaven. It has been added to your Character Interface.]
"Ha…" "Ha" "Ha" "Ha"
Qin Wei panted, rubbing his face as he sat upright. In the mirror across the room, his reflection stared back at him.
His eyes, once lazy, now glowed, one with pitch darkness and the other in radiant white with no visible pupils.
As the wave of coolness breezed in his soul, Qin Wei lay back on the bed with a pleasant smile as his eyes turned normal. "Okay, it is done, at last."